WITIDE chapter 2
Jul. 5th, 2011 05:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sagesariaChapter 2
Earth 10-204
Judas Liz's eyes snapped open, stumbling as if she had nearly fallen asleep on her feet. Her vision was still clouded, the world around her spinning. She braced herself against the wall, shutting her eyes against the dizziness and sudden nausea.
It took several deep breaths but gradually the sickness subsided. As her eyes finally took focus, she looked around, as if the cause of that sudden dizzy spell would be somewhere in the room. Instead, she found that this room was not the living room of their apartment. It was in much better condition, walls painted a soft green hue and the decor fancy and almost regal. Judas took a moment to listen for any other movement in the apartment, suddenly worried that they were intruders in someone else's home. But there was no one, save for Mechakara, crouched on his hands and knees on the floor, seeming to still suffer the ill effects of whatever just happened.
"Pollo?" she knelt by his side. She hesitated to touch him, but the daze and shock in his face was apparent. He struggled to focus, looking up at her.
"Wh-what was--" he cut himself off, clutching his throat and coughing hoarsely. He seemed just as startled as she was as he spoke; his voice was not its usual mechanical grating sound. In fact, it sounded just like Linkara's own voice. Mechakara grabbed for one of his gloves, yanking it harshly off of his hand. A human hand greeted him under the leather, and not his thin metal claw. He stared in disbelief, turning his hand over and looking at it in shock. The fingers curled when he willed them, he could feel their fleshy texture as he rubbed their pads together.
He brushed passed Judas in a panic, leaping to his feet to find a mirror hanging on the wall. The face of his Linkara skin suit stared back at him, but by now he had begun to notice that his vision had drastically diminished, and as he stared into his reflection's wide eyes, there was no red glow, only the bright blue orbs of his disguise, only now they were real eyes. The pupils dilated as he stared on. Judas watched as his face faded from shock and disbelief slowly to rage, his hands clenching into fists as it began to sink in. He was human.
"NO!" he bellowed, voice still raspy as he accommodated for his newfound vocal cords, sending his gloved fist through the mirror with a crash, "How could this happen?!" Shattered glass rained down from the frame as he pulled his hand back, his glove now visibly torn in several places.
Judas remained unfazed by his outburst, moving to the window to peer outside. "More than that, where the hell are we?" she thought aloud. Upon a look past the curtain, she found that they were now a lot closer to ground level, only on the second floor of whatever building this was, and the city outside was not Chicago as she knew it. The buildings around them were no more than three stories high, their architecture like nothing she had seen before, the streets below unpaved and brown. There wasn't a car in sight; everybody below traveled by foot from building to building. There was an aura about the town below that she could just barely detect. It was the same feeling just on the edge of her senses that she felt in Chicago. Only this time it came with less of that feeling of anticipation of something more.
Mechakara scowled, storming to the window himself and also looking outside. His hands remained clenched in rage and he narrowed his eyes at the sight outside the window.
"Someone is interfering with me," he snarled, "Someone or something keeps getting in my way, and I will not stand for it."
He fumed a few minutes in silence, rubbing the bridge of his nose, trying to think. Staring down from the window silently, he slowly sighed, adjusting the open plaid shirt he wore; it was starting to get itchy, since he wasn't used to being so receptive to the textures of the clothes on his back.
"Let's at least try figuring out where we are." he grumbled, resigned to his fate, and turned for the door. Judas watched him a moment before following, taking up her sheathed sword and his coat, that somehow made it with them to wherever this was, from the couch. She could tell by the look in his eyes that his rage had not fully subsided, and decided to follow at a fairly safe distance, re-buckling the sheath over her shoulder, Frostmourne snug against her back.
The heavy door at the bottom of the stairs spooked away a raccoon sifting through the trash as it banged and creaked open. There was a drastic change in air pressure, causing a gust of wind to fan over the two of them as they stepped into the street. The chill of early spring was still in the air outside. Judas draped Mechakara's coat around her shoulders. As they walked, several passers by gave them looks of curiosity or apprehension, especially Mechakara, still holding his cold stare, which even without the red glow of his robot eyes still intimidated those smaller than himself. But as Judas looked around she noticed something else unusual; these people all looked normal. With such antiquated surroundings she almost expected the people they encountered to look like they'd stumbled upon a renaissance festival. But there was almost no difference in the attire or styling of these people compared to her own home world, or even the more assorted characters who lived in Chicago.
In fact, as they traveled further into the city, there were hints of a modern world interspersed throughout its streets. Street lights lined the city, some of them still lit in the scarce morning light that hadn't fully come out yet. But upon a close look, the light didn't seem to come from any flame or bulb Judas had ever seen. The light seemed to be coming from a few of the buildings as well, glowing through the glass window panes. The citizens all seemed to be happily going about their daily lives, as carefree as in the modern world, like they already had everything they needed. It was a little eerie. She gradually moved to walk closer to Mechakara.
"So...any theories?"
"If I had a guess, I would say magic is involved." he growled, not turning to face her as he spoke. His voice always had a sort of biting, sinister tone to it whenever he mentioned magic, and it definitely still showed, and apparently he too sensed the off-putting aura of the city. Judas trusted his judgment on the subject better than her own; he was more experienced with the world of magic, even if it was from the defensive side.
“The forces behind Chicago’s current state seem somehow connected to all parallel dimensions to ours. People seem to come and go as these...puppet masters, for lack of a better term, please. It wouldn’t surprise me if what we’re seeing now is another world that they decided for some reason to drop us into...maybe just for their own sick amusement, just like everything else.”
“How can you be so sure they’re involved? Doesn’t that mad scientist from the Champion’s dimension have some control over hypertime?”
“I doubt Doctor Insano has discovered a way to physically alter matter between dimensions,” Mechakara replied bitterly, once again holding up his newfound human hand, “Whoever did this, though, I may have to thank them. It’s inconvenient, but a more convincing human disguise might make it worthwhile.”
His words were half-hearted. While what he said was true, internally he still fumed. This condition he ended up contracting through whatever means was downright humiliating. He was a machine, the one trusted with the mission to find a defense against the magic resistance, one of the best, and now here he was, reduced to a meager bag of squishy pink flesh. What would the Machines think if they saw him like this?
"In any case, I think it's best that we find out everything we can about this new place. Maybe there's a clue somewhere as to how to get back to Chicago. Or better yet, how to get to our own world."
Earth 10-204
Judas Liz's eyes snapped open, stumbling as if she had nearly fallen asleep on her feet. Her vision was still clouded, the world around her spinning. She braced herself against the wall, shutting her eyes against the dizziness and sudden nausea.
It took several deep breaths but gradually the sickness subsided. As her eyes finally took focus, she looked around, as if the cause of that sudden dizzy spell would be somewhere in the room. Instead, she found that this room was not the living room of their apartment. It was in much better condition, walls painted a soft green hue and the decor fancy and almost regal. Judas took a moment to listen for any other movement in the apartment, suddenly worried that they were intruders in someone else's home. But there was no one, save for Mechakara, crouched on his hands and knees on the floor, seeming to still suffer the ill effects of whatever just happened.
"Pollo?" she knelt by his side. She hesitated to touch him, but the daze and shock in his face was apparent. He struggled to focus, looking up at her.
"Wh-what was--" he cut himself off, clutching his throat and coughing hoarsely. He seemed just as startled as she was as he spoke; his voice was not its usual mechanical grating sound. In fact, it sounded just like Linkara's own voice. Mechakara grabbed for one of his gloves, yanking it harshly off of his hand. A human hand greeted him under the leather, and not his thin metal claw. He stared in disbelief, turning his hand over and looking at it in shock. The fingers curled when he willed them, he could feel their fleshy texture as he rubbed their pads together.
He brushed passed Judas in a panic, leaping to his feet to find a mirror hanging on the wall. The face of his Linkara skin suit stared back at him, but by now he had begun to notice that his vision had drastically diminished, and as he stared into his reflection's wide eyes, there was no red glow, only the bright blue orbs of his disguise, only now they were real eyes. The pupils dilated as he stared on. Judas watched as his face faded from shock and disbelief slowly to rage, his hands clenching into fists as it began to sink in. He was human.
"NO!" he bellowed, voice still raspy as he accommodated for his newfound vocal cords, sending his gloved fist through the mirror with a crash, "How could this happen?!" Shattered glass rained down from the frame as he pulled his hand back, his glove now visibly torn in several places.
Judas remained unfazed by his outburst, moving to the window to peer outside. "More than that, where the hell are we?" she thought aloud. Upon a look past the curtain, she found that they were now a lot closer to ground level, only on the second floor of whatever building this was, and the city outside was not Chicago as she knew it. The buildings around them were no more than three stories high, their architecture like nothing she had seen before, the streets below unpaved and brown. There wasn't a car in sight; everybody below traveled by foot from building to building. There was an aura about the town below that she could just barely detect. It was the same feeling just on the edge of her senses that she felt in Chicago. Only this time it came with less of that feeling of anticipation of something more.
Mechakara scowled, storming to the window himself and also looking outside. His hands remained clenched in rage and he narrowed his eyes at the sight outside the window.
"Someone is interfering with me," he snarled, "Someone or something keeps getting in my way, and I will not stand for it."
He fumed a few minutes in silence, rubbing the bridge of his nose, trying to think. Staring down from the window silently, he slowly sighed, adjusting the open plaid shirt he wore; it was starting to get itchy, since he wasn't used to being so receptive to the textures of the clothes on his back.
"Let's at least try figuring out where we are." he grumbled, resigned to his fate, and turned for the door. Judas watched him a moment before following, taking up her sheathed sword and his coat, that somehow made it with them to wherever this was, from the couch. She could tell by the look in his eyes that his rage had not fully subsided, and decided to follow at a fairly safe distance, re-buckling the sheath over her shoulder, Frostmourne snug against her back.
The heavy door at the bottom of the stairs spooked away a raccoon sifting through the trash as it banged and creaked open. There was a drastic change in air pressure, causing a gust of wind to fan over the two of them as they stepped into the street. The chill of early spring was still in the air outside. Judas draped Mechakara's coat around her shoulders. As they walked, several passers by gave them looks of curiosity or apprehension, especially Mechakara, still holding his cold stare, which even without the red glow of his robot eyes still intimidated those smaller than himself. But as Judas looked around she noticed something else unusual; these people all looked normal. With such antiquated surroundings she almost expected the people they encountered to look like they'd stumbled upon a renaissance festival. But there was almost no difference in the attire or styling of these people compared to her own home world, or even the more assorted characters who lived in Chicago.
In fact, as they traveled further into the city, there were hints of a modern world interspersed throughout its streets. Street lights lined the city, some of them still lit in the scarce morning light that hadn't fully come out yet. But upon a close look, the light didn't seem to come from any flame or bulb Judas had ever seen. The light seemed to be coming from a few of the buildings as well, glowing through the glass window panes. The citizens all seemed to be happily going about their daily lives, as carefree as in the modern world, like they already had everything they needed. It was a little eerie. She gradually moved to walk closer to Mechakara.
"So...any theories?"
"If I had a guess, I would say magic is involved." he growled, not turning to face her as he spoke. His voice always had a sort of biting, sinister tone to it whenever he mentioned magic, and it definitely still showed, and apparently he too sensed the off-putting aura of the city. Judas trusted his judgment on the subject better than her own; he was more experienced with the world of magic, even if it was from the defensive side.
“The forces behind Chicago’s current state seem somehow connected to all parallel dimensions to ours. People seem to come and go as these...puppet masters, for lack of a better term, please. It wouldn’t surprise me if what we’re seeing now is another world that they decided for some reason to drop us into...maybe just for their own sick amusement, just like everything else.”
“How can you be so sure they’re involved? Doesn’t that mad scientist from the Champion’s dimension have some control over hypertime?”
“I doubt Doctor Insano has discovered a way to physically alter matter between dimensions,” Mechakara replied bitterly, once again holding up his newfound human hand, “Whoever did this, though, I may have to thank them. It’s inconvenient, but a more convincing human disguise might make it worthwhile.”
His words were half-hearted. While what he said was true, internally he still fumed. This condition he ended up contracting through whatever means was downright humiliating. He was a machine, the one trusted with the mission to find a defense against the magic resistance, one of the best, and now here he was, reduced to a meager bag of squishy pink flesh. What would the Machines think if they saw him like this?
"In any case, I think it's best that we find out everything we can about this new place. Maybe there's a clue somewhere as to how to get back to Chicago. Or better yet, how to get to our own world."
