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Post by Emery on Jun 12, 2024 11:01:41 GMT -6
It was undoubtably meant to build "anticipation", but for what, Emery couldn't say. After all, it wasn't like any of the "prizes" were more valuable than the others. She couldn't even tell what they were. After several crawling minutes however, with Pyrrhos staying rapt through the whole thing, the wheel finally click to a stop. "Finally." Emery huffed, ready to move on. Unfortunately, a few short trombone notes played- the distinctive "wah, wah, wahhhh" of a tragedy. "What... what does that mean." Emery said, suddenly realizing that not all of the "prizes" on the wheel were necessarily good things. Or even any of them, and perhaps she should have left it alone. She had a sinking feeling that she needed to leave. "Pyrrhos, come here." She said. Emery finally heaved herself up from the chair on her cane, wobbling down the steps of the loosely assembled stage towards her pet.
Pyrrhos 16.2/16.2 Emery 12 42
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Post by Emery on Jun 12, 2024 11:15:38 GMT -6
When she got to him, Emery realized that he was still fixated on the wheel, unmoving despite her attempts to usher him elsewhere. As she glanced back however, she realized why. The wheel had begun to spin again. It gained more and more speed until Emery realized that it was now moving faster than it had at its fastest point when she had spun it. In fact, it was now acting more like a fan, producing a prodigious breeze that blasted against Emery's screen and swept back Pyrrhos's head. Luckily, the discomfort of that was enough to break Pyrrhos out of his reverie, and not a moment too soon. Emery could feel a rumbling through the ground as it moved faster and faster. "We need to get out of here. Now." She croaked, and began hustling as fast as she could back through the stalls. Pyrrhos followed after her as quickly as she could.
Pyrrhos 16.3/16.3 Emery 13 43
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Post by Emery on Jun 12, 2024 11:20:45 GMT -6
She tried making her way between the stalls, but because of how close they were, it was difficult going. Then she realized there was another change. It was finally quiet. Well, not entirely quiet. She could still hear the whirr of the wheel and the ominous rumbling beneath her feet, but the carnival games had gone quiet. Before there had been all sorts of music, not to mention the clanking of machinery as the automated processes and example demos ran. Now there was nothing but the whirr. It was as if all of the "attendants" had left the moment she landed on that slice of the wheel. Even the hum of the lights seemed quieter now, and every so often one of them would flicker slightly, as if blinking an extra warning. Emery didn't slow down, but she couldn't go quickly either given the narrowness of the pathways and her general state of disability.
Pyrrhos 16.4/16.3 Emery 14 44
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Post by Emery on Jun 12, 2024 11:24:59 GMT -6
The wind fro the wheel was picking up though- now she could feel it on her neck even when tucked so tightly between these stalls. She stepped aside to let Pyrrhos go in front of her so she could at least protect him from the wind a bit- it was practically flickering him away to nothing. But as she moved further and further through the maze, she came to a horrifying conclusion- she didn't remember the way out. Or, she did- she remembered every turn and how long she had been walking, but all of the stalls looked the same and retracing her steps hadn't done anything. It was like the layout of the infinite fair changed every single time she made a turn. As a result she and Pyrrhos were now hopelessly lost, and the typhoon was only getting worse. There was only one choice that Emery could think to make.
Pyrrhos 17.0/17.0 Emery 15 45
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Post by Emery on Jun 12, 2024 11:34:51 GMT -6
"We need to hide." Emery said hurriedly to her pet and ushered him towards one of the stalls- the only time she had even considered going near one of them. It was a skeeball game, but it long stopped distributing balls to throw into the various holes and was now just as shut down as every other game here. Emery couldn't lift Pyrrhos, but she was easily able to open the door to the behind the scenes part of the game, ushering him in behind her. Behind the game was the mechanism that pumped the balls the had been thrown in back towards the front, with the rest of the case arcing out in front of her. It was a small, enclosed, and most importantly stable space. She would take it. Emery ushered Pyrrhos in as far as possible and he flattened himself out against the floor to make room, practically under the track.
Pyrrhos 17.1/17.1 Emery 16 46
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Post by Emery on Jun 12, 2024 11:41:08 GMT -6
Emery wedged herself in as well. She could already tell it wasn't going to hold though. The lights across the fair were going out one by one, blown to pieces by the wind. The door she had just entered through rattled loudly on its hinges. Somewhere in the distance, something big from the sound of it cracked and crashed, getting torn off of the ground. She had never heard so much destruction. Pyrrhos cuddled as close as he dared as the sound got closer and closer, and Emery turned off her screen in anticipation. Soon the wind reached her as well- Emery gasped with surprise as the door was flung from its hinges, crashing into her chest before bouncing off to who knew where. She scrabbled against the ground but was lifted off, the whole stall squealing in protest as it was torn apart. Emery and Pyrrhos were flung into the air, the fair now pitch black as the lights died.
Pyrrhos 17.2/17.2 Emery 17 47
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Post by Emery on Jun 12, 2024 14:50:08 GMT -6
Emery spiraled around in the dark. Every so often the sensation of heat would pass by one of her body parts, the only indicator she had that Pyrrhos was still with her. She turned her screen back on but still couldn't see anything, or hear anything but the howling wind. The entire fair had been swept away and she was now flying out in a vast void. Then- a light ahead of her. She reached out towards it. It got closer and closer until she realized- it was one of the butterflies she had tried catching earlier, one of the ones that had fluttered up into the darkness. It slipped past her fingers, continuing on its way. Emery twisted around to see it, catching a glimpse of Pyrrhos falling besides her, desperate to keep anything solid in her view. But it spiraled away from her, continuing up and up into the dark.
Pyrrhos 17.3/17.3 Emery 18 48
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Post by Emery on Jun 12, 2024 14:53:18 GMT -6
She grasped after it, trying to keep that single sparkling mote of light in her vision... and then she landed. Flat on her back. She immediately groaned with pain, squeezing her eyes shut. That hurt immensely. Hopefully she hadn't thrown out her back. She wondered for a moment where her cane was until a sudden impact against her chest reminded her as it was deposited on top of her. She opened her eyes again to find an all wooden ceiling and candles floating in the air above her. She was back in the main foyer. She breathed a sigh of relief- she hadn't been dumped out into the void, she was simply returned to where she started. She had, admittedly, been scared for a moment there. With a lot of effort she managed to push herself up into a sitting position. To her right Pyrrhos was doing the same, trying to convert his flame back into a pair of legs.
Pyrrhos 17.4/17.4 Emery 19 49
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Post by Emery on Jun 12, 2024 15:04:23 GMT -6
Slowly but surely the pair collected themselves, dusting themselves off and making sure they were all in one piece. Emery had a few new dents, but it wasn't anything she couldn't fix. And Pyrrhos, well... it wasn't like he was made of meat to start with. You could probably drop him from ANY height and he'd be fine. After she was sure she was okay, Emery made her way to the front door and pulled it open, and to her relief she found... the outdoors. No other room, just back where she came from. Creeping across the lawn, she wasn't confronted by any other stray fireworks. Finally, she and Pyrrhos made it to the iron gate that separated the mansion from the real world. She pulled it open and reflected for a moment. She and Pyrrhos had gone through a lot doing this, but they had managed to find a lot of goods in the process. A distant explosion reminded Emery of where she still was however, and so she urged Pyrrhos over the threshold. It was time to go.
Pyrrhos 18.0/18.0 Emery 20 50
(Emery takes Pyrrhos and leaves.)
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Post by Silver on Jun 27, 2024 17:42:21 GMT -6
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