THE MOMENT
"I guess I don't have a choice...," Frost chose the only option that would move him forward. The teenager stood in the narrow prison hallway outside the Mafia Boss' cell and touched the 'Join Him' option on his Slate. The moment he did, the round, well-dressed man stood from his hardwood desk and approached the bars to appraise Frost. His jail cell was larger than some houses Frost had been in. It was decorated with all kinds of personal effects including a king-sized bed with shiny, silky sheets. His 'jail time' was only a minor formality he had to work around.
"You're a smart kid," the crime lord said. "There's room for people like you in my organization. But first, I need a little... 'proof of intent' from you." Frost sighed as the quest appeared in the top right corner of his view. He wasn't expecting it; but, it made sense. He just hoped it was the only one. "I'm having a little trouble collecting some... 'organizational dues' from a vendor downtown....,"
"Yeah, I'll take care of it," Frost accepted the quest just to get the crime boss to stop talking. He'd already read the quest and planned to get it done as fast as possible. He dropped a black card on the floor to open a portal; but, before he stepped into it, he spotted another one opening inside the cell. A tall black hole appeared on the far wall behind the Mafia boss.
"Hey!" As used to seeing portals as he was, the fact that it was in his new boss' cell was enough to keep him there instead of taking the portal out. A teenage girl with a long, single, wine-red braid down her back stepped out of the portal in the cell. She looked vaguely familiar and he placed her at the same school he went to. She wore a dark red ninja garb and had a sword ready as she approached the prisoner from behind. "Hey! I WAS HERE FIRST!" Frost shouted at her. She glanced at him just long enough to make it clear she was ignoring him when she turned away. She kept moving forward.
"You're not ignoring me that easy..." Frost mumbled to himself. He pulled his node out and held it in front of him.
"It's okay," he said. "I'm chill." A bright flash of gold light pulsed out from the clear, card-sized node and in an instant, he had his armor on, with his sword and shield at the ready. The ninja girl realized he logged in and rushed at the heavyset prisoner. But, she was too slow.
[Battle Ready] Frost used an Ability to buff himself and debuff her just as she slashed at the prisoner with her sword. He remained in place by the bars focused on Frost; he didn't even notice the sword attack.
"Fine, I guess we're dueling," the girl replied. Frost's Ability Taunted her and she couldn't damage the NPC Mafia boss until she landed a hit on Frost first. She sank into a hole in the cell, then rose from the ground in front of Frost, along with two other copies of herself.
"Why are you protecting him?" one of them asked as they surrounded Frost. "He's an NPC, his whole job is to get killed by players."
"I know," Frost replied. "But, I was here first."
"Huh?" the girl tilted her head and the other two clones disintegrated into white powder. "You're here to kill him too?" she asked.
"Yeah," Frost nodded. "It's a guild quest; but, I can't get into the cell until I work my way up in his organization." The girl giggled and shook her head. She approached Frost with an outstretched hand.
"My name's Valentine," she said.
"Frost," he sheathed his sword and shook her hand.
"Well, do you have to do those other quests?" she asked. "The only one you want to complete is to kill him, right?"
"Right," he nodded. "But, I can't get in there. I already tried all my Abilities and Traversing.... wait a minute," he looked at her as he had a moment of clarity. She seemed to notice it and winked at him; then, she sank into the floor like a stone.
"It's an Assassin Ability," she explained from inside the cell again. She drew her sword again.
"Wait!" Keys said.
"No," Valentine shook her head with a grin. "It's faster if you just join my group." As she answered it, her invitation appeared in his vision.
"Ohhhhhhh... you're smart," he said. He accepted the invitation.
"Yeah, I am," she replied as she impaled the Mafia boss from behind. He gurgled and slumped over; then, he disintegrated into white dust. She looked at him. "Did you get credit?"
"Yes! Thank you!" he said.
"See ya around, Frost," Valentine replied with a wave as she disappeared into another portal beneath her. She left too quickly for him to reply; but, he realized they were still in the same group.
[/p: I hope so! -Frost] he sent the Whisper to the group chat; then, panicked at his own enthusiasm. He immediately left the group. But, his sigh of relief was cut short when he felt words on his wrist; and, her voice replied softly in his mind. His cheeks flooded with heat as he tried his best to keep his cool.
[Thank you, that's sweet. -Vlntne]
[Me too. -Vlntne]