[Congratulations! Score 3-0. Total domination. Game ending in three… two… one…]
*Tsst,* '-It's over,' a gust of wind entered the low-pressure pod. Pushing aside the door, the opposite pod stood open with droplets of blood leading into another room. 'I passed out the last time,' closely examining where the opponent breathed his last breath, '-ignorance is bliss, I won't think about it. This is for the sake of another human, selfish, who cares, I'll take other lives to save one,' trembling, '-still, I don't see me ever getting used to the sensation.'
"SAYER," a click followed by high-heel clopping against the concrete floor, "-you did it," a pair of warm hands wrapped itself around. The heat felt comforting, "-thank you," holding onto her hands, he turned, "-even if you're using me with ulterior motives in mind, I don't care. Thank you for giving me a chance at proving myself – for the longest time, I tried to find something that only I could do. Gaming was a big part of it since it related to my dad's job," tears stopped on the verge of flowing, the throat tightened, "-it's overwhelming," he said with the handshaking, "-even if it's a game to you, Miss Cherry, I'm glad I can be of use. Throw me aside when I've served my time, I won't resent anything, I view you as someone important."
"I-I d-don't know what to s-say to t-that," stuttered, her cheeks seemed warmer, the eyes lit up.
"S-sorry," without warning, he reached for a tight hug, "-I'm frail, playing D-sport is a risk I have to take. This may be selfish of me again," stepped back, "-I need a favor," he knelt with head bowed.
"D-Don't," following, she bowed and held his cheeks, "-w-w-what the f-favor?" her retina widened.
"There's only one thing I want, nothing else, I have a sister who desperately needs medical help. The only place that can save her is Celle's Laboratory. I know this is forward and out of line and I have nothing to repay you with – I want to make another contract. I'll exchange my life for hers. For what it's worth, you can sell my organs, head, body-parts, I don't care – I'm willing to become something without a will for her sake."
"Celle's laboratory," straightening her posture, "-it will cost you," arms crossed, she thought. "Deal, in exchange for your life, I'll grant you your sister's life," she held out a hand.
"Thanks," the conversation ended in a handshake. Cold and dark, the duo took a lift with metallic gates to the surface – it seemed to be access to an abandoned mineshaft. On the surface, Cherry led the way to her yellow car, "-get in, I'll drop you home," she said with a snarl. Inside, the car drove forth, '-even if I die, Elise will be taken care of.'
"Sayer," streetlights flashed past as they turned onto the highway, "-are you fine with that?" she asked, her hands gripped the steering wheel uncomfortably, it seemed unnatural.
"Fine with?" he turned and asked
"Fine with me owning you," turned to meet his gaze, "-you do realize what sort of contract we have formed. I own you in both the virtual and real world," her feet kept on the accelerator – each second, the car sped up.
"Yes, I made my decision; I don't have much worth in the real world. In-game, I can somewhat play, I trust my virtual self as opposed to the real me. In there, I feel different, all the troubles fade into nothingness, it's me with a gun against the world," watching forward, a blinding light, one that reflected off the car, signaled an incoming barrier. "-WATCH OUT," grabbing the wheel, he steered, the sudden shift caused the car to spin, the auto-breaks kicked in. Screeched to a stop, fumes hovered off the wheels, "-are you ok?"
"D-damn," she coughed, the door opened, her feet dangled off the side. Empty, it would have ended badly if other cars drove around at this time of night. Somehow, they managed to avoid a potentially fatal crash.
"Cherry," getting off the other end, he ran. "Are you ok?" stood in front of the lady who stared the road, "-answer me," tapping her shoulder, she raised her head with a nervous smile.
"That was close," she laughed, "-we nearly died."
"Yeah, that's one way to put it," he held out a hand, "-why don't we take a break?"
"S-sure," she breathed heavy, a close encounter with death sent her heart in a raging tempest.
"We can sit over there," dimly, a green pasture distinguished itself, "-come on," helping her to stand, she stumbled into his arms.
"Sheesh," she smiled, "-my legs are tingly, it's embarrassing."
"Oh please," closely, they walked toward the pasture, there, moist from the cold, "-let's not get your clothes dirty," removing his hoodie, "-I'll go move the car from the middle. It might cause some hindrance if another car were to come by." Quickly, he jumped over the railing, got inside the car, parked on the side, then got out.
"Here," returning her keys, he sat beside and stared the starry filled sky.
"How are you not scared?" asked Cherry who sat with knees against her chest. The damped grass slowly seeped into the hoodie, the wind blew harsher with the forest that howled and sang, leaves against one another – branches cracked ever so often.
"It's not that I'm scared," laid on the ground with no care, the cold seeped into the thin shirt, "-I'm very frightened at the moment," he turned, "-still, can't let it affect my judgment. None will be there to cry if I were to pass away, you on the other hand, probably have people waiting, important people. Not to bore you with my sob-story, I've reached a point where caring about my life is not that big a deal. I realized it on the day I killed on D-sports, death can come anytime – that's why I wanted for you to care for my sister. I'll eventually die, there's always better and stronger people out in the world. A mere pebble on the side of the road, waiting to be kicked by a wanderer; not that positive an outlook on life."
"You don't have people to morn your death," with a chuckle, she leaned over and rested her head against his chest, "-that might change in the near future."
"Did you say something?"
"No, nothing that important, I said that your heart rate still hasn't hit 100 bpm."
"You always make it a point to speak about my bpm, is there something I should know?"
"Not really," facing upward, "-the stars sure are nice."
"Yeah, compared to them, we're nothing more than dust – inconsequential and unimportant. The vastness of the universe fascinates me – no matter how bad we think we've got it, at the end of the day, it's all but selfish desires. Hero of our own stories, some think they are the center of the world, the truth can be hard at the time. The realization when that self-created image of being important breaks – that's when everything crumbles. I've always been the side-character, nothing more nothing less, and I'm content."
"You do speak a lot, don't you?" joked Cherry.
"I'm sorry if I bored you, it sort of rolled out without my knowing."
"It's not that bad a thing," she sat upright, "-you keep yourself away from people to not be hurt. It's understandable," she stood, "-however, there are people who are true heroes out there. Leading the world, inspiring those around them, I've seen it first hand," on that, her lips stopped moving.
"You knew someone like that," he stood, "- a potential lover?"
"Shut it," she fired back, "-the hoodie's damp and so are your clothes," she walked, "-I do appreciate you saving my life."
'Why am I speaking so much. Giving her a hoodie to sit on, what is this, how cliché can I get. Oh god, I'm cringing at what I said and did… kill ME,' picking up the clothes, "-let's not discuss what happened today."
"Sure," indifferent, the car continued its journey.
*Dring, dring,*
'My head hurts,' awake by the foul smell of urine, '-someone didn't drink water,' he thought and opened the window. 'Yesterday was quite a show. The other match starts in four days.' Between training, working for Dimia, the day ended quickly.
Friday 13th came, day of the third match and finals for the Gian tournament. 'I completely forgot to follow the tournament,' whilst brushing his teeth, SCHD in hand, he checked the status of the well-celebrated event.
'Four elites versus four Challenger, the elites are those who managed to reach the semi-finals in the previous tournament. A reward for having fought hard. This year, it was Charfall, Quadrum's Legion, Knightfall and Rumblethorn,' the stove turned on, '-for the challengers, Electronic L.V, Plague's End, Retrostakes and Deadzone.'
Getting ready for work, '-Retrostakes, Deadzone, and Electronic L.V are the only semi-pro teams who managed to fight their way to the top. The rest are Pro-teams, with huge backing and strong players.'
Quarter-finals:
Charfall vs Electronic L.V [2-1]
Quadrum's Legion vs Plague's End [3-0]
Knightfall vs Retrostakes [1-2]
Rumblethorn vs Deadzone [1-2]
Semi-finals:
Charfall vs Quadrum's Legion [1-2]
Retrostakes vs Deadzone [3-0]
Final:
Quadrum's Legion vs Retrostakes [Best of 5]
'Guess the favorite for this tournament this year again is Quadrum's Legion. They have been on a two-win streak, maybe this year they'll get the third title. Retrostakes sure did come out of nowhere – winning against Knightfall, a pro-team did raise some eyebrows. Then against Deadzone, another semi-pro team who upset and beat a pro-team. Getting into the tiny details won't do much – what I know for sure is the Quadrum's Legion's roster is the strongest this year.
Quadrum's Legion:
Pheelo - Sniper
Chris – Rifler
Sponge - Rifler
Dolly-X - Support
Mayloth – Team leader
'Pheelo, arguably the best sniper in the world, he has dominated the pro-scene for almost a decade now. Chris, inconspicuous with one of the sharpest aim in the whole of Antis. Sponge, a clutch player with a 75% win rate in 3 versus 1 situation. Dolly-X, best support player since Fluffy retired, she's new and has been making waves since her debut three years ago. Coming from the Quadrum's Academy – her level at the age of 24, is well above average. Mayloth, a chess player with an IQ of 180, outplaying the other team is as nothing at all. Coming from Florma around seven years ago, he held the title of Grand-conqueror since debuting at the age of 17. Now 28, making the switch at 24 – a lot of hype surrounded his leadership. The first year was weak, nonetheless, as players retired and new blood was brought in, Quadrum's Legion has turned into an untamed beast. The potential of this new team has yet to be found, they're well on the way to winning the tournament. Pheelo and Chris are the only players above the age of thirty – veterans of the scene with many, many titles under their belt. Considering they come from Antis, a continent to the north-east of Academy city; a powerhouse of a country where pro-gamers debut each year – their heritage speaks volumes.'
Down the sidewalk, music played, '-I wonder who'll win this year's tournament. Pheelo is the player I admire most, apparently, Henry IV of the intermediate team is the closest to being able to rival Pheelo in-game. The latter has decided to take him under his wing – the best sniper training a prodigy, a monster is sure to be born for the next Gian tournament. Pheelo's reaction is one of the fastest, 0.125 seconds to ever be recorded in an official match. The closest I ever got was 0.128 second. He truly is on another level, consistently shooting between 0.13 – 0.14 there has yet been another sniper to rival him. Henry IV's time is rumored to be around 0.126 – 0.129; though it's in practice only,' cold air brushed against the cheeks, '-the pro-manticore world, I always wanted to have a go there. To try and compete in a team of fighters, to fight as one, and to win as one,' birds chirped, '-sadly, I'm a D-sport player. Going there would be sacrilege.'