06-06-2008, 06:45 PM
“What else has changed?” Minoshia inquired, pausing for a few brief moments to rip away a chunk of meat from his portion. Once the konat had swallowed the morsel, he turned his perpetually scowling visage back to the android and tacked on an extra sentence to his question. “Still playing guardian to that herd of weaklings?” The warrior’s voice was a serpentine hiss, his mouth curling up into a malicious grin as he kept talking. “…And Violet?”
“Heh,” Seventeen grumbled, looking down at the charred piece of meat that he held loosely in his hands. With a low growl, the android ripped apart the char grilled slab of food—his eyes flaring red as thoughts of that woman and the all the other heathens swirled through the depths of his mind. From his seat a few feet away, Minoshia watched with a sort of sadistic mirth as the machine-hybrid began to glow red once more.
“Take it I struck a nerve?” The konat snickered as he tore another strip of meat from his portion and devoured it, his gleaming eyes moving away from the cyborg.
“It’s none of your business,” Seventeen growled, taking a large bite from his meal as he needed a moment and wanted to chew it over with some rabbit meat. Minoshia merely smiled, knowing all too well that he should have anticipated that response from the android. Nevertheless, the dark prince was far too intrigued at this point to just shirk such an amusing topic.
As the machine-hybrid swallowed his most recent mouthful of food, Minoshia cleared his throat and stared at the strange, vengeful man that had replaced the old Seventeen that he had abhorred, more or less, for the last two years of his life. There had to be some reasoning behind the android’s erratic behavior, and despite his loathing of awkward interactions that involved absolutely no death, the konat was somewhat interested in finding out the mystery of the man seated before him.
“What’s the matter,” Minoshia asked, his tone of voice betraying any false sympathy he had been trying to express. “Did you have to die to save those little ingrates lately?”
“Hey,” Seventeen snapped, glaring over at the snickering warrior. “Poison any children lately, Minoshia? Or did you upgrade to baby punting?” The remark caused the scowl of the dark prince to fade into a hateful frown, but before the konat had a chance to counter the insult, the android suddenly vaulted off the ground.
That’s right. The voice sighed, sounding just as irritated as Minoshia looked. Aggravate the only person in this entire competition that’s worth trusting. You make me sad sometimes, buckaroo.
“Shut your mouth,” Seventeen groaned, shaking his head as he tried to reach down and collect his bag from the ground. On the horizon, the sun was already climbing up toward its apex, and with every hour, the ambient temperature was increasing by leaps and bounds. It was best that the duo made some progress before they had to pause to cool back down. And unfortunately for the android, the headaches and the debilitating fits of numbness were beginning to worsen. If he didn’t find a resolution quickly, then he knew that the outcome wasn’t going to be the most wonderful in the world.
“What?” The konat barked, grabbing his duffel bag and vaulting off the floor. In an instant, Minoshia and Seventeen were standing face-to-face—their mouths were tight scowls as they silently glared into the depths of one another’s warped, ensanguined souls. As the two warriors vied to prove to the other their superiority, auras of red energy began to flicker around their bodies. The fiery ki danced harmlessly across their features as neither the android nor the konat refused to back down. After a minute or so, the machine-hybrid’s expression softened just a little bit, and just like that, his mouth curved up in to a sinister smirk.
“Violet is a memory,” Seventeen rasped, the heat of his voice causing Minoshia’s facial muscles to twitch subconsciously. “A bookmark in one of the less appetizing chapters of my life,” the answer caused the shorter of the two warriors to reciprocate the malefic grin of his traveling ‘partner.’ With that remark, the android and konat simply backed away from one another, collected their things, and resumed their venture across the desert.
Bravo. The voice snickered, but this time, the interjection didn’t trigger another painful migraine. Instead of reeling in pain or screaming something obscene, Seventeen simply smirked as the gruesome laughter echoed within his mind. We’ll be working together soon, you and I. The formless presence added, prompting the android to nod his head. Little by little, the whole picture was beginning to come into focus, and as his time in the Abyss continued, Seventeen continued to accept the formerly unacceptable.
It would only be a matter of time before he was truly free. Free from those who would seek to extinguish the fire that blazed within him. Free from the stringent fallacies of truth and justice. Soon he would rise once more as a man reborn…soon his rage would be freed upon the world. Those who dare oppress him would be immolated by those unquenchable flames.
“Heh,” Seventeen grumbled, looking down at the charred piece of meat that he held loosely in his hands. With a low growl, the android ripped apart the char grilled slab of food—his eyes flaring red as thoughts of that woman and the all the other heathens swirled through the depths of his mind. From his seat a few feet away, Minoshia watched with a sort of sadistic mirth as the machine-hybrid began to glow red once more.
“Take it I struck a nerve?” The konat snickered as he tore another strip of meat from his portion and devoured it, his gleaming eyes moving away from the cyborg.
“It’s none of your business,” Seventeen growled, taking a large bite from his meal as he needed a moment and wanted to chew it over with some rabbit meat. Minoshia merely smiled, knowing all too well that he should have anticipated that response from the android. Nevertheless, the dark prince was far too intrigued at this point to just shirk such an amusing topic.
As the machine-hybrid swallowed his most recent mouthful of food, Minoshia cleared his throat and stared at the strange, vengeful man that had replaced the old Seventeen that he had abhorred, more or less, for the last two years of his life. There had to be some reasoning behind the android’s erratic behavior, and despite his loathing of awkward interactions that involved absolutely no death, the konat was somewhat interested in finding out the mystery of the man seated before him.
“What’s the matter,” Minoshia asked, his tone of voice betraying any false sympathy he had been trying to express. “Did you have to die to save those little ingrates lately?”
“Hey,” Seventeen snapped, glaring over at the snickering warrior. “Poison any children lately, Minoshia? Or did you upgrade to baby punting?” The remark caused the scowl of the dark prince to fade into a hateful frown, but before the konat had a chance to counter the insult, the android suddenly vaulted off the ground.
That’s right. The voice sighed, sounding just as irritated as Minoshia looked. Aggravate the only person in this entire competition that’s worth trusting. You make me sad sometimes, buckaroo.
“Shut your mouth,” Seventeen groaned, shaking his head as he tried to reach down and collect his bag from the ground. On the horizon, the sun was already climbing up toward its apex, and with every hour, the ambient temperature was increasing by leaps and bounds. It was best that the duo made some progress before they had to pause to cool back down. And unfortunately for the android, the headaches and the debilitating fits of numbness were beginning to worsen. If he didn’t find a resolution quickly, then he knew that the outcome wasn’t going to be the most wonderful in the world.
“What?” The konat barked, grabbing his duffel bag and vaulting off the floor. In an instant, Minoshia and Seventeen were standing face-to-face—their mouths were tight scowls as they silently glared into the depths of one another’s warped, ensanguined souls. As the two warriors vied to prove to the other their superiority, auras of red energy began to flicker around their bodies. The fiery ki danced harmlessly across their features as neither the android nor the konat refused to back down. After a minute or so, the machine-hybrid’s expression softened just a little bit, and just like that, his mouth curved up in to a sinister smirk.
“Violet is a memory,” Seventeen rasped, the heat of his voice causing Minoshia’s facial muscles to twitch subconsciously. “A bookmark in one of the less appetizing chapters of my life,” the answer caused the shorter of the two warriors to reciprocate the malefic grin of his traveling ‘partner.’ With that remark, the android and konat simply backed away from one another, collected their things, and resumed their venture across the desert.
Bravo. The voice snickered, but this time, the interjection didn’t trigger another painful migraine. Instead of reeling in pain or screaming something obscene, Seventeen simply smirked as the gruesome laughter echoed within his mind. We’ll be working together soon, you and I. The formless presence added, prompting the android to nod his head. Little by little, the whole picture was beginning to come into focus, and as his time in the Abyss continued, Seventeen continued to accept the formerly unacceptable.
It would only be a matter of time before he was truly free. Free from those who would seek to extinguish the fire that blazed within him. Free from the stringent fallacies of truth and justice. Soon he would rise once more as a man reborn…soon his rage would be freed upon the world. Those who dare oppress him would be immolated by those unquenchable flames.
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