Posts made by Tom

The e-mail address of Jason Reed. Doubles as his personal and business e-mail.

Operator

Name: Jason Reed
Age: 27
Gender: Male

Appearance: Five foot, six inches, Jason Reed is a thin, malnourished looking sort. He has little upper body muscle definition, the result of years of personal neglect. The man's legs are slightly toned, thicker at the thigh, thanks to his walking habits, but that's all he has to show for himself. His face is pinched, his lips slightly turned out, giving him the eternal face of a man who has just smelled something unpleasant. When he tries, though, he has a kind smile, and his eyes have a winter-y gray-blue quality to them that's startling in it's vibrancy. They're eyes that speak of a determined passion, and when turned into a glare have a piercing intensity. A shame that they're surrounded by deep, sunken pockets from too much time spent in darkness.

Jason Reed favors nondescript clothing in dark tones, void of logos or catchphrases. Browns, grays and blacks are, and ever will be, the uniform of the day. The man does not want to stand out, to be noticed, and his body posture emulates this. He dodges eye contact, sticks his hands in his pockets, tucks his shoulders in, though all unconsciously.


Personality: Reed is the kind of person who lives off of work and coffee. When it comes to his trade, the man's persistence could best be described as obsession. He lives to work, but only because he has had the very good fortune of attaining his dream job. This keeps him at home much of the time, which suits the textbook introvert (and borderline hermit) just fine.

To consider the man another way, think of the man's man. A person who is brave, strong, forward, decisive. These are all qualities that Jason Reed is not. He is prone to sentimentality and has difficulty controlling his emotions. He thinks of objects like people, naming prized objects like cars and computers. Reed hordes mementos and trinkets, leaving his home/office a cluttered mess. Adding to the problem, he thinks little of the common man's cleanliness, excusing himself with meager offers of 'it's not worth my time' or 'I work better in chaos'.

Jason Reed is guided in life by an almost childish naivety and sense of justice, and he has lived the soft kind of life that has allowed this mentality to exist. Again, he's been very lucky. Reed has attained his greatest goal in life already; to be his own boss, to do what he loves. But he is ever hungry for more. Reed isn't sure where his path should go, but he knows that it's in programming, working, more and more, trying to make that special 'something'.


Background/History: Reed pays the bills with his love; programming. Specifically, he constructs custom Navis and sells them at staggering prices that only the affluent and the dedicated can afford. What he excels in is beauty, creation, though he waves the title of artist (he thinks there's something pretentious about it). He even competes in special competitions to produce the highest quality designs and his works have been showcased in magazines. Reed has never placed highly and reliably, though he enjoys the occasional success in one category or the other. He's even produced a model that was adopted by a children's cartoon network as a representative for a toy line, later to become the hero of a show. It didn't last long, only a season. Reed watched it himself and can tell you with a bit of shame that one season was too much, looking back at the fate of his creation with sympathy. But there's always the next project.

PET Modifications: None. In keeping with Reed's love of blending in, his PET is quite plain.

Navi

Name: Clarke Bottoms, 'Scraps'
Gender: Male
Element: Electric
Subtype: Bug

Appearance: While described as a male above, Scraps has no distinguishing features that identify it as a male. However, it's voice is definitely that of a male's, giving it a masculine identity. This thing is definitely built as a machine and only somewhat resembles that of a human form. It is a quadrupedal machine with legs that resemble those of a spider jutting out of a blocky, segmented and broken torso. Unlike a spider, the legs are wide, strong, sturdy. Between the cracks in the torso, one can see a dull, thrumming whiteness. The occasional spark leaps out, dying out just as it leaves the body. Thin, fragile looking arms, definitely more in the vein of mechanical function than human replication, end in three pronged graspers that only somewhat resemble hands.

The 'head' perched atop the machine is less a face and more a simple reconstruction of the basic human features. Lenses represent eyes mounted on a metal bar just long and wide enough to mount them. Protective shutters sit atop the lenses, ready to snap shut and protect them, but truly they are only decorative in nature, serving to grant the machine a spark of character in emulating human eyebrows and eyelids. Note that they are incapable of moving down, or emulating the gesture of furrowing one's brow. They can only move up, expressing interest, shock and kindness. A solid bar sits just below the eyes, representing his mouth. It too is limited, unable to move, expressing only a stoic and unchanging face.


Personality: Scraps is subservient, helpful, and ever cheerful. He's actually incapable of showing emotions beyond this, which can lead to him delivering messages that are devastatingly sad in their failure to convey emotion, or terribly wicked in their lack of situational appropriateness. Add to this a persistent stutter from redundancies loading at inappropriate times and Scraps can seem like a real mess. He desires only two things in life. First, to serve. Second, to become a better, stronger, more perfect machine more able to meet the needs of his master.

That said, Scraps does harbor an old grudge. He is resentful of his creator's unwillingness to correct his flaws. Surely Reed knows, surely he could change him. He sees Reed's new creations, beautiful, flawless. Scraps feels antiquated, broken, a defunct and failing relic. This inferiority complex gnaws at him. Add to it one final shame. Clarke Bottoms was not his first name. Once, long ago, he was simply, 'Clunker Bot'.


Background/History: The two names say a lot about both Scraps and his operator. Reeds' insistence on treating his machines like people is what made him name him. Scraps, on the other hand, insists that he is what he is, and he's happy to be a machine. Built to serve, Scraps is Reeds' first successful attempt at a custom Navi, though Scraps himself will argue the success of this. Constant updates have allowed Scraps to perform at an adequate and comparable level to a modern custom Navi, but the base code was flawed, imperfect, prone to error. Reed has an ongoing dilemma about this. Scraps desires to be more complete, a better tool, but Reed fears that in 'fixing' him, he may well destroy what he knows as his old friend.

Custom Weapon: Leg Burst. Scraps' thick legs can open to reveal pods that discharge bullet-like projectiles.

(Well, it sure has been a while! Guess I'll give it another shot. ActionMan was a fun idea and maybe one day I'll revive him, but since he was a new character I don't feel too bad about just abandoning him and starting over. I recognize that in not properly shelving him, I'd have to recreate ActionMan from scratch. That's fine. I feel like a proper reboot would do him some good.

But that's not what we're doing. Let's make a new pair.

Name change done. Don't have the rights to alter the title. If a moderator would so kindly do the honors, I'd be much obliged.)

Operator

Name: Jason Reed
Age: 27
Gender: Male

Appearance: Five foot, six inches, Jason Reed is a thin, malnourished looking sort. He has little upper body muscle definition, the result of years of personal neglect. The man's legs are slightly toned, thicker at the thigh, thanks to his walking habits, but that's all he has to show for himself. His face is pinched, his lips slightly turned out, giving him the eternal face of a man who has just smelled something unpleasant. When he tries, though, he has a kind smile, and his eyes have a winter-y gray-blue quality to them that's startling in it's vibrancy. They're eyes that speak of a determined passion, and when turned into a glare have a piercing intensity. A shame that they're surrounded by deep, sunken pockets from too much time spent in darkness.

Jason Reed favors nondescript clothing in dark tones, void of logos or catchphrases. Browns, grays and blacks are, and ever will be, the uniform of the day. The man does not want to stand out, to be noticed, and his body posture emulates this. He dodges eye contact, sticks his hands in his pockets, tucks his shoulders in, though all unconsciously.


Personality: Reed is the kind of person who lives off of work and coffee. When it comes to his trade, the man's persistence could best be described as obsession. He lives to work, but only because he has had the very good fortune of attaining his dream job. This keeps him at home much of the time, which suits the textbook introvert (and borderline hermit) just fine.

To consider the man another way, think of the man's man. A person who is brave, strong, forward, decisive. These are all qualities that Jason Reed is not. He is prone to sentimentality and has difficulty controlling his emotions. He thinks of objects like people, naming prized objects like cars and computers. Reed hordes mementos and trinkets, leaving his home/office a cluttered mess. Adding to the problem, he thinks little of the common man's cleanliness, excusing himself with meager offers of 'it's not worth my time' or 'I work better in chaos'.

Jason Reed is guided in life by an almost childish naivety and sense of justice, and he has lived the soft kind of life that has allowed this mentality to exist. Again, he's been very lucky. Reed has attained his greatest goal in life already; to be his own boss, to do what he loves. But he is ever hungry for more. Reed isn't sure where his path should go, but he knows that it's in programming, working, more and more, trying to make that special 'something'.


Background/History: Reed pays the bills with his love; programming. Specifically, he constructs custom Navis and sells them at staggering prices that only the affluent and the dedicated can afford. What he excels in is beauty, creation, though he waves the title of artist (he thinks there's something pretentious about it). He even competes in special competitions to produce the highest quality designs and his works have been showcased in magazines. Reed has never placed highly and reliably, though he enjoys the occasional success in one category or the other. He's even produced a model that was adopted by a children's cartoon network as a representative for a toy line, later to become the hero of a show. It didn't last long, only a season. Reed watched it himself and can tell you with a bit of shame that one season was too much, looking back at the fate of his creation with sympathy. But there's always the next project.

PET Modifications: None. In keeping with Reed's love of blending in, his PET is quite plain.


Navi

Name: Clarke Bottoms, 'Scraps'
Gender: Male
Element: Electric
Subtype: Bug

Appearance: While described as a male above, Scraps has no distinguishing features that identify it as a male. However, it's voice is definitely that of a male's, giving it a masculine identity. This thing is definitely built as a machine and only somewhat resembles that of a human form. It is a quadrupedal machine with legs that resemble those of a spider jutting out of a blocky, segmented and broken torso. Unlike a spider, the legs are wide, strong, sturdy. Between the cracks in the torso, one can see a dull, thrumming whiteness. The occasional spark leaps out, dying out just as it leaves the body. Thin, fragile looking arms, definitely more in the vein of mechanical function than human replication, end in three pronged graspers that only somewhat resemble hands.

The 'head' perched atop the machine is less a face and more a simple reconstruction of the basic human features. Lenses represent eyes mounted on a metal bar just long and wide enough to mount them. Protective shutters sit atop the lenses, ready to snap shut and protect them, but truly they are only decorative in nature, serving to grant the machine a spark of character in emulating human eyebrows and eyelids. Note that they are incapable of moving down, or emulating the gesture of furrowing one's brow. They can only move up, expressing interest, shock and kindness. A solid bar sits just below the eyes, representing his mouth. It too is limited, unable to move, expressing only a stoic and unchanging face.


Personality: Scraps is subservient, helpful, and ever cheerful. He's actually incapable of showing emotions beyond this, which can lead to him delivering messages that are devastatingly sad in their failure to convey emotion, or terribly wicked in their lack of situational appropriateness. Add to this a persistent stutter from redundancies loading at inappropriate times and Scraps can seem like a real mess. He desires only two things in life. First, to serve. Second, to become a better, stronger, more perfect machine more able to meet the needs of his master.

That said, Scraps does harbor an old grudge. He is resentful of his creator's unwillingness to correct his flaws. Surely Reed knows, surely he could change him. He sees Reed's new creations, beautiful, flawless. Scraps feels antiquated, broken, a defunct and failing relic. This inferiority complex gnaws at him. Add to it one final shame. Clarke Bottoms was not his first name. Once, long ago, he was simply, 'Clunker Bot'.


Background/History: The two names say a lot about both Scraps and his operator. Reeds' insistence on treating his machines like people is what made him name him. Scraps, on the other hand, insists that he is what he is, and he's happy to be a machine. Built to serve, Scraps is Reeds' first successful attempt at a custom Navi, though Scraps himself will argue the success of this. Constant updates have allowed Scraps to perform at an adequate and comparable level to a modern custom Navi, but the base code was flawed, imperfect, prone to error. Reed has an ongoing dilemma about this. Scraps desires to be more complete, a better tool, but Reed fears that in 'fixing' him, he may well destroy what he knows as his old friend.

Custom Weapon: Leg Burst. Scraps' thick legs can open to reveal pods that discharge bullet-like projectiles.

Signature Move: Warning - Shock Hazard.
Melee (0) - Same Element (Elec) (0) - 40 Damage (40) - Glitch (20) = 60 Points, 2 Turn CD
Or, in a less mechanical description, a 40 damage melee attack, electrical in nature, to a singular target. Simultaneously, a glitch effect is created.
One of Scraps' legs open to reveal a nasty looking three-pronged prod that delivers a potent, and unpredictable, electric shock.

Chips - Shotgun, Canon, RageClaw1, MaruBlaster1
NaviCust - Undershirt, Reset Stage
Inventory - 2 Minichips
Base Stats - 100 HP, 1/1/1 Buster

(I think that's it? Man, it's been ages. I don't even know how to format my stuff so it looks attractive anymore. So much to relearn. Even the rules have changed a bit in the 6 years since my last character, ahah. From what I understand, my subtype choices can be modified between threads? If not, I'm taking Floating Point Error and Hack.

Shoot, I gotta make a sig too, don't I? This RP stuff is hard work. Well, anyway, it's good to be back!)

A year later and I'm back again. Phases and phases! A game huh? You still working on that Shuryou?

I've been dabbling in Game Maker myself. It's been fun. I've been trying to make a regular thing of it but it's a pain doing things habitually. You know, I've been thinking about documenting my game making journey lately and I've been struggling to find a place that felt appropriate. I was thinking youtube but it's a real hassle writing scripts and editing videos. Making my own web site has also been on the table, but I don't know the first thing about web design. In thinking of options, doing it here came up too. It's why I'm here, again. But it's just an idea, and it seems kind of silly.

Man, there's a new chat! That's craaazy! I had no idea Twi was dropping money into that. Guess I'll peek in there and see how things are.

It's bad, but I feel like I'm past RPing. It's almost ridiculous for me to be here since that's the cornerstone of the site, right? I just love the people. We go way back, after all. It's hard to believe I've been visiting the site for something like a decade now. Oh yeah, Aim, I finally got internet so I'm good to throw down. I'll try to idle in the chat now and then, we'll see. I said I'd do that a month ago and I think I've come by three times. We'll see if I can't step it up.

Ugh, I want to do something but I'm exhausted. Maybe that's it? Maybe that's why I've lost my edge? My previous job was so menial, no real mental taxing. But this, this is definitely not that. Brain is, ugh, ready to be done.

Man, it feels pretty lame just making a topic for me to talk. Feels selfish, arrogant. But I just can't find the time to idle in the chat these days. Got a lot on my plate. I know it's been a while since I've posted anything but I figure a returning thread is unnecessary. I've come and gone over the years anyway. I don't think I've actually been a regular poster for a solid 5 years. Man, it's crazy thinking about time like that. It's weird getting old.

I'm rambling. I'll do a quick recap of what's going on and try to keep this from going too heavy. I'd been working Red Lobster for way too long and I knew that I needed some kind of change. I was looking at you college goers with a bit of envy. Well, lacking any kind of connections, training or education, I was having a hard time figuring out what to do. I think my love of writing's pretty well documented at this point but my god writing a book is just awful, ahah. So that wasn't working out. I didn't want to go into debt either, so my options were kinda limited. I'd been thinking about the military thing for a few years then so I figured that was the time to go in. So I went to a recruiter and got the ball rolling.

Funny thing is, that was over two years ago. I spent over a year just going through the process of joining the military. I'd signed up with the Air Force and after the background checks, paperwork, and finally a visit to MEPS it was still another year of waiting for them to find a job for me. It's funny, after a year they have to redo the paperwork (I think it even involves another visit to MEPS) and you have a chance to opt out. I was pretty tired of jumping through hoops at that point so I was already making plans to bite the bullet and just go to college with all the debt it entailed. After all, it was a lot of waiting and there was a chance I could've gotten saddled with a job I didn't even want.

Slight segue to talk on that. You do get to list a number of jobs and you have full opportunity to turn down any jobs not on your list, but you have to at least accept one catch-all job, like General-70 or something akin to that. If you get that job, you go into BMT not even knowing what your job is with everything in the general category under the score being available as an option. Scary stuff. There's probably a little more involved in that subject that I'm not aware of. I'm just an AIC after all so take any knowledge based stuff I say with a grain of salt.

Anyway, just when I talk to my manager at Red Lobster to kick up my hours so I can get a nice bit of financial padding setup, right when my one year of waiting is about to come up, I get a call from the recruiter telling me I've got a job. Air Traffic Controller.

Man, this really turned into story time. I did not intend for this to be the case. Please, moderators, I'm beggin' ya, don't move this to the welcome forum because then I've got to make a new thread and continue it from there or just continue in the welcome center and maaaan.

Let's wrap story time up. I go through BMT (man, skipping some good stories here) and the tech school (more good stories) and I make it to the operational Air Force. I'm 10 months in now and I'm still in training. Ack, I was posting another huge amount of information, forget it. Whatever, I'm pretty busy with my training.

The thing is, I really, really want to get back into writing. Like, that passion is still there. Maybe passion's the wrong word, maybe more like drive? I just feel like I need to write lately but I'm having a lot of problems getting back into the swing of things. I really want to be around here more often because I know there's writers here, y'know, be amongst my people. Well, I also like you guys, so there's that too. Anyway, I've gone on way longer than I intended to and I am a sleepy fellow. Typed this up after a shift and I'm a little drained. I'd love to talk about writing or whatever's been going on with you guys. Any cool projects going on? Heck, maybe I'm even asking for help. I just want back into it so badly and my normal shtick isn't cutting it. Annd I guess that's it. Good to talk to you folks.

(Replacing AmatsuHaretsu1 with ClusterShot1 as per the replacement announcement.)

"And here we go." His poor stunt double took the hit and ActionMan took it as his cue to get to work. He only hoped his partner got the cue himself. He was up on his feet and out of the smoke in a moment. "Did you really think I'd just stand here and let you hit me a third time?" Samantha was likely making a snarky remark concerning this and him having already eaten the first two attacks and most willingly at that, but ActionMan was preoccupied with an incoming flow of data. The long barrel of a shotgun manifested in front of him and he was all too happy to take it in hand and take aim. "Think again!" More power was coming in, the kid was really pushing it. He'd have to be really on his stuff to get the job done here. But thankfully, he didn't have any lingering jolts to stop him from giving 100%. Thanks nameless stunt guy!

"Take this!" Kathoom! Boomed the weapon, spitting out a solid slug to careen towards it's virii targets. But he was taking too much time. He was already losing his grasp of the data flow. Too fast, the kid had gotten it together too fast. Two more and they were both almost out of reach. But he was at the least able to get a handle on the second package. The second was a big honking hand cannon, not quite the size of the shotgun be a real beauty. "And this!" Brang! was it's sharp cry, the violent shard going to join the battle. ActionMan had the last packet now, on his very fingertips, fighting to flow past him and away, gone and leaving him high and dry. But he'd been hit too many times to not take every single chance he could at a bloody vengeance. His pride would take no less! The unraveled packet came before him, down to just the violent energy itself, no fancy packaging. He took it in hand and held it in front of him, willing it to go forward. Even without a cool outside, it was still a lethal battle chip and well within his ability to manipulate. "Take it all!"

With a keening screech the energy shot out as arcs of dancing light, on towards his foes in his promised retribution. "This is the vengeance you have wrought! This is it! The end!" Oh, that was awesome. ActionMan took a moment to himself, standing away from his opponents then and offering his back as he congratulated himself on his victory. Quick, I need something cool to wrap this all up. I kind of have some kind of angry loner thing going so let's go with that. He sighed. "Once more, I am alone on the battlefield." He looked upwards then, fully expecting Narratorbot to pan back and upward in a classic fade out. He was gonna watch that later.

Little does ActionMan know, that actually wasn't enough to finish the fight? What will happen next?

Summary
1. Shotgun to BunnyC [Null 50+Spread 1, Acc A]
2. Cannon to BunnyB [Null 60+Knockback, Acc A]
3. Clustershot1 to BunnyA [Elec 10x4, Acc B]

BBoA1:Burning! on 1st turn of CD

I was really hoping it would be easier the second time. This is what ActionMan would like to be thinking. ActionMan would very much like to be in control of himself. Unfortunately, this is not the case. "Vrrnnzzabababaaa... Ah." ActionMan's great ambition in life was to ever be awesome. He couldn't let his little buddy down after all. But in the face of actual adversity, he was finding this a difficult tenant to adhere to.

"Ah." He whimpered again, a crispy critter frozen in a full body nerve lock. And for a moment, he looked quite, quite pathetic indeed. Thankfully for ActionMan's pride, it's at about this moment that sensation painfully flooded into him once more, granting him not only movement, but also his sense. Well, that was lame! Laaaaame! Time to compensate!

"One more!" He shouted as he thrust his leg forward and stomped on the ground. At that moment, his special effects system kicked in. Flames burst out around him, enveloping him in a fiery aura. Smoke billowed out in undulating waves from his torso and hands. "One more time shall I allow you to strike me! But know that this is your last chance to defeat me! Make certain that you put your everything into this next attack for it shall certainly be your last! For a man thrice struck shall be a beast without mercy or forgiveness!"

Once again, ActionMan had to thank his very talented stunt man and support crew. He wished he were in a better position to appreciate the display and theater. In all actuality, ActionMan had taken his chance to get the heck out of dodge as soon as the smoke came in. and to ActionMan, the best way to do that was to hit the dirt and hug it for all it was worth. Getting shot hurts! It was a solid plan, if he did say so himself. He gets a moment to look super awesome and cool as well as a moment to figure out exactly what he was doing. In the end, he'd settled for a full out assault. If he was going to talk the talk, he'd have to do the walking too. "Matt, when I call for it, give me all the firepower you can give me," he whispered. And when the time came, he'd blow 'em all away.

But for now, ActionMan was quite content to avoid getting zapped again.

Summary
1. Paralyzed
2. Big Book of Awesome Part 1: Burning! (Intimidating aura but more importantly illusory smoke screen on self)
Free Action. Decoy
3. Dodge

I'm out till I get a functioning computer. If you fighting folks want to arrange something we can keep on gaming but we've never been great at plans. So I guess I'll just see you folks when I do. Later.

"Tchazazazaah!" Oh it hurt. ActionMan couldn't remember the last time he'd been hurt like that. Had he ever been hurt like that? A pain that he could draw no parallel to, that left his whole body numb and weak. He shook involuntarily before sagging forward like a puppet with it's strings cut.

"ActionMan!" His concerned Operator's voice reached him, but he couldn't respond.

Crap... What am I doing? I... I've got to look awesome. I've always got to be awesome. But despite his attempts, his body wouldn't obey his commands. C'mon, I'm invincible, I'm invincible! I didn't lose, I didn't! His internal monologue was interrupted by a sudden realization. He'd caught the enemy attack. In his hand was something. Clutched tightly by his body's last thinking movements was his goal. It dissipated, crumbling away like his own data, but it was there long enough for him to realize something. I'd won.

His mouth curved into a confident smile. I did it. I really caught it. So something like this... The pain of his body's synapses reconnecting themselves was almost as bad as the initial damage. But surely his body was once more coming under his own control. Something like this...

Suddenly, he was upright, chest out, defiant. "Just as I'd planned!"

"Huh? They're laughing at you, y'know."

"As I am well aware, Samantha my dear. But I shall allow them to laugh for now, as I am a most magnanimous sort."

"Where did this personality come from? Really, you should be embarrassed..."

"That's right," he continued, ignoring his secretary's scathing tongue. "Do you really think it's so strange to be struck if you stand?" I can totally turn this around. Yeah! He thrust out an accusatory digit at the viral mob. "Don't get so full of yourselves! It's only natural for one to be struck if that was their intention! Yes... Because in the end, this is your limit. Do you understand? Your attacks are like little pinpricks." He laughed, adopting a smug, condescending grin. "No, more like the buzzing of a fly." And now, for my secret weapon. Slowly, something began to build inside of him. Naturally, a Navi would always have access to their buster system. ActionMan's intentions were obvious.

"So, know that I have no intention of dodging your attacks. Simply, it is unnecessary." This is gonna hurt. But on a cool rating of 1-10, I'm gonna be an 11! "So, come at me, flies. But know this. Even the greatest of men has a limit to their patience. And when that patience comes to an end, so will you!"

Summary
1. Paralyzed
2. Charge
3. Charge
BBoA1, Burning - 2nd turn of CD

They swarmed out, a veritable horde of monsters. But he was ready. ActionMan had dealt with their kind before. It may have been approximately two minutes ago, but that was beside the point. He'd already proven he was an invincible badass. His ego was perhaps at an all time high. The horrible little beast thing threw it's attack, but he saw it coming. Yeah. But even having proved his incredible badassery in a previous action filled segment, the nature of a hero is to do such things again and again.

Hero.

By the creators, I am amazing.

He braced himself, dug himself in, and made his declaration. "I got it!" That's right. He swore he could see it, he knew he could do it. I'm really gonna do it! And so his bewildered companions watched on with the intensity one acquires as they observe something truly disastrous that is outside of their power to prevent. There were no words for this kind of absolute stupidity.

Summary
All Actions - Attempt to intercept and catch the enemy attack

(Oh man, I was using the exact same color thing as Sky... Man, I don't want in to his method but it's so effective. Ah well, I'll go back to normal, see how it goes.

He was still pumped. Even if the battle was over, his systems were still going nuts. He was ready for anything, any virus that might come his way. But he wasn't prepared for this. Victory. It had all just gone according to plan. Mostly. His systems checked and rechecked until he cleared the error blocking his normal routine.

Victory. That's right. He'd won. He'd won. IdiditIdiditIdiditIdiditIDIDIT "Yeah!" He dropped the shotgun prop as it dissolved into abstract bits. "Yeah!" he shouted again, stronger. ActionMan went so far as to pump his fist in victory.

"You did it ActionMan!"

"Congrats boss!"

He took a long couple moments to just stand there, his chest puffed up, proud and charged with a feeling of invincibility. I busted those things without so much as a scratch. Incredible. I'm amazing. His feelings wouldn't last long.

"ActionMan," Samantha called. "I can see you're having a moment so I'll give you 20 seconds before I rain on your parade. Be grateful."

What's that supposed to mean? But he didn't dwell on it long. "Ah," he sighed, "that was incredible. So that's what real virus busting is like."

"We really did it, didn't we ActionMan?"

"We sure did, Matt. We sure did." He decided to sit down for a second. ActionMan leaned up against one of the machines, listened to it's quiet hum. He just smiled and let himself bask in the afterglow of victory, but there was something more too. He was just able to simply appreciate the act of being. He wished he had a cigarette, like the heroes in movies, because he was absolutely certain he would look awesome. But then wouldn't he be a bad role model? Smoking is bad, kids.

"Alright, time's up." Samantha whispered. "Hope you enjoyed yourself."

"Sure did." And he did sound quite satisfied.

"Great. Now let's talk about why this is bad. It's 6 AM."

"Is it really?"

"Yes. Now, why is this bad?"

"It is waaay past Matt's bedtime."

"Good, that's part one. Now let's keep going."

"Hmm..." He scrunched his face up as he concentrated but couldn't find a suitable answer. "Can I get a hint?"

Sam sighed. "Where are you?"

"I was kind of hoping you could tell me, actually. I haven't really been paying attention."

"Alright, it's like this. You were in the PET."

"Right."

"And now, you're in some weird place you don't recognize."

"Right."

"Which means?"

"Which means... I didn't jack-in to Matt's desktop."

"Right."

"So where did I jack in from?"

"Would you believe a broken soda machine in the middle of ACDC?"

"No. There's no way Matt would jack me in to a soda machine in the middle of town at 6 AM in the morning."

"Well, bad news."

"What?"

"HE DID."

A full three seconds pass.

"WHAT?!"

"And the worst thing is, you encouraged him to do it!"

"I did?!"

"You did."

"Why would I do something like that?"

"Sir, that is an excellent question."

Ooooh no. No no no. This isn't happening. What is going on?

Matt's voice interrupted the quiet dialog. "Hey, you okay ActionMan? If you're done with your break, I'm ready to keep going."

"Yeah!" he answered, practically in a panic. "Yeah, alright! Gimme one second!" He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper as he directed his words to his secretary. "Sammy girl, what do I do?"

ActionMan couldn't tell what was going on in Samantha's head at that moment in time. But I, as the Narrator, have no such restriction. Poor Samantha was just dreading her lot in life, completely unwilling to accept that this moment in time was in fact hers, that she was trapped in that awful situation as a shadow manipulating an incompetent. She merely took solace that any greatness to come out of ActionMan would be likely on her part and her part alone, even if she would never receive any credit for it. "ActionMan, I hate to tell you this but the situation is even worse than it sounds. There's some shady business going on here. For now, I'm calling home."

Dread. Panic. Absolute fear. "You're going to do what?!" If the boss finds out Matt's strolling around at 6 in the morning, I'm going to be in so much trouble! And worse... worse still... What if he tells mom? I don't want to face the punishment of the heavens!

"Do we have any other choice?"

"Probably!"

"Are you willing to put Matt's safety at risk then?"

"Absolutely not." There wasn't a moment's hesitation in his response. His tone was deadly serious.

"Then this is the best thing to do."

He had no objections then. "Alright Samantha. I'm counting on you."

Nothing new there, she thought. "Right. In the meantime, Matt wants you to check this electronic device out for anything suspicious."

"Suspicious?"

"ActionMan," Matt called again, "let's go!"

"Yeah, ready! I'll go ahead and do a thorough sweep of the area."

"I'll help look too!" NarratorBot chimed in, eager not to be forgotten.

"Just be careful. Don't get Matt into anymore trouble than he's already in," Sam cautioned.

"You got it," ActionMan answered. He pitied any virus that would get in his way if his precious Operator was in danger. Even if he didn't fully understand what was going on, he'd give it his all. And he wouldn't let Matt sweat it either. He put on a cocky grin as he gallivanted on in a direction he deemed suitable. "Alright Operator, let's do this right! ActionMan, sortieing!"

"Ah, don't forget the virus data!"

Virus data? Oh, we covered that in school! I just need to download it and then we, uh... Action man stopped in his tracks. He was fairly certain he had no idea how to download data. Generally Matt or the Boss did it remotely and he had nothing to do with the procedure. It'd been taught to him a few times in school, sure, but did he remember any of it? I can't remember! Instead, he decided to pass the buck. "I'm going to be a bit busy with the search. Samantha?"

"NarratorBot." AM wasn't the only one who could play that game.

"Why me?!"

(Argh, dialogs are kind of hard in a back and forth fashion without something to break them up. Is it obvious who's speaking? Well, whatever. I'll work on that. Next time. If someone gets to this before I update it, next battle please. This stuff ain't gotta be perfect after all. But jeez, what was I thinking, 8 year old op walking around in the middle of night? Well, maybe I can rereg him as a little older. Maybe 12 or so. Still keep the kid thing, but 8 is ridiculous.

I'm drifting. Next battle, if you please.)

(Man, that style I was trying out is messy. Rereading this stuff is pretty difficult. Let's say I just go back to 3rd person and forget the whole experimental writing style. Maybe try something else? Bah, I should just keep it simple, but lets go for a kind of smug omniscient narrator. I could get behind that.)

ActionMan was stunned. With a sort of quiet recognition a certain number of details arranged themselves in his mind as he struggled to process them.

1. He deleted a virus. The churning energy of his battlechip infused blast had reduced the virus to nothing.

2. He deleted a virus in a single blow. Well, four, technically. But still.

3. He had evaded their shockwaves without even trying. Seriously, he hadn't even noticed. Which was simultaneously terrifying (I didn't notice?!) and exhilarating (but it doesn't matter 'cause I dodged them!).

As these facts arranged themselves they were matched by his preexisting misconceptions of viruses (they're not real, please don't let something that dangerous actually exist, they're a huge deal if they are real). The combination of this information led to a simple, if erroneous, conclusion.

Holy crap, I must be some kind of ultra badass.

Thankfully, this is exactly the kind of conclusion ActionMan needed to come to if he were to continue his battle (and future battles to come) with any real kind of confidence. Oh, sure, he'd be a bit reckless, such is the nature of these kinds of fools. But perhaps he could finally wrap up this messy, embarrassing battle in a timely fashion. One can hope at least. And now, our story continues.

"Hah...Hahaha! Yeah! That's right baby! He shouted, watching the carnage (well, damage really) that he'd caused. "As to be expected of me!"

"Way to go ActionMan!

"Sorry to keep you waiting guys! But the hero has finally arrived! ActionMan has hit the battling scene and is ready to make his BIG debut! He could hardly contain himself. ActionMan was pumped. He was ready to rock. Ready to roll. But above all, he was ready to gloat and grandstand. "So without further ado, allow me to introduce myself!" he shouted, immediately after having declared his name. With that, he lowered his voice to a whisper. "You getting this NB?

"Loud and clear chief. Got your plans too. Your processor's practically screaming this stuff.

"Think you can handle it?

"Who do you think you're talking to? I'm a special effects GENIUS.

"Good. Alright, Matt, gimme something good. Something really good

"You got it AM. I'll send a shotgun, our best chip!

"That's what I wanted to hear. Then, on my mark... ActionMan took himself out into the open and spread his arms wide. Suddenly the darkness of the dim drink machine lit up as a column of fire opened up over the navi. "The name- is-" Suddenly the column of fire spread, growing a line atop it making a T. But that wasn't all. Letter by letter the T grew comrades of flame.

----T

--CTI

ACTION

Immediately afterwards there was a resounding boom as a final three burning letters appeared at AM's back.

ACTION
--MAN

"That's right! The man of justice, heroism, the unyielding spirit that can conquer any foe! That's ME! ACTIONMAN! Get ready, things are about to really HEAT UP.

It was all a huge deal. The room was lit up by the fiery display. Which may have just been contrary to ActionMan's desires. What, have I lost you? Sorry, I haven't been terribly clear. I'm an awful narrator but I just do love a surprise. Oh, certainly, ActionMan wanted to make a lot of noise. Make a big scene. That's kind of his thing. What I failed to mention is that the ActionMan standing in front of the big fiery 'A' isn't actually ActionMan. That's actually ActionMan's stunt double. The guy wants to go big time so it seemed like a good idea. As one might imagine he's rather pleased with himself right now, thinks he's pretty clever. He was hoping to use the dim light to sneak up to one of his targets but with such blazing pyrotechnics that plan's probably out of the question.

But ActionMan didn't care. He was caught up in the drama. There was no script, just the one he was making up with every step. It's the closest a Navi can get to an adrenaline rush. The shotgun came rushing on and materialized itself in a dangerous looking spiral pattern that once again overwrote his own design. He closed the distance to one of the mets and revealed his big surprise. That he wasn't by the 'A', of course. That he was right there, fully armed with a big cache of viral deleting potential. He couldn't resist. He had to have a one-liner. "Hey," he said, simply, as if catching his foe unawares. "Careful, else you might get," he paused for the unmistakable sound of a shotgun being cocked - You know the one - "blown away."

BRAM

Summary
1. In cover, too busy being awesome to dodge
2. Burning! - Time Delay(Next Action): Illusion[50] - 2 Turn CD
Shadow Passive - Decoy (Stunt Guy), Trigger Burning!
3. Shotgun [Null 50+Spread 1, Acc A] to MetoolB

(Hmm, styles still a bit messy. And it looks like an explosion of color. Kind of gaudy. Ah well, I'll try fixing it next time.

(Questions and/or concerns? Top post edited for clarity with summary of our story so far)

AM

Yes! I got him, I... I... I stop celebrating. Aren't bad guys supposed to, uh, I dunno. Do something? After the hero hits the bad guys they're supposed to fall down. Be defeated. That kind of thing. And yet after my heroic attack, this was all I could achieve?

No way! What kind of monsters are these things, to so easily resist my technique?! If the data shows correctly and I were to continue... It'd take another 19 attacks just to defeat one of them!

Im-impossible! There's no way, there's just no way something that powerful could exist! What kind of ultra viruses are these?! Have I stumbled upon some kind of legendary viral trio?! Did my action film suddenly turn into a horror flick?

I... What do I do?

Matt

Alright, so far so good ActionMan. Looks like they're distracted. I rustle around in my pockets for a bit before I find what I'm looking for. Tiny little plastic containers with little data chips in them, a whole bunch of them. Battlechips. Well, most of them are blanks. But some of them are the real deal. I shuffle through them for a bit but I finally find one with a label.

I guess I'm a little nervous. We've never done something like this before. Just practice in school. But these are real viruses. No one's going to help us if something goes wrong. It's all us. It's kind of a scary thought. But ActionMan seems really strong. Like nothing could go wrong. Even when he's in danger like this? Incredible...

Well I won't let you down ActionMan! I take the chip and jam it in the appropriate port. Then there's just the upload procedure. It's mostly automatic, I just need to guide it to make sure the timing's right. That's what Net Battling is all about. Synergy. I've got to be right on the same wave length as my Navi or else he might not be able to interpret the data right. Or I might send it at the wrong time.

Even if it's just a few Mets, I'll take this seriously. I won't let ActionMan down!

AM

Ah, darn it! I got to move! A hero never loses his cool! With that I push off of the top of the soda machine and hit the ground with a roll. And a thump. "Ugh..." Bad landing. I roll with it though. I'm a professional after all! If they can't hit me, I can't lose. That's a fact. So I just keep moving. I'll play a run and gun game. Yeah, that's the trick. It'll be me vs. the three juggernaut viruses. A game of cat and mouse in the Net!

I duck around another machine, briefly taking cover as I twirl my pistols anxiously in my hands. Alright. I'll pop out around the corner, pop off a few shots and then hit cover again. A tense scene as a desperate shoot out breaks! Yeah!

Having conquered my nerves once more, I duck around the corner and prepare to take my shots.

Matt

Now!

AM

Several things happen all at once. First, my hands slip. I practically throw my pistols as I bring them up to bare. I get a brief second to realize 'Oh crap, I'm dumb', before I recognize the familiar sensation of data upload. Matt? And then it happens. Data materializes, line by line, bit by bit, coalescing on my arm. A battlechip? Of course! My processor races like crazy to take it all in. Well, I'm not gonna pick up my pistols, I'd look uncool. So might as well go with the flow!

Battle routine! Set! Data accepted! Initializing combat data! Execute!

Like a tarp violently ripped away from some grand surprise the data flows from my arm and dissipates into the Net revealing the hidden cache. 4 prongs line my left arm, each connected by various fibers and wires, each ending in tiny metallic claws. On my forearm settled betwixt two prongs in a wire nest is a rectangular display with cheerful red text. 'Weapon Online'. And settled at the end of my arm, rather than my fist, (hey, where'd that go?) is a single round opening crowned by the tips of the prongs.

Woah, wait, my arm's a gun now? Oh, wait, no, crap, I'm still dumb. I'm in the middle of something here, no time to screw around. I run out from behind the soda machine now. Wait, why'd I do that? Cover is good. Darn it ActionMan, get it together!

The power in my arm though, this is stronger than my pistols. I don't even have to question it, I know. Thanks for the support Matt! I really wanted to defeat these guys on my own but I wonder if that was even a possibility... With your help though, can I beat them now?

I roll, on my injured shoulder no less, into a crouch and quickly scan for a target. Just got to take this shot and go. The metal claws at the end of the barrel gesture animatedly as if conjuring something within my arm. Heck, they might. The display changes to something like a battery reading that goes from empty to full in instant, complete with a loud whirr to accompany. There's a merry beep beep beep as the display reads, 'OKAY!'

That's a good a sign as any! Here goes!

Summary

1. Action Dodge!
2. Action Fumble!
3. AmatsuHaretsu1 (4x10 Null) to MetA

(Questions and/or concerns? Top post edited for clarity with summary of our story so far)

AM

Huh. Huh? I'm looking at something but I'm not sure what it is. Like, my brain's running full speed but it's not churning out any details. But there's three... things. I take a cautionary step back as I run the numbers again. Just looking at them, I know the answer but I run it again. You can't help but know some things and this is one of 'em. But at the same time, what I'm seeing is pretty much impossible.

Deep down, I know what they are. It's what me and every other Navi out there exist knowing we'll encounter one day. It's what the kids practice for in school. But somehow seeing them, for real, it's something else entirely.

Virus.

I know instinctively what to do. It's programmed into me, after all. But I can't seem to do anything. These things are the antithesis to Navis, programs, and net life itself. Mere contact with these things causes corruption, program damage and eventually deletion.

NB

Well, at least they're only Mets. Low grade viruses... virii? Whatever the term is. Even an amateur like ActionMan should be able to handle that, right?

AM

Crap. Holy crap. Hoooooooleeeeeeeeeecrap. Nonononono. No. Nono. This, this isn't happening. Actual, in the data viruses. Here? I don't even know where here is. Wait, that's not important. What is important is that I'm in front of three viruses that would like nothing more than to rip me apart, line of code by line of code, and then take whatever's left and either eat me or turn me into viral matter. I don't want to be a virus!

Look at them! Look at the little monsters! No, I've got to move, got to move! I do a 180 shifting on my toes before tearing away. I pump my arms and legs as my mind races. Like looking into the face of death itself. That what it was. That inky, all encompassing darkness that lurked behind their vacant eyes that promised nothing but a violent end and an eternity of torment. How could any man stand that baleful gaze and not go mad?

I should write this down.

I vault over a bench and take cover behind it as I took a moment to catch my breath and steady my thoughts. Easy, ActionMan. Easy. Okay, so all the gossip and legends about viruses are actually true. They're out there. Running amok, uncontrolled. That's fine, I'm sure this is just a very isolated incident. Does that mean virus hunters are real? I suddenly feel really bad for thinking all those guys on Y00tube were fakes. But there are actual Navi out there, fighting these entities, hunting them.

And if they can do it, surely it's not beyond the skills of a hero! I've got to do this. For me! For Matt! For all the weak and helpless! Yeah, yeah! I'm a star baby, this ain't nothin'!

Get in the zone, AM. The action zone.

The scene is an abandoned warehouse. The star, me, I'll work on a name later, briefly takes refuge as his three antagonists close in on him. They throw around some standard bad guy dialogue like, "He went that way!" But as they close in for the kill, little do they know that the hunters just became...

The hunted.

I Action Roll© out from behind the bench and then nimbly leap on top of the arm rest. Feeling the bench start to reel and tip under my weight, I fling myself off of it towards a nearby soda dispenser. Nice save! I land with a weighty wump but only half of my body makes it. I almost slip off but I throw my weight forward. It takes me a second to balance myself, but I'm up. Heroic location? Check.

I rise out of my kneeling position as I draw my paired pistols from my armored sides. As I rise I turn to face my opponents. Man, I never did think I'd actually use these things. But now, it's time to waste some bad guys!

"Hey, over here!" I shout, a cocky smile on my face. I whip my pistols up, brace my arms and cock my elbows. And just like that, I pull the triggers. "Eat this!"

Summary

1. Action Retreat!
2. Action Reposition!
3. Action Akimbo! (Buster Shot at MetC, 2 Null Damage)

(Post edited for clarity. I've been informed that my current writing style can be a little confusing. Here's a brief (who am I kidding?) explanation of things. First off, I'm trying to write a little story here. I'm having a lot of fun with it and I'm taking some liberties with a few things. That said, I'm not expecting anyone to follow along or to participate. My posts are generally long winded and my introductory posts in ACDC alone tally up to 10 pages, 4563 words and over 24,000 characters. Expecting any one mod to read all of that's not just unrealistic, it's unfair. You guys got a lot on your plates. I'm more than happy to just receive generic battles, although I'd be delighted if you did try to play along with my story. I'm also quite willing to participate in anything you guys come up with too, of course.

That's the important stuff. Now for the rest of my explanation. I'm writing from a limited First Person, Present tense perspective. All posts are from a specific character, as noted by a colored name. Perspectives change from post to post and in this post in particular I bounce around a bit between various characters heads to get their perspectives on the current situation.

In addition to my Navigator and Operator, I've also introduced a pair of side characters and I intend to do more in the future. If this is a problem, I'd be more than happy to register them, if possible, or address the issue in a manner of our moderation staff's choosing.

Blue is for Matthew Langley, the Operator. (Unless it's in parenthesis, that's just my OOC posts.) Young and naive, his character profile is available in my sig.

Red is for ActionMan, AM for short. Brash and hot headed with a superstar persona, his character profile is available in my sig.

Green is for NarratorBot. He's nothing more than a rather personable Mr. Prog. His personality, in short, is a sycophantic butt monkey. His perspective is a little strange as he's a narrator who's also directly involved in the ongoing plot. He's located in AM's PET, physically removed from generally all scenes.

Grey is for Sammy2143, or Samantha. Like NarratorBot, she's a personable Mr. Prog acting as AM's secretary. Her personality is abrasive and haughty, hidden behind a veil of polite charm. Between the 4, she's the most intellectually capable and acts as a straight man and voice of reason. Again, like NB, she's in AM's PET.

I hope this clarifies things a bit. Thanks, Fera, for pointing this out to me. And now, a brief synopsis of the story so far. Take it away NarratorBot!)

NB

Last time! On ActionMan! Young Matthew Langley's brother, Adrian Langley goes out for a clandestine rendezvous and our curious young hero follows. After observing a bizarre and worrisome encounter with an unnerving man and brother Adrian, police arrive on the scene in search of something or someone. Witnessing a suspicious figure earlier, Matt goes to investigate a soda machine that he believes has been tampered with in hopes of finding out more about this mysterious meeting and Adrian's strange behavior.

Too bad for ActionMan, he doesn't know about any of this! He blindly jacks in to the device, guided only by his Operator's voice and his sense of Justice! Could this be big trouble for ActionMan?

And now, our story continues.

AM

I get a brief nano-second in between that space that exists between one electronic object and another one to think about-

Nothing, never mind. Nanoseconds are pretty short, turns out. So right. Here I am. Somewhere. And then I realize that I have no idea where I am. Jack-ins tend to lead me to a handful of places.

1. Matt's school desk. Busting practice. Normal Navi stuff.
2. Matt's desktop. My favorite. Leads to my studio and the Internet.
3. Matt's gaming console. I am equally awesome at videogames as most things, small wonder the kid plays me all the time. He is just considerably better. Little boy wonder there.

The Boss and I sometimes hang out like we used to but mostly it's just Matt and I now. And, uh, this doesn't exactly seem like the normal scene for us.

First off, it's dark. Not pitch black or anything but close enough. And I've never jacked into something like that. So I'm a little anxious. I'm beginning to wonder if maybe this is, I dunno, something. Matt did say some worrying things but I just assumed it was kid stuff. Like, I dunno, a cat's stuck in a tree. In the house. At dark. Actually, no, wait, I knew we were outside didn't I?

Wow. Wow. Just wow, I didn't think this through at all.

There are some lights though. Kind of dim green and red lights. Christmas-y, almost. Tis the season. There's a softly flashing red sign above me. 'Out of order. We apologize for the inconvenience. A service representative will be there shortly.' Well, that's comforting, I guess? There are other signs too. 'Drink 100%! Drink the Fl0w!' 'Order a nice, soothing Ocean Spray' 'Enter in Promotional Code 1032 for your chance at a 5 day vacation to gorgeous Netfrica!'

There are some small boxy devices sitting about, dimly illuminated by the neon glow of the various advertisements. Drink dispensers. Man, I haven't had an Ocean Spray in a while. Shame these are out of order. There are some benches too. Maybe a Navi hang out spot? I wonder what their Operators would do while they wait?

'Waiting on my Navi'. A film about Operators who patiently wait on their Navis to complete whatever mundane task they're completing. And there's drama and romance.

Nah. Next.

Samantha

It doesn't hit me till the challenger loading screen passes. I am seriously screwed up. I didn't even think about the kind of danger Matt's in. ActionMan's incompetency aside, isn't Matt in a lot of trouble here? I know I just got into a match but... sorry opponent (and my online score...) but I'm gonna have to bail. And as much as it pains me to assist that idiot, I can't seriously let this pass.

It's painfully obvious that this is anywhere but where a child should be. We don't have time to screw around out here. He's seriously lucky they didn't notice him. What if they had? The longer we stick around, the greater our chances of finding out just what that scenario was and I'm not exactly eager to see that come to fruition.

"Alright ActionMan, let's find that device." Matt sounds really into this. It's a shame to shut him down but there's no helping it.

"ActionMan, listen."

"Samantha?" He sounds surprised. Hey, I'm good at my job, don't sound like I only ever do the bare minimum. No, wait, don't get distracted.

"This is a really bad idea. Bad idea of the year."

"I'm really ahead of myself then."

Don't be flippant, ugh. "No, what I'm saying is that this is dangerous."

"Why Samantha, I didn't know you cared."

Stupid, arrogant, blind, dumb boss thing. "Just listen to me-"

"ActionMan?" Matt calls.

"Just securing the area," AM returns, confidently. "Samantha, I'm gonna have to call you back. I've got work to do."

"No, that's what I'm saying, just-"

Click.

"Ahhhh.... Ah... Ah." This is physically painful. Can Navi's have aneurisms? No, AM's stupidity aside, I've got to find a way to get in contact with Matt. I've got to stop this, and now!

NB

With a last glance back to the heavens, as if saying, 'It'll be alright,' our hero moves through the dark towards some unknown fate. There are no sounds but the soft whine of the neon lights and the rhytmic shink-shink-shink of ActionMan's steps. His armored form strides confidently, an image of power in this foreboding place.

Foreboding for what might lie behind one of those happy gleaming signs, foreboding for what might lie in the shadows. Yet our hero seems blissfully ignorant as he moves forward. He steps past a worried bench leg, past a corroded drink dispenser, searching for something. What device did the nefarious unknown man leave behind? And does our hero even notice the indications of viral presence all around him?

No, seriously, does he see that? Now that I think about it, has he ever seen a virus before? Or fought one? He's always seemed pretty confidant but...

Suddenly, something stirs. A muffled sound of movement that sounds almost deafeningly loud in the silence of the place. Surely our hero will notice in time.

Surely. ActionMan?

AM

Wow. I am so thirsty now. I want a Data Drink sooo bad. I'd settle for offbrand at this point.

(Oh well, I'm sure it'll be fine! Bring on the battle!)

10 Minutes Previously

Matt

"AM, what are you doing?"

"Whoops, mike's on."

"Oh." Should I ask ActionMan for help? No way! I can totally do this!

I was pretty surprised that my brother was still hanging around town. With the holidays over, I thought for sure that he'd be going back to whatever it is that he's always doing. I wonder what it is? It feels like he's changed so much over the past year. He doesn't live at home anymore, maybe that's why. I think if we just hung out like we used to that things would go back to normal.

So when I saw him leave the house without saying goodbye, I dunno. I dunno. I dunno what I'm doing, I guess I'm just doing it. So I followed him. I was a little worried, like, it's past 6 and it's getting dark so I shouldn't be out on my own, right? But ActionMan is with me, so it's okay. And since he hasn't said anything, that makes it really okay since he's not worried.

Then I look up and I notice that Adrian's gone. I lost track of him? Uh. Uh. Wait, where am I? I've just been following him and not really keeping track of where I'm going. Well. That means I'm lost, right? I'm lost? No, AM knows the way back I'm sure. So should I call for Adrian then?

He's been so secret like lately. He doesn't tell me anything and... I really want to know. I dunno what I want to know so I want to know it. And whatever he's doing out there is it. Like, it it. And if I lose track of him I won't ever know.

And then I hear something. Talking? "W... yeah, .. ...... ... ...... ..... .. did you?" I can't hear it quite right though. That's not my brother though. The voice has this kind of weird sing song up and down sound to it. That's not my brother at all though.

"Of course not." But that is!

I do my best to head over without making too much noise. It's off of the road though. Maybe that's why I lost my brother? But what's he doing over here? And who's he talking to? That voice, it's a boy? No, an adult. I don't know any adults who talk like that though. Not unless they're on T.V. or something.

"Of course not," the man repeats. He sounds like one of those adults when they talk to kids about something that kids shouldn't know. There's a word for that I bet. But getting closer, I get this really creepy feeling. Like the air got colder but it's also on fire and my skin's all creepy feeling too. I don't want to go out there. But it's my brother, so it's okay. I just, I just really don't want to go out there. "I assume," down voice, "that you," up voice, "brought what I asked for." Down voice again, ending in a growly, snake-like way. It's really creepy. Like something you hear on T.V. for sure but it's in real life so it feels wrong.

He's a bad man. I know it. Only bad guys on T.V. talk like that. Really bad guys. And I want to say something because it's NOT the T.V. It's not a video game or a movie. It's real and this guy's right in front of my brother! But I can't. I can't. Ican'tcan'tcan't.

"That is what we arranged." Adrian talks to the man. I can't see them though. I won't move. Why am I so scared? It's dark. And this guy sounds really creepy. But my brother's here. Talking to this weird guy. And I just feel really wrong.

I want to look at anything and just not think so I look away. I can see the other side of the road. There's street lights on the road. But one of them is out. There aren't any houses next to the road. I don't know where I am. I don't. There's a bench by the road and a trash can. And they're close to the street light that's out. And there's something under that street light but I can't see well since there's no light. But there's something moving over there and it's big.

"I see," the bad guy hisses. He hisses. People don't do that. "Of course," down, "you won't mind," up, "if we," down, "check the data?"

What am I supposed to do? What would someone who is not me do? Like Eric. Or Teddy. What should a kid do in something like this? Or am I just really scared for no reason? What if it's nothing and I'm just freaking out for nothing? That would be really... bad. I'd feel bad. But if I say something and it's something bad than that would be worse than bad.

Then the moving on the other side of the road moves, like it was but more. And now it's coming this way. And now I can see that it's a person. And they're crossing the street. They really are coming this way.

"Yes. This will do just," way high, "fine," way low.

"Glad to hear. The quality is to your satisfaction?" Brother, what are doing?

"It will suffice~"

"Excellent." The other person is getting really close. I want to hold my breath but it turns out I already am. "Glad to hear it. This arrangement really has been beneficial. We hope that the feeling is mutual." We?

"Oh, yes, yes," the scary man says, sounding bored. "You can expect this relationship to continue Mr. Andrews. Have no fear. You can take that happy little bit of news back to your masters." More sounds, I can't tell what they are though.

"I have to say Collodi, I'm impressed. Isn't this a little open?"

"Are you worried?" A laugh. It's ugly though. Just another weird thing about this guy. "The danger's half the fun," he ends, on a high note. And then he's gone, running out towards the road and past the guy and past me and the guy follows him. And he's gone. Like, really gone. Like vanished without a trace gone. And the other guy too.

So now it's just me and my brother. In this weird place. I realize I've got to breath so I let my breath out and just suck in air. "That guy... You'd figure he'd be more careful," my brother says. "Sudden moves like that tend to set people on edge. Some people just have a flair for the dramatic, I guess."

He's right there. And I can talk to him about something, like what's going on out here so I should just say it. My heart's still thumping in my chest though. Like it's trying to pop out. I really... I really was scared.

"...!" My brother gasps. "Is... someone there?"

Yeah! Yeah, it's me! I'm here! It's just Matt, your little brother. What the heck are you doing out here! Is what I want to say. But I don't say anything for some reason. But I hear movement. And he's coming closer, I know it.

And then there's another sound and that's it. I wait. I wait. But there's no other sounds. "Adrian?" I call out, but sounds like a whisper. Is he still there?

Then there's another voice and I almost drop to the ground. "No sign of them. You're certain?" A lady's voice this time? But from my hiding spot I can't see her. "If they were here, they're long gone now... No... No." Sounds like she's talking to somebody. "Keep searching on your end. Be thorough. We've been told to expect a device to have been planted. Yes, that's right... No, don't cause a panic. This is probably nothing. We just can't let this sit."

She moves around to the road. A police officer. She's a police officer. She laughs. "Yeah, I hear ya. But we've got to at least go through the motions, right?" She starts to walk off when I realize that she doesn't have a car. So she just walked here like Adrian did?

What the heck is everybody doing? The police are looking for something? Or maybe somebody. Well, I'm 8 years old and I can tell you that that one guy was bad news. Doesn't take a police officer to figure that out. I just don't know what my brother was doing with him.

I think about telling the police woman about it but by the time I even think about it she's gone. And I'm alone. Really alone, I think. Besides ActionMan. And I guess Sam and NB. I just want to talk to somebody right now. But I keep worrying that someone else is going to show up. I wait for a little while longer.

And think. That one guy in the shadows and the creepy guy left together. They know each other then. 1+1=2. That probably means he's a bad guy too.

Shadow guy was doing something by the street light. And whatever he was doing took him a while and a lot of moving.

My legs start moving. I just want to go home and talk to AcitonMan about tomorrow and the trip to the woods. Or call my brother. Or call Mom and have her pick me up. 'Cause I'm still lost. But I keep thinking about that light. Or non-light, I guess. So I walk across the road. Nobody saw me though. Right? Right.

I creep into the dark and I can't decide if I feel better about being hidden or worse since I'm in pretty much total dark. I pull out my PET and it gives off a dull glow. And there's a big box the size of a refrigerator there. I quickly find out that it's a soda machine. So shadow guy was just grabbing a soda?

I breathe out a sigh of relief. Well, even big bad scary people get thirsty too, I guess. It's a really appropriate bad guy drink machine though. All the lights are off accept for a couple on the inside. I couldn't even tell until I was really close. How could you even tell what you were ordering unless you had a light or something. And then I see the little advertising screen display a single message.

Out of order.

Suddenly I feel a lot less relieved. So what was that guy doing over here then?

"We've been told to expect a device to have been planted"

"A device..."

1+1=2. Right? "ActionMan..." My brain kind of just stops. What if this is what they're looking for? Or it's in the machine? Something connected to the shadow man. Something connected to the scary guy. Something that the police are interested in. Something connected to my brother.

"ActionMan, did you hear that?" I'm being silly. This is dumb. Real life doesn't have stupid stuff like this. It's all T.V. and movies. I should go home. So I shouldn't worry about this, should I? Should I?

"Yeah Matt, sounds big!"

What do I do? What do I do ActionMan? Something like this is really scary. I don't have any business with something like this, I don't. "I know! I know, should I be worried?" I should go home, go home.

"Tch." He does this thing. Dismissive. That's the word. "Matt, did you forget?" He sounds so confidant... "The Boss and I tackled stuff like this all the time back in the good ol' days." You did? "I'll take care of it."

I gasp. I can't help it. Something this scary and ActionMan's not scared at all? Even though there's police and weird people and devices? It's something... not to be afraid of? It's not something to be afraid of. It's not something to be afraid of.

And then I'm smiling. And my muscles relax and it feels like it's less dark and I hear crickets and music coming from a nearby house. This is reality. This isn't some movie or something where crazy, bad stuff happens. This is life, not something to be afraid of!

So I'm gonna find out. I'm gonna find out if there's really something in here. And I'm gonna find out if it's connected to my brother! "Alright then. ActionMan!"

"Yeah!"

Thank you.

"Prepare Jack-In procedure!"

To: CharityEvent2@sharo.freemail.net
From: Sammy24Bis@Ghoo.net
Contents: A message from ActionMan.exe, as dictated by Sammy2413.exe. Questionnaire completed. Happy Holidays.
Attached: Rageclaw

(In actuality, this is the e-mail address of AM's secretary. Mail sent here is certain to reach him eventually though, right?)