SHADES OF BLONE
An interactive epic, Ben Herzog, 2001(C)
First time users should type "Help". To skip to the game, type "Begin".
HELP
This "Interactive Fiction" (or I-F in short) responds to your commands. The parser used to assemble this piece was quite advanced and you sohuldn't encounter any "Guess the verb" puzzles. Examples for commands would be "OPEN DOOR" or "DROP KEYS". You can interact with characters either by telling them about things (TELL MAN ABOUT PEANUTS), asking them about things (ASK CLERK ABOUT BANK ACCOUNT) or commanding them (JOSEPH, MOVE THE CHAIR). The Interactive Fiction pieces "Fear" and "Tapestry" inspired me to write this. If you are ever stuck in the game type "HINT" To get an online hint system.
To start the game, type "Begin".
BEGIN
It is very dark. And very, very humid. You don't quite remember how you got here; Although, you do remember being in the middle of the street in the early noon, walking merrily (yet coldly, as you always do) to the mall. Memories start to reshape themselves, about the warm sun, and all the brownish, crispy leaves being lifted gently across the street by the breeze of autumn.
LOOK AROUND
You try to figure out your surroundings. The walls are made of wet concrete, and there is a little privacy window up on the northern wall. You are in the eastern part of the room, facing west.
You can see a door in the west wall.
OPEN DOOR
It occures to you that you are sitting on a chair, and tied to it very, very firmly. It seems that one of your enemies has captured you at last. You are also gagged, which is not good. You rub you legs at one another to feel if your knife is still there. Nope. You have been totally emptied of your weapons.
UNTIE ROPES
You try, but your tied hands cannot perform the feat.
You can hear steps from the distance, suppousedly in the hallway behind the door to the west.
LISTEN TO FOOTSTEPS
They are quite faint, and the only reason you can hear them is that the stepper is stepping very, very boldly on the floor. You can hear a splash every few seconds which indicates that the person has stepped in a puddle of water.
The footsteps get louder, and stop right in front of the door you are facing.
WAIT
Time passes.
You can hear the turn of a key in the door, and it opens for a second, letting you glimpse at the hallway (so near, yet so far). It closes, and after a short silence, you hear a voice speak to you.
LISTEN TO VOICE
"Well, Well, Well." This is clearly a male voice. "Who if not Nina W. It was obvious that I'd capture you one day, the lone, friendless creature that you were. And still are now."
You cringe at the familiarity of the voice.
MAN, WHERE ARE WE?
"Not like you should care, 'Silent Assassin'." (He is obviously mocking your catchcopy as you hear in his tone of voice). "In about a three hour's time, you'll be dead."
IDENTIFY VOICE
There is no doubt; The man holding you captive is Heihachi Mishima, a very very cruel man, head of the Mishima Financial Empire, and somebody who has killed ALOT of people. (Although, if someone was eligible to accuse people of being cruel and killing a lot of people, it wouldn't be you.)
HEIHACHI, WHAT NOW?
"Nice, Nice,", Speaks Heihachi, "So just by the voice, you have recognized who, from your gazzilion enemies, is standing in front of you. Well, no matter. I'm going to leave you alone for about three hours to think over your life and all that, and then you'll be taken to the death raw."
Heihachi opens the door, turns on the light in the room you are in, and exits. You can hear the key turned in the lock again, leaving you trapped even in case you would be able to break out of the chair.
LOOK AROUND
This time, with the light on, you can see the room better. A large Mirror lies on the southern wall, in front of the window on the northern wall. You can see that it is nighttime.
EXAMINE MIRROR
You look in the mirror. You expect to see an exact replicate of yourself. But to your horror, you see a different figure completely, which nothing but resembles your own body and face. It is a mean, blonde inhuman figure with claws, harassing a poor, brown-haired woman which is bleeding. You focus more clearly into the mirror and the world outside of the mirror fades out more and more. Then, when all but the mirror is pitch black, it flashes in a white light, and the next thing you know you are in-
This is your room, in the second story of your father's house in Ireland. You are half-asleep.
A voice shouts, "Nina, wake up."
GET UP
You drag your tired, drowsy, 15-year-old self up. You open your eyes.
"Oh, very good,", Says the figure near you, "If you havn't woken up for another minute, we would have no chance whatsoever to show our project."
you feel like you have already been through this.
There is nothing of peculiar interest here.
You are wearing your PJ's and your watch.
EXAMINE WATCH
It is 7:30 AM. The date is 20.11.2021.
you can only think one thing. "OH GOSH."
EXAMINE FIGURE
No mistaking about this figure. It's your sister Anna, and she is waiting impatiently for you to dress up and go to school. "Are you okay sis? Look, our father is going to be back here in about a quarter an hour, and if we aren't out of the house by then, we're toast anyway."
TELL ANNA I'M SICK
"Oh-kay...", She says, "A very problematic problem here." She puts down her schoolbag and goes to the kitchen. "I'll make you some tea.", She smiles. "You just rest yourself."
WHAT. THE. HECK?!
WAIT
Anna returns with your tea and sits by you. She puts her hand on your forehead. "You're burning.", She says.
ASK ANNA WHY SHE IS NICE TO ME
"Strange question,", She answers, "Why wouldn't I be?"
ASK ANNA ABOUT RICHARD'S DEATH
Your sister gulps. "What are you talking about? Father is very much alive. unfortunately, he's going to remind us of that in about five minutes."
EXAMINE WATCH
You examine your watch, the hour and the date again.
A *CLICK* clicks in your brain.
You know perfectly clear why you feel so sick. You know what is about to happen in about seven minutes.
GET UP
"Huh?", Asks Anna, "What's the matter?"
TELL ANNA ABOUT DANGER
"Ack.", She says, "Are you sure you're not hallucinating?"
YES
"Well, hallucinating people are almost always sure they're not hallucinating, but if what you're telling is true, I don't want to take the risk."
Anna goes down the stairs.
FOLLOW ANNA
You go after her.
Just like it should be, this room is for living. A TV and a radio are here, as some other entertainment products. The front door is in the wall to your right. Although there is an unfamiliar thing in here- A large mirror. You never remembered it was here.
WAIT
Time passes.
Richard, your father, enters the room, and when he spots both of you he is surprised to no end. "Aren't you suppoused to be in school?"
Anna answers, "Nina doesn't feel well. She is also afraid of some monster she says will appear today."
Richard smiles. "Oh... Well, that's okay, I guess you can stay home today Nina."
"I'll ask the teacher to let us do the presentation tomorrow." She waves your hand at you. "Cha-Cha."
Anna Exits the room.
Anna enters the room.
Anna Screams.
EXAMINE DOORWAY
Into the doorway steps a humongous, vile and green creature.
LOOK AROUND
you search frantically around the room for something, ANYTHING, that would help you. Anna runs like the wimp she has always been to the bathroom. Maybe she'll feel better in there, or something. You keep looking around the room. You see a portrait, a tall lamp, Some ancient daggers... nothing interesting but that.
TAKE DAGGERS
You try to snatch one out of place. The monster, looking amused, shoots white laser at them. You let go at the last second, saving yourself from the destiny which strikes the daggers- melting.
ANNA, HELP
You hear no answer from her. But suddenly you see two eyes peering from a hole in the wall. It is definitely her, using the secret passage in the house from the bathroom to the laundry room upstairs. You can see the urgency in her eyes, and they hint to the east of the room. All there is there is the picture and the lamp. You stand, puzzled.
GET LAMP
You silently grab hold of the lamp. Anna's eyes disappear and instead of them you can see a little hollow circle made of a gray substance.
You stand ready to strike.
ANNA, NOW!
The monster is very close to your father. It is about to strike. However, a blast of water apparently coming from the wall stops it. Of course. This is Anna. Always strikes where it is unexpectred. You faintly remember a water hose in the passage.
PLUG LAMP IN WALL
The monster is still shocked with recoil. You plug in the lamp which shines brightly. It is now limited to the range of the long, plastic pole, but fortunately the monster is right about in that range.
STRIKE MONSTER WITH LAMP
You land a fatal blow with the lamp on the Monster. The water short circuits it and you see the monster being electrocuted fiercely. You feel proud of you and your sister to no end. A final flash the dead body of the ogre releases makes the whole world around you flash, and when your eyes return to full functioning, You realize that all along you've been simply staring at the mirror. It is now your figure exactly in the mirror, as it should be, although one thing remains from your adventure-
[YOUR RIVALRY WITH ANNA IS GONE]
{your score has just gone up by nine points.}
You look at the mirror again, and see your own normal, human figure. She smiles at you from the mirror, and the mirror gradually vanishes and disappears from existence.
LOOK AROUND
The room is as damp as it was. Where the mirror was before you can see a poster of a large bear in its natural habitat.
Exactly where you would like to be right now.
EXAMINE POSTER
You look deep into the poster. Suddenly, it animates, and a giant leopard lunges at the bear in the picture. Its mother comes and tries to protect it but the leopard defeats both and kills them. The world around the poster darkens and darkens, until all is black void but the poster. Suddenly, it glows a white light, flashes, and when you open your eyes you are...
You breathe the cool air of the afternoon. What a wonderful place to be at for the evening. The sun is already halfway below the horizon. The wind blows coolly.
A very unsettling voice in your mind tells you, *GO NORTH*.
NORTH
You do as the voice commands you before you even have time to react, and reach a clearing. To the west you can see a lake, and to the north there is a little shack.
The voice speaks again, *ENTER THE SHACK*.
ENTER SHACK
The voice controls you completely, and you do so before you can even think about it. You break into the door.
There are two beds in here. There is a strange addition to the place- a poster of a bear in its natural habitat on the wall. Surprised, A young boy whimpers to the corner at your menacing stare.
A black-haired woman, about your age, jumps from a sideroom and takes a fighting stance.
The voice in your head roars, *KILL HER*.
NO
The voice rages. *HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME*!
Everything turns pitch black.
you are facing a humongous brown monster with a serpent as one hand. *DO YOU DARE TO FIGHT A HOPELESS MATCH AGAINST ME*?
YES
The monster chuckles. *YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO WIN. YOU ARE VERY, VERY OLD, AS I SEE IN YOUR SOUL; OLD AND WEAK*.
TELL MONSTER ABOUT CRYOSLEEP
you shoot at the monster the fact, that thanks to the cryosleep, you are as fit as ever to fend for yourself.
*OLD IN AGE BUT YOUNG IN SPIRIT*!, The monster roars. *YOU STILL HAVE NO CHANCE TO FREE YOURSELF*. It laughs maniacally. *WHAT TOOL OF FIGHTING DO YOU HAVE TO ASSIST YOU AGAINST ME*?
TELL MONSTER ABOUT AIKIDO
*SO YOU HAVE SOME FIGHT IN YOU*. The monster doesn't seem bothered at all. *YOUR FIGHTING POWERS ARE USELESS! YOU ARE A LONE, EMOTIONLESS CREATURE, WHO HAS NOBODY, NOT FRIENDS, NOR FAMILIY MEMBERS, TO RELY UPON. YOU ARE WEAK. SURRENDER NOW!*
TELL MONSTER ABOUT MIRROR
There is silence.
"Excuse me miss, are you okay?", The black-haired woman asks your bewildered self. You faint on the spot before having a chance to react. Your face is buried in the floor; However, the green grass you are facing reforms itself strangely. it becomes a little forest, and in it there is a little bear. A damp room fades in, and you realize that all of this time you have been simply staring blankly into the poster. The forest is gone, but one thing does remain-
[JIN AND JUN KAZAMA NO LONGER HATE YOU]
{Your score has just gone up by 9 points.}
The leopard in the poster fights its animal instincts, and the bears hunt salmon for it and treat it until it is well again. The poster slowly disappears.
LOOK AROUND
The room is still damp. About 40 minutes out of the time Heihachi dedicated for you to think your life over have passed. Where the Poster was hung before, you see a square purple rug, for decorative purposes probably. It is hung to the wall by a nail.
EXAMINE PURPLE RUG
Suddenly, to your sheer horror, a stain of blood starts to expand from the center of the rug. Everything around the rug turns pitch black, and it starts to flare with bright white. The climax of the glow is a sudden flash. You close your eyes instinctively, and when you open them, you are-
A man speaks to you. "You know you are up to the task, Miss Williams. You will be able to take down Kazuya Mishima. As a reward, you will be granted all the money you need. Just answer, yes or no."
NO
The word tries to leave your mouth, but it can't. There is no replacement to such an opportunity.
THINK ABOUT ANNA
Yeah, she is Kazuya's bodyguard. It will be a shame to kill her. Maybe you would decapicate her, or something. But the feeling of wrongness about it throbs in your stomach.
[resistence score has gone up by 1 point]
THINK ABOUT A JOB
Getting a job? You never thought of that... being something except for an assassin. That'd be a good alternative for earning money, but much less. Would you be able to maintain your apartment? Still, the possibility of getting the same reward without risking your own life winks at you.
[resistence score has gone up by 1 point]
THINK ABOUT KILLING
You start to understand what you are about to do. Kill a living person. This begins to stick in your throat and make it feel very, very dry.
[resistence score has gone up by 1 point]
THINK ABOUT MY LIFE
Yeah, what about them? Where the heck are they going, anyway? To a dead end if you get this contract. You'll be hunted after this until you're extinct.
[resistence score has gone up by 1 point]
THINK ABOUT HAPPINESS
Well, this is what after all you try to achieve, no? You start to think how happy would this money make you. It may be alot, but then what? Just big, large emptiness.
[resistence score has reached 5 points]
SAY NO
You muster up the courage to disagree. "No thanks. Find another assassin." You walk out of the room.
You remember this street. You came here on foot. You need a ride home, or a bus, or something.
HITCHHIKE
You extend your thumb. After some time, a fancy white honda stops near you. A suspicious silver-haired guy asks you from the driver's seat, "Need a ride?"
YES
"Okay then. No, not here, on the backseat, and to the other side of the driver. Heavens, havn't your mother taught you how to avoid hitchhiking dangers?" You sit in his car where he instructs you. He starts the car again.
ASK MAN FOR HIS NAME
"Lee.", he says, "Lee Chaolan."
"Where do you want a ride to?", Lee asks.
ASK MAN WHERE HE IS GOING
"Well, you were taught some safety moves after all,", He smiles, and mentions the address he is heading to, exactly.
you flinch at his response. "You have just said you are already headed straight to my house."
He looks puzzled at you.
WAIT
"That means I won't lose a minute of my time. Nobody wants to be late on such occasions.", he says and shrugs.
"Who in my building are you visiting?", You ask.
"Nah, nobody important."
ASK MAN ABOUT HIMSELF
"I am the foster brother of the oh-so-mighty-yet-totally-insane Kazuya Mishima." You are very surprised. The guy is the brother of the man you refused to kill moments earlier, and is heading straight to your house, to an "occasion".
ASK MAN ABOUT OCCANSION
"Oh, nothing especially important."
WAIT
You arrive at your destination. "Thank you.", you say, and slip out of the car and into your apartment in the second story of the building.
Your apartment is quite small, only one room and one bathroom. But it IS roomy. And it IS yours. So it's enough for you. There is a window facing the street.
LOOK THROUGH WINDOW
You look through the window, and to your surprise, the car that gave you a ride is still there. It honks. Did you forget something in the car?... You do a quick check of your items. Nope. Everything's there.
WAIT
The car honks again. You can hear quick footsteps in the stairway.
LOOK THROUGH WINDOW
*BANG*! Everything clicks into place. None other than your sister enters the car, and the driver drives away. It is ONLY logical that a person wouldn't give away too many details to a stranger about a date...
Well, that was nice. You are very tired though.
GET ONTO BED
You climb into your bed and cover yourself with a blanket.
SLEEP
You close your eyes. There is a distinct square spot of purple in the black of your vision. Suddenly, you snap- You were simply eyeing the square, purple rug all of the time. But-
[KAZUYA MISHIMA DOES NOT HATE YOU AND YOU NEVER WENT INTO CRYOSLEEP]
{Your score has gone up by 9 points.}
Your hair suddenly feels much alive. To your surprise, it is no longer worn in a ponytail; It is long and curly. And blonde. Till today, from the cryosleep at least, your hair was white due to drawbacks of the cryosleep appartus. But now your hair is blonde, beautiful, natural blonde as it should be.
The purple rug zooms out and it turns out it is a part of Kazuya Mishima's suit. The stain of blood slowly disappears. After it, the purple rug itself dissembles into strands which disappear without a trace before hitting the floor.
LOOK AROUND
There is nothing of interest in the room right now. Just dampness and the window. Your limbs hurt from all of the forced sitting.
You hear stepping in the corridor again.
LISTEN TO STEPS
Very very bold. You suppouse that this is Heihachi Mishima again.
WAIT
Heihachi enters, quite amused. "I hope your three hours passed nicely. We Injected an hallucination drug to you so you won't be bored throughout your long stay here. Grab her."
A bunch of tekkenshu lift you and take you through the corridor to the death raw room.
You are strapped to an electric chair. The room is made of white bricks and a strong neon light. What a place to end your life, you think.
A *BANG* is heard on the door.
Heihachi seems annoyed. "Ignore it." He sets the voltage to a very deadly dose. You are about to be fried like a chicken.
GET UP
You try, but metal bands firmly attach your limbs and torso to place.
Heihachi presses more buttons.
Another, Louder *BANG* is heard.
CLOSE EYES
Indeed, that's what each and every of us would've done in such a situation. As Heihachi presses the button to activate the electric current, you close your eyes for the last time...
...or is it?
A final, roraing ***BANG*** is heard and the door falls forward. Heihachi turns, annoyed, in the last second to view the voice.
Into the room Stride Anna Williams, Jin Kazama, Jun Kazama, Kazuya Mishima and Lee ChaoLan. "Move a muscle and you're dead.", Anna warns as she points a sniper rifle to Heihachi's head. Sweatdrops appear on his forehead and shine as they reflect the neon light. A little red circle accompanies these sweatdrops. Heihachi tries to view this red circle fruitlessly. But all he needs is the fact that it is there.
Jin, Kazuya and Jun step forward, and grab heihachi in a way so bold even he would not be able to move from.
Anna Aims and shoots.
"That's what happens to anybody who messes with my friend.", She says.
The word echoes loudly in space, as if the room was tenfold larger than it is.
FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIENd. FRIEnd. FRIend. FRiend. Friend. friend.
The room flashes in white, and suddenly you are
The gentle wind lifts the fallen brown leaves of autumn.
Anna is here.
"So, Where are we going?", She asks cheerfully.
"Were we were headed before. The mall.", You answer. You look at your watch. Twenty years from the date of your birth. Your sister, companion for seventeen of those twenty years and competitor with you in two King of Iron Fist Tournaments, walks near you. "Well, we're here." she says, "What a nice day, isn't it?"
Life is good.
***YOU HAVE WON***
In this game you have scored 27 out of 27 points.
To exit the game, type QUIT.
To read some highly amusing stuff, type AMUSING.
AMUSING
HAVE YOU TRIED TO:
*FLIRT WITH LEE while in the car?
*KILL ANNA while in the day of Richard's death?
*KILL JIN or KILL JUN as ogre has instructed?
*WAKE UP while in damp room?
*SAY YES when asked about the contract to kill Kazuya?
*ASK LEE ABOUT TEKKEN COMMITEE?
*ASK HEIHACHI ABOUT RIVAL TEKKEN COMMITEE?
ASK BEN ABOUT POINT OF FIC
Ben: "It has many points; It depends on whose point of view you are taking."
QUIT
[Hit Any Key to Exit.]
An interactive epic, Ben Herzog, 2001(C)
First time users should type "Help". To skip to the game, type "Begin".
HELP
This "Interactive Fiction" (or I-F in short) responds to your commands. The parser used to assemble this piece was quite advanced and you sohuldn't encounter any "Guess the verb" puzzles. Examples for commands would be "OPEN DOOR" or "DROP KEYS". You can interact with characters either by telling them about things (TELL MAN ABOUT PEANUTS), asking them about things (ASK CLERK ABOUT BANK ACCOUNT) or commanding them (JOSEPH, MOVE THE CHAIR). The Interactive Fiction pieces "Fear" and "Tapestry" inspired me to write this. If you are ever stuck in the game type "HINT" To get an online hint system.
To start the game, type "Begin".
BEGIN
It is very dark. And very, very humid. You don't quite remember how you got here; Although, you do remember being in the middle of the street in the early noon, walking merrily (yet coldly, as you always do) to the mall. Memories start to reshape themselves, about the warm sun, and all the brownish, crispy leaves being lifted gently across the street by the breeze of autumn.
LOOK AROUND
You try to figure out your surroundings. The walls are made of wet concrete, and there is a little privacy window up on the northern wall. You are in the eastern part of the room, facing west.
You can see a door in the west wall.
OPEN DOOR
It occures to you that you are sitting on a chair, and tied to it very, very firmly. It seems that one of your enemies has captured you at last. You are also gagged, which is not good. You rub you legs at one another to feel if your knife is still there. Nope. You have been totally emptied of your weapons.
UNTIE ROPES
You try, but your tied hands cannot perform the feat.
You can hear steps from the distance, suppousedly in the hallway behind the door to the west.
LISTEN TO FOOTSTEPS
They are quite faint, and the only reason you can hear them is that the stepper is stepping very, very boldly on the floor. You can hear a splash every few seconds which indicates that the person has stepped in a puddle of water.
The footsteps get louder, and stop right in front of the door you are facing.
WAIT
Time passes.
You can hear the turn of a key in the door, and it opens for a second, letting you glimpse at the hallway (so near, yet so far). It closes, and after a short silence, you hear a voice speak to you.
LISTEN TO VOICE
"Well, Well, Well." This is clearly a male voice. "Who if not Nina W. It was obvious that I'd capture you one day, the lone, friendless creature that you were. And still are now."
You cringe at the familiarity of the voice.
MAN, WHERE ARE WE?
"Not like you should care, 'Silent Assassin'." (He is obviously mocking your catchcopy as you hear in his tone of voice). "In about a three hour's time, you'll be dead."
IDENTIFY VOICE
There is no doubt; The man holding you captive is Heihachi Mishima, a very very cruel man, head of the Mishima Financial Empire, and somebody who has killed ALOT of people. (Although, if someone was eligible to accuse people of being cruel and killing a lot of people, it wouldn't be you.)
HEIHACHI, WHAT NOW?
"Nice, Nice,", Speaks Heihachi, "So just by the voice, you have recognized who, from your gazzilion enemies, is standing in front of you. Well, no matter. I'm going to leave you alone for about three hours to think over your life and all that, and then you'll be taken to the death raw."
Heihachi opens the door, turns on the light in the room you are in, and exits. You can hear the key turned in the lock again, leaving you trapped even in case you would be able to break out of the chair.
LOOK AROUND
This time, with the light on, you can see the room better. A large Mirror lies on the southern wall, in front of the window on the northern wall. You can see that it is nighttime.
EXAMINE MIRROR
You look in the mirror. You expect to see an exact replicate of yourself. But to your horror, you see a different figure completely, which nothing but resembles your own body and face. It is a mean, blonde inhuman figure with claws, harassing a poor, brown-haired woman which is bleeding. You focus more clearly into the mirror and the world outside of the mirror fades out more and more. Then, when all but the mirror is pitch black, it flashes in a white light, and the next thing you know you are in-
This is your room, in the second story of your father's house in Ireland. You are half-asleep.
A voice shouts, "Nina, wake up."
GET UP
You drag your tired, drowsy, 15-year-old self up. You open your eyes.
"Oh, very good,", Says the figure near you, "If you havn't woken up for another minute, we would have no chance whatsoever to show our project."
you feel like you have already been through this.
There is nothing of peculiar interest here.
You are wearing your PJ's and your watch.
EXAMINE WATCH
It is 7:30 AM. The date is 20.11.2021.
you can only think one thing. "OH GOSH."
EXAMINE FIGURE
No mistaking about this figure. It's your sister Anna, and she is waiting impatiently for you to dress up and go to school. "Are you okay sis? Look, our father is going to be back here in about a quarter an hour, and if we aren't out of the house by then, we're toast anyway."
TELL ANNA I'M SICK
"Oh-kay...", She says, "A very problematic problem here." She puts down her schoolbag and goes to the kitchen. "I'll make you some tea.", She smiles. "You just rest yourself."
WHAT. THE. HECK?!
WAIT
Anna returns with your tea and sits by you. She puts her hand on your forehead. "You're burning.", She says.
ASK ANNA WHY SHE IS NICE TO ME
"Strange question,", She answers, "Why wouldn't I be?"
ASK ANNA ABOUT RICHARD'S DEATH
Your sister gulps. "What are you talking about? Father is very much alive. unfortunately, he's going to remind us of that in about five minutes."
EXAMINE WATCH
You examine your watch, the hour and the date again.
A *CLICK* clicks in your brain.
You know perfectly clear why you feel so sick. You know what is about to happen in about seven minutes.
GET UP
"Huh?", Asks Anna, "What's the matter?"
TELL ANNA ABOUT DANGER
"Ack.", She says, "Are you sure you're not hallucinating?"
YES
"Well, hallucinating people are almost always sure they're not hallucinating, but if what you're telling is true, I don't want to take the risk."
Anna goes down the stairs.
FOLLOW ANNA
You go after her.
Just like it should be, this room is for living. A TV and a radio are here, as some other entertainment products. The front door is in the wall to your right. Although there is an unfamiliar thing in here- A large mirror. You never remembered it was here.
WAIT
Time passes.
Richard, your father, enters the room, and when he spots both of you he is surprised to no end. "Aren't you suppoused to be in school?"
Anna answers, "Nina doesn't feel well. She is also afraid of some monster she says will appear today."
Richard smiles. "Oh... Well, that's okay, I guess you can stay home today Nina."
"I'll ask the teacher to let us do the presentation tomorrow." She waves your hand at you. "Cha-Cha."
Anna Exits the room.
Anna enters the room.
Anna Screams.
EXAMINE DOORWAY
Into the doorway steps a humongous, vile and green creature.
LOOK AROUND
you search frantically around the room for something, ANYTHING, that would help you. Anna runs like the wimp she has always been to the bathroom. Maybe she'll feel better in there, or something. You keep looking around the room. You see a portrait, a tall lamp, Some ancient daggers... nothing interesting but that.
TAKE DAGGERS
You try to snatch one out of place. The monster, looking amused, shoots white laser at them. You let go at the last second, saving yourself from the destiny which strikes the daggers- melting.
ANNA, HELP
You hear no answer from her. But suddenly you see two eyes peering from a hole in the wall. It is definitely her, using the secret passage in the house from the bathroom to the laundry room upstairs. You can see the urgency in her eyes, and they hint to the east of the room. All there is there is the picture and the lamp. You stand, puzzled.
GET LAMP
You silently grab hold of the lamp. Anna's eyes disappear and instead of them you can see a little hollow circle made of a gray substance.
You stand ready to strike.
ANNA, NOW!
The monster is very close to your father. It is about to strike. However, a blast of water apparently coming from the wall stops it. Of course. This is Anna. Always strikes where it is unexpectred. You faintly remember a water hose in the passage.
PLUG LAMP IN WALL
The monster is still shocked with recoil. You plug in the lamp which shines brightly. It is now limited to the range of the long, plastic pole, but fortunately the monster is right about in that range.
STRIKE MONSTER WITH LAMP
You land a fatal blow with the lamp on the Monster. The water short circuits it and you see the monster being electrocuted fiercely. You feel proud of you and your sister to no end. A final flash the dead body of the ogre releases makes the whole world around you flash, and when your eyes return to full functioning, You realize that all along you've been simply staring at the mirror. It is now your figure exactly in the mirror, as it should be, although one thing remains from your adventure-
[YOUR RIVALRY WITH ANNA IS GONE]
{your score has just gone up by nine points.}
You look at the mirror again, and see your own normal, human figure. She smiles at you from the mirror, and the mirror gradually vanishes and disappears from existence.
LOOK AROUND
The room is as damp as it was. Where the mirror was before you can see a poster of a large bear in its natural habitat.
Exactly where you would like to be right now.
EXAMINE POSTER
You look deep into the poster. Suddenly, it animates, and a giant leopard lunges at the bear in the picture. Its mother comes and tries to protect it but the leopard defeats both and kills them. The world around the poster darkens and darkens, until all is black void but the poster. Suddenly, it glows a white light, flashes, and when you open your eyes you are...
You breathe the cool air of the afternoon. What a wonderful place to be at for the evening. The sun is already halfway below the horizon. The wind blows coolly.
A very unsettling voice in your mind tells you, *GO NORTH*.
NORTH
You do as the voice commands you before you even have time to react, and reach a clearing. To the west you can see a lake, and to the north there is a little shack.
The voice speaks again, *ENTER THE SHACK*.
ENTER SHACK
The voice controls you completely, and you do so before you can even think about it. You break into the door.
There are two beds in here. There is a strange addition to the place- a poster of a bear in its natural habitat on the wall. Surprised, A young boy whimpers to the corner at your menacing stare.
A black-haired woman, about your age, jumps from a sideroom and takes a fighting stance.
The voice in your head roars, *KILL HER*.
NO
The voice rages. *HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME*!
Everything turns pitch black.
you are facing a humongous brown monster with a serpent as one hand. *DO YOU DARE TO FIGHT A HOPELESS MATCH AGAINST ME*?
YES
The monster chuckles. *YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO WIN. YOU ARE VERY, VERY OLD, AS I SEE IN YOUR SOUL; OLD AND WEAK*.
TELL MONSTER ABOUT CRYOSLEEP
you shoot at the monster the fact, that thanks to the cryosleep, you are as fit as ever to fend for yourself.
*OLD IN AGE BUT YOUNG IN SPIRIT*!, The monster roars. *YOU STILL HAVE NO CHANCE TO FREE YOURSELF*. It laughs maniacally. *WHAT TOOL OF FIGHTING DO YOU HAVE TO ASSIST YOU AGAINST ME*?
TELL MONSTER ABOUT AIKIDO
*SO YOU HAVE SOME FIGHT IN YOU*. The monster doesn't seem bothered at all. *YOUR FIGHTING POWERS ARE USELESS! YOU ARE A LONE, EMOTIONLESS CREATURE, WHO HAS NOBODY, NOT FRIENDS, NOR FAMILIY MEMBERS, TO RELY UPON. YOU ARE WEAK. SURRENDER NOW!*
TELL MONSTER ABOUT MIRROR
There is silence.
"Excuse me miss, are you okay?", The black-haired woman asks your bewildered self. You faint on the spot before having a chance to react. Your face is buried in the floor; However, the green grass you are facing reforms itself strangely. it becomes a little forest, and in it there is a little bear. A damp room fades in, and you realize that all of this time you have been simply staring blankly into the poster. The forest is gone, but one thing does remain-
[JIN AND JUN KAZAMA NO LONGER HATE YOU]
{Your score has just gone up by 9 points.}
The leopard in the poster fights its animal instincts, and the bears hunt salmon for it and treat it until it is well again. The poster slowly disappears.
LOOK AROUND
The room is still damp. About 40 minutes out of the time Heihachi dedicated for you to think your life over have passed. Where the Poster was hung before, you see a square purple rug, for decorative purposes probably. It is hung to the wall by a nail.
EXAMINE PURPLE RUG
Suddenly, to your sheer horror, a stain of blood starts to expand from the center of the rug. Everything around the rug turns pitch black, and it starts to flare with bright white. The climax of the glow is a sudden flash. You close your eyes instinctively, and when you open them, you are-
A man speaks to you. "You know you are up to the task, Miss Williams. You will be able to take down Kazuya Mishima. As a reward, you will be granted all the money you need. Just answer, yes or no."
NO
The word tries to leave your mouth, but it can't. There is no replacement to such an opportunity.
THINK ABOUT ANNA
Yeah, she is Kazuya's bodyguard. It will be a shame to kill her. Maybe you would decapicate her, or something. But the feeling of wrongness about it throbs in your stomach.
[resistence score has gone up by 1 point]
THINK ABOUT A JOB
Getting a job? You never thought of that... being something except for an assassin. That'd be a good alternative for earning money, but much less. Would you be able to maintain your apartment? Still, the possibility of getting the same reward without risking your own life winks at you.
[resistence score has gone up by 1 point]
THINK ABOUT KILLING
You start to understand what you are about to do. Kill a living person. This begins to stick in your throat and make it feel very, very dry.
[resistence score has gone up by 1 point]
THINK ABOUT MY LIFE
Yeah, what about them? Where the heck are they going, anyway? To a dead end if you get this contract. You'll be hunted after this until you're extinct.
[resistence score has gone up by 1 point]
THINK ABOUT HAPPINESS
Well, this is what after all you try to achieve, no? You start to think how happy would this money make you. It may be alot, but then what? Just big, large emptiness.
[resistence score has reached 5 points]
SAY NO
You muster up the courage to disagree. "No thanks. Find another assassin." You walk out of the room.
You remember this street. You came here on foot. You need a ride home, or a bus, or something.
HITCHHIKE
You extend your thumb. After some time, a fancy white honda stops near you. A suspicious silver-haired guy asks you from the driver's seat, "Need a ride?"
YES
"Okay then. No, not here, on the backseat, and to the other side of the driver. Heavens, havn't your mother taught you how to avoid hitchhiking dangers?" You sit in his car where he instructs you. He starts the car again.
ASK MAN FOR HIS NAME
"Lee.", he says, "Lee Chaolan."
"Where do you want a ride to?", Lee asks.
ASK MAN WHERE HE IS GOING
"Well, you were taught some safety moves after all,", He smiles, and mentions the address he is heading to, exactly.
you flinch at his response. "You have just said you are already headed straight to my house."
He looks puzzled at you.
WAIT
"That means I won't lose a minute of my time. Nobody wants to be late on such occasions.", he says and shrugs.
"Who in my building are you visiting?", You ask.
"Nah, nobody important."
ASK MAN ABOUT HIMSELF
"I am the foster brother of the oh-so-mighty-yet-totally-insane Kazuya Mishima." You are very surprised. The guy is the brother of the man you refused to kill moments earlier, and is heading straight to your house, to an "occasion".
ASK MAN ABOUT OCCANSION
"Oh, nothing especially important."
WAIT
You arrive at your destination. "Thank you.", you say, and slip out of the car and into your apartment in the second story of the building.
Your apartment is quite small, only one room and one bathroom. But it IS roomy. And it IS yours. So it's enough for you. There is a window facing the street.
LOOK THROUGH WINDOW
You look through the window, and to your surprise, the car that gave you a ride is still there. It honks. Did you forget something in the car?... You do a quick check of your items. Nope. Everything's there.
WAIT
The car honks again. You can hear quick footsteps in the stairway.
LOOK THROUGH WINDOW
*BANG*! Everything clicks into place. None other than your sister enters the car, and the driver drives away. It is ONLY logical that a person wouldn't give away too many details to a stranger about a date...
Well, that was nice. You are very tired though.
GET ONTO BED
You climb into your bed and cover yourself with a blanket.
SLEEP
You close your eyes. There is a distinct square spot of purple in the black of your vision. Suddenly, you snap- You were simply eyeing the square, purple rug all of the time. But-
[KAZUYA MISHIMA DOES NOT HATE YOU AND YOU NEVER WENT INTO CRYOSLEEP]
{Your score has gone up by 9 points.}
Your hair suddenly feels much alive. To your surprise, it is no longer worn in a ponytail; It is long and curly. And blonde. Till today, from the cryosleep at least, your hair was white due to drawbacks of the cryosleep appartus. But now your hair is blonde, beautiful, natural blonde as it should be.
The purple rug zooms out and it turns out it is a part of Kazuya Mishima's suit. The stain of blood slowly disappears. After it, the purple rug itself dissembles into strands which disappear without a trace before hitting the floor.
LOOK AROUND
There is nothing of interest in the room right now. Just dampness and the window. Your limbs hurt from all of the forced sitting.
You hear stepping in the corridor again.
LISTEN TO STEPS
Very very bold. You suppouse that this is Heihachi Mishima again.
WAIT
Heihachi enters, quite amused. "I hope your three hours passed nicely. We Injected an hallucination drug to you so you won't be bored throughout your long stay here. Grab her."
A bunch of tekkenshu lift you and take you through the corridor to the death raw room.
You are strapped to an electric chair. The room is made of white bricks and a strong neon light. What a place to end your life, you think.
A *BANG* is heard on the door.
Heihachi seems annoyed. "Ignore it." He sets the voltage to a very deadly dose. You are about to be fried like a chicken.
GET UP
You try, but metal bands firmly attach your limbs and torso to place.
Heihachi presses more buttons.
Another, Louder *BANG* is heard.
CLOSE EYES
Indeed, that's what each and every of us would've done in such a situation. As Heihachi presses the button to activate the electric current, you close your eyes for the last time...
...or is it?
A final, roraing ***BANG*** is heard and the door falls forward. Heihachi turns, annoyed, in the last second to view the voice.
Into the room Stride Anna Williams, Jin Kazama, Jun Kazama, Kazuya Mishima and Lee ChaoLan. "Move a muscle and you're dead.", Anna warns as she points a sniper rifle to Heihachi's head. Sweatdrops appear on his forehead and shine as they reflect the neon light. A little red circle accompanies these sweatdrops. Heihachi tries to view this red circle fruitlessly. But all he needs is the fact that it is there.
Jin, Kazuya and Jun step forward, and grab heihachi in a way so bold even he would not be able to move from.
Anna Aims and shoots.
"That's what happens to anybody who messes with my friend.", She says.
The word echoes loudly in space, as if the room was tenfold larger than it is.
FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIEND. FRIENd. FRIEnd. FRIend. FRiend. Friend. friend.
The room flashes in white, and suddenly you are
The gentle wind lifts the fallen brown leaves of autumn.
Anna is here.
"So, Where are we going?", She asks cheerfully.
"Were we were headed before. The mall.", You answer. You look at your watch. Twenty years from the date of your birth. Your sister, companion for seventeen of those twenty years and competitor with you in two King of Iron Fist Tournaments, walks near you. "Well, we're here." she says, "What a nice day, isn't it?"
Life is good.
***YOU HAVE WON***
In this game you have scored 27 out of 27 points.
To exit the game, type QUIT.
To read some highly amusing stuff, type AMUSING.
AMUSING
HAVE YOU TRIED TO:
*FLIRT WITH LEE while in the car?
*KILL ANNA while in the day of Richard's death?
*KILL JIN or KILL JUN as ogre has instructed?
*WAKE UP while in damp room?
*SAY YES when asked about the contract to kill Kazuya?
*ASK LEE ABOUT TEKKEN COMMITEE?
*ASK HEIHACHI ABOUT RIVAL TEKKEN COMMITEE?
ASK BEN ABOUT POINT OF FIC
Ben: "It has many points; It depends on whose point of view you are taking."
QUIT
[Hit Any Key to Exit.]