Re: Grand Battle S3G1! (Round One: Vio Maleficat)
02-01-2011, 04:31 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Anomaly.
Not enough water, can't communicate, can barely fight, up against Scofflaw... Have to escape. Tengeri faced down Scofflaw, ignoring the rumbling which was becoming all-too-common and still increasing in intensity. Her scanners could offer no specific source of the seismic activity other than "deeper underground", but regardless of what horrible thing was happening below, Tengeri was in what one might call a "sticky situation". Sure, Scofflaw had lost his precious knife, but he could potentially still pose a threat. First order of business: seperate him from the weapon.
Before the rumbling had fully subsided, Velobo had regained his bearings and immediately lunged for Scofflaw, whacking him with the stunning staff before being shaken off again. Scofflaw didn't seem to have any weapons on his person, but had made a point to take up a few dislodged rocks as makeshift weapons. While Velobo distracted Scofflaw with his tongue, Tengeri hurriedly rushed past both of them, twisting mid-flight to redirect a particularly sharp rock into the super-durable alloys of her implants rather than her vulnerable flesh.
Tengeri quickly reached the fallen instrument, extending a manipulator to take purchase of the weapon. However, before the appendage could go far, a blur shot out and snatched it before disappearing into the distance. Tengeri's scanners could scarcely pick up what had happened due to the sheer speed of the organism, but at the very least, the knife was no longer a problem. She turned around and balled the hand-like claw on one manipulator into a crude fist, then charged Scofflaw and hit him in the back of the head. He fell to the ground unconscious, though that unconsciousness would likely last less than a microcycle if she was lucky. The Leviath motioned to Velobo frantically, beckoning him to follow.
"Shouldn't we finish him off?" the Plazmuth replied. Tengeri paused her motion for a moment. Eliminating him would eliminate the only real danger in this competition, and even further, it would send them to a new location, likely a less chaotic one. Just one stroke, and their troubles would be gone. Just one stroke, and their chances of survival increased exponentially. But that would mean killing. No-strings-attached, straight-up murder. She couldn't be responsible for that. She couldn't bring herself to just stab him in the back while he was down, easy as it would have been. She wasn't a killer, she was a scientist! Her life's work was to improve life on Levia as a whole, not to bring harm and death!
"Warning: GB-007 will regain conscious in approx .25 microcycles."
- - - - - - - - - -
Velobo gazed at Tengeri, poised over Scofflaw with a blade-tipped manipulator extended. After several tense moments, the appendage snaked its way back into her body and she shot off in the opposite direction, not even acknowledging the Plazmuth or beckoning him to follow. She was very obviously distraught, even a little panicked. Velobo glanced back at Scofflaw for a moment, then swiftly took off after the distressing Leviath. He found it extraordinarily difficult to keep up - after all, she had a map and could swim quite quickly. After a few minutes, he had lost sight of her entirely, left entirely alone in a dark, twisting network of caverns.
However, from the right he could faintly hear the sound of running water. He couldn't be certain, but it seemed likely that a sea serpent would head for water when possible. Acting on a hunch, the Plazmuth fumbled his way through the nearly pitch-black tunnel, soon finding the source of the water - a room lit up by luminescent mushrooms similar to the one he had come from, but also full of water. Tengeri, however, was nowhere to be seen. Velobo began to grow disheartened and turned around to leave, but his back eye then caught sight of a faintly-glowing, serpentine figure emerging from the surface of the lake.
- - - - - - - - - -
Tengeri took a moment to calm herself in the depths of the lake, refilling her water supply as best she could with a faulty TEU and recovering from her sudden panic. After not nearly long enough, however, the Plazmuth emerged from the caves, no doubt looking for her. The doctor slowly swam to the surface, noticing Velobo turning to leave just as she emerged. She quickly made her way back to the edge of dry land, noting that, thankfully, he had noticed her rather than simply exiting. She immediately attempted communication after noticing that the TEU had repaired itself somewhat.
"sorry about that. i'd... really prefer not to kill. it's just not something i can do."
"I understand. Is there any reason you were seeking me out?"
"just the obvious one. seeking allies to take down 'the fool'. not going to play his game."
"Hmm... Well, I-"
Another tremor began, even more violent than the previous ones. However, this one managed to have more effects than simply a torrent of falling rocks. The lakebed itself began to crack and fracture before being smashed open by seismic force, essentially turning the lake into a massive whirlpool. Unable to rise from the water, Tengeri was quickly pulled under, as was Velobo, who was knocked in when the ground under him collapsed. In short order, both dropped through to a lower system of caves, one much larger and open than the above network. Gigantic crystals jutted out from all directions, giving a strange sense of beauty to the chaos-saturated cavern. Beauty accompanied by a horde of nonsensical creatures that could at best be described as "utterly ridiculous", that is.
The source of the tremors wasn't far away.
Not enough water, can't communicate, can barely fight, up against Scofflaw... Have to escape. Tengeri faced down Scofflaw, ignoring the rumbling which was becoming all-too-common and still increasing in intensity. Her scanners could offer no specific source of the seismic activity other than "deeper underground", but regardless of what horrible thing was happening below, Tengeri was in what one might call a "sticky situation". Sure, Scofflaw had lost his precious knife, but he could potentially still pose a threat. First order of business: seperate him from the weapon.
Before the rumbling had fully subsided, Velobo had regained his bearings and immediately lunged for Scofflaw, whacking him with the stunning staff before being shaken off again. Scofflaw didn't seem to have any weapons on his person, but had made a point to take up a few dislodged rocks as makeshift weapons. While Velobo distracted Scofflaw with his tongue, Tengeri hurriedly rushed past both of them, twisting mid-flight to redirect a particularly sharp rock into the super-durable alloys of her implants rather than her vulnerable flesh.
Tengeri quickly reached the fallen instrument, extending a manipulator to take purchase of the weapon. However, before the appendage could go far, a blur shot out and snatched it before disappearing into the distance. Tengeri's scanners could scarcely pick up what had happened due to the sheer speed of the organism, but at the very least, the knife was no longer a problem. She turned around and balled the hand-like claw on one manipulator into a crude fist, then charged Scofflaw and hit him in the back of the head. He fell to the ground unconscious, though that unconsciousness would likely last less than a microcycle if she was lucky. The Leviath motioned to Velobo frantically, beckoning him to follow.
"Shouldn't we finish him off?" the Plazmuth replied. Tengeri paused her motion for a moment. Eliminating him would eliminate the only real danger in this competition, and even further, it would send them to a new location, likely a less chaotic one. Just one stroke, and their troubles would be gone. Just one stroke, and their chances of survival increased exponentially. But that would mean killing. No-strings-attached, straight-up murder. She couldn't be responsible for that. She couldn't bring herself to just stab him in the back while he was down, easy as it would have been. She wasn't a killer, she was a scientist! Her life's work was to improve life on Levia as a whole, not to bring harm and death!
"Warning: GB-007 will regain conscious in approx .25 microcycles."
- - - - - - - - - -
Velobo gazed at Tengeri, poised over Scofflaw with a blade-tipped manipulator extended. After several tense moments, the appendage snaked its way back into her body and she shot off in the opposite direction, not even acknowledging the Plazmuth or beckoning him to follow. She was very obviously distraught, even a little panicked. Velobo glanced back at Scofflaw for a moment, then swiftly took off after the distressing Leviath. He found it extraordinarily difficult to keep up - after all, she had a map and could swim quite quickly. After a few minutes, he had lost sight of her entirely, left entirely alone in a dark, twisting network of caverns.
However, from the right he could faintly hear the sound of running water. He couldn't be certain, but it seemed likely that a sea serpent would head for water when possible. Acting on a hunch, the Plazmuth fumbled his way through the nearly pitch-black tunnel, soon finding the source of the water - a room lit up by luminescent mushrooms similar to the one he had come from, but also full of water. Tengeri, however, was nowhere to be seen. Velobo began to grow disheartened and turned around to leave, but his back eye then caught sight of a faintly-glowing, serpentine figure emerging from the surface of the lake.
- - - - - - - - - -
Tengeri took a moment to calm herself in the depths of the lake, refilling her water supply as best she could with a faulty TEU and recovering from her sudden panic. After not nearly long enough, however, the Plazmuth emerged from the caves, no doubt looking for her. The doctor slowly swam to the surface, noticing Velobo turning to leave just as she emerged. She quickly made her way back to the edge of dry land, noting that, thankfully, he had noticed her rather than simply exiting. She immediately attempted communication after noticing that the TEU had repaired itself somewhat.
"sorry about that. i'd... really prefer not to kill. it's just not something i can do."
"I understand. Is there any reason you were seeking me out?"
"just the obvious one. seeking allies to take down 'the fool'. not going to play his game."
"Hmm... Well, I-"
Another tremor began, even more violent than the previous ones. However, this one managed to have more effects than simply a torrent of falling rocks. The lakebed itself began to crack and fracture before being smashed open by seismic force, essentially turning the lake into a massive whirlpool. Unable to rise from the water, Tengeri was quickly pulled under, as was Velobo, who was knocked in when the ground under him collapsed. In short order, both dropped through to a lower system of caves, one much larger and open than the above network. Gigantic crystals jutted out from all directions, giving a strange sense of beauty to the chaos-saturated cavern. Beauty accompanied by a horde of nonsensical creatures that could at best be described as "utterly ridiculous", that is.
The source of the tremors wasn't far away.