Re: The Spectacular Exhibition (S3G2) [Round 1: Parallels/Perpendicularities]
07-22-2011, 03:15 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Pick Yer Poison.
Gepetto stumbled outwards, mouth gaping as his eyes traveled up the immense amounts of sand pouring in from all sides. He ran over to the edge and clawed fruitlessly at it for a few minutes before beginning to climb up the rapidly-forming wall. Mo dropped down to Gepetto's back and wrapped his arms tightly around the puppeteer's stomach, eyeing the wall of sand uneasily. Otto followed the pair up, finding it slightly easier to climb up the pouring sand because of his flatter fingers.
Several minutes of anxious scrambling found the pair nearing the top of the sinkhole, sinking slowly but surely into the sand. Otto took stock of the situation and realized that at the rate they were going, they weren't going to make it, but...he hesitated for a precious moment, then steeled his resolve. Bringing his hands up, he gave Gepetto, who was still scrambling madly to reach the surface, the strongest push he could. Geppeto scooted upwards several feet, while Otto fell back about the same, pushing himself off the edge of the sandy wall. He landed below, sending up a small plume of golden-brown dust. Sand continued to pour down onto the puppet, and he surfaced a few times before the pit filled up and covered his head, leaving it entirely still save for the sand spilling out to form Otto's grave.
Gepetto, momentarily unaware of his sudden loss, struggled to more solid ground, then turned over and collapsed onto his back, having forgotten Mo's repositioning until an audible CRUNCH reminded him of it. Swearing, he rolled over and gingerly pulled the broken puppet off his back, tears forming in his eyes. "Otto, help me with this! I...I hurt Mo!" He waited expectantly for a moment, then, surprised, turned around to find a distinct lack of Otto behind him. He spun around a few times, trying to find his twin on the empty horizon, but was completely unable to. Jo's...dead, Otto's vanished, and Mo... Gepetto looked down at the crippled mess in his hands, and tears sprung unbidden to his eyes.
---
The Sentinel was quite pleased with its work. The desecrators were fleeing like insects beneath the might of its masters, and soon they would have nowhere to run. It turned its invisible eye towards the human hunched over outside the nearly filled sand pit the pyramid had left in its place when it had risen. Peering closer, it saw the human cradling some sort of mangled humanoid figure. A child, perhaps? The Sentinel found its curiosity, which it was not aware it still had, aroused, and it stalked closer, peering down to get a closer look, intentions of harm momentarily put aside.
---
Red picked his way through the ruins of the pyramid, Nemaeus walking along behind him. The human had insisted on tagging along - something about safety - but to be honest, Red had given up arguing the point a while ago. He was actually rather glad to have the company, although he knew he'd only be lying to himself if he thought Nemaeus would be of any use when taking on the Sentinel.
He cautiously pushed open the set of double doors, wincing as one of them crashed to the ground, cracking into several pieces. On the other side of the room lay the scepter - golden, glittering, and, somehow, more desirable than ever. By the time he had finished stepping over the broken door on the floor, all thoughts of the Sentinel had vanished from Red's mind. He skittered up to the scepter, pausing for a moment to admire its beauty, and then he reached out one of his robotic arms and grabbed it from where it lay beside the coffin.
---
An immense, disabling ringing filled the Sentinel's mind, disrupting its thoughts and sending it into a frenzy. The curse called it to return immediately and defend the scepter, it knew, but at the worst possible time - it was unprepared to split with the pyramid, and only now realized its folly in attempting to eliminate all the defilers it could. The Sentinel, and therefore the pyramid, thrashed about on the hot desert sands, sending them spraying everywhere. Furious and delirious, it turned its invisible eye back towards the puppet master where he was sitting, oblivious, cradling the ruined body of one of his puppets.
---
Gepetto's tears fell in vain upon Mo's ruined body. Several times he thought he saw the figure move, but it turned out to be nothing more than the shaking of his hands. A shadow passed overhead, and Gepetto stood up, dropping the remains of Mo in the process, and stumbled away fearfully from the massive pyramid stepping over him. It came to him in that moment that with his puppets gone - and he realized fully for the first time that they were indeed puppets, and not what he had always thought they were - he was completely defenseless. He turned around and ran from the approaching doom, but his realization had come much too late. The Sentinel pointed the pyramid's jackal head towards the puppeteer, the eyes glowed a blinding white, and a massive beam of energy burst forth from its mouth, striking the sound some yards away from Gepetto, the heat turning a portion of the nearby sand to glass. Gepetto saw it closing the distance and attempted to dive to the side, but in his haste he tripped on the remains of Mo, and he tumbled to the ground. He didn't even have time to turn around and see the energy beam heading his way before it hit him, and after a moment of searing heat Gepetto's burnt, lifeless body fell to the ground. Instantly, across both lands, seven entities vanished with a similar amount of attention, one carrying the scepter the Sentinel had been cursed to guard.
Gepetto stumbled outwards, mouth gaping as his eyes traveled up the immense amounts of sand pouring in from all sides. He ran over to the edge and clawed fruitlessly at it for a few minutes before beginning to climb up the rapidly-forming wall. Mo dropped down to Gepetto's back and wrapped his arms tightly around the puppeteer's stomach, eyeing the wall of sand uneasily. Otto followed the pair up, finding it slightly easier to climb up the pouring sand because of his flatter fingers.
Several minutes of anxious scrambling found the pair nearing the top of the sinkhole, sinking slowly but surely into the sand. Otto took stock of the situation and realized that at the rate they were going, they weren't going to make it, but...he hesitated for a precious moment, then steeled his resolve. Bringing his hands up, he gave Gepetto, who was still scrambling madly to reach the surface, the strongest push he could. Geppeto scooted upwards several feet, while Otto fell back about the same, pushing himself off the edge of the sandy wall. He landed below, sending up a small plume of golden-brown dust. Sand continued to pour down onto the puppet, and he surfaced a few times before the pit filled up and covered his head, leaving it entirely still save for the sand spilling out to form Otto's grave.
Gepetto, momentarily unaware of his sudden loss, struggled to more solid ground, then turned over and collapsed onto his back, having forgotten Mo's repositioning until an audible CRUNCH reminded him of it. Swearing, he rolled over and gingerly pulled the broken puppet off his back, tears forming in his eyes. "Otto, help me with this! I...I hurt Mo!" He waited expectantly for a moment, then, surprised, turned around to find a distinct lack of Otto behind him. He spun around a few times, trying to find his twin on the empty horizon, but was completely unable to. Jo's...dead, Otto's vanished, and Mo... Gepetto looked down at the crippled mess in his hands, and tears sprung unbidden to his eyes.
---
The Sentinel was quite pleased with its work. The desecrators were fleeing like insects beneath the might of its masters, and soon they would have nowhere to run. It turned its invisible eye towards the human hunched over outside the nearly filled sand pit the pyramid had left in its place when it had risen. Peering closer, it saw the human cradling some sort of mangled humanoid figure. A child, perhaps? The Sentinel found its curiosity, which it was not aware it still had, aroused, and it stalked closer, peering down to get a closer look, intentions of harm momentarily put aside.
---
Red picked his way through the ruins of the pyramid, Nemaeus walking along behind him. The human had insisted on tagging along - something about safety - but to be honest, Red had given up arguing the point a while ago. He was actually rather glad to have the company, although he knew he'd only be lying to himself if he thought Nemaeus would be of any use when taking on the Sentinel.
He cautiously pushed open the set of double doors, wincing as one of them crashed to the ground, cracking into several pieces. On the other side of the room lay the scepter - golden, glittering, and, somehow, more desirable than ever. By the time he had finished stepping over the broken door on the floor, all thoughts of the Sentinel had vanished from Red's mind. He skittered up to the scepter, pausing for a moment to admire its beauty, and then he reached out one of his robotic arms and grabbed it from where it lay beside the coffin.
---
An immense, disabling ringing filled the Sentinel's mind, disrupting its thoughts and sending it into a frenzy. The curse called it to return immediately and defend the scepter, it knew, but at the worst possible time - it was unprepared to split with the pyramid, and only now realized its folly in attempting to eliminate all the defilers it could. The Sentinel, and therefore the pyramid, thrashed about on the hot desert sands, sending them spraying everywhere. Furious and delirious, it turned its invisible eye back towards the puppet master where he was sitting, oblivious, cradling the ruined body of one of his puppets.
---
Gepetto's tears fell in vain upon Mo's ruined body. Several times he thought he saw the figure move, but it turned out to be nothing more than the shaking of his hands. A shadow passed overhead, and Gepetto stood up, dropping the remains of Mo in the process, and stumbled away fearfully from the massive pyramid stepping over him. It came to him in that moment that with his puppets gone - and he realized fully for the first time that they were indeed puppets, and not what he had always thought they were - he was completely defenseless. He turned around and ran from the approaching doom, but his realization had come much too late. The Sentinel pointed the pyramid's jackal head towards the puppeteer, the eyes glowed a blinding white, and a massive beam of energy burst forth from its mouth, striking the sound some yards away from Gepetto, the heat turning a portion of the nearby sand to glass. Gepetto saw it closing the distance and attempted to dive to the side, but in his haste he tripped on the remains of Mo, and he tumbled to the ground. He didn't even have time to turn around and see the energy beam heading his way before it hit him, and after a moment of searing heat Gepetto's burnt, lifeless body fell to the ground. Instantly, across both lands, seven entities vanished with a similar amount of attention, one carrying the scepter the Sentinel had been cursed to guard.
![[Image: zjQ0y.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/zjQ0y.gif)
![[Image: vcGGy.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/vcGGy.gif)