CHAPTER 15: Blinding Encounter

Since the X-Naut and his pathetic group of friends were staying in Falcon6’s luxurious mansion for the remainder of the evening, I decided to leave them and use the posts I had just looted from MarioKartLady to grab a bite to eat at in Power On. As I slowly walked down the dark alley towards Power On, I thought back to what Falcon6 said about the mystical legend. With my head facing the ground, I thought back to when I had first heard of the 1337. It was when I was but a Moblin rank, many years before starting trivia and becoming nearly as fearsome of a warrior as I was now. My father did not have many close acquaintances and social connections; in fact, that was one of his only flaws that could be exploited. However, there was one user by the name of Ganondorf8 that my father often worked with and helped train me when I was a child. Ganondorf8 was a tall and muscular man whose weapon of choice was an oversized spiked metallic ball attached to a chain of the same silvery color. He wore a giant purple cape extending down to his ankles and dressed in a tan vest, a dark brown undershirt, a black belt, black pants, and brown leather boots. He was definitely not outfitted for subtlety or agility, but somehow managed to be pretty adept at both. From the stories I’ve heard, the battle strategy between the two of them would be for ShadowMario40 to distract and confuse foes, leaving Ganondorf8 to deliver powerful finishing blows. They worked together like lightning and thunder, respectfully, and my father was very thankful to have a trustworthy ally by his side, although he never would have admitted it. He often shared various secrets with Ganondorf8; secrets that I would have been slapped for asking to know what they entailed. “You’re not ready, boy!” He would tell me with a stern look as his disciplinary hand struck my face with a painful sting. Sometimes I thought that he trusted Ganondorf8 more than me, but perhaps that was because I was still too young to understand the daily difficulties he faced.

One day while my father was out on a privately contracted mission and Ganondorf8 was left to train me for the day, he sat me down on the outskirts of the Pokemon Board and said to me with a playful tone, “You know, ShadowMario41, you’re becoming quite the fighter for your age. I remember when I was eight…you are eight right?” I nodded to his inquiry, prompting him to continue, “Yeah, when I was eight, I couldn’t even hold a simple lance properly. You seem to have a pretty good handle on those wooden daggers of yours. Believe it or not, you’re probably already faster than some other fighters. Perhaps I can convince your dad to buy you a real set.” I remember becoming very excited at the thought of owning my first pair of real weapons, but that vision was quickly clouded as I knew my father would never cave in. It wouldn’t be until two years later that I received lethal weapons, and even then they were forged of bronze and not strong steel. “Has your father ever told you about the 1337?” He asked me, to which I responded, “The bad language? Isn’t it banned?” He stood up and chuckled, “Not that… there is a story about the 1337, the ultimate source of power.” I was immediately captivated by his words and listened closely to his words as he proceeded to tell me the story surrounding this mysterious item. “Only the strongest of fighters can hope to witness it…does that sound cool?” “Oh yeah!” I shouted, beaming with a blend of excitement and curiosity. “So whaddya say? Let’s continue our training, shall we?”

My flashback was interrupted by the clanking of an aluminum can I accidentally kicked as it skipped along the paved road. Losing track of where I was, I glanced up and saw that I was already in the confines of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Boards. This relatively recent addition to the community arose with a major technological boom in 2004, when wireless became a new feature implemented in a large part of the forum’s functionality. The board in particular focuses on online gaming and has become one of the most active boards of NSider in recent months. However, there was not a soul to be seen in this dark alleyway; light shining out through windows behind closed blinds provided the sole illumination to this road. Because it was nighttime, I decided to venture out onto a main road, as it would be faster to get to Power On via this avenue. The time was ticking towards 9:30 PM and there were still a fair amount of users out and about, though none of them granted me a second glance. The NSider Loudhouse would be the ideal place for a meal at this time in Power On – it was open twenty-four hours every day and most of the early-evening crowd would be out by now.

The NSider Loudhouse was a large tavern well-known for its culinary creations but also for being very rowdy and loud, hence the name. This was definitely not the venue in which to dine peacefully, but it was popular nonetheless because of its late night service and well-stocked bar. With the posts that I stole from MarioKartLady, I would definitely be able to afford a decent meal, which would really hit the spot considering I had not eaten all day. The Loudhouse was about a fifteen minute walk from where I was now if I continued my leisurely pace. Although I could get there much faster if I ran, I decided to take it easy so I could regain some of my strength and continue reflecting on the information Falcon6 revealed. I had no way of really knowing, however, so I had to take Falcon6’s words with a grain of salt at the risk of jumping to false conclusions. “Ah!” I said softly to myself, finally thinking of a way to acquire more information as I stopped in my tracks to access my PM watch. If anyone knew more about the situation, it would be none other than PowerToMario, my faithful trivia assistant. Dashing in the nearest dark alley, I started to compose my message using my PM watch.

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FROM: SHADOWMARIO41 Add User to Friends List – Add User to Ignore List

SENT: 08/16/07 – 9:32 P.M.

PowerToMario,

Although this may sound strange, I need to know more about the 1337… yes the one from that old NSider legend. If you really need to know why, we can talk about it later. For now, just please get back to me as soon as possible.

~SM41

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After previewing it to make sure it was satisfactory, I pressed the send button. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, knowing this would take some of the pressure off me to find information about this legend. My brief sense of calmness was quickly interrupted, though, when I heard a familiar voice call out to me. I tried to turn around, but was instantly struck by a blunt object and a sharp pain coursed through the back of my skull. I glanced back before completely turning around in preparation to defend myself. Despite the darkness of the alleyway, I immediately recognized who was in charge of this sudden attack. I must have somehow stumbled into the territory of the Freak Bandits again, because I was faced with the familiar image of MegaFreak400 and his brutish cohorts. “Remember me?” MegaFreak400 said with a sly smirk across his face, “I’m surprised that blow didn’t knock you out cold.” Even though the back of my head was still throbbing, I managed to conjure up a witty response. “From one of your guys? That would hardly even scratch me.” “You don’t know what you’re up against this time.” MegaFreak400 said with a great confident, but I couldn’t be sure whether or not he was bluffing. I still saw the same type of minions as the previous battle: large muscular guys holding axes. Was he so quick to forget the outcome of the previous fight under these circumstances? “Is this also your ‘territory’?” I asked sarcastically, “I thought you were in the Metroid Boards.” “Ha!” He responded, “Soon all of NSider will our territory! One of our first priorities is to wipe out any pesky opposition. No one makes a fool of us… just wait and see what we have in store for you…” I kept my guard raised throughout the duration of his rant, not wanting to succumb to any surprises that he may have had up his sleeve.

Angered by MegaFreak400s sneak attack, I chose not to wait around any longer and find out about why I was targeted again, so I rushed on the offensive. I had one minion locked in my sights and he did not even see me coming until it was far too late for his life to be saved. When he finally did react and started to raise his axe, one of my daggers was already impaled through his chest. His axe dropped to the ground with a loud clank of iron as I pulled out the dagger and spun around to face my next foe. I was just about to charge towards the second opponent when a loud voice echoed from behind MegaFreak400. The scream pierced the air and, I could not decipher the words in the thick of the battle, but within mere moments a blinding flash enveloped the area. I had no choice but to shield my eyes from the light; I had never seen anything so bright; especially considering the alleyway was barely lit to begin with. “You like that?” MegaFreak400 mockingly called out to me, now seeming to be much further away than before, “That was the work of my most elite henchman, GaiaCrusher9. Why don’t you introduce yourself to our blind friend?” I opened my eyes, but all I could was white light. When I closed my eyes, I still saw nothing but white. It was futile to attempt to regain my vision; for the time being I would have to fight this battle with my other senses.

“Hiya! I’m Gaia!” He said to me with a proud voice, “I guess that catsun worked like a charm. You were right…now we can finish him, Master Mega.” “Wait…” I said, gripping my daggers tightly in my hands, “Master Mega is seriously the best title you can come up with?” Perhaps it was uncharacteristic of me to speak out in such a manner, but my simple taunt succeeded in pushing his buttons. “Grr! You will pay for your insolence!” He shouted, with noticeable rage in his voice. “Careful boss,” someone else said to him, “you don’t want the cops to know we’re here.” “Erm…yeah…sorry…” Mega replied sheepishly, “Now finish him!”

Although I literally could not see anything, I heard footsteps coming from two directions, one to my left and one directly in front of me. The thumping continued to get slightly louder and louder until they were probably within a couple feet of my position, at which point I leaped to the right expecting to land back on the pavement, but instead crashed into a brick wall and fell to the ground. I could hear the laughter of MegaFreak400 and GaiaCrusher9 in the distance, as they apparently took delight in my physical suffering. Infuriated by this, I brushed off the injury and stood my ground once more, but now I could not hear any anything other than the environmental noises of NSider. Keeping my guard raised, I maintained focus and refused to be distracted by the duo’s laughter. Then I heard the sound giving away my opponent’s position: a pebble flipped over on the ground directly behind me. I spun around and thrust both of my daggers forward, definitely making contact with something, at which point that something let out a yelp of agony. Immediately I heard my other foe approaching from the same direction and since my daggers were still stuck in the flesh of the other user, I had no choice but to test out my magical abilities.

As I mentioned before, I had somewhat limited knowledge of dark magic. Again, this was something that my father taught me when I was young, often saying that “It could help you in a tight spot.” Thank goodness for that small amount of training because it was my only option at this point, despite me not being entirely confident in its execution. In the manner I was trained, I had to focus the energy of my body and concentrate on the desired spell to cast it successfully. In spite of a somewhat slow casting time for my standards, the spell presumably worked, as I heard the other henchman of MegaFreak400’s start to scream in pain. “Hm?” MegaFreak400 said with a worried tone in his voice from the other direction. “How does this assassin know the Flux spell? That certainly complicates things...” Although I could not see my devious magic unfold, I knew that pure darkness was enveloping him like a blanket and slowly squeezing the life out of him. This variation of dark magic known as Flux travels along the ground like a fast-moving puddle before stopping under the feet of an adversary and rising up all around him or her in a bubble. Then, the bubble closes, squeezing the target to death if the spell is not broken. This is one of the most basic forms of dark magic, though; there are much more powerful variations that many users take advantage of for quicker and deadlier attacks. Luckily, the users MegaFreak400 was with may have even been less skilled than the ones I killed previously, as they were both defeated with relative ease even with my impaired vision.

I was starting to regain my sight; blurry shapes were materializing in front of me, gradually coming back into focus. I could see the magic purple bubble in front of me shrinking down to nothingness, taking the entrapped bandit with it. I could see the outlines of the buildings…now more details like windows and even individual bricks were coming into focus. I turned to face MegaFreak400 and this mysterious GaiaCrusher9, but could not quite make out the physical appearance of my foes. I thought MegaFreak400 was going to order GaiaCrusher9 to unleash another catsun attack, but instead he looked at me in disgust. I glanced overhead and noticed that my name had changed from a dark blue text to light green. With the few posts that I had collected from those bandits, it was just enough for me to rank up to Yoshi. My name disappeared and I looked back at MegaFreak400, who looked disappointed that his tactic proved ineffective. “Do not think you have won, rogue.” MegaFreak400 said to me, “You’ve merely postponed your demise at the hands of the Freak Bandits! At least we know your name now, ShadowMario41. Let’s go.” “Yes sir!” GaiaCrusher9 spoke with enthusiasm, trailing behind his leader as they walked in the opposite direction. I still wasn’t sure what these bandits had against me or exactly what territory they controlled. Whatever the case, it was probably best to forget about those bothersome bandits and grab something to eat. Now it was not only due to the necessity of hunger, it was in celebration of my new rank.

CHAPTER 14: A Hero's Tale

Falcon6’s mansion was definitely a marvel that dwarfed the surrounding buildings in the Power On board. After entering through a black metal gate with Falcon6’s name inscribed upon it, large white marble stairs would lead up past gargantuan pillars face-to-face with a giant solid bronze door of this massive white structure. Golden statues of iconic Nintendo figures lined the rooftops and a large triforce-like icon gleamed brightly above the front doors, providing illumination to the mansion at this dark hour. It was rare to have any sort of yard space in Power On, as many of the buildings were clustered almost on top of each other, but this mansion had a rather sizable fenced-in plot of gleaming green grass around it, with uniformly trimmed bushes and an iconic fountain of an Octorok with a stream of water coming out of its mouth. It was truly a marvel to behold, especially coming from the filth of the regions populated with lowly Goombas. I have laid eyes on the mansion in the past, but it was still probably one of the most aesthetically pleasing edifices in Power On. Obviously, X-Naut128 and TechnoDragon64 were in awe when the mansion came into view on the horizon. Invader8, on the other hand, shared a similar emotion to my own and did not look the slightest bit impressed. My guess was that he could see right through Falcon6’s known superficial and boastful nature, not allowing himself to be distracted by the allure of the fantastic mansion.

When the proud Falcon6 approached his own mansion, almost instantly a swarm of fan girls rushed over to greet the “heroic” sage, many wanting autographs or bargaining for an exclusive invitation into Falcon6’s personal quarters. Although definitely undeserving in my opinion, the fact of the matter was that Falcon6 was a widely-known celebrity on NSider and probably one of the richest users on the forum. Because of the heroic title bestowed upon him, it was only natural for him to attract a significant fan base. With his mansion near the center of NSider activity, it was not an uncommon sight for females from around the forum to flock here, wanting a brief taste of wealth and fame to satisfy their otherwise shallow lives. Falcon6 looked back at the other three NSiders in tow as he approached the sea of fans and smiled from ear to ear. I couldn’t make out exactly what he said, but I could tell it was something proclaiming his own excellence. The fan girls parted like a hot knife through butter as Falcon6 constantly declined their futile requests for entry, claiming that this was a private occasion. I cannot even imagine – nor would I want to imagine – the scene of what a public party would be like at Falcon6’s humble abode.

After making it through the screaming crowd of users outside, the quartet walked inside the gate, which automatically closed and locked behind them. They walked up the staircase slowly, with X-Naut128 nearly tripping on several occasions, and slammed the bronze door shut behind them, much to the dismay of the fan girls. Some of them lingered outside hoping for Falcon6 to reconsider, but most of them dispersed given that the night air was rather frigid. “Damn!” I thought aloud to myself, “How could I spy on this group with all of these mindless idiots raving over Falcon6 as if he were an actual hero?” Even though the four users were inside, I needed a plan to get close enough to spy on them. I did not want to risk losing track of them like I thought I almost did while waiting outside the NSider Arcade. I had to get passed the fan girls outside but could not risk just attacking them directly. Even though it would be an assured victory, there would be too many witnesses in the area and one of them was bound to have at least some fighting skill. It would also attract much attention to the scene and, in this situation, I needed to have a subtle approach.

There was a fire escape on the wall leading to the top of a nearby building, but there would be no way I could clear the jump from building to building and not be noticed by someone, whether it be due to a visual sighting or the sound of my footsteps. I hatched another scheme to distract them all with the name of another famous user on NSider, but that would just alert them to my presence. Just then, however, something happened to rectify my dilemma. The incandescent glow of flamers approached from another direction, which was apparently enough to strike fear into the hearts of these Falcon6 fanatics. Upon seeing the red-orange glow get brighter and brighter, they all dispersed, some of them running in circles while others tried to hide behind the surrounding buildings. Amongst the confusion caused by this moment, I was able to swiftly navigate through all of them and reach Falcon6’s mansion. Even though I pushed my way through in a few instances, I doubt that they had the sense to notice an assassin amongst them. Luckily my hypothesis was affirmed; I noticed no one was following me as I quickly crept to the side of the mansion, where I noticed a window that was slightly open. I could hear voices emanating from inside, but it was a little too tall for me to reach. I could jump up and see inside, but jumping repeatedly wasn’t exactly the best form of espionage. There were no bars to hang from or trash cans to stand on and I desperately needed some sort of boost so I could clearly see into the window and spy on the group.

The sound of footsteps to my left caused me to glance over my shoulder and I was shocked to find out of the fan girls had wandered off in my direction. Judging by the expression on her face, she was rather intimidated by my appearance. I’m guessing that she never saw an assassin – or maybe even a true fighter – in her lifetime. Before she could yell out so much as a syllable, I quickly ran up behind her, placing a hand over her mouth to muffle her voice. I yanked on her over-sized ponytail, dragging her to the ground where she lay there helpless. I was going to leave her unconscious, but the thought of her waking up and alerting Falcon6 (or anyone else for that matter) of my presence would certainly have negative consequences, especially with the possibility of the NOAs looking for me. Thus, I impaled my dagger into her heart and twisted it, causing blood to gush out in every direction from the fatal wound. Her motionless corpse now rested on the ground with a pool of gore surrounding her as a reminder of the painful death she was dealt for crossing my path. I did get some blood on my daggers, but soon enough it slid off onto the road, leaving my daggers once again in premiere condition. Hopefully there would not be any other interference, but this actually proved to be beneficial. Dragging her dead body over by the window of Falcon6’s mansion, I was able to utilize it as a stepping stone, granting me a perfect view of the main living room, where the group happened to be sitting on a large sofa.

I was not very well concealed, but I decided not to worry too much about that, since there was probably a sense of safety amongst the group within the mansion and I did not find it likely that Invader8 would be sniffing out for assassins at a time like this. Looking in his direction, I could see that he was biting into a juicy chicken wing with a big smile across his face. The two Cappies were also enjoying some appetizing food and I felt a small jolt of jealousy as I caught wind of the dish’s enchanting aroma; a meal of that quality has recently become quite a rarity for me. “Oh guys!” Invader8 exclaimed with his mouth full to the two newcomers, “I almost forgot to give you each these. It’s your own PM belt. You can trade it in at the store for other PM accessories, but this is a good one to start with. Now that you’re Cappies, you have your own PM boxes all set up.” X-Naut128 looked up, irritated to be distracted from his food, and asked, “How does PM work?” Invader8 replied, “Well, it’s basically how users communicate privately. You can add people to your contacts and send them messages at will…like this!” Although I didn’t hear it, I could tell X-Naut128 received a new private message, as he was looking at his belt and smiling. Invader8 chuckled at the sight of this and said, “You’ll probably want to check your inbox a little more discretely, but that’s the idea. Only you can see and hear messages that have been sent to you.” “K!” X-Naut128 replied obnoxiously as he returned to his food. Invader8 looked mildly annoyed that his helpful advice was being ignored, but his facial expression quickly softened as he returned to his meal.

“I think you two will make fine users once you get used to the way things work around here.” The Sage spoke, “You’ll get the hang of it soon enough and – hey… I’m out of hors d'oeuvres already!? Hey, Goaty!” As soon as he ended his sentence, another user appeared in the doorway dressed in a full navy blue suit lined with gold buttons, slicked back grayish hair, and shiny black shoes. The user spoke out in a soft voice, “Yes, what can I do for you sir?” “Fetch my friends and I some more appetizers!” Falcon6 shouted somewhat obnoxiously at the user who, judging by his attire, was one of Falcon6’s servants. “Of course, sir…” He responded before disappearing into the other room. “This is ridiculous!” I thought to myself, “There must be a better use of my time than to watch these four idiots consume insane amounts of food!” I was seriously considering the decision of leaving them alone and simply returning in the morning, but then TechnoDragon64 asked a question that sparked my interest. “Not that I don’t appreciate the PMs and whatnot, but what’s that gold star around your neck? Now that looks like something I would really want.” I had no idea what he was talking about at first, but then I did notice the gold star pendant that was around his neck. Normally I can point out such subtleties, like how I noticed the golden N pins on those users involved in the robbery at Celadon, so I was surprised that I did not notice this item. Maybe I was too distracted with my mission of killing the X-Naut that I just did not spare it a thought. Regardless, Falcon6 grabbed the gold chain around his neck and appeared to be looking for the right words as even Invader8 seemed puzzled by this item. “Have you always had that?” Invader8 said, “I think this might be the first time I’ve seen something like that. Is it a family heirloom or something?” “Well,” Falcon6 finally said, “Not exactly…I guess there’s no harm in telling you all… you guys have grown on me this past few days…but don’t go telling anyone else, you hear?”

For once, X-Naut128 and I had some sort of common ground, as we were both intrigued by Falcon6’s star-shaped trinket hanging by a chain around his neck. After a deafening cry of “OOOOOHHHH!” from the X-Naut responding to the shiny surface of the item, Falcon6 continued on. “Eh hem…anyway… yeah…just don’t go spreading this around. One post on Power On and I’ll be in serious trouble with the NOAs…” “Yeah, yeah,” Invader8 remarked, growing impatient, “stop building up the suspense and just tell us already!” “Ok…ok…” Falcon6 replied, with a worried look gradually spreading across his face, “I think a few more people know anyway… so it’s not super top secret, but even I don’t know how to – “ “JUST TELL US!” The group screamed in unison so loudly and unexpectedly that even I almost fell off the body I was standing on. I recovered my balance just before Falcon6 began to tell his tale. “Ok, no need to get all grumpy about it, sheesh!” Falcon6 paused for a moment to make sure he had everyone’s attention before continuing, “Anyway, I don’t know the full details about it, but I’ll try to give you the full story to the best of my knowledge. Under a direct order from NOA_ANDY, I must never let this item fall into the wrong hands and I must guard it with my life. It is one of the four unique keys to a weapon known as the … oh what’s its name… ah yes… the 1335… or something.”

“The 1337!” I exclaimed in a surprised tone under my breath. I have only heard about it very briefly in legends and other folklore, but supposedly a device or entity of some sort exists somewhere within NSider’s domain that can provide a user with ultimate power, far exceeding the limits of even the NOAs. According to the story I heard many years ago, the 1337 was first crafted by NOA_Shaun and worked by fusing a G-Mod Crystal with a user’s genome, super-powering one’s every fiber to incredible new and unmatched levels of strength. It was first created so that NOA_Shaun could form his personal “Pickle Army”, a division of NSider’s military that would be literally unstoppable. However, with modern science and technology, it seems highly improbable that an object like this could still exist as it would certainly compromise the security of the forum. What was even more unbelievable is that, in accordance with his tale, Falcon6 was assigned to guard one of the keys to this all-powerful device. “You mean the 1337?” Invader8 asked, interrupting my train of thought, “That’s just a fairytale, isn’t it? A story told to young warriors to instill confidence…” Falcon6 simply shrugged. “I don’t know, I’ve never seen it nor heard about it since I was given this gold star two years ago. I do know that it’s one-of-a-kind and of crucial importance.” “Wait…” TechnoDragon64 said, “I’m a little confused here. What exactly is this 1337?” Falcon6 proceeded to answer this question with nearly the exact tale that I had heard before, which baffled me even further. I hardly gave a second thought that an object like this was real, but everything he said was exactly like the story I had heard and the star around his neck supposedly affirmed his tale. “So yeah…” He said at the end of his retelling, “I have vowed never take it off and won’t even entrust it to my closest friends.” “GEE TANKS!” X-Naut128 perked up from his trance of being encapsulated by this story. Technodragon64 glared at him and said, “If Falcon6 won’t trust fellow Sages, why the hell would he trust you?” After looking pensive for a moment, X-Naut128 looked back at TechnoDragon64 and said, “Cause I R awesome, rite!?”

Following a brief period of awkward silence, Falcon6 continued on, “So anyway, this star is apparently pretty damn important. Being associated with an ageless legend isn’t too shabby in my book.” “I don’t know…” Invader8 said with a tone of skepticism in his voice, “it seems like this is all surreal. I mean, why would they give something like this to a regular user?” “Regular user!?” Falcon6 quickly retorted, “I AM THE HERO OF NSIDER!” Upon shouting these words, shrieks and squeals rang up from the outside and the legion of fan girls that was once in disarray began chanting Falcon6’s name, beckoning for him to emerge from the mansion. Looking back, the orange glow on the horizon had disappeared and now the attention was back on this so-called hero. “That’s my cue!” Falcon6 said, rising up from the sofa and strolling over to the door with a cocky stride.

I knew Falcon6 opened the front doors of his mansion when the screams began to reach a deafening level, but I tried to block them out and concentrate on the conversation between the remaining three users. I could barely decipher their words, but they were still audible to a point at which I could understand them. “So…” TechnoDragon64 said to Invader8, “Is all of that really true?” Invader8 paused for a moment and looked towards the ceiling before responding, “I don’t know, really. He didn’t seem like he was lying…but at the same time it’s pretty hard to believe.” “Why would share that information with us, though?” TechnoDragon64 asked, to which once again Invader8 paused before replying rather bluntly, “Probably because he’s an idiot… which is probably why no one would expect him to have something like that.” “Yeah I guess…” TechnoDragon64 said, “Is that why he goes around calling himself a hero?” “Maybe…” Invader8 replied with uncertainty, “It’s just… I’ve known Falcon6 for years now and never heard anything about that…” TechnoDragon64 said in response, “He did say that he didn’t even trust some of his fellow Sages with the information.” “Ah true…” Invader8 said, “But why tell us? Why now?” “I don’t know.” TechnoDragon64 said, “What do you think X-Naut128?” X-Naut128 looked up from a bowl of chips that he had devoured while the group was talking and said with crumbs surrounding his lips, “Yah wut u need?” “Ugh… never mind…” Invader8 said, trying to control his emotions as X-Naut128 continued to grotesquely consume every morsel of food in sight, “I wonder if he was on such a high from showing off his fame and fortune to you guys that he wanted to go that extra step and prove how cool he really was.” “Based on what you told me about him,” TechnoDragon64 stated, “I wouldn’t doubt that.”

I knew the crew would be spending the night at the mansion, so I decided to take a little break and return by daybreak. Still, as I hopped down off the fan girl’s corpse, I had trouble processing all of the information presented in such a short amount of time. Within two days, I had heard the story of V and the legend of the 1337, two stories that I thought did not have much, if any, truth to them. A spark of curiosity struck me, however, before I left Falcon6’s mansion. I decided to check who exactly it was that I had murdered. After all, it was only fitting that I thanked the user properly for serving as an invaluable stepping stone. I examined the left pocket of her pants and found her ID card as well as some posts she was carrying around with her. “MarioKartLady,” I said to myself as I read the name on the card, “hmm…I could get in trouble for that one…” Without another moment’s hesitation, I dashed into the depths of Power On, knowing that I could now use the posts I collected from her to buy a decent meal. After listening in on a story like that, rest and relaxation was exactly what I needed before I started the day anew.

CHAPTER 13: To New Heights

The door to my office clicked behind me and I saw the trophy of myself resting on my desk. The pose of the trophy looked like me standing with my right arm extended away from my body and my hand pointing at something. It must have been a pose I made during trivia, as PowerToMario was probably experimenting with the mysterious figurine and its interaction with a map of NSider while I was hosting. As I stepped towards it, PowerToMario picked it up and held it upside-down, revealing the Japanese scripture on the golden base. He had a worried look about him as if something was not quite right, so I stood still and listened to his findings. “All during trivia, I examined this object…this trophy…” he said softly, “Remember how I told you that Japanese was known only by the NOAs?” I nodded and he continued, “Well, as far as I know that’s still the case…and nowadays trophies are only made in the image of Sages on the forum. Thus, there are two conclusions I came upon…” He paused for a moment before asking, “You didn’t swipe this from an admin did you?”

Persistent as ever, PowerToMario was still trying to find out how I obtained the trophy, so I simply retorted, “And if I did?” “Well…” he said, “That means you were to be nominated as a Sage… hmm…” Cutting off his train of thought, I interrupted and said, “A Sage, huh? Do I really seem like that kind of guy?” “Well I don’t know everything about your personal life.” He said, “Let’s see…usually people who are nominated to be Sages are those that attending the NOA HQ meetings, are actively involved in the community, and have a positive influence on other members of the forums.” Scoffing at this possibility, I said, “I think we can cross that one off the list.” “Your trivia personality seems to suggest otherwise,” PowerToMario said, “When you host trivia, you seem friendly and very sociable. Are you really that different outside of here?” I raised one eyebrow before replying, “Need I remind you that I am an assassin?” “I’m well aware!” PowerToMario said, “And you could probably slice and dice me in an instant if you wanted… It’s just… I have never seen another user of a similar profession interact with the community like you do.” “Hence the downfall of many before me…” I said in a very serious tone, “If others…even my father…had one weakness, it was his lack of social connections. By hosting this contest and getting somewhat involved in the forum, I can gain valuable allies and information about the community in the process. People who work entirely by themselves, no matter how strong they are, don’t last in this world. Even in terms of trivia…haven’t you noticed the independent trivia contests that have tried to compete with mine? After one or two events, they close for good. It’s the same sort of idea.”

After a short pause, PowerToMario asked, “Is the ulterior motive really that strong?” skeptical of that being the only reason for hosting. “Well…” I started, “I do enjoy it and it provides me with some good money. Otherwise, I would be screwed on that front.” “I think it’s more than that…” PowerToMario continued, “I mean, if what you’re telling me is true, it’s like you put on a completely different face for trivia.” Beginning to get a little irritated with the personal questions, I said, “I thought I told you before, I take pride in the fact that I am skilled in battle and have some social abilities. Hosting any forum event is not only fun but also improves those skills.” “It’s remarkable how you’ve managed to keep your two lives separate…” PowerToMario said, to which I replied, “I’m not sure if I would call them different lives, but different personas, yeah.” I expected PowerToMario to reply with something else, but he just had a very pensive look on his face, pushing his glasses up on his nose with his index finger. “Anyway…” I said, breaking the brief silence “Isn’t there something you have to tell me about that thing you’re holding?”

“Oh right, I’m terribly sorry!” He perked up and examined the object once more, “If you’re telling me the Sage thing isn’t the case then whoever you got this from must have gotten it from an administrator…an NOA. I’m not suggesting that you stole it…” He paused and looked in my direction, again trying to squeeze more information out of me, but I remained silent and composed, “…but I’m just saying whoever you got this from has to be involved with the NOAs. There is no other way a trophy of someone could be made by anyone else. Not even moderators know how to do this!” “Are you sure?” I asked, figuring that at least someone else was capable of doing so. “Yeah, I’m positive.” PowerToMario said confidently, “You know the moderator GameMaster149? The guy who manages the Official Mario Board Contest?” “I think so.” I said, mostly sure of who the user was. “Well while you were hosting trivia I PMed him and asked if he knew how to make a trophy and he told me the same thing that I told you. Only NOAs have the knowledge of how to craft these things.” “Hmm…” I thought as I began to realize what this meant, “So…you’re saying the person I got this from probably has the NOAs on his or her side?” “More than that,” PowerToMario said, “You can’t just walk up to an NOA and ask for a trophy. They’ll probably ban you for that. This…person or group or whatever must have very personal connections and be very close with the authorities of the forum.” I remained silent as PowerToMario continued, “That’s why I hope you didn’t steal it...the NOAs could be looking for you.” “Great…” I inaudibly muttered under my breath. I intended to get back at Dr. Peppy for his cruelty, but this was turning into much more than I bargained for.

I snatched the trophy from PowerToMario’s hand and spun around, making my way towards the exit. “Whoa hold on!” PowerToMario said, “Sorry if I struck a nerve or something but I’m not done yet. Besides, don’t you think it would be safer to keep that here than to potentially lose it doing…whatever it is that you do?” It took a moment for my brief anger to subside, but I finally calmed down and handed the trophy back to PowerToMario. “Thank you,” he said, satisfied that he was able to regain control of the situation, “Now judging by your actions I would say you could be in some trouble… possibly with the NOAs…and as you know I am employed by the NOAs so…” “You wouldn’t!” I shouted, cutting him off mid-sentence. He sighed deeply before finally admitting, “No…no I wouldn’t. My job description says I have to help you, not report you. That being said I will give you some tools to help you out. The electronic translator I showed you before is yours. Just strap it to your wrist like the PM watch you have and use it at your leisure. I can get another from the NOAs or something.” “Ok…” I said, taking the device and strapping it to my wrist beside my PM watch, “So you just point it at whatever you want to scan?” “That’s right!” PowerToMario exclaimed, “Why don’t you try it on the trophy?” I aimed the device at the Japanese text and pressed the silver button on its face. Sure enough, after a few moments, the text “SHADOWMARIO41” was displayed on the digital screen. “See?” PowerToMario said, “And if you want to change the language just use the dial on the right. It’s simple.” “Thanks…” I said, “Anything else?” “Yes,” he said, much to my surprise, “I also wanted to give you this map of NSider. It’s probably a good resource to have.” I was going to decline the offer at first, but I then realized that I hardly ever looked at a map of the community. I knew the back roads and routes only from living on the streets, not by studying a map. “Sure…” I said, “As long as the huge thing won’t slow me down.” “It’s pocket-sized,” he said as he handed a small folded piece of parchment to me, “It shouldn’t be a problem.” Before shoving it into the pockets of my robes, I unfolded it and looked at it for a few seconds.

MAP OF NSIDER

“It seems like you could have some tough times ahead of you, ShadowMario41. I’ll be here if you need me. Good luck!” I nodded and we both walked out of the room. I figured that after sleeping well, I would be ready for the challenges that lie ahead. Thus, I decided to sleep on a comfortable couch at the trivia headquarters before heading out in the morning. The trophy was safely in PowerToMario’s possession and I knew that I had some valuable allies back here at the HQ that I could count on if I found myself in a tough spot. If the NOAs wanted to track me down, I would be ready.

When I awoke, even though it was still early in the morning, I felt surprisingly refreshed. I decided to sneak out of the HQ in these early hours so I could avoid confrontation with everyone without a barrage of questions. I also wanted to get over to the Gameplay Help for Newcomers Board rather quickly this morning. Even though it seemed rather miniscule in light of everything that had happened in the past few days, this marked the third day that X-Naut128 had been a part of this community. After all, I made a vow to end his life when I first saw him as a pathetic OSider and since I didn’t really know where to go from here, I decided that would be the best place to start. Once the day ended, the loathsome annoyance would automatically rank up to a Cappy and gain access to all of the forum’s boards and features. I wanted to give myself enough time to track him down within the confusion of this board. At first I was a bit upset with myself that I allowed him to remain alive for this long, but he couldn’t have changed too much in the three days, even with a Sage and an NOA-assigned “guardian” on his side. The morning sky was void of any clouds and I wanted to find the X-Naut before he ranked up and become lost within the massive community of NSider. I took my time walking to the board, reflecting on the conversation that transpired last night after trivia.

Every time I venture towards this part of NSider, I am amazed at the unsanitary conditions that are prevalent within the confines of the Gameplay Help for Newcomers board. This board is almost entirely inhabited by newcomers to the forum, so it goes without saying that it is a rather chaotic board to visit. Even though Power On is probably ten-times as active, at least there is some sense of order there, unlike this board where confused newcomers wander around aimlessly. The streets were covered in filth, rats scoured the back alleys and some areas smelled like dump. Based on this first impression that newcomers were treated to, I was amazed at how many people actually stuck around to become full-fledged NSiders. Maybe it was an intentional ploy by the NOAs to try to wean out some of the users who aren’t truly committed to becoming a serious member of the community. Whatever the reason, I always hated traveling here because of these conditions.

It took me a few hours to locate X-Naut128 and his merry band of friends, but I finally found them near some miscellaneous discussion topic. Immediately I noticed that the group of three had increased to a group of four. Some other new user was now traveling with the mangy x-naut in addition to the self-proclaimed hero and Invader8. He was only a little taller than X-Naut128 and wore a maroon uniform, a brown belt with a bright golden buckle shaped like a spiral, gray boots and gloves that were both slightly torn and, strangest of all, a mask resembling a metallic dragon that covered his whole head. The only part of him that was visible underneath the mask was his azure eyes and I could not imagine that his mobility was not suffering because of the massive helmet. He was carrying a small knife with a gray hilt, but he also had two strong-looking ray guns resting in holsters on either side of him. He was still a Goomba, so I imagined that he didn’t know how to handle these very well, but it seemed as if he already had some battle skill. My guess was that he and X-Naut128 registered on the same day and, by the sound of their conversation, I was right. Listening in more closely, I found the name of this newcomer to be TechnoDragon64.

From what I could tell, they appeared to be arguing over who got to keep a bag of posts that they found lying on the ground. “I saw them first so I shuld keep them!” The X-Naut shouted, tugging on one end of the bag. “Yeah well…” TechnoDragon64 said in a very deep voice, “I picked them up so they should be mine.” TechnoDragon64 appeared to be a bit more mature, as his grammatical errors were limited when he talked. X-Naut128 didn’t look too much different; he was still the stout plump x-naut from before. “Nuu!” The x-naut squealed, “I want em!” Invader8 was nearby, leaning against a building and scratching his head, not bothering to get involved in the petty dispute. Falcon6 stood over both of them and looked frustrated as well, finally chiming in, “You know guys… I have the perfect solution. Why don’t you give them to me? After all, I am the HERO OF NSIDER!”

The two Goombas stared at him blankly for a moment, and then continued to argue, completely ignoring his declaration. Eventually the bag ripped and the contents of the bag spilled out all over the ground. From the looks of it, there were only four measly posts in the bag and each user scrambled to grab two posts each. “HA! I GOTZ TOO!” X-Naut128 screamed with his arms held high, nearly dropping his prized posts. TechnoDragon64 looked towards him and said, “I have two as well; that makes us even.” X-Naut128 looked him and then pulled out one his swords. “Hey! Come on, man.” TechnoDragon64 said, “It’s only two posts…what are you going to do with that thing?” Pointing it at the hand of TechnoDragon64, a small bolt of electricity shot out from the tip of the sword, shocking his hand and causing him to drop the posts he just collected. X-Naut128 quickly collected the posts and assumed a highly unwarranted victory pose. Upon seeing this, though, my perception of this user changed slightly. “Perhaps he does have some battle skill after all…” I thought, hoping that he would at least be some sort of challenge to exterminate. This move even caught Invader8’s attention, who turned and complimented the newbie on his attack, despite it being rather pathetic.

“That increases your post count to… eighteen?” Invader8 said with an inflection in his voice, “You’re not exactly gaining posts at a fast rate.” “I gotz mor than u!” X-Naut128 shouted back defensively. “Actually…” Invader8 began, “I have about 2500 more than you do…” X-Naut128 looked dumbfounded for a second; then chimed in abruptly, “Yeah well im cool!” He leaped into the air, attempting to perform a back flip, but landed on his back in agony. Struggling not to laugh, TechnoDragon64 helped him up and Falcon6 quickly interrupted the idiocy before anyone else was injured. “Hey guys… you know this is your last day in the newcomer boards. You should be taking full advantage of it rather than goofing off. This isn’t very productive, you know…” Invader8 glanced at the prideful Sage and asked, “Well, what do you propose that we do?” Apparently not one for quick thinking, Falcon6 looked back nervously and managed to mutter, “I don’t… know…” “What do you mean you don’t know?” Invader interrupted, “I thought you are the ‘Hero of NSider’…” Immediately, Falcon6 stiffened up and tried to quickly search for words. Eventually he managed to sputter out, “Let’s….go……to…..the Arcade…” “ARCADE!?” X-Naut128 screamed out and jumped upon hearing that joyous word. TechnoDragon64 folded his arms, glanced at the gleeful X-Naut and commented, “You’ve been here almost three days and you didn’t know that there was an arcade? Even I knew that!” “…no…” X-Naut said, his happy expression quickly changing to one of confusion, “Can u show me?” The NSider Arcade is a large facility where various users could go to at any time to try their luck in various classic Nintendo games. This is a more family- and kid-oriented type of establishment, as gambling with posts directly was not allowed here. Instead, posts were used to buy tokens, which could then be inserted into machines to play these games. I never had much interest in something like this and none of the prizes really appealed to me, but I suppose simple games amuse simple minds.

“Whar is da arcadez!?” X-Naut128 shouted out, eager to spend his last day playing some mindless games. “It’s not far from here,” Invader8 said, now walking over to the X-Naut, “Follow me and we’ll be there in a few minutes.” I groaned as the crew walked towards the arcade, as I knew that there was no alternative but for me to follow them to that crowded place. With the amount of security and number of users here, there was no way that I could step foot inside without having to give up my weapons or even reveal my name. With the NOAs potentially on my tail, I wanted to be as careful with my personal information as possible and I had no choice but to remain hidden outside and keep the entrance in sight. Hopefully they would not try anything crafty and leave via different exit, but I do not think that Invader8 still suspected my presence after three days since our last encounter. Compared to the luxurious casino in Power On, the NSider Arcade looked somewhat outdated. There was paint chipping off the walls, a patched hole in the ceiling and many of the letters in the neon sign did not light up or flickered uncontrollably. I suspected that it was even worse on the inside, but that was beyond my knowledge.

Hours upon hours passed and the sky was growing darker and darker. Fighting off hunger pains, I continued to wait, growing a bit anxious and starting to wonder if they were still there. Just as I was about to abandon hope and start to search for them again, the group walked out with TechnoDragon64 clutching a large green teddy bear, smiling proudly at his prize. X-Naut128 was clearly jealous because he did not win anything while Invader and Falcon simply laughed at the childish toy. Following some idle chatter, Falcon exclaimed “Hey! It’s almost time, you little X-Naut. It’s almost been exactly three days since you’ve registered.” “Oh ya!” X-Naut128 said rather loudly, immediately wiping the jealous look off of his face, “Wat do i be now?” Falcon6 chuckled a bit and replied, “A Cappy of course! Don’t you remember from the tech support forums? We were there yesterday and I told you to pay attention to The Rank Thread…” The little x-naut simply looked at the revered sage with a confused look, not uttering another word until another user walked out of the arcade carrying a basketball with Mario’s face on it. “OOOH! I WANT THAT!”

It was clear that Falcon6 was eager to get out of the newcomer slums and back into the main part of the forum. “I’ll take that as a no,” he said, “Oh and you too, Techno! Didn’t you register only a few minutes after this guy?” TechnoDragon nodded and replied, “Yes, I think I’m ready to become an actual NSider.” “Good,” Invader8 added, “but don’t think it gets easier now that you have a new rank and access to other parts of the forum. It only gets tougher. Falcon6 and I won’t always be around to protect you.” “I know,” TechnoDragon exclaimed confidently, “but I want to become a good fighter. I think I can do it.” Falcon6 somehow had the need to interrupt, saying “Well just don’t think you can get better than me because I’m THE HERO OF NSIDER!” I think even after being here for only three days, TechnoDragon64 was already beginning to grow tired of the Sage’s boasting. However, he wisely didn’t speak out against it, as he was still far outmatched in skill by the pretentious Falcon6.

“Good, you’re catching on…” Invader commented towards TechnoDragon64’s decision to not call out Falcon6, “…now where is that X-Naut?” As if on cue, the X-Naut ran back to the group waving his arms wildly and shouting, “LOOK! I R ORANGE!” During a rank-up is the only time now that a user’s screen name becomes shortly visible above their head regardless of whether or not privacy settings were enables. The name X-Naut128 was shown above his head written in dull orange text, signifying that he had achieved the rank of Cappy. Moments later, the same happened to TechnoDragon64, meaning they could now access every part of NSider. I could tell he was excited, but did not blatantly express it in the same n00bish fashion as X-Naut128 did. “Alright!” Falcon6 said, “You ranked up! Ah…that is one feeling that I miss about being a normal user. Isn’t it a satisfying experience?” The two users were too distracted by their new orange text to respond to the question, but when their names disappeared from atop their heads once again, they both turned to Falcon6 and Invader8 and said in unison, “It’s awesome!!!”

After a moment of silence, X-Naut128 said inquisitively, “So…now wut!?” This caused Falcon6 to start bellowing in laughter, much to the confusion of X-Naut128 whilst TechnoDragon and Invader stood there silently. “Now you can explore the whole world!” Falcon6 said with excitement in his voice, “You know what, I’ve become somewhat attached to you guys. Why don’t you come over to my mansion tonight to celebrate your achievements? You guys can even stay the night. What do you say?” A fancy mansion party seemed way too over-the-top to honor an accomplishment as minor as this and was probably just another medium through which Falcon6 could show off his riches and fame. Do these little NSiders realize how lucky they are to be invited to Falcon6’s mansion as mere Cappies? Even Falcon6’s fellow Sages have gone without receiving an invitation to his ritzy home. Without hesitation they accepted the invitation and started to walk away towards the Power On board. I followed in the shadows, growing tired of this idiocy, and determined to put a quick end to this lengthy pursuit.