Sunday, May 2, 2004

Grad Nite report
Man, I'm tired. Really tired. Staying up all night will do that...

So, we went to the Magic Kingdom, and got Ernesto a wheelchair so he didn't have to stay on his crutches the whole night. We got our picture with Buzz Lightyear, chatted with janitors, rode rides, and hen went to the Simple Plan concert.

There were two concerts that night. The first one, we went all the way up to the front row.

God, it sucked. We were so close that we couldn't actually make out the lrics, everyone was screming and shoving each other, and *I*, as always, had to be the responsible one who made sure purses did'nt get lost, or wheelchairs knocked over.

Of course, eveyone else thought it was great. --;

We rode the Haunted Mansion, which is so completely not scary. We wandered a bit, then went to the second SP concert. This time, I stayed in the back of the crowd, and enjoyed the experience a lot more.

Then, we rode Space Mountain. It was scary, but not in the way you'd think. My head was less than six inches from various protruding bars above me. I could have been decapitated.

Wee.

One the whole, though, it was a good night, but I'm really, really tired. Really.

My first AP test is on Tuesday, and it's the one I'm most worried about: Spanish. Here's to hoping I get a good grade. ^__^

Oh, yes, I'm also doing an entire project on a book without having bothered to read it, or watch the movie. This will be the crowning BS achievement of my high school career. ^__^

Stephanie: Please send me an e-mail; I don't think mine are going through.

Thought of the moment: Screw it; I'm too tired to think.

Quote of the moment: "Zzzzzz..." -Me

Sol

VIII

From his wrists to his mid-forearms, Tybalt had a pair of cybernetic cup-links under his skin. They were tiny field generators, with tiny wires that ran up the length of his arm to a component nudged into his neo cortex. They produced, according to his mental whims, green, translucent force fields, the types a science fiction write would dream of. Tybalt used them to create a variety of plasma weapons, usually blades. He could also produce shields or daggers. The daggers could be tossed, but they lost cohesion about ten feet away from his wrists and disseminated harmlessly.

Von was not ten feet away, however, so the green, translucent plasma daggers Tybalt tossed were real and very deadly. He skittered, lizard-like, up the wall of a nearby building, then leapt over Tybalt in an attempt to get out of range.

It didn’t work. “Just give me the tracking device,” Tybalt said calmly. “I don’t have to kill you, you understand. However, you may force my hand if you’re not careful.”

“N..no…” Von stammered, scared out of his bloody wits. “Rena told me to keep it away from you. You’re just going to take the Sol system to your crazy father!”

Tybalt didn’t like that. “My father is the greatest warrior in the galaxy! I could train my whole life to achieve half his skills! I will not let you defile his name!”

Forming a sharp-edged plasma blade on his left arm, Tybalt struck at Von’s chest. Von, however, was not unarmed. He had an expandable staff hidden on his person. He had quickly whipped it out and extended it while Tybalt was ranting. The staff had a sharp, distinctive barb on the end; it was the trademark weapon of Von’s people, and he had trained with it since he was a hatchling. He brought it up to block Tybalt’s blow, but the black warrior’s strength was
overpowering his defenses.

Tybalt suddenly ceased his attack and gasped in surprise. A sharp pain shot through his shoulder; Rena’s claws suddenly pulled out of his skin, dripping with his blood.

“I thought you incapacitated, Mistress Rena,” Tybalt said. “I forgot to take your tenacity and stubbornness into account.”

“It will take more than you stupid smoke bombs to defeat a warrior of the Ichnet clan,” Rena sneered, trying to appear defiant. In fact, the gas Tybalt had used was working in full effect; her stance was unstable. She was physically unprepared to fight, but one thing a gas can’t counteract is personality. Rena was drugged up, but she was also too stubborn to let something like that stop her.

“Very well,” Tybalt said. “Your funeral.”

**

Simon raced through the streets, looking for Rena and Von. He turned a corner and ran smack-dap into a person running equally fast in the opposite direction. They fell to the ground.

“Hey!” Simon swore. “What’s up? Where’s the fire, hotshot?”

The man quickly got to his feet. “Kid, don’t go that way! There’s some sort of freaky gang war or something going on back there!”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, there’s a big fight. And these guys look…weird. Like circus freaks or something. I’m getting the cops!” The man raced away, presumably to alert the
authorities.

Circus freaks? Simon thought. You don’t suppose…aww, of course it’s them. Who else would it be? Sounds like they found that Tybalt guy…great…

Simon got up and ran to the source of the panic.

**

Tybalt grabbed Rena’s arms and easily tossed her over his head. She landed with an unceremonious thump, making Von wince. Taking his opening, he leapt towards Tybalt, but the more experienced fighter easily dodged his clumsy attack.

“I hadn’t wanted to take the route of a common blackmailing thug,” Tybalt said. “However, you leave me no choice. Here are my terms: you give me the tracker to find the Sol system, or I kill Mistress Rena right in front of you. It’s a simple proposition.”

To emphasize his point, Tybalt grabbed Rena by the back of the neck and form a plasma blade close to her throat. “She’s strong, but in her current state is far too disoriented to stop me.”

“Von…don’t let him have it…” Rena gasped, still in pain from the impact.

“I…I don’t know…” Von was in way over his head.

“Look, it’s simple: I will kill her, and then take the tracker device from you anyway, and the sol system will still be presented to my father. The only difference is that Mistress Rena will be dead. Do you want that?”

Von took the silver rectangular box that was the tracker for the sol system out of his suit’s pocket. He glanced at it, then to Rena, then to Tybalt. He had no idea what to do.

Tybalt sighed impatiently. “Listen, just give me the tracker. This isn’t some epic story; no deus ex machina, no hero to come in and save you- AGGHH!”

There was a violent impact on Tybalt’s back, and suddenly his entire torso burst into flames. Howling in pain, he released Rena and frantically tore his burning shirt off. “Who…”

He turned and saw a native of the planet. “Who are you?” he demanded.

Simon was nervous now. That guy had shrugged off a flare to his back. “Uh…I’m Simon…and I was kind of hoping that the flare would stop you…”

Suddenly, the tracker in Von’s hands began to beep violently. Tybalt glanced at it and then at Simon. He easily put two and two together.

“Oh, I get it. The Sol system activated prematurely and bonded to you.”

“Yup,” Simon sneered. “And they told me it bonds for life. So you might as well leave right now, because you can’t get it anymore.”

“Oh, I think I can. I don’t even need the tracker anymore. I’ll just relieve you of the system myself. I’m sorry for the inconvenience it will cause.”

Simon dropped the flare gun and backed away slowly. “Hey, wait…they told me it bonds to a host for life…”

“Correct. The operative term is ‘life’,” Tybalt said. He formed a plasma blade on his right arm and charged at Simon with astonishing speed.

“It’s nothing personal, but you have to die now!”

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