Necrosiac 23 - Part 2 (773 hits)
Category: NoneLabels: Necro
Rating: 2 on 22 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Snark << snarkk.at.gmail.com (View user info) at 2004-10-29 11:23:41 EDT
The first 22 Chapters are here:
http://www.ubersite.com/u/snark
NECROSIAC 23 - PART 2
"The Necrosiac has me"
"Yes"
Taela wanted to cry but found herself strangely lacking the ability to do so.
"Is there nothing I can do?"
Monty replaced the hat on his head with a flip and turned his sad eyes back to her.
"I'm afraid nothing you've tried so far has worked. That isn't to say all hope is lost. There's always hope my dear but time is running out"
"Why can't I remember being here before?"
"What you are in this place is a representation of your waking self, the conscious mind she first encountered when your assistant placed the metal shard in your hand. The ability to partition a mind comes hand in hand with the Seer ability as you're well aware. This part of you is nothing more to her than a program on a computer. I don't think she can kill you're waking self without killing the body it inhabits, but she can lock it away, and when you get out of control she can reset it."
Taela looked up at the woman perched above her again, and wondered how such a small unassuming figure could wield such power. Part of her screamed at the unfairness of it all, the utter injustice of her situation. She'd only recently come to terms with the fact the cancer in her head would eventually kill her. It had been the hardest realization of her entire life, and now to stand there, powerlessly at the whim of a puppeteer who looked more marionette than human, made her want to scream with rage. No. More than scream, it made her want to climb the steps of heaven and slap God in the face.
Desperation made her latch onto the rage growing inside her and she grabbed the Ringmaster by the shoulders "There's always something Monty. You taught me that"
"Yes"
"So? What can I do?"
Stevens raised his own hands to her shoulders and gave another half smile.
"That isn't something I can tell you Taela. You remember me as a mentor and friend, and so, that is what I am. That is all I am. I can tell you about this place and give you advice, but answers, real answers, can't come from an echo"
Taela let her hands drop to her sides "So tell me about this place"
Montgomery did the same "What would you like to know?"
She found herself at a loss for words. Her will to fight was still strong but it wasn't enough to spark her natural ability to reason. The ability that seemed to be fading the longer she spent where she was. She needed a beginning but none came to mind until a half hearted shake of her head brought the bleachers momentarily back into view.
"The people in the stands... They're like you aren't they? They're memories"
The Ringmaster smiled his first full smile and nodded.
"There we go... Yes they are"
Taela nodded as well, her natural deductive processes finally beginning to work "Some of them are disfigured..."
"They're incomplete. They are people you've met but only partially recall"
"It hardly seems like a lifetimes worth..."
Montgomery's reply cut her short. "She destroyed the others. She sucked them dry of the information that gave them form then left them to rot"
"I don't follow"
Almost as she said it, she realized that her mentor had been standing where he was for a reason. Something about the stiffness of his stance or the sudden uneasiness in his face told her he was hiding something. Physically hiding it.
"Monty?"
Stevens let the smile drop from his face and extended his arm to the side again, then stepped sideways and turned to reveal the twenty foot high pile of bodies in the ring across from her. The ring she had been turning towards when she'd first heard his voice.
Leland Smithy took the coffee offered to him almost unconsciously, then turned his attention back to the strange contents of the Jar on the desk in front of him.
"What do you have there?"
He replied almost in a whisper, as he found himself caught in the strange fascination that Terri recognized as having previously captured herself and Mattaius"
"Head in a jar"
His assistant looked at the jar for a second then shuffled her heavy frame to the other side of the desk and offered a fresh mug to Terri as well and said "Oh yeah?"
"This one's magic"
"Cool"
Terri took the plain warm ceramic mug from the tray held before her then gave a quick nod of thanks, and waited while the woman left the room and quietly shut the door behind her.
After a short while Smithy sat back and shuddered as if he'd just come out of a deep hypnosis.
"Alright, between this and the painting, I'd say you've earned a reprieve for now. I can't say I would have done things the same way as you two... but then I can't say I wouldn't have either. I'm not going to roast you, but I suggest you and Pitt walk the line from this day forward"
"Thank you Leland"
Smithy fixed a hard contemplative gaze on her and took a sip from his coffee, then set it down on the table and replied, his voice formal.
"Don't get me wrong Agent. When this is over there will be a board of enquiry. The only reason I'm not going by the book is because I can't afford to. We have agents dead in more than one city. Things are much worse than I can tell you right now. We need every one we've got"
Terri steeled her gaze as well and replied in like manner.
"Yes Sir"
Much to her surprise, the response had more of an effect on him than she'd hoped, and she found herself wondering just how much stress the man across from her was under.
"Look... Terri, I'm not out to get you. It's just... listen. I need to know I can count on everyone we have left. Things here have gone from crazy to downright surreal, and I have a feeling they're going to get worse before they get better"
Something about the way his shoulders slumped when he spoke or perhaps the sudden exhausted tone underlying his voice sent a pang of worry through her. Slowly she leaned forward in her chair and resisted the urge to place a comforting hand on his.
"What do you mean?"
Smithy took another contemplative sip from his coffee then briskly replaced it on the table.
"I mean here in the building. The Director's put every agent we could contact in the auditorium with their families... Jesus you should see it Terri. It looks like a refugee camp. We're in a twenty four story building and she's got our best people stuffed into a single cramped space... She's put Wong in charge of their security... fair enough, but I talked to him and he say's he advised against bringing them all here to begin with. He says he doesn't have the manpower to secure them and the building at the same time. I tried to give him a hand by reassigning a strike team to security but she's already redeployed them all over the city."
Terri clasped her hands in front of her and tried to find some meaning behind the director's actions, but any attempt to play the devils advocate in her mind failed.
"That is strange..."
"There's more. She had our wounded agents pulled from the city hospitals and transferred to our medical ward... despite the Head Clerics recommendations. From what I understand our medical staff is stretched beyond their limits. I don't know... It's like she's cracking under the pressure. She hasn't let anyone in to see her since this morning... something about being busy with the Council. I tried to get some answers out of her assistant but no one's seen her since early this afternoon, and as if that weren't strange enough... she's pulled all the local Caster's under our protection out of their Safehouse's and put them under guard in the Wonder Room. I think Wong's going to have an aneurism"
Terri sat straight in her chair and did her best to ignore the lump in her throat
"Leland you remember what happened to Stevens"
The Lead Investigator nodded solemnly
"I know" he said "I had it checked out. The shards are locked under magical quarantine. No one's signed them out since they were put in. Listen... maybe she's cracked under pressure or maybe she's under Council orders. In the end this could all make perfect sense. I just thought you should know what's going on"
Something about the way he emphasized the last sentence set of warning bells in Terri's head, and she asked her next question without really wanting to know the answer.
"Why should I know?"
"Because of the only direct order to come out of her office in the last two hours" he replied. "Because she wants to see you"
"Dead Memories"
"Yes"
Taela concentrated on the faces strewn throughout the gruesome pile in the opposite ring.
"I don't recognize any of them"
"Of course not, they've been wiped from your mind. You may know they were there once but the specifics are gone. Take your parents for instance. I'm guessing you know you had a mother and father, but can you see their faces? Can you pinpoint any recollection of time shared with them?"
Taela closed her eyes tight and did her best to prove him wrong but failed. After a short while she looked at him again and shook her head in defeat.
"No"
Stevens removed his hat then placed it on his chest over his heart and bowed his head "She went after them first I'm afraid"
"Why? What good would my knowledge of them do her?"
"She didn't strip them for information. She just destroyed them. I can't tell you why, but my guess would be to keep them from you, to keep you alone and defenseless. She's only stripped information from Agency personnel as far as I have seen."
"But why not you?" she asked, then turned and pointed at the bleachers "Why not them?"
Stevens looked at the bleachers for a moment, his brow furrowed in contemplation then replied morosely
"Because she's already had her way with the real me, she doesn't see me as either useful or threatening. The same probably goes for them"
Taela let the Ringmasters words sink in then turned to him wide eyed as the consequence of what had happened made itself clear to her.
"Oh my god Monty! They can't be revived can they? Even if I find a way to stop her, I'm going to suffer some type of permanent amnesia!"
The living memory of Montgomery Stevens moved forward just as she knew he should and wrapped her in his warm embrace.
"I'm so sorry Taela"
Taela tightly held her long lost friend for what she knew would be the last time "I'm dead. When she's finished with whatever sick plan she's put in motion, she's going to come for me and hurt me like she did you"
"Yes. I think so" He replied "That's probably what she will do... So what are YOU going to do?"
"I don't know"
Montgomery gently took her by the shoulders then straightened his arms to look her in the eye.
"Yes you do. I know you do. We've been here before remember?"
"Yes, and each time I failed"
Stevens nodded solemnly "True, but you still did what you had to. What I know you're going to..."
His faith in her felt warm and she used it to replace the despair that had quelled her anger, with resolve.
"I'm going to go down fighting"
Almost immediately he let go of her, then took a step back and smiled proudly "That's my girl. The show must go on"
"I'll give her a show she won't ever forget" she said, then turned around to face the menacing source of the heat radiating against her back "Tell me about him"
Stevens moved to stand beside her and winced at the undulating monster chained and alone in the opposite ring.
"Him?" He said "Oh, that's Tumor. Tumor the Clown"
User Reviews
Submitted by zakalwe (user info) at 2005-06-14 19:45:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Running out of superlatives here.
Submitted by Revolutionman (user info) at 2005-05-06 18:11:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Charred (user info) at 2005-03-31 16:45:04 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Seriously?
Find a publisher.
Submitted by Jo_of_the_golden_P (user info) at 2004-11-29 21:32:20 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2004-11-19 20:42:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by AshK (user info) at 2004-11-02 09:04:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
...this...
Submitted by wazzawazzayo (user info) at 2004-11-01 13:32:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
+2 for you.
Submitted by Ancius (user info) at 2004-11-01 11:41:31 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Usual please Barman.
Submitted by Philst82 (user info) at 2004-11-01 10:54:17 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Brilliant as always. More please.
Submitted by Cisco at 2004-10-30 09:06:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Amazing as always.
Submitted by Xena (user info) at 2004-10-29 19:13:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
WTF? no mention of missing my review? Nice! JK...
I am loving how this is coming together...again, You Rock!
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2004-10-29 18:47:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Circe,
It's cuz you raise the bar so high.
Now if Ashk were to just show herself I could continue the series in peace.
Submitted by Circe (user info) at 2004-10-29 18:37:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Did you realise that you're improving amazingly as time goes by? And you were pretty damned kickass to start with.
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2004-10-29 16:51:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
JMG and M'Lady Plural.
Thank you.
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2004-10-29 16:48:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
What JMG said. Only I can't smell anything right now. Still, I'm sure that if I could...
My brain is still reeling from the sheer, concentrated 'essence of awesome' that was this post. Carry on.
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2004-10-29 12:54:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Something smells good on Ubersite today. That something is you.
Submitted by engine13 (user info) at 2004-10-29 12:33:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Kick ass. This series is fantastic. I'm sure I've said all this before. But, now that you've got me hooked again, keep them coming.
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2004-10-29 11:55:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Heya Cryo,
Next one should be Monday.
(Every clown looks like a Tumor to me)
Submitted by Cryopaul (user info) at 2004-10-29 11:51:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Tumor the clown?!?
Shit, I think that guy did my party when I was twelve. He kinda smelled like old meat and his balloon animals were atrocious. Still, he could open up a mean pinata.
So, uh, when is the next part gonna be posted?
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2004-10-29 11:45:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Thanks guys,
As always, your reviews are apreciated.
Submitted by wookie (user info) at 2004-10-29 11:38:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Kicker of all ass, as always.
Submitted by Adamdidit2u (user info) at 2004-10-29 11:37:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Of course i'd like more..