Re: The $300,000 Fight-A-Thon! [Round One: Storage Park!]
09-21-2012, 04:17 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Flummox.
“Well, well, well.”
Axys descended from his crate tower, slowly and step by step, posture infused with swagger. Felus hissed and coiled, ready to pounce. He knew that he could not abandon this conflict and leave Ironjaw or Axys to either of their deaths without breaking the geas and losing his powers. Yet he could hear mountains of crates toppling behind him, crashing into the floor and spreading mayhem, chain reactions somehow spreading from one warehouse to another. Surely Axys could hear it, surely he could see it from his high ground on his tower. What the hell was he thinking?
[color=#P1914]Ironjaw stood up and Axys jumped the distance of the last few crates.[/color]
“Where do you think you’re going?” said Axys.
[color=#P1914]Ironjaw was holding the plasma rifle at his shoulder. “Don’t move any closer.”[/color]
“I don’t have to,” said Axys.
“You’re crazy,” said Felus, looking over his shoulder. He couldn’t see any destruction, but he could hear it. “You’ll die too.”
[color=#P1914]“I could just kill you and walk on by,” said Ironjaw.[/color]
“Don’t!” said Felus, knowing the consequences if he stood by and watched a death.
[color=#P1914]“I could!”[/color]
“But you won’t,” said Axys, taking a step closer. “You won’t destroy the only person who’s experienced the same things you have, who feels the way you do. You’re lonely,” Axys’s face was directly in front of Ironjaw’s, “and you don’t have the guts.”
[color=#P1914]Ironjaw’s eye twitched. He snarled and long teeth snapped inches from Axys’s face, plucking a few whiskers. Axys flinched but stood firm. Ironjaw was shaking visibly and he tried to push Axys away, but it was a weak push and Axys just grinned.[/color]
“Do you,” Axys said as his tail hand crept up and positioned itself over Ironjaw’s heart, “do you remember the scientists? Do you remember the experiments? Bright lights, the smell of antiseptic?”
The tail hand began to beat in time with Ironjaw’s heart, extracting his emotions. Ironjaw shivered and stared blankly past Axys’s face.
“Do you remember watching your fellow inmates die? Do you remember wondering every day if you would come back tomorrow? Do you remember not caring if you didn’t? At least it would be over. The torment would be over, right?”
[color=#P1914]“I…” he whispered, “I remember.”[/color]
Axys grinned wider. This brought back unpleasant memories for him too, but hell, he was hungry. And it was worth it, to see Ironjaw like this, to know he’d probably cracked the hardest eggshell in this goddamn game.
“Do you remember the cold touch of chilled antiseptic? The sting of a syringe? Oh, but that wasn’t the bad part of an injection. Wasn’t that the good part?”
[color=#P1914]A tear slid down Ironjaw’s face. But Ironjaw never cried. Were sharks even capable of crying?[/color]
“Do you remember the cell? Was it damp and dark? Oh, but you’re a shark. You can see in the dark. Doesn’t everyone look so afraid when they can’t see?”
“Stop it!” Felus pounced, hitting Axys in the side of the head. Axys shouted and tried unsuccessfully to stab Felus with his arms. His tail whipped around his body, leaving Ironjaw to crumple to his knees. Felus felt a hand close around him, was lifted up, and found himself staring into Axys’s eyes.
<font color="#336600">“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” One sword arm rose to skewer Felus when a nearby crate slammed into the ground, sending a sheet of paper clips skidding over the floor. Axys dropped Felus and began to run, leaping onto stacks of crates even as they began to lean and fall. Felus spun around, looking for Ironjaw, and found him in the shadow of a dangerously leaning stack of crates.
He sighed. Heroes save, they do not kill. He was superman, he had super strength. He placed his front paws on Ironjaw’s side and heaved. Nothing happened.
The first crate fell and Felus had time to think, a small group of believers makes for a tenuous faith. </font>
“Well, well, well.”
Axys descended from his crate tower, slowly and step by step, posture infused with swagger. Felus hissed and coiled, ready to pounce. He knew that he could not abandon this conflict and leave Ironjaw or Axys to either of their deaths without breaking the geas and losing his powers. Yet he could hear mountains of crates toppling behind him, crashing into the floor and spreading mayhem, chain reactions somehow spreading from one warehouse to another. Surely Axys could hear it, surely he could see it from his high ground on his tower. What the hell was he thinking?
[color=#P1914]Ironjaw stood up and Axys jumped the distance of the last few crates.[/color]
“Where do you think you’re going?” said Axys.
[color=#P1914]Ironjaw was holding the plasma rifle at his shoulder. “Don’t move any closer.”[/color]
“I don’t have to,” said Axys.
“You’re crazy,” said Felus, looking over his shoulder. He couldn’t see any destruction, but he could hear it. “You’ll die too.”
[color=#P1914]“I could just kill you and walk on by,” said Ironjaw.[/color]
“Don’t!” said Felus, knowing the consequences if he stood by and watched a death.
[color=#P1914]“I could!”[/color]
“But you won’t,” said Axys, taking a step closer. “You won’t destroy the only person who’s experienced the same things you have, who feels the way you do. You’re lonely,” Axys’s face was directly in front of Ironjaw’s, “and you don’t have the guts.”
[color=#P1914]Ironjaw’s eye twitched. He snarled and long teeth snapped inches from Axys’s face, plucking a few whiskers. Axys flinched but stood firm. Ironjaw was shaking visibly and he tried to push Axys away, but it was a weak push and Axys just grinned.[/color]
“Do you,” Axys said as his tail hand crept up and positioned itself over Ironjaw’s heart, “do you remember the scientists? Do you remember the experiments? Bright lights, the smell of antiseptic?”
The tail hand began to beat in time with Ironjaw’s heart, extracting his emotions. Ironjaw shivered and stared blankly past Axys’s face.
“Do you remember watching your fellow inmates die? Do you remember wondering every day if you would come back tomorrow? Do you remember not caring if you didn’t? At least it would be over. The torment would be over, right?”
[color=#P1914]“I…” he whispered, “I remember.”[/color]
Axys grinned wider. This brought back unpleasant memories for him too, but hell, he was hungry. And it was worth it, to see Ironjaw like this, to know he’d probably cracked the hardest eggshell in this goddamn game.
“Do you remember the cold touch of chilled antiseptic? The sting of a syringe? Oh, but that wasn’t the bad part of an injection. Wasn’t that the good part?”
[color=#P1914]A tear slid down Ironjaw’s face. But Ironjaw never cried. Were sharks even capable of crying?[/color]
“Do you remember the cell? Was it damp and dark? Oh, but you’re a shark. You can see in the dark. Doesn’t everyone look so afraid when they can’t see?”
“Stop it!” Felus pounced, hitting Axys in the side of the head. Axys shouted and tried unsuccessfully to stab Felus with his arms. His tail whipped around his body, leaving Ironjaw to crumple to his knees. Felus felt a hand close around him, was lifted up, and found himself staring into Axys’s eyes.
<font color="#336600">“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” One sword arm rose to skewer Felus when a nearby crate slammed into the ground, sending a sheet of paper clips skidding over the floor. Axys dropped Felus and began to run, leaping onto stacks of crates even as they began to lean and fall. Felus spun around, looking for Ironjaw, and found him in the shadow of a dangerously leaning stack of crates.
He sighed. Heroes save, they do not kill. He was superman, he had super strength. He placed his front paws on Ironjaw’s side and heaved. Nothing happened.
The first crate fell and Felus had time to think, a small group of believers makes for a tenuous faith. </font>