Re: The Relentless Slaughter [Round 3: Tormentorland]
05-05-2012, 02:48 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Anomaly.
"Congratulations," Henry mumbled before handing Doug his winnings. He'd put money on Samael.
For Doug, however, the winnings were empty. On one hand, money, but on the other, someone might have just died for real as a sacrifice to some kind of elder god that might have actually been a real thing somewhere.
"Henry, do you..." Doug started.
"What?" Henry replied, in the midst of taking bets for round three.
"Do you think the Tormentor was right? That this is real?"
"How could it be real? This kind of thing doesn't happen, Doug. Someone hijacked the network, that's all."
"But what about Rollo? You can't ignore that."
Henry was silent for a moment, then turned back to taking bets.
"Hey, it's the Tormentor again!" someone called from the TV room. A herd of animators and writers flooded in all at once.
"Ah, there you are!" the Tormentor yelled as Doug walked in.
"What?" Doug asked no one in particular.
"What do you mean, 'what?' You know what I'm talking about, Doug."
Doug's jaw dropped as everyone in the room affixed their eyes on him. "You... how?"
"How? Because I'm the Tormentor, that's how. And by the way, yes, this is real, Doug. A guy actually just died as a sacrifice! It was great!"
"Wh... Why are you doing this?" Doug stammered.
"You're kind of slow, aren't you? There's no reason for this! Well, except that it's extremely entertaining. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be doing it!"
Doug yelled and ripped the TV cord out of the wall.
"You know that's not going to work, Doug. You can see that. ...Well, maybe you don't see it clearly enough. Let me help you with that."
The TV cord turned into a snake in Doug's hand, promptly biting him in the face. He fell to the ground, screaming, as a number of eyes started emerging all over his body. Everyone else in the room gazed in horror as the Tormentor's laughter echoed through the building.
"Oh, don't worry. He'll live! If anything, i've helped him overcome one of the infinite deficiencies of your miserable species! Don't go away - the fun's just about to begin."
The black coalesced into a familar form, malicious gaze affixed upon each simultaneously. "That was great!"
One of them found that they were no longer restrained, in spite of the pillars towering over them. They took a step, only to find a massive red worm glaring them in the face. They quickly backed down.
"Oh, right! Let me introduce you to the Spectator! She's supposed to be running another of these things, but there was a little... 'incident'. Don't mind her, she might not horribly mash your bodies together for the sake of art!
"But anyway, you didn't come here to not die horrible deaths. I've got something to show you!"
The contestants felt something similar to being sucked through a hole the size of a pin head, before emerging, levitating in a blue, sunny sky over some sort of amusement park. An enormous statue of a familiar, cartoonish armadillo towered over the park, and several of the attractions seemingly defied the laws of physics (or at least safety precautions) entirely.
"Welcome to Rolloland, the happiest place in the Multiverse! Looks like a great place, doesn't it? The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and everyone's out having a wonderful time! Doesn't it just remind you of being a kid all over again? Well, I'm sure you're going to enjoy your stay! This is one of the most popular amusement parks in the Multiverse, in fact! You'd be surprised how many universes broadcast The Rollo Show. Well, somewhere along the line someone came up with a way to cross universes, and their first thought was 'interdimensional amusement park'. ...Sure, why not?"
The Tormentor clapped a couple of hands. Some clouds immediately began rolling in from the distance, threatening to overtake the sun and ruin the day for a lot of park-goers.
"Now, as I'm sure you know, places like this aren't cheap! You'll all find that I've given you some Rollobucks, the only acceptable currency in Rolloland! Don't spend them all in one place, or you'll regret it. Now, then... Don't you think this place is just way too nice? Don't worry, that'll end by the time those clouds have come in all the way!"
The Tormentor clapped two more hands, and the contestants found themselves standing at the gate to the park. Considering the wide variety of visitors, they virtually blended in.
"Oh, and one more thing." The Tormentor snapped his fingers, and the huge, garish sign over the gate suddenly read not "Rolloland", but "Tormentorland". The giant picture of a grinning Rollo also turned into a grinning Tormentor, giving several thumbs-up at once. With that, he disappeared.
"Congratulations," Henry mumbled before handing Doug his winnings. He'd put money on Samael.
For Doug, however, the winnings were empty. On one hand, money, but on the other, someone might have just died for real as a sacrifice to some kind of elder god that might have actually been a real thing somewhere.
"Henry, do you..." Doug started.
"What?" Henry replied, in the midst of taking bets for round three.
"Do you think the Tormentor was right? That this is real?"
"How could it be real? This kind of thing doesn't happen, Doug. Someone hijacked the network, that's all."
"But what about Rollo? You can't ignore that."
Henry was silent for a moment, then turned back to taking bets.
"Hey, it's the Tormentor again!" someone called from the TV room. A herd of animators and writers flooded in all at once.
"Ah, there you are!" the Tormentor yelled as Doug walked in.
"What?" Doug asked no one in particular.
"What do you mean, 'what?' You know what I'm talking about, Doug."
Doug's jaw dropped as everyone in the room affixed their eyes on him. "You... how?"
"How? Because I'm the Tormentor, that's how. And by the way, yes, this is real, Doug. A guy actually just died as a sacrifice! It was great!"
"Wh... Why are you doing this?" Doug stammered.
"You're kind of slow, aren't you? There's no reason for this! Well, except that it's extremely entertaining. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be doing it!"
Doug yelled and ripped the TV cord out of the wall.
"You know that's not going to work, Doug. You can see that. ...Well, maybe you don't see it clearly enough. Let me help you with that."
The TV cord turned into a snake in Doug's hand, promptly biting him in the face. He fell to the ground, screaming, as a number of eyes started emerging all over his body. Everyone else in the room gazed in horror as the Tormentor's laughter echoed through the building.
"Oh, don't worry. He'll live! If anything, i've helped him overcome one of the infinite deficiencies of your miserable species! Don't go away - the fun's just about to begin."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Each of the six remaining contestants suddenly found themselves on a cold stone floor, still half sea-creature and completely unable to breathe. Some flopped around uselessly, some remained still. A wave of black washed over each of them, and, after seemingly an eternity of feeling as if every fiber of their being were exploding in a different direction, they found that they had returned to their normal forms.The black coalesced into a familar form, malicious gaze affixed upon each simultaneously. "That was great!"
One of them found that they were no longer restrained, in spite of the pillars towering over them. They took a step, only to find a massive red worm glaring them in the face. They quickly backed down.
"Oh, right! Let me introduce you to the Spectator! She's supposed to be running another of these things, but there was a little... 'incident'. Don't mind her, she might not horribly mash your bodies together for the sake of art!
"But anyway, you didn't come here to not die horrible deaths. I've got something to show you!"
The contestants felt something similar to being sucked through a hole the size of a pin head, before emerging, levitating in a blue, sunny sky over some sort of amusement park. An enormous statue of a familiar, cartoonish armadillo towered over the park, and several of the attractions seemingly defied the laws of physics (or at least safety precautions) entirely.
"Welcome to Rolloland, the happiest place in the Multiverse! Looks like a great place, doesn't it? The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and everyone's out having a wonderful time! Doesn't it just remind you of being a kid all over again? Well, I'm sure you're going to enjoy your stay! This is one of the most popular amusement parks in the Multiverse, in fact! You'd be surprised how many universes broadcast The Rollo Show. Well, somewhere along the line someone came up with a way to cross universes, and their first thought was 'interdimensional amusement park'. ...Sure, why not?"
The Tormentor clapped a couple of hands. Some clouds immediately began rolling in from the distance, threatening to overtake the sun and ruin the day for a lot of park-goers.
"Now, as I'm sure you know, places like this aren't cheap! You'll all find that I've given you some Rollobucks, the only acceptable currency in Rolloland! Don't spend them all in one place, or you'll regret it. Now, then... Don't you think this place is just way too nice? Don't worry, that'll end by the time those clouds have come in all the way!"
The Tormentor clapped two more hands, and the contestants found themselves standing at the gate to the park. Considering the wide variety of visitors, they virtually blended in.
"Oh, and one more thing." The Tormentor snapped his fingers, and the huge, garish sign over the gate suddenly read not "Rolloland", but "Tormentorland". The giant picture of a grinning Rollo also turned into a grinning Tormentor, giving several thumbs-up at once. With that, he disappeared.