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Post by SummerCrow on Mar 13, 2015 11:50:55 GMT -6
C's either a really good idea, or a really bad idea. I'm going with C.
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Post by HHDeception on Mar 13, 2015 22:59:01 GMT -6
"Zachi! Just go!"
The girl dashes away just a second before the spines in the ground explode violently. Zachi ducks behind a car for cover, debris and shrapnel flying out from the detonation sites. Meanwhile Mike's attention was on the corehogs surrounding him. They weren't exactly in a hurry. In fact, they stopped once they had him completely surrounded.
Alright, as soon as they shoot I'll drop and they'll be shooting at each oth-
Mike's train of thought was interrupted by the corehog directly in front of him spawning scythe-like razors from its back twice the length of its body and stabbing him through the chest.
"AUGH! **** THAT STINGS!"
The blades weren't exactly impaling him, but they did go right through him in a sort of buzzing, well "Noisy" fashion. He could still move but the entire afflicted area was a haze of numb pain, kind of like how your foot gets if it's really really asleep. Mike gasped as the another corehog followed suit, stabbing him through from the back. Feeling himself literally fading he just let adrenaline take over. His Psychs activated and he blasted straight through the forest of spikes, knocking the corehogs in his way into the air, before falling into a roll on the ground. He was panting hard. Almost gagging. The pain was going away, but he was very drained.
Zachi rushed over to him. Mike would have noticed that this was the first time she had rushed for anything since they'd met, but he was a bit preoccupied remembering to breathe.
"Can you stand?"
She held out her hand, but Mike waved it away, pulling himself up to one knee.
"I'm...*pant* I'm good. Ha...ha...just tickled."
He looked at the corehogs, who were already in the middle of firing their spines. Again, they landed around the pair and Zachi found herself surrounded by the small explosives. She was thinking about how efficiently she could drag Mike, but it turns out she didn't have to since Mike had already gotten up and grabbed her, triggering his Psychs to pull them both out of harm's way.
Zachi was not expecting the sudden change of her location, or Mike's arms around her waist, but she took it in stride. "If we don't get close then they'll keep using those spine mines."
Mike nodded his head, still panting lightly but totally on the same page, "But they don't fire when trying to use those blades. I'll keep them distracted."
Zachi was about to say "Are you sure?" But Mike had already dashed into them again, knocking some into the air, while the others stopped to try and stab him. Zachi took the chance and inked up the ground. Mike saw the ink pools forming and changed up his trajectory, using his next tackle to knock the corehogs into the sticky substance. One more dash and all 6 were inside, and Mike cleared the area and shouted.
"Light 'em up!"
A *click* sound was heard.
A much louder *FWOOM!* sound was heard after that, mixed in with some strangled cries Mike guessed were those of the corehogs. When the smoke cleared, there was nothing left but a few pins.
"Haha! Did it!" Mike said, as he sat down, kind of exhausted. He wiped the sweat off his brow...and then noticed the 2:07 ticking down on his hand. He bolted up.
"OH MY GOD THE TIME! ZACHI!"
She was busy collecting the pins.
"Only $200 total. Where are the others?"
Mike looked around. Oh hey, his bike still- PRIORITIES MAN! He saw the hoodie reaper looking a bit ruffled. Spence and CC were on the ground next to him, panting. He moved to dash over, but tripped since his Psych didn't activate. Weird. No time to think about it though. He sprinted instead.
"Guys! What happened!"
Spence looked up at Mike, with an expression one would make in reply to an "I told you so" and said "Well, we had him on the ropes for a bit. Like, we could have used some help."
"How much-
"He took our money."
The Reaper shrugged, "You gambled dudes. And no," he said looking at Mike, "Their money does not count towards the $1000."
"GAH!"
He looked around again, to see Chris and So-yeon seemingly fizzle out of thin air. He shouted at them.
"Where were you!?"
"Fighting Noise. $700. You?"
"$200," Mike said through clenched teeth before pointing at the pair on the ground, "and these guys got nothing."
Chris checked his hand and swore. 1:28. Not enough time for another fight.
"Where's that diva?" he said, somewhat exasperated.
"Hell if I know!"
Something tapped Mike on the shoulder. It was Zachi. She pointed over to the corner and the last pair were running this way. Psychology was carrying a box under his arm.
"Did you get money?" Chris called out.
They ignored him and ran straight up to the hoodie Reaper, who flinched expecting another assault. The box was opened and Pink Streak pulled out what looked like a jewelry case.
"100 dollar silver coin. Legal tender. Ten of them in the box. Here you go. Open up."
...
The hoodie Reaper looked inside, counted, and then nodded.
"Uh...wow. Ok then. Wall cleared."
An invisible honeycomb shimmered through the air, and Pink Streak took a step inside. The timers disappeared off of everyone's hands, and checking hers, she turned to everyone else and said "You're welcome."
...
"Chris." Mike said.
"Yeah." Chris replied.
"Are there any rules against Players killing Players?"
"Yeah."
"Damn."
The Vancouver Art Gallery it a mostly modern building, but surrounding it is the neoclassical pillar-and-dome architecture of the court house it used to be. The stone steps of the old courthouse entrance and the plaza before it is a popular outdoor meeting spot for events, flash mobs, protests, 420 day...and the like. It's here that the Players got a chance to catch their breaths. It's still rather damp out from the rain but it wasn't dark yet despite the clouds.
Mike was sitting on the steps, still letting himself recover. Zachi was at his side, on her phone as usual. Pink Streak and Psychology (still never caught their names) were talking with Chris and So-yeon in the plaza, but Mike hadn't joined them yet.
A) Better go see what they're talking about.
B) Why the hell is Zachi always on her phone!
C) Where'd Spencer and CC get to?
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Post by empireoffire on Mar 13, 2015 23:09:22 GMT -6
A. B can come later.
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Post by SummerCrow on Mar 13, 2015 23:58:30 GMT -6
Eh... C.
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Post by AlmosDug on Mar 14, 2015 0:00:38 GMT -6
B, we better get the waifu angst outta the way before it becomes problematic at a bad time.
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Post by grayjack on Mar 14, 2015 0:17:54 GMT -6
B, we better get the waifu angst outta the way before it becomes problematic at a bad time. |
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Post by SwordMasterEX on Mar 14, 2015 2:19:24 GMT -6
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Post by kjmccloud on Mar 14, 2015 13:35:06 GMT -6
Gonna roll with B, I think...
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2015 17:09:51 GMT -6
B.
Although I have an inability to choose a waifu, there's nothing against waifing your own(No longer mine now) character.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2015 22:25:38 GMT -6
I say A for science (of the mind)
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Post by HHDeception on Mar 14, 2015 23:08:40 GMT -6
Mike watched the two pairs in the plaza bicker. Well, more like he watched Pink Streak and Chris bicker while their partners were strangely quiet. So-yeon just kind of stood there awkwardly while Psychology stood there looking embarrassed for how his partner was acting. Yada yada teamwork yada yada survival of the fittest yada yada...better not to get involved just yet.
He leaned over to see what Zachi was doing on her phone. Her face didn't change but she leaned away and kept her phone out of view.
"What are you looking at?"
"Stuff."
Ugh...Mike redoubled his efforts.
"You have a signal?"
"Kind of," Zachi said with her usual analytical edge, "I can't call any contacts or get online, but I have reception."
"Well the Reapers text us our missions right? Here try texting me..."
Mike's number safely entered Zachi's contact list, and in a few moments he had a text from her reading "test" in his inbox.
"Great! If we get separated tomorrow we should find each other."
"Mhm."
Zachi was back to tuning him out...ok next play is...?
Mike tapped his player pin, but couldn't get any reading off of Zachi. It figures that it wouldn't work on other players or Reapers. That'd make things too easy. Maybe it's better to do things the old fashioned way...
He leaned his head on his arm and focused his gaze on her, getting himself in the zone. Her long hair partially obscured her eyes the way she was leaned over, but he could still see them. He didn't notice it before but her eyes were different colours. He knew that condition had a name but he couldn't think of it...In any case, he saw her eyes and they were moving but in random directions at random times, so obviously she wasn't reading, or else her eyes would be moving left to right in an even rhythm. He saw her hands. Phone held in both hands, not wanting him to see what was on the screen easily. She's swiping with her right thumb, but she holds her pen psych in her right hand so that much is obvious. She was making a left-to-right swiping motion every once in a while so odds are...she's going through a photo album. No internet. These are pictures she took herself. Her phone is a basic smartphone slab type in a black silicon case, and judging by the size is under a year old, so they're recent pictures...
He moved to try and see the screen again but she raised her arms irritated.
"Please lay off. I'm thinking." she said as she shuffled over on the step so he couldn't see anymore. But he saw what he needed to confirm his thoughts. The tan line on the ring finger of her left hand.
"Zachi..."
"What." He voice had changed from monotone to mild irritation.
"What was your entry fee?"
She froze and hit the sleep button on her phone.
"What was yours?"
"I asked first."
"It's quite a personal question. You should answer first if asking. It's a show of trust."
"You don't trust me?"
"Depends. Are you going to keep staring at me and trying to pry into things I don't want you to know?"
Mike blinked. A lot of fun this one.
"...Sorry. I just...I like knowing about people. Call it a hobby. It's hard to turn off."
"Right. Are we done?"
She turned back to her phone.
...
"My entry fee was my cat Clara."
Zachi immediately turned and looked at him like he had grown a second nose.
"Your...cat?"
"...Yeah." Mike said, feeling like he was complaining about an A-
"The thing you value most...is your cat?"
"Eh...yeah. I live alone. I don't own all that much. She always cheers me up when I get back from school you know? And I guess...yeah, she matters the most to me."
...she's either looking at me like I'm a toddler or a cockroach!
Eventually Zachi turned away. "I apologize," she said, "I just assumed someone like you would have more to lose."
Insult? How come I can never tell with this girl?
Mike just let it go, kind of embarrassed. He didn't expect Zachi to speak up again though.
"My entry fee was what stood between me and my goals in life," she said suddenly, "I'm thankful the Reapers took them."
End of Day 1
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Post by HHDeception on Mar 14, 2015 23:26:06 GMT -6
Mike woke up. Wait...what the hell? Woke up? When did he go to sleep? Did they just skip to the next day?
He was still on the Art Gallery steps, and Zachi was asleep next to him. He got up and walked around. Strangely, none of the other players were here. He checked his hand. No mission yet... so where was everyone?
Zachi stirred and got up with a stretch.
"Good morning," Mike called to her.
"Good morning..." she looked at her phone, "Noon."
Mike checked the time. It was 12:00 noon on Sunday. Seriously? They just time skipped.
The thought occurred to him that he's now been dead for a day. Was he in the news? Was the bus crash in the news? If he came back to life what'd the news say about that?
*BZT BZT BZT*
His and Zachi's phones buzzed. Mission.
Defeat the king of the Colosseum
You have 12 hours
Fail and face erasure
*Scratch* "Ow!"
The timer on his hand appeared.
12:00:00
11:59:59
11:59:58
"That's generous," Zachi said, "We have the rest of the day."
"We'll probably have to farm up $1 mil or something," Mike replied, "But yeah, that is generous compared to yesterday."
Zachi stood up and started walking, "Well...I'm kinda hungry. Didn't eat yesterday. Maybe they're giving us a chance to refuel?"
Mike watched at Zachi walk off, and decided it was best to follow. He grabbed his bike and headed after her. You know...yeah, he was quite hungry too.
A) Go get something to eat
B) Figure out the mission first
C) Look around for the other players
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2015 23:37:20 GMT -6
I like A. It's supreme.
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Post by grayjack on Mar 15, 2015 0:00:27 GMT -6
We gotta eat so A.
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Post by SwordMasterEX on Mar 15, 2015 2:37:27 GMT -6
In the words of Weird Al, "Don't you tell me you're full, just eat it."
A.
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Post by AlmosDug on Mar 15, 2015 2:37:34 GMT -6
You know I'm all over A.
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Post by AlmosDug on Mar 15, 2015 2:39:25 GMT -6
Oh s***, me and SMEX doing that same-time post, seven seconds apart.
You ninja motherf***er.
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Post by SwordMasterEX on Mar 15, 2015 2:43:34 GMT -6
Oh s***, me and SMEX doing that same-time post, seven seconds apart. You ninja motherf***er. The most subtle ninja in the group, despite constantly blaring loud music. |
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Post by AlmosDug on Mar 15, 2015 2:58:50 GMT -6
You'd think I'd have heard you coming up, but alas, I Almost hear it.
You're like a ninja-shark though. F***ing sleek, and fierce, and you can smell sexual secretions from miles away...
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Post by SummerCrow on Mar 15, 2015 3:16:05 GMT -6
C, strength in numbers. And that would probably help towards B.
Besides, so what if we don't eat? What're we gonna do, die?
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