It Lives Beneath Diamond Scene: Give Imogen the Bolas
CHAPTER SEVEN
You: Why don’t you keep them?
Imogen: You think I should?
You: With all the stuff in here, they probably won’t even notice they’re gone.
You: Besides, you never know when you might have to stop something from getting away. Or someone.
Imogen carefully removes the glass case and reverently picks up the gleaming bolas.
Imogen: I don’t know what it is, but… this feels right somehow. WEAPON ACQUIRED, RUNE FOUND
CHAPTER EIGHT
Imogen’s bolas suddenly sail through the air and tangle around Richard’s ankles!
Richard: W-whoa! Whoa!
He stumbles and falls to the ground!
Richard: Agh! Imogen +10
Imogen: I told you to stay back!
CHAPTER NINE
You: I don’t think so. Imogen!
Imogen: On it!
Imogen pulls out her bolas and begins to unwind them.
Tom: Hey, I thought they confiscated those! Imogen +5
Imogen: Well, I confiscated them back.
She raises the bolas above her head and begins to spin them!
Tom: There’s no way you’re gonna hit him with those again.
Imogen steps forward as brings her arm down. The bolas sail through the air, tangling around Richard’s torso!
Richard: Augh! What the hell?! Again?!
He staggers, off-balance, as the balls whirls around him, lashing his arms to his sides!
Imogen: You were saying? Danni +5
Danni: Nice!
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Shining ruby bolas sail through the air, twining themselves effortlessly around the undead elk’s legs!
Elk Monster: Hrrnn?!
Diavolos: HEEEERRRRR!!!
Imogen: Stay away from my friends!
As the mutated beast teeters and falls, Imogen spurs Diavolos to a gallop, stampeding it into the ground!
Elk Monster: hrrRRRNNNkkck--
Seeing its pack mate fall, the bear takes off, fleeing into the chaos of the pier.
Imogen: Ten years of dressage finally paying off.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The bear charges toward you… then suddenly stumbles!
Bear Monster: Hrrf?!
It hits the floor with a crash! Through its matted, rotten fur, you spy the rope of Imogen’s bolas! Imogen +2
Imogen: Not today!
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Imogen +5
Imogen: Get away from me!
RUNED BOLAS
-Awesome!
She swings her bolas like a mace, bashing a monster across the jaw!
Elk Monster: MRraugh!
Imogen: Take that!
The monster’s skull cracks in half and it falls over dead!
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THE GIFTENING 2016: Walking Wounded
I feel I could’ve done better with this. There were some ideas I wanted to explore that didn’t make it in, and they probably should have for as long as this took me today but here we are anyway. ~1300 words.
Anonymous said:
Mako and Rei after a battle.
~~~
Walking Wounded
“You look like shit.”
Whether due to pain or exhaustion, Mars’ hand barely lifted off her thigh before giving up its intended journey through her hair, in what would surely have been a magnificent gesture of dismissal at the very idea. Instead, she sniffed, but it was impressive how just a short, sharp inhale could communicate so many of the same ideas. “I am beautiful,” Rei countered, delivering this fact with the audible period that put an end to the entire conversation.
“Beautiful shit.”
Mars’ head rolled to the side, curving slightly with the tree trunk that was for the moment the only thing keeping her upright. At her side, Jupiter had done the same, and was grinning down at her with a bloody, broken smile, that faltered only a little when she got a good look at Mars. “Oo, hadn’t noticed your eye, though,” she said through a sympathetic wince. “Just shit, then.”
With some effort, Mars lifted her hand and gingerly probed at the purple, swollen flesh around her right eye, immediately jerking away at her own touch and hissing.
“Did you think I was lying?” Mako asked, a sense of wonder in her voice as the series of highly intelligent decisions she had just watched play out in front of her.
Rei’s only answer was a glare, or as much of one as she could manage at the moment. “You’re not exactly going to be gracing magazine covers yourself, Ms. Kino.” She gave Jupiter an appraising once over. “Except maybe ‘Beating Monsters With My Face Monthly’.”
The responding belly laugh was as instinctive as it was unwise, and Mako’s voice quickly faded into a series of wheezed “ow ow ow”s occasionally punctuated by choice curses. “Don’t make me laugh,” she finally managed to get out. “It hurts.”
Mars had pulled off her glove and was using it to try and stop the bleeding from a jagged gash in her leg. “You think you hurt now?” The slight tremble in her voice was the only indicator of how excruciating even partial Senshi strength was pressing down on an open wound. Still, she favoured Jupiter with an evil smirk. “Wait until Ami hears about this.”
Neither the night sky nor the swaying tree branches above cared for Jupiter’s plight, though this fact in no way stopped her from groaning to them. “And what about Minako? She’s going to KILL us for taking that thing on alone.”
“Minako can kiss my ass,” Rei grumbled.
“Minako just might,” agreed Mako, but she wasn’t quite done. “Usagi, then. How do you think she’ll take it?”
Mars’ lone uninjured eye widened slowly with dawning horror. Much to her frustration, however, the still-smoking crater where the monster had been refused to cough up another creature of evil to take pity and end her impending misery.
A weary chuckle rolled out of Jupiter. “See? We really should’ve—HRRNN.”
“Mako?” Mars shot to attention at the violent grunt of pain, just in time to see Jupiter’s head slam back into the tree trunk. It should have been excruciating, but Mako didn’t seem to even notice. Another spasm hit, and with a feral growl, she drove her skull into the bark again. When a third time was imminent, Rei thrust her hand in the way, cushioning the impact. For Mako, anyway, not so much herself. She wasn’t even wearing the glove for protection. Typical.
“Hey! Hey hey hey.” Mars braced Jupiter’s shoulder with her other hand, trying to keep her as still as possible. Sweat was beading on Jupiter’s brow, and even Mars could feel the heat pouring off of her. “Ride it out,” she said in a low, calming voice. “I’m here.”
The noise that escaped sounded somewhere between an agreement and a whimper, but Rei would never comment on it so would never be sure. There was no telling how long they sat there, Jupiter’s muscles locked and trembling against an agony thatRei knew only too well. Occasionally, Rei would worry about Mako breathing, only for a shuddering lungful of air to burst from her, a spray of blood suspending in the mist of the cold night as fresh oxygen rushed in to again be held as long as possible.
But it seemed to Rei to be too infrequent, too violent. That niggling whisper of worry was beginning to turn into a deafening scream of doubt, and the communicator was almost to her lips when Jupiter’s breathing turned rapid and shallow, but calmer. She melted back against the tree as her muscles relaxed. Mars couldn’t say the same. She eased her grip and slid her hand free, but remained at the ready, eyes searching her friend’s face for the smallest suggestion that this was a cruel intermission and not the curtain call. Only when Mako gave a quick but firm nod did Rei sit back, barely noticing the sticky pool gathering under her knee from her own injuries.
“Fucker … must’ve gotten … some ribs,” Jupiter panted in a hoarse voice strained from the experience. “Didn’t notice.” She struggled to sit in a more comfortable position and even tried to wave off Mars’ help, but Rei simply shot her a look and did exactly what she wanted to do anyway. It look longer than either would be comfortable admitting, and Mako sighed in relief when they made it. “’s not so bad when you know it’s coming.”
Rei grimaced at the sudden lancing pain of muscles, veins, nerves, and flesh knitting together at an inhuman speed, weeks of healing condensing into eternal agonizing seconds. When the blinding pain had faded enough and she could again see, only a final trickle of blood following a drying path suggested there’d ever been a wound at all. “I think it sucks no matter what.”
“Can’t even let me keep the charade, huh?” chided Mako with a smile that almost looked whole.
“Yeah, good luck with your charade when you’re growing a new tooth.”
Jupiter tried to chuckle, but the part that found things funny didn’t seem to be fixed yet. Ami’s working theory was that the magic prioritized, somehow. If that was true, laughing didn’t seem to rank too high.
A sentiment with which Mako vehemently disagreed. She wasn’t, by nature, given to depression or despair. Even at her lowest – and gods knew she’d had more than her share of lowest – Makoto believed in the inherent goodness of the universe. Even if you had to kick the ass of the inherent badness of the universe to make it happen.
It hurt like a son of a bitch, but by this time tomorrow, she’d be back out here with her family at her side to do it all over again.
Mako ran her tongue over the remaining shards of her tooth and forced a laugh to happen anyway. “Gotta look my best for ‘Beating Monsters With My Face Monthly’.”
“Come on, let’s get home,” Mars said with a shake of her head. Using the tree for support, she pulled herself to her feet. She treated her leg gingerly, but there was no need. It was as whole and strong as ever, even if she was sure she could still feel the pain.
She offered a blood-stained glove to Jupiter, who gratefully accepted the help. Supporting each other, they hobbled out of the park and away from the battlesite. Children would play there tomorrow, exploring the smooth gouges in the grass and soil and wondering aloud at the scorch marks left by fire and lightning. They would conclude superheroes fought against evil here, and never know they were right.
On their way out, Rei caught a glimpse of her reflection in a small moonlit pond. “Wow, I DO look like shit,” she agreed.
The arm Mako draped across her shoulder tightened into a hug. “Beautiful shit, though.”
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