Yup.
New Chapter.
…
Ok, it's really short, but I've been pondering how to make it more interesting, but it's just… it can't be added on to. I think it's fine the way it is, so that's what you're going to get! After all, short and sweet can't be beat! (:gets boos from the crowd:)
Um, yeah… You might've figured it out by now: I'm not a poet… I'm a fanfic writer.
:coughs: ON WITH THE STORY!
Ch. 12
Just a Game
The Master sat alone in the AP science room wher Mr. Valdemar always taught. He liked the place very much, and often came there when he wanted to be alone. Not to mention the fact that his followers always knew they could find him there, which was very handy when he was waiting for his right hand man to find him and give him a status report. Until then, he'd busy himself with playing chess. No opponent was neccesary, he liked to play against himself.
Carefully, he began the game. He lifted up a pawn, ready to place it forward. Instead of putting it down, he let it hover over the board for a minute.
A pawn. Yes, expendable little pieces that you could shuffle around the board and get rid of at your leisure. Not very good pieces, really—they could only move forward, and hardly ever took any pieces besides the opponent's pawns. That's why they were so disposable. But if you ignored an opponent's pawn for long enough, the pawn would sneak past all your good pieces to the other side of the board, and become a different, more powerful piece for you to command.
He was beginning to wonder if he'd slipped up somehow, because many of the people he was watching—Cornelius, Ryu, Ingrid, Tamas, and even the unknown Su-il-en9roc—seemed to have transformed themselves from pawns into something far worse…
Before he could follow up on that thought, he heard the door to the science room slide open. Behind it, Jason, his right hand man, entered the room. "Ah, I thought you would be here, sir." He bowed slightly. "I thought you wanted me to give the progress report."
"So I did, Jason…" the Master trailed off, resuming his game of chess. "What kept you?"
"Everything." Replied the boy. The Master shot him a curious glance, then shrugged with a smile.
"So, Jason," The Master began smoothly, motioning to his game of chess. "What do you think of Cornelius Fillmore? Is he a pawn?"
Worried, Jason took in a deep breath. This was not a good way to start a meeting, especially if the Master was feeling cryptic that evening. "No." he answered. "Not at all. With the right moves, he could take us out." Secretly, to himself, the boy hoped he wasn't getting in over his head. Critisizing the Master was risky buisiness, and underestimating him was even worse. But if he didn't tell the Master what he thought—exactly what he thought—then the Master might start to get suspicious with him.
To his relief, the Master grinned slightly. "And the girl, Ingrid Third?"
Jason bit his lip. "I'm not sure about her…" he muttered. "She's smart, smart enough to be as much of a threat as Cornelius is… but… we can do something about her, right? It's like a double trap. We blackmailed Fillmore into getting out of the safety patrol because we told him we'd hurt Ingrid if he didn't, and Ingrid might be worried about Cornelius, and what we might do to him if we think she's… suspicious."
"And if she isn't worried?"
Blinking, Jason looked up. "Then we can just get rid of her, can't we?"
The Master nearly laughed. "I'm not so sure your head's in the game, kid. Pay attention to the board, or you'll loose. If we get rid of Ingrid, there's nothing keeping Fillmore in check." He smiled. "We might've been in trouble if she started pointing her nose in our direction." The Master chuckled to himself, moving a bishop across the chess board, taking a white horse from his 'opponent'.
This white horse he held up for Jason to see. "No, Ingrid Third is not a pawn. She is a knight. If she's in the right position, she can put us in check without being in danger herself. And there are very few knights in the game of life, Jason." He twirled the piece in his hands.
"I… see…" Jason said, in a tone of voice that meant he didn't understand at all.
"Cornelius… Cornelius Fillmore is a bishop. He'll lie in wait on the other side of the board until you slip up, and then jump out of nowhere and take you by surprise. He's a crafty one, I'll give him that. You can Box him in and he still gets out." He muttered, a sour look on his face.
Jason shifted his weight onto his other foot. "What do you mean, sir? He's been lying in helpless wait while we go through our plans. He's only come into contact with the Safety Patrol once!"
"Are you sure of that?" Asked the Master. Jason didn't answer, so the Master leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling thoughtfully. "All the pieces are important, Jason. Tell me, have you heard of Su-il-en9roc?" he asked.
Jason seemed flustered. "You mean that person who Andrea—ah, I mean, Amelia—caught IMing Ingrid?"
The master groaned. "Don't tell me that girl was out boasting about it again…"
The boy shifted his weight again. "She was saying how she hacked into the school's computer records and found someone named Rock giving inside information about us. That's all."
The Master shook his head. "That girl'll be the end of us…" he muttered. "Yes, that person. He's given Ingrid Third, and the safety patrol, more information that we would like. What do you think about him?" asked the master. "Is he a pawn?"
Jason shrugged. "I don't know, sir." He admitted.
The Master leaned back, a glint in his eyes. He surveyed the chess board. "I don't think I know, either." He said, making another move on the board. "You see, what I think, I think that Su-il-en9roc could very well BE a pawn… just a very, very well placed pawn." He set a pawn down on the board, and Jason could see it was in position to take either a knight or a rook on its next turn. The boy frowned. "Like this one here." The Master motioned to the board. "Roc has us pinned on one side or the other. He's a bomb waiting to go off, and probably WILL go off if we make the wrong move. And unfortunately, I don't know exactly where Su-il-en9roc is on the board. He could very well have me in check." The Master sighed with annoyance.
"You sure are fond of chess analogies, sir…" Jason muttered quietly, but the Master heard him.
"Actually, chess puns. They're far more fun. Care for a game?" he asked, setting the knight he'd been holding down on the table. His mood brightened considerably.
Jason cringed, not knowing how to say what he needed to say. "Sir…" he said wairily, making the Master look over to him. "I think… that the Dragon Lord has caught on to our little game." He said finally.
The Master frowned thoughtfully. "So DL, the infamous Dragon Lord, finally decided to challenge the Shard gang to The Territorial Battle? I was wondering when he'd get the guts to do it." he thought aloud.
Jason cringed again. "No… I mean…" Jason stuttered, falling silent.
The Master looked at him sharply. "What happened?" he asked flatly.
"It seems as though the Dragon Gang has taken it upon themselves to guard Fillmore and his friends."
At this news, the Master seemed to get very angry. "What?" he demanded. "How in gods name did they get this past you? The Dragon Lord seems to have no regard for the rules of this game." The Master muttered, sinking low in his chair. Jason backed up a step while he could, slightly afraid at how angry the Master appeared.
"Then why should we have to follow the rules of combat?" asked the boy, a little wary. "If they cheat, they give us licence to cheat as well."
The Master pondered this thought. "That might not be such a bad idea, Jason." He said after a time of thought. "Not bad at all. Come, tell me the details to this situation, so I can figure out how to work this to our advantage. After all… no honor among theives, right?" he asked.
"Not anymore, sir." Jason said, sitting in the chair opposite of the Master. "Not anymore…"
End! …of the chapter.
Yeah…
Firstly, thanks for all the reviews last chapter:loves reviews:
To Zeerak and anyone else missing Fillmore, he's going to have a big BIG B! I! G! part next chapter, so don't worry. Yall'll be seeing him soon.
Anyways, I don't know when the next chapter's going to be up, really. So don't hold your breath… imagine, if you all died from lack of air, I'd REALLY get sued, and not just because I didn't put a disclaimer this chapter:cough:is now just realizing it:
See ya CH. 13!
