::About Oceania Azure::
A new Smoke Twines tale that follows Tyeko, a charrie from the original Smoke Twines and others.
|
|
Imagine a world with constant war. Imagine a world where madmen control vast empires. Imagine a world where a mere vapor can kill. This is the world of Oceania Azure.
|
|
|
Smoke Twines: Oceania Azure
|
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Irieshu gazed at the dereliction of thought and sanity, the ruins, devoid of child or mentor, completely destroyed excepting the last embers of melted steal and stone the progeny of its sacrifice.
Irieshu's lips contorted slowly into a grin, so awkward upon his ruined face.
"Tyeko..."
With the definitiveness of an echo, the voice issued from behind him:
"...is dead."
Irieshu spun instantly, both hands, within an instant, flourishing two pistols, metallic black flashing like mad eyes in the reflection from the flame. His pistols leveled upon the figures face...and almost as instantly loosened, as if in exhaustion. Irieshu's eyes, shadowed sockets in the dark shadows cast like nets by the fire, expanded in surprise.
"...Jimmy?"
"Heh, old ghosts are the hardest to get rid of, Irieshu. And you and I, we are two very, very old ghosts."
Not having displayed such a myriad of emotions in a single session ever, Irieshu's face remained seemingly distorted with the skeleton of confusion and horror.
"What...what did you mean about the boy?" Irieshu's voice hissed, as quiet and as biting as the wind.
"I mean that he's dead. Or will be within a few hours. You see, Irieshu, he's taken it upon himself to nobly fulfill your mission for you..."
The pistols spilled like water from Irieshu's open hands.
"...oh, we begged him of course, not to do it," sarcasm stained each syllable, a drink with knives, poisoning, blinding Irieshu's reason, "but he simply insisted, after, of course, he heard the rumour of your unfortunate death at the battle-lines. He seemed to think he had no other choice; spoke of it as if you were...his father, in a way. Oh, we tried to talk reason into him...but he was so resolved. He took the box, Irieshu. He took Operation Atmosphere. And, wouldn't you know, I have no idea where he could have gotten this idea, he knows how to use it, and he knows what its for."
Irieshu's knees weakened, a sense agony adulterating his veins, a miserable veil of red haze across his vision...
"You...you bastards."
The man, like ice sharply splintering, issued a staccato cackle, "Oh, it was far easier than I suspect even you expected. You put such faith in the boy, Irieshu; you put such faith in his judgement. But, in doing so, in "teaching him everything he knows" shall we say, you provided him with his most inhibiting, vital weakness. Did you really think you could create another you? Did you really think you could imitate The Masters? Forge a man more steel than flesh? No, Irieshu, all you knew how to be was a cruel father. And all you could create was a ruined son."
"You...you god-damn whoreson..."
"Oh, not just me," like a deranged ornament, his smile hinged upon his face, "We're all here, Irieshu. We all decided to pay your little boy a visit; the whole, god-damn crew."
They emmerged from the shadows like figures from the water, each wearing that same, enraging grin, that same, sadistic bead of passion reverberating in their eyes...
"WE GOT YOU, IRIESHU! WE GOT YOU, you arrogant son of a bitch! You think you're so fucking good, but ultimately, you're no better than any of us. You...you were supposed to be our hero, Irieshu. You were supposed to raise the boy as our last chance...instead, we watched, we knew, you ruined him. You had such fanciful intentions, you bastard. Such wonderous ideas of self-sacrifice, of save the boy; YOU betrayed the Masters, their little "perfection", YOU betrayed Operation Atmosphere...you betrayed it to the piont that you were in direct opposition to it. Well...well, Irieshu, we couldn't let the master's plan just fail; you were going to ruin the most important part. You wanted to breed a man who could stop the CLOUD Irieshu? Are you a fool? Don't you understand how important it is!? Don't you get it? But no, no, you got so ahead of yourself; you forgot you were nothing more than a knife they used, they wielded. Well, don't worry, Irieshu, we've set things right now. Within hours, the boy will be at his father's side, begging forgiveness, pledging loyalty, being accepted back after you made him so much more appealing to the power-hungry mind of his father. And then, standing at his father's side, he'll offer him a gift, a gift for acceptance back into the family fold. And then, Tyeko, whose name shall forever echo in the annals of history synonymous with traitor and hero, will detonate that bomb at his father's feet, obliterating the entire family line and empire in an instance, and ushering in the future the Master's devised and wanted."
Tyeko...Irieshu's stare, eyes flickering with the rage, the rage, the inherent anger boiling up within him, his stare, those eyes, his stare, those eyes...Tyeko...Tyeko...they...Tyeko...
"Jimmy...I'm going to kill you."
Irieshu felt more than saw the others level their own weapons on his crouching form, the metallic bite of the wind issuing new scars into the flesh of their faces.
"Now, Now, Irieshu, let's not be your arrogant self; even you are incapable of doing anything, my friend. Even you. Things have been set in motion. Things have finnally been set in proper motion."
"Jimmy...I was born for this war, I will die with this war. I am the motion, I am the instrument, I am the soul. The Master's died for their part of the plan. And now, Jimmy, you and I, we will die for mine."
And with that, Irieshu kicked his pistol up into his hand, and, before the others were even capable of registering the blur of motion, a bullet tore away the left side of Jimmy's face.
The other pistol rose almost as quickly.
Irieshu leveled both pistols simultanesouly for the surrounding figures; he heard his pistol shots ring out the with the inception of the ring of the machine gun. He felt the bullets pierce him, so cold, yet warm to the infectious wind; felt them attempt to twist him, shift him, throw him to the Earth...
He leveled his pistols for the remaining two, they still firing, the bullets tearing into Irieshu's chest and legs, a hundred hands attempting to drive him to a kneel; he would not kneel now.
They're skulls dissolved in a spray of his pistol bulelts, each with precision accuracy, each unseen phantom distributing death, blood coating the snow like an artistic design. The machine gun's pounding roar ceased, as the echos of his and their bullets reflected across the open landscape. Irieshu felt the torment of the bullets within him, the blood bubbling into his throat, flowing from his lacerated guts.
He could not die yet however.
Tyeko was in danger.
The war was not over.
He turned slowly, and began to walk slowly back to his ship.
|
|
