“Hey, Pep?” His dad’s voice pulled him free from his dream. He reached up and rubbed his face to awaken himself. He adjusted himself in his hammock and looked up at the workshop ceiling.
“Pep, you awake?”
“Yeah… just woke up.” His brow furrowed when he started to recall the quickly fading details of his dream. But if the emperor penguin was allergic to peanut butter, why did he have a Reese’s Pieces ceremonial cake? And why was he throwing a grand celebration on top of the hill while his army below fought off the enraged snail horde of Threcken-Slime?
Pepper lightly smacked his face a couple of times, which finished pulling him out of the dazed dream state. He sat up and saw his dad had opened the workshop door just enough to step halfway inside. His dad motioned behind him with his head. “There’s someone here that wants to talk to you for a second.”
Pepper stepped out of his hammock and found his T-shirt in a pile on his workbench. He gave it a quick guy sniff and felt it was still good for another wear. He threw it on while his dad stepped in to make way for the visitor.
Pepper’s eyes lit up and he smiled when he saw their neighbor Ryan walk through the door. He held a box in his arms and had a beaming smile on his face. His red ball cap was tilted slightly upwards and seemed to fit the overly joyful man who had grown into more of a friend than anything else.
“Oh, hey there, Pep! Man, it is a bustling good day out there, let me tell you. A real good day, I say. Don’t you go getting me wrong there now, I do like me a good sleep in here and there.” Ryan motioned with the box at him and Pepper couldn’t help but grin.
“Yeah… I’ve been burning the midnight gas working on the old golem there.” Pepper flicked his extended thumb towards the almost-finished fighter.
Trent huffed. “It’s called burning the midnight oil.”
Ryan followed Trent without any delay. “Well, something is burning, and I am pretty sure that is Pepper, because not only is he spicy on the old tongue there, he is going to be on fire the next time he steps into that there Golem League.”
Pepper chuckled but felt the confusion come over him as he though over his neighbors comment. He knew there was no ill intent in it and simply chalked it up to another odd Canadian phrase or euphemism that he was not aware of. “So, what’s in the box?” he finally asked.
“Oh, this thing here is… Wait there a second. I have to give you my speech before I tell you about this.” Ryan readjusted himself and cleared his throat. What looked like a rippling shiver flowed over him. He finally composed himself and acted like a totally different person who was giving a business presentation.
“Pepper Walker, I am Ryan DeBruyn with Big Duck Energy, or, as we like to say it, Big D Energy, a small energy drink supplement company formed right out of my garage here in Portage, Michigan. As many people do, I found myself wondering one day what I wanted to do in life and where I was going to devote my own personal Big D Energy… well, I felt there was no better place to put my Big D than into an energy drink.”
Pepper tried to keep his composure as he watched his dad’s face erupt with shock behind Ryan. His dad finally put his hand over his face and started to bite down on his fist in an effort not to laugh.
“Pepper, I’ve put my Big D into every single flavor and can of Big D Energy, and now... I am ready for my Big D to make its way out into the world. I want to try and touch as many people with my Big D as I can.”
Pepper was now physically shaking as he tried his best to contain himself. “Okay… well, how exactly am I supposed to help Big Duck Energy get into the world?”
“I, as CEO of Big D Energy, would like to offer you the first sponsorship deal. And with that… I felt there was no better way to support you than by helping provide your golem with the energy it needs. To give it the Big D that it needs… if you feel me?”
Trent turned and bolted through the door, and Pepper could hear his dad laughing out in the yard. He quickly did his best to distract Ryan by coughing and clearing his throat. “I, uhh, thank you for this opportunity and… just to clarify, you want to give me a power core for my golem?”
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Ryan gave a firm nod and then extended the box out to him. His natural voice and demeanor returned and he was his normal playful self, if there was such a thing as normal for someone like Ryan. “Oh, sure thing there, Pep. I gave an old holler to good old Bill Baxter and asked him what we should do to get you all up and running for that whole KBVS Club matchup. Bold Bill said this would be a good one to gift you.”
Pepper chuckled. “Okay, so what else do you want me to do then for Big D Energy? And, if you don’t mind me asking, how exactly can you afford all this? I mean, Ryan… this is a lot to be gifting me, especially after everything you’ve already done.”
“Well, I got me a few investors and we’ve been discussing the next step for the company. We’re already into production and have a few small stores here in town that are going to start carrying Big D Energy. You’ll go on to win this match, and as you do, our local folks will grab themselves one of them, their Big D’s on their way to work. It’ll be great! We got you a few shirts and swag to wear. I’ll be happy to hook you up with a few cases…”
“Cases? Did you say cases?”
Ryan blinked rapidly, as if his brain had to reset itself quickly. “Well, sure, Pep. I mean, we produce and can the drinks in bulk, see… It’s the best way to save on production, don’t you know. But I can get you more, Pep!”
Ryan shot his hands out in what Pepper interpreted as an attempt to reassure him that he was good for fulfilling the promise. “I’ll get you even more cases if you need them. You know, you go do your thing there and I will do my Big D thing behind you all the way.”
Pepper’s face flared with cringe. “Phrasing, Ryan… phrasing.”
Ryan snapped his fingers and wagged his index finger at Pepper. “That’s what I forgot to schedule. My business partners told me to get some mentorship on my communication methods, and it skipped my mind until you just said that.”
“Well, thanks, Ryan… I really don’t know what to—”
A sarcastic look came over Ryan’s face and stopped Pepper in his tracks. He motioned with his hands towards the box. “Enough with all that blah blah. Let’s open this bad boy and take a good look-see at it.”
Pepper chuckled and he saw his dad return from outside. He shifted his eyes back to the box and started to open up the cardboard. Pepper’s eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the glossy label shining at him. “A Dark Matter Hellion Light!?” he exclaimed.
Ryan had his hands clawed with anticipation and shifted his weight from side to side. “It’s good, right? I got you that there good one, right? Is it… it will work for the whole clay statue thing, right?”
Pepper began to laugh and looked up. “Yes, yes, and yes. Ryan… seriously, thank you. This power core is more than enough to power Mala, and I can easily use it in the Regional League.”
Ryan extended his hand out toward Pepper. “Welcome to the Big D team, Pepper.”
“Phrasing, Ryan.”
***
Okay… one final piece to put this puzzle all together. Just—need—to—get—you—stupid… there! Pepper sighed and stepped back from Mala. The Quintek power rune was the last thing needed to make his golem complete.
That and a few cosmetic touches. The golem that stood before him was more of a poorly shaped humanoid. He looked over to the clay statue of Mala. That was what he truly intended his golem to be. A massive white battle tiger with glowing blue eyes and power vents etched down both sides of its neck. Enormous claws on six fingers that he eventually planned to have an imbuement rune that would practically give the golem shredding claws.
But until then, he turned back and looked over the figure, which looked nothing like the version he had envisioned for years. “One day,” he said, wiping the sweat from his brow with his sweatshirt. “First things first—we gotta dominate this KBVS Club match.”
Pepper walked around to the back of his golem and connected the power core to the newly installed power rune. He kept the back access area open in case he had done something wrong. The small green LED indicator on the rune illuminated, and he was confident everything would work as expected.
He grabbed hold of his 7 Seas command interface. His heart began to pick up speed in anticipation; months of work would now be put to the test. A quick flip on the switch from his thumb and he stepped back as an immediate hum pulsated from the golem.
Though he smiled, he knew it was far from over. A faint glow of blue energy shone out of the back access panel and started to slowly grow in intensity. Pepper shifted his gaze down to his command interface and he watched the initiation sequence.
SECURE POWER CONNECTION TEST COMPLETE………………
BIOC SYSTEM TEST COMPLETE……………….
UNIFIED RUNE BOOTLOADER SYSTEM INITIATED……………….
TEST…RUNE SLOT 1, SUCCESS……………….
TEST…RUNE SLOT 2, SUCCESS……………….
TEST…RUNE SLOT 3, SUCCESS……………….
TEST…RUNE SLOT 4, SUCCESS……………….
TEST…RUNE SLOT 5, SUCCESS……………….
INITIATING RUNE IDENTIFICATION PROTOCOL………………
RUNE SLOT 1, POWER………………
RUNE SLOT 2, CONTROLLER / INTERFACE………………
RUNE SLOT 3, FORCE BLAST………………
RUNE SLOT 4, ENERGY STRIKE………………
RUNE SLOT 5, GRAVITY………………
ESSENCE SCAN INITIATING………………
ESSENCE SCAN IN PROGRESS………………
ESSENCE SCAN IN PROGRESS………………
ESSENCE SCAN COMPLETE………………
ESTIMATED GOLEM HEIGHT…4ʹ 9ʺ………………
ESTIMATED GOLEM WEIGHT…1,245.75 LBS………………
CALIBRATING RUNE CONFIGURATION FOR SPECS………………
SYSTEM INITIATION SEQUENCE COMPLETE………………
Pepper let out a long breath. His shoulders slouched and his head dropped down. His chin landed on his chest. He took a deep breath and then let out the loudest competitive battle cry that he could. “LET’S DO THIS!” His arms were outstretched, and he envisioned the arena there before him.