When I regained my consciousness, I found myself surrounded by pitch blackness. I felt the floor as that of cold steel and I stood up, only to quickly wince in pain. My midsection was still aching from when I was struck by PrinceLudwig and I had no idea where I was. Slightly delirious, I looked around for a light source or something visible, but I could not even see my own hand in front of me. I drew my daggers just in case I was to be attacked and kept shifting around to make sure I could not approached from behind. For all I knew, this area could have been filled with foes just waiting to attack. One jump to the side caused my body to collide with what I presumed to be a solid wall, so I pressed my back to it and peered into the blackness. The sound of my body hitting said wall must have alerted someone else in the room, as I could hear a user gasp softly and start to breathe heavily. Upon hearing this, my heart raced, as I knew I wasn’t alone in the darkness.
“Who’s there!? Show yourself!” I said loudly, to which I heard in response “…hello?” The voice was surprisingly high-pitched and seemed to be that of a female user. “Are you a friend or not?” I demanded to know from the mysterious voice. After a moment, she responded, “F-Friend I guess. I won’t h-hurt you if that’s what you mean. I just want to get out of here!” “Ok then…” I said, feeling a bit more relaxed now that I was not in any immediate danger, “Do you have any idea where we are?” “No,” she said, “I was talking to someone named PikminMaster7 and then…I don’t remember…” “Hmm…” I said pensively, “What is your name?” Not expecting her to actually reveal her identity, I was surprised when she told me. “LordCrumpTheGreat, or Lord Crumpette if you prefer.” I stiffened at the sound of her telling me this; even though the user was friendly, that identity was undeniably one of an X-Naut. “Are you…an X-Naut?” I asked, trying to hide the violent undertone in my voice, “…Yeah, I guess so… Why does that matter?” Upon hearing this, I had to really struggle to control my emotions, as I could have lashed out towards her and ended her life here and now, despite not being able to see anything. If I really wanted to, I could have found her and killed her on the spot, but my better judgment overcame me in this situation. In this unfamiliar location and uncomfortable situation, it was better to keep my one ally than to quickly turn her into an enemy, regardless of her race.
After this brief conversation, my PM device started beeping and I presume her device did the same, as I heard her fumbling around for something on her person. I rolled up my sleeve and pressed the button on my watch to reveal the message in front of me:
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FROM: NICOLAI93 Add User to Friends List – Add User to Ignore List
SENT: 08/18/07 7:27 P.M.
Dear new member,
In approximately ninety seconds, the wall in front of you will open to reveal a bright blue portal, into which you must step to enter the main base of the Nicolai93 Organization. There, you will be introduced to me as well as the current cardinals of this team. We will then begin our customary Cardinal Orientation by praising pwning GamePlayer30… ignore that crossed out word…GamePlayer30 wrote that and his punishment has been dished out accordingly. I await your arrival.
~Nicolai93
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I was extremely shocked when I saw the current time. If the time that I received the message was correct, I was knocked out cold for almost an entire day. I wonder if it was a certain attack or spell that caused me to be incapacitated for such an extended period of time, as LordCrumpTheGreat seemed to be knocked out for approximately the same length of time I was. “Hey uhh…did you just get a message, by any chance?” I heard LordCrumpTheGreat’s voice speak out from the other end of the room. “Yeah…I did…” I responded, realizing that she, too, was hired to become a new cardinal of the Nicolai93 organization. I found it strange that we were not starting out as lowly members, but rather as one of the top ranks in this collection of criminals. Maybe Nicolai93 truly had an eye for spotting talent and did not want mine to go to waste with assignments of little importance to the group. Whatever the case might have been, in a few short seconds I was about to be welcomed as a new cardinal of the Nicolai93 organization. “So…” LordCrumpTheGreat said, “I guess since we’re both going to be cardinals, what’s your name?” “ShadowMario41.” I replied, not wanting to reveal any more information than what was necessary. “Nice to meet you!” She said in an even higher-pitched voice; I guess she was excited to make a new friend.
Before our conversation could continue any further, the door in front of us opened on cue with a loud clanking noise and a blue light flooded the once-dark room. This light was emanating from a small platform, which I assumed to be the portal that Nicolai93 mentioned in his message. I looked over at LordCrumpTheGreat before I entered the portal just so I could get a visual of my partner and hopefully get used to working alongside an X-Naut, despite my strong preemptive prejudice. She was garbed in a similar uniform as X-Naut128 was when he became an NSider, except hers was a bright pink instead of a dark red color. She was much shorter than I was and I found her looking back at me with hazel-green eyes. Instead of a broadsword like X-Naut128, she had two small ray guns attached to her white utility belt as her weapons of choice. I imagine that, since she was also a new recruit of the Nicolai93 Organization, her accuracy with those weapons was impeccable and she was a very talented fighter, despite appearing somewhat average. I noticed that she also had a knife hanging from her belt, too, that she could utilize for close combat situations. She seemed somewhat hesitant to enter the portal but, after making eye contact with me, assumed a confident posture and walked forward boldly.
We both entered the blue portal simultaneously and all I could see was a bright blue light in all directions. I could not even get a glimpse at my hand or any other part of my body, just this blinding blue luminosity. I also started to feel extremely dizzy, as if I was being spun around at extremely high speeds. A feeling of sickness overcame me and I felt very nauseous after only a brief moment. My heart started beating rapidly, as if it were trying to escape from my chest. I could feel cold beads of sweat forming on my forehead and they started to drip down towards my eyebrows. However, this terrible experience only lasted a few seconds, after which I instantly regained my vision and felt perfectly healthy. I dropped down onto one knee and started breathing heavily, as I was still in shock from that terrible experience. I could hear the laughter of other users coming from behind me, but I could not bring myself to turn around just yet. After a few more seconds, though, I finally managed to stand up and face the other direction.
I appeared to be standing between two rows of pillars in a large room with chrome walls. I was standing on a long strip of red carpet, which extended forward up a few small steps to a large, elegant throne truly fit for a king. It was made out of solid gold with gemstones engraved throughout. A red “N” made out of rubies was on the top of this grand chair, which was the iconic symbol of this underground criminal organization. The padding of the chair seemed to be made of the finest and most comfortable material around and, occupying that seat, was presumably none other than Nicolai93, himself. Judging by him just sitting there, he was about half a foot taller than me and had somewhat of a muscular build, though somehow still kept a slender stature. He had wavy light brown hair parted in the middle of his forehead that extended down the length of his face and a neatly trimmed goatee of the same color. He wore a long red trench coat covered with elegant patterns and lined with shiny golden buttons. A golden handkerchief stuck out from the top of his trench coat and a long-sleeve white shirt could be seen underneath that. The sleeves of his shirt extended to and were cuffed at his wrists, but he also had on white gloves that concealed his hands. He had golden armor plates on his shoulders, which gave him even more of a regal appearance. In addition, he wore a brown belt with a large silver buckle somewhat tight black pants. His dark brown boots were made out of the finest leather and looked to be quite expensive. Resting next to the throne was his weapon of choice, a large two-handed silver battle axe with a long bronze handle. In the middle of the two blades was the “N” insignia of the Nicolai93 Organization and the edges appeared to be extremely sharp. With the reputation that preceded this user, I was sure that he could handle the oversized and heavy weapon with ease.
The room I was in seemed to be a briefing room of sorts, as three other users also stood beside Nicolai93, two on the left side and one on the right. I instantly recognized one of the users of the left as PrinceLudwig, whom I met with before being knocked out and taken to this place. Now that the area was brightly lit, though, I could get a much better visual of this user. He was somewhat short and hunched over, wearing a heavy turtle shell on his back. He had white hair that was parted down the middle so that it formed two wavy tufts identical to each other but extending in opposite directions. He was wielding a golden rod with a sizeable red gemstone at its tip. From the looks of it, the weapon appeared to be a potent magical staff, but looked durable enough to be swung around as a melee weapon, too. The scepter was so shiny and polished that one could see his or her reflection in it. He wore two black spiked wristbands on each arm and a long dark faded green cloak that concealed his body. He had an evil-looking smirk on his face and was staring me down with his dark brown eyes.
My eyes shifted to the user standing next to him, one that I did not recognize. He had long jet black hair and wore a purple robe with gold trim that extended down to about his knees with sleeves that went to his elbows. His hair was perfectly straight and his clothes seemed to be in mint condition. In his left hand, he held his weapon of choice: a thin deep red rapier with a velvet hilt. He was not wearing a shirt beneath his robe, revealing the upper part of his well-defined chest. A lighter purple cloth was tied around his slender midsection, which brought his robe together and covered his abdominal region. He wore white pants and knee-high brown boots. There was a silver holster for his blade strapped around his waist and, just judging from appearance, seemed to be a very swift and deadly fencer. His brown eyes also met mine with a sinister gaze, causing me to quickly look in the direction of the third user.
The flashback of my first mission under the command of Dr. Peppy returned instantly as I laid eyes upon this third member of the organization. Without a doubt, it was GamePlayer30, the user that I had captured and delivered to Dr. Peppy for interrogation about the Nicolai93 Organization one year ago. He was somewhat plump and had noticeable battle scar on his right cheek. He wore a suit of solid blue armor, which seemed heavy but also very durable. In his right hand he held a mace, but this was unlike the mace that I remember Ganondorf8 wielding during my childhood. Instead of a spiked ball on a chain attached to a handle, it was all one piece, acting more like a club in combat. Regardless, even a simple weapon like this could be lethal in the right hands. GamePlayer30 had short black hair and had a confused expression on his face, staring at me in awe. This oblivious look reminded me vaguely of X-Naut128, but there was no way a user like that could make it into this sort of an organization.
“Wh-Where am I?” I asked, trying to remain calm despite being rather tense, still recovering from the illness I felt for mere seconds after I stepped into the blue portal. The users in front of me remained silent, but I heard a groan of agony coming from my right. After glancing over, I found LordCrumpTheGreat slowly getting up from the floor; she must have felt the same horrible sensation as I did. “Ohhh…” she moaned, “everything hurts…” I looked back towards the four users and placed both hands on the hilts of my daggers just in case they decided to attack. Noticing this, the user seated in the throne spoke out with a chuckle in his voice, “Relax. We’re not going to hurt you. GamePlayer30…maybe.” “Hee hee hee” PrinceLudwig laughed manically at the sound of this and GamePlayer30 shot the user a nasty look, but I remained composed as I simply crossed my arms and stood strong. LordCrumpTheGreat was finally on her feet and appeared to be a little nervous as she faced the users in front of her. Following a few moments of silence, the user seated in the throne spoke out again in a booming voice.
“Greetings! My name is Nicolai93 and I would like to welcome you both as our newest cardinals! After much time and effort, I have decided that you are the two users we need for our next and possibly future missions. I am most pleased that you’ve accepted our invitations.” LordCrumpTheGreat ran over to the closest pillar in the room and leaned against it; her head must still have been spinning from the prior experience. “Yeah,” The unknown rapier-wielder spoke out, “The teleportation process can be pretty rough the first time. You’ll get used to it.” Nicolai93 continued, “Allow me to explain the code of conduct of this organization. You see there are –” “He doesn’t look so good!” GamePlayer30 exclaimed, interrupting Nicolai93 and pointing to LordCrumpTheGreat, who was still leaning against the pillar for balance. Immediately upon hearing this, her facial expression changed to one of anger as she spoke out, “He!? I’m a girl you know!” “Really?” GamePlayer30 asked, only to heighten the level of anger coursing through LordCrumpTheGreat. GamePlayer30 then continued to say, “Are we really gonna have a girl working for us, boss?” The unknown user and PrinceLudwig smirked at GamePlayer30’s cruel comment, but Nicolai93 and I both remained firm as LordCrumpTheGreat pulled out one of her ray guns and aimed it at GamePlayer30’s head.
“Eep!” He said upon seeing the laser-sight scope pointed directly at his forehead, “Sorry! Sorry!” Although probably tempted to blast the fool, LordCrumpTheGreat returned her gun to her holster and tried standing up on her own, only to quickly return to leaning against the pillar for support. While I was fixated on that, I did not notice that the purple-robed user walked up to me. “You don’t show very much emotion, do you?” He said as he started to poke my arm repeatedly with the hilt of his rapier, “The ladies must like the silent type.” Like LordCrumpTheGreat, I was tempted to lash out at this user for violating my personal space, but I remain composed and simply responded, “I don’t talk much.” “What are you too shy!?” GamePlayer30 mocked from beside Nicolai93, which caused me to unsheathe my daggers and assume a fighting pose. Perhaps I was overreacting, but I felt as if GamePlayer30’s comment was somewhat insulting towards my profession. “Do you really want those words to be your last?” I said as I twirled my daggers in my hands and targeted GamePlayer30. Despite the heavy armor he was wearing, he quickly ran behind Nicolai93’s throne like a coward.
“What did I do now!?” GamePlayer30 exclaimed from his self-proclaimed safe spot. “You became an NSider…” PrinceLudwig promptly retorted, which forced a chuckle out of Nicolai93. “I hate you Lemmy!” GamePlayer30 shouted, causing Ludwig to dash behind the chair with his wand pointed at him. “It’s Ludwig!” The magic-user shouted as he shot out red fiery rings from his wand in the direction of GamePlayer30. I could not see the impact of this attack, as my view was obstructed by the throne, but GamePlayer30 quickly ran out with his hair and face on fire. He tried to get away from the crazed magician, but tripped over his own feet during his escape.
"ShadowMario41!” PrinceLudwig yelled, “Do me a favor and slice off his armor. I think you can manage that so I can burn him to a crisp...heh heh!” I was initially hesitant to attack a fellow cardinal and coworker, but I followed PrinceLudwig’s order and dashed like a blur towards GamePlayer30, slicing right through his armor with my magical daggers. With loud clanking sounds, pieces of his armor fell to the floor as PrinceLudwig’s fire continued to burn his flesh. Much to my surprise, Nicolai93 permitted the skirmish that was taking place, despite one his cardinals being on the verge of death. Once GamePlayer30’s chest plate fell to pieces, I had the opportunity to stab him in the abdomen, which would surely have been fatal. Not wanting to kill him, though, I jabbed the hilts of my daggers into his stomach and the charred and battered user fell to the ground.
“Umm…” I said as I looked in the direction of Nicolai93, who was still sitting on his throne and actually laughing at the ensuing battle. “Don’t worry,” he said, “We have the medical tools to fix him up very quickly. Pwning GamePlayer30 is a regular tradition around here.” “It’s like the teleportation process,” the user garbed in purple spoke out with a smile, “you’ll get used to it eventually and you won’t feel so bad about doing it.” “Precisely!” Nicolai93 said proudly as he adjusted his position in his comfortable chair. “Very well” I said as I slid my daggers back into the holsters and returned alongside LordCrumpTheGreat, who finally regained her balance and was able to stand now without any difficulty. A team of three medics emerged from a door on the right side of the room and hastily whisked GamePlayer30 away on a stretcher.
Once the door closed behind them, Nicolai93 spoke out once more. “Well I was going to explain your mission tonight, but I do want to wait until GamePlayer30 is healthy and all members are ready to go. I will brief everyone first thing tomorrow morning. PrinceLudwig!” “Yes, sir?” he asked, to which Nicolai93 responded, “Show our newest cardinals to their rooms.” “Of course…” PrinceLudwig said before turning to LordCrumpTheGreat and me, “Right this way…” He motioned us to follow him through a door on the left side of the room and we obliged. The door led to a long corridor, which had several rooms branching off of it. “These are the rooms reserved for cardinals,” PrinceLudwig explained, “ShadowMario41…you take this one on the left and LordCrumpTheGreat… your room is right next to his.” I entered the door that PrinceLudwig pointed to and LordCrumpTheGreat did the same. Much to my surprise the bedroom was quite luxurious, featuring all of the amenities that some wealthy users take for granted. Exhausted from the events of the past few days, I immediately collapsed on the ultra-soft bed and fell asleep in a matter of minutes. When I next awoke, I would be accepting my first assignment as a member of the Nicolai93 Organization.
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