by Animala » Fri Dec 10, 2010 6:36 pm
Lauren had been pleased to return to a more solid shape, and had largely returned to her normal routine of training, bike riding, and watching the television versions of her favorite comics. She couldn't believe what she'd been missing! As Winterveil approached, her bike spent more of its time lying in the hall, and she even stopped Lunar Guardian R right in the middle of the second plot arc.
It didn't used to be that way. Well, sort of. She used to lose herself in books, or school work just fine this time of year. But these days, those things just didn't use up enough CPU cycles. And so there she was, racing down the hallway at top speed, all senses on full alert for any signs of changes: it wouldn't be the first time someone wound up as an unintentional obstacle in her training. She had left her bicycle on its side in the hall. She ran through the routine Jump. Disengage XLR8. Her left foot grazed the rear tire, starting it spinning ridiculously fast. Re-engage. Land. She slid at full speed to the opposite end of the hall. She raised her right leg, sliding only on her left foot. Disengage. The sudden friction sent her spinning and toppling over. Stop. Jump. She slammed her right foot down, stopping the spin as it brought her to face back down the hall, then pushed off with both feet, turning her fall into a controlled leap. Roll. She rolled, then landed in a runner's crouch. Go. Back down the hall she raced, approaching her bike again. Jump. Disengage XLR8. Her right foot grazing the rear tire. Land. Stop.
She turned back to the bicycle, and watched the rear wheel, as it slowly rotated. On her return trip, she had hit it in the opposite direction, bringing it almost to a perfect stop. Close. Again. She returned to the end of the hall, carefully calculating momentum and force in her head, and focusing on her control. It was a difficult problem, with a thousand contingency plans for interference and a thousand things to worry about.
She didn't worry about her father at all.
***
Ambassador Leafshade lay motionless in her (and Lauren's) room, jacked into the PDA. Notes on attack types, EVs and Eevees flew through her head. Next time, she'd know what she was getting into. She wouldn't just be good, she'd be great. She was confident at the outset that it would take only a few weeks, tops, for her to be equal to the greatest players in the world. They, after all, were not wunderkind. But knowing their strategies and the mechanics would only be enough to mimic them. And that was not enough. She had to find something new. She would approach this game from a new direction that no one had ever considered before, and she would surpass them all. She would be the very best, like no one ever was.