09-05-2016, 09:18 PM
She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She went to face it, but when she turned around all she saw was teeth.
The woman bolted outright, water splashing off of her. She whipped around, looking back and forth, a wild panic in her eyes. The water sloshed and splattered as she scrambled to her knees, the slick marble causing her to slip and stumble as she made her way to the lip of the basin. A stream of water tumbled into the pool below, the sound of it filling her ears. She threw her arms over the side of the pool and coughed up a few teaspoons of water, her dreads dripping to the white tile below.
“Ugh,” she managed, her head spinning, “the fuck.”
She grabbed the rim of the basin to push herself up, only to hear the clink of her metallic hand on the stone. She stared at it for a moment in confusion and shock. She strained to recall where it had come from, and only after several moments of digging through the fog did she remember the Arena. It had been Gildarts. She had taken it as a souvenir… wait, no, it was a replacement for her own arm. It was kind of both.
She blinked hard a few times, and looked to the yellow ribbon on her other forearm. Then the pale, alien head dangling from her belt. She pushed her hand up through the bottom of her shirt, and felt the ominous, pulsing veins on her belly.
“Oh yeah,” she said gruffly. “Gross.”
She rolled herself over with a grunt, flopping down into the water with both of her legs in front over her, and her elbows dipping backwards over the ledge behind her. She looked up at the large statue in front of her, just the same as it had been the first time she was here.
The Fountain. Omni’s place of revival. Of rebirth. She closed her eyes, took a breath breath and exhaled, allowing her chin to drop. “How the hell did I die?” she wondered aloud, attempting to rake through what little memory she had of the time before she died. She knew she had joined the Colosseum, just to burn some time before she could return to the Dunes and pick up Caret. She knew she had stomped some serious ass. Then, she supposed, she lost? When? To who?
She slapped her hand against the water in frustration, “What the hell happened?”
Groaning, she pushed herself up, then gracelessly tumbled out of the pool and onto the tile below with a wet slap. As she struggled to right herself, she noticed how weak she felt. It was like somebody had replaced all of her muscles with rubber bands, barely managing to keep her bones from falling apart.
“And why do I feel like SHIT!?” She shouted into the floor. She had never heard of any of the symptoms she was suffering from. Primes used to get killed, be reborn, and roll right back into fights. Why was this happening to her? “What’d I do to piss you off, Omni? Was I not fucking entertaining enough for you!?” Staggering to her feet she looked to the sky. “Why you pulling this shit just for me? You go and change the way shit works again, you bastard?!”
Grumbling, she looked over the horizon, searching for a gate that seemed appropriately sandy. When she couldn’t locate it by sight, she scoffed in frustration and pulled out her phone. It was soaked, and refused to turn on. “Oh come on!” she barked at it. “Why did I have to know water killed electronics, huh? Why was I blessed with that knowledge?”
Sighing, she clasped both hands over the device and funnelled omnilium into it, a prismatic sheen shining between her fingers. She applied a flippant expression to her lips and popped her hip as she waited, the image of a repaired, water-resistant phone in her mind. “Yo, Omni, while we’re at it, can we make it so that fixing broken shit is less irritating? Like, I get it, we don’t want people doing that all over the place, but c’mon, man. This is stupid as shit.” After several exasperated minutes, the screen flickered to life.
“Finally,” she said, a smile gracing her for the first time since she awoke. She tapped the small map icon on her home screen, held it to her face, and almost yelled into it. “Where are the Endless Dunes?” She spoke each word forcefully and with a small gap after it, as if there was a chance it would misunderstand her.
The device cheerfully responded, “Working!” before displaying directions towards the gate.
She spun in place a few times, her nose down as she stared at the screen. When she aligned herself with the gate, she looked up and strode willfully towards it. She then opened up her contacts and tapped the single entry under them.
The phone rang in her ear a few times before she heard the receiver click. “Caret?” she said hopefully, “You there kid?” There was a long pause, dead air filling the line. “You there?”
“... Bandit?” a young woman’s voice finally answered, “Is that you?”
“Yo, what’s up? I’m headed to the dunes now.”
The phone’s speaker could barely handle the volume, and the speaker crackled. “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!? I thought you were dead!”
The woman pulled the phone away from her ear, her brows scrunching in confusion. “Woah, woah, woah, woah! What you freaking out about?”
Caret’s voice went from red hot to ice cold, her words spit from between clenched teeth. “It’s been six months, Bandit. Six months.”
The bandit’s head ticked back, “Chh, I was at the area for like, a day.”
“The hell you have!” the young woman spat back.
The raider’s attitude suddenly shifted to aggression, “Yo, Omnitime, you little shit! I ain’t got any control over that! I take as long as I take, you got me?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” the secondary snapped back.
“Omnitime, girl. Certain people, certain places, they go faster or slower compared to other places and whatever. It’s like everything else in the Omniverse, Caret: it doesn’t make any fucking sense. Get used to it.”
The young mechanic sighed, “God I was so worried. I had given up on you, you ass! I thought you were gone.”
“Not rid of me yet, fucker.” The woman smirked.
“Well, I’m back at it. Still living at Shep’s place.” Her tone warmed considerably, “I still got your truck.”
The smirk grew into a grin, “Ooo, my big, sexy, truck. Thanks for keeping it running for me.”
“What else was I supposed to do? Scrap it?” she laughed.
The bandit stood before the gate, peering through into the sandy wastes, the burning sun waiting for her on the other side. “Alright girl, I’m at the gate.”
“Ok! I guess I’ll see you soon!”
“See you soon, kid.”
The woman bolted outright, water splashing off of her. She whipped around, looking back and forth, a wild panic in her eyes. The water sloshed and splattered as she scrambled to her knees, the slick marble causing her to slip and stumble as she made her way to the lip of the basin. A stream of water tumbled into the pool below, the sound of it filling her ears. She threw her arms over the side of the pool and coughed up a few teaspoons of water, her dreads dripping to the white tile below.
“Ugh,” she managed, her head spinning, “the fuck.”
She grabbed the rim of the basin to push herself up, only to hear the clink of her metallic hand on the stone. She stared at it for a moment in confusion and shock. She strained to recall where it had come from, and only after several moments of digging through the fog did she remember the Arena. It had been Gildarts. She had taken it as a souvenir… wait, no, it was a replacement for her own arm. It was kind of both.
She blinked hard a few times, and looked to the yellow ribbon on her other forearm. Then the pale, alien head dangling from her belt. She pushed her hand up through the bottom of her shirt, and felt the ominous, pulsing veins on her belly.
“Oh yeah,” she said gruffly. “Gross.”
She rolled herself over with a grunt, flopping down into the water with both of her legs in front over her, and her elbows dipping backwards over the ledge behind her. She looked up at the large statue in front of her, just the same as it had been the first time she was here.
The Fountain. Omni’s place of revival. Of rebirth. She closed her eyes, took a breath breath and exhaled, allowing her chin to drop. “How the hell did I die?” she wondered aloud, attempting to rake through what little memory she had of the time before she died. She knew she had joined the Colosseum, just to burn some time before she could return to the Dunes and pick up Caret. She knew she had stomped some serious ass. Then, she supposed, she lost? When? To who?
She slapped her hand against the water in frustration, “What the hell happened?”
Groaning, she pushed herself up, then gracelessly tumbled out of the pool and onto the tile below with a wet slap. As she struggled to right herself, she noticed how weak she felt. It was like somebody had replaced all of her muscles with rubber bands, barely managing to keep her bones from falling apart.
“And why do I feel like SHIT!?” She shouted into the floor. She had never heard of any of the symptoms she was suffering from. Primes used to get killed, be reborn, and roll right back into fights. Why was this happening to her? “What’d I do to piss you off, Omni? Was I not fucking entertaining enough for you!?” Staggering to her feet she looked to the sky. “Why you pulling this shit just for me? You go and change the way shit works again, you bastard?!”
Grumbling, she looked over the horizon, searching for a gate that seemed appropriately sandy. When she couldn’t locate it by sight, she scoffed in frustration and pulled out her phone. It was soaked, and refused to turn on. “Oh come on!” she barked at it. “Why did I have to know water killed electronics, huh? Why was I blessed with that knowledge?”
Sighing, she clasped both hands over the device and funnelled omnilium into it, a prismatic sheen shining between her fingers. She applied a flippant expression to her lips and popped her hip as she waited, the image of a repaired, water-resistant phone in her mind. “Yo, Omni, while we’re at it, can we make it so that fixing broken shit is less irritating? Like, I get it, we don’t want people doing that all over the place, but c’mon, man. This is stupid as shit.” After several exasperated minutes, the screen flickered to life.
“Finally,” she said, a smile gracing her for the first time since she awoke. She tapped the small map icon on her home screen, held it to her face, and almost yelled into it. “Where are the Endless Dunes?” She spoke each word forcefully and with a small gap after it, as if there was a chance it would misunderstand her.
The device cheerfully responded, “Working!” before displaying directions towards the gate.
She spun in place a few times, her nose down as she stared at the screen. When she aligned herself with the gate, she looked up and strode willfully towards it. She then opened up her contacts and tapped the single entry under them.
The phone rang in her ear a few times before she heard the receiver click. “Caret?” she said hopefully, “You there kid?” There was a long pause, dead air filling the line. “You there?”
“... Bandit?” a young woman’s voice finally answered, “Is that you?”
“Yo, what’s up? I’m headed to the dunes now.”
The phone’s speaker could barely handle the volume, and the speaker crackled. “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!? I thought you were dead!”
The woman pulled the phone away from her ear, her brows scrunching in confusion. “Woah, woah, woah, woah! What you freaking out about?”
Caret’s voice went from red hot to ice cold, her words spit from between clenched teeth. “It’s been six months, Bandit. Six months.”
The bandit’s head ticked back, “Chh, I was at the area for like, a day.”
“The hell you have!” the young woman spat back.
The raider’s attitude suddenly shifted to aggression, “Yo, Omnitime, you little shit! I ain’t got any control over that! I take as long as I take, you got me?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” the secondary snapped back.
“Omnitime, girl. Certain people, certain places, they go faster or slower compared to other places and whatever. It’s like everything else in the Omniverse, Caret: it doesn’t make any fucking sense. Get used to it.”
The young mechanic sighed, “God I was so worried. I had given up on you, you ass! I thought you were gone.”
“Not rid of me yet, fucker.” The woman smirked.
“Well, I’m back at it. Still living at Shep’s place.” Her tone warmed considerably, “I still got your truck.”
The smirk grew into a grin, “Ooo, my big, sexy, truck. Thanks for keeping it running for me.”
“What else was I supposed to do? Scrap it?” she laughed.
The bandit stood before the gate, peering through into the sandy wastes, the burning sun waiting for her on the other side. “Alright girl, I’m at the gate.”
“Ok! I guess I’ll see you soon!”
“See you soon, kid.”