Mystery's Musical, Part 3-
Second Movement: Andante to Avarus.
Author's note- Andante is a musical term meaning flowing easily and gracefully, sort of like a casual feel, like nothing important's going on. Leo staggered back to his seat. 'Alright, think Leo. Avarus said in the note that things just got more interesting between us. I'm guessing that was his way of warning me that he did something, namely the poison. What did he say after that? Oh yeah, the players are all here and the pieces were falling into place. That part's easy: he must have meant that his friends and I are involved in this and things are going according to plan. Then he mentioned that the game wasn't over yet. He most likely means that he sees this whole affair as some sort of sick game. But why did he say it had already begun? And then he said "check" at the end of the note. Does that mean he wanted me to check something?'
"Hey, Leo, I thought you were getting the smoothies. Hellooo? You spacing out on me again?" "Huh? Oh yeah, right, sorry Animo. I'll go ge-" but Leo found he could barely stand up and fell back into his seat. "Whoa, take it easy, man. I'll get them." 'C'mon Leo, put it together! He said that the game wasn't over yet, but if I don't get this soon, I'm finished. I-' "HIGH SCORE!!! SWEET!" Leo's thoughts were interrupted by the suddenness of a kid's cheer in the arcade. 'Oh, it's just a kid playing some arcade game,' Leo thought. 'Hmm…arcade games. Could that have something to do with it? Argh! He told me I had one hour and I'm already down 15 minutes. Then again….how did he know I was here? Wait! That's it!' "Hey Leo. I got the smoothies-" "I've figured it out! Everything makes sense!" "What, you solved the case already? I told you you'd get it sooner or later." "Animo, I'm sorry but the smoothies will have to wait. Stay here I'll be back within the hour, okay?" "Uhh-" "Great, thanks. I really am sorry." Leo took off for the arcade. 'The first part of the note did mean the poison, but when he said the players were here he was implying that his challenge was a game. "The pieces are falling into place", that's a term people use when their strategy is working. A strategy game! And when he mentioned that the game wasn't over, and that it had already begun, that must mean that it's a timed game, and the timer started when he poisoned me.' Leo burst through the arcade doors. 'His last clue tops it all off: "Check". Poisoning me and sending the note to tell me was a "life and death" move in the game, and he ended his move with "check". The only game you say that in is-' Leo banged his fist on the checkered table he found Avarus sitting at. "Chess! Your challenge was chess!" "Bravo, Mr. Deprehensio. And with 40 minutes to spare, no less. Oh you are good."
"Enough sarcasm already. The deal is I have to beat you at chess and you give me the antidote, right?" "That's correct. And if you lose, well, lets not get into details here. And you might want to hurry up and make your move. You're down to 39 minutes. The clock's ticking, Leo." Leo sat down and started by moving a pawn forward two spaces. Avarus moved a knight. Leo brought out a bishop. Avarus, a pawn. Leo captured his knight with his bishop, but Avarus captured his bishop with another pawn. Leo moved a knight and Avarus captured it with the bishop. The game seemed to go on like that for a while: Leo would make a move and Avarus would counter and capture. In less than 3 minutes Avarus had both of his rooks and his queen. Halfway through the game seemed to be in Leo's favor. He captured both bishops, all his pawns, and one rook, regardless of the increasing sense that he was going to pass out. In the last 5 minutes of the game, only seven pieces were left. Avarus had his king, queen, and one rook. Leo had his king, a bishop, and three pawns. "I've just got one question, Avarus," Leo said. "Why chess?" "Because being a detective means you have to be strategically. You have to know when and where your culprit will strike again, and you have to be able to put the pieces together in your head. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to help you. I just want to see how good you really are. And why have it with any other game than chess?" "Oh, I get it. Figuring out the enemy in a way he can't refuse. Classic." "You make it sound as if I'm the bad guy," Avarus said sarcastically. "But I can't control time, Leo, and you're already down to 3 minutes. That stuff should really be kicking in by now, I'm surprised you can even talk straight. Now, make your move." 'Oh man, not good,' Leo thought. 'If I make one move, he counters it with another. I've got one chance. If I can make him focus more on my bishop, then move my pawn over to his end, I can reclaim my queen and checkmate him. But I've got to think quickly. I've only got a couple more minutes left.' "I'll move my bishop and capture your rook. Check." "I move my king down one, and I'm safe." "I move my pawn up one." 'Okay,' Leo thought, 'just a couple more spaces and I'm in the clear.' "I'll take my queen and block your pawn." "I take my bishop and check your king."
"I block it with my queen." The game went on like that for another minute. With 1 minute left, Leo moved his bishop and checked Avarus's king. Avarus blocked it again, but this time he was out of range from Leo's pawn. "I move my pawn up one." "I capture your bishop." "I move my pawn and reclaim my queen. Checkmate." "What? How is that checkmate?" "Simple. If you move down, one of my pawns capture you. If you move forward or backward, my queen captures you. And if you move diagonally forward-down or backward-down, my other pawn captures you. Face it, I beat you. And with 40 seconds to spare, no less. Oh, I am good. Now hand over the antidote Avarus." "Alright, as we agreed. You win, the antidote is yours. Here, catch!" Avarus threw the antidote high into the air. "Avarus, what are you doing?! That's going against our deal!" "On the contrary," Avarus said coolly. "The antidote is yours now, and your responsibility. Whether it crashes into pieces on the floor or not is up to you now. If you don't catch it in time, that's your fault. Focus, Mr Deprehensio. It's coming your way." Leo looked up to see the antidote accelerating downward a few feet away from him. He bolted forward as fast as he could go and lunged for the bottle. 'Just a little further,' he thought. 'Almost there… Got it!' Leo skidded across the floor as he caught the bottle just in time. He looked at his watch. 5 seconds left! 'Why is it always 5 seconds?' As he pulled the cork top off he felt like he had just used up the rest of his energy. It took him all he had to raise it to his mouth. He gulped it down furiously, and as soon as he finished, he blacked out. Leo awoke again in the Neopian Hospital. "Dude, you've gotta find a more health insurance-friendly career path." It was Animo. "Animo?….Huh?" Leo bolted upright. "Where's Doctor K? Was he here?" "No, it turns out your last visit was his last day working here. He's retired now."
"Oh." 'What a relief.' Leo thought. "Hey Animo, sorry about taking off like that." "Hey, it's business. You gotta do what you gotta do. But seriously, why couldn't you have found a job that isn't life threatening?" Leo shrugged. "What can I say, I'm addicted to the thrill." "Um, listen Leo, there's something I've gotta ask you." "What's up Animo?" "You know how we can't remember our past for some reason?" "Yeah, what about it?" "When I read that name, it seemed to ring a bell in my mind. I got a feeling of de-ja vu when I saw it. I know it's your case and it's none of my business, man, but that's why I've got to ask. If I know about it, I think I might be able to remember a bit about my past. It's just a gut feeling, you know?" "What is it, already? What name?" Animo pulled out an envelope with the seal on it. The seal had been broken. "Avarus. Who is he, and why is he after you?" 'Oh no,' Leo thought. 'Now he's gotten himself involved?'
To be continued…