Date: 1/3/1999 9:00 PM Central Daylight Time
From: AndrewFrcr
Jordan had continued his work with both Andrew and Khorien at the labs. Keeping the blue stone close to his heart he felt chills every time he thought about it. No one knew of the stone and he was thankful, for he thought it was a great color and had the idea that it brought him a bit of luck. He had been tempted to tell Andrew of the stone when he asked for his pay, but he decided not to.
The boy had just finished cleaning the stalls when he turned and was taken aback at the sight of Andrew standing there before him.
"'ello sir, ya scard ma fer a se'ond thar."
"Sorry, Jordan, I didn' mean ta. I just wanted ta know somethin'. I was walkin' to my 'orse an' I noticed there was ice on the ground. Actually, quite a lot. May I ask where it came from?"
"Uhm.. sir, I gots ta tell ya sumthin'. Aie.. uh.. foun' this." Jordan pulled the small blue ring from his pouch and handed it to him. "It made tha ice. I dunno 'ow, I was jus' lookin' a' it an' it 'ppeared. On tha groun'."
With the ring sitting in Andrew's hand he stared at it for what seemed like a century. Jordan wondered if he was actually alive. Andrew didn't say anything as his eyes were fixed upon the ring when a sudden chill was flung throughout his body. Flashes of his past came to his head. That night... July 18th, 1998. A final score on the scoreboard reads Five to Four, patrons clapping, a woman, a necklace with a ring on it. The ring in his hand.
The ring on her neck. The ring in his hand. The ring on her neck. A phaser, a blast, and nothing. It was gone. But it was in his hand.
Thoughts continued to race through his head as he absent mindedly spoke to Jordan. "Jordan, may I keep it? I'll give ya an extra months pay."
Jordan smiled in appreciation and nodded with a polite thank you.
_________________________________________________________________
Andrew didn't know what to do. He was amazed. He had just applied for his new job with the staff. He couldn't tell anyone. If he did, they'd think he knew about it all along and was hiding it from them. He'd be disgraced by all, he'd be expelled from the sport just like Shannon had. But, wait. Shannon had been expelled and they hadn't known that it wasn't the real Opal. Even if she had resigned and was destined not to ever come back,
everyone thought it was gone. The Opal was gone. But it was in his hand. And he was positive this was it.
Ever since Jordan had put it in his hand had he felt his body grow colder. He knew that was a sign that it was the real Opal. So, Shanni had made a fake. Damn, he always knew she was clever. And her speech was great. Not only caught people's attention, but made sense. She was good. She was real good.
Andrew had his challenge for the Red Opal tonight. And he hadn't been there for a couple of weeks. But he also wanted to study the Opal. There had to be a way to do both. Be at two places at once and control both. Matt had done it. That same night that the fake Opal was destroyed. He used his machine. The Holo-Glo. Andrew remembered asking Matt if he could have one or if he could give him instructions, but Matt had said no. But Andrew, as
sneaky as an elf was, had studied the machine while no one was looking.
He had always been an admirer of new technology and this would be a good project for him. Quickly, he walked to a door in the middle of the hallway of the first floor of his house and unlocked it. He then proceed to step down the stairs into his basement.
This was Andrew's own little world. His inventions and his magic books, with special plants and rocks used for potions were spread out across the large basement. He found a small glass case and set the Opal onto some paded material in it, then locked it and covered it so if someoen came in they wouldn't see it. He then moved over to an area on the other side of his laboratory.
There were all his electronics. What he considered to be his masterpieces. Finding a chair he pulled it up to the table and begin working on the project, gently pushing his way through the pieces and molding them together. After about an hour of work he came out with a more advanced replica of Matt's machine. It looked different and wasn't covered, but would sure enough work for at least a little while.
_________________________________________________________________
Oh man... Thirteen minutes late and he still couldn't get the machine working. What had he done?! He should have gone to the match and gotten to the Opal later. Finally, a switch turns and a green light flashes and ON goes the machine! "Wohoo!!" Andrew hollored out his trademark call that was only known by him and his brother. A picture was shown on the display board that Andrew had created with the machine. One that Matt didn't have. It was
like a camera through the holographic image of Andrew.
Setting the controls, Andrew moved his holographic image into the Outback with a heavy pant to show that he was running late. "It worked!" Andrew thought. From there on, Andrew set his holographic image on auto and he left the table and went to work with the Opal.
_________________________________________________________________
After looking over the Opal for a couple of hours, he looked at his pocket watch and noticed the time. "Ack! The fight's o'er! Wonder wha' 'appened.." Andrew moved back over to the table and noticed the machine was off. Turning it back on, the screen was fuzzy, so he set the controls on rewind and the machine made a high pitched noise as it came on by itself 15 minutes before it had faded out.
He watched the screen, listening intently.
Andrew chuckled at Deuce, then went to get his sack, "Night all."
Avery sighed then mumbled something which the sensors didn't pick up.
Deuce gave Kailyne a kiss then hopped into his room.
Andrew said to Kailyne, "Go get some rest."
Kailyne then smirked at Avery and said, "I don't think hes gunna let me..."
Andrew chuckled again and went to the Outback door.
Kailyne then looked back at Andrew "You leaving?"
Andrew nodded to her with a reply "Yep..."
Deuce then walked out of his room putting his shirt back on.
As Andrew stepped to the door he fell on his knees to the floor.
"Oh Man.." Andrew thought as he watched. "Looks like the image didn't leave fast enough." Forwarding it a bit, he watched some more.
Duece yells into Andrew's ear which pretty much destroyed the sensor, but left the image on.
Andrew's body lie there, dead like.
Deuce mumbled something, but the sensors could not pick up anything.
Kailyne said something then ran away after Deuce said something to her
Again, Deuce kneeled next to Andrew and said something that was close enough to have the sensors pick it up, "yuhk dreshn git yersh arsh beeeeeeet that buuud."
"Man! I lost!" Andrew was hoping he'd win the match so he could get the ring from Avery. He was jealous of him, but never showed it at all. He pressed the forward button again and watched the remaining seconds of the recording.
Andrew coughed and brought Deuce to his attention.
Deuce again mumbled something and sat down.
Once again, static was heard as Deuce said something and went to the bar.
At the bar he filled up a pitcher of cold water and walked back to Andrew on the couch. He set the water next to him and begin to pull him off of the couch when the image coughed disappeared.
Change of Winds
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The Final Story
Date: 1/18/1999 3:17 AM Central Daylight Time
From: AndrewFrcr
It was time. He knew he couldn't keep the Opal for long, and he knew that it was the right time to give it back and the Diamond Quest was a perfect setting. It had been half a year since it was destroyed and now he had a chance to hand it back to the officials. But he couldn't hand it back. No one could know he had had it. Turning it over would be a difficult task, but he would surely find a way to do it.
Stepping into the Outback a couple of hours before the Quest, he made sure no one was there. Moving quickly over to the callers couch, he pulled a pouch out of his sack and removed the Opal from the pouch. Removing a cushion from the couch, he set the Opal up against the back bottom corner then put the cushion back. He took another glance around as he ran out of the double-doors, and back to his house to prepare for the Quest.
__________________________________________________
Sliding through the Outback doors, he made his entrance a few minutes before the quest was supposed to start. Although it didn't start for another 30 minutes after he arrived, he used that time to talk with others.
Finally, everyone was called to their rings; he began his first match with Bane. Taking Bane to a tie almost every round, he began taking the lead and eventually finished him off 5-4 in the final round.
Moving into the next round, he fought Matt with all of his strength. With Matt moving at a pace of one point ahead of him, he finally won two rounds in a row and took over the lead, making it 4-3. Sweeping at him for a final point, he took his second win and moved on to take the first bye of the evening.
When all of the duels were finished, he had to face Kelli who had just defeated Jesse in a 16 round duel with her fancy leap then beat Imp in a 10 round duel. Kelli was pumped up this evening and was doing very well. Getting into the ring would be easy, but fighting her would be difficult. Kicking Kelli as an openning was not smart as she punched him square in the nose. Figuring, "Hell, I better return that favor," Andrew popped one square in
Kelli's nose when she tried to kick him. The fight was a hassle from then on. Trading the next points, he then took the lead and finished her off with a devastating 5-2.
With that duel, Kelli was eliminated from the Quest after having been beat by Fala in a close 5-4 match. It was then that he noticed Deuce banging on the couch. His eyes grew as he watched him beating on the cushion where the Opal was under.
Moving on, it was time to face Fala who was undefeated. Moving quickly, the duel got to a 4-4 tie. Feinting his move, Fala traded advantages making it 4+-4+. Andrew's first thought was "Oh man, he's gonna feint to win." So, to counter Fala's expected feint, he feinted his leg block but with an unimagined turn of events, Fala fancied and Andrew took the point. Devastated by what had happened, and became very disgruntled with himself that he had
feinted, even though it wasn't to win, but it was to stop Fala from winning.
Taking another bye, he watched Fala and Jesse go at it in the ring, trading punches equally, but leaving Jesse the winner. He was to face Jesse for the Diamond and it was surely going to be a difficult task for he had not beaten Jesse ever before out of the 3 times he had faced him. Taking the first point was easy, but in the fourth round, Deuce caught his attention as he began banging on the couch again. This time, he ripped the cushions off of
it and there in the crease of the back of the couch and where the cushion was was the Blue Opal. With many ideas of if it was fake or not, the match still went on.
Moving through the duel, Jesse took the lead bringing the match to 4-2. Six months ago, he had defeated Imp on this very same ring... Styx to take the Diamond and he had planned to do it again. Moving through the duel, he took the next point... and the next... and the... what? The lights suddenly turned off straight in the middle of the duel. With Andrew on the floor ready to sweep and Jesse in the air, ready to grab, he slammed his leg against
Jesse's ankles finishing him off for the final point. But no one saw it for the lights were off.
Standing he called out, "Jesse? Where are ya?"
Jesse called out from below Styx, "Not up there, that's for sure."
"Why'd ya leave?" was Andrew's reply, but Jesse's simple, but complex answer told it all "Hell, man.. you try grabbing somebody in the dark. Not that the little bugger didn't have me anyway.."
With a big smile Andrew called out, "Thanks for the duel!" And the lights were on. But Andrew's eyes were closed because he felt it was better to close your eyes in the dark instead of thinking you know where everything is with your eyes open. Hopping from the ring, he didn't know where he'd land but just getting down would be nice. Flying through the air, he fell straight into Matt's new ring, the pool. Andrew couldn't swim and everyone knew
it. Splashing around, Fala moved over the water with his magic to help Andrew out as Jen dived in and pulled him to the edge of the pool and Fala helped him out of the water. With a sigh, he standed up after thanking Jen, but the lights turned off again as. Ugh!
Creating a bolt, Andrew set the bolt in mid-air as it created enough light to fill the room. Looking up the stairs, he wondered how Deuce got up there, but jogged up the stairs to meet him. As he handed the Diamond to him, it feel from his hand and off the balcony. Running down the stairs, he jumped to the Diamond as Jen got to it first before either Andrew or Bane could reach it. Handing the Diamond to Jen, Andrew again said, "Thank ya."
Jogging up the stairs with the Diamond, he held it to Deuce, but Deuce said, "Andy, ya won. Again. Now dis time, ya keepin' it." With a smile and a nod Andrew replied, "I'm keepin' it... an' we've got the Blue Opal this time, aye?" The Opal... it was all over. He had the Diamond and the Blue Opal was returned. Everything would be perfect.
From: AndrewFrcr
It was time. He knew he couldn't keep the Opal for long, and he knew that it was the right time to give it back and the Diamond Quest was a perfect setting. It had been half a year since it was destroyed and now he had a chance to hand it back to the officials. But he couldn't hand it back. No one could know he had had it. Turning it over would be a difficult task, but he would surely find a way to do it.
Stepping into the Outback a couple of hours before the Quest, he made sure no one was there. Moving quickly over to the callers couch, he pulled a pouch out of his sack and removed the Opal from the pouch. Removing a cushion from the couch, he set the Opal up against the back bottom corner then put the cushion back. He took another glance around as he ran out of the double-doors, and back to his house to prepare for the Quest.
__________________________________________________
Sliding through the Outback doors, he made his entrance a few minutes before the quest was supposed to start. Although it didn't start for another 30 minutes after he arrived, he used that time to talk with others.
Finally, everyone was called to their rings; he began his first match with Bane. Taking Bane to a tie almost every round, he began taking the lead and eventually finished him off 5-4 in the final round.
Moving into the next round, he fought Matt with all of his strength. With Matt moving at a pace of one point ahead of him, he finally won two rounds in a row and took over the lead, making it 4-3. Sweeping at him for a final point, he took his second win and moved on to take the first bye of the evening.
When all of the duels were finished, he had to face Kelli who had just defeated Jesse in a 16 round duel with her fancy leap then beat Imp in a 10 round duel. Kelli was pumped up this evening and was doing very well. Getting into the ring would be easy, but fighting her would be difficult. Kicking Kelli as an openning was not smart as she punched him square in the nose. Figuring, "Hell, I better return that favor," Andrew popped one square in
Kelli's nose when she tried to kick him. The fight was a hassle from then on. Trading the next points, he then took the lead and finished her off with a devastating 5-2.
With that duel, Kelli was eliminated from the Quest after having been beat by Fala in a close 5-4 match. It was then that he noticed Deuce banging on the couch. His eyes grew as he watched him beating on the cushion where the Opal was under.
Moving on, it was time to face Fala who was undefeated. Moving quickly, the duel got to a 4-4 tie. Feinting his move, Fala traded advantages making it 4+-4+. Andrew's first thought was "Oh man, he's gonna feint to win." So, to counter Fala's expected feint, he feinted his leg block but with an unimagined turn of events, Fala fancied and Andrew took the point. Devastated by what had happened, and became very disgruntled with himself that he had
feinted, even though it wasn't to win, but it was to stop Fala from winning.
Taking another bye, he watched Fala and Jesse go at it in the ring, trading punches equally, but leaving Jesse the winner. He was to face Jesse for the Diamond and it was surely going to be a difficult task for he had not beaten Jesse ever before out of the 3 times he had faced him. Taking the first point was easy, but in the fourth round, Deuce caught his attention as he began banging on the couch again. This time, he ripped the cushions off of
it and there in the crease of the back of the couch and where the cushion was was the Blue Opal. With many ideas of if it was fake or not, the match still went on.
Moving through the duel, Jesse took the lead bringing the match to 4-2. Six months ago, he had defeated Imp on this very same ring... Styx to take the Diamond and he had planned to do it again. Moving through the duel, he took the next point... and the next... and the... what? The lights suddenly turned off straight in the middle of the duel. With Andrew on the floor ready to sweep and Jesse in the air, ready to grab, he slammed his leg against
Jesse's ankles finishing him off for the final point. But no one saw it for the lights were off.
Standing he called out, "Jesse? Where are ya?"
Jesse called out from below Styx, "Not up there, that's for sure."
"Why'd ya leave?" was Andrew's reply, but Jesse's simple, but complex answer told it all "Hell, man.. you try grabbing somebody in the dark. Not that the little bugger didn't have me anyway.."
With a big smile Andrew called out, "Thanks for the duel!" And the lights were on. But Andrew's eyes were closed because he felt it was better to close your eyes in the dark instead of thinking you know where everything is with your eyes open. Hopping from the ring, he didn't know where he'd land but just getting down would be nice. Flying through the air, he fell straight into Matt's new ring, the pool. Andrew couldn't swim and everyone knew
it. Splashing around, Fala moved over the water with his magic to help Andrew out as Jen dived in and pulled him to the edge of the pool and Fala helped him out of the water. With a sigh, he standed up after thanking Jen, but the lights turned off again as. Ugh!
Creating a bolt, Andrew set the bolt in mid-air as it created enough light to fill the room. Looking up the stairs, he wondered how Deuce got up there, but jogged up the stairs to meet him. As he handed the Diamond to him, it feel from his hand and off the balcony. Running down the stairs, he jumped to the Diamond as Jen got to it first before either Andrew or Bane could reach it. Handing the Diamond to Jen, Andrew again said, "Thank ya."
Jogging up the stairs with the Diamond, he held it to Deuce, but Deuce said, "Andy, ya won. Again. Now dis time, ya keepin' it." With a smile and a nod Andrew replied, "I'm keepin' it... an' we've got the Blue Opal this time, aye?" The Opal... it was all over. He had the Diamond and the Blue Opal was returned. Everything would be perfect.