-Disclaimer: I do not own Lucian, Aaron or any of the characters in Lunar Knights. Believe me, if I did, I wouldn't be here. They belong to Konami and Kojima Productions. Sadly. Woe.
This is a semi-cracky one-shot. It's kind of a 'test run' story before I go onto my bigger writing project, since I haven't written in years. This was a spontaneous idea while I was sitting around being bored. The game they're playing is a concept for a game I may be trying to make based off the Touhou Project series, a 'danmaku' vertical shooter.
That was a sound he didn't need to hear again. Another continue spent and another life wasted. His patience was growing thin.
Lucian let out a frustrated grunt as he slumped in his seat when he died again. He stared at the computer display with a scowl as it displayed the dreaded 'Game Over' screen, which was starting to become the bane of Lucian's existence. It was the first damned level, how could it be so difficult?!
The only reason he was playing this game was because there had been no updates on undead activity. The Guild tracked the remaining undead, while Alice was monitoring any unusual signs that could lead to the Duke from the Sunflower. They had those two cases covered, so Alice had suggested that the Dark Swordsman take the time to unwind for a while and that they would let him know if they came across anything. Lucian couldn't figure out why he had even agreed to it in the first place. It was probably because that kid of Trinity's wouldn't stop bugging him otherwise.
There was nothing to do because of them, and that meant Lucian was stuck with playing this 'Variable Knightmare Armor' game. Aaron raved about it constantly, so Lucian figured it wouldn't hurt to try it out at least once. It was just a game after all, right?
It was a game that Lucian was absolutely fuming at, and if he were playing this game on an arcade machine, he'd probably be out of Soll by the time he got done playing. It was just a vertical shooter game. That's all it was. It shouldn't be that hard! It made piloting the Laplace through frequent enemy barricades and asteroid belts look so easy.
Lucian ran a gloved hand through his hair, mumbling and grunting out of sheer frustration. He wasn't willing to accept defeat, not to a game, and especially not to a game that he's watched Aaron play countless times with relative ease. He just refused to have Aaron actually be able to best him at something, not something so… trivial!
Yet Lucian had the game set on its easiest difficulty setting, and he still couldn't get past the first level. It was absolutely embarrassing. A game couldn't be this hard! The game had to have some kind of flaw, it couldn't have been Lucian, his technique was superb. Aaron probably rigged it so only he could play it so he could make fun of anyone that couldn't. That had to be the case, nothing else made any sense, and it certainly wasn't the fact that Aaron was better than him.
Lucian pulled himself up straight in the chair as he placed his hands on the keyboard again and selected 'Continue'. He was not going to admit defeat to a computer program; He was going to beat this game with flying colors, just to spite Aaron and prove to him that he isn't the only one that can beat it with little difficulty.
Of course, that would not be so, as a bullet once again struck the little blonde character on the screen and caused him to lose a life. Lucian's eyebrow twitched; it was just one life, nothing to worry about. He would just get a higher score and get another life from it. That sheer determination and will power managed to get him through the rest of the first level, to meet the brown-haired boss character again. After a few minutes of playing, he once again met the same fate he had previously with this boss, and the dreaded 'Game Over' came on screen once more.
"Damn it!" Lucian yelled, throwing himself back in the chair and growling, putting his hand over his eyes. There was no reason that this single character should be so hard. Lucian growled under his breath, grumbling profanities about the game and its creators. He made sure to curse Aaron too, just for good measure.
That was when two red-gloved hands came down onto the swordsman's shoulders, the one voice Lucian was dreading at that moment speaking to him. "You can't get past the first level, huh?"
Lucian spread his fingers so his single visible eye could look between them, to stare at the brunette kid grinning broadly at him. Lucian frowned at Aaron, shrugging his hands off his shoulders and sitting back up in the chair. Aaron laughed, walking over beside Lucian and crossing his arms, looking at the computer screen, then back at his purple-haired companion. "Don't worry; he isn't the easiest fight in the world."
"You don't have to lie to make me feel better, Aaron." Lucian spoke with a tone of pure annoyance. Aaron tilted his head, tapping a finger on his arm while staring curiously at Lucian.
"Who said I was lying? Even on the easiest difficulty, he's really hard on the first few tries." Aaron assured, but took a step back when he eyes met that unholy scowl the Dark Swordsman gave him. That look would make anyone take a few steps back, and send a chill down the spines of even the strongest of opponents, Aaron was sure of that, and he sure didn't like it when Lucian gave it to him. Lucian kept the scowl on Aaron for a few moments longer before finally slumping right back into his computer chair.
"The blonde just doesn't move fast enough." Lucian commented, Aaron rubbing the back of his head,
"Lucian, he's the fastest character in the game."
There was that scowl again, and Aaron took another step back. It was just a game, so why in the world was Lucian getting so annoyed at it? Aaron was starting to wonder if that competitive nature was starting to come out again. The younger boy smiled nervously, looking back at the screen, "Maybe if you tried a different character, like maybe the black haired one…"
"I prefer to get things done quickly and efficiently, which is why I chose the one I did." Lucian replied in a harsh growl, making Aaron let out a nervous squeak, "I'm not going to just 'switch out' because one isn't working out."
"Ah, but Lucian, uhm, every character has a different first boss." Aaron pointed out nervously, reaching for the keyboard then, "H-Here, let me show you-"
"Back off!" Lucian barked, causing Aaron to yelp and jump in surprise. Lucian's scowl had turned into a glare then, and it was locked right onto Aaron. The boy was starting to wonder how the vampires never turned and ran in fear if the man had a look like that. Lucian sat up and hissed, looking back at the computer screen, "You play your way and I'll play mine. You probably rigged the damned game anyway."
"Rigged it?" Aaron blinked, tilting his head once again. What in the world was Lucian talking about? "Lucian, only Sheridan can hack into computer programs, not me. There's no way I could 'rig' anything. Besides, what would rigging a computer game accomplish?" He asked as he rested his hands on his hips, an eyebrow raised in the Dark Swordsman's direction.
"It would give you the satisfaction of knowing that you can beat me at something." Lucian replied harshly, which caused Aaron to sigh. Yeah, it was that competitive nature, all right. The apprentice gunslinger watched the man reach back for the keyboard to continue playing, this time restarting the game and starting all over from the beginning. That was when Aaron noticed a detail that Lucian must have missed, but he kept quiet. He was wondering just how long it would take before Lucian would catch it…
A couple of hours passed as Aaron watched Lucian playing the game without rest, and those hours being filled with nothing but frustration and continues for the Dark Swordsman. Aaron just stared; he couldn't believe that Lucian hadn't noticed yet. The younger boy ducked behind the chair when Lucian gave another angry yell, Aaron wearily peeking over the top of the chair as the annoyed swordsman continued again.
Now would be the time to mention what he had noticed, before Lucian got any angrier, "U-Uhm, Lucian? Can I point something out?" Aaron asked, the swordsman grunting as he played, which Aaron had concluded was Lucian speak for 'Go ahead'.
Aaron reached over Lucian and pointed at the side of the screen, just above the 'Lives' and 'Bombs' display. "Lucian, you aren't playing the easiest difficulty. 'Private Class' is the easiest." He explained, looking over his shoulder back at Lucian, "You're playing the 'Rounds Class,' which is the hardest difficulty."
Lucian hesitated, giving Aaron a look as if he were a lunatic before he finally decided to pause the game, looking over at where the younger boy was pointing. Aaron was right. It clearly said Rounds Class and not Private Class, like Lucian had sworn he had selected. The whole time, he had been playing on the hardest difficulty. No wonder that first boss was giving him so many problems.
Aaron grinned sheepishly as Lucian scowled, his right eye twitching, "Don't you dare say anything." He growled at his apprentice partner, who once again took a step back, chuckling nervously.
"Maybe you should stick to playing Twilight Knights: Lunar Princess?" Aaron suggested, hoping in the back of his mind that Lucian wouldn't yell at him again. After all, that was a game Lucian could kick his ass at! However, the man only remained silent, staring at Aaron with a look that could kill. It took a few moments of Aaron fearing for his life before he got his answer, Lucian looking back at the computer screen.
"Not until I at least beat this boss." Lucian replied coldly, causing Aaron to make the aggravated groan this time.
That man was hopeless.