“Well, I’ll be… that looks like Pepper Walker. But my eyes must be playing tricks! I haven’t seen Pepper Walker in months.”
Pepper laughed and walked up to the elderly man. “Hey, Jeff. It’s good to see you.”
“Now I know you’re a ghost! Pepper calling me by my first name? The one thing I have been asking him to do for years. Shoot, get out of here, wraith, and come back with our KBVS Club member.” The old man smiled and gave Pepper a firm and mighty handshake.
“I know, I know… I should have at least been coming to the club matches to support the others, even if I wasn’t competing myself.”
A startled look came over the elder’s face. “You go away for a few months and return the stoic, I see. Ha!” He slapped Pepper’s shoulder. “Pepper, when I was your age, I was never in one place for more than ten minutes. Heck, you never knew where I was gonna show up. Sometimes you gotta live life, I say.”
“Oh…” Pepper chuckled. “I’ve lived life all right. Learned a few lessons along the way. Those bumps and bruises you’ve mentioned before.”
“Well, that’s true, but, uhh…” Jeff wagged his finger around between Pepper and his golem. “I’ve also said there is a bit of luck that needs to be thrown in there as well. It certainly seems that you’ve gotten yourself a fair amount of that too. Ha! A little extra luck never hurts.”
Pepper placed his hands on his hips and formed an agreeable expression on his face. “No, it certainly doesn’t.”
“Well, this has just made my day, and now I can’t wait for us to get in there and get things started.” Jeff turned and started to take a rough count. His head twisted around and Pepper saw him focus on something in the distance. “Well, looks like we might be able to squeak out a good sixteen competitors for this match.”
“Well, that’s great. Should be a good show for the fans, then.”
“Sixteen is almost the perfect number for a club match. Any more than that and our staff would be tapped out pretty quick.” Jeff kept twisting his head around and finally looked at him briefly. “Well, Pepper, it’s been a real treat getting to see you again. I should let you go so I can get back to herding these cats.”
Pepper chuckled. “All right, Jeff. It’s good to see you again.”
The area was buzzing with activity as food trucks, craft vendors, and fans all started to roam around the fairgrounds. Pepper had to stop and take a few deep breaths, but he managed to maintain his patience while he navigated the crowd and finally arrived in the staging area for the matches.
Golem Name
Mala
Gladiator
Pepper Walker
Command Interface
7 Seas – Explorer
Height
4ʹ 9ʺ
Weight
>1 ton
Material
Clay
Power Core
Dark Matter – Hellion Light
Main Weapon
Not Applicable
Runes
1. Quintek – Power
2. Ronin – Controller Rune & Interface
3. Koto – Force Blast
4. Dark Dwarf – Energy Strike
5. Modified Dark Dwarf – Gravity
He looked up at the cage number … #9. All right, I don’t know if you’re going to bring me any luck, but lucky #9 will do just fine, he thought to himself while prepping Mala for the safety inspection.
His hand plunged into his backpack and he grabbed hold of his stat sheet and placed it on the table for the inspector. To his surprise, the man showed up again only a minute later and asked him if he’d like him to perform the inspection on the spot.
“Oh, a modified Dark Dwarf rune… someone has been bitten by the crafting bug, I see.”
Pepper just smiled and gave a nod. He hated the safety inspection process and never wanted it to drag on. The last thing he wanted was for the man to find some small item he had missed and disqualify him. Smile and nod Pepper, smile and nod.
“Welp, everything seems to check out. Good luck out there, kid.”
“Thanks.”
The inspector walked out of the holding cage and started to make his way down to the next competitor. Pepper followed him out of the cage and closed the door behind him. He placed his small pad lock on his cage and was startled when he turned around.
There waiting for him was Reggie and another man with a similar build and complexion. The man he didn’t know turned to Reggie and motioned with his head. “This is really the kid you were telling me about?” The man looked surprised; he had jutted his thumb in Pepper’s direction when he asked the question.
“Cuz, I’m telling you… don’t be sleeping on Soulless like that. Kid’s got skills—might be able to learn a thing or two,” Reggie replied and turned his attention back to Pepper. “Where you been, boy? You get your butt whooped by Tamin and then you just bounce out of the scene like a bad habit. Been looking for you up in the stands last couple of months. I knew you were soulless; didn’t know you’d be ghost’n as well.”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Pepper’s shoulders slouched and he lowered his head. “Reggie, I’m sorry. I know I should have—”
Before Pepper could finish, Reggie stepped forward, reached out, and gave him a slap on his shoulder. Reggie’s hand latched on and he shook him lightly. “I’m just playing with you, man. You ain’t gotta be the IRS or something and take this all serious. It’s all good, man.”
Reggie let go of his shoulder and motioned to the man standing next to him. “Soulless, this my lil cousin, Freddy. I convinced him to start competing. This is only his second club match, but he hasn’t been doing too bad.”
Pepper now felt reassured their friendship was still intact and took advantage. “Well, he can’t be worse than you.”
Freddy’s jaw dropped and he started to laugh. “Oh snap! He is soulless. Bwahaha.”
Reggie tilted his head up and waved his hands about. “Ohh, heck naw—no way you just did me like that. I’ll have you know I have five victories under my belt.”
“Wow, five victories… you’re just climbing the ladder there. Too bad that ladder is there to help get you out of the dumpster. Let me know when you make it up to the podium with the rest of us.”
Reggie stood there speechless while Freddy started to laugh uncontrollably. “Yo, this kid is something else. You know what, I’m gonna call you Tip.”
Tip? Why would he—
Pepper didn’t have a chance to respond before Freddy continued. “You just like a match, kid—once that tip lit, you don’t stop.”
Pepper let out a chuckle. “Fine with me, I guess.” He turned and looked down the corridor of the staging area. “I was planning to check out the bracket and see what they’ve put up so far. You guys want to join?”
The two agreed, and they collectively made their way down to the coordinators’ area, where the digital board was displaying the matchups. They started to look over them, and Pepper was happy to see the current arrangement. Both Freddy and Reggie were in the upper tier of the bracket, meaning he wouldn’t have to compete against either of them unless they made it to the final round.
“Yo, I got Wendy in the first round. She any good?” Freddy asked.
Reggie looked at his cousin and then both turned their attention to Pepper. He looked back at the two staring at him and he cringed. “I wouldn’t worry about it, Freddy. I’m pretty sure even Reggie could beat her in his sleep.”
Reggie rolled his eyes and turned back to the screen. “Bryan, then either Jake or Frank in the second round. I’ve watched Bryan a few times and think I’ll be able to get past him.”
Pepper gave a slight upward nod to his friend. “What runes you using today?”
Reggie looked like he was about to answer, then caught himself and smirked. He wagged his finger at Pepper and flared his eyebrows. “Nice try, Soulless. Guess you’ll just have to wait and find out.”
“Worth a shot.”
They turned and walked down the long hallway, having difficulty maintaining any kind of conversation as the room was filled with commotion of competitors and fans moving about. Pepper guided them outside, where they grabbed some soft drinks from a food cart, then found a standing table to gather around and continue the conversation.
“You hear about Tamin?” Reggie asked him.
“I try not to. Why do you ask?”
“He won his Regional Invitation and is now going to the big leagues.”
“That son of a…” Pepper felt his teeth grind together. At the same time he heard the aluminum can crinkle in his hand as his grip cinched down hard on the container.
“Calm down, Tip. Ain’t no need to go nuclear,” Freddy chimed in.
Pepper looked between the two and finally let out a long breath. He tried to shake off the frustration he felt rising within him. “Guess I’ll just have to wait to get my rematch. But”—he lifted a finger—“that rematch will happen. I promise you that.”
They all heard the crackle of the public address system. “Can Freddy, Jeremy, Buck, Sasha, Reggie, and Wendy… please return to the staging area for the pre-match safety inspections. Thank you.” A high-pitched screech blared over the speakers as the announcement cut off.
Their faces all distorted from the ear-splitting pain for a moment. Reggie gave Freddy a nod, and they both warned Pepper they would see him in the arena. He smiled and reminded them they needed to win in order for that to happen.
“Well, look what the country cat dragged in,” a soft playful voice said from behind him.
Pepper turned to see Sabrina standing there waiting for him. Her hazel eyes sparkled when they briefly locked onto one another. She didn’t ask for his permission but leaned forward and wrapped him in a hug.
“Hey, Sabrina. Wow… it’s nice to see you.” Pepper stuttered slightly, as the intrusion into his personal space was something he felt a little uncomfortable with. Though he appreciated the friendship he had with her, it felt a little intrusive now that he was in a relationship with Andrea.
“You must have been hiding in this big old city you guys have over here.” She laughed and gestured around them.
“Oh yeah, we’re big city living all right.” Pepper chuckled. “Wait…” He stopped laughing and quickly recalled the match bracket. He gazed back at her, now curious. “You’re not competing?”
A disheartened look came over her and she sighed, rolling her head from side to side. “No … not yet. I think it will probably take me about another three months before I’m back in the arena.”
“Why is that?” He was surprised to hear that and was curious to know more.
“Well, because Mr. Big Shot over here”—she leaned in and bumped her shoulder against his, another intrusion he didn’t feel too comfortable with—“decided he would destroy every single piece of my golem in the last match I competed in.”
Pepper’s heart sank when he realized that their last match against one another was the last match Sabrina had been able to compete in. He knew exactly how that felt, and now he felt even worse that he had been the cause of that for someone he considered a friend.
“I was so sure I was going to take that match too. I’d been training countless hours and just had this feeling like that match was going to be mine.” Sabrina scrunched her face playfully and widened her eyes for a moment before reverting back to her soft smile. “But I’m sure you have no idea what that’s like, huh?”
“Oh, for sure. It’s been nothing but rainbows and unicorns over here.”
“And community service, from what I hear.”
Pepper turned the statement around. “Well, yeah, I mean, the unicorns have to have a nice pasture to graze in, and every day I got to appreciate the all the rays of the rainbows.” He leaned in and acted like he was whispering a secret. “There’s so many colors.”
Sabrina started to laugh, but the two were caught off guard when Pepper’s ears burned with the voice of none other than his girlfriend.
“What’s so funny? Did I miss out on something?” Andrea said.
Sabrina cleared her throat and looked embarrassed that Andrea had found them having such a lighthearted moment. “We were just talking about unicorns.”
Pepper nervously blurted out, “And rainbows. Don’t forget those… colorful… rainbows.”
Andrea pressed her tongue against the inside of her cheek. “Uhh huhh.” She shifted her weight. “Well, wouldn’t have guessed that.” She focused her attention directly on Sabrina. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Pepper’s girlfriend, Andrea.” To his surprise, Andrea extended her hand.
Sabrina accepted the gesture, and Pepper couldn’t help but notice that his friend didn’t back down at the intensity Andrea was giving off. “Sabrina. Pepper and I have been friends for a few years now. We’ve even competed here against one another.”
“So, are you competing here today, then?” Andrea asked.
“Uhh, no. Pepper went a little too hard on me last time.”
Pepper pressed his lips together and wished he could have been teleported far away from the two lionesses. He sensed the heated anger start to seep out of Andrea, and she turned and glared at him. He stumbled over his words. “What she means is… that in our last match, I had Mala destroy her power core. A really expensive power core, that is, and it was an unnecessary move and one that I shouldn’t have done.”
“I see,” Andrea replied with a narrowed gaze. She then smiled, and Pepper could see it was completely fake. She quickly turned back towards Sabrina. “Well, it’s nice to see you come out and support everyone.”
Pepper could sense the critical levels the nuclear reactor was at, and he felt an explosion was about to happen at any second. He was afraid to do or say anything, thinking anything he tried would cause a catastrophic reaction. Thankfully it was Wendy who saved everyone with her intervention.
“Hey, Sabrina, I failed my safety inspection.” They all looked at Wendy. Her eyes were filled with tears on the verge of spilling over.
“You need some help?” Sabrina asked. Wendy couldn’t even get another sentence out but simply nodded. Sabrina turned back to them. “Okay, gotta go. It was nice to meet you, Andrea. Good luck, Pepper.” She wrapped her arm around Wendy and guided her towards the staging area, reassuring her everything would be okay.
Andrea turned towards Pepper, and he immediately realized that his toughest match was now standing before him. He pressed his lips together and let out a long exhale. He realized clear as day that no amount of fresh French fries were going to make his situation any better.