Plucking Strings
| Plucking Strings | |
|---|---|
| Date of Cutscene: | 29 December 2012 |
| Location: | Goug City |
| Synopsis: | A Killer Grows Impatient And Receives A Phone Call |
| Cast of Characters: | Cronus |
| Tinyplot: | Time Is Ticking |
Cronus could still feel where the strings twisted against him. He grasped at his body, his breath heaving as he walked across the Machine City's streets. He wanted to be alone, and surely there were plenty of places to be alone, but his people didn't want him straying too far. The call for the next fight could happen at any moment.
That dirty scum, he thought, the way he acted like he was all so superior. He wanted to wipe that grin off his face. The scientists weren't too happy to hear that they wouldn't be backing off but Cronus, really, could care less. Fighting Legion was boring, they died too easily and they barely reacted. It was like breaking dolls, it was like some hilariously unfunny joke.%r%rHis pager buzzed. He ignored it, but it kept buzzing and eventually he just flung it into a nearby trashbin and kept moving. Like hell he had time to deal with that 'goosehonk' right now.
He was trying to do something, that 'Will Sherman'. He felt strings, tightening around him. It was like his circulation was being cut off. He could barely breathe. Just thinking about it, those strings seemed tight around him. He wanted to rip through them and be free of them but in the end he sat down on a bench and just clawed at his face until the pain relieved him of the suffocating sensation.
What was wrong with him? This wasn't like him. He leaned back and imagined that strange behavior. For a moment, that Legion almost seemed human. Ugh, but he couldn't think like that, not when it was this close to being over. Those strings felt so familiar, louder and noisier than before--but he felt them before. He felt them all the time, all around him. They were so constraining, even before he ran into that Will Sherman. He wanted to rip them to shreds but every time he grabbed one it danced out of his hands. He can pull them, just barely, but it was like undoing a Gordian Knot without a blade handy. No, he had to sharpen his skill until he could cleave through it.%r%rHe should be fighting Will, he thought, not these dolls.
His phone started ringing. Groaning, he withdrew it and tapped the 'accept call'.
"You weren't answering your pager." The man on the other end said. Ugh, he knew that's what they'd say. He better lie about it just so they shut up about it.
"Broke in the fight with Sherman." He lied. "Wouldn't it speed things up if I just kill him?"
"This experiment was carefully calculated." The man was annoyed. "Don't think it's all about you. We get our results, you get what you want. That's all that matters. Don't mess it up just because it's not fun enough for you."
"Yeah, yeah." Cronus yawned. "Besides, there's only four left now. Can't blame me for being sick of it, though."
The man on the other end laughed good-naturedly. "Just don't cause any more deviations. We can't afford any more mishaps like that. I'm emailing you the rest of the schedule."
"And if the detectives interfere?" Cronus asked. Please give him authorization, he thought, not that he cared but he didn't want to have to deal with the complaining.
"Surely someone of your strength can deal with that problem. See you when you've become a god, eh?" He hung up.
Cronus checked his e-mail.
The next one--it was soon.
Cronus lips twisted into a dark grin and forced himself off the bench. Soon there'd be no more strings and the one he was looking forward to pulling most was the one tying him to Will.
