Active The Mach Games

[Colonel Thunder]

Sadly, the events have all been predetermined, so I'm afraid you can't quite get in on this incarnation of the games.

However, I've found a way to get you a cameo in the story, so I'll totally do that. And you'll definitely be a part of forum lore from here on out.

Look at that! Reciprocation!

 

[BlookyHannah]

Oh, cool. Either way is fine. Just checking in.

 

[Walrus]

Coolpool is doing well. I am so proud of him.

 

[Tolvan]

Coolpool is doing well. I am so proud of him.

Clearly your influence has rubbed off on him.

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Day 4 Continues

9 tributes remaining

Scene 7/23

--

"Beautiful sunrise this morning!" says Req, emerging from the cave by the lake. "Want to have breakfast and enjoy the day?"

"I'm uh, I'm thinking we get right to work," says Jeroth while stretching. "Some of the other tributes might still be sleeping. This could be a good time to kill them, while they're still waking up.

"Oh, alright then," says Req. "How' your arm?"

"Good, it's good," says Jeroth. "Anyways, I'm thinking we take out Druby if we can. He knows the two of us are working together, and it might be best if we keep others from finding out."

"Good plan," says Req. "Hey, look at that."

A sponsor parachute floats down towards Req. Req opens the package and pulls out a hatchet.

"Why a hatchet?" asks Req. "You already have a hatchet, and I have a trident."

"Is there a note maybe?" asks Jeroth.

Req looks in the package again and pulls out a note.

"Dear Req," reads Req. "Please enjoy this lube, winky face. Also there's a Feast today."

"That's really weird," says Jeroth. "It seems like a package got misplaced. And why would someone send you lube?"

Req and Jeroth share an awkward glance.

"Also, uh, I'm thinking I shouldn't go to the Feast today," says Jeroth. "People might see us working together. I think it would be smarter if I just hung out nearby while you get us gear."

"Good idea!" says Req. "That way you can ambush anyone that tries to kill me, since you'll secretly be lurking nearby!"

"Um...yes," smiles Jeroth. "Haha, that's definitely what I'll do."

"Grea,t let's get going then!" says Req, who excitedly goes off to get his things from the cave.

Jeroth shakes his head.

--

...

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Day 4 Continues

9 tributes remaining

Scene 8/23

--

Coolpool looks around carefully at the restocked cornucopia. He doesn't see anybody else, and seems to be the first one there.

Coolpool carefully sneaks around the cornucopia so as to not be spotted. He finds a bulletproof vest and puts it on, but can't find any food.

"That's weird," says Coolpool. "The note said the cornucopia would be restocked with food. Oh well, better get to work."

Coolpool begins taking several land mines out of his backpack. He begins strategically placing them around the cornucopia, wiring them all together in sync with his remote detonator. He gathers all the explosives sitting around the cornucopia and makes sure they're in the immediate blast zone of the charges he is hiding.

Suddenly, Coolpool hears a crinkling sound nearby. He carefully sneaks around the cornucopia until he sees Shizno lying on top of a large pile of empty snack bags, surrounded by all of the food in the cornucopia.

"Enjoying some food?" asks Coolpool.

"Oh...hi Coolpool," says Shizno nervously. "What are uh, what are you up to?"

"Just looking around, since it's the Feast and all," says Coolpool. "Hoping to find some food, actually."

"Here, uh, you can have a bag of chips," says Shizno. "You know. If you're going to be nice to me."

"Of course," smiles Coolpool.

Shizno looks away from Coolpool to grab a bag of chips. While he's distracted, Coolpool begins to slowly unholster his laser pistol. However, Coolpool stops when he notices that Shizno is laying almost directly on top of one of the mines he had rigged earlier.

"Heh heh," says Coolpool, holstering his pistol.

"What's funny?" asks Shizno, turning his attention back to Coolpool and tossing him a bag of chips.

"You'll find out later," says Coolpool, catching the bag of chips. "See you later."

"Uh, okay," says Shizno, opening a package of twinkies.

Coolpool continues secretly placing mines while Shizno snacks happily.

--

...

Wait a second, this isn't the bathroom. Hey, Null, where's the bathroom at?

...

 

[Tirin]

If the explosives near the cornucopia are C-4 or plastic explosives of a similar nature, it's extremely unlikely that landmines would provide enough heat and force to detonate them, particularly since blast mines are designed to explode upward while frag mines are more about throwing shards of metal everywhere.

 

[Whitetiger]

As if Shizno would move enough to trigger a land mine.

 

[coolpool2]

Wow, coolpool's getting cocky. Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer.

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Day 4 Continues

9 tributes remaining

Scene 9/23

--

Tolvan continues walking through the forest.

"I hope I get there soon," says Tolvan. "I want a chance to talk to everyone about breaking out before they, y'know, kill each other."

Tolvan walks into a clearing. There's a campfire that's burning out.

"Huh, something smells like porkchops," says Tolvan. He then notices Artist's body nearby. "Ohmygosh!"

Tolvan falls backwards and it takes him a minute to regain his composure.

"Oh, this is so gross," says Tolvan. "Why is one of his legs missing? Man, poor Artist."

Tolvan places Artist's jacket over the dead man's face.

"I have a lot of good memories of you," says Tolvan. "You were the first person I met at Mach, and you encouraged me to stick around and try to make friends here. I wouldn't have stayed here otherwise."

Tolvan gets up to leave.

"You believed in the good of this community, Artist," says Tolvan. "I will too, and together we're going to find a way to break out of this arena!"

Tolvan continues walking towards the cornucopia.

--

...

Hey 13th, you in here? I had a question about the rules and stuff. No? Oh shoot, is this thing live? Whoops! Sorry!

...

 

[Tolvan]

Everything's going to be okay, right?

...Right?

 

[Shizno]

I'm in the perfect position. With my food supply all I need to do it not move and anyone that comes around me will be blown up. It's the perfect plan~

 

[Artistunknown]

"I have a lot of good memories of you," says Tolvan. "You were the first person I met at Mach, and you encouraged me to stick around and try to make friends here. I wouldn't have stayed here otherwise."

I don't remember any of this.

Also, did I say I saw the me being the porkchops thing coming? 'Cause I totally saw that coming.

 

[Tolvan]

I don't remember any of this.

Also, did I say I saw the me being the porkchops thing coming? 'Cause I totally saw that coming.

I don't remember it either...

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Day 4 Continues

9 tributes remaining

Scene 10/23



--

"Hey Recon mate, is that you!" asks Andy.

Recon grumbles and wake up. He had fallen asleep at the base of a tree.

"What do you want, Andy?" asks Recon. "I'm trying to get some sleep."

"Oh, bloimey, nothing mucher," says Andy. "Just saying how do you do."

"If you're going to try to kill me can we just skip to that?" asks Recon.

"Ha, that's a right jobber there!" says Andy. "Nah, I ain't gonna bushwhack ya! Stealthy seems to think you're harmless, so I don't have a reason to kill ya!"

"Oh," says Recon. "Well, thanks. I guess."

"Ya seem like a good sort," says Andy. "I'd hate to kill you. Plus, I got other peoples' weaknesses to exploit."

"Sounds like fun," says Recon, trying to go back to sleep.

"Oh, and um, one more thing," says Andy.

Recon groans.

"I hate to be the one to inform you of this," says Andy somberly. "But your mate Artist kicked the koala. I saw his body on my way here."

"Yeah, I know," grumbles Recon. "Look, I'm just trying to go back to sleep, can you please go?"

"Eh, sure, right then!" says Andy, who begins walking off.

--

...

 

[Colonel Thunder]

I'm a little burnt out and pooped lately, 5 of the past 7 days have been graveyard shifts for me. I think I'm gonna take a break on this series through the weekend

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Day 4 Continues

9 tributes remaining

Scene 11/23

--

Easy finds a lake, with rocky outcroppings and a cave nearby. He carefully inspects the area to make sure nobody's there, then heads inside the cave.

Easy takes note of some footprints and an empty sponsor parachute in the cave.

"This could be where Tolvan is hiding," says Easy. "Someone's hiding here anyways. I should be able to ambush them easily enough."

Easy sits down and waits for his prey to come to him. He does not expect to fall asleep so easily, and once again dreams of the past. This time, even further back.

--

"Ninety-nine! Oneh-hundred!" says Easy, dropping down from the pull-up bar in 0corn's workshop.

"Tired yet?" asks 0corn, welding something at his workbench.

"Not even breaking a sweat," grins Easy, just a teenager at this point in time. "Hey Chocobo, what's the record for pull-ups on Urealms anyways?"

"I think you just set it," says Chocobo, busy fiddling with some new contraption. "And can you sit still for a day? Your feats of strength tend to leave a mess."

"He did clean up all those phonebooks," countered 0corn.

"Gotta keep training if I want to be the forum's Defender after you," says Easy, walking towards a pedestal with an artifact on it.

"Being a Defender is about more than strength," scolds Chocobo. "It requires intense training of the body, mind, and soul."

"You're just upset I chose 0corn as my mentor over you," smirks Easy as he places his hand on the Banhammer.

"Not my funeral," shrugs Chocobo.

"He's right though," says 0corn. "A Defender must be all those things, and most importantly, pure of heart."

Easy tries to lift up the Banhammer, but is barely able to do so. It has a supernatural weight to it that prevents Easy from lifting it for more than a few seconds. He places it back on the stone pedestal with a loud thunk!

"See? You still have much more to do before you can be a Defender," says 0corn.

"Does this mean I have to study forum politics more?" groans Easy.

Chocobo chuckles and 0corn smiles. Easy grumbles as he returns to his desk and begins reading up on the history of the Internet.

"Hey," says 0corn.

Easy looks up at his mentor.

"You're going to make a great Defender someday," says 0corn.

Easy smiles and turns back to his work.

--

In the cave, Easy awakes with a gasp. He looks around him to make sure no one else is around, then rubs his eye and exits the cave for some time by the lake.

--

Are they out of the cheese dip?

No, the fountain just broke. And guess who did it?

Of course he would!

Wait, shit, we're live!

Oh - uh, stay tuned for more Mach Games!

 

[Tirin]

Though the banhammer is a great weapon for showcasing your strength, I personally prefer more refined and flexible tools.

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Day 4 Continues

9 tributes remaining

Scene 12/23

--

"Ooh," groans Druby as he lies down. "I'm really thankful to have survived that fall, but it still hurt a lot."

Druby slowly gets up and looks around at the bottom of the ravine.

"Huh, I guess this bed of golden flowers broke my fall," says Druby, who begins walking towards the cornucopia. "Freaking Coolpool trying to kill me. I don't believe it!"

Druby stops for a second.

"Actually, that sounds very believable," says Druby.

Druby continues walking towards the cornucopia. Before long, he reaches a clearing and sees a familiar face resting by a tree.

"I should really just let him sleep," says Druby, looking towards Recon. "Especially after what happened with Artist...well...maybe I should wake him up and try to explain what happened."

"Hey, uh, hey Recon!" says Druby.

Recon startles awake and glares at Druby.

"Hey," says Druby. "I know you're probably really mad at me, but can we maybe talk for a minute about Artist's death?"

"Get the hell out of here, you asshole!" shouts Recon. He chucks Artist's spear at Druby and misses by a mile. But it's still enough to scare Druby away.

"I swear!" says Recon, retrieving his spear. "I'm going to kill the next person that brings up Artist's death!"

--

Recon's really losing it!

I can't blame him, that's the third or fourth time he's been informed of Artist's death.

Hey-o, what's this? Check the cameras, Req is on a direct collision course with Shizno!

Awesome, let's take a look!

Stay tuned!

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Day 4 Continues

9 tributes remaining

Scene 13/23

--

"Ahhhhh what a day," says Shizno, patting his full belly. "Nothing but lying down and eating everything in sight."

"Hey Shizno," smiles Req, suddenly appearing above Shizno.

Req is holding a trident in his hand. Shizno looks over at his crossbow which is on the ground next to him, just out of reach.

"Aww, that's a shame," says Req, using his trident to pick up and fling Shizno's crosbow further out of the way. "Looks like your laziness finally got the best of you."

Shizno tries to sit up, but his belly is so full he loses his balance and falls back down.

"Congrats on making it this far though," says Req. "I didn't expect you to make it to the final ten."

"I'll make it further than that, you meanie," says Shizno.

"Guess we'll find out!" says Req, thrusting his trident at Shizno's neck.

Suddenly, Shizno rolls out of the way of Req's trident, rapidly dashes over to his crossbow, picks it up, leaps behind Req, bashes him over the head with his crossbow and disarms Req.

Req falls to his knees as his trident falls to the ground.

"Ow..." says Req. "But...how?"

"I may be really lazy," smiles Shizno, keeping his crossbow trained on the back of Req's head. "Like, really lazy. But that just means I have a ton of potential energy stored up. Once every couple of days, or after a really good meal or something, I guess I can move pretty fast. Neat, huh?"

"I don't believe it..." says Req. "Just...just do it then."

"Ah, but that's what you want me to do!" says Shizno proudly.

"Huh?" asks Req.

"I was talking to Druby last night," says Shizno. "And he told me how you and Jeroth were teaming up and murdering people. I bet Jeroth is somewhere nearby, right now, with his sights trained on me. As soon as I kill you, he'll probably kill me!"

"Um..." says Req. "I won't confirm or deny that."

In truth, Req hadn't seen Jeroth in hours. He only assumed that Jeroth was watching his back from afar, as per their plan.

"Okay, so uh, we'll do this I guess," says Shizno. "I'll keep this crossbow pointed at you, and we're going to walk away from the cornucopia. Jeroth has to stay here, or else. Then when I lead you far enough away, I'll let you go and I don't want to see you be mean and try to kill anyone else. Okay?"

"Okay," lies Req. "You hear that Jeroth? Please stay back and don't follow us."

Req sees no signs of Jeroth's presence.

"Well okay, let's get going then!" says Shizno a little too cheerfully, leading Req away from the cornucopia.

--

Wow, I had no idea Shizno could do that!

Well, he does have a lot of potential energy stored up.

Let's hope we see more of it, that was pretty cool how he beat Req.

Stay tuned!