CHAPTER 11: Back in Business

When I walked through the doors of ShadowMario41's Mario Trivia HQ, I ran into another familiar face. It was YoshiRider123, a rather tall user wearing a red t-shirt, dark-tinted sunglasses, jeans, brown shoes, and a red Nintendo had that concealed his thick slicked-back blond hair. I could tell just by looking at his dark brown eyes and faint smile that something was going on. “Hey YoshiRider123, what’s up?” His excited voice responded, “Oh hey ShadowMario41! You’ll never believe what happened to me. Wanna take a guess?” “I’ll pass…” I said, as I was not really in the mood for guessing games at the moment and needed to prepare for the night’s contest. Despite that, he continued to tell me, “I will be one of the announcers for the tournament next week!” His face beamed as he said this and I was even surprised at the big news. “The Power On Power-Up Tournament?” “YES!” He screamed, now shaking with excitement.

The Power On Power-Up Tournament was, by far, the largest tournament in the NSider community. It was held biannually, hosted by the NOAs, and this feat of strength was only about two weeks away. The entrance fee was steep, but it attracted millions of spectators from around the forum and was held in NSider Coliseum, the largest fighting arena in all of NSider, located on the west side of the Power On board. It was basically a tournament to see who was the strongest NSider, but the emotion and energy packed into it made it an unbelievably intense event. I was hoping to be able to participate this year since it would be my first time fighting in the Power On Power-Up Tournament, but things did not look good now that my funds were so low. “I don’t think I’ll be able to compete this time... but good luck to you!” I said, trying not to lower his spirits too much. “Hey…” he whispered quietly, “maybe if you don’t play, I can get you a press pass or something...” I laughed and nodded my head, wished him luck in tonight’s trivia and proceeded to prepare the questions. By now, I had a lot of trivia experience under my belt, so question-making didn’t take too long. However, the more time I had, the higher the question quality would turn out to be.

I continued forward in the lobby until I came face-to-face with a brown door labeled “ShadowMario41’s Office.” This was my personal office, which is where I prepare the questions for each event. The walls to this room are also sound-proof, to prevent anyone from listening in before the event and picking up key information. Unfortunately, I lost the key to this office in a past mission, but I always carry around a handy lock pick with which I can open the door. Although this is rather inefficient, I have gained a lot of experience in my renegade life of doing this, so it has become second nature to me. I reached into my pocket and felt around for the small, metal tool. I first felt the figurine, which reminded me to ask PowerToMario about what it could possibly be, but I would probably have time to do that after the contest. For now, I had to focus on the question making process.

After picking the lock, I opened the heavy, wooden door and shut it gently behind me, locking it. My office was pretty bare – there were a few file cabinets in the left corner closest to me filled with trivia records and participant profiles, some chairs lined up against the right wall, and a few miscellaneous boxes scattered on the floor. A small closet was present on the far right side, in which I had a clean set of robes and garments to change into. Figuring it would be a good idea to not wear ripped and worn clothes in front of a large audience, I quickly changed into clean black robes, though I made sure to take the figurine out of my pocket so I would not forget it. In the center of the small room, there was a black desk and office chair, in which I took my seat and placed the figurine in the top drawer. There were pieces of paper on my desk regarding past trivia players and records, but I did not have time to neaten everything up now. I stared at the widescreen computer monitor in front of me, which was displaying a blank text document with a blinking cursor in the upper-left. Making trivia questions was somewhat difficult, since I had to make sure of my questions’ validity and uniqueness. They each had to have only one true answer and not be a repeat of any other question used in a past contest. With this being the forty-fifth trivia event hosted, it was difficult, though still possible, to come up with original questions.

The Mario Trivia Challenge is a contest I have started hosting about a year ago and already it has achieved a large level of success. This is, in part, due to having actual organization and structure to it, as many other trivia events had were sporadic or hosted by incompetent users. Truthfully, this is how my contests started, too, but I decided to make a headquarters, which would hold data and prize records for the contest. After receiving recognition from the NOAs as being a serious and large-scale contest, PowerToMario was assigned to be my secretary, which allowed me to focus on becoming a faster and stronger assassin. Even with the contest not being managed directly by myself, it has continued to grow in popularity and now includes a warm-up trivia, one in which a user is invited to host a preliminary ten-question contest to prepare users for the main event. The host was often a guest that PowerToMario arranged to have host, usually the host of another contest or a member from Trivia HQ, the forum’s home for those well versed in the art of trivia.

The main event of the contest would be at least thirty questions long and would continue to forty questions if no one had claimed ten points by the thirtieth question, which was the victory condition in this contest. To make this contest all the more interesting, items could be purchased by users with their winnings, which could be used to have various effects on the event. A few examples are the banana peel, which would subtract one point from a selected user, and the thwomp, which would act as a shield of sorts and block an item if it were used against its owner. Items were often a controversial subject, though, as many users did not like the idea of points being determined by more random factors as opposed to being earned through pure skill. To oblige these complaints, some hosted events are deemed “item-less”, in which these tools are banned and users have to work for their points. Other than items, the contest works as one would expect, the first person to answer a question correctly would receive a point. Some questions were worth two points and sometimes I even threw in trick questions worth negative points, but it consisted of standard questions for the most part.

Another unique feature that set my contest apart from others was that the questions for the evening were divided into ten-question rounds, which would have a specific theme such as platforming games, RPGs, and so on. The first ten questions were always randomized, so they could be in regards to anything in the series. However, questions eleven through twenty, twenty-one through thirty, and thirty-one through forty were in unique rounds. Depending on what rounds came up during the event, it could greatly swing the contest in favor of a specific user, as different users had their own respective topic advantages and disadvantages. This helped contribute to the sense of unpredictability in the contests, as opposed to a few juggernauts constantly winning, which made it appealing to newcomers and veterans, alike.

At the conclusion of the contest, users would be awarded with coins, a mock currency that was used to purchase prizes that this contest had to offer, such as items to use in future contests or even retro video games if enough were accumulated. Obviously, the higher a user placed, the more coins he or she would earn, which served as an additional motivation for doing well, other than bragging rights. There were other opportunities to earn coins as well, such as creating promotional artwork for the contest or contributing helpful ideas on how to improve the trivia. Several other contests on the Mario board tried to mimic this idea, but none could pull it off as successfully.

When I emerged from my office with the questions already entered in the electronic system, I was surprised to find that it was already 6:45 PM, just fifteen minutes before the warm-up event was scheduled to begin. I raced to the left down a short hallway and pushed open a polished metallic door, which lead to a large auditorium-like room. About twenty contestants or so were already seated and I knew there were more users chatting in the lobby that would eventually make their way in here. Even though I still wore my assassin-like garb while hosting, users did not really mind it, so long as they were treated to an enjoyable night of trivia. I at least removed my hood, though, which revealed my short brown hair, brown eyes, and a battle scar on my right cheek. I remember my father telling me I got the scar when I was an overly ambitious young boy trying to learn some lethal fighting techniques, but I could not recall the exact incident.

Looking down towards the stage, I saw PowerToMario conversing with a strange masked user on-stage, who I presumed would be tonight’s warm-up host. I walked down the stairs and saw them both look in my direction and conclude their conversation. The masked user turned to face me, “Hello...” he said in a low voice, almost as if he were whispering, “My name is EShyGuy of Trivia HQ. Thank you for inviting me to host this evening.” “It’s my pleasure,” I said back, figuring he would be a competent host since he identified himself with the Trivia HQ. He was slightly shorter than me and a little wider in stature, wearing a navy blue suit lined with vertical pinstripes and a bright red tie. I could not help but wonder about his mysterious white mask, which only had two round holes for the eyes and one round hole for his mouth. I could not see anything behind the mask, as it just appeared as blackness, but I decided to be respectful and try to steer clear of this subject. “So…” I continued, “I trust that PowerToMario gave you the briefing on how the whole event works.” “Yes, sir” he said, “I assure you that I have put my best effort into every question.” I nodded and replied, “Great! Just send me a PM when your ten questions are finished so I can hand out prizes and host my event.” “Will do…” he said as he straightened his tie. I turned around to PowerToMario, who was still standing on-stage and whispered to him, “Hey, would you mind talking about something in my office once warm-up starts?” “Well…” he started, “Who is going to evaluate the hosting abilities of this user? As you know, I traditionally determine whether or not we should invite warm-up hosts back again based on –” “I know…” I said, cutting him off, “but he’s from the Trivia HQ. I don’t think we have to worry about him…though the mask is a little strange…” “Whatever you say,” PowerToMario replied, “you’re the boss after all.”

I looked over towards the crowd where about thirty people were now seated and ready for trivia action. Checking my PM watch, I could see that it was time for the event to begin, so I walked to the wooden podium in the middle of the stage and spoke, “Hello everyone and welcome to ShadowMario41’s Mario Trivia Challenge!” Everyone applauded for a few seconds, and then the room fell silent again as I continued, “We have a great show lined up for you this evening. Tonight, serving as the warm-up host, give it up for EShyGuy from Trivia HQ!” He bowed onstage to more applause as I said, “After ten questions of warm-up trivia, I’ll be back to hand out the prizes and stuff. Good luck!” I exited the stage with PowerToMario and we made our way back to the lobby, which was empty since the contest was in session. The voice of EShyGuy on the microphone could be heard faintly and it appeared as if the contest was in good hands for now. “Is this about trivia?” He asked as I was picking the lock again to my office. “No,” I said looking up, “Something much more serious.” The door clicked as I turned the handle and it opened and the two of us walked inside.

I closed the door behind us and pointed to the figurine positioned on my desk. “Doesn’t that look familiar to you?” I asked sarcastically, as PowerToMario ran up to it in order to examine it more closely. Finally, after studying it for about a minute he replied, “This looks just like you… and it’s wonderfully designed, right down to the last detail. Where did you find this? Did someone make it for you?” “Quite the opposite” I responded, “I did not have it crafted for me and…why does it matter where I found it? It’s here, isn’t it?” I was trying not to reveal the fact that I stole the item from Dr. Peppy at all costs, since PowerToMario had powerful connections to the administrators of the forum and Dr. Peppy was a well-respected user in their eyes. “Fine…fine… I don’t need to know about your secrets anyway.” He responded as he continued to look at the figure from all angles. After tipping the figure over and examining the underside of the golden base, he finally exclaimed, “Aha! I know exactly what this is!” “Really?” I asked, skeptical of the fact that so much information could be obtained from looking at it from that one angle. Much to my surprise, though, when I looked I saw an inscription that I did not notice before. It appeared as disjointed lines, unrecognizable characters and strange shapes to me, but I had a feeling that PowerToMario knew exactly what it was.

“What you have here isn’t any regular doll or figure.” He said, “This is a trophy… and it appears to be of you… or at least another assassin who is six feet tall, has two legendary daggers as weapons and has a similar fighting style.” “I get it.” I said smugly, stopping his sarcastic comment in its tracks. “On a more serious note, though,” he said, “this is truly a remarkable find…and having one made in your image is…well quite an honor.” “Explain.” I demanded bluntly, and he gladly obliged, “Certainly! As a history major at NSU, I was totally fascinated by this type of stuff. To actually see one modeled after someone I know is –” “Please just get to the point.” I said, cutting him off, “We only have until EShyGuy is done with warm-up.” “Oh right…” he muttered, “Sorry…I could just talk about something like this all day.”

“Anyway…” he said, “trophies were used by the NOAs in the early times of NSider to track users before surveillance technology was invented and a formal code of laws was established. It was a very efficient method of keeping tabs on everyone, since the population of NSider was not nearly as much as it is today. Now, only Sages and Moderators are tracked by the NOAs using trophies, which is why I'm puzzled as to why there is one of you. Regardless, do you see this engraving on the bottom of the base?” He asked, flipping the trophy over and pointing it out, “Yeah…what is it?” I asked, to which he responded, “It’s called Japanese and it’s an ancient language used solely by the NOAs. Many common NSiders would not even have knowledge of the language’s existence. I would imagine they still use it to pass sensitive information along to each other, sort of like a more protected form of encryption. If a trophy is properly designed and engraved, it can follow a user’s position and mimic their movements exactly when placed on a map of NSider. I have one in my desk; I’ll be back in a sec…” He said as he rushed out of my office with the figure in hand. I was starting to get worried that he would not return, as he was gone for quite some time, but soon enough I heard a knock on the door. I opened it to find him holding the map and trophy in one hand and a strange device in the other.

“Sorry that took so long,” he said, shaking the hand that the unknown device was in, “I was trying to track down this thing.” He placed everything on my desk and spread out the map of NSider, upon which he then placed my trophy. After a few seconds, it started to move towards the Mario Board, stopping atop ShadowMario41’s Mario Trivia HQ on the map, and once again I noticed that it mimicked my movements. Noticing this, PowerToMario stared at the trophy with awe before managing to simply mutter, “…remarkable…” A moment of silence passed before anyone spoke again, “SIMPLY ASTOUNDING!” He screamed, catching me off guard. “You don’t have to yell,” I said in reply to his exclamation, “I’m right here, you know…” “Yes but,” he said slowly, still searching for the right words, “to see a trophy in action is…is…amazing! This is primitive technology and yet it still works like a charm.” “That’s fantastic…” I said, not really interested in the history of the item, “What’s that other thing you brought in here?” PowerToMario grabbed the device from off the desk and said, “Oh this? It’s an electronic translator, which can scan an object and convert it from Japanese to English and vice versa. I think it also has a 1337 functionality, too…” “Where did you manage to get that?” I asked, as it seemed like a rare device for a common user with no authoritative rank to possess. He looked towards me with a smug expression and said, “You know… why does it matter where I found it? It’s here now, isn’t it?”

I grumbled, realizing that he was mimicking and mocking my exact words, but decided to respect his privacy and simply said, “Fair enough.” Moments later, though, I heard a beeping sound coming from my PM belt. Looking down briefly and then back up at PowerToMario, I said, “That must be EShyGuy…I think he’s finished. If you want, you can continue looking at that thing while I host. Let me know if you find anything new.” “Oh I will!” PowerToMario said enthusiastically as I closed the door to my office with him still in there. Still wondering how he could be so captivated by the trinket, I walked back to the auditorium, this time using an alternate entrance so I came out on-stage instead of behind the crowd of participants. I was greeted with applause as I walked with the results of the contest displayed on a large white screen behind me.

FIRST PLACE: PaperMarioGuy3

SECOND PLACE: Toadster_04

THIRD PLACE: Revoloution98

I instantly chuckled knowing that ThePastaKing would be angry in not having made the top three, but I continued to congratulate the users, hand out prizes, and thank EShyGuy for hosting as users applauded his efforts while he walked offstage. “Now!” I shouted into the microphone, “It’s time for the main event! ARE YOU READY!?”

CHAPTER 10: Breaking News

“I’ve never heard of you guys before…” I said honestly, although it may have insulted MegaFreak400’s unfound pride, as he remarked, “Well…well I guess that’s your loss, isn’t it? I bet you’re trembling in fear at this very moment!” He laughed mockingly, as if I were actually in any real danger. “Not really…” I said, retaining my composure despite being surrounded by four brutes and having my hands bounded together. “You dare insult me?” He exclaimed, “No one crosses the Freak Bandits and gets away with it!” “What are you going to do?” I asked, knowing that I could easily escape from this situation. “Well now that you know about this group …” he said, “I have no choice but to kill you. I cannot risk information about our group spreading around the forums… not yet…” MegaFreak400 appeared reluctant to have his minions attack me, perhaps it’s because he could sense my ability and knew I would emerge victorious. In any case, he ordered them to mobilize with a swift hand gesture and the four users surrounding me each held up their axes and prepared to swing. I was in a bit of a bind since I couldn’t use my hands, but I figured that wouldn’t be a problem. At the last possible moment, I vanished and they all swung at the air. “Wha-!? Where’d he go!?” One of them said, not realizing that I was now behind him. “Right here…” I said, kicking the user in the back of the head, causing him to fall to the ground.

Another user approached from my left and swung his axe horizontally, but I jumped over it and eluded a separate vertical strike from the user on my right. I continued dodging the sluggish strikes of the three remaining users until I finally saw the opportunity I was looking for. A user right in front of me lifted his axe overhead and swung it down in a straight line. Separating my arms as far as possible, I aligned the middle section of the rope with the blade of the axe so that it sliced it in two, freeing my hands. Drawing my daggers, I was ready to put a quick end to this skirmish and switched to an offensive approach. Instead of realizing they were overpowered, the three only grew angrier and charged at me while screaming wildly. I ran up to the one on the right and stabbed him in the chest, which caused him to collapse to the ground in a heap as I pulled out my dagger. “One down…” I remarked just loud enough so MegaFreak400 could hear me. I briefly glanced over in his general direction to gauge his reaction, but he seemed to be studying me intently rather than paying attention to my snide comments. I parried yet another blow aimed at my feet and ran at the other user, this time jamming the hilt of my dagger into his chest. He dropped his axe on the ground with a loud clanking sound, holding both of his hands to the point of impact, when the second user swung his axe towards me. I leapt out of the way but the user I had just hit was not so lucky. He was sliced in half by his own partner’s attack and fell in a bloody mess.

The final user was about to continue the onslaught when he was stopped by his leader. “Enough!” MegaFreak400 said, “Damn…two fighters wasted… There’s no way I can do this if people keep dying…” The remaining grunt halted his attack and walked towards the user I had kicked earlier, who was now unconscious. Hoisting him up over his shoulder, he walked besides MegaFreak400, who then said with a tone of worry in his voice, “You’re not V, are you?” It’s been a long while since I’ve heard mention of that name, as it was a story that my father used to tell me as a child. According to a popular tale, V is the name of a legendary assassin in NSider, one that has never been caught or beaten in battle. His full name isn’t “V”, but the first letter of his name is all his victims manage to mutter before he ends their lives. It was actually somewhat uplifting to hear myself compared to this legend, but also frightening to hear the name again, as it is someone I never hope to meet on the battlefield, unless he is my ally of course.

“No…” I said back, remaining confident in my stance. He stared at me for a moment, probably surprised at my level of strength and skill, finally saying, “…Just get out of here, but don’t think you have won! You have made an enemy with the Freak Bandits!” He stormed off in the other direction, obviously frustrated with his defeat, and I was apparently free to go. However, something odd struck me in regards to the whole situation. I noticed that the user seemed like he didn’t really want to have his fighters engage in combat with me, but rather just scare me off with hallow threats, as if I were another common thief. Unfortunately, he was forced into a situation in which he had no choice. The whole battle’s duration was about a minute, but if he encountered the real V, there would be no way he would have survived for even that amount of time.

I wasn’t exactly sure how to handle the situation that just unfolded, so I decided to deal with this MegaFreak400 guy if I ever encountered him again and, for now, focus on the matters at hand. With the thoughts of the Freak Bandits, Dr. Peppy, and now the mention of V on my mind, I made my way towards ShadowMario41’s Mario Trivia HQ. Tonight happened to be the night of a scheduled trivia contest and I always made every effort to provide an exciting contest for the participants unless it put a current mission’s status in jeopardy. Then, sadly, I would have to call one of my trivia regulars to reschedule the event, which is something I didn’t want to do without advanced notice. I didn’t really have anything to do today; X-Naut128 was still in the newcomer boards, my mission with Dr. Peppy was over, the early skirmish served as my warm-up for the day, and I was hoping for some generous donations from my trivia players as the last mission didn’t pay out so well.

Users that know about my life as an assassin and my job as a trivia host often question how I can manage both at the same time. Indeed, it does seem counter-productive to have a public contest and engage in such a shady lifestyle. However, as I’ve replied to these inquiries, holding a trivia contest gives me an indirect advantage over other skilled users who live a life similar to my own. For one thing, it keeps me informed on the current events of NSider, which is important to know. When trying to survive on nothing, this can help to determine where and when to strike if posts are in dire need. Plus, it’s good to know about recent crimes that have occurred in the community, as it would probably be best to stay away from areas with tighter security. However, I think the biggest advantage is that it lets other people know about me. Through this contest, I have gained several loyal fans and faithful contacts, such as ThePastaKing, who has attended every single trivia event that I have hosted in the past year. Additionally, through word of mouth, other people can find out about this contest, which can potentially lead to privately contracted jobs in the future. I guess it is a bit of wishful thinking on my part, but the contest is something I enjoy doing and it gives me a break from the same old routine.

As I walked through the Legacy Systems board towards the Mario Board, I heard a loud commotion coming from around the corner. From a back alley, I peeked out to see what was going on and was surprised to see such a huge crowd crammed on one main street. A large mass of people were gathered, all watching a large projection screen on the side of an office building. This would often happen in boards like Power On for significant news events, but for a television broadcast to be displayed in a less-populated board like Legacy Systems, it must have been of major importance. After all, there would not be such pandemonium if it were just a menial story. I repositioned myself accordingly so I could view the screen, though I was a little further than I would have liked to be. Right now, it was showing some commercials, which explains why everyone was making noise and not paying attention. However, as soon as the broadcast resumed, everyone suddenly stopped talking and stared intently at the screen.

After an overly-dramatic introduction graphic, the screen displayed two news anchors sitting side-by-side at a large desk. The one on the left was dressed in a green blazer and the other in a black suit with a blue tie, both looking very similar in appearance and very professional. The one on the left was the first to speak. “Good afternoon NSider, I’m GreenPrince.” He turned to the other anchor, who introduced himself also, “And I’m PrinceGamer. Thank you for tuning into the NSider News, as brought to you by the most trusted team in television.” Another graphic of fire in a small white rectangular box appeared over PrinceGamer’s right shoulder as he turned to the camera to speak, “Last night was one of tragedy for NSider Industries employee EricLeB01. He was working the graveyard shift at the factory when the floor above him caught fire. The cause of the fire was unknown, but it caused the ceiling overhead to collapse, crushing the user in the process. He was pronounced dead on site. According to the victim’s friends and family, EricLeB01 was not in prime physical condition at the time and had recently suffered a leg injury, which could explain why he was unable to escape. His account closure will be held on Monday night at 6:00 PM at the Deletion Center, which is located near the Registration Building. Our prayers go to the family of EricLeB01 and all of his loved ones.”

“That explains the alarm last night…” I thought to myself, which boosted my confidence a bit since I now knew that I went completely undetected. Apparently HoneySyrup went unnoticed that evening as well and it was rather amusing how the most state-of-the-art technology failed to notice the epic battle that ensued between us. After a few more details and interviews about the fire at NSider Industries, the camera on the screen panned to GreenPrince who started to speak, “But our top story today: millions of NSiders might have something more to worry about. A sacred and very important item was stolen from NSider Barracks the other night by an unknown assailant. The item was in the office of General_Banzai and was assumed to be in safe hands. Much to everyone’s dismay, when dawn broke, soldiers found their beloved general unconscious on the floor. Fortunately General_Banzai did not sustain any permanent injuries, but the golden artifact was indeed missing in the morning. The thief is unknown and police are baffled at how any one man could infiltrate such a highly secure facility and defeat an elite general. Let’s go to our ace reporter, CaptainOfTheGuard, on scene.”

The scene changed to another reporter standing at the NSider Police Headquarters wearing a bright red suit, neatly trimmed hair and a selfless smile on his face showing off his pearly white teeth. He began to talk with the voice of a stereotypical television personality, “Thank you, GreenPrince. I’m CaptainOfTheGuard here with Rexy_SOS, a highly respected officer in NSider.” I could tell by the expression on his face that Rexy was reluctant to conduct an interview, as he seemed like the kind of guy who would spit in the face of the media. CaptainOfTheGuard continued, “Rexy_SOS, what are your thoughts on this horrific event? Are there any new details emerging?” The reporter shoved the microphone in Rexy’s face, forcing him to speak, “Well… there are no new details but we’re all working hard to find out something.” With that he walked away and CaptainOfTheGuard looked back at the camera with a big grin, trying to stall time so he could think of a catchy line to say to the viewers. Finally, he exclaimed, “Well there you have it folks! I guess details really are scarce in regards to this serious crime.” I groaned upon hearing this cheesy line; I wasn’t sure how people could actually take this guy seriously. “This is CaptainOfTheGuard reporting for NSider News. Now back to the studio.”

The scene returned to the studio, where GreenPrince announced a commercial break. Everyone gathered in the plaza seemed alarmed and they all started speculating about the current state of security, what exactly was stolen and how the events unfolded. I managed to overhear a few of these theories, most of which were completely farfetched. “Maybe the criminal stole a bomb or something and will threaten to destroy the Power On board.” “That just goes to show the lax state of law enforcement around here.” “I bet it was all a hoax…a scare tactic…” These were just a few of the claims I heard people mention. I had the exclusive benefit of knowing what item was stolen and who stole it, although I could have prevented this wave of panic on NSider. Realizing now how grave of a situation this was, I grew angry at myself for not being able to prevent this whole thing from happening, although the silver lining was that it did get upset Dr. Peppy. I wondered if it was really worth it – making almost the whole community panic-stricken to anger one specific user. Deciding that only time would tell, I continued towards the Mario Board and tried not to let it affect me.

When I arrived at ShadowMario41’s Trivia HQ, I noticed that there were a lot of people – probably about twenty or so – gathered in front of the entrance to the building. Even from my distance, I could tell that these were mostly users who regularly attended trivia and I figured that they wanted to bombard me with questions about last night’s incident, since most of them knew of my secret trade. Sure enough, when I approached, they all ran over to me and started to demand answers, but I pleaded my ignorance and tried to seek out ThePastaKing, who was the only one I could trust with such sensitive information. He was sitting on the steps leading to the front entrance, separating himself from the mass of users who swarmed me. I looked over towards him and he raised an eyebrow at me, to which I nodded back. It was a signal that we wanted to talk to each other and, after a few minutes, I was able to separate myself from the crowd and make my way over to his direction. “I’ll talk in a few minutes…” I said quietly, “I just want to make sure no one else hears this…” He nodded and smiled, knowing that I really had something important to share with him. As soon as I made my way to the main entrance, users swarmed me again with questions.

Growing slightly annoyed, I created a fairly elaborate alibi to, saying that I was out on a mission in the General Discussion region of NSider, which is on the complete opposite side of the forum. The users finally left me alone since I promised that I would tell them anything as soon as I found out and I walked inside the building. The lobby of my Trivia HQ was large and spacious, but didn’t serve much of a purpose except for the receptionist’s desk. When a user opens up a major contest and it is recognized by the administrators as being something on a large scale, the NOAs send a government-employed receptionist to help the creator deal with most of the technical details, such as updating and giving out prizes, to aid the contest’s creator. Luckily, too, the contest’s prizes and maintenance was all funded by NSider itself, so it helped me disguise my renegade life of poverty. I do get some monthly wages for hosting, but it’s usually only enough to support me for a week.

My receptionist was PowerToMario and he was one of the best in the business. Upon noticing my entrance, PowerToMario motioned for me to go towards him and I obliged. “What’s up?” I inquired. “You’ve been busy lately…” he said with a slightly sarcastic tone. I replied with a joke of my own, “…it’s busy season…” PowerToMario is a slender guy about as tall as me and whenever I see him, he is dressed in a full suit and tie, probably wanting to look professional while on the clock. While he isn’t known really for battle skills, he is very smart and has become very reputable for his intellect. He wore skinny rectangular glasses with a very thin frame, had short light brown hair with a widow’s peak hairline. Despite his manner of dress, he always spoke informally to me, perhaps because we have grown to become such close friends during the time that he worked at the HQ. Regardless, he was definitely ideal for his position and an integral part of the contest’s continued success. I was truly fortunate to have him on board, as he flawlessly managed the contest during my extended periods of absence. He started giving me the status report of how the contest was functioning during my absence. He knew very well about what I did outside of this building but didn’t tell a soul. PowerToMario was trustworthy and I knew I could always could on him for valuable information and honest opinions, but I didn’t tell him many of the things that I told ThePastaKing, as I couldn’t risk the NOAs finding out somehow. There wasn’t really anything of interest that happened, so it was pretty brief, but I was glad to hear that everything was fully updated for a change. I told him that I had to prepare for the trivia this evening and promptly walked out of the building, meeting ThePastaKing on the stairs.

When I sat down next to him, he looked around to make sure no one was within earshot, and then turned towards me. “So…” he asked, “how did that OSider situation go?” I completely forgot about the first OSider killing until he mentioned it now. I guess it was such a run-of-the-mill experience that it slipped my mind in light of all that happened. “Fine,” I said, “there wasn’t anything unusual to report and the mission was completed successfully.” “It’s about damn time you told me that!” He said, “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting? A simple PM would have done the job. I thought I hired an expert…” Sensing that he was slightly annoyed but far from angry, I replied, “Well excuse me, princess. Remember what I charged you.” “Yeah…yeah…” he said, “I guess for a free killing you did ok.” We exchanged a few jokes back and forth before I changed the tone of the conversation, “Well I do have a pressing matter to discuss about last night…” “Aha!” He exclaimed, “I knew that you had some juicy info for me!” I looked around before replying, “Well if you talk that loudly it’s going to be hard to tell you.” “Sorry, ShadowMario41…” he said, now waiting for me to begin my tale.

I told him everything that happened last night, perhaps only leaving out some minor details. Notably, I did not tell him about how I swiped the figurine from Dr. Peppy, as it really deviated from the main point. I talked for about five minutes before I was finished and it understandably took a while for him to process everything that I said. He contemplated on the subject for a little while, but finally he replied. “Well I’m with you, dude! If you need me for anything, let me know and I will fight by your side. It looks like you’ve become entangled in something pretty big here.” “Do you know what that golden triangle is used for or what it does?” I asked, hoping for some sort of answer, even if it was not very accurate. “Nope, sorry…” He said, “But it must be pretty important judging by the way it reacted when that user held it in the air. There are a lot of mysterious things in NSider, but I’ve never heard of anything quite like that.” “Well I’ll definitely call on you if I need any help in combat.” I said back, knowing that ThePastaKing would be a valuable ally with his unorthodox battle tactics. “You know, I don’t know how you do it, ShadowMario41. I would never be able to do the things you do…dealing with the filth of NSider. Don’t you get tired of it?”

I thought about this question for a few moments. It would be simple to just call it quits and hide behind my trivia contest, feigning ignorance to anything that had happened previously. However, I knew that it was something to which I was obligated. I’ve already come so far to let me talents go to waste and quitting would be an insult, not only to my personal pride, but to my father and my family’s long history. After all, I had to have been doing something right if Dr. Peppy and others of the NSider community recognized me as an elite fighter, despite my mid-level rank. I told this to ThePastaKing, to which he responded, “I see…that’s noble and frightening at the same time…” He paused for a moment and looked towards the ground, “Just watch yourself out there…” “I will, but let’s not focus on that now…” I said, trying to move away from the grim and painful subject of death, “I have a trivia contest to host tonight. I have to get ready.” Upon hearing this, ThePastaKing quickly perked up and exclaimed, “Oh yeah! Make it a good one, ShadowMario41! I’ve been craving some trivia action.” I got up and started to walk towards the main entrance again. Before I went inside, I looked out towards everyone and said, “Tonight is trivia night! I have to go prepare the questions so if you have anything of importance, forward it to PowerToMario. Good luck, everyone!”

CHAPTER 9: A Vengeful Decision

My mission was to retrieve the small golden object, presumably that golden triangular piece that was traded between the two users. While I did fail that mission, I did manage to gain a small amount of information that Dr. Peppy would hopefully be satisfied with. The user HoneySyrup was very adept in battle and I managed to get a good sense of who he was, both physically and cognitively. I did not catch the name of the other user, but he definitely seemed to be the head of the operation. Even from that brief encounter, I could sense that he was one of great strength and I don’t think I could have dealt with him in a one-on-one duel. If HoneySyrup obeyed him without question, surely the mysterious leader must have had great battle prowess. Still unsure of how Dr. Peppy would react to this rather limited information, I went to the back of the Star Fox Fan Art Directory, punched in the code from before and was face-to-face with the large chrome doors of his base once again. It was about 2:00 AM, so I didn’t have to worry about being too stealthy, but I still checked to make sure no one was around before I headed inside.

I stopped abruptly after hearing one of my footsteps echo on the marble floor inside the room. Doctor Peppy was busy chatting with another user and I hoped that I wasn’t interrupting anything important or confidential. They both turned around upon hearing me enter and then continued to chat amongst themselves. After a few more seconds of waiting, I spoke up, “Umm…I thought you would be expecting me…” Dr. Peppy looked at me once again, and then whispered one final piece of information to the user as she nodded her head. This user was taller than average for a girl, but still a bit shorter than me. She had pale skin, light blue eyes and pointy ears. She wore leather brown boots and a silver tunic with a brown belt strapped over her shoulder that held a quiver full of arrows on her back. Turning away from Dr. Peppy, she slowly made her way towards me and a bright smile crossed her face as she moved closer.

“Hiya! I’m HyruleGirl9!” She said rather enthusiastically, “What’s your name?” I gave an indifferent expression – even though I don’t think she could see my face as it was concealed by a black hood – and remained silent, much to her dismay. “Don’t like to talk a lot, huh?” She said, grinning at me strangely. “I’m here to deliver a report to Doctor Peppy.” I finally replied, growing increasingly annoyed with her attitude, “Is your discussion with him finished?” “Yeah…yeah… Always about business around here? Fine…I guess I’ll go do my job then. I might not look like it, but I can hold my own around here, you know.” “That’s wonderful…” I said, hoping that she would just leave so I could deliver the information to my employer. She then continued, “Actually… I haven’t had a chance to test my new moves in a while. Would you be up for it? It would be good practice for my real mission.” Before I had a chance to accept or reject her offer, Dr. Peppy spoke out from across the room, “HyruleGirl9, don’t be foolish. Your mission was not to fight my other clients. Besides, you couldn’t beat him anyway.” She scoffed and was about to retort with something, but wisely decided to hold her tongue and started to walk away. Before she reached the large chrome door, she turned her head, looked towards me and said, “Just don’t doubt my abilities…” She held out her hand and conjured a small fireball, hoping to impress both of us with her limited magical abilities. Unfortunately for her, neither of us showed even the slightest bit of emotion and she, once again, turned away in disgust. When the chrome doors closed behind her and it was just Dr. Peppy and I in the room, I turned towards him and said, “Dr. Peppy, I have returned.” He looked at me with a satisfied expression and exclaimed, “Yes, I can see that. Now, did you manage to grab the golden item? Did you succeed in your mission?”

Even though I was still nervous as to what his reaction might be, I decided that the truth would be the best thing to tell him. If I tried to make something up, he probably would be able to see through it. Despite my knowing that he would be displeased, I replied shamefully, “No…But I did recover some vital information that I think cou-” “Say no more!” He said loudly, instantly quieting my futile attempts to make up for my failure. “Surely, you do not know the value of this item. I knew I should have a warrior of a more reputable status. You were not ready for this task! Now NSider will be in disarray come sunrise. How could I have been so shortsighted and underestimated the magnitude of this event!? Hopefully I can still quell the media before things get out of hand.” Disappointed in myself, I offered to explain what exactly happened while I was on the island. He reluctantly agreed to listen to my story, so I proceeded to tell him about where and when the exchange took place as well as my fierce battle against HoneySyrup.

When I finished, he remained silent for about a minute. He just stood there, thinking and analyzing the tale I just told. I anxiously awaited a response, whether it was positive or negative, just to relieve this tension. Finally, he said, “You have failed to recover the golden item, but your story is helpful I suppose. However, you get no pay as your objective was not fulfilled. Now be gone! I have much work to do in order to make up for your shortcomings.” I was extremely angry by this and pleaded to the military veteran, “But, sir, without pay, I will be unable to support myself. I need some posts to survive.” Frustrated and annoyed, I continually insisted upon receiving something for my hard work, even if it wasn’t the full payment. He remained firm for a while, but then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bronze coin worth one post. He tossed it to me and sarcastically said, “Here… go buy yourself a soda or something. Now please show yourself to the door.”

This only heightened my anger, but I decided to retain my composure and head for the door rather than ruin my reputation with this man. Even though he was older and probably past his prime, I don’t know if I could handle facing him in a battle. If he could not beat me alone, he would probably call in someone who could. I turned around and saw Dr. Peppy muttering angrily to himself as he went into another room and a door closed tightly behind him. However, within the clouds of my anger, a ray of light shined through a presented an opportunity for revenge. I’m sure he was well aware of how hard I worked and yet he still shortchanged me, giving me one post out of pity rather than what was agreed upon. Despite the fact that there undoubtedly were security cameras in this room, it didn’t stop me from going towards the center of the room. There, still, was the large table with a map of NSider on it and figures moving around, although more were stationary now than before. After a few seconds of staring at this map, I started to realize the significance of these figurines. My speculation was confirmed when I looked towards the Star Fox board on the map and saw a figure positioned on top of the Star Fox Fan Art Directory garbed in all black and holding two daggers. Looking at the details more closely, it was a figurine that greatly resembled my appearance, as it mimicked my exact moments. I unsheathed my daggers and assumed a fighting pose and the figurine did the same thing. “What…is this?” I asked myself, “This must be how Dr. Peppy tracks those he is interested in.” Just to further convince myself, I looked towards the ceiling and the head of the figure looked up. There was no mistaking that this was a figurine of me that somehow was able to copy my movements, despite not having any mechanical parts or remote devices.

I looked on the map again and saw a figurine of HyruleGirl9 heading away from the Star Fox Board, towards the Donkey Kong Board from what it seemed. Before I glanced over the map to see more and perhaps find one of HoneySyrup or other users, a thought crossed my mind of how Dr. Peppy discretely insulted me further. He could see my progress and the battle between HoneySyrup by using this map and didn’t even need to hear my story. My words didn’t matter in the least to this egotistical ex-military general and he didn’t give a damn about paying me. He only wanted the golden item for his own selfish ambitions and I started to become satisfied with myself that I wasn’t able to get it. When I was first hired by Dr. Peppy, I thought that he was a generous man looking to give those with great skill and little money a chance to make some decent earnings. Now I could see that he only cared about his own well-being and exploited the situations of users like myself to achieve personal goals. Out of anger, I snatched my figurine from the table, shoved it in my robes, and ran like a flash towards the door and far away from his headquarters.

I decided to run towards the Metroid Board so as not to be detected or even tracked by Dr. Peppy. Using my PM watch, I blocked him from my contacts so that he could not send messages to me and possibly track me in such a manner. Now that I had his precious little figurine, there was no way he could keep tabs on me from his pathetic little base of operations. I knew that this would not sit well with the man, but that was where I gained a sense of satisfaction. Rather than being afraid of what he would do, I felt like it would be fun to elude my new enemy and face the challenges he throws in my direction. “Find me!” I shouted in the air to no one, “Find me, Dr. Peppy! Find me if you dare!”

Once I safely took cover in a back alley and regained my calm composure, I took the figurine out of my robes and examined it. The figure was only about two inches tall, but was of immense detail. It had everything from the exact engraving on my daggers to the rip on my robes from one of HoneySyrup’s attacks. However, it was no longer moving and now remained stationary; resembling the pose I was in when I snatched the figure from Dr. Peppy’s office. I tried making all different poses, like raising one arm, drawing one dagger and even performing a back flip, but it did not move in the slightest. There was definitely something odd about this and I would have to make a point in finding out more information about this object. Even if I didn’t know anything about it, it was pretty cool to have a miniature model of me. I was asking myself where he obtained this object and who made it for him, but I decided to put those thoughts to rest for now. The point was that it was in my hands now, not the greedy hands of Dr. Peppy. I placed it back in my pocket gently, figuring that I would toy around with it more in the daylight and searched for some sort of shelter where I could spend the night.

When I awoke the next day, I looked at my watch and saw that it was 12:30 PM. I don’t think I slept this much in years and still felt a little sore from last night, but still amazingly refreshed. I sleepily wiped my eyes and was about to get up when something painfully collided with my lower body. “Look boys, he’s finally awake.” I glanced up, my vision still a bit blurry, and saw a user’s black boot rear back in preparation for another kick. Unable to move out of the way in time, I felt his kick again but it surprisingly didn’t hurt as much as I expected it to. I looked at his face and saw that he was a muscular brute surrounded by four other guys, all of which looked about the same, but the one who was kicking me appeared to be the leader. They were very strong, had big scruffy beards and wore tattered brown clothes with cut-off shirt sleeves. I sprang to my feet and attempted to move into a fighting pose, but my wrists were tied together with a thick tan-colored rope. The four men were surrounding me, laughing at my predicament, but I was still confused as to what was going on.

Finally, I looked ahead and saw someone emerge from behind a building. Unlike the other users who were large and muscular, this user had more of an average size and body build. He was about the same height as I was and sported a black goatee on his chin. He had brown eyes and wore crimson-colored robes, which didn’t seem very well-suited for close, physical combat. He wore brown boots and brown gloves, both of which seemed to be made out of a thin material. His gloves, though, did have a blue-colored gemstone on the back of them, but whether this solely for aesthetics or not I wasn't sure. Upon further examination, his gloves did have small, metal spikes on the knuckles which would probably leave a mark if one were to get hit by them. When he was about two or three feet from me, he stopped and spoke, “Did you really think that you can come in our territory and stay the night?” He had a stern expression on my face and was clearly aggravated at my ignorance. Once of his minions spoke out, “Heh… boss… he’s sleepin’ on the job. Heh heh!” “Quiet, you!” The leader said, “Don’t make me freeze you again.” “Ugh…” He said with a worried tone, “Sorry boss…” One of the other brigands tried to stomp on my foot, but I moved and his foot collided with the pavement. “Stop, idiots!” The leader screamed once again, then turned towards me, “Just who do you think you are?” “I would ask the same of you,” I said slyly, realizing that this particular group of users seemed to be comprised of more brawn than brain. He said proudly, “I am MegaFreak400, the leader of the Freak Bandits, and you’re on our turf uninvited!”

CHAPTER 8: The Perfect Storm

After eyeing each other for a brief moment, the user rushed towards me with his blades drawn ready to strike, but I noticed that he left himself unguarded from a counterattack. He unleashed a furious rain of sword strikes at me with a very quick and fluid motion, but I dodged them all with ease. I was surprised at how fast he was moving, but he couldn’t quite match my agile dodging. When I saw an opening, I jammed the hilt of one of my daggers into his stomach and, with the help of some dark magic, threw him through the rotted wooden walls of this shed and outside into the rain, which was now falling at a steady rate. I jumped through the gaping hole in the wall and looked at his pitiful body lying on the ground. I expected him to be grimacing in pain or trying to stand up with difficulty, but instead he started to get up with little or no injury.

“Very good,” he said, now on his feet and brushing the dust off his uniform, “You are very skilled…I’m somewhat impressed…but how good are you?” It was amazing how my attack, which could normally knock out an untrained opponent, barely even scratched this guy. “I might have to break out some out some of my real moves…” He said as he took a step towards me, readying another attack. I decided to stay on the defensive as he leapt towards me with his blades spinning wildly in the air. I dodged the attack again and prepared another counterattack but he already started pummeling me again with his swords. I was surprised at just how fast he could maneuver those rather large weapons and heavy weapons. Now with much difficulty, I managed to elude the sharp blades, which were coming at me from every angle, having to use my dagger several times to block an incoming blow. He then pulled one of his swords back and thrust it so fast and furiously that it broke through my defenses and ripped my robe near my left arm. I was slightly distracted by the ripping noise, which my guard was lowered for a second. That was all the time my opponent needed to kick me in the face, punch me in the ribs and kick me down to the ground.

I was in a bit of pain, but I didn’t want to show any sign of weakness in front of my opponent. That is one of an assassin’s flaws in battle; there isn’t much room for bulky body armor, so every strike against me did some significant damage. He approached me while I was still on the cold ground with the rain falling on my face and muttered, “How does it feel? How does it feel to be without the element of surprise? You’re all useless without it.” When he finished his sentence, he swung one of his swords over his head and then down at the ground towards me. I rolled to the left to evade the attack and quickly sprang up to my feet. “At least you have the will to fight,” he said, looking confident in his skill. Before I let him continue his speech, I switched to more of an offensive mindset, and tried to stab him right in the gut. I swiftly jabbed my right dagger forward, only to have it meet the steel of the user’s blade. Expecting that my strike would be blocked, I tried to surprise him by swinging my other dagger towards the side of his head, but he ducked down and performed a sweeping kick in an attempt to trip me. Noticing this, I leapt up and shot a deep purple blast of energy towards him from the tip of one of my blades, which made contact with his chest and knocked him down to the ground again. I raced over to his body and attempted to impale his stomach with a dagger, but he performed a rather fancy backflip to get out of the way and swung his blade towards my head mid-flip. I ducked under the swing and threw a dagger at his left foot, which made contact and stuck with the blade sticking into the user’s boot.

I thought I had won with that swift attack, but that feeling was quickly put to rest as the user just smiled and removed his boot. To my dismay, there was so much padding in the boot that the blade of the dagger was not long enough the reach the user’s flesh. Sensing my frustration, he pulled the dagger out of his boot and mockingly tossed it in a puddle at my feet. “Did you really think you could beat me so easily? A true fighter is always prepared, not that a pathetic rogue like you could know anything about that…” He said as I picked up my dagger, although I think he may have been under the misconception that I was fighting at my maximum capacity. “I will admit… you do have some skill…” He remarked as I remained silent, “but can you handle this?” Upon saying this, my opponent held one of his swords high over his head and a mass of blue energy began to form towards the tip. He swung the sword down while shouting some phrase that I couldn’t hear and the powerful aura traveled quickly across the ground towards me. It was not too difficult to dodge, but he continued to fire them in rapid succession. I imagine that these blasts would be nearly lethal, but I was more than able to continue avoiding his attacks while simultaneously trying to move closer towards my foe so I could possibly stop this assault. Towards the end of the barrage, he sent one particular wave of energy at me that was faster and larger than the others and had a green color instead of blue. I leapt up in the air and cast a dark magic spell that sent a ball of dark energy towards him, which collided with his attack and diverted it away from me. When he realized that this tactic was ineffective, he looked at me and said, “Not bad…” He paused for a moment, contemplating his next move. Then he continued on with confidence, “Let’s try this now.” The user assumed a new fighter’s stance and I knew that he was going to rush in at me and attack from close range.

We both charged forward simultaneously and became locked in an exchange of strikes and parries. I think that, during this series of attacks, my adversary was fighting at his full potential as he was almost able to keep pace with my movements. His slight drop in speed was made up for with his power, as I now felt that each of his blows struck my dagger with a little more force than I could return. After a while of continuing this tactic, I was beginning to tire, I did not want to show any signs of weakness and give my opponent an opening. However, I could also see beads of sweat dripping from my adversary’s forehead and it was as if we were evenly matched. I was constantly dodging attacks: high, low, left, right, and every other direction possible while delivering similar attack patterns, but to no avail. He and I could both tell that we were having a tough time maintaining this level of speed and strength for this extended period of time.

Finally, after a long exchange of parries and blocked attacks, my mind conceived a plan that would hopefully catch him off guard. I disengaged with the user, performing a backflip, and threw one of my daggers at his face in midair. The dagger whizzed towards his face and I could tell that he was unprepared for a projectile attack after this long exchange of direct combat. At the last possible moment, he ducked down and dagger zoomed past his head, slicing off a few strands of his brownish hair and landing on the ground nearby. Standing about ten feet from me, he looked back at me with a devious grin and said, “I have to hand it to you…that attack was unforeseen… but now you have only one weapon. That’s a foolish move, my friend.” “Don’t be so sure…” I exclaimed, holding out my hand. A purplish aura surrounded my hand and the dagger that I threw began to twitch on the ground. Then is disappeared in a flash and rematerialized in my vacant hand, much to the user’s dismay. I could tell that the other user was impressed with my tactics and smiled. “Hmm…You’re unlike any thief I’ve fought before.” He paused, waiting for a reaction, but I remained still. “All of the others seem to be out for money… you seem to have more… determination. I understand now…I know now exactly who you are…” I replied, “As I said before, don’t judge me by my appearance.” He smiled and said, with that once-cocky tone eliminated from his voice, “I’m glad that you are also a man of your word.”

Just then, a loud alarm pierced the night air, interrupting the battle, causing us to both look up at the gargantuan factory. NSider Industries’ alarm was triggered; whether it was by our actions or another incident was unknown. In any event, we both knew what this meant. Being the largest factory in the massive land of NSider, this facility was tightly guarded around the clock and, when the alarm went off, the whole island would be swarmed by police in a matter of minutes. We both glared at each other, eager to continue the battle, but knew that now was neither the time nor place to do so. He was the first to speak out, “Your battle skills have earned my respect. This is quite an accomplishment and you should be proud. I will tell you my name.” While this didn’t seem like much of an offer, I knew that a username was a very critical piece of information to have. I nodded and looked back at him, “My name is HoneySyrup. It was a pleasure to meet you and test your skills…ShadowMario41, I know that we will duel again.” I was startled when I heard him say my name. I never addressed him and never leaked any personal information. In the darkness of the night, it would have been impossible for him to see the insignia of my family engraved on my daggers. “H-How did you know my name?” I said with a startled tone of voice. He looked back at me with a smile on his face and said, “One’s fighting style reveals much about character.”

He turned around and started to walk away, disappearing into the darkness of the night. I was about to pursue him and demand more information when I heard the whirring of sirens approaching from all of the three bridges. All of the lights of the massive building turned on, brightly illuminating the island. I frantically looked around for a hiding spot, but it was too bright for me to hide anywhere. The sirens grew louder and louder and I was a bit frustrated that I let the other user escape. “How could he simply slip into the night like that?” I thought for a while, trying to devise an escape plan. Finally, it occurred to me that escaping would not be very difficult, assuming that I predicted the movements of the NSider Police correctly. I hastily made my way towards the bridge that I used to enter the island and hid in the bush that I dove in upon my arrival. Looking out, I saw a massive amount of police cars approaching on the horizon. This was only one-third of the forces en route, as this was just one of the three bridges, but this alone would be enough to overwhelm just about anyone. All of the police cars were now mere feet from my location and I held my breath, hoping this plan would work. Sure enough, all of the cars zoomed past my location towards NSider Industries, creating waves of water as they drove through puddles, and leaving the bridges completely unguarded. I ran out quickly and onto the bridge, stretching my legs for a few seconds as they were a bit sore from the previous skirmish.

I dashed across the suspension bridge at breakneck speeds, heading back towards the Star Fox board to talk to Dr. Peppy again. As I ran towards the mainland of NSider, I reflected on the battle that was in progress just moments ago. “That was…actually fun…” I thought, as I tried to assess my feelings, “I haven’t faced anyone like that in a long time…” I somehow also knew that his final words were entirely true; we would be destined to duel again. My retreat was progressing smoothly until I found a police barricade at the end of the bridge. Luckily, there were only a few officers and cars on patrol and I was able to easily elude them by vaulting off of the hood of one of the vehicles and racing by, leaving the bewildered officers in the dust. Despite their efforts, no amount of orange cones or yellow “do not cross” tape could stop me, especially not during this adrenaline rush I was currently experiencing. I scurried behind a roadside statue and looked out towards NSider Industries, which now looked like a theme park with all of its flashing lights and loud noises. After staring for a minute or two with my robes dripping wet from the rain, I began my trek to Dr. Peppy’s lair, unsure of how he would react to the status of the mission.

CHAPTER 7: Meeting of Mystery

It was nearly 10:00 PM; the sky was dark and cloudy as I took my position behind a dumpster near the bridge that connected the Star Fox board to the lone isle where NSider Industries was located. While it was a good idea to position the massive industrial zone of NSider away from the main community to avoid pollution, it was rather inconvenient for criminals, rogues, assassins, and – for that matter – anyone who didn’t have a vehicle. There were tall, rocky cliffs around the perimeter of the island, so the bridge was the only viable option in my situation since I’ve never been one for swimming. It was a long distance between the two landmasses and sidewalks or any sort of walking lane was noticeably absent, but the one-minute time limit I had to race from one side to the other didn’t pose the slightest problem. With the speed of an assassin such as myself, it was definitely manageable, albeit somewhat tricky.

I reached into the pocket of my robes and pulled out the mysterious red cube. I gently pressed a blinking green light on the side of it and it opened rather dramatically to reveal a small blue pill with a white exclamation mark on the center of it. It didn’t look particularly appetizing, but I had no choice but to ingest it. After some slight hesitation, I reluctantly swallowed the oval shaped pill with no difficulty and noticed instantly that I couldn’t see my post-cranial self. I could feel my arms moving but they had turned invisible. My robes, tools, and even my weapons had also become see-through. Following this brief instant of shock at this technological marvel, I readied myself and started to run across the bridge. It was then that I realized that this wouldn’t be much of a challenge for me to make it across in sixty seconds. After about ten seconds, I was already about a third of the way there. There was no sidewalk, so I was forced to run down the center of the enormous suspension bridge, weaving in and out of cars when necessary. However, this was not very difficult, as traffic was mostly going back towards the mainland of NSider and not out towards the lone island at this time of night.

I dove into a bush on the island right next to the end of the bridge, one of the lone signs of vegetation on this desolate industrial land, and decided it would be a good time to scope out the landscape and pinpoint the most probable meeting place for these two rogues. It would be unwise to rush into a situation without familiarizing oneself with the surroundings, as my dad always told me. Even though the gargantuan factory closed at 9:30 PM, a half-hour before I arrived, there were always stragglers that took a while to leave. Additionally, there were still some guards present on the graveyard shift that had immediate access to NSider’s police force with the push of a button or a simple phone call. I wanted to make sure only a few people were around so I could explore freely without the risk of annoying encounters with employees. After all, NSider Industries is an enormous factory that is the primary site of industrial activity in NSider. Being situated on an island, it helps keep pollution away from the mainland and isolates the rusty buildings from some of the more glamorous structures of the forum. There are three bridges that connect this barren island to the mainland: one that can be accessed from the Star Fox board (the one that I crossed), one that conjoins the island with the NSider Courthouse and another that connects it to Port NSider, which is in close proximity to the Registration Building.

As with all things in this new technological age, NSider Industries is equipped with the latest machinery, resulting in highly efficient and effective operation. It is also highly secure, equipped with a state-of-the-art security system that is almost impossible to penetrate. However, as new factories were being built, the obsolete factories and warehouses remained on the outskirts of the industrial colossus and now serve as eyesores to the general population. As one might expect, they also currently serve as hotspots for thieves; I, myself, have made a few shady deals in the confines of these warehouses. One could say that security is virtually nonexistent on those parts of the island, though it has been a few months since my last visit. To be safe, I decided it would be best to scope out the area in case there were any lone guards roaming the premises.

I snuck past the skyscraper that serves as the main building for NSider Industries and made my way towards some of the antiqued warehouses, making sure to stay out of the range of the security cameras perched on every angle and crevice of the main edifice. Stepping into the outskirts of this island gave the illusion of being in a war zone. Buildings were dilapidated, all forms of vegetation were dried up, and graffiti covered any structures still standing. It was difficult to step anywhere without hearing the crunch of broken glass or feeling dry sand beneath the soles of one’s feet. There was a chilling wind in the air that caused one rusted iron door to continuously open and slam shut and spider webs glimmered and glistened in the moonlight. It was a shame that this once aesthetically pleasing island was transformed into this industrial wasteland, but these sights and others were common to me. The alleyways of NSider aren’t the most visually appealing places to be, either, so the thought didn’t bother me.

I made my way from building to building, trying to make an educated guess on where the criminals would rendezvous. The once bright moon started to cover up with clouds and I could begin to feel the pitter-patter of raindrops on my long black robes. I finally stepped into one last building to escape the rain before I realized the search was futile. There were too many ideal spots for thieves to meet up and it would be impossible for me to simply wait at one spot for my targets. I decided to constantly circulate around these industrial ruins, hoping that I would see one of the rogues or, at least, a sign of where they might meet up. Before I left, though, I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye. Outside one of the murky windows, a mysterious figure was moving slowly and seemed to be constantly checking if anyone was outside. I ran over to the window, peered outside and, sure enough, there was a user cautiously walking away from me towards a small shed-like structure. I heard that pesky iron door slam shut again and the user’s pace quickened. Once the anonymous user entered the small shed, I stealthily followed, figuring that it was one of the users I was looking for.

When I arrived at the building, it seemed as if the only entrance was the way the user went through. Not wanting to risk an encounter with an adversary of great skill, it would be foolish of me to simply walk through the front door. However, after scanning the structure for another way in, I noticed a hole in the ceiling of the shed and a stack of boxes right next to the right wall that I could easily climb up. “Finally, a stroke of luck.” I thought as I climbed the boxes and quietly fell through the hole. It was only a slight drop until I landed quietly on top of a stack of steel crates. I leapt down to the ground, landing inaudibly, and looked around, trying to find this mysterious user. This building was much bigger on the inside than it seemed, perhaps due to the angle at which I initially viewed it. I maneuvered my way around the room slowly and carefully, as I didn’t know where the user would be hidden. Luckily, it was only a matter of seconds before I located the user standing in a corner of the shed, leaning against the wall. It was then I realized why this was the ideal and smart meeting spot. A light from NSider Industries angled perfectly through a broken glass window to provide a dim source of illumination to the room. The shed was large enough so that a group of rogues could fit inside, but small enough so that no one would suspect that anything was going on here. I remained in the back of the room, crouched behind a pile of boxes stacked up to the ceiling and continued to observe the user.

I could tell it was a guy slightly taller than myself, garbed in a dark red shirt lined with silver buttons, wearing brown suspenders that supported faded blue pants. He had boots and gloves that matched his shirt. His spiky brown hair moved slightly in the cold breeze and his brown eyes occasionally shifted around, making sure no one was nearby. Unlike before when I could only see his silhouette, he had an appearance of confidence and poise and it looked like he was patiently waiting for someone else to arrive. I also noticed twin swords resting in brown holsters tied around his waist. I surmised that he was either a highly skilled warrior or a foolish thief who only selected cool-looking weapons. Either way, I couldn’t attack yet, not before I saw who else was involved in this mysterious exchange. The small gold item that Doctor Peppy mentioned also perplexed me, as it could be a multitude of things. Unsure of what the item could be, I nervously glanced at my PM watch to check the time. It read 11:47 PM and both the user and I began to grow more and more anxious for very different reasons. For now, though, waiting was all that we could do. Little did this user know that an expert assassin was only a few feet away and was planning to put an end to his schemes.

After some time, the rain outside suddenly became heavier and the user started to pace in small circles around the room. I glanced down at my watch again, which read 11:59 PM… one minute more of this tense waiting game. At exactly 12:00 midnight, something finally happened. A purple vortex that emanated a bright light appeared in the middle of the room and another user stepped out of the portal, which closed up upon him emerging completely. He was small in stature, but had a frightening aura about him. He wore a purple cape with matching boots and a white mask, behind which the only thing visible was a pair of ominous red eyes. Both of his hands were covered with white gloves and one of which was grasping a strange glowing sword. His weapon seemed too large to be the item Doctor Peppy was mentioning, so I continued to lie in wait.

He glanced around to make sure no one was in the room. After confirming his incorrect assumption, he turned to the other user with a flick of his cape. “Sir,” the user leaned against the wall exclaimed, “I have obtained what you have requested.” “Very good,” the second user replied in a deep voice, “I am very impressed.” “Thank you, sir!” the user garbed in red replied, happy to have appeased the other’s desire. “Now… let’s see that little treasure…” The user reached into the pockets of his faded blue pants and pulled out a golden triangle attached to a silver chain. At first, the triangle appeared dull, but when he held it up in the air, a faint light and strange aura radiated from it. The golden triangle had some sort of inscription on it but I could not read it from my current location. It was obviously an item of high value since this whole fiasco would not be planned out for a petty little exchange. The more I stared at the item, the more I could tell that this meeting was for something serious; not anything to do with money, but something of far greater value to these users.

Wiping some sweat from my forehead with the sleeve of my robe, I slowly inched my way closer and closer to the two users, making sure to remain hidden behind the piles of boxes. “Excellent…” the stout user said menacingly, “Our plan is progressing quite well…” Interrupting the maniacal thoughts of the user with the purple cape, the other user spoke out with an inquiry. “Sir, I mean no disrespect when I ask this, but why this elaborate plan of meeting here? It is just a small little item that could have easily been…” The user instantly stopped talking when met by the piercing red eyes of the other user. “Surely, you do not know the value of this item,” he said with a stern tone, “this is our key to the future.” “I am glad to have been of service,” the user in red replied, showing great respect towards the other user who, from what I could surmise, appeared to be his superior.

I continued to creep closer and closer to the two users, readying myself to make my move when I took one fatal step. My foot rested upon an old plank of wood, which emanated a loud creaking noise that echoed throughout the area. I alarmingly looked up and realized the two users heard the noise as well. After a brief moment of silence and deep concentration by the user who had appeared from the portal moments ago, he spoke out with a deep voice, “It appears that this location is no longer safe. I will meet you back at our headquarters. We will discuss further plans there. Now we have a great thing on our side…” “What do you mean?” the user in red asked, puzzled by the other user’s vague hints. “…A bargaining chip…” With that, the short yet creepy user snatched the golden triangle, twirled his cape and instantly disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

However, the other user was not about to leave without figuring out the source of that noise. He drew his twin blades from the holsters and assumed a fighter’s stance, from which I could tell that he was a competent swordsman. He then shouted into the darkness, “Oh ye of little honor, I will grant you one chance to reveal yourself to me before I search for you. Will you comply?” I don’t know what made me step out into the light and make myself fully visible to this user, but I reluctantly obliged. Perhaps it was that running would be futile since he knew someone was hiding or that the thought of a challenging battle was exhilarating to me. It could have also been because I was frustrated with myself for getting caught but, either way, I stepped forward into the light and found myself face-to-face with this user as I positioned my hands towards the hilts of my daggers so I could grab them quickly if need be.

“Ah!” he exclaimed upon laying eyes upon my appearance, “another petty thief pillaging NSider Industries for something of minimal material worth. Were you listening in on our conversation?” I sensed that this was a rhetorical question, so I remained silent. “No answer?” He said, slowly shifting towards a tone of voice that hinted towards an unfound sense of superiority, “Well it seems as if you’ve stumbled into quite a tough spot, my friend.” I asserted, hoping to quell the insults, “Do not judge me by my appearance alone.” He paused for a moment and then replied with, “Do you know who you are getting involved with?” I shook my head in disgust and he chuckled, “Well then perhaps, in this case, ignorance is bliss. Regardless, I find that I must kill you, as the information you overheard is top secret. It’s nothing personal really…it’s just that the confidentiality of this mission cannot be compromised, regardless of who the user is.” “That might be more difficult than you think,” I replied back with a hint of confidence in my voice, hoping that he would recognize that I wasn’t about to back down from the challenge. “Well then…” he said, “I am a man of my word… I hope you are too. Prepare yourself!”

CHAPTER 6: Mission Briefing

The PM (short for “private message”) belt is an accessory given to all NSiders upon registration that makes a beeping sound only audible to the wearer when he or she receives a new private message. There are used to send quick and secure messages between users and is a reliable source of communication for all NSiders to use. Once a message is received, a user can open the PM and the selected message will appear on a hologram screen in front of the user, again, only visible to him or her. There are upgrades for the PM belt too, the most popular being the PM watch, which fits nicely around a user’s wrist as opposed to the waist. The watch around my arm was signifying that I had received a new message. Still concealed, I rolled up the long black sleeve of my robes, and pressed a button on the side of the silver sleek metal gadget. The PM came up in front of me.

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

SENT: 08/14/07 – 7:47 P.M.

ShadowMario41, you have been selected. Meet me in the usual spot in one hour.

0494-2843-1919-5577

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While the PM did not explain much, it gave me just enough information to know what I had to do. Dr. Peppy was one of the top-ranked military officials in all of NSider and has a strong reputation for always handling his missions very professionally. He used to be the commanding officer of the Mushroom Kingdom Air Force, but has since stepped down from that role to deal with espionage and other secretive information. However, what separated him from the other faceless generals such as Maverick and Ganondorf8 was that he privately hired assassins and other users for serious missions to serve his purposes. He believed that the military and police force had too many rules, regulations and procedures to abide by whereas privately hired users willing to lend their skills could get the job done quickly, efficiently and secretly. This is something the law enforcement of NSider could never achieve, as they must abide by the forum’s extensive code of laws and limited by the lack of competent officers. While these types of missions are usually highly arduous and dangerous, the pay is very high so it would be foolish for someone of great skill not to accept it. This is Dr. Peppy’s opinion, anyway; I know because he told me before the first mission to which I was assigned.

Speaking of which, I am actually surprised that I landed any future missions after the way the first one turned out. It was about one year ago and I was assigned to intercept two criminals transporting stolen posts scheduled to meet at the NSider Airport. They were believed by all of Dr. Peppy’s sources to just be a couple of thugs, but they were actually highly trained cardinals of the Nicolai93 Organization. It was through this mission that I first learned of the existence of this band of criminals. While I failed to stop the transfer of posts, I did manage to capture one of the organization’s members, GamePlayer30, and turn him into Dr. Peppy for questioning. Interestingly, I clearly remember that the other user present at the scene of the crime didn’t even try to save GamePlayer30 but rather quickly fled the scene. GamePlayer30 didn’t have much of a sense of honor and secrecy, as he spilled the beans about the location of Nicolai93’s headquarters as well as their current and future plans in exchange for his freedom. This resulted in a huge blow to the organization and forced them to move to a location that has, thus far, remained off of the radar. Oddly enough, during the time that the Nicolai93 Organization was inactive, the crime rate of NSider actually rose. The NSider authorities had to be called off the search for Nicolai93 to deal with the steady stream of crimes occurring all over the forum. While the police still search for the new headquarters, their search is not as adamant as in the past and has become nearly nonexistent.

My second mission with Dr. Peppy progressed much more smoothly. I was designated to spy on a meeting between two thugs where supposedly vital information concerning a future crime scandal in NSider was to be discussed. Both muscular criminals spoke very bluntly about the issue and didn’t seem to be very intelligent, so it turned out to be quite a simple task. They talked about robbing a bank and driving off with the stolen posts, but nothing more than that. When I reported back to Dr. Peppy, he was displeased with the simplicity of the information but pleased that I told it to him fully and accurately. He said that I did well and to expect a call from him in the future. This PM, my third mission assigned to me by Dr. Peppy, was apparently what he was talking about.

I closed the PM and glanced over at the trio of X-Naut128, Invader8, and Falcon6 walking into the depths of the Gameplay Help for Newcomers board. It was the oddest combination of a lowly newcomer, and experienced NSiders that I’ve ever seen. Since it would be three days before the pathetic X-Naut and his merry men would be able to leave the newcomer boards, I figured I would easily be able to relocate them once my mission with Dr. Peppy was complete. Besides, I was getting tired of simply spying on my target and was itching for a challenging mission. Thus, I decided to take a break from hunting the X-Naut and venture off to the usual meeting place of Dr. Peppy’s – right behind the Star Fox Fan Art Directory in the Star Fox board. I turned around and prepared to depart when I saw something else of particular interest.

A user dressed in ragged black clothing was crouched behind a bush about twenty feet away, peering out occasionally but quickly retracting for some odd reason. For a brief instant, his eyes met mine and I could tell that it was me he was watching. I wasn’t sure how long he had been spying on me, but I definitely didn’t want someone following me to Dr. Peppy’s headquarters. I raced up behind him so quickly that he didn’t notice and even then it took him a little while before he realized someone was standing over him. “And you are…?” I asked. “Uhh… I was told to… umm…” He was trying to stall as his eyes stared straight at the ground away from mine. I grabbed the front of his robe and hoisted him up in the air, eyeing him sternly. “Who are you?” I asked sternly, which quickly caused the frantic user to speak up. “I’m LuigiTheDude5094. Don’t hurt me…” he responded nervously, with his feet waving frantically in the air. “Why are you following me?” I said, to which he was more hesitant to respond. “I…umm…was told not to say…” “Answer me!” I exclaimed impatiently, as I unsheathed one of my daggers and held it to his neck. “This is your last chance!” “I…can’t…” He said, mustering up the courage that remained inside of him, “I promised the boss that I wouldn’t…” Before he could finish his sentence, I impaled him between the eyeballs with one of my daggers, twisting it to expand the gash. A grunt of hatred was all he was able to mutter before I pulled out my dagger, the blood of the slain user sliding off the blade, and spilling onto the ground as he collapsed in a tangled heap. It was a strange sense of satisfaction for me, as I haven’t made a killing since the random OSider that ThePastaKing asked me to deal with. I twirled my daggers and slid them back into the holsters as I walked away from the murder, satisfied with my fatal strike.

Although it was odd that some lowlife was spying on me, I decided it would be best to pay it no mind for now and focus strictly on my mission with Dr. Peppy before I dealt with that. I continued towards the Star Fox board, wondering what assignment would be given to me. It was on the other side of NSider, so it was a long journey, especially since I had to keep to the shadows. Luckily, the trip progressed pretty smoothly, except for a minor annoyance where a user was showing off her brand new Spazier near the Metroid board and nearly destroyed all of the buildings around her. I arrived at the Star Fox Fan Art Directory just in time and easily snuck around to the back despite the high number of police officers present. My guess is that Dr. Peppy orders a group of officers to stand near his headquarters to help maintain secrecy, even though the lax force didn’t seem to be very active in their duties. Perhaps the mere presence of a policeman is enough to make inexperienced users stiffen up. The police have never intimidated me and I have no intentions of quivering in fear any time soon.

The rear of the sleek and modern building looked like a dump. In the alley behind the building, rusted dumpsters lined the dirty walls, which were covered in a mess of tangled ivy. There was a small keypad on the wall next to a rat chewing on a moldy piece of cheese in a dented aluminum trash barrel, so I punched in the code enclosed in the PM. A green light flashed from the white keypad and the brick wall in front of me slowly split apart in a cloud of dust, revealing a large silver door with all sorts of symbolic insignias on it from top to bottom. When I took a step forward, the doors opened automatically, revealing a large room lined wall-to-wall with computers, radars and other highly advanced pieces of technology.

The main attraction of the room was the extremely large chrome table in the center covered from corner to corner with an aged map of NSider and various hand-crafted figures placed around it, filling the map. The last time I’ve been to this room, about a year ago, the figures were all stationary and there weren’t nearly as many. However, with the exception of a few, the thousands of figures were in motion; some seemed to be navigating the alleys of NSider while others wandered aimlessly in the town square. Some were battling in the NSider Colosseum and others were conversing in houses and shops. I figured I would inquire about this after the briefing, as I didn’t want anything, not even insignificant ignorance, to come between this job offer and my potential payout.

I stepped inside on the white marble floor and the door slowly closed behind me. A man from across the room eyeing one of the computer monitors turned around to face me and slowly walked closer. He was a little shorter than the average user, but made up for it with his high intellect. He was average weight and wore a blue military uniform, complete with medals on the breast and insignias on the sleeves. His tan boots emanated intimidating thumps as he made his way towards me. Pushing up his oval-framed glasses that were inching towards the bottom of his nose, he spoke to me softly, “ShadowMario41… we meet once again. Thank you for responding in a timely manner.” An expression of satisfaction crossed his face, but I remained composed and simply replied, “Do not allow my appearance to taint my reliability.” “Of course,” he said, “You are one of NSider’s best after all.” While it was nice to be complimented by a user of such significance, this meeting was strictly about business.

Sensing that I wanted to get to work, Dr. Peppy then said, “An item of vital importance was stolen from the NSider Barracks this afternoon by an unidentified user. General Banzai guarded this item, so if someone could overwhelm him, I am afraid that his or her power would be too great to establish some sort of police scheme. I have received a report from another source that the user plans on transferring the item to the boss of the operation. The meeting of the two criminals will occur on the outskirts of NSider Industries in a few hours… at about midnight to be exact. Thus far, neither the public nor the media have any knowledge of this event. If you stop it, it will be as if it never happened.” While his monologue was vague, I knew that I would be battling a formidable foe tonight to retrieve some sort of item. “What exactly is the item?” I inquired, hoping to get some more specifics. Dr. Peppy looked at me, apparently not expecting me to ask a question. Running his hand through his short-length slicked back gray hair, he replied, “It’s small and gold. You’ll know when you see it.”

After a brief pause, he continued on, “The problem is, as you know, NSider Industries is on a lone island in the sea, connected by only three bridges, one of which is right near this board. On those bridges, there is no cover or anything for you to hide behind. It might seem strange if a skilled assassin was running across a bridge in the open. Even with your speed, odds are someone will notice you. Therefore, I have arranged an alternative means of transportation.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small red box and gave it to me. “To cross the bridge without being spotted by anyone, ingest the contents of this box when the time comes. You will be invisible for one minute, which, even though the bridge is quite massive, should give you enough time to sprint to the other side.” I nodded subtly and placed the cube inside one of the pockets of my black robe. “As always, this meeting must remain secret. Nothing I have said will leave this room, correct?” Again, I nodded and made a silent vow between the experienced military general. “Good… this plan will work out excellently. Give me the item and you’ll get your money. Now, off you go.” With a swift hand gesture, he motioned me to leave; a smirk crossing his face as he turned around. “Sir,” I spoke up unexpectedly and uncharacteristically, “what are those figurines f –” “Pay it no mind,” he said hastily. “But Doc...” I broke out again, demanding an answer in a passive-aggressive manner, but was only given the same “Pay it no mind,” in a much more serious tone this time. I was not in any position to complain, as I was just offered a very high-paying job, so I turned around and walked towards the exit.

When I reached the silver door, it opened automatically and I looked back, staring at the back of Dr. Peppy, who was busy studying computer monitors. My attention fixed once more upon the map with the moving figurines. I was interested in what exactly these moving characters were signifying, as Dr. Peppy would not waste his time with something of little importance. These thoughts were quickly interrupted, though, as Dr. Peppy cleared his throat loudly, signifying that I could not linger any longer. I let out a soft disgruntled sigh, focused on the map for another second, and took my leave.