07/11/2012

Meh, updating a bit later than I originally expected, but oh well, here I am with this story pretty much no one's reading.

But I don't care though, as long as a couple of people are happy with this story, I'm happy. ^^

So, yeah, at this point I'm probably about half-way through the song, maybe a bit more. I may just finish off the portion based on the song right here and start with weird plot shit of my own devising after this. Moohaha.

Well, as I said in an earlier chapter, I'm really playing this by ear.

So, onto the story!

Disclaimer (even though I don't really feel like I have to put this here anymore): Homestuck belongs to Andrew Hussie and Headphone Actor belongs to Jin and is sung by Vocaloid IA. I am none of these people/vocal synthesizers.

Even from the twisted labyrinth that is the alleyways of Houston, Texas I could still hear the horrific chorus of shrieks from the crowded intersections I left behind. They had penetrated beyond my ears, it hurt my very being hearing such a painful and hopeless sound. I had felt my eyes tear up again but I had quickly shaken my head to the side, the single droplet cascading onto the faded pavement below. A simple noise wasn't going to break Dave Strider the tough, Texan cool kid. I was better than that.

I ran along for another ten seconds, my mind reeling about how to block the sound out. I had finally realized that there was just not ending the symphonic yet ear-burning song, humanity's final ballad. I also knew the sound would haunt me forever with it's horrific beauty, something completely unforgettable.

I swerved between trashcans, trying to copy my Bro's flash-step techniques. A couple of times I felt the surge of success but I got karma served to me as I would trip over a stray rock, sending me off balance. I would try to regain my equilibrium as swiftly as possible and run on, never stopping for anything.

At 4 minutes and 13 seconds I almost thought I heard an unfamiliar blip interrupt the rushed countdown. I shook my mind off of any suspicions I had, it's not like 413 is some important number or anything. It's pretty fucking random when you think about it.

But, of course, I had no time to think about it. I had no time for anything, anything except running and existing. But my time for the latter was ticking by quicker than my legs were pumping, doing the former.

I may have contemplated the irony of such a relationship in a non-apocalyptic situation. But, of course, as I had elaborated many times that was definitely not the case. I actually happened to be in quite the opposite. But, of course that would be pretty obvious now and would not need to be repeated.

"Run, run, there's one minute left," My voice chided, urging me on. I had wanted to shout that's exactly what I was doing dumpass, but I had no time for such tomfooleries. The headphones weren't lying, I really was down to one measly little minute.

One minute left to reminisce on my life. One minute to remember my friends, my brother, everything else I held dear. One final minute to take in all of what human society has accomplished, no matter how little it may be compared to how much could have been done if it weren't for obstacles like armageddon and such. Such a small amount of time for so much.

Yet, I only had to do the latter if I failed. Which of course, I wouldn't. Yet a tiny speck of doubt kept repeating the words to my favorite song in the back of my mind as a backup plan if I was defeated by the cruel element of Time.

It kept ticking down, almost out of spite I had thought. Of course that probably wasn't true, since elements aren't sentient beings, but I was too desperate to care. I tried my best to tune out the doomsday clock and did so successfully.

But out of nowhere my eyes registered something amazing, a miracle. The hill which I had travelled what felt like a lifetime to get to. My final destination in what I believed to be the 10k marathon for survival. It was right before me, just waiting to be crossed. The gateway from a burning hell to what could be my salvation.

My breath escaping me, I finally ran up the hill, heart skipping way too many beats for my liking. I smiled my first genuine, full-blast, teeth flashing smile since I couldn't remember when. Not caring about aloofness anymore I let out a whoop of victory, as if anyone else would care. It's the freaking apocalypse, I do what I want.

But what I saw next made me drop my katana out of sheer shock.

It was a wall, a translucent wall. I could see what almost looked to be a white room beyond the barrier but I couldn't quite make it out. I followed the wall's curved arc up to find it projected the sky down onto a city of constructs. What I saw next blew a hole right through everything I knew.

My Bro came flash-stepping up the hill, his most prized sword in one hand, half of his headphones in the other, pressing them to his right ear. He glanced at me from behind his shades but sped past and up to the wall.

"Look, I don't know what you're pulling here, but I'd advise you to elaborate. Pronto." He growled in his lowest, most dangerous voice, his mouth brought up into an angry sneer.

At first I wondered who, or what, he was talking to but I quickly realized. There was a small collection of who I guessed to be scientists in long white coats just beyond the translucent barrier.

"Magnificent..." One muttered, scrawling something onto a clipboard intently. The rest nodded and took note on their clipboards as well. Almost as if we were experiments...

Of course that just made Bro more mad, he charged up against the barrier like a bull and broke through. I was still rooted to the spot, being at a complete loss for words, thoughts and actions at the point.

Bro noticed my completely dumbstruck state and grabbed me by the shoulder. He yanked me through the barrier, pleasing the scientists. I managed to have one sarcastic thought come to mind through all the confusion, it's like some kids in a candy store. Very fat kids in a very large candy store.

From behind the barrier I watched the town as it's projection rippled like a hologram. It was actually a lot smaller from the room I was in, just about the size of Bro's recording studio back home. I didn't even consider questioning how in hell it all worked though, I truly didn't want to clog my brain with confusing shit like that.

"No longer necessary," One of the scientists said. He fished in his pocket for a second and pulled out something reminiscent of a bomb.

"Hey now look here buddy, you're not going to blow up my town and get away with it." I managed to muster the courage to utter, slowly walking up to the little pack of over-glorified nerds. But before I could get close enough to swing at one, Bro grabbed me by the back of the shirt. I whipped around in disbelief, but he just shook his head.

I could only watch helplessly as the scientist calmly tossed the bomb, as if it were as normal as brushing your teeth. I couldn't make a sound as the bomb flew through the barrier and exploded inside the holographic city, my city, completely destroying all that resided inside.

Before I could even regain any of the fallen pieces of my sanity, one of the scientists in the front of the pack spoke up.

"Experiments 416," She regarded Bro who didn't move a muscle, "And 417," She looked to me this time. I just gave her my blankest expression, eyes as wide as saucers under my shades, "Have been living in Testing Area 15 for the entirety of your lives. This has all been a test of your many traits and attributes. You have lived under a certain set of variables set by our techs to test you. Since you have proved usable, the testing field has been terminated, and you will train your abilities to their fullest in our facilities."

Her words hit me like the biggest sack of bricks to ever fall out of the sky and onto some poor dick in the impact zone for said bricks. My eyes moved from Bro, who had gone rigid, to the burnt wreckage that had been one of the biggest cities in Texas. My city. The city I grew up in. But now all of it had gone up in the smoke of defeat.

I hadn't escaped hell, I was just entering it.

From the headphones that I had forgot about, still clinging to my ears I heard the faintest word. A single word that would never mean enough to undo the horror I had been thrown into.

"Sorry..."

Okay then. That turned out a bit Sadstuck.

And as you probably could tell, I was stretching out a lot of the alley scenes. I was trying to make it longer. I hadn't really expected myself to go out and write that big bit when Dave reaches the barrier.

And just to inform anyone who would happen to be reading this, quite a few parts of what happened in this chapter weren't actually in the original song lyrics. All the dialogue (except for Bro and Dave's) was in there and a few select words as well, but I seriously stretched out 4 stanzas on song out of like 12.

It's pretty much the middle of the flipping night, I have a really bad cold, and I REALLY want some sleep.

So yeah, please leave a review, and I'll see you in the next chapter for more weird plot shit! cx

~Mint