08-02-2016, 03:17 PM
The drive through the Ashen Steppes quickly went from casual to ‘try not to turn too sharply and skid off the side of the cliff.’ Fortunately for the cyborg, he’d been battle-hardened during the kart race he’d won to become a Koopa Trooper, and much to his surprise, his squad of troopers proved their mettle by deftly maneuvering the mountain’s various curves and edges.
Unfortunately for the astronomers, they lost two of their members on the way up the mountain pass. Seventeen wasn’t sure if the men from Dalaran were poor drivers or if their scooter-like vehicles were just unfit for the terrain. Either way, they had to drive on without stop, even as they all heard the panicked wailing of a lost soul en route to his doom.
At this point, the cyborg had become numb to the reality that nothing would ever been a walk in the park. His attempt to be ‘normal’ and take education courses had ended up with him being punched in the face by old men and rolling around in the subway engaged in fisticuffs with thugs in studded leather jackets. Come learn the art of shapechanging! Enroll today! Seventeen rolled his eyes at the bizarre memories. He hadn’t tried to utilize the technique, but he was certain he’d probably be unable to do so. Would that capability return to him after enough time in the Omniverse?
How have people managed to live in this place? There are more questions than answers, and it all just feels like one massive cluster fuck…
“Damn black holes… can’t just kill people like normal disasters,” Seventeen groaned as he checked all the Barrel Train’s gauges to make sure nothing was going to surprise him. The last thing he needed was for his brakes to fail or his muffle to explode. When everything read in the green, he relaxed a little bit as their convoy of astronomers and koopas crested over an incline and began their descent down the winding paths on the other side of the mountain. For the brief moment where he could see out across the Steppes, Seventeen rolled his eyes.
Does this go on forever?
His glimpse had been of another infinity’s worth of ash clouds, volcanos, mountains, and various dabs and streaks of red-orange. If the Omniverse had an Underworld, he wondered how it competed with the Ashen Steppes. Perhaps instead of fire and brimstone, Omniverse Hell was just a lot of darkness and gloom? The cyborg had to keep his focus on the road, but the idea of some all-black mirror image of Omni traipsing around made him chuckle.
After another thirty minutes of navigating back down into a valley, Seventeen saw that their little mobile group was drawing to a stop. A glimpse at the time informed him that they’d been traveling for the majority of the morning and afternoon hours. Had it really been that long?
Stop thinking too much about it.
Slowing down as he neared the parked vehicles ahead, Seventeen glanced around to see that they’d come to a stop on a wide rock shelf that overlooked a variety of shorter mountains. Since they were no longer at the top of the mountain range, they were in the shadow of the slope they’d just descended. While that meant they’d have some shade, the cyborg was a little concerned about how long they planned to idle on the side of the mountain. Wouldn’t they attract unwanted attention if they remained exposed? Julius had mentioned dragons, and the last memory Seventeen had that was ‘draconian themed’ had ended with him walking up in this awful, hilarious place.
After slipping the keys from the ignition, the machine-hybrid weaved his way through the parked scooters until he reached the head of the group. Mr. Peppers was already reviewing what seemed to be a road map from the early nineties. When he heard the crunch of the smaller man’s boots on the arid earth, the astronomer glanced up and smiled at his ally. “Don’t worry, Seventeen, we’re not staying here for long. I just wanted to give the boys a chance to stretch their legs while I try and map out the best route to Mount Escorial. You probably wouldn’t believe it, but these mountain passes and traverses eventually start to all bleed together in the head. An unsafe traveler could get lost out here in no man’s land.”
You don’t say? Seventeen, who had just been bitching about the landscape, stifled a sarcastic comment. He simply bit his tongue and nodded his head as he turned from the huge man and shuffled back toward his kart.
Unfortunately for the astronomers, they lost two of their members on the way up the mountain pass. Seventeen wasn’t sure if the men from Dalaran were poor drivers or if their scooter-like vehicles were just unfit for the terrain. Either way, they had to drive on without stop, even as they all heard the panicked wailing of a lost soul en route to his doom.
At this point, the cyborg had become numb to the reality that nothing would ever been a walk in the park. His attempt to be ‘normal’ and take education courses had ended up with him being punched in the face by old men and rolling around in the subway engaged in fisticuffs with thugs in studded leather jackets. Come learn the art of shapechanging! Enroll today! Seventeen rolled his eyes at the bizarre memories. He hadn’t tried to utilize the technique, but he was certain he’d probably be unable to do so. Would that capability return to him after enough time in the Omniverse?
How have people managed to live in this place? There are more questions than answers, and it all just feels like one massive cluster fuck…
“Damn black holes… can’t just kill people like normal disasters,” Seventeen groaned as he checked all the Barrel Train’s gauges to make sure nothing was going to surprise him. The last thing he needed was for his brakes to fail or his muffle to explode. When everything read in the green, he relaxed a little bit as their convoy of astronomers and koopas crested over an incline and began their descent down the winding paths on the other side of the mountain. For the brief moment where he could see out across the Steppes, Seventeen rolled his eyes.
Does this go on forever?
His glimpse had been of another infinity’s worth of ash clouds, volcanos, mountains, and various dabs and streaks of red-orange. If the Omniverse had an Underworld, he wondered how it competed with the Ashen Steppes. Perhaps instead of fire and brimstone, Omniverse Hell was just a lot of darkness and gloom? The cyborg had to keep his focus on the road, but the idea of some all-black mirror image of Omni traipsing around made him chuckle.
After another thirty minutes of navigating back down into a valley, Seventeen saw that their little mobile group was drawing to a stop. A glimpse at the time informed him that they’d been traveling for the majority of the morning and afternoon hours. Had it really been that long?
Stop thinking too much about it.
Slowing down as he neared the parked vehicles ahead, Seventeen glanced around to see that they’d come to a stop on a wide rock shelf that overlooked a variety of shorter mountains. Since they were no longer at the top of the mountain range, they were in the shadow of the slope they’d just descended. While that meant they’d have some shade, the cyborg was a little concerned about how long they planned to idle on the side of the mountain. Wouldn’t they attract unwanted attention if they remained exposed? Julius had mentioned dragons, and the last memory Seventeen had that was ‘draconian themed’ had ended with him walking up in this awful, hilarious place.
After slipping the keys from the ignition, the machine-hybrid weaved his way through the parked scooters until he reached the head of the group. Mr. Peppers was already reviewing what seemed to be a road map from the early nineties. When he heard the crunch of the smaller man’s boots on the arid earth, the astronomer glanced up and smiled at his ally. “Don’t worry, Seventeen, we’re not staying here for long. I just wanted to give the boys a chance to stretch their legs while I try and map out the best route to Mount Escorial. You probably wouldn’t believe it, but these mountain passes and traverses eventually start to all bleed together in the head. An unsafe traveler could get lost out here in no man’s land.”
You don’t say? Seventeen, who had just been bitching about the landscape, stifled a sarcastic comment. He simply bit his tongue and nodded his head as he turned from the huge man and shuffled back toward his kart.
![[Image: 17.jpg]](http://omniverse-rpg.com/images/17.jpg)