The Ratings War III: Republic of Heaven (Second Round Finals)

[rogueshadows]

neat.

i really enjoyed that, msh. you certainly do your research.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

I'm glad you liked it. I've loved Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's singing and Rumi's poetry since the 90's. Really, The DJ is an excuse for me to shove a bunch of stuff I like in your faces. If you are at all inclined to poetry, it's worth checking out Rumi as translated by Barks. Rumi's poems were spontaneous spoken poems that were written down later, and Barks maintains the loose, informal feeling of the poems, and the playful insight.

I have lived on the lip
of insanity, wanting to know reasons,
knocking on a door. It opens.
I've been knocking from the inside!

 

[Lord Krunk]

You know that time where I anticipated I would be done on Sunday?

Well, guess what. I anticipated wrong.

My Dad's taken over the family computer (the only one with Word) for Uni, my own computer (sans Word) is buggering up all the time, and I have quite a bit of homework due in tomorrow.

Put quite short: I'm not going to get it finished on time.

I don't want to forfeit, but this week in particular has been a hectic one for me, and fate plays a lousy hand. I will get it done, but when is uncertain. Hopefully sooner than later.

Speaking of forfeiting, where on earth is MeatSpace?

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

I don't know - his profile says he was last active August 1, but he hasn't actually posted anything since the beginning of July.

Sorrow, I'm thinking a PM would be a good idea, and if he doesn't respond in 48 hours, auto-forfeit him.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

Not pestering, just wondering - any updates on this?

 

[The Sorrow]

I sent him a message; no reply.
I'll give him until 8 EST.

 

[Lord Krunk]

Sorry guys, I know it should be a forfeit for me now. But I am just posting today that I'm still posting, and writing my entry every waking hour that I'm not doing something.

August is the dreaded month to me, and with the yearlies coming in 2 weeks, it's spreading even more love.

Just know that I'm getting close, and it will be up soon. I'm sorry.

I'm half peeved/half relieved that Meatspace hasn't appeared. On one hand, I don't look so bad with my late entry. On the other, I'm pissed off that I'm going through yet another victory by forfeit. I enjoy reading people's entries just as much as I do writing them. It annoys me that Axle and Athena have had no (well, besides Ultrajoe's draft) limelight yet.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

This may sound like a stupid little gripe, but could you update the title so it doesn't say "SargentToughie/wesdabigman" any more? It kinda makes it look like the RP stalled on that fight.

And also I didn't get my name in the title. *sniffle*

Oh, and are we going to wait for Krunk to post his entry before we get the judges decision or could Nuke and I get our judgement before the other fight in this round is oficially closed?

 

[Fire Daemon]

Oh, and are we going to wait for Krunk to post his entry before we get the judges decision or could Nuke and I get our judgement before the other fight in this round is oficially closed?

In the nature of fairness I try to read all entries at the same time so that I go into each with the same mood. If I where to read yours and NewClassic's entry now I may well grow increasingly tired of waiting for the other two and place unfair prejudice against whoever got their entry in late and send the wrong person forward. I try not to be prejudiced and take each story at face value, that means waiting for all stories to be written before reading them. Even though you two and the other two are not linked, I prefer to wait for all stories to be in before reading them. It's kind of become a superstition and pure tradition at this time.

If however both Lord Krunk and Meatspace are not putting up stories, hence both disqualified, I can see no harm in finally being able to read those stories. Are they disqualified? If there is still a chance that Meatspace could get a story in, it is only fair that I still wait.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

Oh, and are we going to wait for Krunk to post his entry before we get the judges decision or could Nuke and I get our judgement before the other fight in this round is oficially closed?

In the nature of fairness I try to read all entries at the same time so that I go into each with the same mood. If I where to read yours and NewClassic's entry now I may well grow increasingly tired of waiting for the other two and place unfair prejudice against whoever got their entry in late and send the wrong person forward. I try not to be prejudiced and take each story at face value, that means waiting for all stories to be written before reading them. Even though you two and the other two are not linked, I prefer to wait for all stories to be in before reading them. It's kind of become a superstition and pure tradition at this time.

If however both Lord Krunk and Meatspace are not putting up stories, hence both disqualified, I can see no harm in finally being able to read those stories. Are they disqualified? If there is still a chance that Meatspace could get a story in, it is only fair that I still wait.

Thanks. That helps a lot, just to know how things work in the background. I believe Krunk is working on his story. Sorrow hasn't said whether Meatspace failed to respond to his PM and is officially disqualified, but I don't think it will be a double disqual unless Krunk just can't manage a reasonable timeframe with his workload.

 

[The Sorrow]

I'm hamstrung by personal issues at the moment, but here are the facts:
Meatspace failed to reply. Krunk, Monday is your deadline.
I don't know when the next fights will be up.

 

[Lord Krunk]

Meatspace failed to reply. Krunk, Monday is your deadline.

Thank you Sorrow, I won't let you down. I should be able to get it done this weekend.

 

[Lord Krunk]

The Ratings War 3
Entry 2 ? Axle/Athena vs. Farfig/Mark
Game Hunting​

Axle was the first to enter the portal, closely followed by his mistress. As soon as she arrived, she sniffed the air.

?Dogs. Lots of ?em. You might want to keep your weapons at the ready.?

Nevertheless, he noticed, she made no move to retrieve her pistols.

?You eat animals too??

?Not usually,? she replied agitatedly, ?but I was always a sucker for a nice hot dog.?

Axle groaned; these horrible puns were getting out of hand. ?You looked worried.?

She pouted. ?Me? Worried? Nah, I?m just hungry. It?s a shame we don?t have a tin opener though.?

?What do you mean??

?There are two of them, one?s made of metal. Something?s telling me that if we hang around for much longer, shit?s gonna hit the fan.?

Axle glanced upwards. He couldn?t see any fans anywhere.

?Figure of speech, moron. Your pal in the suit?s given me a heck of a lot of colloquialisms, so I thought I might use them.?

?Know what else he?s done to you?? he asked.

?No idea. I guess we?re gonna have to find that out, won?t we??

Axle ended the conversation; he couldn?t take any more of it. If this was what the blood of a Champion did to her, he didn?t want to know what would happen if two came into her possession, let alone a God. She was changing, and he knew it. And to tell the truth, if he looked closely, he could swear he saw her teeth sharpening into points?

Music began to play in his cloak, and with a swift motion dug into one of the inside pockets and produced the radio. He still couldn?t understand how it worked or what it was for, but some tinkering in Purgatory revealed a set of 3 wires inside the casing in seemingly worthless positions. There was no way the wires were powering the thing, so what were they doing in there?

It?s probably important, but for what?

He recalled disconnecting the wires in turn at one point, the red and green ones zapping him when he did, and the blue one giving a light ding. Nevertheless, it raised more questions than it answered.

----------------​

Athena scowled at his bodyguard. He was showing more enthusiasm for his little machine ? a radio, she recalled ? than the cause. She needed him, and he was useless to her in this state.

I?ll have to remember to destroy that thin-

A thought echoed through her mind, but not her own. She couldn?t smell whoever it was, which was strange. A sort of? authority rang out, something almost mystical about it. Whatever it was, it was powerful.

And mine.

Once again, her train of thought was interrupted by the smells getting closer, the tin man and the warlord approaching the clearing where they stood. It seemed that this Farfig guy was an excellent tracker too.

Sounds delicious.

She gestured for Axle to come towards her. ?I?ve got an idea. Give me your sword.?

Axle drew his blade and handed it to his mistress. ?What do you need it for??

?Wait and see.?

And with that, she disappeared up a nearby tree.

----------------​

Axle was shrouded in darkness, alone and unarmed. More to the point, there were two guys with guns chasing after him and a pack of wolves hot on his tail. He could hear them now, the barks getting louder and the rhythmic drumming of their feet on the soft earth becoming faster paced. He glanced up at the canopy, trying to catch a glimpse of the Great Shadow, but all he could see was pitch black darkness.

Something, anything, help!

In an instant, the radio rang out in the silence with a deafening screech. Hands now shaking with fear, he shoved it back into his cloak in the hopes of drowning out the sound. As he feared, it didn?t.

If they didn?t know I was here before, they do now.

A tree behind him blasted into splinters, cutting into his arm as he covered his eyes. Through the loud screeches, he could now hear the wolves barking as well. His day was getting better and better. Gathering up his courage, he clenched his fists and charged towards the source of the gunshot.

----------------​

Athena sat on a branch above the forest canopy, admiring the stars as she picked leaves and twigs from her bedraggled hair and clothes. Her shirt had become torn and charred after her first confrontation, and her camo pants bearing a distinct ashen look and smell. While she waited for her new victims to pass underneath her, she merely watched, mesmerised, as the leaves and twigs fluttered into the darkness below. She did feel a pang of guilt at the plight of her newly-abandoned servant, but her gut instinct told her that it was necessary for their success, although she didn?t know how.

I?ve never had a ?gut instinct? before. Does being hungry count?

Sniffing the air, she caught scent of metal and gunpowder to the south and canine fur in the west. The hunt was just beginning.

Not long now? just a minute more?

A screech rang out in the woods that forced her to cringe and cover her ears, letting go of the branch that held her in place. She swiftly grabbed onto a branch as she fell, clinging for life as the noise continued to bore into her skull. Looking down, she could see the silhouettes of the tin man in the moonlight. It raised its gun and fired wildly into the darkness in an obvious attempt to stop it. Farfig stood in front of its face, barking orders at it as it continued firing. As he ducked to dodge the robot?s violent arm movements, Athena caught a glimpse of what she was looking for. A chain, about 5 metres long, was linking the two together.

And most likely how he?s controlling the robot. Cut it, and his greatest asset?s down.

She drew Axle?s sword and raised it above her head, aiming for where she would land. And without a moment?s hesitation, she let go.

----------------​

Axle ducked and weaved between the trees, bullets tearing through the trees all around him. He would have laid down for cover if not for the wolf pursuers and the radio in his pocket. A voice shouted in his head through the din.

Get rid of it while you have the chance!

But he knew it was pointless to do so. It might have alerted everyone to his position, but something about the frustrating din was driving the robot insane.

Considering how big it is, that has to be a good thing. The wolves are second priority.

Finally, he burst through the clearing and came face to face with his enemies. Both turned towards him, drawing their guns and aiming to kill.

----------------​

Athena breathed deeply as her senses came to grips with the situation. Farfig and the robot had halted their bickering and aimed their weapons at something in the shadows. She, however, was hurtling towards the ground with increasing velocity. All she could do was hope that the soldier would be strong enough to break her fall.

----------------​

Many things happened after Axle?s arrival in the clearing. Both of his enemies aimed their guns towards him. Mark was the first to fire, his shot missing at point blank range and mashing a nearby tree to pieces. Farfig made a brief comment about his targeting systems being affected by the noise, and cocked his gun with an exaggerated gesture. Before he could fire, a black blur fell from the sky and landed directly on top of the soldier, who fired a shot into the sky in surprise. Much to his joy, the blur that had crushed Farfig was none other than Athena.

?Miss me??

?More than I?ll admit.?

Axle helped his mistress off the ground as she screamed profanities to the stars. Obviously, she was in a lot of pain. Looking at Farfig, he was probably worse for wear. The events that had occurred were so sudden that he forgot his imminent danger. That is, until his eyes fell upon Mark, clutching its face in a gesture of pain as it raised its other hand for the final blow. Axle threw Athena out of the way and ducked away from the arm that crashed on his position, narrowly avoiding death.

?You take the big guy? said Athena as she stood up again, albeit shakily. ?I?ll take care of the soldier boy.?

Axle nodded his approval as he dodged yet another blow by the metal man. After all, Mark was after his radio, not Athena.

But how will I stop it? It has to have an Achille?s heel somewhere.

And that?s when he noticed something as he dodged another blow. The back of Mark?s neck bore three wires, one red, one green and one blue.

Exactly the same as the radio. I?ll bet that I have to disconnect the blue one.

----------------​

Athena drew her sword and sliced through the chain that held Farfig and Mark together. They were separated, uncontrolled, alone. Right where she wanted them. On that thought, she rubbed her hands as she stepped towards Farfig. The second course was almost over.

I can taste him now?

She raised out a hand to the unconscious man, kneeling next to him in preparation. In an instant, his feet lunged out and kicked her into the ground. There she lay, pained to the point of paralysis, as Farfig stood up to greet her. Picking up his pistol, he readied it to fire.

?If the battlefield can?t kill me, no one can.?

----------------​

Jumping and ducking away from the punches, Axle bided his time until he had a clear shot at the wires. Finding the perfect moment, he clinged onto Mark?s back and reached for the wire. The metal man shook and twisted, driving itself into frenzy. The radio was right next to him, and that made him all the more dangerous.

Come on, Axle! Reach!

But it was too late as Mark finally shook him off his body. Trying to stand, Axle was caught with a sideswipe and came crashing into a nearby tree. He was done, finished. As Mark raised its arm for the final blow, he knew he was finished.

----------------​

Athena was shocked. He had overpowered her in a matter of seconds, outwitted, outsmarted and defeated her. Her hunger was now ravaging; she desperately wanted to devour the man that stood before her. However, he kept his distance.

Axle wasn?t the only one that did his homework.

As he stared down the barrel of the gun, she smelled something. Something very familiar, something that may turn the tide of battle yet.

?Any last requests??

?One last meal? she said, smiling. ?Sapien with a light seasoning of Canus, and none of that pre-packaged crap.?

----------------​

Axle closed his eyes and held his ears as the radio continued to scream. He was in too much pain to move and Mark was readying a killer blow, fists clenched in his metal hand.

This is it.

He clenched his eyes closed as he prepared for the collision. But it never came.

What?s happened? Am I dead?

Slowly but surely, he opened his eyes. To his surprise, Mark was not standing in front of him any more, but was a few metres to his left, banging into trees to ward away the wolves that were mauling him. Axle smiled.

The wolves think he?s making the noise!

Steadying himself as he made an attempt to stand, he began his march towards the robot and the blue wire. The wolves were all the distraction he needed as he leaped onto Mark?s back and ripped out the cable with all his might. Mark merely stood for a second, then collapsed to the ground with an earth-shuddering crash. It was done, Mark was no more.

Now the wolves are going to come after me!

But that too was taken care of as Mark exploded, flames showering the wolves from all directions. They were done for, and they knew it. As he patted out his charred cloak and brushed over his singed, hairless face, he turned around to see Farfig aiming his gun at Athena.

He knew what he had to do. He had been trained for it all his life.

He charged once more, directing all of his remaining strength at Farfig.

----------------​

Athena stood up to meet her enemy face to face. Spreading her arms wide, she waited for him to fire. Farfig acknowledged her submission, and tightened his hand on the trigger.

Suddenly, an explosion caught his eye. He turned around to see his friend and colleague erupt in fire, and the servant of his enemy charging towards him. He had killed his only friend. Murdered him, destroyed him and drove him insane. Farfig knew that to succeed, he must pull the trigger on Athena. But this man, this beast incarnate, would not get away with his crimes.

Twisting around, he pumped three shots directly into Axle?s heart.

----------------​

Athena was shocked. She could only stare as her servant, the only person she could ever call a friend, collapsed into a pathetic heap on the ground. That was all the motivation she needed, as she took advantage of Farfig?s distraction and dug her teeth straight into the soldier?s neck. He struggled at first, but soon gave way as the black tendrils of shadow escaped Athena?s mouth and enveloped him.

Within seconds, Farfig was no more.

The shadows jumped back into Athena?s mouth from whence they came and, for a moment, she merely stood and smiled. Then she turned towards Axle and kneeled beside his body, checking his pulse to see if there was any chance of survival.

?You bastard.?

Axle smiled as he sat up, digging his hand into the cloak and producing the radio with 3 dents in the speaker. ?Someone up there is smiling on me.?

Athena snarled. ?Never do that again, you hear me? You scared me!?

?I thought you didn?t get scared.?

?Worried, Axle. Worried.?

The portal opened up once more and the duo stepped back through into purgatory.

Spoiler: Right on time!

Sorry about how long it took me to get this done; school, birthdays and general dicking about got me into this fix and it's not over yet. Anyway, feedback would be great.

 

[Dramatic Flare]

Well, I feel completely and totally stupid now. I was going back through my introduction since a friend was interested in reading it- and noticed I had left in pieces of the edit I had done on it.

I wish I had commentary on the writing itself, but to put it simply Msh and Newclassic were awesome and interesting to read. Lord Krunk, I can't say this is your best work but given what I understand of your situation I'm not sure I blame you.

Perhaps I'll manage to be useful in a review here when I finish editing my introduction of all the stupid stuff I forgot to take out.

 

[Lord Krunk]

Lord Krunk, I can't say this is your best work but given what I understand of your situation I'm not sure I blame you.

Understandable. I had a 3 Unit English assignment due in on the same day as this, so I really didn't have much time to think on it. It was mainly train of thought that built this piece, with a quick proofread. Not my best work.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

I know that Sorrow is buried under a heap of personal stuff, but I was wondering if the judging had started yet.

 

[The Sorrow]

I know that Sorrow is buried under a heap of personal stuff, but I was wondering if the judging had started yet.

It is. Requests have been sent out, with one reply so far.

 

[The Sorrow]

Update: a second judge has responded, with a different verdict.
Somebody find Spartan Bannana and whip his ass into gear, would you kindly?

 

[Dastardos]

Update: a second judge has responded, with a different verdict.
Somebody find Spartan Bannana and whip his ass into gear, would you kindly?

Why whip Spartan? Is he a judge?

 

[Spartan Bannana]

Apologies, things have been a little hectic lately, school starts in 2 days.