12-13-2015, 07:48 PM
Unsurprisingly, it didn't work. The skeleton was insistent on helping Athena, although her warning at least seemed to deter him for a few moments. While he sat quietly behind her turned back, she took a few deep breaths and folded her hands on her lap, still vigilantly analyzing every one of his minute movements with her extra-sensory perception. Despite her stillness, she was tense, every muscle rigid and blood pumping fiercely through her veins. She would not be caught off-guard again. Luckily, he made no movement for a long while, but she knew she could not rest here in peace. Perhaps, she should just leave; she could find somewhere with fewer pestersome undead pranksters and meditate, alone.
Before she had made up her mind to go, however, Sans clambered up onto the bar counter and commanded her attention again. She turned towards the spectacle just slightly, mostly out of long-irrelevant instinct, but also to indicate that she was indeed listening. Observing him speak, she realized there was something deeply unnerving about the skeleton creature, though she couldn't quite place it - something relating to a memory she desperately avoided reliving. But never mind that. She heard him begin with a rhetorical question of some sort - "What did the skeleton say to the doctor?" She tilted her head in interest, bringing her head up off her hands. She could tell he knew the answer just by the way he spoke, but decided not to delve into his mind for it, despite her curiosity. He seemed to be about to tell everyone already. The answer would no doubt be quite enlightening, especially if it involved an explanation regarding why an animated undead creature would be visiting a professional mainly concerned with preventing death in the first place. The circumstances outlined in the initial query were interesting, and Athena found herself eagerly anticipating further elaboration.
The fact that her mind was on that, rather than what he was doing, made the slip and subsequent fall all the more shocking. Her hands flew to her mouth as the sharp crack of bone reverberated through the room. The God-Soul instantly turned her senses away from the scene near the counter. If she couldn't see it, if she couldn't tell it was there, if she could just ignore it -
What?
The completely unexpected line jarred Athena's attention suddenly. In that moment, her attention was scattered as she tried to comprehend what she had heard, and her focus turned instinctively towards the source: Sans.
Despite her desperate efforts to collect her concentration again, the image imprinted itself onto her mental vision. Viscous fluid was smeared across the monster's skull, completely at odds with the grin that remained plastered on his face. That was all it took.
Athena screamed in horror as memories came flooding back, all prompted by the single image. Abstract's shadowed skull symbol, emblazoned on the torn flag that whipped in the wind above the barren battlefield, where the chaotic Bloodmonger lurked, a terrifying hidden threat. Hordes of undead, with deformed faces and rotten clothing, close in pursuit as Athena fled down strange metal corridors, always running in the faint hope of keeping her life. The tricky, thin-lipped smile of the Baroness, at first appearing almost friendly - but then twisting into a sadistic grin as Athena fell, alone and bewildered, down a dark, endless hole. Kattly, unconscious, blood splattered across nearly every inch of her limp form as her own clone laughed hysterically: Athena was powerless to do anything to prevent her best friend's imminent death.
The echoing laughter that reverberated through her mind mingled with the raucous liveliness that surrounded her physical form, which she noticed had somehow crumpled onto the floor. Some part of her dictated her next action; another part was powerless to stop her; and somehow, her conscious mind barely seemed aware of it at all. She reached behind her back, under her cloak, heard the quiet click as Crescent Gold extended to its gun mode, and stood up to aim.
"I warned you," she said in a broken, toneless whisper as Sans' face morphed itself into a horrified expression and the laughter finally ceased. Time to end all of this.
Then a blunt hit from her left side sent her stumbling to the right, and her quarry evaded the shot that ricocheted harmlessly off the edge of the counter. Fury seared through her pain, sending her mental processes into overdrive. She knew she had to ignore any hesitation now; her focus needed to be on the battle, and keeping her emotions from overwhelming her entirely.
Athena extended a hand for balance and leaped up carefully onto the counter, closely tracking the skeleton's movement. She aimed and shot again three times in quick succession at his retreating form.
Before she had made up her mind to go, however, Sans clambered up onto the bar counter and commanded her attention again. She turned towards the spectacle just slightly, mostly out of long-irrelevant instinct, but also to indicate that she was indeed listening. Observing him speak, she realized there was something deeply unnerving about the skeleton creature, though she couldn't quite place it - something relating to a memory she desperately avoided reliving. But never mind that. She heard him begin with a rhetorical question of some sort - "What did the skeleton say to the doctor?" She tilted her head in interest, bringing her head up off her hands. She could tell he knew the answer just by the way he spoke, but decided not to delve into his mind for it, despite her curiosity. He seemed to be about to tell everyone already. The answer would no doubt be quite enlightening, especially if it involved an explanation regarding why an animated undead creature would be visiting a professional mainly concerned with preventing death in the first place. The circumstances outlined in the initial query were interesting, and Athena found herself eagerly anticipating further elaboration.
The fact that her mind was on that, rather than what he was doing, made the slip and subsequent fall all the more shocking. Her hands flew to her mouth as the sharp crack of bone reverberated through the room. The God-Soul instantly turned her senses away from the scene near the counter. If she couldn't see it, if she couldn't tell it was there, if she could just ignore it -
Quote:"comedy ain't all that cracked up to be!"
What?
The completely unexpected line jarred Athena's attention suddenly. In that moment, her attention was scattered as she tried to comprehend what she had heard, and her focus turned instinctively towards the source: Sans.
Despite her desperate efforts to collect her concentration again, the image imprinted itself onto her mental vision. Viscous fluid was smeared across the monster's skull, completely at odds with the grin that remained plastered on his face. That was all it took.
Athena screamed in horror as memories came flooding back, all prompted by the single image. Abstract's shadowed skull symbol, emblazoned on the torn flag that whipped in the wind above the barren battlefield, where the chaotic Bloodmonger lurked, a terrifying hidden threat. Hordes of undead, with deformed faces and rotten clothing, close in pursuit as Athena fled down strange metal corridors, always running in the faint hope of keeping her life. The tricky, thin-lipped smile of the Baroness, at first appearing almost friendly - but then twisting into a sadistic grin as Athena fell, alone and bewildered, down a dark, endless hole. Kattly, unconscious, blood splattered across nearly every inch of her limp form as her own clone laughed hysterically: Athena was powerless to do anything to prevent her best friend's imminent death.
The echoing laughter that reverberated through her mind mingled with the raucous liveliness that surrounded her physical form, which she noticed had somehow crumpled onto the floor. Some part of her dictated her next action; another part was powerless to stop her; and somehow, her conscious mind barely seemed aware of it at all. She reached behind her back, under her cloak, heard the quiet click as Crescent Gold extended to its gun mode, and stood up to aim.
"I warned you," she said in a broken, toneless whisper as Sans' face morphed itself into a horrified expression and the laughter finally ceased. Time to end all of this.
Then a blunt hit from her left side sent her stumbling to the right, and her quarry evaded the shot that ricocheted harmlessly off the edge of the counter. Fury seared through her pain, sending her mental processes into overdrive. She knew she had to ignore any hesitation now; her focus needed to be on the battle, and keeping her emotions from overwhelming her entirely.
Athena extended a hand for balance and leaped up carefully onto the counter, closely tracking the skeleton's movement. She aimed and shot again three times in quick succession at his retreating form.
Quote:Word Count: 800
Powers Used: None (unless you count Enhanced Senses, but that's constant)
Moves Used: Crescent Gold - Gun (Athena)
Athena Round 1 Post complete!
![[Image: 2WaRJHm.png]](http://i.imgur.com/2WaRJHm.png)