|
The Adventures of Dante!
The Adventurers entered the beautiful and uncorrupted natural landscape of Santerrain. "Amazing, Dante marveled. "It's like the houses here grew from Nature herself." "Legend says the the Samurai Farmer cultivated the houses from the soil along with their plants," Fai answered. Infamous Freak looked at him with surprise. "How did you know that legend?" he asked. Fai answered "Everything that happens around here is important to me!"
"Can we just hurry up?" Lamer implored from behind. He was struggling to carry TrueHeat on his back along with Tyhm. Tyhm looked tired, but poor Lamer looked exhausted. "Don't forget, Lamer, you get a blue gralat for finishing this!" Lugie said. Lamer grunted. "Blue gralat blue gralat blue gralat..."
Poor TrueHeat had overexerted himself using the bikou technique in Bogenera, then not resting before fighting the QB Thugs in Bomboria. The bikou technique drained huge energy, but even then TrueHeat toughed it out until he collapsed.
When they reached Santerrain, TheGame and Infamous Freak took TrueHeat into his private house. Outside, the adventurers appreciated the landscape. He noticed someone running down a hill. "Look there, who's that?" he asked. The fellow was waving, saying "Ah, Master! Welcom master!" Dante squinted and looked over. "Oh, it's Wing." The handsome young samurai ran in their direction panting. In his hand he held a fork that looked both useful as a tool and dangerous as a weapon. Wing smiled amiably as he stepped up. "Hello, my name's Wing. I'm very glad to see you all back, especially TrueHeat. I'm the newest Samurai Farmer. I have waited here in Santerrain, farming and training while waiting for the master to return. Now that he's back, I must spar him to show him how strong I've become!!!"
Ultimate's eyes went wide. "You can't fight him now, he's passed out! He couldn't even get up!" He glanced aside when the door to TrueHeat's house opened.
In the door TrueHeat tottered against the frame. "No..." he groaned, "I am the leader of the Samurai Farmers, I must accept any challenge..." and collapsed. TheGame ran up to door and pulled TrueHeat back inside, as Infamous Freak stepped out. "I will take your challenge, serving as TrueHeat's champion."
Everyone packed into the Santerrain Dojo to watch the spar.Wing and Infamous Freak set their weapons down on the racks aside the ring, and stepped inside. Lugie stood between the two sparrers, to officiate the match. Wing and Freak bowed and took positions. Wing balanced gracefully on one foot, while Infamous Freak took a wide footed position. "Begin!" Lugie ordered. Wing instantly spun and kicked. Infamous deftly leapt aside. Wing recovered instantly and kicked again. This time Infamous Freak had to leap quickly aside to dodge the kick, but he followed smoothly with a roll, turned and ran at Wing, preparing a solid punch. Wing almost lost balance as he slid back, deflecting IF's attack with his hand. He pushed back and punched, but was too late as Infamous Freak bolted forward to dodge it. He spun and executed a sliding kick back at Wing. Wing couldn't get out of the way, and Infamous Freak touched him squarely on the ankle.
The two combantants stood and bowed. "Match!" Lugie announced. "Infamous Freak defeats Wing."
"That's it?" Tolerian sked with surprise. "The Famer's match ends at the first touch," TheGame said. "They are taught that the first hit from an enemy is as bad as the last."
Tolerian looked out the window and looked surprised. "Hey guys,s omeone else is coming!" The observers poured out of the dojo. Approaching Santerrain they observed Yakuzo and Senour Fancy Pants, aka Omega. "They're wearing the hats! They're under the overworld-NPCs control!" Grim Squeaker shouted. "No, not omega!" Tolerian cried, and ran to his friend.
Ultimate and Tolerian engaged in battle with Omega, their old friend. Even together they had difficulty fighting him. "Fancy pants!" he cried. "I can tell he's trying to fight the possession!" Tolerian said.
Meanwhile Lugie had ran to fight Yakuzo. He seemed to be holding up well.
"What do I do?" Grim squeaker cried. TheGame handed him a chigiriki from the dojo. "Get out there and fight!" He answered. "But I can't use this!" Grim complained, as giving it a wild swing, causing the chain to swirl around him and trip him. "Doh!" He cried, sprawled out on the floor.
Ultimate and Tolerian were having difficulty fighting Omega. He had become a skilled fighter, with pants attacking with fnacy and fury!
"Tolerian!" Ultimate shouted. "We can only defeat him if we use an extremely powerful technique!" Tolerian nodded in agreement. "I hope I can pull this off... sethead head434.gif!!!" he shouted. Tolerian turned into a panda, and the two pandas could fend off Senour Fancy Pants! "Okay, get ready!" Ultimate commanded. The two formed two mirror poses and did a back flip, then shouted "Panda Power!!!!!" As if choreographed, the two pandas moved in synchrony, and a red flashing light covered the fields of Santerrain.
Dante watched the action from a distance, but heard something suspicious behind him. He turned and saw Lyndzey, also wearing the NPC hat, leap from behind a tree and dash at him holding a knife! Dante screamed in an embarassinly effeminate manner and ducked. Lyndzey, who expected him to move, couldn't stop and tripped over Dante, tumbling and rolling on the earth. Dante called for help, when Lyndzey threw a knife at him and slit his throat!
Lamer, Psyker, and Tyhm, meanwhile, were standing off to the side. "Well, time for me to enter the battle!" Lamer announced. "Uh... hold my money." He shoved a sack into Tyhm's hands. Psyker laughed. "haha finders keepers!"
Lugie couldn't hold up against Yakuzo with only his skill, and no techniques. "Someone help!" he implored. Fai and Lamer both ran to where they were fighting to help. Lamer was armed with an axe in one hand a hammer in the other. Fai, the famous Fisherfish was armed with his pole. He had the first strike, "casting off" at Yakuzo and catching his skin! But the cut seemed inconsequential to the controlled Yakuzo, who continued fighting Lugie, unaffected. A sweat drop grew on Lugie's brow. Both he and Lamer looked up with a bright look on their faces. "Eaureka!" They said together. Lamer called to Fai: "Catch his hat with your hook, Fai!" Fai nodded.
With a twist of the wrist he expertly hooked the NPC hat. But as he reeled in, he couldn't pull it off Yakuzo's head! "It's strapped on!" Fai shouted back.
"You know what to do, Lamer!" Lugie instructed. "You got it!" Lamer answered. "One, two, three!" together, Lamer and Lugie flew past Yakuzo, Lamer snagging the front strap and yanking it off, Lugie expertly slashing off the back strap! Fai tugged the line and Yakuzo's hat went flying off!
Meanwhile the Pandas were beginning the secret Panda Power! Tolerian and Ultimate slowly raised their short panda hands over their heads, as a true river of panda energy flowed through their bodies! The red light of the panda power flowed all over Santerrain! Suddenly, in a flash of white, the two pandas zipped past Omega, crossing front of him for an X attack pattern!
Omega was stunned instantly, and held his gut in pain... then, oddly... his head began to morph... into a panda! It his head grew to accomodate the huge panda brain, it broke the NPC hat! "I'm a panda again!" He shouted with glee!
Meanwhile Psyker was trying to finish off Lyndzey, right after she had been tripped to the ground, but when she saw Omega defeated with the panda power she fled.
A while later, the whole group returned to TrueHeat's house. Tyhm explained to everyone:
"I see now we have two enemies... and many difficult choices for how to beat them. As you know, we must weild the IP ban to destroy Ice Pick. Also, we must rescue OverWorld-NPCs from Drakaden to save the land from chaos. I must add that I may release a great power when I reach overworld NPCs... and that, perhaps, Ice Pick and Drakaden can destroy each other."
"Don't forget Ice Pick's Cronies," TheGame reminded him.
"Yes, we will also need to defeat the thugs." Tyhm agreed. "I propose this plan. We still don't have any idea where the NPC server is held hostage. But Ice Pick might. We can travel to Mt Antora to the north. There, we'll rendezvous with Lycia. I suspect she can pick his lock. We'll break in and see if we can find anything that will help us foil Ice Pick, or Drakaden's evil plans."
Lamer and Psyker looked awestruck. Psyker stuttered: "There's a lot of... mooooooooney... in Ice Pick's house, isn't there?"
Yakuzo cut in. "Yes. I'm certain there is."
"YYYYYeeeeeeees!" Psyker and Lamer shouted together. "Let's go!"
TrueHeat, who was more rested, stood up. "I'm going to let you go on. I'm going to stay here to continue my training, and to educate Wing in the bushido. Fai, I understand you're going to stay here too?"
"That's right!" Fai answered. "Here, I can farm and fish!"
The three pandas shook all of the adventurer's hands. "We're going to split with you all, and try to see what we can discover by ourselves," Omega explained. "I suspect three pandas can do very much, even by themselves." With not a word more, the pandas dove into the trees and disappeared.
Taking leave of those staying in Santerrain, TheGame said goodbye to his brother, TrueHeat.
"When the time comes, we'll have to team up again to fight."
"Until then, brother," TrueHeat said quietly, "goodbye." |