Re: The Relentless Slaughter [Round 2: S'kkoi]
07-21-2011, 05:15 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Anomaly.
Not long after entering his cubicle, Doug slowly plodded out, pale-faced. Harry immediately greeted him.
"So what'd you find out?"
"It's not just us, Harry. No one can seem to draw Rollo. A ton of new threads are popping up by the minute about this, as well as about this whole 'Relentless Slaughter' thing."
"You're not trying to tell me that the very concept of Rollo is dead, are you?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying."
"That... How is that possible? It's a goddamned TV show, Doug. It can't affect the real world."
"But it has, Harry! I don't know how, but it actually has! Speaking of which, has the second round started yet?"
"No, it's been frozen on a black screen since Rollo died. We're beginning to think that the broadcast's over, but no one can seem to change channels, adjust the volume, or even shut off any TVs showing it. That's not just a problem here, either. We've gotten thousands of calls from enraged parents."
"Hey, everyone! Something's happening!" a voice called from the other room. Doug and Harry rushed back into the break room, where at least five or six others had already assembled. The picture on the TV began to distort slightly, almost cutting to static before returning to the usual empty, black expanse.
"Guess it was a false alarm, the-" Doug started, before being interrupted by an extreme close-up of the Tormentor's face.
"Hello, viewers!" the abomination shouted. Virtually everyone in the room was taken by surprise. "I figure now that your beloved cartoon armadillo's dead, I should tell you what's going on! If you're too stupid to pay attention, I'm known as the Tormentor. And before you even ask, yes, Rollo is dead. Actually dead. Haven't been able to draw or animate him? You never will again! He's passed on from your mortal realm, never to return!
"But now that that's cleared up... What's going on here isn't a cartoon, I'm sure a few of you might have realized. I mean, maybe you haven't since most of the first round was hand-drawn. But honestly, the opening scene? Everyone here besides Rollo? Nope, they're real. Even more real than most anything you'd watch.
"See, this is what's known as a Grand Battle in our circles. We're just a bunch of super-powerful beings known as the Grandmasters who abduct mortals, or even gods sometimes, and make them do battle for our amusement. They've been kept largely a secret by now, but you're the first beings in the Multiverse who've gotten to hear about them without being entered yourselves! What an honor for you!
"Anyway, that's why you can't get this broadcast turned off, no matter how hard you try. Nothing you can do can stop me! So I suggest you just sit back and watch six more innocent beings get brutally slaughtered and sent through a pleasing variety of hellish torments. Entertainment at its best! Without further ado, it's time for round two. Bye!"
Save changes to "Untitled-1"?
The pencil instantly became arrow-shaped as it intersected with the box, making its way to a button labeled "no". In an instant, everything went black, the screams slowly dying out. The contestants felt themselves trapped, suspended perfectly still in the air, a sensation identical to that they had experienced hours before. Had it been hours? None could be sure how much time had passed since the instigation of this "Relentless Slaughter".
Light slowly crept into the room, revealing the same gloomy, dismal pedestal, adorned with massive pillars. One of the pillars, the one Rollo had previously occupied, had crumbled into bits, scattered across the floor. What felt like ages passed before a familiar, hideous cackle assailed the contestants as a shadowy, serpentlike form snaked its way up from the abyss below. It reared up, red eyes and fangs alike gleaming, as it slowly coalesced into the familiar, vaguely humanoid form of the Tormentor.
"Ahahahaha! That was great! I didn't actually know what to expect from that guy, but... Well, you all saw what happened. And by the way, he was a lucky one. He actually gets to die. The rest of you? Not so lucky. It'll get boring if the stakes don't get higher each round!
"Now, then, I suppose I should explain where you're going next." In an instant, each contestant was seized with an intense headache as their vision was replaced with images of the vast ocean.
"Welcome to the oceans of Nerina! Quite a view, isn't it? Maybe you'd like to take a vacation here sometime? Maybe a nice cruise! Well, this is exactly like that! If you define 'exactly like that' as 'in the same ocean as that'." Another migraine as the image changed to ruins deep underwater.
"This is the great city of S'kkoi! Or at least it was, before it sunk to the depths of the ocean. But don't worry, it's not vacant! I'm sure the local sea monsters would love to have you here! But that's not all, there's even a cult down here! They worship some long-dormant dark god that lies directly beneath the city. They throw the best parties, too! If you like your blood being drained." With a last sting of pain, the images disappeared and the contestants regained their normal vision.
"But you may be wondering, how are you supposed to breathe down there? It's underwater! Well, no worries about that! You'll find that you've changed a bit once you get there!" The Tormentor held up a number of his arms, and water began gushing in from the endless expanse above the contestants, pouring into the abyss below. In just a few minutes, the water reached the bottom of the pillars, and slowly began inching upward.
"What are you all worrying about? It's just a little water! Better get used to it!" The water climbed higher and higher, reaching the contestants in less than a minute. Each drew their last breath of air before the water overtook them, and each attempted to hold their breath as long as possible. Eventually, though, each gave out and took a gasp of water. They began choking, held underwater by their unbreakable bonds, utterly helpless. Eventually, their vision blacked out...
Not long after entering his cubicle, Doug slowly plodded out, pale-faced. Harry immediately greeted him.
"So what'd you find out?"
"It's not just us, Harry. No one can seem to draw Rollo. A ton of new threads are popping up by the minute about this, as well as about this whole 'Relentless Slaughter' thing."
"You're not trying to tell me that the very concept of Rollo is dead, are you?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying."
"That... How is that possible? It's a goddamned TV show, Doug. It can't affect the real world."
"But it has, Harry! I don't know how, but it actually has! Speaking of which, has the second round started yet?"
"No, it's been frozen on a black screen since Rollo died. We're beginning to think that the broadcast's over, but no one can seem to change channels, adjust the volume, or even shut off any TVs showing it. That's not just a problem here, either. We've gotten thousands of calls from enraged parents."
"Hey, everyone! Something's happening!" a voice called from the other room. Doug and Harry rushed back into the break room, where at least five or six others had already assembled. The picture on the TV began to distort slightly, almost cutting to static before returning to the usual empty, black expanse.
"Guess it was a false alarm, the-" Doug started, before being interrupted by an extreme close-up of the Tormentor's face.
"Hello, viewers!" the abomination shouted. Virtually everyone in the room was taken by surprise. "I figure now that your beloved cartoon armadillo's dead, I should tell you what's going on! If you're too stupid to pay attention, I'm known as the Tormentor. And before you even ask, yes, Rollo is dead. Actually dead. Haven't been able to draw or animate him? You never will again! He's passed on from your mortal realm, never to return!
"But now that that's cleared up... What's going on here isn't a cartoon, I'm sure a few of you might have realized. I mean, maybe you haven't since most of the first round was hand-drawn. But honestly, the opening scene? Everyone here besides Rollo? Nope, they're real. Even more real than most anything you'd watch.
"See, this is what's known as a Grand Battle in our circles. We're just a bunch of super-powerful beings known as the Grandmasters who abduct mortals, or even gods sometimes, and make them do battle for our amusement. They've been kept largely a secret by now, but you're the first beings in the Multiverse who've gotten to hear about them without being entered yourselves! What an honor for you!
"Anyway, that's why you can't get this broadcast turned off, no matter how hard you try. Nothing you can do can stop me! So I suggest you just sit back and watch six more innocent beings get brutally slaughtered and sent through a pleasing variety of hellish torments. Entertainment at its best! Without further ado, it's time for round two. Bye!"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Rollo's horrified screams echoed throughout the infinite white expanse of the Paint canvas, stretched out long past his death. The pencil that had brutally and precisely sliced him to death rose up above his body, and raced into the heavens. With an audible "ding", a massive, gray rectangle appeared in the sky - to all those on the ground, the contents of the box were invisible. Only Ke, from her point high in the air (though she was barely paying attention by this point), could see the message written therein - Save changes to "Untitled-1"?
The pencil instantly became arrow-shaped as it intersected with the box, making its way to a button labeled "no". In an instant, everything went black, the screams slowly dying out. The contestants felt themselves trapped, suspended perfectly still in the air, a sensation identical to that they had experienced hours before. Had it been hours? None could be sure how much time had passed since the instigation of this "Relentless Slaughter".
Light slowly crept into the room, revealing the same gloomy, dismal pedestal, adorned with massive pillars. One of the pillars, the one Rollo had previously occupied, had crumbled into bits, scattered across the floor. What felt like ages passed before a familiar, hideous cackle assailed the contestants as a shadowy, serpentlike form snaked its way up from the abyss below. It reared up, red eyes and fangs alike gleaming, as it slowly coalesced into the familiar, vaguely humanoid form of the Tormentor.
"Ahahahaha! That was great! I didn't actually know what to expect from that guy, but... Well, you all saw what happened. And by the way, he was a lucky one. He actually gets to die. The rest of you? Not so lucky. It'll get boring if the stakes don't get higher each round!
"Now, then, I suppose I should explain where you're going next." In an instant, each contestant was seized with an intense headache as their vision was replaced with images of the vast ocean.
"Welcome to the oceans of Nerina! Quite a view, isn't it? Maybe you'd like to take a vacation here sometime? Maybe a nice cruise! Well, this is exactly like that! If you define 'exactly like that' as 'in the same ocean as that'." Another migraine as the image changed to ruins deep underwater.
"This is the great city of S'kkoi! Or at least it was, before it sunk to the depths of the ocean. But don't worry, it's not vacant! I'm sure the local sea monsters would love to have you here! But that's not all, there's even a cult down here! They worship some long-dormant dark god that lies directly beneath the city. They throw the best parties, too! If you like your blood being drained." With a last sting of pain, the images disappeared and the contestants regained their normal vision.
"But you may be wondering, how are you supposed to breathe down there? It's underwater! Well, no worries about that! You'll find that you've changed a bit once you get there!" The Tormentor held up a number of his arms, and water began gushing in from the endless expanse above the contestants, pouring into the abyss below. In just a few minutes, the water reached the bottom of the pillars, and slowly began inching upward.
"What are you all worrying about? It's just a little water! Better get used to it!" The water climbed higher and higher, reaching the contestants in less than a minute. Each drew their last breath of air before the water overtook them, and each attempted to hold their breath as long as possible. Eventually, though, each gave out and took a gasp of water. They began choking, held underwater by their unbreakable bonds, utterly helpless. Eventually, their vision blacked out...