03-31-2010, 06:57 PM
Szar eyed Mixie incredulously. They'd been wandering for at least a half an hour, and they'd played several games along the way. And Szar had yet to win at any of them. If he didn't know better, he would have guessed she'd been cheating. But the way her eyes lit up after each victory told the Icer that she wasn't. She seemed so engaged in whatever they were doing, her concentration couldn't be broken. Szar had even tried to distract her a few times with clever jokes, but she never paid them any heed. So, several defeats later, the Changeling decided to take a break and find himself something to eat. Deciding that he wanted meat, he looked around for the nearest Hot Dog or Hamburger stand.
Seeing one at the far end of the strip, he grabbed Mixie's free hand--her other hand was laden with various prizes she had won--and they set off towards the food. She stumbled along after him, trying to juggle the pile of stuffed animals she'd collected. Szar had offered to carry them for her, as it was the gentlemanly thing to do, but she had politely refused, joking that he just wanted the dolls for himself. For the first time in a long time, Iceman felt completely relaxed. They made it to the stand, and Szar ordered two cheeseburgers and a large basket of fries. Mixie had turned down food when he offered to get her something, saying that she wasn't hungry.
After his food had been cooked and paid for, the pair found a table close by and sat down. All semblance of etiquette abandoned him and he tore into the food with a frenzy. Mixie watched on politely, electing not to tell Szar that he had food on the corners of his mouth. He'd seemed so gruff when she'd first read his dossier, but Mixie found that he was actually quite nice. She didn't have the heart to tell him that the girl he'd been courting around this entire time wasn't real. That she was a program of Gamer's design, her purpose being to keep tabs on the contestants, keep them playing.
"So, what are you doing working for Gamer, anyway?" Szar asked Mixie between mouthfulls of food, "you don't seem like type."
She craned her head to the side cutely, like a puppy does when it sees something curious. "Type?"
Szar gulped down his water, sighing contently. "Yeah. The type to work with a megalomaniacal nerd who captures people and forces them to compete in bizarre events for his own amusement."
Mixie frowned. She didn't blame Szar--or any of the contestants, really--for their obvious hatred of her master. The idea had seemed harmless enough when he'd created her. He'd told her that he was going to bring in people from all walks of life and have them compete in games, the winner receiving a fabulous prize. What he hadn't told her was that the losers ended up in prison or worse, and that the fabulous prize was something they'd already had to begin with: their freedom. However, she wasn't able to go against her programming, as much as she wanted to.
Szar was still waiting for an answer when his pager went off. Checking it, he saw that it was time for his next event.
"Search for the Booty." he said, reading the name of his event aloud. "Doesn't sound that bad..."
Mixie was grateful for the interruption as a portal opened up next to Szar and he stood to enter it.
"I expect an answer when I get back." he told her, and he stepped fearlessly into the void.
"If you make it back, maybe you'll get it." Mixie whispered as the gateway blinked away.
*****
Stepping out of the portal, Szar took a moment to let the innertia subside. His stomach hadn't acustomed to traveling via these gateways yet, and he always felt nauseous for the first few minutes after coming through. While the Changeling was trying to survey his surroundings, another wormhole opened up in front of him, and an unwelcome figure stepped out. The six feet three inch Orion rolled his shoulders as he looked around. Szar half-humored the idea of trying to hide. It would be difficult to finish the event if the saiyan killed him. He wondered if it were even possible for someone who was on temporary leave from Hell to die again. It seemed the Icer would get his answer as the one eyed saiyan's gaze locked in on him, his expression going from disinterested to absolute rage.
With a bellow he surged forward, striking Szar with a devastating kick before the Changeling could even brace himself. Flipping in mid-air, Szar regained his footing. In an instant Orion was on him again, this time burying his fist in the Icer's abdomen. Szar buckled over, the contents of his stomach spilling out onto the sand. The saiyan, blinded by fury, moved to hit him again, when a shrill whistle sounded around them. Orion stopped mid-swing, shielding his ears from the noise.
"No, no, no!" a voice wheezed, "You're not allowed to kill each other!"
Szar tried to pinpoint the voice's source, but there was no one else around. That meant one thing.
"As much fun as it would be to watch you two go at it, that's not what you're going to do. You're going to work -together- to find the pirate Redbeard's treasure!"
Orion scoffed, looking at Szar with disgust. "There's no way I'll work with a slimy lizard towards anything. You put him and I together once before, and I restrained myself from tearing his head off. You will not stop me twice."
Szar narrowed his eyes as he stood up straight, staring into Orion's good eye.
"Stop it right now!" Gamer ordered, his voice cracking. "This is my game and I make the rules!"
The saiyan warrior shrugged, looking defeated. "Fine. I won't kill him, but you can't force me to work with him."
"That's where you're wrong, Orion! Like I said, I make the rules! I've already put something in place to ensure your cooperation."
Szar rolled his eyes. "If he doesn't want to work with me, that's fine. I don't want to help someone who wants to kill me. Just tell us what we have to do and we'll do it, just not together."
"Aren't you listening?!" Gamer screamed, "This is MY game. I am in charge! You are going to do what I tell you, and you're going to do it as a team! If you don't, you can both kiss your lives goodbye."
Szar groaned and Orion spat on the ground. Neither of them wanted to die, even if it meant having to deal with the other. "That's better." Gamer said smugly, "Now you're going to find Redbeard's treasure. The map showing you the way is in the pack just over there."
In a flash, a backpack materialized at the feet of Orion and Szar. They both reached for it at once. Orion pulled his hand away instantly. "You can carry it, lizard." he spat angrily, turning around and crossing his arms like a pouting child. Szar felt anger swelling up in him, but he swallowed it. Stooping down he picked up the pack, pulling back the flap. A bottle of water, some food, and a rolled up parchment were all that he found inside. Reaching in, he drew out the map, laying it out in the sand. It appeared that they had a ways to go before they found the treasure. The treasure was on the opposite side of the island.
"You couldn't make it easy, could you?" Szar asked aloud, knowing Gamer was still listening.
"It's not fun if it's easy! Now you'd best get going before the pirates find you! I hear they can be pretty nasty to trespassers..." Gamer laughed again, a nasally laugh that grated at Szar's last nerve. He couldn't wait to throttle the stupid boy for putting him through all of this.
Up ahead of them a dense forest lay. According to the map they would have to pass through it to reach the treasure. Rolling the map back up he put it back in the bag. Without a word he pushed past Orion and into the woods. The saiyan followed silently, dreaming of all the painful things he would do to the Icer once they were out of the game.
Seeing one at the far end of the strip, he grabbed Mixie's free hand--her other hand was laden with various prizes she had won--and they set off towards the food. She stumbled along after him, trying to juggle the pile of stuffed animals she'd collected. Szar had offered to carry them for her, as it was the gentlemanly thing to do, but she had politely refused, joking that he just wanted the dolls for himself. For the first time in a long time, Iceman felt completely relaxed. They made it to the stand, and Szar ordered two cheeseburgers and a large basket of fries. Mixie had turned down food when he offered to get her something, saying that she wasn't hungry.
After his food had been cooked and paid for, the pair found a table close by and sat down. All semblance of etiquette abandoned him and he tore into the food with a frenzy. Mixie watched on politely, electing not to tell Szar that he had food on the corners of his mouth. He'd seemed so gruff when she'd first read his dossier, but Mixie found that he was actually quite nice. She didn't have the heart to tell him that the girl he'd been courting around this entire time wasn't real. That she was a program of Gamer's design, her purpose being to keep tabs on the contestants, keep them playing.
"So, what are you doing working for Gamer, anyway?" Szar asked Mixie between mouthfulls of food, "you don't seem like type."
She craned her head to the side cutely, like a puppy does when it sees something curious. "Type?"
Szar gulped down his water, sighing contently. "Yeah. The type to work with a megalomaniacal nerd who captures people and forces them to compete in bizarre events for his own amusement."
Mixie frowned. She didn't blame Szar--or any of the contestants, really--for their obvious hatred of her master. The idea had seemed harmless enough when he'd created her. He'd told her that he was going to bring in people from all walks of life and have them compete in games, the winner receiving a fabulous prize. What he hadn't told her was that the losers ended up in prison or worse, and that the fabulous prize was something they'd already had to begin with: their freedom. However, she wasn't able to go against her programming, as much as she wanted to.
Szar was still waiting for an answer when his pager went off. Checking it, he saw that it was time for his next event.
"Search for the Booty." he said, reading the name of his event aloud. "Doesn't sound that bad..."
Mixie was grateful for the interruption as a portal opened up next to Szar and he stood to enter it.
"I expect an answer when I get back." he told her, and he stepped fearlessly into the void.
"If you make it back, maybe you'll get it." Mixie whispered as the gateway blinked away.
*****
Stepping out of the portal, Szar took a moment to let the innertia subside. His stomach hadn't acustomed to traveling via these gateways yet, and he always felt nauseous for the first few minutes after coming through. While the Changeling was trying to survey his surroundings, another wormhole opened up in front of him, and an unwelcome figure stepped out. The six feet three inch Orion rolled his shoulders as he looked around. Szar half-humored the idea of trying to hide. It would be difficult to finish the event if the saiyan killed him. He wondered if it were even possible for someone who was on temporary leave from Hell to die again. It seemed the Icer would get his answer as the one eyed saiyan's gaze locked in on him, his expression going from disinterested to absolute rage.
With a bellow he surged forward, striking Szar with a devastating kick before the Changeling could even brace himself. Flipping in mid-air, Szar regained his footing. In an instant Orion was on him again, this time burying his fist in the Icer's abdomen. Szar buckled over, the contents of his stomach spilling out onto the sand. The saiyan, blinded by fury, moved to hit him again, when a shrill whistle sounded around them. Orion stopped mid-swing, shielding his ears from the noise.
"No, no, no!" a voice wheezed, "You're not allowed to kill each other!"
Szar tried to pinpoint the voice's source, but there was no one else around. That meant one thing.
"As much fun as it would be to watch you two go at it, that's not what you're going to do. You're going to work -together- to find the pirate Redbeard's treasure!"
Orion scoffed, looking at Szar with disgust. "There's no way I'll work with a slimy lizard towards anything. You put him and I together once before, and I restrained myself from tearing his head off. You will not stop me twice."
Szar narrowed his eyes as he stood up straight, staring into Orion's good eye.
"Stop it right now!" Gamer ordered, his voice cracking. "This is my game and I make the rules!"
The saiyan warrior shrugged, looking defeated. "Fine. I won't kill him, but you can't force me to work with him."
"That's where you're wrong, Orion! Like I said, I make the rules! I've already put something in place to ensure your cooperation."
Szar rolled his eyes. "If he doesn't want to work with me, that's fine. I don't want to help someone who wants to kill me. Just tell us what we have to do and we'll do it, just not together."
"Aren't you listening?!" Gamer screamed, "This is MY game. I am in charge! You are going to do what I tell you, and you're going to do it as a team! If you don't, you can both kiss your lives goodbye."
Szar groaned and Orion spat on the ground. Neither of them wanted to die, even if it meant having to deal with the other. "That's better." Gamer said smugly, "Now you're going to find Redbeard's treasure. The map showing you the way is in the pack just over there."
In a flash, a backpack materialized at the feet of Orion and Szar. They both reached for it at once. Orion pulled his hand away instantly. "You can carry it, lizard." he spat angrily, turning around and crossing his arms like a pouting child. Szar felt anger swelling up in him, but he swallowed it. Stooping down he picked up the pack, pulling back the flap. A bottle of water, some food, and a rolled up parchment were all that he found inside. Reaching in, he drew out the map, laying it out in the sand. It appeared that they had a ways to go before they found the treasure. The treasure was on the opposite side of the island.
"You couldn't make it easy, could you?" Szar asked aloud, knowing Gamer was still listening.
"It's not fun if it's easy! Now you'd best get going before the pirates find you! I hear they can be pretty nasty to trespassers..." Gamer laughed again, a nasally laugh that grated at Szar's last nerve. He couldn't wait to throttle the stupid boy for putting him through all of this.
Up ahead of them a dense forest lay. According to the map they would have to pass through it to reach the treasure. Rolling the map back up he put it back in the bag. Without a word he pushed past Orion and into the woods. The saiyan followed silently, dreaming of all the painful things he would do to the Icer once they were out of the game.