Man Versus Machine
“That’s
it for today’s lesson. Don’t forget to complete your homework for our next
class.” says Hovas, the white magic teacher. “Class dismissed.” One by one,
students pack their books, and walk out of the classroom. Two young females,
each carrying their magic books, are the last of the class, to walk out,
together.
“That
was a hard lesson.” says Jennifer, a student of white magic. Jennifer has dark
brown hair, wears overalls, up to her knees, and needs glasses. “I had no idea
that white magic was such a difficult subject. Lucky for you, you’ve got the
highest mark in the class.”
“It’s
as easy as pie.” says Macy. “You’ve just got to learn to study a little more.”
Macy
has dark hair, gray eyes, and wears a black, bubble vest. The girls have been
best friends for years, and they share a lot of fond memories together. They
both walk to Jennifer’s locker. Jennifer, opens her locker, and shoves her
books inside the locker.
“Jen,”
asks Macy. “Aren’t you going to do the homework Hovas assigned you??”
“I
planned for us to do the homework together.” says Jennifer. “You can study the
magic, and I will help supervise.”
“Yeah,
like that’s a fair deal.” says Macy, sarcastically. “You just wanted to come to
the training school, hoping you would find a boyfriend.”
“So,”
says Jennifer. “I had to come with you to this school. My friend’s been telling
me that those guys in fighter training are so hunky!!”
“Is
that all you think about.” replies Macy. “I heard that Jethro from black magic
training is available, as always.”
“Ewwwww…
Jethro’s such a dork.” says Jennifer. “He’s the last man on Earth that I would
want to go out with. By the way, I heard that hunk Monroe is single too.”
“Monroe,
that neanderthal.” says Macy. “Puhlease! He’s always getting into trouble. I
heard that he’s been picking fights with all the freshman.”
“A
bad boy.” replies Jennifer. “I just love bad boys!!” Jennifer closes her locker,
and her and Macy walk down the hall.
“Hey,
Macy,” says Jennifer. “There’s Charlena.”
“What’s
up, gals??” says Charlena, as she runs over to the two girls. Charlena is one
of the few females in the fighter training class. She hears lots of gossip about
what’s going on around the Yok Makatou Training School. If she hears any
gossip, Macy and Jennifer will be the first ones Charlena will tell.
“Hey,
Charlena.” says Macy. “How’s the class??”
“Rough.”
answers Charlena. “LeBlanc had to call Lt. Mac to break up a fight between
Monroe and Jethro. As usual, Monroe is up to his old tricks.”
“Ewwww…”
says Jennifer. “Isn’t LeBlanc that fat teacher who never wears a shirt??”
“Sigh..Yeah.” whispers Charlena.
“Ick!”
says Jennifer, her tongue sticking out.
“Who
cares.” says Macy. “Anyways, Charlena, have you heard anything worth talking
about going on in the school?”
“Actually,
I heard that there’s a nearby plant, that builds evil machines, up to no good.”
says Charlena. “Our dean, Yok Makatou has learned that the factory is keeping
some of his students prisoner, so he plans to dispatch a party of warriors, to
take on the robots, and rescue the students.”
“Borrring!”
says Jennifer.
“Pay
no attention to Jen here,” says Macy. “Tell me more.”
“The
dean will pick the highest ranking students in this school, to take on the task
of going to the plant.” says Charlena. “I have an average mark, so I know I
won’t be going, but there’s a good chance that a browner like you will be
chosen, Macy.”
“I….I’m
not a browner.” says Macy. “I’m just smart, that’s all.”
“Goody-goody
Macy never gets in trouble.” taunts Jennifer.
“Whatever,”
grumbles Macy.
“Oh,
my gosh.” says Jennifer. “It’s Jairo.”
Jairo,
from the samurai training class, is the tallest student at the school. He is
7’5”, wears a samurai hat and robe, and carries a long samurai axe. Jairo’s
known to attract a lot of girls at the school, but he is also known to be very
modest. Jairo is in the main hall, hanging out with three girls, too interested
in his looks, to even listen to his conversations.
“Jairo,”
says Charlena. “Oh my gosh, he’s so cute. Let’s go there and listen to what he
has to say.”
“Jen,
Char,” says Macy. “If you want to drool over some green giant samurai, go right
ahead. I’ll be doing my own thing, like checking the graffiti the G-Block has
been doing. I’ll see you two later.”
Jennifer
and Charlena walk over to Jairo, not caring about what Macy has to say, as she
walks out the main hall.
Meanwhile,
at the robot factory, three members, two men and a woman, are all dressed in
black uniforms, wearing black shades.
They are all up to no good, as usual.
“Chromium,
Vicella,” says Merton, head of the factory. “How are the factory operations
proceeding?”
“Operations
are running on schedule.” says Vicella, the female member of the factory. “Our
newest model, the Kni-Borgs, have already been assembled. They are up and ready
to go.”
“We
may have to speed up our operations, if we are planning to assault the Yok
Makatou training school.” says Chromium. “We have kept a few of their members
prisoner. The school may try again to attack us, and rescue the students.”
“Not
to worry, Chromium.” says Merton. “Our force-field will keep anyone from
assaulting our plant. There is positively no way the young punks can come
here.” Merton pauses, then continues. “By the way, where is that cad Giorgio?”
“That
idiot must be around here, somewhere.” says Vicella. “He’s so obnoxious, so
rude, so..”
“Talking
about me again, as always.” says an obnoxious voice, coming into the main
cubicle. The last member, is dressed identical to the others, only that he is
stocky.
“Giorgio,”
says Merton. “Where have you been? You should be right here with us, checking
the operations of our machines.”
“Yeah, yeah,” says Giorgio. “Everyone
in this factory is full of crap anyway.”
“What??”
says Merton, Chromium, and Vicella, simultaneously.
“You’re
all full of crap, I don’t care who you are, politician, emperor, or king of the
universe. Why would I even bother working with you clowns anyway??”
“Shaddup,
creep!” says Vicella.
“You’re
in the same boat as me, and you know it.” says Giorgio.
“Why
would I be in the same ship, with an obnoxious, arrogant jerk like you??”
shouts Vicella.
“Giorgio,”
says Chromium. :”Everyone here is sick and tired of you. It’s always the same
‘song and dance’. ‘We’re all full of crap,’ ‘Animals, birds, and people all
love me’, ‘We’re all in the same boat as you.’. Why don’t you grow up, and get
a life.”
Giorgio
walks over to Vicella, and grabs her belly. “You’re growing a little bit of a
pooch there.”
“Ok,
that’s it.” shouts Vicella, as scorpion-like claws and stinger appears behind
her back. “I should sting you like a worm.”
“Bring
it, poochie.” says Giorgio, as plant-like vines, covered with spikes, appear
behind his back.
“Stop
acting like children, both of you!” shouts a figure, showing up on a screen,
behind the four members. The figure, wears armor, with two red eyes glowing
from the helmet. He has four wings, coming out from the back, and is armed with
a huge katal blade, attached to his right arm.
“Yes,
boss.” says Vicella, as her scorpion tail, and claws disappear behind her back.
“Awww,
fine.” Wails Giorgio. His plant-like vines disappear as well.
“Boss,”
says Merton, surprised. “I didn’t think you would contact us so soon.”
“Imbeciles!”
says the boss. “You should be concentrating a strategy on how to destroy the
Yok Makatou school, and all you do is fight amongst each other, like a bunch of
worthless toads.”
“We
are working on it right now, boss.” says Merton. “Our operations are all set.”
“Cease
your melancholy, Merton.” says the boss. “I have just received important
information, that the Yok Makatou school, plans to assault the factory as early
as tomorrow.”
“How
could they?” says Merton. “The force-field around our factory is up and
running, no one can get through.”
“The
school plans to attack us inside the factory, travelling through the sewers. I
assume that the force-field works underground, as well.” says the boss.
“We…we.”
says Merton, hesitantly. “We had no idea that anyone could come here through
the sewers.”
“You
fool!” shouts the boss. “That old fogie Yok Makatou has outsmarted you again.”
“Well,
what do we do??” asks Merton.
“Grrrrrr.”
says the boss. “Do I have to tell you everything! Guard the sewer entrance,
using your machines. Do not let thos puny maggots get in here.”
“Yes,
boss.” says Merton. “Right away!”
“And
Merton,” asks the boss.
“Yes?”
answers Merton.
“If
our captives escape, kill them.” orders the boss.
“It’s
about time.” says Chromium, as he snickers a little.
The
image of the figure disappears from the screen, and Merton begins to give
orders.
“Chromium,
Giorgio,” orders Merton. “Your job is to guard the sewer entrance. I will supply
some robots for reinforcements.”
“Yes,
Merton.” says Chromium. “But, do I have to work with Giorgio over here?”
“Merton
gave the order,” says Giorgio. “Now, let’s go, you grizzly bear.”
At
the Yok Makatou Training School, Macy heads down a corridor, to the right of
the main hall, and opens up a set of doors. She pushes the doors, and walks
toward another hall. As she walks down the hall, she pushes the next set of
doors, and heads out into the courtyard of the training school. The courtyard
is neatly decorated with graffiti, obviously done by students of the school.
One of the kids working on the graffiti, spots Macy, and begins to speak.
“Yo,
the Mace! Wazzup??” says the student, known as R.B. of the G-Block. R.B. is a
ninja, covered in red, and wearing a gold chain and a basketball jersey.
“Just
chillin’, R.B.” says Macy. “How are you guys doing with the graffiti job?”
Another
ninja begins to speak. “Doin’ alright.” says another member of the G-Block,
known as Funk. Funk is a ninja, covered in blue, and has been known to have the
spirit of water working on his side. “How are you doing with your studies,
Mace?”
“I’ve
got a ton of homework to do.” replies Macy. “Hovas assigned me a ton, and I
have to get it done, if I want to maintain my grade point average.”
“Us
ninjas don’t get a lot of homework.” says Ghostface Sheppard. Ghostface
Sheppard is another ninja, only dressed in black, and wears dark glasses. His
head isn’t covered up with ninja bands, because he likes to show off his afro.
“It all comes down to martial arts, and thievery.”
“And,
we have a lot of free time to work on our graffiti.” says Red Pride. Red Pride
is in the G-Block, only he doesn’t dress like a ninja. He wears a plaid cap,
and shirt to match, and wears a grey top, with blue jeans.
“How
are Jen and Char doing?” asks Funk.
“Oh,
they’re drooling over Jairo, as usual.” replies Macy.
“Jairo,”
says Ghostface Sheppard. “The big dude. I wouldn’t wanna mess with him. He’s
the tallest guy in the house.”
“I
heard he was too shy to ask out that girl Bunny.” says R.B. “But hey, I wish I
was as big as him. That dude gets all the girls.”
“Don’t
say anything about this inside information.” says Funk. “He’d probably murder
us if he finds out we told you.”
“I
won’t say anything.” says Macy. “By the way, Jairo’s not my type anyway.”
“So,
M…Macy,” asks Red Pride, nervously. “W..w..who is your t..t..ty..type??”. Red
Pride, secretly has the hots for Macy.
“Well,”
says Macy, smiling. “That’s for me to know, and for you to find out.”
“O..okay.”
replies Red Pride.
“Anyways,
I have to go back to my dorm and do my homework. I’ll see you guys later.” says
Macy.
“Peace,
Mace!” says R.B.
“Later,
Mace!” says Funk.
“B..Bye,
Macy!” says Red Pride.
Macy walks back into the Training
Center, and heads straight for the dormitory. A boy and a girl, holding hands,
approaches Macy.
“Hi,
Macy!” says the boy, known to everyone as B.B. B.B. wears typical male clothes,
and has blonde hair, that spikes up.
“How
are you doing, Macy.” says Chantal, who is B.B.’s girlfriend. Chantal has long
white hair, and wears a pink shirt, and a purple skirt. Her shirt has a Chinese
symbol, the same on her belt.
“B.B.,
Chantal.” replies Macy. “How have you been keeping up??”
“We
just came from Pape’s Place.” says B.B. :Their hamburgers are the best I’ve
ever tasted. Have you been to Pape’s Place lately??”
“No.”
replies Macy, and thinks to herself,
“Gosh, why does everyone eat their fatty foods.”
“Well,
anyways, We’ve just seen the girls, and they told us that someone in this place
has a crush on you.” says Chantal.
“Oh
my goodness,” replies Macy, sarcastically. “I wonder who it could be? Some lame
idiot spreading rumors around here.”
“Could
we tell you it’s someone you know?’ says B.B. “And this man really wants to
tell you, but he’s too shy.”
“I’m
not interested.” says Macy. “Besides, your girls, Beckee, Ruby, and Angel Star
always spread rumours about everybody here.” Macy adds, “Weren’t they the ones
that said that a gang of junior classmen were planning to give Jethro a wedgy,
and guess what, it never happened.”
“Hmph,
fine.” says Chantal. “It’s your loss. Maybe a boyfriend will help you take your
mind off of your obsession of your grade point average.”
“I’ve
got homework to do.” says Macy. “I’ll be at my dorm.”
“Bye,
Macy.” says B.B. “I’m sure both of you will meet soon.”
Macy,
walks into her dorm, and sits on the chair, at her desk, and opens up her
books. She begins to chant some magic words, out of her book, and raises her
right hand.
“Hlokfud
Katanos.” chants Macy. A small, white blast of holy light shoots out of her
hand, and strikes the wall. As soon as the white blast hits the wall, it
fizzles.
“It’s
lucky that this school was built using magicproof insulation.” says Macy.
“Otherwise, that blast would strike a hole in the wall.”
Macy
begins to chant another spell, but the P.A. System announces.
“Attention,
everyone. This is Barker, vice-president of the Yok Makatou Training School.”
announces the P.A. System. “As some of you may know, this school will be
sending out a number of students, to break into the evil robot plant, and
rescue our captive students. As decided, by the members of the school board, we
have chosen the ones who will be sent out for the rescue, mainly the ones that
have a potential grade. As I call your names, you will all proceed to room 101,
tomorrow at 8:00 am sharp, to meet with the dean, to further discuss our
strategy. Here are the students we have chosen…”
“samurai
Jairo Kim…” announces the P.A.
“black
mage Jethro Darrensbourough…”
“fighter
Monroe Prince…”
“master
thief Bunny Wilson…”
“and..white
mage Macy Roberts..”
“Yes!”
cries Macy. “My first ever task. I knew my grade point average would get me
somewhere.”
“The five of you will meet with Yok
Makatou tomorrow morning, 8:00 at room 101 to discuss our strategy. I repeat
again, the students chosen for this mission are, samurai Jairo Kim, fighter
Monroe Prince, thief Bunny Wilson, black mage Jethro Darrensbourough, and white
mage Macy Roberts.”
After
the announcement, Macy has completed her homework, and decides to rest in her
dorm. She has been wide awake, excited about the mission and takes her a while
to go to sleep. After a few hours, Macy finally goes to sleep, and starts
dreaming about the mysterious man who has a crush on her. In her dream, Macy is
on the platform, in front of everyone in the training school and has an
announcement.
“What
I wanted to say is,” says Macy, as she talks into the microphone. “Who in the
school has the love interest in me that everyone here is talking about? Please
stand up, and come forth.”
No
one answers, and everyone remains quiet.
“I
want to know now,” demands Macy. “Reveal yourself to me.”
The
audience begins to boo, and throw spitballs at Macy. Macy tries to plead with
the audience to stop, but no one listens.
“Stop!”
shouts someone in the audience. Everyone turns around, and faces a mysterious
man, wearing a hooded robe and a metal face mask.
“It
is I.” says the mystery man. “I’m the one that’s in love with you.”
“Who
are you?” cries Macy. “Please, tell me.”
The
man begins to walk toward the platform, and up the platform stairs. As he
reaches the top of the platform, the man begins to face Macy.
“Macy,”
says the hooded man. “I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life.”
“Who
are you?” asks Macy again.
“Just
kiss me, Macy.” says the man. “All I ask for is just this one kiss.”
The
man takes off his mask, and holds Macy in his arms. Macy begins to close her
eyes, as they are about to kiss.
Suddenly,
Macy begins to hear a familiar voice.
“Macy,
wake up,” says the voice. “You’ll be late for your mission.”
Macy
wakes up from the dream, just as she is about to kiss the mysterious man. Macy
now sees the familiar walls of her dorm room.
“Macy,”
says Busy. Busy is Macy’s roommate in her dorm. Busy dresses like the typical
female at the school, and tends to stay out late because she attends the dorm
parties. “It’s ten minutes after eight o’clock. You’d better get to school
now.”
“Oh
my gosh,” cries Macy. “The mission. I’d better get to school pronto.”
Macy
jumps off the bed, and grabs her bubble vest and throws it on.
“Later,
Bis.” says Macy, as she runs out of her room, and down the dormitory. Macy runs
down the stairs, into the main hall of the dormitory and runs out of the
building, and into the back of the school. Macy runs into the main hall, as she
passes by some students and turns right into the fighters training wing. She
slows down a bit, to find Room 101. After some time, Macy catches her breath,
sees the sign on the door, and heads into Room 101. As Macy walks into Room
101, she sees a room full of gym mats and fighting equipment such as punching
bags, wooden swords, and fake monster models all stabbed.
“Geez,”
thinks Macy. “This is different than my classroom. I can’t believe they don’t
have computers.” Towards the door, she sees a series of desks, and only three
people are sitting in three of the desks scattered away from one another. Macy
decides to sit near the female in the room, who has blonde hair, and wears a
green shirt with the number ‘7’ on the front, with beige khakis.
“Hi!”
says the female. “I’m Bunny, nice to meet you.”
“Hi,
Bunny.” says Macy. “I’m Macy, nice to meet you too.”
“So,
Macy,” continues Bunny. “I hardly see you around. Which wing are you from?”
“Oh,
I’m from the White Magic wing.” replies Macy. “What about you?”
“I’m
a thief.” says Bunny. “The dean says I have a lot of potential, so that is why
I’m here.”
“Hey,
Macy!” says one of the boys in the room.
“Ahhhhh,
Hi!” says Macy. Macy recognizes the boy as Jethro, and doesn’t really want to
talk to him.
“This
is the first time I’ve ever seen you late.” says Jethro. “It’s not very often
Macy breaks the rules.”
Macy
ignores Jethro and continues to talk to Bunny. “So, how do you feel about this
mission?”
“I
feel really good about it.” says Bunny. “Only one thing bothers me about it
though?”
“Really,”
says Macy. “What’s that?”
“Monroe’s
assigned to work with us on this mission.” frowns Bunny. “He’s really late. I
hope he never shows up for this mission. He’s such a turd.”
“Why
did they ever pick that jerk for a mission like this?” says Macy. “What’s he
good for, rude jokes??”
“All
the ladies cheer, Prince Monroe is here.” says an obnoxious voice, as the boy
enters the room.
“Oh,
boy.” whines Bunny. “Here we go.”
“Well,
well, well.” says Monroe. “What do we have here. We’ve got pointdexter, the
ancient tree, and a couple of lovely lookin’ girls here.”
“Who
are you calling pointdexter, stupid??” shouts Jethro.
“I’m
not even interested in you, creep.” says Bunny. “I’ve already got a boyfriend,
and he’ll beat your ass, if you touch a hair on my head.”
“Oh,
really.” sneers Monroe. “I’m touched. Every girl in this school, wants ‘the
prince’.”
“I
don’t date dirty bullies.” says Macy. “Neither does Bunny. Is that right??”
“Yeah!”
shouts Bunny.
The
last boy in the room, is Jairo Kim, the 7’5” samurai. Jairo just sits there,
and doesn’t engage in the conversation. He is often teased about his height,
and his inability to stand up for himself.
“Why
did they assign me to work with a bunch of
freakin’ losers anyway?” sneers Monroe. “I could do this mission all by
myself. ‘The Prince’ works alone.”
“And
you can stay alone.” says Bunny.
“Shhhhhhhhh…”
says Jethro. “Quiet. I think I hear the dean coming.”
“Teacher’s
Pet! Teacher’s Pet!” taunts Monroe.
“Shut
up!” cries Macy. “We’re supposed to be a team. How could we all get along if
all you people do is quarrel?”
“You
were doing it too.” answers Jethro.
“So
I did,” says Macy. “And I apologize but how are we going to complete our
mission if we’re going to fight all the time. It’s time to start getting along
with one another, am I right?”
“You’re
right.” groans Bunny.
“Ok,
you’ve got a point.” mumbles Jethro.
“Alright,”
says Monroe. “I’m only listening to you because I think you’re cute.”
Jairo
spectates the situation quietly, and doesn’t say anything.
A
moment later, six teachers enter the room. Macy only identifies three of them;
Leblanc, her teacher Hovas, and the samurai teacher Kenchi. The other three
teachers she doesn’t know who they are. The teachers begin to stand
side-by-side near the door.
“Attention,
students.” announces Hovas. “May we present to you, the dean of the Yok Makatou
Training School himself, the great, the all-mighty Yok Makatou.”
The
teachers begin to bow their heads, in honor of Yok Makatou walking slowly into
the room. Yok Makatou is a short old man, wearing a red robe, and carrying a
studly staff. He may be old, but he still has the knowledge of a warrior. Yok
Makatou walks into the center of the room, and begins to speak.
“Hello,
everyone.” says the dean of the school. “The five of you were called here, to take
part in our special assignment.” Everyone pays attention to Yok Makatou, except
for Monroe, who slouches on the desk, and chews his bubble gum and silently
daydreams.
“This
plan is called ‘Operation Rescue A’, where you five will be able to rescue our
captive students, and your training will be necessary to fulfill this quest.
Now I begin with the plan,” says Yok Makatou. He starts by pulling out his
diagrams, and he continues. “Our mission is to intrude the robotics plant east
of here, and rescue the students held prisoner there. Of course, the robotics
plant is surrounded by a force-field, so no one can enter the plant from the
front, but we have found a secret entrance into the plant from the sewers.
Luckily, our school sewer system is connected to the sewers of the robotics
plant. Our first part of our mission, is to enter the sewers through an
entrance to the left of the school, and travel east down the pipes and climb
the ladder into the basement of the robotics plant.” Yok Makatou shows the students
a diagram of the sewer system, and guides them through where they have to go.
“Be careful down the sewers though, a lot of fishmen warriors roam the sewers,
and are proven to be very dangerous.”
“Ewwwww,”
whines Jethro. “I have to get all dirty, and fight ugly fishmen. What a day!”
“Jethro,”
says Bunny. “It isn’t going to be as bad as you think, trust me.”
“Now,
let’s move on.” continues the dean. “As soon as you reach the ladder that
travels into the plant,” Yok Makatou pulls out another diagram, that of the
robotics factory. “You will travel through the factory, and work your way past
the robots, and into the jail which is in the basement. The jailor who holds
the card key, is in the basement, and I assure that you use your sleep spells
to put him to sleep, grab his card key, and rescue the prisoners from their
holding cells. After that, you will retreat down the hall, through the tunnel
that leads to their disposal unit, and from there you will work your way back
into the sewers, and retreat back to our base from the same entrance you came
into the sewers at the first place. Is that understood?”
“Yes,
I understand.” says Macy.
“Yes,
sir!” replies Jethro.
“Ok,
understood.” answers Jairo.
“Hokey
Dokey!” replies Bunny.
“Monroe, wake up!” cries Yok Makatou.
“Huh?”
replies Monroe. As he wakes up, and his bubble gum pops onto his face.
“Do
you understand the mission, or do you want me to repeat it again?” says the
dean, sternly.
“I
understand, sir!” says Monroe. “I know what I have to do!”
“Good.”
says Yok Makatou. “Remember, this mission is graded on the five of you. The
most important elements of this quest is teamwork and how well you all
co-operate. There will be no fighting against the five of you. Understood?”
Everyone
nods their head silently, as Bunny and Jethro gaze at Monroe.
“There’s
no way that weasel is going to work with us.” thinks Bunny.
“I
don’t give a damn about losing marks.” thinks Monroe. “I’m going to do what I
want to do, and these dorks are going to have to deal with it.”
“I
wish you luck on this quest.” says the headmaster, Yok Makatou. “Now, the five
of you follow Hovas and Kenchi. They will lead you to the entrance into the
sewers.”
The
five students get up off their seats, and follow Hovas and Kenchi out of the
room. They head down the halls, into a courtyard to the left of the training
school. Jethro and Monroe eye each other while they walk side-by-side. As they
walk into the courtyard, Hovas and Kenchi lead the students toward a hatchet
inserted into the courtyard grass.
“This
is where your mission will begin.” says Hovas, as he opens up the hatchet.
“Head down, and best of luck to all of you.”
“Thanks,”
says Macy. “We’re going to need it.”
The
five students make their way down the ladder through the hatch, and into the
dark and smelly sewers.
