03-12-2016, 11:06 AM
With the turtle trailing him by a few paces, the machine-hybrid still managed to cover a lot of ground. Unfortunately, the further he went, the worse the environment around him became. What had once been flat, barren earth was now uneven and jagged. Dried soil had been replaced by dirt so desiccated and so devoid of the touch of liquid that most of it was cracking apart.
The dust and silicate in the atmosphere had become thick enough that it now resembled a thin layer of fog. Every few minutes, Seventeen had to take a moment to wipe his face, and each time, his hand came back looking blacker and blacker. The closest of the volcanoes which once contributed to the panoramic view were now within a few miles of his location. At a closer distance, he found himself marveled at how they just seemed to never stop erupting. The nearest one—something in the ballpark of about two hundred meters tall—had been spewing lava since his arrival in the Ashen Steppes.
With the ground in front of him turning into a sharp incline, Seventeen finally came to a stop and shouted the question without looking over his shoulder. “Do they do this all the time?”
“Who?” The turtle yelled after a short pause. Seventeen pointed toward the nearest volcano. “The volcanoes? Yes, most of them have a very fixed schedule. It’s when they veer from their normal schedule that you want to be worried.”
In his head, the machine-hybrid pictured some sort of massive super volcano exploding like an atom bomb and drowning the whole place in burning lava and toxic smog.
“Great place to live,” Seventeen shot back as he eyed the terrain that lay before him. Easy. With a smile, the machine-hybrid jogged forward and jumped.
A few yards back from the start of the jagged incline, the turtle wizard watched as the skinny, pale man jumped forward and proceeded to crash into the ground a beat later. Dust and swear words flooded the air around the crumpled form, and it was at that moment that the reptile knew he wasn’t trailing a killer.
“Was something supposed to happen?” The wizard asked, biting back a snicker as Seventeen rolled onto his back and clutched at a freshly bloodied kneecap.
“I could fly before,” the cyborg spoke through clenched teeth. “I could teleport, too.”
“You’re a prime, then?” The turtle asked as he walked over to Seventeen. When the raven-haired fighter nodded his head, he was rewarded with a laugh from his former accuser. “Ah, that’s got to be rough.” With a final snicker, the Power Sword was dropped at its owner’s feet.
“You believe me?”
The turtle gave a short nod. “No one stupid enough to do what you just did would be capable of so efficiently murdering those koopas, unless you’re the greatest actor since Mickey Mouse to enter the Omniverse.”
The fuck is Mickey Mouse? It was a question for another time. For now, the cyborg nodded his head and returned his sword to its sheath. “You say you’re a koopa?”
“Technically, I’m a Magikoopa.” When the turtle saw the confusion on the man’s face, he frowned. “Magic. Koopa…”
Seventeen shook his head. “No, I get that. So is koopa like, your species? Or your clan? Or your job?”
“It’s just what I am,” the turtle replied as he snapped his fingers. A swirl of lights danced around the reptile’s body, and when they faded, a blue robe was left behind. Atop the mage’s head, a blue felt cap appeared. “See? Magic.”
With a grin, the cyborg gestured to the jagged landscape in front of them. “You wanna magic us through this, then?”
The ‘magikoopa’ smirked as he reached beneath his robe. He first produced a pair of sunglasses, and once those were in place over his eyes, he retrieved a small scepter.
“Name is Joe,” he remarked as he started to swirl the scepter. A faint shimmer started to appear above the turtle’s head. “Just do me a favor and hold onto your undergaments. This can be unpleasant.”
Before Seventeen could pose the very serious question of how magic and underwear were related, there was a blinding flash. He felt his stomach drop down into his pelvis before the world came roaring back to life. After the initial burst of renewed reality, the machine-hybrid realized that he was lying on the ground. “You could warn me, you know.” He groaned as he willed his wobbly legs to obey his commands. “It’s commonplace to tell someone before you decide to shunt them through space-time.”
Joe the Magikoopa shrugged his robed shoulders and pointed with his scepter to something behind the machine-hybrid. “Lookit.”
Seventeen craned his neck around and spotted the figure just a few hundred feet away. While it was impossible to tell at this range, it looked like a large man dragging something across the scorched earth. “I think that’s our guy.”
“Then let’s get him,” Joe declared, eliciting a smile from the raven-haired fighter.
With that, the two moved to catch up to the thief.
The dust and silicate in the atmosphere had become thick enough that it now resembled a thin layer of fog. Every few minutes, Seventeen had to take a moment to wipe his face, and each time, his hand came back looking blacker and blacker. The closest of the volcanoes which once contributed to the panoramic view were now within a few miles of his location. At a closer distance, he found himself marveled at how they just seemed to never stop erupting. The nearest one—something in the ballpark of about two hundred meters tall—had been spewing lava since his arrival in the Ashen Steppes.
With the ground in front of him turning into a sharp incline, Seventeen finally came to a stop and shouted the question without looking over his shoulder. “Do they do this all the time?”
“Who?” The turtle yelled after a short pause. Seventeen pointed toward the nearest volcano. “The volcanoes? Yes, most of them have a very fixed schedule. It’s when they veer from their normal schedule that you want to be worried.”
In his head, the machine-hybrid pictured some sort of massive super volcano exploding like an atom bomb and drowning the whole place in burning lava and toxic smog.
“Great place to live,” Seventeen shot back as he eyed the terrain that lay before him. Easy. With a smile, the machine-hybrid jogged forward and jumped.
A few yards back from the start of the jagged incline, the turtle wizard watched as the skinny, pale man jumped forward and proceeded to crash into the ground a beat later. Dust and swear words flooded the air around the crumpled form, and it was at that moment that the reptile knew he wasn’t trailing a killer.
“Was something supposed to happen?” The wizard asked, biting back a snicker as Seventeen rolled onto his back and clutched at a freshly bloodied kneecap.
“I could fly before,” the cyborg spoke through clenched teeth. “I could teleport, too.”
“You’re a prime, then?” The turtle asked as he walked over to Seventeen. When the raven-haired fighter nodded his head, he was rewarded with a laugh from his former accuser. “Ah, that’s got to be rough.” With a final snicker, the Power Sword was dropped at its owner’s feet.
“You believe me?”
The turtle gave a short nod. “No one stupid enough to do what you just did would be capable of so efficiently murdering those koopas, unless you’re the greatest actor since Mickey Mouse to enter the Omniverse.”
The fuck is Mickey Mouse? It was a question for another time. For now, the cyborg nodded his head and returned his sword to its sheath. “You say you’re a koopa?”
“Technically, I’m a Magikoopa.” When the turtle saw the confusion on the man’s face, he frowned. “Magic. Koopa…”
Seventeen shook his head. “No, I get that. So is koopa like, your species? Or your clan? Or your job?”
“It’s just what I am,” the turtle replied as he snapped his fingers. A swirl of lights danced around the reptile’s body, and when they faded, a blue robe was left behind. Atop the mage’s head, a blue felt cap appeared. “See? Magic.”
With a grin, the cyborg gestured to the jagged landscape in front of them. “You wanna magic us through this, then?”
The ‘magikoopa’ smirked as he reached beneath his robe. He first produced a pair of sunglasses, and once those were in place over his eyes, he retrieved a small scepter.
“Name is Joe,” he remarked as he started to swirl the scepter. A faint shimmer started to appear above the turtle’s head. “Just do me a favor and hold onto your undergaments. This can be unpleasant.”
Before Seventeen could pose the very serious question of how magic and underwear were related, there was a blinding flash. He felt his stomach drop down into his pelvis before the world came roaring back to life. After the initial burst of renewed reality, the machine-hybrid realized that he was lying on the ground. “You could warn me, you know.” He groaned as he willed his wobbly legs to obey his commands. “It’s commonplace to tell someone before you decide to shunt them through space-time.”
Joe the Magikoopa shrugged his robed shoulders and pointed with his scepter to something behind the machine-hybrid. “Lookit.”
Seventeen craned his neck around and spotted the figure just a few hundred feet away. While it was impossible to tell at this range, it looked like a large man dragging something across the scorched earth. “I think that’s our guy.”
“Then let’s get him,” Joe declared, eliciting a smile from the raven-haired fighter.
With that, the two moved to catch up to the thief.
![[Image: 17.jpg]](http://omniverse-rpg.com/images/17.jpg)