Project WITIDE, Chapter 1
Jul. 1st, 2011 07:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sagesariaProject What-Is-This-I-Don't-Even
By Sage Saria
Author's Notes: Ok, I just have to say, this is the craziest fucking project I've ever worked on, and I'm only just starting to flesh it out. What do you need to know about this thing? Well, it's based on characters from thatguywiththeglasses.com, namely Linkara's series Atop the Fourth Wall, starting in an LJ RP called Second City where the two characters, Mechakara and Judas Liz, dwell and work together. My friend and I call them the Impossible Ship, because it would be kind of awesome to see them as a couple, but it wouldn't work at ALL because of their personalities, namely Mechakara's in that he hates humans and wants to destroy them all. This idea all started as a simple little plot in an attempt to get the two of them together, even if only briefly, but the conflicting character traits and the explanations as to why things happen caused it to spiral out of control into the project you are now about to read, which is why I have dubbed it Project What-Is-This-I-Don't-Even. As a friend once said, I have no delusions about my delusions; I know this whole thing is insane and bizarre and is likely to have a few moments of OOCness and potentially obscure references to the game among other general nonsense. But I hope you enjoy it anyway.
Chapter 1
The dim, nearly overcast Chicago sun slowly set on the dreary city, cloaking it once again in total darkness. Outside the window, in the streets below the old abandoned apartment, there was an obvious shift in activity; the vampires were coming out to hunt. Those who could rushed for cover, seeking whatever source of light they could in their homes.
Mechakara had paid the outside world no heed all this time. He had instead been focused on Franky's gunarm. While many of the cyborg's enhancements had already been made, the malfunctioning gun still proved a nuisance, and he had spent several days attempting to fix it, hoping to rid it of the glitches brought on by the magical atmosphere of this infernal city. But he had only had little success thus far, and with night coming and the power in the city still out, he begrudgingly decided to call it a night; even with his enhanced vision the lack of what little light there was wouldn't do him a lot of good.
He sighed, setting his tools aside, and now that he allowed himself to be aware of his surroundings he realized how quiet it was. While the woman with whom he shared this apartment thankfully made little habit of making conversation, he would usually at least hear the creaking of leather and squeaking of the worn floorboards as Judas Liz paced around the apartment, sharpening her sword or otherwise occupying her own time, there was no sound or movement behind him. It was worth little more than an inkling of curiosity, but as he turned from his work he briefly glanced around the living room. His eyes settled on the old worn out couch that had been there the day he settled in the place.
There she was. Judas was lying on one side of the couch, curled lightly around herself and quite clearly asleep, her head resting awkwardly on the arm of the couch. Mechakara raised an eyebrow as he saw her. She never allowed herself to be so vulnerable, and typically when she did rest her eyes the slightest touch or noise would have woken her, but as he curiously prodded her cheek with his exposed robotic finger, it provoked little more than a slight twitch as she turned her face away from his touch. He just looked her over thoughtfully. While this was unusual, he knew it was for the better if she was well rested before Linkara finally came for his cyborg friend. At least she didn't snore.
Judas curled a little tighter, crossing her arms around herself and shivering a little. Mechakara hadn't even noticed how chilly a March evening it was, and couldn't help grumbling to himself about humankind's sensitive bodies. He sighed again, slipping the brown corduroy coat from his shoulders and tossing it lightly over her. It was only out of maintaining his own assets; it wouldn't do for her to catch a cold, especially not now on the verge of battle. Besides, it might be better for him to wear fewer layers of clothing in case another malfunction were to possibly overheat his processors again. He watched as she relaxed at the newfound warmth, pulling the coat around herself and turning to make herself more comfortable. Satisfied that she was comfortable enough, Mechakara turned to other preparations for the coming fight with Linkara.
***
There was still little sunlight to be had the following morning, so as Judas Liz finally stirred awake she almost thought that it was still night. Not that she could tell when she was awake to watch the day pass. Slowly she rolled to her back, muscles stiff and sore from her choice of bed as she raised a hand out from under the coat and to her face, rubbing her eyes. Had she been asleep? Slowly her eyes opened. The window had only the faintest glow of light outside, the sun struggling to get through the thick, heavy clouds overhead, and Mechakara's broad frame was silhouetted by the window, back turned to her, staring at the streets below. Faintly she could tell that he wasn't wearing his brown coat, which she then realized, as she sat up slowly, she had been using as a blanket. She raised an eyebrow; that seemed like an unusually nice gesture from him.
He didn't turn to face her as he spoke, as if he had sensed her eyes on him.
"Still no sign of Linkara." was all he had to report. Judas swung her legs over to the front of the couch, stretching her stiff joints carefully, particularly her right shoulder, still suffering the misuse from resting it after sustaining that injury.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"A few minutes after eight."
She was silent for a few more minutes. Her gauntlets were starting to get uncomfortable, leaving impressions in her arms from wearing them so long. She reached to attempt to readjust them, pausing as she looked over her right arm. The leather of her gauntlet was completely intact, not even a scratch as she ran her fingers over it. So that little girl with the knife was only a dream, she concluded. That was almost a shame; she had some great dreams last night. Hell, she even had Iron Liz by the throat. She almost wanted to tell Mechakara about it, but suspected that he wouldn't care so much to hear what goes on in the subconscious mind of a human.
Mechakara still didn't turn his gaze from the window, save for keeping watch on the unconscious cyborg out of the corner of his eye. Behind him he could hear Judas stand and walk out of the room, down the hall. He paid it no mind and continued to watch the streets below. There was still little activity, save for a few newcomers wandering the streets lost, or small groups traveling back and fourth, seemingly looking for something. They were irrelevant, though. His read eyes remained focused on the Blackstone Hotel, far in the distance. There was nothing. Neither Linkara nor his friends had made their move yet. It seemed he would have to make his plans known.
He could hear the water running in the bathroom down the hall and set his jaw in slight irritation as he drummed his robotic fingers on the window pane. She had better not take too long in there. It was almost unbelievable, he thought, how humans have lasted this long in the multiverse with so much maintenance involved around themselves. Hygiene, sleep, metabolism, so much work just to stay alive and function properly. All he needed was to keep his metal body intact, and for now some very simple care to keep his flesh suit from decomposing. Oh how he waited for the day he could be done with this mission and be rid of this blasted thing at last.
His mind wandered to his home world. He wondered how his robot brethren fared now. Perhaps they had already abolished the remaining human resistance. They may have magic to aid them, but the machines outnumbered them vastly, surely their blasted magic couldn't hold out forever. Perhaps he could come home to find that they had won in their conquest, and with his discoveries they could plan the conquest of the rest of the multiverse. He smiled to himself at that thought.
He plucked the city's phone from his pocket, flipping idly through it, contemplative. This was taking too long; while it wasn't the way he preferred to work, perhaps it was about time to give Linkara a call. As he thought, the water cut off and after a few more minutes Judas returned to the living room, muttering to herself.
"Christ, the water is freezing."
Mechakara turned to look at her. Her hair was dark and limp from moisture and it fell over her face as she sat back on the couch, stepping back into her heavy leather boots.
"Well what did you expect? The power's still out." he took his leather gloves from the windowsill, pulling them back on, "Any time you're ready, Judas, I think it's time we moved things forward. We wouldn't want our little friend to get out of shape."
"Hey, you're the boss," Judas replied, zipping up her other boot. Mechakara regarded that answer with a little smirk. He knew of her preference as a lone wolf, but being considered her "boss" was certainly satisfying, to say the least. He certainly deserved more respect than Lord Vyce ever did. As Judas stood, re-threading her gloves on her hands, Mechakara flipped through the contacts on his phone, looking for Linkara's entry.
But before he could press the call button, his eyes abruptly went out of focus. He blinked, struggling to re-align his vision as a sense of vertigo swam over him. He staggered, struggling to at least steer himself toward the wall for support. A static hum crept through his head, as if his processors' connections were suddenly failing, white noise crackling in his ears and static snow clouding his vision. He took one last step, suddenly stumbling forward as if there was no floor where his foot landed, falling through space for a split second.
By Sage Saria
Author's Notes: Ok, I just have to say, this is the craziest fucking project I've ever worked on, and I'm only just starting to flesh it out. What do you need to know about this thing? Well, it's based on characters from thatguywiththeglasses.com, namely Linkara's series Atop the Fourth Wall, starting in an LJ RP called Second City where the two characters, Mechakara and Judas Liz, dwell and work together. My friend and I call them the Impossible Ship, because it would be kind of awesome to see them as a couple, but it wouldn't work at ALL because of their personalities, namely Mechakara's in that he hates humans and wants to destroy them all. This idea all started as a simple little plot in an attempt to get the two of them together, even if only briefly, but the conflicting character traits and the explanations as to why things happen caused it to spiral out of control into the project you are now about to read, which is why I have dubbed it Project What-Is-This-I-Don't-Even. As a friend once said, I have no delusions about my delusions; I know this whole thing is insane and bizarre and is likely to have a few moments of OOCness and potentially obscure references to the game among other general nonsense. But I hope you enjoy it anyway.
Chapter 1
The dim, nearly overcast Chicago sun slowly set on the dreary city, cloaking it once again in total darkness. Outside the window, in the streets below the old abandoned apartment, there was an obvious shift in activity; the vampires were coming out to hunt. Those who could rushed for cover, seeking whatever source of light they could in their homes.
Mechakara had paid the outside world no heed all this time. He had instead been focused on Franky's gunarm. While many of the cyborg's enhancements had already been made, the malfunctioning gun still proved a nuisance, and he had spent several days attempting to fix it, hoping to rid it of the glitches brought on by the magical atmosphere of this infernal city. But he had only had little success thus far, and with night coming and the power in the city still out, he begrudgingly decided to call it a night; even with his enhanced vision the lack of what little light there was wouldn't do him a lot of good.
He sighed, setting his tools aside, and now that he allowed himself to be aware of his surroundings he realized how quiet it was. While the woman with whom he shared this apartment thankfully made little habit of making conversation, he would usually at least hear the creaking of leather and squeaking of the worn floorboards as Judas Liz paced around the apartment, sharpening her sword or otherwise occupying her own time, there was no sound or movement behind him. It was worth little more than an inkling of curiosity, but as he turned from his work he briefly glanced around the living room. His eyes settled on the old worn out couch that had been there the day he settled in the place.
There she was. Judas was lying on one side of the couch, curled lightly around herself and quite clearly asleep, her head resting awkwardly on the arm of the couch. Mechakara raised an eyebrow as he saw her. She never allowed herself to be so vulnerable, and typically when she did rest her eyes the slightest touch or noise would have woken her, but as he curiously prodded her cheek with his exposed robotic finger, it provoked little more than a slight twitch as she turned her face away from his touch. He just looked her over thoughtfully. While this was unusual, he knew it was for the better if she was well rested before Linkara finally came for his cyborg friend. At least she didn't snore.
Judas curled a little tighter, crossing her arms around herself and shivering a little. Mechakara hadn't even noticed how chilly a March evening it was, and couldn't help grumbling to himself about humankind's sensitive bodies. He sighed again, slipping the brown corduroy coat from his shoulders and tossing it lightly over her. It was only out of maintaining his own assets; it wouldn't do for her to catch a cold, especially not now on the verge of battle. Besides, it might be better for him to wear fewer layers of clothing in case another malfunction were to possibly overheat his processors again. He watched as she relaxed at the newfound warmth, pulling the coat around herself and turning to make herself more comfortable. Satisfied that she was comfortable enough, Mechakara turned to other preparations for the coming fight with Linkara.
***
There was still little sunlight to be had the following morning, so as Judas Liz finally stirred awake she almost thought that it was still night. Not that she could tell when she was awake to watch the day pass. Slowly she rolled to her back, muscles stiff and sore from her choice of bed as she raised a hand out from under the coat and to her face, rubbing her eyes. Had she been asleep? Slowly her eyes opened. The window had only the faintest glow of light outside, the sun struggling to get through the thick, heavy clouds overhead, and Mechakara's broad frame was silhouetted by the window, back turned to her, staring at the streets below. Faintly she could tell that he wasn't wearing his brown coat, which she then realized, as she sat up slowly, she had been using as a blanket. She raised an eyebrow; that seemed like an unusually nice gesture from him.
He didn't turn to face her as he spoke, as if he had sensed her eyes on him.
"Still no sign of Linkara." was all he had to report. Judas swung her legs over to the front of the couch, stretching her stiff joints carefully, particularly her right shoulder, still suffering the misuse from resting it after sustaining that injury.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"A few minutes after eight."
She was silent for a few more minutes. Her gauntlets were starting to get uncomfortable, leaving impressions in her arms from wearing them so long. She reached to attempt to readjust them, pausing as she looked over her right arm. The leather of her gauntlet was completely intact, not even a scratch as she ran her fingers over it. So that little girl with the knife was only a dream, she concluded. That was almost a shame; she had some great dreams last night. Hell, she even had Iron Liz by the throat. She almost wanted to tell Mechakara about it, but suspected that he wouldn't care so much to hear what goes on in the subconscious mind of a human.
Mechakara still didn't turn his gaze from the window, save for keeping watch on the unconscious cyborg out of the corner of his eye. Behind him he could hear Judas stand and walk out of the room, down the hall. He paid it no mind and continued to watch the streets below. There was still little activity, save for a few newcomers wandering the streets lost, or small groups traveling back and fourth, seemingly looking for something. They were irrelevant, though. His read eyes remained focused on the Blackstone Hotel, far in the distance. There was nothing. Neither Linkara nor his friends had made their move yet. It seemed he would have to make his plans known.
He could hear the water running in the bathroom down the hall and set his jaw in slight irritation as he drummed his robotic fingers on the window pane. She had better not take too long in there. It was almost unbelievable, he thought, how humans have lasted this long in the multiverse with so much maintenance involved around themselves. Hygiene, sleep, metabolism, so much work just to stay alive and function properly. All he needed was to keep his metal body intact, and for now some very simple care to keep his flesh suit from decomposing. Oh how he waited for the day he could be done with this mission and be rid of this blasted thing at last.
His mind wandered to his home world. He wondered how his robot brethren fared now. Perhaps they had already abolished the remaining human resistance. They may have magic to aid them, but the machines outnumbered them vastly, surely their blasted magic couldn't hold out forever. Perhaps he could come home to find that they had won in their conquest, and with his discoveries they could plan the conquest of the rest of the multiverse. He smiled to himself at that thought.
He plucked the city's phone from his pocket, flipping idly through it, contemplative. This was taking too long; while it wasn't the way he preferred to work, perhaps it was about time to give Linkara a call. As he thought, the water cut off and after a few more minutes Judas returned to the living room, muttering to herself.
"Christ, the water is freezing."
Mechakara turned to look at her. Her hair was dark and limp from moisture and it fell over her face as she sat back on the couch, stepping back into her heavy leather boots.
"Well what did you expect? The power's still out." he took his leather gloves from the windowsill, pulling them back on, "Any time you're ready, Judas, I think it's time we moved things forward. We wouldn't want our little friend to get out of shape."
"Hey, you're the boss," Judas replied, zipping up her other boot. Mechakara regarded that answer with a little smirk. He knew of her preference as a lone wolf, but being considered her "boss" was certainly satisfying, to say the least. He certainly deserved more respect than Lord Vyce ever did. As Judas stood, re-threading her gloves on her hands, Mechakara flipped through the contacts on his phone, looking for Linkara's entry.
But before he could press the call button, his eyes abruptly went out of focus. He blinked, struggling to re-align his vision as a sense of vertigo swam over him. He staggered, struggling to at least steer himself toward the wall for support. A static hum crept through his head, as if his processors' connections were suddenly failing, white noise crackling in his ears and static snow clouding his vision. He took one last step, suddenly stumbling forward as if there was no floor where his foot landed, falling through space for a split second.
