Feb 01 00:22:04 ** Taki Wars, Episode 8. Nick fought with Nick, and Nick won. Which Nick? The Nicked Nick! Dong dong the nicked Nick o/~ ... and then he was knocked out. It's an undeterminate time later, when he awakes, tied securely to a stretcher, and being pushed along by someone behind him- he can't move his head back to see. Start. * Nick opens his eyes a crack. "Where.. am I?" The scenery looks like a hopsital. Or maybe an asylum. Just as your eyes flutter open, you're pushed around a turn, which gives a grand view of a long hallway, a dozen doors in all, split along either side of the hallway. Do you like it, Mr Anderson? Expect this to be your home for a very long while. * Nick strains against his bonds, making absolutely no headway. "You'll.. nngh, you'll slip soon enough." * Teacher chuckles. "I like your spirit, your fire and persistence." Hang on to them, Mr Anderson, else you will drown in insanity and end up like your twin. You have such potential. I would hate to see it wasted by a weak will that breaks easily. As they pass by one of the doors, the stretcher stops. There's a number painted on it - 10. That boy you killed lived here, for three years. That very room. * Nick bares his teeth, keeping up his struggle. "I give it a week before I'm gone and you're dead." * Teacher clucks his tongue. "Ah, what it is to be young. But we are not going there yet." * Teacher resumes pushing. Let.. me.. go! No. There's a small eruption from farther up- the door with a #7 painted on it glows for a moment, then flames spill out of the hinges like water. * Teacher stops the stretcher, and watches. He makes a pleased sound. * Nick watches as well, eyes widening. "..." The door starts to melt- and a hand sticks through the hole before a fine mesh of blue-white beams of energy appear in front of it. There's a shriek, and the hand is pierced by the beams before being pulled back in. The cry sounds much too familiar... But that's drowned out by gushes of fire blasting out from the gaps between the mesh. * Nick grinds his teeth, straining harder against the restraints. It's fascinating. I have my theories on why #7 is able to manifest such abilites, but, unfortunately, I have not been able to safely subdue him enough to take any accurate readings. Nick breaks a sweat! But not the restraints. This is what you do? You *experiment* on.. on me? After a moment, the fire from the doorway dies down. Please. This is not an experiment- this is a path which can have but one result. The birth of God. You're insane! The fire says that I am not. * Teacher resumes pushing the stretcher. * Nick continues his fight against the restraints, but falls silent. As they get closer to the #7 entryway, the mesh of beams becomes clearer- a fly would be hard-pressed to get through. What's beyond it, though, is more attention grabbing. An identical twin to Nick, except naked, and with red hair. He looks exhausted, and the bare room inside looks burnt. The twin opens his eyes wide, mouths something, and then flame comes rushing out again- too late, as the Teacher pushes the stretcher beyond the flames. ..This is all insane. They reach the end of the hallway- a set of double-doors that swing inwards. * Teacher pushes the stretcher, and Nick on it, through. Inside, it looks like an office, the kind of grand, lavish office a CEO would have. There's a click, latch, and clang, behind Nick, and suddenly, his restraints pop off. * Nick springs off the stretcher quickly, landing smoothly on his feet and looking all around the room. The door behind them has been barred and locked- by the Teacher, who's in a old-looking black martial arts gi. There's bookshelves, and a lavish desk. Interestingly, the bulk of the floor is a tatami mat. * Nick lunges for the Teacher, hands outstretched. * Teacher leaps over Nick, flipping over him in a lazy arc. "Tsk, tsk, tsk." You're eager for the task. * Nick whirls around, eyes hard. "Task?" Or an opportunity. I suspect you would view it as the latter. I said you had potential, boy, but now you are trash. If you are lucky, and retain your sanity, you may become a god. But for now... I will show you how inferior you are. You will beg me to take you in and prepare you for your path of godhood. I'll die first. * Teacher extends a single hand, and makes a 'come-hither' motion. "All you have to do is hit me." * Nick leaps at the Teacher, actually getting a fair bit of air as his fist cocks back. * Teacher sidesteps him, almost like he didn't have to pay attention to Nick. * Nick rolls with it, springing off from the ground to attack from a different angle. * Teacher thrusts out a finger as Nick closes, and a light touch from a finger sends Nick careening off course. Stop. I've seen enough. * Nick crashes hard this time, but pulls himself to his feet quickly enough. He tenses again, and lashes out with a kick aimed at the Teacher's sensitive region. * Teacher sighs, as if expecting him not to listen. "When I say stop, I mean STOP!" * Teacher grabs the leg, and swings Nick into the desk headfirst, splintering it. A black, round thing somehow lands in Nicks' hand, after he comes to a stop. * Nick groans, struggling to lift his head up from the ruined desk. He regards the black thing in a far-off, glazed fashion. It's smooth, and oval, and it looks like it can be rotated. It had a belt-clip on one side, too. ..The hell? * Teacher eyes narrow. "The spring." He starts striding torwards Nick. * Nick wakes up a little more, and starts fumbling with the device. It beeps a few times, and then suddenly Nick gets thin, and he dissapears- just as Teachers hand swipes through where he was a moment ago. Funny... everything seems so warped, thin... and then... (Gimme a bod roll, +2.) * Dicesuke throws the bones for Nick (2d6+2) and gets 8. (Ker-failed. No skills apply?) ( Just a sec. ) ( I forgot to clear up one little detail. ^_^; ) ( Swimming would work. ) ( ... Free Diving, even. ) ( Man, you're both water-babies. ) ... the scenery, and the surrounding landscapes stabilize and gain focus and correct proportion. There's a beach far off, and water- lots of water- below you. The beach has a house near it. ( So, yeah. Feel free to act/swim/dive/not drown. ) Feb 01 01:18:33 End.