|
First off, a quick apology. I know that the story seems to have been going downhill in quality recently, it’s largely due to the fact that I’m getting bored with it, and can’t be bothered writing it properly. Rather than make a complete shitfest of the whole thing, therefore, this is going to be the last episode of Tales... Yes, I know the story’s not finished, but that’s not really the point here, is it? Not sure I really care... Anyway, enjoy it:
“Wait! Did you hear that?” Radagast said, looking around. “Like… muttering,” Rio said, “yes, I heard it too.” They stepped slightly closer to each other, suddenly uneasy. “It’s strange,” said Rio, “now there’s no noise at all.” Radagast listened, and nodded. “No birds, no planes going overhead, no sound from the Rock.”
They were partway up the slope that led to Stubb’s hideout. According to MinTrude, he had fled from Opeth years ago, after persecution from the Bishop Kathaarian for being Untrue, and after befriending the robots, had betrayed them by stealing. They took pity on him and refrained from stomping on him, allowing him to live a little way away from the palace so he could survive on stolen scraps of food. Apparently, the harsh journey and stress of his persecution had snapped his mind, so they had to be wary of what he said to them, for fear of missing the chance to get the plans.
At the top of the slope, they found a small tent pitched under the shelter of an overhanging tree, which somehow had sprouted from the wall. Radagast coughed loudly, and a small figure suddenly sprang out.
“There’s no time to lose!” he said. “Are those damn robots out of earshot?” “You must be Stubb,” said Rio, exchanging glances with Radagast. Stubb was only about four feet tall, dressed in rags, with long, knotted hair spiralling wildly down to his feet. He shook his head, “no, no, no! You don’t understand! We have to stop him!” “Stop who?” “He wants to kill us all, stop our lives just like that!” Stubb snapped his fingers expressively.
“Whom are you talking about? Winter?” asked Rio. Stubb again shook his head. “No! Compared to him, Winter’s a gnat, a fly. This one is all-powerful! He can snuff out lives with a few words, even the True Gods are afraid of him!” “But, who is he?!” Radagast broke in, exasperated. Stubb shakes his hair out of his eyes, and his eyes gleam at them. “He is The Author,” he says, with a fearful glance upwards.
Eh?
“He knows!” Stubb calls, clearly afraid. “There’s no hiding from his vision!” The other two finally get it. “None of this is real, is it?” Rio says, picking at his clothes, bending down to touch the ground. “I should have guessed!” Radagast said, shaking his head. “What kind of fantasy land has robots and planes anyway?”
Where the hell’s the ‘off’ button on this damn thing…
“Now you have realised, he’s going to try and kill us, before we get to him!” Stubb says, waving his arms. He forces them down at his side, giving a hateful look upwards. “You can see the thread, the lifeline running up?” he continues.
Got it! Take that, you little shits.
Red flooded Rio’s vision. He had never felt such pain, never. It was as if he was aflame, burning like a candle. He fell, silently, although inside he was –
“Nooooo!” Radagast yells, and grabs Rio. “It’s all in your head! Go through it!” Rio sees that the red had an end, so heads towards it…
No…this wasn’t supposed to happen…
…and he comes out of the tunnel. Everything suddenly looks flat and unreal. Even Stubb and Radagast seem more like computer-generated images, standing there, watching him, looking concerned. “I see it,” he whispers, and he sees everything, how The Author had manipulated them all for his entertainment, causing pain and death for his own amusement. He watches it all, from Flingon and Azrael’s deaths to Bishop Kathaarian’s rise to power, from the fates The Author had already chosen for them all. How many more would you have destroyed? he asks silently. How many would be wiped out, because of your greed? And then he espies the thread that Stubb was speaking of. “What the fuck?” he says, quite astonished. “Why is there a picture of a dinosaur with Radagast written above it? And what's that orange writing appearing in the sky?"
My god, they’re escaping!
“Grab it, and heave yourselves up!” Stubb shouts. “We can escape into his mind!”
No! I am still in control! I will not let this happen. The Tales are finished.
The End
Rio smiles. We’re still here, he thinks, reminders of your ultimate uselessness. You can't even control the figures in your own mind! And now, here we come…
AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Fuck, the pain.
Where am I? Why is everything black? And what's that?
No...no. It's not true, it's not, it's not! What have they done to me?
Hey there...
:o
Who the... Oh. It's you. :(
I suppose there's not much point in saying how sorry I am? :cry:
No, not especially. We've been discussing your fate, and we're going to give you a taste of your own medicine, see how you enjoy being violated like you thoughtlessly did to us. And then, we'll decide your ultimate fate.
And by the way, get rid of those little faces. They're not going to help you...
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Fuck, how was I supposed to know that you were all real? It's not my fault!
It is, though. Don't stamp your foot like that.
Sorry.
You will be. We're off to look around and see what the real Latt'm Land is like. Metal reversed eh, very clever of you. All the sections laid out like that, most ingenious. It's incredible, really, this world. What can we say?
Maybe if you let me come back I could show you around?
You really are pathetic. We'll manage on our own. Hey, that pretty girl just smiled at us! But, looking through your mind, you never did anything about it. Such an obvious come-on, too. You sad fuck, enjoy being held in limbo.
We'll go and give her a good seeing-to, on your behalf.
No, no, no, no, please...
To be continued... Hahahahahahahahahaahahaa!
|
