With Zovistograt and I watching side-by-side and other restaurant patrons also serving as spectators, HyruleGirl9 and V_Power_Of_Doom stood at opposite ends of this cramped bar-side battlefield, staring each other down. “You sure you want to do this?” HyruleGirl9 asked, sliding a few chairs out of the way to create some space, “Don’t think you can win ‘cause I’m a girl. I hate when people assume that.” “Oh,” V_Power_Of_Doom said, cracking his neck, “you’re a little feisty. I like that…” “HMPH!” HyruleGirl9 shouted, obviously irked by V_Power’s ignorant comments before retorting, “Are you just going to stand there or are you going to attack?” V_Power_Of_Doom raised his right eyebrow, snickered softly and then, fueled by rage, charged towards her.
His footsteps were very heavy on the ground and, considering the reputation that preceded him, I was surprised that his motions were neither faster nor more fluid. Maybe it was a ploy to lower HyruleGirl9’s guard, but he did appear to be charging up a potent and dangerous punch. He was winding up his fist, preparing to unleash it on HyruleGirl9, who just stood there in a seemingly unguarded pose. Judging by V_Power_Of_Doom’s attack pattern, he was going for a one-shot knock-out, though I was not sure if HyruleGirl9 realized how dangerous this strike could be if it connected. I was going to warn her to dodge or try to impede, but the look of confidence on HyruleGirl9’s face kept me seated on the barstool. When he was nearly in front of her, he started to swing his fist down in a surprisingly quick motion and with a loud cracking sound, struck a wooden table, splitting it down the middle. “Huh?” He said, lifting his sore hand from the table, “Where’d she go?” Much to my disbelief, HyruleGirl9 vanished into thin air so fast that I could not even track her movements. If she evaded his attack by simply dodging, regardless of how fast it was, I am certain that I would have been able to see it. I glanced left…then right… in both directions, HyruleGirl9 was nowhere to be found.
“Gah!” Zovistograt gasped before retaining his composure and remarking, “Great job, V. You just broke a freakin’ table. That better not come out of my paycheck…” “Grr…” V_Power_Of_Doom snarled, frustrated that his attack missed, “Where the hell did she go!?” Just then, a loud scream echoed from the other side of the bar. Everyone immediately fixated on the source of the noise, where the face of one of V_Power_Of_Doom’s friends was now on fire and HyruleGirl9 was standing just a few short feet away. Upon seeing this, the other muscle-bound man next to him immediately stood up and sprinted for the door in hopes of avoiding a similar fate. Unfortunately, he could not escape HyruleGirl9’s wrath, as his face spontaneously burst into flames mere moments before he could leave the restaurant. “WHAT THE -!?” He shouted, “AHHHHHH!” I looked back at V_Power, who stood there with his mouth agape at the sight of his two friends on fire. “H-How did she do that?” He said, realizing he had vastly overestimated his own abilities against his quick and nimble opponent. HyruleGirl9 just glanced back in the direction of V_Power_Of_Doom with a wink and a smile. “I guess I’m just fast.” She said mockingly, much to the anger of her adversary, who clenched his fists tightly in frustration. Almost simultaneously, the large users that were once confidently accompanying HyruleGirl9’s brutish challenger fell to the ground with a loud thud, but the fire on their faces continued to burn. “Hey! Hey! HEY!” Zovistograt spoke up, “Put that out or you’ll burn the whole place down!” “Don’t worry,” HyruleGirl9 said with a laugh, “I’m in complete control.”
As she said that, the flames quickly burned out, leaving both of V_Power_Of_Doom’s allies with charred, blackened faces. I was impressed with her little stunt, but I could find it was far from her full potential in terms of fighting power. It was a little trick to show off, not a true fighting move. HyruleGirl9 looked in my direction and rolled her eyes, further supporting my hypothesis that this was a one-sided skirmish. Regardless, V_Power_Of_Doom looked even more enraged as he once again charged towards HyruleGirl9, throwing a powerful uppercut with his right hand. Predicting that she would try to use the vanishing technique again, I studied her movements to see how it was done. Right before V_Power_Of_Doom’s swing would have connected, a green aura surrounded and engulfed HyruleGirl9 all in a fraction of a second. She vanished again, much to V_Power_Of_Doom’s dismay as his attack missed yet again. Frantic to land a hit, he started swinging his arms wildly in all directions. “I’m going to find you!” He exclaimed in a storm of rage, “You can’t hide from me!!!”
“Pretty cool, huh?” A voice whispered softly in my ear. I turned around to find HyruleGirl9 sitting at the bar stool next to me. “umm…yeah…” I remarked, not having the time to think of something less blunt. Upon hearing me speak, Zovistograt turned around and a shocked expression crossed his face when he saw HyruleGirl9. “How did you - ?” He started, only to pause, sigh heavily and say, “Ugh…I need a vacation.” “Well I guess I should finish this guy off,” HyruleGirl9 said as the greenish light began to surround her body again. “Watch…” She said as she began to execute her teleportation technique in slow motion for my benefit. She still disappeared in an instant, but I sensed something, like a soft breeze, brush by me towards V_Power_Of_Doom, who was still blindly punching the air. It seemed like her energy was traveling through the air at very high speeds, essentially allowing her to teleport. She reappeared right in front of V_Power, who so was shocked to see his opponent again that he stopped attacking. Taking advantage of this momentary pause, HyruleGirl9 punched V_Power_Of_Doom square in the face with a fast and fiery right hook. He instinctively brought both hands to his face to cover his injury, only to have HyruleGirl9 follow up with a flurry of five punches to the abdomen. V_Power_Of_Doom fell forward on his knees and to the ground, much to the amazement of restaurant patrons observing the spectacle.
“You just beat him with one punch!” Zovistograt exclaimed, “How can anyone even punch with such force!?” “Actually,” HyruleGirl9 started to speak as she closed her eyes and raised her right index finger, “It was a punch to the face and –” “–and five punches to the chest.” I said, completing her sentence. “Precisely!” she remarked happily, proud that someone else was able to observe her fine-tuned fighting techniques. “Well…” Zovistograt said, “My eyesight must not be what it used to…” “Didn’t anyone else see that?” HyruleGirl9 asked to other onlookers in the restaurant, none of whom spoke out or raised a hand but instead gawked in amazement. “Hmm…” HyruleGirl9 thought before resuming her happy facial expression, “Oh well! I guess I’m just awesome!”
HyruleGirl9 was spot on when she told me not to underestimate her back at Dr_Peppy’s headquarters. Even from this small demonstration, I could tell she was a skilled fighter and could easily hold her own on the battlefield. As she walked over towards me, though, her expression changed to one of disappointment. I stood up to question it, but before I could she said, “That wasn’t V… just some drunken idiot. Someday,” HyruleGirl9 paused as she looked up towards the ceiling, “I’ll find out who V really is...and I will beat him.” I was about to inquire further as to what she was getting at, but she then abruptly turned towards me and stated sternly, “You have to get out of here now. I’ll act as if I didn’t see you.” “Hm?” I said, passively demanding further explanation. She continued, “This pathetic excuse for a fight must have attracted some attention. The Doc is sure to send someone here to check it out.” I knew that Dr_Peppy had spies placed all over NSider, but I wasn’t aware of how intensive his surveillance actually was. “He watches us…” she said with some anxiety in her voice, “And he’s out to find you…" I thought about questioning her motives for letting me go, but decided it was just best to capitalize on this opportunity to take my leave. I reached into my pockets and pulled out some posts, placing them on the table and sliding them on the wooden surface towards Zovistograt. “Leaving so soon?” He said slyly, “Afraid that you’ll get burned by HyruleGirl9, too?” “No.” I replied hastily, “And you should have HyruleGirl9 beat up drunken users more often. It attracts quite an audience.” With a flick of my robes and a nod in HyruleGirl9’s direction, I turned around and headed towards the door and headed outside into the dark night.
A full moon lit up the streets of Power On as I looked for a place to spend the night. While sleeping at the Trivia HQ was always a nice treat, I did not want to be spoiled by the comfortable bed and warm sheets night after night. A soft spot of sand or grass was usually preferred, but even something like a wooden crate or the side of a building to lean against was more than enough for me. After all, it was the way in which I have been conditioned my whole life. Of course, it is illegal to just spend the night anywhere, so I had to pick a pretty secluded location. “Maybe I should’ve spent those posts on a hotel room…” I thought to myself as I snuck into a back alley about a block away from the NSider Loudhouse. There I found a small cardboard box that, though slightly torn, would make for an excellent shelter for the night Although I knew I could only afford a few hours of sleep before I had to return to monitoring X-Naut128, I still smiled at the thought of getting some rest. As my eyelids started to close, a beeping sound started to come from my PM watch.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FROM: ZOVISTOGRAT Add User to Friends List – Add User to Ignore List
SENT: 08/16/07 – 10:48 P.M.
You know, if you ever get tired of that trivia business or doing whatever it is that you do, I bet I could get you a job as the security in the Loudhouse. Having people like you and HyruleGirl9 around would definitely make my job easier. Don’t be a stranger!
~Zovi
PS: V was kind of a jerk anyway. It was good to see someone put him in his place.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I woke up the next morning right on schedule and sprang up to my feet, surprisingly refreshed. My PM watch showed 8:15 AM and I knew it was time to get back to spying on that stupid little X-Naut128, waiting for the seemingly impossible opportunity to kill him. It infuriated me that he was still alive, but he had to have been the luckiest user in the forum’s history for surviving this long with an expert assassin on his tail. It boggled my mind that he was now a full-fledged NSider and, although just a Cappy, he could now create his own posts on any board of his choosing. I stretched for a minute or two before walking back to Falcon6’s mansion with a hastened pace. I did not want to miss a move of the X-Naut or his crew.
The dead corpse that gave me a boost to the windowsill last time was gone, but there was a bucket conveniently down the street on top of which I could stand. Looking in the same window as before, I saw that the group was actually gathered in the foyer of the mansion ready to leave. I was relieved that my slumber did not cause me to miss the party’s departure. However, it seemed that Falcon6 was not going out with them, as he was still in his pajamas. I pressed my ear to the glass of the window in an attempt to hear what I was saying, but I could only make out garbled noises at best. The front door opened and they started to emerge, so I dismounted from the bucket and walked around so I could see the front entrance. Now within clear earshot, I could hear what the three were saying.
“You sure you’ll be okay?” Invader8 asked the two Cappies, “NSider is a pretty big place, ya know, it’s easy to get lost.” “We’ll be fine.” TechnoDragon64 said with confidence, “We’re full-fledged NSiders now, did ya forget?” “YA!” X-Naut128 said rather loudly, “Im gunna go mak moar friends!” Invader8 – not surprisingly – remained unconvinced, continuing to ask if they understood the basic operations of the forum. “You remember everything I said about how posts and replies work, right?” X-Naut128 nodded his head and Invder8 simply shrugged in reply. The group walked out of Falcon6’s gated yard onto the streets of Power On before Invader8 continued, “Well… if you’re ready, go become proud NSiders! If you need me, I’ll be in the Smash Board.” “Bye!” X-Naut and TechnoDragon both said in unison as Invader8 walked in the opposite direction.
“This is working out perfectly,” I thought, “with those two gone; it will just be X-Naut128 and TechnoDragon64 together. I could kill both of them in one fell swoop!” I followed the two with a high level of anxiety, dashing in and out of back alleys just waiting for the opportune moment to strike when no one was around. Unfortunately, in a crowded forum like Power On, such an opportunity was quite a rarity. My patience began to pay off, though, when the duo reached the outskirts of Power On, ready to venture off into other unexplored boards. They stopped and were engaging in some idle chitchat, probably trying to figure out which way to go from here. I saw TechnoDragon64 pull a map out of his pocket and waved his finger around while X-Naut128 looked around aimlessly, not paying attention in the slightest. My right hand grabbed the hilt of one of my daggers; it was time to strike. I started to run forward but stopped after a few steps. TechnoDragon64 raised his hand, as if he were signaling someone towards him.
A police officer walked over from around the block, dressed in the typical blue uniform with a brown utility belt and a golden badge on his chest. “Damn! This is ridiculous!” I said under my breath as I recognized the officer immediately. There was no mistaking it; this guy was S1lverHawk79, another one of the noteworthy officers on the force. Unlike Rexy_SOS, however, this user was a Plumber, the highest rank possible on NSider to achieve normally. Very few ever come close to earning this rank and I do not even think that I could ever achieve such a title. He was about the same height as me, but much more muscular in appearance. In fact, I was pretty sure he could beat me into the ground if I tried to face him in a true hand-to-hand battle. He had shoulder-length silver hair extending down from behind his cap as well as a special insignia on his shirt shaped like a wrench, the sign of the Plumber rank. He did have a slight sense of egotism about him, but he was nice enough to help out newcomers. TechnoDragon64, the resourceful little wretch, must have called him over to help with directions, oblivious to the fact that S1lverHawk79 was one of the best on the force.
I was unable to hear exactly what they were saying from my current distance, but I could see X-Naut128 pointing in many different directions and waving his arms wildly. Not wanting to risk me being caught by the esteemed officer, I held my ground. After it appeared that X-Naut128’s attempt at communication failed, TechnoDragon64 intervened and seemed to ask a question in a more composed manner. Upon hearing TechnoDragon64’s inquiry, S1lverHawk79 pulled out his walkie-talkie and appeared to call in another officer. Within approximately thirty seconds, the summoned officer pulled up on a motorcycle next to the trio. TechnoDragon64 promptly hopped onto the back of the motorcycle and X-Naut128 waved goodbye as the vehicle sped off towards The Legend of Zelda board. I thought X-Naut128 would finally be alone but, of course, S1lverHawk79 continued to walk alongside him. Once again, X-Naut128 was accompanied with a high-ranking user that prevented me from going in for the kill; now with a police officer, no less. I, again, had no choice but to lie in wait and pursue in the shadows until I could finally get the lowly X-Naut alone, where I could swiftly accomplish my self-proclaimed assassination mission.
No comments:
Post a Comment