03-11-2009, 01:42 AM
I’m still going to try to help, because not everyone is living purely for themselves.
The priestess had said that only minutes before, and she had been wondering how much she actually believed that. On one hand, the headphones with a body had made it a point to hold off the hordes of scorpions all by himself with no thoughts of himself or his own well-being that she noticed. Then, on the other, Sophia herself was running in the opposite direction, worried about her own safety. No matter how much she tried to justify it—after all, the azure-haired woman running next to her needed someone to keep an eye on her— knew that she was scared, and that she didn’t want to die.
The priestess stopped running. She knew that if there was to be any merit to her words, she would have to use action to those ends, as well. Although it scared her, she knew that she couldn’t allow herself to leave the boy behind. As she turned to run back, it took a while for anyone to notice that she wasn’t at their side anymore. The hybrid was the first, and it was her sudden halt that stopped the rest of the group.
“So—Sophia…” Although Sophia didn’t see it, Sage tried to call out to her, but her timid nature choked the words in the throat. Luckily, Wizard helped her out.
“Don’t be an idiot, kid!” the older man shouted after the priestess. “Headphones is keeping the lines busy so we have more time to escape!”
Sophia didn’t even stop to answer. They probably wouldn’t have even accepted whatever answer she would have given anyway. No, she was much more involved with what she would do when she actually got there. The distant explosions grew louder as she neared, and what she saw confirmed what she heard; Tempo had lost it. He no longer had the look of confidence and serenity on his face as his ki bolts tore through their scorpion foes. Explosions rang throughout the hollowed cave; explosions that got a little too close to Sophia for comfort.
But every time the boy turned his head towards her, his blank eyes would stare right past her. He seemed to no longer see things in terms friend or foe, ally or adversary. He saw things in black and white; in terms of who threatened him and who didn’t. The beam of blazing energy that sailed past her head and collided with a large scorpion that somehow got behind her informed her that she wasn’t so much of a threat. Despite all of this, she still wanted to stay and help him, if only to save herself the miserable dash of shame back to the rest of the group. However, something exploded to her left that made her think otherwise.
It was the wall. Pieces from it crumbled to the ground as cracked stretched from the hole from top to bottom. Sophia took a few cautious steps backwards as the cracks began to spread to the ceiling. Pebbles starting falling to the ground as the walls of the cave began to shake violently. The overwhelmed Tempo ignored it though, slicing through the scorpions with amounts of ki that Sophia had only seen come from Kaden. Shaking her head, she knew that only bad things would come from the situation; she knew that she somehow had to get close to the rampaging boy if she was to save him. The other alternative was to turn and leave him behind; an option that Sophia knew that she couldn’t pursue.
The priestess didn’t hesitate. Deep breaths calmed her down as she progressed towards Tempo, striking down a scorpion in her way by driving down a glowing orb of power. The exoskeleton of the bugger cracked open with a sickening sound, and the energy friend whatever was left as the priestess hurdled over the fresh corpse. Adrenaline pumped in her veins—she had never had a goal, a time limit like this. She kicked another one out of her way, and it landed in front of the dazed Tempo.
They say that a sleepwalker should never, under any circumstances, be jolted awake while in that state. While Sophia had no idea who “they” were, or if Tempo’s power-induced craze was comparable to sleepwalking, she knew immediately that any disruption was probably not the most desirable as he whipped his head around and threw an excess of ki at—or more like around, in his haste—at her. The priestess had a split moment to react, jumping out of its way and onto the ground. The ball hit the interior of the cave once more, shaking it as though it rocked its very foundation.
Sensing a disaster in the entrance of the cave, Sophia lanced onto her feet and dashed at the kid. She grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him to the ground, wrapping her body around as they fell and landing on top of him. A few rocks fell where he stood, followed by the sound of rocks that were sure to ensue. When they landed, Sophia’s knee bumped into something; she heard a click, followed by the sound of stifled music. She looked up at Tempo—his breathing had slowed, and his eyes seemed clearer. While the priestess was relieved that she probably didn’t have to deal with his rampaging, the cave-in was still sure to happen, so she dragged the boy to his feet, and pushed him ever-so-slightly as if to tell him “Move your ass.”
Sophia could only think of divine intervention as she noticed that the structural integrity of the cave was still intact past the entrance tunnel, meaning that they were at least safe from getting crushed—unless something happened to Tempo’s iPod again. Once they cleared the tunnel, they collapsed, letting the dust and sand fly out over them as what was left of the tunnel had caved in. The pair coughed as they stood on their feet once again, an awkward silence ensuing.
“…are you okay?” Sophia eventually asked, brushing dust off of her clothing.
“…yeah, I’m alright,” the boy looked at the ground, bobbing his head to the music playing slightly. “Hey, listen…uhh…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Sophia shrugged. “Let’s try to find the rest of the group. We’re far from out of danger.”
It was hard to tell where they had gone—it wasn’t as though there was an obvious choice to go, as there were multiple tunnels that all looked relatively the same. The faint sound of voices, however, guided them, and within a few minutes they were reunited with the rest of the Friend or Foe victims. Sage was resting silently in the corner; the other two hardly looked as though they knew what to do with themselves.
“What was that noise we heard a while ago?” Nash inquired. He shot an annoyed glance at the sleeping beauty, but honored her by keeping quiet regardless.
“Well…let’s just say that the entrance is no longer an option,” Tempo explained with a sense of irony.
“So…what does that mean, exactly?” Juno glared at the pair.
“It means that we’ll have to try and find another way out,” Sophia sighed. “And we’ll have to do it soon. Who knows how long it’ll take for the tinier scorpions to find their way inside.”
The priestess had said that only minutes before, and she had been wondering how much she actually believed that. On one hand, the headphones with a body had made it a point to hold off the hordes of scorpions all by himself with no thoughts of himself or his own well-being that she noticed. Then, on the other, Sophia herself was running in the opposite direction, worried about her own safety. No matter how much she tried to justify it—after all, the azure-haired woman running next to her needed someone to keep an eye on her— knew that she was scared, and that she didn’t want to die.
The priestess stopped running. She knew that if there was to be any merit to her words, she would have to use action to those ends, as well. Although it scared her, she knew that she couldn’t allow herself to leave the boy behind. As she turned to run back, it took a while for anyone to notice that she wasn’t at their side anymore. The hybrid was the first, and it was her sudden halt that stopped the rest of the group.
“So—Sophia…” Although Sophia didn’t see it, Sage tried to call out to her, but her timid nature choked the words in the throat. Luckily, Wizard helped her out.
“Don’t be an idiot, kid!” the older man shouted after the priestess. “Headphones is keeping the lines busy so we have more time to escape!”
Sophia didn’t even stop to answer. They probably wouldn’t have even accepted whatever answer she would have given anyway. No, she was much more involved with what she would do when she actually got there. The distant explosions grew louder as she neared, and what she saw confirmed what she heard; Tempo had lost it. He no longer had the look of confidence and serenity on his face as his ki bolts tore through their scorpion foes. Explosions rang throughout the hollowed cave; explosions that got a little too close to Sophia for comfort.
But every time the boy turned his head towards her, his blank eyes would stare right past her. He seemed to no longer see things in terms friend or foe, ally or adversary. He saw things in black and white; in terms of who threatened him and who didn’t. The beam of blazing energy that sailed past her head and collided with a large scorpion that somehow got behind her informed her that she wasn’t so much of a threat. Despite all of this, she still wanted to stay and help him, if only to save herself the miserable dash of shame back to the rest of the group. However, something exploded to her left that made her think otherwise.
It was the wall. Pieces from it crumbled to the ground as cracked stretched from the hole from top to bottom. Sophia took a few cautious steps backwards as the cracks began to spread to the ceiling. Pebbles starting falling to the ground as the walls of the cave began to shake violently. The overwhelmed Tempo ignored it though, slicing through the scorpions with amounts of ki that Sophia had only seen come from Kaden. Shaking her head, she knew that only bad things would come from the situation; she knew that she somehow had to get close to the rampaging boy if she was to save him. The other alternative was to turn and leave him behind; an option that Sophia knew that she couldn’t pursue.
The priestess didn’t hesitate. Deep breaths calmed her down as she progressed towards Tempo, striking down a scorpion in her way by driving down a glowing orb of power. The exoskeleton of the bugger cracked open with a sickening sound, and the energy friend whatever was left as the priestess hurdled over the fresh corpse. Adrenaline pumped in her veins—she had never had a goal, a time limit like this. She kicked another one out of her way, and it landed in front of the dazed Tempo.
They say that a sleepwalker should never, under any circumstances, be jolted awake while in that state. While Sophia had no idea who “they” were, or if Tempo’s power-induced craze was comparable to sleepwalking, she knew immediately that any disruption was probably not the most desirable as he whipped his head around and threw an excess of ki at—or more like around, in his haste—at her. The priestess had a split moment to react, jumping out of its way and onto the ground. The ball hit the interior of the cave once more, shaking it as though it rocked its very foundation.
Sensing a disaster in the entrance of the cave, Sophia lanced onto her feet and dashed at the kid. She grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him to the ground, wrapping her body around as they fell and landing on top of him. A few rocks fell where he stood, followed by the sound of rocks that were sure to ensue. When they landed, Sophia’s knee bumped into something; she heard a click, followed by the sound of stifled music. She looked up at Tempo—his breathing had slowed, and his eyes seemed clearer. While the priestess was relieved that she probably didn’t have to deal with his rampaging, the cave-in was still sure to happen, so she dragged the boy to his feet, and pushed him ever-so-slightly as if to tell him “Move your ass.”
Sophia could only think of divine intervention as she noticed that the structural integrity of the cave was still intact past the entrance tunnel, meaning that they were at least safe from getting crushed—unless something happened to Tempo’s iPod again. Once they cleared the tunnel, they collapsed, letting the dust and sand fly out over them as what was left of the tunnel had caved in. The pair coughed as they stood on their feet once again, an awkward silence ensuing.
“…are you okay?” Sophia eventually asked, brushing dust off of her clothing.
“…yeah, I’m alright,” the boy looked at the ground, bobbing his head to the music playing slightly. “Hey, listen…uhh…”
“Don’t worry about it,” Sophia shrugged. “Let’s try to find the rest of the group. We’re far from out of danger.”
It was hard to tell where they had gone—it wasn’t as though there was an obvious choice to go, as there were multiple tunnels that all looked relatively the same. The faint sound of voices, however, guided them, and within a few minutes they were reunited with the rest of the Friend or Foe victims. Sage was resting silently in the corner; the other two hardly looked as though they knew what to do with themselves.
“What was that noise we heard a while ago?” Nash inquired. He shot an annoyed glance at the sleeping beauty, but honored her by keeping quiet regardless.
“Well…let’s just say that the entrance is no longer an option,” Tempo explained with a sense of irony.
“So…what does that mean, exactly?” Juno glared at the pair.
“It means that we’ll have to try and find another way out,” Sophia sighed. “And we’ll have to do it soon. Who knows how long it’ll take for the tinier scorpions to find their way inside.”