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| The shotgun sings the song (Ch. 6: Day 3b) http://sonic.spindash.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=461 |
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| Author: | Rusty [ Wed Aug 15, 2012 11:47 pm ] |
| Post subject: | The shotgun sings the song (Ch. 6: Day 3b) |
Somewhere in the sky, an iron general watched the battle unfold from his dark throne. Six tanks roved over a hill, grass clashing with the green hue of their armored frames. One by one they rolled to a stop, halting in a messy line formation. Below, the unsuspecting squad of haggard-looking militia men failed to take notice, a fog of war obscuring their sights—until the first thunderous boom crashed, followed by the explosion. Bedlam fell upon the militia. What was left of them raced as a unit in the opposite direction of the tanks, only to be cut off by heavily armored soldiers, mowing them down with massive miniguns. To the left of the power-armored soldiers came a four-man team of archers, who stood there firing at them. The minigunners continued firing at the remains of the militia. After several second, they leisurely turned their attention to the archers and dealt with them. "This is ridiculous." The soldiers and tanks advanced further, entering a quaint settlement that housed a workshop, a stable, an archery range, and so on. It looked remarkably primitive, and the civilians going about cutting wood and such seemed to fail entirely to take notice of the sophisticated army that was starting to blow their homes to smithereens. A rolling siege weapon, a catapult of sorts, launched a rock at one of the tanks. It bounced off like a grain of sand against steel and landed on one of the civilians (his fellow civilians merely continued chopping wood dutifully). The tank turned and blew it up too. Then, for a time, the tanks and soldiers remained stationary, as if uncertain what to do. The settlement’s barracks had already fallen. Without warning, they turned and departed the way they'd come in, rolling over several remains of structures along the way. The civilians continued chopping wood and bringing the logs into the main structure at the center of the town. Shortly thereafter something large flew over the settlement, a massive shadow flooding its entirely for just a moment. Then came the carpet bombing. Minutes later, nothing remained but a smoldering heap of bodies, destruction, and an assured smell of death, a veritable scene of the apocalypse. ... Player One wins appeared. "I won! I woooon!" howled Dizzy. "You were player two," said General Green. "I woooowhat?" "You were player two. You lost." "I was?" "Yes." "I thought I was player three." "There was no player three. It was just us." "But I..." Dizzy looked back and forth from his commander to his handheld game system. "No, I'm pretty sure I won! It was legit." "You lost, and you are the worst real-time strategy player ever." "Then how come I won?" "I shudder to think how you'd react to losing a real war." "Oh psht don't be silly nobody fights in wars anymore." Skirting the edges of the atmosphere, high above the clouds, a lord of the skies lingered, roving slowly with no apparent or particular destination to guide it. The Sky Queen, a gargantuan airship riddled with weapons from every veritable pore, hung a healthy-enough distance from Starlight City to keep from attracting unwanted attention—not that any such attention would likely amount to much. The airship, easily distinguishable with just a glance as one of the Chimera fleet's flagships, was flanked by others of its kind, though they were smaller in stature and without the sizable armaments of their biggest sister. General Green set his own Game Buddy aside and rose from the throne, or so it had come to be called; the captain’s chair on the bridge could really be known as nothing else when Green sat in it. Though he was draped in a ragged brown cape and his green armor was scuffed with the scars of time and battle, he managed to exhibit no less majesty than if he’d been wearing silk robes. He stopped, turning to look at Dizzy, who was standing there staring at him. The other Capsule Trooper might have started wagging his tail, had he one. "Give him something to do," he told Slaw, an adjacent CT who looked much like him in the post-apocalyptic wardrobe sense. The robot was one of a handful of others dressed like that in the world, and however crummy it made them look, it was something of significance. "... Oh. Well, see, the thing is, I really gotta go... uh... cycle." "He can help you with that." "That's really not at all necessary, thanks—" "I'll help!" said Dizzy with far too much enthusiasm. "..." Having dealt with that, Green slowly stepped closer to one side of the bridge, gazing out the large, wide windows out at the open skies. He cupped his hands at the small of his back, ignoring the activities of random Eggman 'bots handling the whole piloting-the-ship thing, instead choosing to take in the grand scale of the sight beyond the windows, staring almost wistfully. Two Chimera fighter jets arced across the sky but he barely noticed them. It had been a while since he’d commanded anything more than a ragtag unit. He’d been different last time. Here he was again, but things had changed, and in many ways. He wondered if, in some other universe, this was a sky he was not seeing. "General. ... General?" Green turned his line of sight to the Capsule Trooper. "They’re back." All he received was a nod. searchindextag chapter6search |
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| Author: | Mie [ Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:28 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: (Ch. 6: Day 3b) |
Another second, and there'd likely have been no need for announcement, as a pair of resonant voices and the monkeys attached soon drifted into clarity. "And I'm not saying I have a problem with it," protested the strawberry-hued simian emphatically, toting a large, overstuffed duffel under one arm, and her sticker-encrusted hardcase under the other. She walked briskly, at an overtly huffy pace, with no discretion to her footfalls. Surprising precisely no one, Jam was upset. "Well-- Actually. No, that is what I'm saying, but I'm also saying why, Rock? It ain't about whether he's sincere'r not -- I'm sure he does feel bad, and he damn well should, but I'm kinda gettin' tired of all these knives in our backs, y'know? 'We really presenting that target again, just 'cause he noticed he's a douchebag?" |
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| Author: | psikeout [ Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:44 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: (Ch. 6: Day 3b) |
Rock didn't burden himself with carrying a single thing except the clothes he wore, and even then, just barely; still clad in the same getup he wore at the concert the night before, his shorts hung uncharacteristically loose and low, since they weren't constricted by a belt meant to hold knives, guns, and grenades. Nope, he was quite relaxed, and unlike Jam, he trusted the folks on the tour bus to take care of his instrument (which, despite it being a gift, he was not utterly emotionally attached to), and even lazily left his duffel to lay in the hangar, where he'd be more likely to need it anyway. "You're assumin' too much," Rock replied in a voice that, though normal volume, sounded more like murmuring against her higher-pitched, distressed, plaintive verbal discontent. "Never said I was gonna give anybody any targets," he clarified tiredly as he strode into the bridge. |
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| Author: | Mie [ Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:52 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: (Ch. 6: Day 3b) |
With a frustrated huff, Jam quite complacently dumped her stuff on the floor of the bridge, freeing her arms to fold tetchily over her chest. "Whatever you want to call it, you're letting him back in! Into our lives, into our business, which-is-no-small-deal-right-now! That doesn't strike you as like... I dunno, insane?" |
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| Author: | psikeout [ Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:54 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: (Ch. 6: Day 3b) |
"And I said you're assuming too much," replied Rock again, with growing agitation as he stopped, turned, and gave her a wide-eyed-but-beady glare. Surely the general would just love how they brought this fine domestic moment into his layer. |
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| Author: | Rusty [ Thu Aug 16, 2012 1:38 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: (Ch. 6: Day 3b) |
The approaching words managed to move the CT who'd spoken out of the way like he'd been pushed. "Um, here they... here they co--" And there they went right by him. Green, still locked in his hands-behind-the-back stance, merely listened to the exchange. When it began to look like the back-and-forth was getting just a teensy bit too incendiary than was appropriate for their environment, Green made a quick, solid clear of the throat, an action whose objective was as obvious as the sky beside them considering he otherwise had absolutely no need to do it. Technically he may have answered to the two simians for the time being, but right now, they were bringing this discourse, however subtle, into his bridge. As if to help in cooling the waters before they could get hotter, he held up a hand. "So I hear you rocked some people's eardrums." "Hey that sounded like Jam." "Dizzy wait I'm not finished yet wait WAIT DIZZY DAMN IT! F#$%!" Dizzy charged into the bridge, literally screeching across the floor on his rubber soles to a stop beside Jam. He was... holding a towel coated in oil. "Did you bring me anything?" "UGGH WHYY" |
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| Author: | Mie [ Thu Aug 16, 2012 2:00 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: (Ch. 6: Day 3b) |
"Oh, yeah," replied Jam, bouncing irritably on her jutting hip. "Rocked some ears, rocked some boats, chipped some shoulders, ruffled some feathers." She paused, raising her brows both deliberately and implicitly at Rock, adding wryly, "May've even picked up a str--" So much for clever colloquialisms. The fussy primate's train of thought utterly derailed when Dizzy arrived on the scene, as was par the course for nearly any encounter with Dizzy ever. "I-- " With a dumbfounded glance first to Green and then to Rock, Jam, also having failed to change from the previous night, patted down her non-existent pockets, and pursed her lips in consternation. "Brought you... aaauh --" Score. "Guitar pick." It was something, but she still winced as she offered it to him. |
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| Author: | Rusty [ Thu Aug 16, 2012 2:23 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: (Ch. 6: Day 3b) |
Absolutely mind-blown, Dizzy carefully took hold of this sacred object and held it like it were a delicate glass sculpture. "Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh." He stuck the pick into one of his eye orbs, partly blocking the soft green light from one of them. "ARRRR." "That's not what it's for." He grasped it again, stared at it for a second, then began scraping the inside of one of his yellow facial ducts with it as if to remove dirt and grime. "Here. Give it to me. I said give me the damn thing." Snatching it out of the other robot's hold, he reached around with his other hand into some mysterious, unseen compartment, and produced a green yo-yo. "Here, surprise, this is what she really meant to give you. Go away." "Ohmygosh." Dizzy held it aloft, staring in awe at the string as the yo-yo unwound down to the floor. "Coolio." He promptly began skipping with it like a jump rope. Several Eggman-designed robots turned from what they were doing to watch. If Green was embarrassed, he hid it well, though his gratitude for an irate Slaw's return was clear, as he gave a "get him the hell out of here" gesture with a nod of his head. Slaw wrapped an oil-coated hand around the space that was Dizzy's neck, dragging him backwards and getting him tangled up in the yo-yo's string. "wait I wasn't done talking to my friends" "Anyway. May have even picked up a...?" |
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| Author: | psikeout [ Thu Aug 16, 2012 11:44 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: (Ch. 6: Day 3b) |
Rock watched all that unfolded with the same air as one who stands behind an embarrassed mother in the grocery store checkout lanes, whose child is shoving every candy within reach directly into his own nasal cavity while she desperately tries to stop him. That is to say he stood there and stared blankly, but with morbid interest. When Dizzy Spectacle #1,305,280 was complete, he glanced back to Green, shook his head, and looked sideways at Jam. "Nothing yet," he stated firmly. "Ace realized he's on the wrong side, but she," emphasis enhanced with sharp head-tilt gesture, "seems to think I'm dumb enough to let the guy just waltz straight back into our command center when I haven't even gotten to talk with him yet." |
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| Author: | Mie [ Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:03 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: (Ch. 6: Day 3b) |
It was hard not to let oneself become completely and utterly knocked off-course whenever the very special CT decided to delight people with his presence, but somehow, Jam managed to remember what they were talking about, and fell back into step in the conversation missing barely a pointed stare's beat. "I have said nothing about your dumbness," she interjected defensively, bristling. Her voice quickly lost its edge, softening, as she continued with more of a pleading tone. "I just don't understand why you're even talking to the guy. He's shown how shallow loyalty is to him, and how dispensable his fr--" The simian girl broke off abruptly, looking rather ashen, and very, very briefly, subtly embarrassed, though she was quick to jerk her head away for it. "I just don't think he even deserves another chance with us," she added in a subdued rasp. "At anything." |
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| Author: | psikeout [ Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:00 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: (Ch. 6: Day 3b) |
The corners of Rock's mouth creased more deeply. He inhaled, sighed, and turned his gaze tiredly back to the general. One of the primate's limp-hanging arms raised to scratch under his jaw. There was a beat of silence. "And how was your day?" |
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| Author: | Rusty [ Thu Aug 16, 2012 10:08 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: (Ch. 6: Day 3b) |
"Well, I certainly didn't partake in a rock concert," he said with a tinge of something that may have been jealousy, or hurt that he was not invited along for the ride. "I suppose I can have my own later, eventually. I just didn't feel like it." His hands left his back, allowing him to put them on what hips he had. "So that cat-dog-thing still draws breath, does he?" He still wasn't entirely up to date on the inner workings of their situation--just what basics he needed in order to know who to blow up, and such related things. He paused briefly, considering this. "Interesting." It seemed that was all he had to say regarding Ace. |
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| Author: | Mie [ Thu Aug 16, 2012 11:06 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: (Ch. 6: Day 3b) |
"Interesting's a word for it," Jam agreed loftily, yet she didn't seem to have much else to say on the matter. She sniffed in the silence that followed, shuffling her weight from foot to foot, and then added, "I'd've liked to have you there, honestly. Didn't know Chimera's fanclub was gonna be there." A moment was permitted for that last statement to percolate under the reddish girl's pointed stare. "The entire Chun-Nan crew, plus a slew a' new additions, including ex-Sheriff Head-up-my-ass Clark. All there, I guess for some retarded attempt at recon, or something, I dunno. Couple of 'em almost started something when they busted in backstage. ...Kinda wish they'd had the balls." |
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| Author: | psikeout [ Fri Aug 17, 2012 10:16 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: (Ch. 6: Day 3b) |
"Can we not talk about it?" Rock interrupted Jam with a disquieting look that would have been pleading if he didn't seem so... darkly firm about it. "Maybe you haven't noticed, but things are actually goin' pretty well for us." He deposited his butt in a nearby leather seat in front of one of the many consoles, and swiveled to face the two. "We haven't lost any units to Eggman in days, G.U.N.'s stuck in the UF, the rest of the world's getting rebuilt, and those people just proved they can't do anything even when they've got us six inches away." He raised brows and his open hands, then let his palms plop soundly on the arms of his chair, as if to punctuate his sentence. "We oughta celebrate, not gripe." |
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| Author: | Mie [ Fri Aug 17, 2012 10:48 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: (Ch. 6: Day 3b) |
For several moments, Jam just stood there, staring with subtly furrowed brows — She may have even initially looked a little surprised, though that was quick to pass. It looked as though there was something bubbling beneath her fraudulent surface of calm, but if there was, she didn't say it. In fact, all she had to say about anything Rock had brought up, was, "Okay." And then, a moment's punctuation after, "I have to go take care of some stuff. I'll catch you guys later." Turning succinctly, she left. |
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