Mirrorworld Alpha Copy (Two More)
Aug. 22nd, 2008 11:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jheti
It started here.
Fenris cursed his luck. It had clearly abandoned him. First, he’d lost a thirteen-on-three fight to a bunch of self-righteous losers in clashing spandex. Seriously. Then he’d run into that miserable busybody wisp of smoke, Trynregal or whatever its name was. It was bitchy, even for an evil cloud, and it had cackled at him as it delivered news of his faliure to Noob Saibot.
That failure was the reason he now found himself in Noob Saibot's audience chamber, bowing and scraping and elbow-to-elbow with his hated rival, Shimmer. Of all the people on this planet—and all the annoying new people he’d met since he'd helped conquer this planet—Fenris couldn’t think of one more annoying. Not even if he tried really hard, until his hair went out; it had happened before. Shimmer could do that to a man.
Ikini Lehosa, mages-from-birth, were just…creepy. Not all there, off in their own weird little worlds. Shimmer was more emotional than the rest, hot-tempered and easily bribed, and that was probably why she had been allowed to live. It sure as hell wasn’t because she was smart. Or nice, or appealing in any fashion other than some version of dead.
At least she was better-dressed than the loser trio. Two-thirds of said trio were still outside, probably pounding on the door and crying, bemoaning their lack of sidekick. The thought made him grin.
The raven’s feather that appeared at his feet made him stop. He scowled and called up a little power of his own, and the feather burst into flame.
Shimmer’s fingers blazed with light as she traced a large rectangle in the air in front of her. The shape melted inward and brightened to solid silver before becoming an image of the chaos at the front gates.
"Here, My Lord, is the face of your enemy," she said with a bow.
"There's no sound," said Fenris with a smirk. "It's not bad work for an amateur, though."
"Silence," ordered Noob Saibot. "And one side," he added, waving his hand. Fenris flew across the room and sprawled in an undignified heap against the wall. "You obscure my view."
"Quite right, Milord," said Fenris, rubbing his hip as he stood.
He dared not think, even for a moment, of how he longed to knock his dread overlord unconscious with a single well-deserved punch in the face. No, indeed. Noob Saibot's powers were matched by his cruelty, and he had more than enough of that to go around.
Inside Shimmer's screen of light, the assembled fighters were chasing each other back and forth across the courtyard.
Fenris' loser idiots were at the center of a huddle of assorted larger idiots, each with worse taste in clothes than the last. One of his idiots, the lunatic blonde with the nice hips, was clutching the ugliest helmet he’d ever seen and cackling in triumph. Her thighs were wrapped squarely around the neck of—was that a bull? An ox, maybe—-in a loincloth!--and she howled with laughter as she placed that ghastly wreck of a helmet on her own head. It reached almost to her shoulders. The steroid addict beneath her howled in rage and shook her off, just in time to be flattened by some freak in white pajamas and a straw hat.
White Pajamas had the weirdest battle cry ever. Clearly, his blonde idiot wasn't faking when she said she was crazy, and those other morons had caught it, to a one. Fenris shuddered.
Noob looked up with a sigh.
"That's enough," he said, "and boring enough. They don't seem to even realize there's a puzzle, and nevermind my splendid trick to it." He seemed disappointed, though his mask and hood obscured anything resembling a facial expression.
"They're all quite mad," said Shimmer with a nasty little grin, "and it's all Fenris' fault."
"She was already insane!" spluttered Fenris, pale under the flames writhing atop his head. "And this could be to our advantage. They may do something stupid."
"Something stupider than they're already doing," murmured Noob Saibot. He sat back, fingers steepled. "Tell me, Fenris: what exactly do you expect that something stupid to be?"
"They are dunderheads, Sire," Fenris said. "Perhaps they just need a hint to solve your puzzle. I could furnish them one; my hostage proves they're easily led."
"That's the worst--" Shimmer began.
"How interesting," said Noob, rubbing his chin.
"--Geat idea I've ever heard," she finished. "Shouldn't someone set the traps? Once Fenris so cleverly leads them in, they'll need something to do."
"You're quite right, my dear." Noob stood, arms folded. "Take care of it."
"At once, My Lord," said Shimmer, bowing deeply with a smile. There was nothing like a little impending bloodshed to put her in a good mood. "When I'm through," she said, "they won't have a leg to stand on. Any of them."
.:. .:. .:.
That arrogant, stinking human had flung himself down in Shang Tsung’s favorite chair as soon as they reached the study. He’d sat back and put his feet up on the desk, ruining the papers beneath his muddy boots. He was smirking, sprawled wide and puffed up, ready to give orders.
Not today.
“Baraka’s having just about enough of you, tin-eye. Aren’t nobody.” He snorted. “Get down or taking you down, I.”
Kano wasn’t impressed. The bloke was part metal, big friggin’ deal; so was he. “Come try it.”
“Sstop it,” hissed Reptile, annoyed. “Both of you.”
Baraka crossed his arms, scowling. It had been a three day march without rest just to reach the Black Tower, and he’d been hoping for easy orders and a soft bed once he got here. Instead, he had a mystery to solve and a pair of squabbling civilians to babysit.
“Or what you’ll do, with that fancy tongue of yours?" he jibed with a sneer. "Licking me to death?”
Reptile ignored that; he just wanted out of here. The bond that held him in Shang Tsung’s service ran on pain. Being separated from his master physically hurt. He had to follow the sorcerer.
“They were here,” he said, “and jussst before we arrived, they vanished.”
“Still smelling them,” Baraka agreed. “Trail’s still hot. They can’t have going far. Five--” he sniffed, hard, “no, eight—some females. And Shao Kahn.”
Kano had never minded a fight, but he couldn’t stand being ignored. “Wow, that’s some body odor he’s got,” he cracked.
Kano's mirth was cut short--almost literally--by the flat of Baraka's sword, pressed tight against his voice box.
"Shut up.”
"Alright, alright," Kano yelped. "I meant nothin' by it. Chill out, mate."
Baraka blinked. He failed to see what cold weather had to do with anything. “Take it back.”
The blade pressed closer under Kano's chin, dragging stubble and a hint of skin with it. He bit his tongue.
"Yeah, sure, of course, righto, no problem, then. I take it back. Completely."
Baraka snorted and shoved Kano out of the way, following the scent to a mirror on the opposite wall. He tensed, both because he hated mirrors in general, and because something about this one was very--wrong. It gave off that same bone-hurting tingle he got from the Emperor's lesser spells. It was bad witchery, this thing.
"So, it's through the looking glass, is it?" Kano smirked.
"Wasn' knowing you could read," Baraka replied, leaning on the Mirror as he looked for some sign of where the others had gone. The glass flowed like mercury, rippling over his hand. He snarled in alarm and stabbed it.
The Mirror of Y'tilaer squalled, buckled inward, and swallowed him whole. Kano took one look at these proceedings and ran like hell.
The Mirror swung out in a wide, liquid arc and gave chase, sucking up several papers and assorted strange knickknacks in its eagerness. Kano fled for his life--something he'd had plenty of practice at--but he slammed into a half-buried end-table and skidded through the papers, flat on his back. The wave of glass rushed toward him with an eerie metallic hiss.
"You'll never take me alive!" he howled, plunging one raptor blade deep into the Mirror as it flowed across his arm.
Kano swore a blue streak and vanished.
The glass pulled back into itself and stilled. Reptile, who had gone invisible, pushed his way through the debris scattered by his companions. He sighed.
"Honessstly." He tasted the air ahead, but found no evidence of death. Shang Tsung was on the other side; he must follow. It was that simple.
Reptile shrugged and walked through the Mirror.
And I finally know some things, so I need to hurry up and type them in while I'm still on a caffeine jag. ^_~
Fenris cursed his luck. It had clearly abandoned him. First, he’d lost a thirteen-on-three fight to a bunch of self-righteous losers in clashing spandex. Seriously. Then he’d run into that miserable busybody wisp of smoke, Trynregal or whatever its name was. It was bitchy, even for an evil cloud, and it had cackled at him as it delivered news of his faliure to Noob Saibot.
That failure was the reason he now found himself in Noob Saibot's audience chamber, bowing and scraping and elbow-to-elbow with his hated rival, Shimmer. Of all the people on this planet—and all the annoying new people he’d met since he'd helped conquer this planet—Fenris couldn’t think of one more annoying. Not even if he tried really hard, until his hair went out; it had happened before. Shimmer could do that to a man.
Ikini Lehosa, mages-from-birth, were just…creepy. Not all there, off in their own weird little worlds. Shimmer was more emotional than the rest, hot-tempered and easily bribed, and that was probably why she had been allowed to live. It sure as hell wasn’t because she was smart. Or nice, or appealing in any fashion other than some version of dead.
At least she was better-dressed than the loser trio. Two-thirds of said trio were still outside, probably pounding on the door and crying, bemoaning their lack of sidekick. The thought made him grin.
The raven’s feather that appeared at his feet made him stop. He scowled and called up a little power of his own, and the feather burst into flame.
Shimmer’s fingers blazed with light as she traced a large rectangle in the air in front of her. The shape melted inward and brightened to solid silver before becoming an image of the chaos at the front gates.
"Here, My Lord, is the face of your enemy," she said with a bow.
"There's no sound," said Fenris with a smirk. "It's not bad work for an amateur, though."
"Silence," ordered Noob Saibot. "And one side," he added, waving his hand. Fenris flew across the room and sprawled in an undignified heap against the wall. "You obscure my view."
"Quite right, Milord," said Fenris, rubbing his hip as he stood.
He dared not think, even for a moment, of how he longed to knock his dread overlord unconscious with a single well-deserved punch in the face. No, indeed. Noob Saibot's powers were matched by his cruelty, and he had more than enough of that to go around.
Inside Shimmer's screen of light, the assembled fighters were chasing each other back and forth across the courtyard.
Fenris' loser idiots were at the center of a huddle of assorted larger idiots, each with worse taste in clothes than the last. One of his idiots, the lunatic blonde with the nice hips, was clutching the ugliest helmet he’d ever seen and cackling in triumph. Her thighs were wrapped squarely around the neck of—was that a bull? An ox, maybe—-in a loincloth!--and she howled with laughter as she placed that ghastly wreck of a helmet on her own head. It reached almost to her shoulders. The steroid addict beneath her howled in rage and shook her off, just in time to be flattened by some freak in white pajamas and a straw hat.
White Pajamas had the weirdest battle cry ever. Clearly, his blonde idiot wasn't faking when she said she was crazy, and those other morons had caught it, to a one. Fenris shuddered.
Noob looked up with a sigh.
"That's enough," he said, "and boring enough. They don't seem to even realize there's a puzzle, and nevermind my splendid trick to it." He seemed disappointed, though his mask and hood obscured anything resembling a facial expression.
"They're all quite mad," said Shimmer with a nasty little grin, "and it's all Fenris' fault."
"She was already insane!" spluttered Fenris, pale under the flames writhing atop his head. "And this could be to our advantage. They may do something stupid."
"Something stupider than they're already doing," murmured Noob Saibot. He sat back, fingers steepled. "Tell me, Fenris: what exactly do you expect that something stupid to be?"
"They are dunderheads, Sire," Fenris said. "Perhaps they just need a hint to solve your puzzle. I could furnish them one; my hostage proves they're easily led."
"That's the worst--" Shimmer began.
"How interesting," said Noob, rubbing his chin.
"--Geat idea I've ever heard," she finished. "Shouldn't someone set the traps? Once Fenris so cleverly leads them in, they'll need something to do."
"You're quite right, my dear." Noob stood, arms folded. "Take care of it."
"At once, My Lord," said Shimmer, bowing deeply with a smile. There was nothing like a little impending bloodshed to put her in a good mood. "When I'm through," she said, "they won't have a leg to stand on. Any of them."
That arrogant, stinking human had flung himself down in Shang Tsung’s favorite chair as soon as they reached the study. He’d sat back and put his feet up on the desk, ruining the papers beneath his muddy boots. He was smirking, sprawled wide and puffed up, ready to give orders.
Not today.
“Baraka’s having just about enough of you, tin-eye. Aren’t nobody.” He snorted. “Get down or taking you down, I.”
Kano wasn’t impressed. The bloke was part metal, big friggin’ deal; so was he. “Come try it.”
“Sstop it,” hissed Reptile, annoyed. “Both of you.”
Baraka crossed his arms, scowling. It had been a three day march without rest just to reach the Black Tower, and he’d been hoping for easy orders and a soft bed once he got here. Instead, he had a mystery to solve and a pair of squabbling civilians to babysit.
“Or what you’ll do, with that fancy tongue of yours?" he jibed with a sneer. "Licking me to death?”
Reptile ignored that; he just wanted out of here. The bond that held him in Shang Tsung’s service ran on pain. Being separated from his master physically hurt. He had to follow the sorcerer.
“They were here,” he said, “and jussst before we arrived, they vanished.”
“Still smelling them,” Baraka agreed. “Trail’s still hot. They can’t have going far. Five--” he sniffed, hard, “no, eight—some females. And Shao Kahn.”
Kano had never minded a fight, but he couldn’t stand being ignored. “Wow, that’s some body odor he’s got,” he cracked.
Kano's mirth was cut short--almost literally--by the flat of Baraka's sword, pressed tight against his voice box.
"Shut up.”
"Alright, alright," Kano yelped. "I meant nothin' by it. Chill out, mate."
Baraka blinked. He failed to see what cold weather had to do with anything. “Take it back.”
The blade pressed closer under Kano's chin, dragging stubble and a hint of skin with it. He bit his tongue.
"Yeah, sure, of course, righto, no problem, then. I take it back. Completely."
Baraka snorted and shoved Kano out of the way, following the scent to a mirror on the opposite wall. He tensed, both because he hated mirrors in general, and because something about this one was very--wrong. It gave off that same bone-hurting tingle he got from the Emperor's lesser spells. It was bad witchery, this thing.
"So, it's through the looking glass, is it?" Kano smirked.
"Wasn' knowing you could read," Baraka replied, leaning on the Mirror as he looked for some sign of where the others had gone. The glass flowed like mercury, rippling over his hand. He snarled in alarm and stabbed it.
The Mirror of Y'tilaer squalled, buckled inward, and swallowed him whole. Kano took one look at these proceedings and ran like hell.
The Mirror swung out in a wide, liquid arc and gave chase, sucking up several papers and assorted strange knickknacks in its eagerness. Kano fled for his life--something he'd had plenty of practice at--but he slammed into a half-buried end-table and skidded through the papers, flat on his back. The wave of glass rushed toward him with an eerie metallic hiss.
"You'll never take me alive!" he howled, plunging one raptor blade deep into the Mirror as it flowed across his arm.
Kano swore a blue streak and vanished.
The glass pulled back into itself and stilled. Reptile, who had gone invisible, pushed his way through the debris scattered by his companions. He sighed.
"Honessstly." He tasted the air ahead, but found no evidence of death. Shang Tsung was on the other side; he must follow. It was that simple.
Reptile shrugged and walked through the Mirror.
And I finally know some things, so I need to hurry up and type them in while I'm still on a caffeine jag. ^_~
