trans_9 | re: The Cake Is A Lie, or The Dog Came Back [open]

Entry tags:

re: The Cake Is A Lie, or The Dog Came Back [open]

"A house is not a home without a dog."

Somewhere along Stacy's labyrinthine halls, a wall pulsed and throbbed. All at once, it opened and spat out one startled, furious...golden-brown dog.

Regaining his bearings with the fluid ease of months of training, Bandit made a precise dodge roll and came up snarling, lip curled, exposing sharp teeth. He launched himself at the wall, which was closing rapidly. From the depths of the meatship, GlaDOs' clinical monotone piped up:
"UNFORTUNATELY, DUE TO A SHORTAGE IN CAKE SUPPLIES, CAKE CANNOT BE DISPENSED AT THIS TIME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION. IT WAS GREAT FUN. WELL, I THOUGHT SO. GOOD-BYE."

Bandit clawed and bit at the wall so fiercely that Stacy's tentacles emerged to pin him down. His snarling degenerated into mad barking as his frustration grew.

NO! !!NO!! !!WwwwwwwhhhHHHHhiiiiIIIIIIiiiiinnnnNNNNnnnnnEEEEEEeeeeee!! LET GO! BAD! BAD!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Dani was wandering around Stacy when she heard growling. Curiosity stronger than any caution, Dani went to investigate, flying down the hall when she stopped to see a struggling Bandit. "Bandit!" She shouted and flew over. "Stop it! Let Bandit go!"

It took a moment, but Danni's presence eventually registered enough that Bandit ceased to bark madly, his noise retreating into a dull whine, and then a pant as he let himself collapse onto the floor. After a few seconds, the tentacles released him, and he blearily looked at the ghost-girl.

HELLO BOSS. He said, but his tone was plaintive. HAVE CAKE?

Dani kneeled beside Bandit when he stilled, looking at him worriedly. "No...I don't. Bandit, are you okay?"

Bandit panted lightly, blinked, then rolled over and heaved himself up. He looked at the wall that had just ejected him, ears pinned, eyes narrowed, and stayed that way for a moment.

WANT CAKE. SAY 'HAVE CAKE' BUT NO CAKE. He said by way of explanation, which was of course no explanation at all. Sorry, Dani.

Dani blinked. "Well....we can get you cake," Dani said and pointed towards the sensoriums. "But we have to go to the sensorium."

When the girl arrived, Sherry came out from her hiding place. "Is he alright?" she asked, stepping closer shyly. The girl with the dog now looked to be a little older than Sherry, but she couldn't tell exactly. "The tentacles didn't hurt him, did they?"

Bandit shook himself out, as if to clear himself of the tranqs. It didn't help much, but it was a definite improvement. IS GUD, he reported, panting lightly. He turned to Sherry. NEW BOSS. He obserbed, moving forward to sniff her. WHO R U?

"He doesn't look hurt," Dani said, looking over Bandit. Then he spoke and she relaxed. "That's good," she said with a smile, patting his head.

Sherry took a step back on instinct and flinched. She realized that the dog had addressed her, and that the girl with him had white hair. She rubbed her eyes and blinked again.

Yes, the girl was still apparently channeling some kind of superhero. Sherry blanched slightly and looked down at the dog, trying to tell herself that maybe she had just lost the ability to see a certain color. The most impossible reason seemed to be the best one, didn't it? "I'm..." she started and her voice was thin and reedy. She swallowed and started again, a little louder. "I'm Sherry."

SHERRY-BOSS. Bandit repeated by way of greeting, pausing when he saw her back away. His ears and tail drooped very lightly. WHY SHERRY-BOSS IS SCARED? BANDIT IS GUD DOG. He informed her, wagging, executing a play-bow and yawning to let her know that he wasn't a threat.

Dani looked at Sherry and smiled. "Don't worry, Bandit is really nice. I think he just freaked because of...." She paused and looked at Bandit. "What happened anyway?"

Sherry shifted her weight, considering the safeness of the dog, and decided it would be okay. If it wasn't, she could just run, like she'd been telling herself all along. That would be fine. She approached both Dani and Bandit a little closer. "That's a good question, I just heard a lot of snarling."

Bandit looked as sour as it was possible for a dog to look. He whuffed, scuffed the floor with his paw, and his ears tilted back. TAKE BANDIT TO LAB. BUT NOT LIKE HOME-LAB. DIFF-RENT. SAY 'HAS CAKE' BUT NO CAKE. WANT CAKE. he explained in his usual stilted way, looking resentfully at the wall.

"A lab?" Dani said questioningly. She stood up. "Well...let's get you some cake, Bandit! Think you can tell us more about the lab on the way to the sensorium?"

Sherry nodded in agreement. She was still trying to get over the thought of a talking dog. But at least it would make for interesting questioning later. "What do you mean home-lab? How many labs are there?"

Though Claire and Leon were now her "mom" and "dad", and she knew she shouldn't be wandering the halls of Stacy by herself, Sherry was. It hadn't started out that way, of course. It had started out, Maybe I'll just take a little walk and had turned into hours of getting lost. Sometimes, for all her brains, she could really be directionally stupid.

And no doubt Claire and Leon were going to tell her so. Sherry sighed and adjusted her headband, irritably flicking her bangs from her face when she heard a noise she'd been hoping not to hear again for a long, long time: the snarling and barking of an angry dog, and what sounded like a voice, and a squealing whine. Sherry stopped short and looked around the corner cautiously. She'd had plenty of dogs chase her before, and she was not keen on repeating the experience. There was a dog, there were some tentacles, and there was a lot of activity. Sherry shifted back on her feet. Did it need help? Was it dangerous?

She swallowed back a little of her worry. Well, the tentacles would let go of it soon, right?

Stacy had a way of doing that to the best laid-out 'I'll just be a minute' plans. Luckily, Bandit's nose usually led him out of trouble. Right at this moment, however, his nose was of no help as he thrashed on the ground, snapping at the air. His teeth made a hollow clicking sound as they gnashed, and his claws scrabbled to find a measure of purchase on the swiftly shifting ground.

NO! NO! BAD! OFF!

Suddenly, the wall grew an appendage, this one ending with a surgical needle. The injection was efficient and precise, and Bandit's body heaved once, then collapsed.

[Moving up~]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

re: The Cake Is A Lie, or The Dog Came Back [open]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject