Where chaos stops and more chaos ensues. Where Filia plays the electric keyboard.
Where anything goes.
-//o_O\\7 *Home of the Awful, Mediocre and Pathetic* -//u_u\\7
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Where chaos stops and more chaos ensues. Where Filia plays the electric keyboard. Where anything goes. -//o_O\\7 *Home of the Awful, Mediocre and Pathetic* -//u_u\\7 |
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Sunday, February 15, 2004 - The Wayward, Part V.ii - 20. I'd better bolt for it, or I'll be screwed. "All right," demanded the mysterious, rough yet toned voice from somewhere behind the piles of rubble, "Come out here ... put your weapons down and your hands on your head!" Accosted by a mysterious stranger while exploring the ruin of a destroyed building of some kind, my first instinct was to flee, not being very combative myself. But what if someone had a gun aimed right for my head, or was armed and ready to beat me senseless and leave me to die ... or worse. I did fear the first time I encountered that voiceless creature back there on the cliff ... but without the inability to understand anything it was saying, I felt as if the threat it posed seemed a lesser one, one which ultimately proved to be illusionary. But there I was, with my back against the metallic wall of the room that remained. I feared. "If you didn't know, I can see you, mister!" And now, there was nothing to fear. My pursuer had just revealed his ineptitude, "Don't make a false move, or I'll have you dead in a second!" Heh. Yeah, right. I might not be the most seductive little temptress this side of the planet but at least it was pretty obvious, from my dressing if nothing else, that I was well and truly not a 'mister'. And that meant whoever it was that was hiding in the ruin did not see me at all. What a pathetic pretence, A little more at ease, I took a slight step back, hoping to slide to the corner and behind the metallic room ... When suddenly, a piece of rock, brick or shot of some kind came hurtling from behind the destroyed wall, heading straight for ... for the glass panels to the left of me. With a crash that sounded deafening in the stifling stillness of the ruin, the projectile smashed through two shards of glass that still remained standing like stalagtites at the base of the shattered chamber. Woefully off target, I must say, but thrown with the strength of the fastest bowler or pitcher I could imagine. "I'll have you!" exclaimed the voice, still behind the wall, as a last piece of glass clattered to the floor. Pricking up my ears, I concentrated in an effort to determine just where he was coming from ... only to notice a small shadow gradually growing from behind the wall, accompanied by the sound of heavy trudging footsteps. You know, if I had a weapon, you'd be the one who'll be dead before they can move, mister. Sensing my last opportunity to flee before the figure emerged from behind the wall, I felt adrenaline surge throughout my starved little legs as, at the last second, with a deft leap or two I made it to the corner of the room then flung myself around it ... to the accompaniment of those heavy footsteps now making their way forward at a hasty and reckless pace, in pursuit of their now-missing prey. "Don't play games with me! I can read your every step ..." cried the man, before his footsteps drew to a standstill as he appeared before me. From the vantage point of the small nook behind the corner, I could watch him as he paced about, scratching his head wonderingly as he searched for any traces of his target. "Hmph ... damn right ... I was sure I saw something!" the man reasserted himself grumpily as he paused to survey the bit of blasted ruin before him. Dressed in a plain shirt and trousers, with brown hair that just covered his ears neatly trimmed and combed, and wearing a straw hat to shield his eyes from the sun, he looked like an explorer or adventurer of some kind, complete with handy utility belt strung around his waist. Or maybe he was just a sophisticated-looking construction worker of some sort. "Come to think of it," he murmured again, unable to think without voicing his thoughts, "I haven't seen this part of the building before. Maybe ... that's where I should be searching. Hmm ..." His footsteps now drew a regular pattern, one where they gradually sounded louder ... and louder. He was walking toward my position! But ... oh, how could I be so careless! I should have fled while he was busy muttering to himself. Now, although he still had not noticed me, if I attempted to dart out of my hiding place beside the frame of the door he would most certainly see me in an instant, and if he was armed ... But still ... the steps, drawing nearer and nearer. The time for making a decision was running out! To bolt, and potentially be attacked in my escape, or to stay, and be caught for certain? I could not afford to fall into the hands of any thieves or criminals at a point in time where I haven't even found my bearings. And maybe ... hopefully ... he would be caught be surprise long enough for me to escape him. Clutching the door frame with my left hand, my right hand over the door itself, I readied myself to dash off in what might be my last escape. I silently counted, three, two, one ... As I pushed myself off, I could not help but to pathetically whimper, "Help ..." "I think I shall ... what? Hey, hey you! Stop! Stop and be apprehended, you law-breaking trespasser ..." I bore little heed to anything he said, as clutching my hair in my hands I fled behind the room, tears of desperation already coursing down my dusty cheeks. As I rounded the corner, so that now I was at the side of the room directly opposite the door, I heard the man's authoritative voice ringing out again, "You, stop where you are right now! Don't come any closer ... I can be dangerous in a fight," Knowing that he wasn't referring to me, for a split second the thoughts coursed through my head as to what mysterious stranger had suddenly manifested in front of him just in time to save my hide. And then, unable to restrain my curiosity, I peeked round the corner. And of course, it was ... it. "All right, you asked for it!" cried the man as he raised his fists, backing away as the creature slowly approached, "I'm not holding back! You'll regret this!" Perhaps it was indeed listening to me in some strange way, despite not being gifted with organs of hearing of any kind. Still swathed in the concealing laboratory coat, it edged forward until it forced the man out of my line of sight, from my position behind the corner of the room. And then it struck. For a moment, the only noise I heard was that of a rustling of clothes, as presumably the man swung his fist forward to strike. But that was followed by no retaliatory movement of any kind. It was only an eerie silence, a stillness. "What? No, no, I didn't do it!" rang out the voice of the man all of a sudden, this time not in a threatening tone of brinkmanship but with the scratchy dryness of one who could find little feeling in his body ... beyond the chilling pervasiveness of fear, "S... stay away from me! Stop doing that, you ... no! There must be a mistake! I wouldn't do such a ... argh! Stop messing with my head!" So, perhaps that was the creature's defense ... or offense, perhaps. Pure, unadulterated fear ... but the fear of what, as experienced by this unlucky pursuer, was beyond my knowledge. Hearing the tortured cries of the suddenly braveless attacker, I felt curious enough to step forward from my hiding place, but only past a few steps, upon which I felt unexplainably nauseous. Best not to interrupt my guide-turned-follower-turned-defender, as it did its ... well ... thing. "Argh ... ugh ..." groaned the man, most likely contorted in some state of agony as he was engulfed by waves upon waves of torment, "This is horrible ... I can't take this ... I know it isn't real, but ... just get away from me! Stay away!" "I think that's enough ..." I thought aloud as I tried my very fervent best to imagine what kind of horrible tortures that stranger might be going through ... not because I would like to experience them myself but, well, I guess I am human after all, despite how that may sometimes seem rather unlikely. Sure enough, the creature hovered backward, completely into my line of sight, accompanied by nothing other than the agonised scratching of fingers against the earth, by a man so wrecked by horrors so unimaginable he could do that and nothing else. "Oh ... gasp ..." wheezed the man, still behind the corner, as he struggled to elocute his words, "Is someone ... over there?" Perhaps my timid and unintended words might have momentarily pierced the damning suffering he was experiencing, like a ray of heavenly light piercing the gloomy clouds that were gradually gathering at a distance not too far away from the ruins. "Help ..." Help. I do so recall needing that but a few moments ago, when this very man who was, or claimed to be, after my life and limb had been pursuing me, and it seemed painfully ironic now that the situation had been so drastically reversed. Perhaps it was my natural kindness which had remained dormant all through my childhood, or simply my conscience pricking up at me for causing an unintended amount of pain to someone else, that I did find the courage and determination to step forward, to see the gaping eyes of that same man glancing expectantly in my direction. "I ... oh, a kid?" he gasped as he glared at me looking extremely surprised, before struggling hard to pull himself into a position vaguely resembling a sitting one. "Oh, my hat!" he cried as, feeling the top of his head and failing to find the expected straw hat, he somehow found energy enough to lunge behind him to snatch up the cap and pop it over his now somewhat ruffled hair before turning back to face me again. "Er, are you all right?" I murmured, not knowing what to say. He was the first stranger I had encountered who was actually intent on speaking to me, and thus, naturally, I was at a loss for words. "Aah!" he yelled suddenly, before quickly laying himself down on the floor again, "Hurry, save yourself, before the monster gets you! Leave me ... let me die!" "You're not going to die ..." I muttered, sighing to myself at the ludicrosity of his play-acting, "In fact, you don't look anywhere remotely near dying." "But, that creature, it just ..." And then, with incredible ease from one who had been bemoaning such pain, he sat up and glared straight at me, "Say, you wouldn't happen to be its owner, would you?" "Owner?" I repeated, glancing sideways to see the creature simply staying there in its stillness, not moving or doing anything, threatening or otherwise, "It kind of listens to me ... so maybe you could say that, perhaps ..." Upon which, my train of thought was immediately interrupted by a loud whack, as the rather lively man crashed himself to the floor once again. "Oh ... this is embarrassing, so embarrassing ... this is embarrassment manifested!" groaned, or whined, as it seemed, the man as he ground himself to the floor, beating his fists against the blasted rubble to no pain, apparently, "I ... Io Aoi, intrepid explorer, renowned hunter of criminals, treasures, and ladies' hearts, most famous adventurer in the whole of Va World, humbled by a mere girl and her pet. Grr ... it must be divine justice, sent to plague me for my undeniable superiority over any opposition I have faced in my life thus far ..." Ladies' hearts? Mere girl? Undeniable superiority? Why, this person must have the most incredibly advanced case of delusions of grandeur I have ever seen ... thus far. But while his ramblings, his connotations and his chauvinistic attitude left much to be desired, one thing stood out ... "Va World? Where's that?" I murmured aloud, heedless of the degree of self-torment he was driving himself into. "Wha ... did you just ask 'where's that'?" Io Aoi, intrepid explorer and hunter of all manner of things inquired as he broke out of his stupor of stupidity, "Are you a spy or a thief or some other sort of villain from Consonance who's come to bring plague and suffering to this noble land? If that is so, I must kill you!" "You don't seem to be in a position to kill anyone ... including yourself ..." I commented rather blatantly, an obvious fact seeing as to how he had not even achieved the task of getting onto his feet, one he accepted rather dismayedly, "Anyway, I'm not a spy or a thief or anything ... I'm just lost." "You don't even know which country you live in?" he grimaced, trying his best to imagine someone even more stupid than he was. Well, presumably he thought himself to be a very intelligent sort of person, but that was beside the point. "No, just that ... I don't know where I am. As in, well, 'Va World' and 'Consonance' or whatever you call them aren't even on my map, if you get what I mean. As in, I'm really, really lost," I offered, in an attempt to get out of a potentially sticky situation. "But you speak the same language, and you've a pet ..." he considered, scratching his hair under his straw hat, "You're telling me you don't live here?" "As to why we can understand each other, I don't know ..." I murmured, before glancing to the creature beside me again. It hadn't moved from its spot. "But the ... monster ... over there isn't really my pet ... it just started following me. Not more than a few minutes ago, in fact. Before that, I had followed it here. And it gave me a fright when I first saw it too, if you'd like to know." "You say you followed it here ... that's an interesting story," commented Io as finally, it occured to him that he was not mauled as severely as he believed and was actually able to get to his feet and dust himself off, "This place is government property. I'm under orders, from the government itself, to investigate the cause of its destruction and to salvage whatever I can. And, of course," he added with a glint in his eye, "to arrest anyone who might impede me in the process of it." "As I said before, you're not in a position to arrest anyone" I muttered, not particularly impressed by his attempt to sound threatening, "But you're in luck. Actually, I was wondering if you could take me to the nearest town so I could find my way home from there ..." "Well ..." he remarked as he stuck a finger into his hat in an attempt to tip it, but it wasn't really one that looked that it could be tipped, "I know my manly charms are a bit too much for some young girls to handle ('Wha ...'), but I'm not bringing underage children around with me. I've got a reputation to protect, and I don't want rumours or accusations flying around later. You got that, girlie?" Girlie? What the heck? And while I didn't mind that much how he thought I looked younger than the legal age what I did mind was the fact he believed I was bent on getting involved in some sordid relationship with him at any time. For that matter, he was not only a pathetic liar, but a presumptious buffoon and a pretentious oaf with an overblown sense of self-confidence. But instead of replying to him in the rudest fashion I could summon, I decided that it was best to be diplomatic and try to actually provide him with a good reason, apart from my (non-existent, but, if any, thoroughly unintended) sexual appeal, why he should offer me a lift. "Hmm ... you said you were looking for things left behind after ... whatever happened here happened," I offered, making no reference whatsoever to his unnecessary comments earlier, "This ... thing ... here (indicating the creature, likely that it did not mind being referred to in any way) actually led me to this place. Maybe it comes from here ... and maybe you should bring it with you." "You're right ..." he murmured as he stroked his clean-shaven chin, "And since you claim it listens to you ... ah, well, of course! You needn't inviegle me into having you on my carriage with such a clever ploy, girlie ('I wasn't trying, mister.'). But I'm warning you, if I bring you with me, the palace's elite constables will want to have a few words with you as to what you are doing on restricted government property." "Heh ... so you want to arrest me." I chuckled as I read into the obvious, "And what if I refuse?" "Then I suggest you get out of here, right now," he gave me a threatening grin, flashing a set of perfect ... ly unwashed teeth, "Before I even remember that you were here." "Then I have no choice," I replied nonchalantly, paying no heed to his toothy yet toothless threat. I weighed the possibilities, and, without needing much time at all, found one side to be much heavier than the other. "Then arrest me. Better you bring me to some place with civilisation, than I end up lost in the middle of ... Va World, or whatever, without food or water. Besides, the police, or constables, whatever you call them, are supposed to guide people, and maybe they can help me find my way home. So how about it?" "All in good time, lass," Io remarked with an irritating wave of his finger, "For starters, why don't you be a doll ('Stop it ...') and help me get the stuff I find onto my carriage? I don't think I've explored this part of the building yet, and this room here looks ... interesting." "It's locked, but I think I can get it open," I murmured, fondling the ring hiding in the depths of my pocket, before shooting him a sharp glance, "And stop treating me like an inferior being just because I'm a girl." "But you are ..." he added matter-of-factly, as he gave the doorknob a sharp wrench, and found it to be exactly as I said. Tightly locked. "Shut up." He hadn't listened to me. - Your adventure ants, er, Ents, um, ands, uh, Ann's ... oh forget it. It doesn't. - posted by Charlotte | 3:32 pm
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Disclaimer : The Slayers and Filia Ul Copt and all images thereof are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi. I don't own any of them, although if I had a choice I would want Filia ... ~//n_n\\7 |
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