The Spectacular Exhibition (S3G2) [Round 2: Space - Abridged]

Originally posted on MSPA by Pick Yer Poison.

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Odd. Why's it running? Nothing to be afraid of. He took a few cautious steps closer to the aardvark, and it backed away quickly. ...oh. It's running from me. Duh. Red gestured in a friendly manner with the two bulky forearms of his mech. "All friends here. Don't want to hurt you. It's alright, it's okay..."

Unknown to Red, this consoling attempt stirred within Blazaard's mind the memory of his handlers, the vicious figures who had stolen him from his home and put him in that place of constant pain. No way would Blazaard ever let that happen again let them try! He lowered his head and took a few steps back. By the time Red realized he was about to be mauled, Blazaard had already covered a quarter of the distance between them. Red had just enough to time take a few steps to the side and swing one of his forearms at the approaching beast. Blazaard jumped on it and held fast, trying his best to scratch through the metal. They wouldn't take him again. Never again.

Without warning, the mech's torso began spinning around at a high velocity, until Blazaard lost his grip and went sailing through the air to land in a snow drift, sending a cloud of white dust into the air. The torso stopped spinning and one of the forearms pointed in Blazaard's direction. A hatch opened at the end and a big game net shot out, covering Blazaard neatly. He thrashed inside of it, but only succeeded in ensnaring himself more. His eyes grew wide with panic and he began to glow slightly.

Red clanked forward in time to be momentarily blinded by the burst of light Blazaard emitted, along with the wave of heat. When he was once again able to see, he saw the game net burnt to a crisp, a huge puddle of water and slush where Blazaard had been trapped, and Blazaard himself charging at him again. The aardvark slammed into Red's chest, causing him to slide back a couple of inches on the icy surface. Red was about to throw the creature off him again when Blazaard lit up, blinding him for the second time in as many minutes. Red blindly carried through with the motion, and he heard the thunk of Blazaard hitting the ground a few yards away, followed by a crunch as the heavy mech frame fell halfway into the water below, easily breaking through the ice that had been weakened by the heat Blazaard had released. While Red struggled to pull himself out of the half-in, half-out of the water position he was in, Blazaard turned around and ran for all he was worth, putting his head down and not even checking where he was going.

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Nemaeus huddled under the Wolf's fur. The cold was getting to him. He stood up and walked a distance from the igloo, in the hopes that the motion would heat him up. As he glanced over the horizon, he noticed a small shape barreling out from behind a snow dune. However, the sun was in his eyes, and he couldn't make out what it was. He stared at it confusedly for a minute while it got closer and closer before he was able to recognize it as the aardvark he had been introduced to not more than ten minutes ago, running full tilt at him without even looking where it was going.

Nemaeus tried to run out of the way, but between the slipping of the ice and the stiffness of his limbs he was unable to dodge Blazaard, who bowled into him, landing in a sprawling heap a few feet away. Nemaeus untangled himself and stumbled away, eyeing the large aardvark warily. Their eyes met and locked, and Blazaard stopped backing away as a faint smile flickered across Nemaeus' lips. He was busy enough that he barely noticed the faint clanking in the distance that indicated that Red had pulled himself out of the water and was making his way towards the pair.