TKADS: The Origin of the Scumlord

Growing up, Josh was always a little different from the other kids. While they were out playing football in the park, he would stay inside, locked in his room, lost in his imagination. He never really liked the world he lived in. It was too small, too crowded, too depressing. In his world he could be whatever he wanted. There was never any violence and everybody had enough food and money to live a comfortable life. Why was that so hard?

Because he lived more in his mind than in the existing world around him, he grew up with few friends. In fact he could count his friends on one hand. However, that never stopped him from happily living his life. Josh never really cared about having friends anyways. He had plenty in his world. He didn't need them here. He kept that philosophy throughout most of his childhood. But that all changed when he met Pixel.

…

It all started in his 12th grade English class. Josh and his pal Uno had gotten to class early so they could grab the seats in the back of the room. "Did you do the homework last night?" Uno asked. Josh rolled his eyes. "You aren't copying mine." He groaned.

"Aww c'mon man," Uno begged, " Just the second half?"

"No," Josh said stubbornly, "If I always let you copy my work, how will you ever learn? Uno rolled his eyes, "You are such a scumlord."

Just then the door opened and Austin, Green, Rob and Zen walked into the room. They sat huddled in the corner of the room, whispering frantically. Josh craned his neck in an attempt to make out what they were saying. "Did you hear?" Whispered Green. "They say she struck again last night."

"Yeah," continued Austin. "They are saying that this time she hit a small guard house to the North. They are estimating a total of 20 dead. She left no survivors."

"This is bad," Zen said, his eyebrows scrunched together. "If this continues, there will be nobody left to stop her. We need to do something."

"What are they talking about?" Josh asked Uno.

"You haven't heard?! Dude, you really need to get out more. You remember Spyro? Well apparently she got her hands on some super special ancient weapon and the power corrupted her. Now she is going around and killing anybody in her way. She is claiming to be Twitch's new overlord."

"Isn't our military doing anything?" Josh asked.

Uno rolled his eyes. "Our "military" is just a bunch of sexy grill gamers who like to strim. What can they possibly do against real power?"

Riiiiiiing. The bell rang cutting off the rest of their conversation. As students began to fill the room, Josh looked back over at Zen and his group. He wanted to help make things right. This was his chance to do something to help the world he lived in. He made up his mind to offer his assistance when class was over.

…

"Ok Class," Mr. Vapid said. "Today we have a new student joining us. She is a transfer so I want you all to be-"

Vapid was cut off by a loud, "YOOHOO!"

"JULIA!" he yelled, "PUT YOUR GOD DAMN CLOTHES BACK ON."

"Daaaaaaaaaamn girl you fiiiiine." A voice near the back of the room yelled.

"Oh for the love of god," Vapid groaned. "Quit encouraging her Mr. Murderbeck. Now, like I was saying, our new student is a transfer, so make her feel welcome and help her out if she needs it. Ok Ms. Pixel, please enter the room and introduce yourself."

As soon as Pixel entered the room, Josh's breath left him. She had long brown hair and the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. Uno looked over at josh. "Dude, you're drooling." This snapped Josh out of his daze. "Don't even bother," said Uno. "I hear that Larkin has already begun to move in on that, and you know how Larkin is. Ladies love that dude."

Josh couldn't focus through the rest of his classes. All of his thoughts led back to Pixel. He didn't have a lot of experience in this type of thing, but he thought that Pixel might have had a thing for him too. Throughout English class, they had made eye contact quite a few times. She even smiled at him. Josh blushed just thinking about it. By the time the lunch bell rang, he had made up his mind. He would definitely go introduce himself.

Josh walked through the lunchroom, scoping out the tables in search of Pixel. When he finally found her, his heart jumped up into his throat. What was he thinking? He had had so much confidence before, but now that had all but abandoned him. Yet his feet continued to move in her direction. "What are you doing?" he screamed in his head. "Stop, stop walking you stupid feet." But his body did not listen. Soon enough, he found himself standing at an open seat directly across from her. Josh was terrified. He was standing just inches from the girl of his dreams, unable to speak, just…staring at her. He felt like at any moment he could cry. But at the same time, it was exhilarating. Pixel looked up at him and smiled. "Hello," she smiled, "would you like to sit down?"

Josh nodded and sat. He didn't dare eat any of his food. If he even attempted to, he was afraid he would lose it just as quickly as he ate it. Pixel giggled. "Relax, you're cute. You don't need to be nervous." Josh's heart melted. He smiled awkwardly and said, "I'm Josh." Just then Mike walked up to the table. "Hey girl," he said. "How bout you let me get in dem knickers." Pixel rolled her eyes. Where his courage came from, Josh didn't know, but he stood up and said, "Go find someone else to harass Murderbeck, Pixel is taken." Mike walked away grumbling under his breath. Josh sat back down and began to apologize. "Sorry about the whole taken thi-" Pixel held up her hand.

"What time?" she asked.

"What time what?" he replied.

"What time are you going to come pick me up?" Pixel said, a smirk appearing on her face. Josh's face flushed.

"I, um, err…" he stuttered.

"Seven it is" she grinned. "Don't be late." With a wink, Pixel got up and walked away. Josh sat there in stunned silence. The rest of the day was spent daydreaming about the night that was to come. He couldn't help smiling.

Thus began a long and wonderful relationship. Josh had never been happier in his life than he was the rest of that year. If only he had seen the storm that was heading his way.

…

The day of their High School graduation had finally come. For Josh, it had been the best 9 months of his life. He had found his soulmate, and he was fairly certain that Pixel felt the same.

In the 9 months that he and Pixel had been together, Spyro had become much more powerful. She had completely taken over the North side of Twitch and was beginning to set her eyes on the south. The Twitch military up to this point had been powerless to stop her. It was because of this that Josh and Pixel had decided that after graduation they would join the resistance Zen had started. They both wanted to start a family, but they didn't dare try to bring a child into a world that was about to be torn apart by war. Instead, they decided they would fight for a world in which they could raise a child without fear. If they stood together, nobody would be able to bring them down.

The day of graduation had finally come. Josh and Pixel walked into the banquet hall where a large stage was set up against the back wall. Zen and Austin walked up to them: grim looks on their faces. Unfortunately, that had become a very normal thing lately. With war looming on the horizon, smiles were very rare, even on days like this. That didn't stop Josh and Pixel though. As long as they were together, nothing could stop them from being happy. Austin greeted them by nodding his head. Zen did the same and said, "Don't forget, immediately following the ceremony, there is a war council. Don't be late."

Josh shook his head. "You can't even be happy on a day like this?" Zen narrowed his eyes. "How can I be happy when our very lives are about to be torn up by the roots and thrown into the fiery hells of war?" Josh rolled his eyes. "You should write a book."

The ceremony began shortly after. Josh's class had a graduating size of 200 students. As the names of the graduating students began to be read off, Josh scanned the room. Green was one of the first names to be called. Sitting a few rows back from him was Austin. Sitting near Josh was a kid named Cam. He had been chosen by Rob to be a captain. Josh didn't know Cam personally, but he liked him. Not for his personality, like he said, he didn't know him. But Cam had the most glorious beard the world had ever seen. Of the 200 graduating, about 145 of them were joining the resistance. Because of this, there was an anxious mood layering the room. Zen sat in the back and would be one of the last to walk across the stage.

Pixel's name was called, snapping Josh out of his thoughts. He watched as she walked across the stage. He couldn't get over how beautiful she looked. Even though they had been dating for 9 months, he still had the breath stolen from him every time he looked at her. He reached into his pocket and ran his fingers over a cold, metallic object. It took him a while, but he had finally saved up enough money to buy her a ring. After the ceremony, he planned on asking her if she would spend the rest of her life with him. As she crossed the stage, she looked at him and smiled.

Half an hour passed and it was finally his turn. The principal looked down at his list of names and yelled, "Josh" into the microphone. Josh got up and walked down the aisle towards the stage. Pixel had gotten the aisle seat, and she reached out and squeezed his hand as he walked past. With a smile on his face he reached the stairs leading up to the stage. Just then a small tremor ran through the building. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was enough to stall the ceremony. Everybody was looking around, trying to find the tremor's source. The principal looked around and said, "I'm sure that was nothing to worry about, just a small earthquake." When Josh was satisfied that the tremor was done, he climbed the stairs and made his way across the stage. He accepted his diploma from the teacher and reached out to shake the principal's hand.

Just as their fingers touched, the roof above the two collapsed. Josh dove off of the stage in time to avoid the debris. Unfortunately for the principal, he was unable to act in time and was crushed under the weight of the stone. Josh got up and looked around frantically. Waves of armor-clad soldiers swarmed through the hole in the ceiling, landing on the stage. From the middle, a large, very furry man walked forward. In a burly voice he announced, "My name is Baer and I have been sent by Lord Spyro. There have been talks of a resistance forming. I am here to put a stop to it. Give yourselves up and I promise you a swift and painless death. Fight, and I will make your death as messy and painful as possible."

Zen stood up and yelled, "The enemy is here. Now is the time to show them what we've got!"

"Zen!" yelled Josh, "They have armor, and we have daggers. This is not the time to fight."

But Zen had the rush of adrenaline roaring in his ears. He reached under his chair and pulled out a spear. "Now!" he yelled, "FIGHT."

Enemies poured off of the stage slaughtering anybody in their way. Josh grabbed a dagger from his belt and quickly took out a large man that had been charging at him. "Pixel!" he yelled. He frantically searched the room for her. Again and again he found himself surrounded by enemies. At the beginning of the day his robes were white. Now they were stained a deep crimson. From a distance he heard a muffled yelp. He looked back towards the stage to see the man called Baer standing over Pixel. Pixel's dagger was lodged deep in Baer's thigh. Baer reached down and grabbed her by her hair, pulling her up to her feet. Slowly, he pulled the dagger from his thigh and wiped the blood on his pants. "You'll pay for that you wench!"

A wave of anger washed over Josh. He loosed a kick straight into the groin of the nearest enemy and took off towards the stage. Along the way he took out any enemy who crossed his path. Off to the right of the stage he saw Zen and Austin back-to-back, killing troops like they had been doing it their whole lives. Looking back at Pixel, he realized he would not make it in time. Baer had turned pixel so that his arm was wrapped around her, pinning her arms to her side. He held the dagger under her chin. With one swipe, she would be gone. "ZEN!" he yelled. Zen looked at him, a wild look in his eyes. Josh pointed to where Pixel was. Realization passed over Zen's face and within seconds he and Austin had surrounded Baer, spear raised in the air. This made Baer pause long enough to allow Josh to catch up. Together, they made a circle around the enemy General.

"Drop your weapons or the bitch dies!" yelled Baer.

Zen narrowed his eyes and yelled, "You drop your weapon or you die!" Around the stage the fighting had stopped. Those that were left on both sides stood around the platform and watched as the leaders of both sides continued their stalemate. "I will not say it again, drop your weapons or I will end this girl's life." Josh looked over at Zen. "Do it", he begged, "Please." Zen seemed torn. His face showed that he really wanted to end this man's life but his hand would not pull the trigger. "Zen," said Austin. But Zen shook his head. With a sigh, Zen said, "Sometimes leaders need to make difficult choices that not everybody agrees with. I only hope that you can forgive me." Josh realized what was about to happen too late. With a roar, Zen pulled back his hand, and launched his spear straight at Baer's heart.

The spear tore through the vitals of both Pixel and Baer. Together, they dropped to the ground. Zen turned to the remaining enemies and shouted, "Go back to your master and tell her what happened here. We will not accept her tyranny. If she wants the southern end of Twitch, she will have to pry it from our cold dead hands." The enemy, seeing their leader dead, retreated in a hurry. The surviving graduates let out a ferocious roar. Everybody that is, except Josh. Zen turned to his troops and said, "Today we have won our first of many victories against Spyro. Let us build on this success and take back the world that we have come to love!" With another roar, the troops filed out of the banquet hall for a night of celebration. Zen turned back to Josh. "I'm sorry. I know this must be hard for you. Take some time to say goodbye." Zen and Austin left the room, leaving Josh alone with the lifeless body of Pixel.

Josh sat motionless, holding Pixel's head in his lap. Tears poured out from his eyes. He could not fathom a life without Pixel. Slowly, he reached into his pocket and slipped the ring out. He picked up her hand and, sliding the ring onto her finger whispered, "Marry me," before burying his head into his hands and sobbing.

…

Later that night, Josh stumbled out of the bar. He hadn't gone to the same bar as the others. He didn't want to even look at their smiling faces. He was bitter. How could they celebrate when they sacrificed one of their own without a second thought in order to win? If they were going to fight like that, then they were no better than the Dragon-Sheep. He walked with his back hunched and his hands dug deep into his pockets, huddling up against the biting wind. He thought back to Zen, deciding to kill Pixel "for the greater good" as he said. Bitterness rose up in his chest, making a foul taste appear in his mouth. "I hate him," Josh said to himself. "I swear I will make him pay. I'll take someone he cares about from him. If only I had a way to make him suffer." From a nearby alley Josh heard a small hiss. He peered into the darkness. Two sharp, green eyes were staring back at him. With the toothy grin, the entity said, "I can help you with that." A purple, wooly claw reached out from the alley's shadow. Josh stood still, staring at the claw. Slowly, a sneer began to grow on his face. He reached out hesitantly and grabbed hold of the paw, walking into the alley.