Re: The Fatal Conflict! (GBS2G7) (Round 1: Everybody's Dead!)
08-20-2010, 02:40 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Pinary.
Scott popped into existence just as he started to duck, attempting to escape from the barbarian, and managed to trip himself. He landed in a pile of empty cardboard boxes, thoroughly disoriented, and decided that this might be an excellent chance to relax a moment and get his bearings.
He was in the alley again. This was good, he decided- it meant he wasn't likely to have been seen arriving, and he could move around relatively freely without worrying about running into any of the others. Plus, there might be something around here he could use as a weapon- he'd been cut off by that explosion before he'd had a chance to find anything, and he was at a serious disadvantage without one. He couldn't do magic, he wasn't very strong, he couldn't do... whatever the music-ghost did. He was just a skinny, nervous guy with an unusual disability.
No, he thought to himself, I'm a skinny, nervous guy who has a significant tactical advantage thanks to his disability. Not only can I gain intel, I can work with myself to set traps, create distractions, or get out of trouble. I've got a very real advantage, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let it go to waste.
His motivation bolstered, he stood up, dusted himself off, and strode off down the alley.
A few steps later, he stopped. Someone had written a message on the ground of the alley, scratching it into the stone with another stone.
TURN AROUND
GET GUN
DROP EAVES
ko
He could immediately tell that it was from himself. Not only was it his writing, but his eclectic studies had included a small bit of Lojban, an artificial language used in computer interaction, and while he didn't know much, he knew that ko was the you-imperative pronoun. He'd used it before as a low-level confirmation that something was from him and was important, so, taking himself at his word, he turned around and headed the other way. He wasn't sure where he'd find a gun, but it would evidently be obvious enough that he wouldn't need any more guidance.
Several buildings down, he found it. Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly alone.
Two guys had apparently been in the middle of a drug deal when they died. A few bills were scattered on the ground next to their crumpled bodies, and so were the contents of a small plastic bag. One of the people, presumably the dealer, must have been a bit security-conscious, as he had a pistol sticking out of his waistband.
Scott knew what he had to do, but he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about it. Ignoring a body was one thing, but stealing something from one? It just didn't sit right with him. This had been a person, a living, breathing human being, and he had no right to just take their gun.
I have to, he told himself. If I don't want to end up like him, I need to be able to defend myself, and that means having a weapon. He steeled himself, reached gingerly towards it... and chickened out.
He turned in place for a minute, working up the courage to grab it. "Come on," he muttered. "He was a bad person, he dealt drugs. He probably stole things all the time." He stopped, setting his shoulders. "It's not like he needs it anymore." He reached out, his hand shaking a bit as he reached for it. His hand moved closer, closer...
Just as he wrapped his hand around the butt of the gun, he flashed out of existence, taking it with him.
He arrived a short distance down the alley, clutching the gun and breathing heavily. "Alright, calm down. Deep breaths, relax. Step three was 'drop eaves,' and I can't go jumping away in the middle of that. Calm..."
After a few moments of deep breathing, he checked his watch. There was one other signal, and it was an old one- he was back during his first meeting with the two Zachs. Well, the first one for him, anyway. It was technically their second, but it had come first for him. He'd probably jumped away from the barbarian just a minute or two ago, and that meant that the doctor would likely be arriving at the cafe around now- of course! He could listen in on the conversation from the kitchen or something without having to actually worry about the stress of standing in the room with various intimidating people, thus enabling him to hear more of the conversation!
He hurried down the alley, stopping on the way to scrawl instructions on the ground near a neat pile of cardboard boxes.
The back door of the cafe opened quietly enough, and Scott slipped inside. The kitchen was dimly lit, the only source of light the small window in the door to the cafe proper, but it was still enough for him to move around without banging into anything. Crouching, he made his way to the door, stopping just inside it and listening intently.
Scott popped into existence just as he started to duck, attempting to escape from the barbarian, and managed to trip himself. He landed in a pile of empty cardboard boxes, thoroughly disoriented, and decided that this might be an excellent chance to relax a moment and get his bearings.
He was in the alley again. This was good, he decided- it meant he wasn't likely to have been seen arriving, and he could move around relatively freely without worrying about running into any of the others. Plus, there might be something around here he could use as a weapon- he'd been cut off by that explosion before he'd had a chance to find anything, and he was at a serious disadvantage without one. He couldn't do magic, he wasn't very strong, he couldn't do... whatever the music-ghost did. He was just a skinny, nervous guy with an unusual disability.
No, he thought to himself, I'm a skinny, nervous guy who has a significant tactical advantage thanks to his disability. Not only can I gain intel, I can work with myself to set traps, create distractions, or get out of trouble. I've got a very real advantage, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let it go to waste.
His motivation bolstered, he stood up, dusted himself off, and strode off down the alley.
A few steps later, he stopped. Someone had written a message on the ground of the alley, scratching it into the stone with another stone.
TURN AROUND
GET GUN
DROP EAVES
ko
He could immediately tell that it was from himself. Not only was it his writing, but his eclectic studies had included a small bit of Lojban, an artificial language used in computer interaction, and while he didn't know much, he knew that ko was the you-imperative pronoun. He'd used it before as a low-level confirmation that something was from him and was important, so, taking himself at his word, he turned around and headed the other way. He wasn't sure where he'd find a gun, but it would evidently be obvious enough that he wouldn't need any more guidance.
Several buildings down, he found it. Unfortunately, it wasn't exactly alone.
Two guys had apparently been in the middle of a drug deal when they died. A few bills were scattered on the ground next to their crumpled bodies, and so were the contents of a small plastic bag. One of the people, presumably the dealer, must have been a bit security-conscious, as he had a pistol sticking out of his waistband.
Scott knew what he had to do, but he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about it. Ignoring a body was one thing, but stealing something from one? It just didn't sit right with him. This had been a person, a living, breathing human being, and he had no right to just take their gun.
I have to, he told himself. If I don't want to end up like him, I need to be able to defend myself, and that means having a weapon. He steeled himself, reached gingerly towards it... and chickened out.
He turned in place for a minute, working up the courage to grab it. "Come on," he muttered. "He was a bad person, he dealt drugs. He probably stole things all the time." He stopped, setting his shoulders. "It's not like he needs it anymore." He reached out, his hand shaking a bit as he reached for it. His hand moved closer, closer...
Just as he wrapped his hand around the butt of the gun, he flashed out of existence, taking it with him.
He arrived a short distance down the alley, clutching the gun and breathing heavily. "Alright, calm down. Deep breaths, relax. Step three was 'drop eaves,' and I can't go jumping away in the middle of that. Calm..."
After a few moments of deep breathing, he checked his watch. There was one other signal, and it was an old one- he was back during his first meeting with the two Zachs. Well, the first one for him, anyway. It was technically their second, but it had come first for him. He'd probably jumped away from the barbarian just a minute or two ago, and that meant that the doctor would likely be arriving at the cafe around now- of course! He could listen in on the conversation from the kitchen or something without having to actually worry about the stress of standing in the room with various intimidating people, thus enabling him to hear more of the conversation!
He hurried down the alley, stopping on the way to scrawl instructions on the ground near a neat pile of cardboard boxes.
The back door of the cafe opened quietly enough, and Scott slipped inside. The kitchen was dimly lit, the only source of light the small window in the door to the cafe proper, but it was still enough for him to move around without banging into anything. Crouching, he made his way to the door, stopping just inside it and listening intently.