Show Posts
76
Anything Goes / Re: The Cutopian Writers' Guild
« on: February 17, 2014, 04:23:41 AM »
I should start posting my stories here instead of just leaving them to rot on my harddrive and sending them to skype people.
Spades (A.K.A. Annette vs. Synthia, as written by someone who isn't Freeman)
(Warning: Contains Foul Language and Sexual Themes. And some violence, of course.)
Spades (A.K.A. Annette vs. Synthia, as written by someone who isn't Freeman)
(Warning: Contains Foul Language and Sexual Themes. And some violence, of course.)
(click to show/hide)
Annette wasn't really the most inconspicuous person in Castle Thatguy. Even if she spent a lot of time on an image board of similar initials, Annette's rather “street-savvy” appearance didn't really match the marble and fine tapestries of the castle halls she found herself in. Then again, it was fun watching all the men and women wandering the halls with her give her strange looks. Besides, she was never really known for blending in with the crowd.
A barely audible hum from behind a door caught her attention. Annette's cat-ears perked as she took notice of what to anyone else would be a normal door to a room of little to no significance. This door was special to script-kitty, however, because behind it was something beautiful, shiny, and (most importantly) technological. She scanned the airwaves just to be sure it wasn't a fluke.
Servers. An entire farm of them. All ripe with information that would be fun to sift through, no doubt.
Annette seated herself next to the door, shifting about to make herself as comfortable as she could on the stone floor. She closed her eyes, focusing intently on the signal she felt. To anyone else, it would look like she was just taking a nap. This would be a quick; she estimated she'd be in and out of the network in less than five minutes. Ten tops.
The correct answer, however, was revealed to be measured in seconds as the door flung open, slamming into her partially outstretched leg. Annette hissed in pain and fury, slinging curses no man, woman, or child would ever dare repeat.
Her plight was met with a cold, uncaring voice. “I knew I saw someone trying to get into the network. I'm unsure who else I should have expected to see.”
Annette was too busy clutching her injured shin in pain to care. “Holy shit, lady! Why the fuck would you go and do something like that?! Argh, jeez!”
The voice could care less what her guest felt at that moment. “You know that we here don't take very kindly to intruders, Ms. Navya. Especially those who tamper with our personal belongings.”
Annette shot a glare at her new “friend.” She was a woman, Annette guessed, most likely in her early to mid thirties. She reminded Annette a lot of Celeste, albeit with less space fetish and more regal white lab-coat-ish... thing. She was dressed very elegantly, as would be expected for someone working in a castle built for the self-proclaimed “king of the world;” her bright white coat was hemmed with extravagant frills and her clothing was all neatly pressed, with a care and precision that almost made her look like a living fashion mannequin. She adjusted her thin-rimmed glasses with one hand while balancing a clipboard under her other arm, returning Annette's look of animosity, albeit a bit more passively.
Eloquence wasn't Annette's top priority in this situation. “...Who the fuck are you?”
The woman straightened up a bit, continuing to tower over the rather-defenseless cat. “My name is Synthia Integrus, Thatguy's personal secretary and keeper of the royal archives.”
“Oh, so you mean the king's personal concubine?” Annette spat.
“Nothing of the sort. I have a feeling you would ft the job description more thoroughly.”
Annette stood up, wincing at her still-injured leg. It was probably bleeding a bit at this point; Annette didn't want to bother to check. There were more pressing matters at hand. “Are you sure? You certainly look dolled up enough to be His Highness's royal harlot.”
Her foe hardly even flinched. Instead, she smirked. “How cute, coming from the girl who lives solely to cater to lolicon fetishists everywhere.”
Annette scoffed. “I'm trying to listen to you, but all I can hear is 'I'm a total bitch who likes sucking the king's royal scepter.'”
“And all I'm hearing is 'I'm a worthless scrub who deserves nothing more than to be burned to death for the whole world to see.'”
“YOU LITTLE-!!” Annette lunged forward, only for her leg to remind her why this fight started in the first place. She winced in pain, barely catching herself on the ground. “...Ow...”
A black pump quickly knocked Annette from her hands and knees onto her back. She yelped in pain as her tail was bent under her; it barely managed to adjust itself to prevent any permanent damage. Synthia pinned her to the ground in the same swift motion as her kick, digging her heel into the cat's stomach. “Aw, is the poor little kitty angry? Perhaps I could cheer it up with a little stomach rub...”
Annette gasped as she felt the stabbing pain in her gut. This woman was insane, possibly even more so than her employer. Annette needed to get out of this, and fast. She quickly lashed out with her nails, raking the woman's ankle and sending it careening in the direction of the blow. The leg pinning her knocked aside and its owner unbalanced, Annette brought her legs to her chest, swiftly striking her assailant in the hips with a powerful kick. Synthia stumbled backwards, collapsing to the ground. Annette used the recoil of the blow to roll backwards, jumping up to her feet and quickly staggering back down as her leg throbbed again.
Synthia stood back up, fixing her glasses. “My, you're tougher than I thought. Though with your leg injury, I don't suspect you'll last long. I should just put you out of your misery like the rotten, soulless animal you are.”
Annette spat on the ground next to her. “You aren't exactly the pinnacle of humanity yourself, you filthy bitch.”
The lights in the hallway flickered out. Annette's eyes were made for this kind of situation; they quickly adjusted, catching a glimpse of her target as she seemed to vanish from sight.
“Oh, you're one of those assho-” Annette was interrupted by the lights suddenly returning, possibly even more powerfully than before. Annette covered her eyes, squealing in pain. “ARGH! What the fuck?!”
Annette's ear twitched. Footsteps, coming from her left. Annette quickly turned and swung at thin air. She let her eyes adjust, looking at the wall she just nearly broke her nails on. She quickly looked around to see if there were any signs of her foe.
Her ear twitched again. Quick footsteps, right behind her. Annette quickly ducked, watching as a stylus pen jammed itself into the wall she just missed. Annette jumped up, digging her elbow into the now-visible Synthia's stomach. The woman reeled back, her clipboard nearly falling out of her hand as she staggered into the opposite wall. Annette quickly snagged the pen, taking a fencing pose with it to taunt its owner.
“Well, this is an intriguing turn of events. Unfortunately, I'm starting to grow sick of your insolence.” Synthia quickly motioned across the surface of her clipboard, and the world around the two began to shift. The two were now in the streets of a city; skyscrapers and neon signs towered over the duo where the marble walls once stood. The cold night air was made even more frigid by the strong winds and pouring rain. Synthia once again vanished, her form barely distinguishable thanks to the rain bouncing off of her. Annette went to give chase, only to be stopped by a cop car screeching to a halt in front of her.
The street quickly filled with similar cars, each one filling the lanes and sidewalks with their own assortment of police officers, guns drawn and aimed at the young catgirl.
Silence filled the city as Annette tried to process what was going on. She looked around, counting up the officers. “Five... ten... fifteen...” she counted under her breath. The final total came out to thirty, give or take a couple.
...To be honest, this seemed familiar. She couldn't understand why. She felt like there was supposed to be someone else here with her.
...I know where I am.
Annette quickly scanned the airwaves to make sure her hunch was right. Thirty-four users. She quickly slipped her focus to the closest one.
Just as she suspected.
“Well played, Synthia, but you forgot one thing.”
Silence. She wasn't expecting a reply anyway.
“I love Smartlinked weapons.”
With a quick command, the cop's pistol fired on its own, the bullet striking his friend across the street. The rest of the cops tried to open fire on Annette, but she quickly rolled into a nearby alley, rigging up many more disasters on her way to safety. Guns exploded, recoiled wildly, even shattered in their owner's hands. Madness broke out as the trained men and women flailed about in panic, their weapons acting as if possessed.
Annette got to the next item on the list. She didn't recognize it as anything she had seen before. Nevertheless, she took a look into it.
Her prying eyes were once again denied as Synthia lunged for Annette, stabbing her in the side with the pen Annette had dropped in the confusion. Annette screeched in pain, backhanding Synthia into the nearby wall.
“Synthia” scattered into data upon impacting the concrete. Annette groaned audibly. “Are you fucking serious right now?! Come the fuck on!!”
Annette looked at the last item. Whoever owned this new device (her presumption at this point was that it was Synthia's, considering the signal coming from her doppelganger) was several blocks away at least. Of course, she had never seen this device before, so she couldn't tell the exact distance. “Hoo boy, this is going to be annoying as shit,” she mused.
Annette ran after the signal, trying to slip her way into the device in the meantime. This thing was secured more thoroughly than anything the script-kitty had ever seen before. Password after security question after key input screen after password blocked her way in. This was going to be a slow process, she could tell.
Another signal entered range. Annette went on high alert; after what happened last time, Annette didn't want to deal with anyone else at the moment. She was already not exactly in a good state from the stab wound and the leg injury.
A figure moved to turn the corner into the alley Annette was traversing. Annette quickly ducked aside into another and waited for the figure to pass.
The minute it took for the two paths to cross felt like hours. Annette sat there, quieting her breath as much as she could. She couldn't give any indication that there was someone here. She fought to stay standing through the pain she felt from her injuries, quietly continuing work on cracking the tablet.
When the sentinel did finally pass, Annette nearly panicked. A familiar black jumpsuit and blonde ponytail. Annette was glad that she didn't have to take that fight.
Annette quickly dropped her focus on the tablet to compile something to aid her. Her hands motioned in thin air, producing a red silk cloak which she quickly wrapped around her neck. To the untrained eye, it wasn't particularly special. To Annette, however, it was speed and grace incarnate, something she desperately needed if she was going to avoid a fight with the bitch-queen herself.
Annette quietly counted down.
“Ten...
“nine...
“eight...
Annette listened to the footsteps slowly walking away.
“seven...
“six...
“five...
Annette listened to the chime as she cracked another lock on Synthia's tablet.
“four...
“three...
“two...
Annette listened to the sound of her own breathing.
It was now or never.
“ONE!!” Annette pushed off the ground, bolting through the alleyway, squinting to keep the rain from her eyes. She heard the demon behind her spin in place at the sudden noise, most likely to see nothing but a cloud of synthetic rose petals. She felt the pain surge through her injured leg with every other step, but she couldn't stop. Stopping now meant death.
She watched the signal strength rise rapidly.
50%...
Annette launched herself up the side of a wall, vaulting the chain-link fence before her with incredible ease.
60%...
Annette saw a street light. The main road.
70%...
Annette felt her foot hit the sidewalk. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted her prey.
80%...
Annette rushed down the street, her feet hitting the pavement.
90%...
Annette lunged forward, screaming bloody murder.
Impact.
Annette felt her claws sink into Synthia's neck. Annette felt an intense pain in her stomach.
The two collapsed. The clipboard clattered on the marble floor.
Annette looked her adversary in the eyes. Synthia gazed back.
Something strange happened in that moment. For that split second, Annette felt a bizarre epiphany. Staring into Synthia's eyes, she felt a strange contentment. She felt like she had discovered something profound, something she couldn't quite explain.
She felt oddly complete.
The two laid there in the marble hall, gazing at each other.
Annette weakly broke the silence. “Good game, bitch.”
Synthia responded in kind. “Good game, scrub.”
Annette used the last of her strength to compile something simple.
She handed it to Synthia.
A playing card.
An Ace of Spades.
A barely audible hum from behind a door caught her attention. Annette's cat-ears perked as she took notice of what to anyone else would be a normal door to a room of little to no significance. This door was special to script-kitty, however, because behind it was something beautiful, shiny, and (most importantly) technological. She scanned the airwaves just to be sure it wasn't a fluke.
Servers. An entire farm of them. All ripe with information that would be fun to sift through, no doubt.
Annette seated herself next to the door, shifting about to make herself as comfortable as she could on the stone floor. She closed her eyes, focusing intently on the signal she felt. To anyone else, it would look like she was just taking a nap. This would be a quick; she estimated she'd be in and out of the network in less than five minutes. Ten tops.
The correct answer, however, was revealed to be measured in seconds as the door flung open, slamming into her partially outstretched leg. Annette hissed in pain and fury, slinging curses no man, woman, or child would ever dare repeat.
Her plight was met with a cold, uncaring voice. “I knew I saw someone trying to get into the network. I'm unsure who else I should have expected to see.”
Annette was too busy clutching her injured shin in pain to care. “Holy shit, lady! Why the fuck would you go and do something like that?! Argh, jeez!”
The voice could care less what her guest felt at that moment. “You know that we here don't take very kindly to intruders, Ms. Navya. Especially those who tamper with our personal belongings.”
Annette shot a glare at her new “friend.” She was a woman, Annette guessed, most likely in her early to mid thirties. She reminded Annette a lot of Celeste, albeit with less space fetish and more regal white lab-coat-ish... thing. She was dressed very elegantly, as would be expected for someone working in a castle built for the self-proclaimed “king of the world;” her bright white coat was hemmed with extravagant frills and her clothing was all neatly pressed, with a care and precision that almost made her look like a living fashion mannequin. She adjusted her thin-rimmed glasses with one hand while balancing a clipboard under her other arm, returning Annette's look of animosity, albeit a bit more passively.
Eloquence wasn't Annette's top priority in this situation. “...Who the fuck are you?”
The woman straightened up a bit, continuing to tower over the rather-defenseless cat. “My name is Synthia Integrus, Thatguy's personal secretary and keeper of the royal archives.”
“Oh, so you mean the king's personal concubine?” Annette spat.
“Nothing of the sort. I have a feeling you would ft the job description more thoroughly.”
Annette stood up, wincing at her still-injured leg. It was probably bleeding a bit at this point; Annette didn't want to bother to check. There were more pressing matters at hand. “Are you sure? You certainly look dolled up enough to be His Highness's royal harlot.”
Her foe hardly even flinched. Instead, she smirked. “How cute, coming from the girl who lives solely to cater to lolicon fetishists everywhere.”
Annette scoffed. “I'm trying to listen to you, but all I can hear is 'I'm a total bitch who likes sucking the king's royal scepter.'”
“And all I'm hearing is 'I'm a worthless scrub who deserves nothing more than to be burned to death for the whole world to see.'”
“YOU LITTLE-!!” Annette lunged forward, only for her leg to remind her why this fight started in the first place. She winced in pain, barely catching herself on the ground. “...Ow...”
A black pump quickly knocked Annette from her hands and knees onto her back. She yelped in pain as her tail was bent under her; it barely managed to adjust itself to prevent any permanent damage. Synthia pinned her to the ground in the same swift motion as her kick, digging her heel into the cat's stomach. “Aw, is the poor little kitty angry? Perhaps I could cheer it up with a little stomach rub...”
Annette gasped as she felt the stabbing pain in her gut. This woman was insane, possibly even more so than her employer. Annette needed to get out of this, and fast. She quickly lashed out with her nails, raking the woman's ankle and sending it careening in the direction of the blow. The leg pinning her knocked aside and its owner unbalanced, Annette brought her legs to her chest, swiftly striking her assailant in the hips with a powerful kick. Synthia stumbled backwards, collapsing to the ground. Annette used the recoil of the blow to roll backwards, jumping up to her feet and quickly staggering back down as her leg throbbed again.
Synthia stood back up, fixing her glasses. “My, you're tougher than I thought. Though with your leg injury, I don't suspect you'll last long. I should just put you out of your misery like the rotten, soulless animal you are.”
Annette spat on the ground next to her. “You aren't exactly the pinnacle of humanity yourself, you filthy bitch.”
The lights in the hallway flickered out. Annette's eyes were made for this kind of situation; they quickly adjusted, catching a glimpse of her target as she seemed to vanish from sight.
“Oh, you're one of those assho-” Annette was interrupted by the lights suddenly returning, possibly even more powerfully than before. Annette covered her eyes, squealing in pain. “ARGH! What the fuck?!”
Annette's ear twitched. Footsteps, coming from her left. Annette quickly turned and swung at thin air. She let her eyes adjust, looking at the wall she just nearly broke her nails on. She quickly looked around to see if there were any signs of her foe.
Her ear twitched again. Quick footsteps, right behind her. Annette quickly ducked, watching as a stylus pen jammed itself into the wall she just missed. Annette jumped up, digging her elbow into the now-visible Synthia's stomach. The woman reeled back, her clipboard nearly falling out of her hand as she staggered into the opposite wall. Annette quickly snagged the pen, taking a fencing pose with it to taunt its owner.
“Well, this is an intriguing turn of events. Unfortunately, I'm starting to grow sick of your insolence.” Synthia quickly motioned across the surface of her clipboard, and the world around the two began to shift. The two were now in the streets of a city; skyscrapers and neon signs towered over the duo where the marble walls once stood. The cold night air was made even more frigid by the strong winds and pouring rain. Synthia once again vanished, her form barely distinguishable thanks to the rain bouncing off of her. Annette went to give chase, only to be stopped by a cop car screeching to a halt in front of her.
The street quickly filled with similar cars, each one filling the lanes and sidewalks with their own assortment of police officers, guns drawn and aimed at the young catgirl.
Silence filled the city as Annette tried to process what was going on. She looked around, counting up the officers. “Five... ten... fifteen...” she counted under her breath. The final total came out to thirty, give or take a couple.
...To be honest, this seemed familiar. She couldn't understand why. She felt like there was supposed to be someone else here with her.
...I know where I am.
Annette quickly scanned the airwaves to make sure her hunch was right. Thirty-four users. She quickly slipped her focus to the closest one.
Just as she suspected.
“Well played, Synthia, but you forgot one thing.”
Silence. She wasn't expecting a reply anyway.
“I love Smartlinked weapons.”
With a quick command, the cop's pistol fired on its own, the bullet striking his friend across the street. The rest of the cops tried to open fire on Annette, but she quickly rolled into a nearby alley, rigging up many more disasters on her way to safety. Guns exploded, recoiled wildly, even shattered in their owner's hands. Madness broke out as the trained men and women flailed about in panic, their weapons acting as if possessed.
Annette got to the next item on the list. She didn't recognize it as anything she had seen before. Nevertheless, she took a look into it.
Her prying eyes were once again denied as Synthia lunged for Annette, stabbing her in the side with the pen Annette had dropped in the confusion. Annette screeched in pain, backhanding Synthia into the nearby wall.
“Synthia” scattered into data upon impacting the concrete. Annette groaned audibly. “Are you fucking serious right now?! Come the fuck on!!”
Annette looked at the last item. Whoever owned this new device (her presumption at this point was that it was Synthia's, considering the signal coming from her doppelganger) was several blocks away at least. Of course, she had never seen this device before, so she couldn't tell the exact distance. “Hoo boy, this is going to be annoying as shit,” she mused.
Annette ran after the signal, trying to slip her way into the device in the meantime. This thing was secured more thoroughly than anything the script-kitty had ever seen before. Password after security question after key input screen after password blocked her way in. This was going to be a slow process, she could tell.
Another signal entered range. Annette went on high alert; after what happened last time, Annette didn't want to deal with anyone else at the moment. She was already not exactly in a good state from the stab wound and the leg injury.
A figure moved to turn the corner into the alley Annette was traversing. Annette quickly ducked aside into another and waited for the figure to pass.
The minute it took for the two paths to cross felt like hours. Annette sat there, quieting her breath as much as she could. She couldn't give any indication that there was someone here. She fought to stay standing through the pain she felt from her injuries, quietly continuing work on cracking the tablet.
When the sentinel did finally pass, Annette nearly panicked. A familiar black jumpsuit and blonde ponytail. Annette was glad that she didn't have to take that fight.
Annette quickly dropped her focus on the tablet to compile something to aid her. Her hands motioned in thin air, producing a red silk cloak which she quickly wrapped around her neck. To the untrained eye, it wasn't particularly special. To Annette, however, it was speed and grace incarnate, something she desperately needed if she was going to avoid a fight with the bitch-queen herself.
Annette quietly counted down.
“Ten...
“nine...
“eight...
Annette listened to the footsteps slowly walking away.
“seven...
“six...
“five...
Annette listened to the chime as she cracked another lock on Synthia's tablet.
“four...
“three...
“two...
Annette listened to the sound of her own breathing.
It was now or never.
“ONE!!” Annette pushed off the ground, bolting through the alleyway, squinting to keep the rain from her eyes. She heard the demon behind her spin in place at the sudden noise, most likely to see nothing but a cloud of synthetic rose petals. She felt the pain surge through her injured leg with every other step, but she couldn't stop. Stopping now meant death.
She watched the signal strength rise rapidly.
50%...
Annette launched herself up the side of a wall, vaulting the chain-link fence before her with incredible ease.
60%...
Annette saw a street light. The main road.
70%...
Annette felt her foot hit the sidewalk. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted her prey.
80%...
Annette rushed down the street, her feet hitting the pavement.
90%...
Annette lunged forward, screaming bloody murder.
Impact.
Annette felt her claws sink into Synthia's neck. Annette felt an intense pain in her stomach.
The two collapsed. The clipboard clattered on the marble floor.
Annette looked her adversary in the eyes. Synthia gazed back.
Something strange happened in that moment. For that split second, Annette felt a bizarre epiphany. Staring into Synthia's eyes, she felt a strange contentment. She felt like she had discovered something profound, something she couldn't quite explain.
She felt oddly complete.
The two laid there in the marble hall, gazing at each other.
Annette weakly broke the silence. “Good game, bitch.”
Synthia responded in kind. “Good game, scrub.”
Annette used the last of her strength to compile something simple.
She handed it to Synthia.
A playing card.
An Ace of Spades.