02-08-2015, 05:09 PM
The battle had ended. A quick glimpse revealed that no one had died, but almost everyone had suffered some sort of injury. Perhaps more disturbing was the fact that the Spartan was clearly a little more unhinged than usual. His eyes had more of a feral glint to them, and his voice was ragged and rasping—as if something were trying to claw its way up from his insides.
“I’m not sure what those things were,” Shang muttered as he pulled out a cloth and wiped some of the ichor from his blade. The blood—if such a term was applicable—was thick and clotted, which made him doubt it came from anything that was genuinely one hundred percent alive. If he had the time and resources, he would have tried to take a further look at it, but for now, he just wanted the foul-smelling bile off of his weapon and his clothes.
“They were from Silent Hill,” Argento muttered, his voice subdued as he looked over at the Spartan. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. ” Atelos replied through clenched teeth. Anyone could tell that the man wasn’t alright, but no one wanted to press the subject.
“What do you mean… from Silent Hill?” Shang asked, trying to change the subject from the Spartan’s behavior and attitude. “Is that what we can expect once we reach the town?”
“No,” Argento replied, shaking his head. “Once we enter the town, it will be much worse… or at least I expect it to be. With the exception of that behemoth, most of the monsters that leave the city limits are similar to what we fought here. They are twisted abominations… corrupted men and women who retain barely a decent shred of humanity.”
“Why the nurses?” Shang interjected, his eyes moving over to a particular corpse, much like the one that had ambush him, Atelos, and Blues right before the larger fight. Aside from some blood and dislocated joints, the still body probably could have been attractive in real life. He had no way of confirming this, as the face was wrapped tightly in bloody bandages and plastic wrap, but from the neck down, everything checked out as a’okay.
“I wish I knew,” the paladin answered.
Probably some bizarre fetish thing… Shang thought as he looked at the skimpy outfit on the corpse. What real nurse wore a skirt that high and a shirt cut that low?
“We’ll take inventory and ensure that everyone is fit to travel, and then after that, we’ll head out immediately. Do you two mind covering the flanks while I tend to our associates?”
“Of course not,” Shang answered for himself and the Spartan. As the paladin walked away, the sorcerer and his Grecian ally made eye contact, but neither had anything to say that moment in time. In silence, they parted to go cover opposite sides of the now ravaged campsite. On his way there, Shang crossed paths with the boy with the gun-arm. Unlike everyone else, Blues seemed unaffected by the battle that had nearly overwhelmed the traveling party. “You’re not a child, are you?”
Hearing the question, the youth lifted his helmeted face to look up at the sorcerer. “What do you mean?”
“No child that I’ve ever seen can shoot lightning from his hands.” Shang remarked, causing a sly grin to spread across Blues’ pale face.
“And, like you, I’m stuck in a world filled with monsters and medieval knights… should you be surprised about something like me?”
“You make a very valid point.” For a child, Blues certainly could carry himself in a conversation in a manner impossible for someone of his perceived age. “What are you then?”
“What are you?” The boy retorted. “Your clothes are from medieval China, but you don’t have an accent. Plus… you’re wearing a watch under your right sleeve and you have a cellphone. Now I know this is the Omniverse and all, but most primes go with what’s familiar to them.”
Shang held back a laugh as he knelt down in front of the boy. “I’m a sorcerer cursed to feed off the dead or wither and die. I’ve been alive for over nine centuries, and when I was pulled to this place, the world I lived in was a very modern one.”
“I’m an android created by two mad scientists. In their rush to compete with one another, I was flawed with sapience… cursed to know exactly what it means to be human but to never experience or fully understand any of it.”
“Heavy burden for a child.”
“I manage… this place has helped a lot.”
That was a statement Shang had never heard before. There were things about the Omniverse he certainly enjoyed, but he’d never heard of it actually helping someone get over pre-existing issues. “What do you mean?”
“Family.” Blues replied. “Most of them are here. I never got to know my kid sister for real until I got pulled into this place. Now I have all the time in the world to get to know here and my siblings.”
How touching. “How wonderful.”
The tone in Shang’s head and the tone that came out of his mouth were polar opposites. At his core, the sorcerer couldn’t care about some fake-boy’s equally synthetic family. He did like the idea that he could summon living things to the Omniverse. He’d heard about it before, but he’d never really given it a second thought. Now that the idea was fresh in his mind again, he was starting to warm to the idea of having a few extra… ‘hands’ around to help him.
“There you are, Blues!”
The sorcerer and the machine turned to see the paladin walking over toward them. The man was flanked by the soldier he had dispatched a few hours earlier. “We found your associates, Blues. They’ve a few miles north of here, camped out near a ridge at the base of the Arklay Mountains. My man here wasn’t able to speak with them, but he can verify that they are okay. If you hurry, you should be able to reach them within the hour.”
“Thank you,” Blues said, a smile spreading across his youthful features.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to form an escort to get you and your friends back to Darkshire? This is a terrible region of the Moors… we are very close to Silent Hill. You and your friends will be in constant danger.”
“That’s kind of you, but we have to reach our destination as well... We all have to make sacrifices for the greater good.” Just like that, Blues was off—his stubby legs carrying him with an inhuman speed as he raced off to where his friends were, leaving Shang and Argento behind.
“Do you think he’ll be okay, Shang?” The paladin inquired with clear concern for the health and safety of the young boy.
“I hope so.” Shang replied.
Who gives a shit, you bleeding heart.
“I’m not sure what those things were,” Shang muttered as he pulled out a cloth and wiped some of the ichor from his blade. The blood—if such a term was applicable—was thick and clotted, which made him doubt it came from anything that was genuinely one hundred percent alive. If he had the time and resources, he would have tried to take a further look at it, but for now, he just wanted the foul-smelling bile off of his weapon and his clothes.
“They were from Silent Hill,” Argento muttered, his voice subdued as he looked over at the Spartan. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. ” Atelos replied through clenched teeth. Anyone could tell that the man wasn’t alright, but no one wanted to press the subject.
“What do you mean… from Silent Hill?” Shang asked, trying to change the subject from the Spartan’s behavior and attitude. “Is that what we can expect once we reach the town?”
“No,” Argento replied, shaking his head. “Once we enter the town, it will be much worse… or at least I expect it to be. With the exception of that behemoth, most of the monsters that leave the city limits are similar to what we fought here. They are twisted abominations… corrupted men and women who retain barely a decent shred of humanity.”
“Why the nurses?” Shang interjected, his eyes moving over to a particular corpse, much like the one that had ambush him, Atelos, and Blues right before the larger fight. Aside from some blood and dislocated joints, the still body probably could have been attractive in real life. He had no way of confirming this, as the face was wrapped tightly in bloody bandages and plastic wrap, but from the neck down, everything checked out as a’okay.
“I wish I knew,” the paladin answered.
Probably some bizarre fetish thing… Shang thought as he looked at the skimpy outfit on the corpse. What real nurse wore a skirt that high and a shirt cut that low?
“We’ll take inventory and ensure that everyone is fit to travel, and then after that, we’ll head out immediately. Do you two mind covering the flanks while I tend to our associates?”
“Of course not,” Shang answered for himself and the Spartan. As the paladin walked away, the sorcerer and his Grecian ally made eye contact, but neither had anything to say that moment in time. In silence, they parted to go cover opposite sides of the now ravaged campsite. On his way there, Shang crossed paths with the boy with the gun-arm. Unlike everyone else, Blues seemed unaffected by the battle that had nearly overwhelmed the traveling party. “You’re not a child, are you?”
Hearing the question, the youth lifted his helmeted face to look up at the sorcerer. “What do you mean?”
“No child that I’ve ever seen can shoot lightning from his hands.” Shang remarked, causing a sly grin to spread across Blues’ pale face.
“And, like you, I’m stuck in a world filled with monsters and medieval knights… should you be surprised about something like me?”
“You make a very valid point.” For a child, Blues certainly could carry himself in a conversation in a manner impossible for someone of his perceived age. “What are you then?”
“What are you?” The boy retorted. “Your clothes are from medieval China, but you don’t have an accent. Plus… you’re wearing a watch under your right sleeve and you have a cellphone. Now I know this is the Omniverse and all, but most primes go with what’s familiar to them.”
Shang held back a laugh as he knelt down in front of the boy. “I’m a sorcerer cursed to feed off the dead or wither and die. I’ve been alive for over nine centuries, and when I was pulled to this place, the world I lived in was a very modern one.”
“I’m an android created by two mad scientists. In their rush to compete with one another, I was flawed with sapience… cursed to know exactly what it means to be human but to never experience or fully understand any of it.”
“Heavy burden for a child.”
“I manage… this place has helped a lot.”
That was a statement Shang had never heard before. There were things about the Omniverse he certainly enjoyed, but he’d never heard of it actually helping someone get over pre-existing issues. “What do you mean?”
“Family.” Blues replied. “Most of them are here. I never got to know my kid sister for real until I got pulled into this place. Now I have all the time in the world to get to know here and my siblings.”
How touching. “How wonderful.”
The tone in Shang’s head and the tone that came out of his mouth were polar opposites. At his core, the sorcerer couldn’t care about some fake-boy’s equally synthetic family. He did like the idea that he could summon living things to the Omniverse. He’d heard about it before, but he’d never really given it a second thought. Now that the idea was fresh in his mind again, he was starting to warm to the idea of having a few extra… ‘hands’ around to help him.
“There you are, Blues!”
The sorcerer and the machine turned to see the paladin walking over toward them. The man was flanked by the soldier he had dispatched a few hours earlier. “We found your associates, Blues. They’ve a few miles north of here, camped out near a ridge at the base of the Arklay Mountains. My man here wasn’t able to speak with them, but he can verify that they are okay. If you hurry, you should be able to reach them within the hour.”
“Thank you,” Blues said, a smile spreading across his youthful features.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to form an escort to get you and your friends back to Darkshire? This is a terrible region of the Moors… we are very close to Silent Hill. You and your friends will be in constant danger.”
“That’s kind of you, but we have to reach our destination as well... We all have to make sacrifices for the greater good.” Just like that, Blues was off—his stubby legs carrying him with an inhuman speed as he raced off to where his friends were, leaving Shang and Argento behind.
“Do you think he’ll be okay, Shang?” The paladin inquired with clear concern for the health and safety of the young boy.
“I hope so.” Shang replied.
Who gives a shit, you bleeding heart.
![[Image: Shang.jpg]](http://www.omniverse-rpg.com/images/Shang.jpg)