Re: The Spectacular Exhibition (S3G2) [Round 1: Parallels/Perpendicularities]
05-15-2011, 05:00 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-15-2013, 01:46 AM by Akumu.)
Originally posted on MSPA by Akumu.
He turned from her and the ghost and the machine and he ran. There was freedom in the void but what there wasn't was a place to hide, no dirt to burrow into to dig out a den to be safe and alone in. You could see forever out here, and be seen in turn.
He set his intentions on the world and suddenly he was right on top of it, which made complete sense. On the split surfaces of the joined landscapes, leaf-thin figures moved in a complicated pattern, coming together and apart, forming figures that none of them could see from their flatness. He drew closer and recognized the figures as all of those who had been around him when he was trapped, and then the first layer of the pattern they swooped through was completed. As he watched, the world puckered and heaved, and an eight-sided shape forced its way in. It grew, erupting symmetrically through the ice and sand. All the lines of the world pulled in towards the center of this new shape, drawing him towards it. He saw the the spiny thing and the moving tree and all of them spiraling in the next layer of the pattern, smaller and more intricate, pulled irresistibly inwards.
He focused on the spiny thing they had sent against him and he was within winding burrows of stone. Around a corner came the tree, engulfed in flames. It was screaming, the sound great and terrible, and it smashed blindly into the tunnel walls, sending showers of dust and stone cascading downwards. The spiny thing came around the corner in pursuit, spraying fire. The tree collapsed under the onslaught, burning away into nothing. The spiny thing stood over the greasy black stain for a moment before being plowed into by the tree, coming down a different hallway and whole again. Lifting a massive foot it brought all its weight down onto the prone metal shell, pressing until the metal shrieked and the glass cracked and shattered in a burst of water and blood. The whole assembly scattered into smoke and the tree's foot landed heavily, just as the spiny thing burst through the ceiling of the tunnel. Its spinning arms scythed through the upper branches of the tree, who bellowed in rage and reached up to dislodge the attacker. The struggle continued in this way through the burrow, never ceasing, pointless and brutal. This was exactly what they wanted! There was no freedom to be had for killing your brothers, all that led to was being thrown against another brother, and another, without end. He wanted to cry out, to tell his brothers this, but he was mute. He wanted to interrupt their battle, but with only his claws he could not stand between their might and fury. He was useless, powerless. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned away.
“The only other option, then, is to defy the Grandmasters. We must break the pattern if we are to have any hope of leaving these battles alive, and quickly- the longer we wait, the more the odds stack against us. We need to band together as a group.”
Opening his eyes, he found himself in the void, with the crystal ghost bearing the machine floating in front of him. It had spoken into his head, and its branches were vibrating fiercely with words plucked from a space beyond space. It was exactly what he had wanted the others to know, but had no way of expressing. With his... other half, yes, his other self, he could have done this. He could have used the light to stop their fighting and he could have told them this simple truth. He needed that body now, with its pain and its power, and if he could never go back again, that was the price he would have to pay.
He took a breath, shut his nostrils, and reached out towards the ghost.
A smile flickered at the corners of the Counselor's mouth. She jotted down “hope does a mind good,” and flipped shut her notebook into nothing.
Lightning slammed through his body, and he awoke once more into darkness, gasping and choking on its thickness. All around him he could smellhearsee currents of molten fire, inside the solid rock and dancing between the spires ringing the pillar. And he could breathe! He pulled in water and felt it pass out through the side of his neck as his mouth closed. His feet were wider, flatter, and his tail more muscular. His flesh tingled and ached as it strained against the bounds of the solidifying crystal shot through him. He bounded off the rocky sea bed and paddled a distance before sinking back down under his own weight, still too dense to really swim.
Watching the fire, he saw that the streams flowed from the spires, joining together into a river which traveled beneath him into the distance. Out there was a hulk, a mountain, etched through with the fire. He knew this was what he had seen in his dream, the place where everything was being drawn. He leapt-paddled towards it, following the river. He had a message to deliver.
He turned from her and the ghost and the machine and he ran. There was freedom in the void but what there wasn't was a place to hide, no dirt to burrow into to dig out a den to be safe and alone in. You could see forever out here, and be seen in turn.
He set his intentions on the world and suddenly he was right on top of it, which made complete sense. On the split surfaces of the joined landscapes, leaf-thin figures moved in a complicated pattern, coming together and apart, forming figures that none of them could see from their flatness. He drew closer and recognized the figures as all of those who had been around him when he was trapped, and then the first layer of the pattern they swooped through was completed. As he watched, the world puckered and heaved, and an eight-sided shape forced its way in. It grew, erupting symmetrically through the ice and sand. All the lines of the world pulled in towards the center of this new shape, drawing him towards it. He saw the the spiny thing and the moving tree and all of them spiraling in the next layer of the pattern, smaller and more intricate, pulled irresistibly inwards.
He focused on the spiny thing they had sent against him and he was within winding burrows of stone. Around a corner came the tree, engulfed in flames. It was screaming, the sound great and terrible, and it smashed blindly into the tunnel walls, sending showers of dust and stone cascading downwards. The spiny thing came around the corner in pursuit, spraying fire. The tree collapsed under the onslaught, burning away into nothing. The spiny thing stood over the greasy black stain for a moment before being plowed into by the tree, coming down a different hallway and whole again. Lifting a massive foot it brought all its weight down onto the prone metal shell, pressing until the metal shrieked and the glass cracked and shattered in a burst of water and blood. The whole assembly scattered into smoke and the tree's foot landed heavily, just as the spiny thing burst through the ceiling of the tunnel. Its spinning arms scythed through the upper branches of the tree, who bellowed in rage and reached up to dislodge the attacker. The struggle continued in this way through the burrow, never ceasing, pointless and brutal. This was exactly what they wanted! There was no freedom to be had for killing your brothers, all that led to was being thrown against another brother, and another, without end. He wanted to cry out, to tell his brothers this, but he was mute. He wanted to interrupt their battle, but with only his claws he could not stand between their might and fury. He was useless, powerless. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned away.
“The only other option, then, is to defy the Grandmasters. We must break the pattern if we are to have any hope of leaving these battles alive, and quickly- the longer we wait, the more the odds stack against us. We need to band together as a group.”
Opening his eyes, he found himself in the void, with the crystal ghost bearing the machine floating in front of him. It had spoken into his head, and its branches were vibrating fiercely with words plucked from a space beyond space. It was exactly what he had wanted the others to know, but had no way of expressing. With his... other half, yes, his other self, he could have done this. He could have used the light to stop their fighting and he could have told them this simple truth. He needed that body now, with its pain and its power, and if he could never go back again, that was the price he would have to pay.
He took a breath, shut his nostrils, and reached out towards the ghost.
- - - - -
A smile flickered at the corners of the Counselor's mouth. She jotted down “hope does a mind good,” and flipped shut her notebook into nothing.
- - - - -
Lightning slammed through his body, and he awoke once more into darkness, gasping and choking on its thickness. All around him he could smellhearsee currents of molten fire, inside the solid rock and dancing between the spires ringing the pillar. And he could breathe! He pulled in water and felt it pass out through the side of his neck as his mouth closed. His feet were wider, flatter, and his tail more muscular. His flesh tingled and ached as it strained against the bounds of the solidifying crystal shot through him. He bounded off the rocky sea bed and paddled a distance before sinking back down under his own weight, still too dense to really swim.
Watching the fire, he saw that the streams flowed from the spires, joining together into a river which traveled beneath him into the distance. Out there was a hulk, a mountain, etched through with the fire. He knew this was what he had seen in his dream, the place where everything was being drawn. He leapt-paddled towards it, following the river. He had a message to deliver.