Twisted Wonderland Book 6: The Watchman of the Underworld

Chapter 47: A Feline Sport

Leona continues playing the game, despite being against it at first.

Ortho says, "Leona, the gold Hydra is worth more points!

Idia calls out, "ACK! Don't hit the legendary trainer doll!"

"Huh? This doofy-lookin' guy's the legendary trainer?" Leona questions, seeing the stuffed doll of a creature that has an upper body of a human, the lower half of a goat, and it has horns.

Leona also says, "It's his own fault if he barges in and gets smacked."

"You're not wrong, but that's how the game works. No use whining about it," Idia says.

Then Jamil says, "I think this is where more Hydra heads start popping up, Leona."

"Tch... Why am I doing this again?" Leona scoffs.

And soon enough, Leona has finished and won the game.

Ortho is impressed, "Wow! Look at that high score! What a testament to your sharp vision and quick reflexes!"

"Great. So, how is this the game for me?" Leona says, not very interested.

"Well, you see... There have been a bunch of viral videos showing cats pawing and pouncing at the Hydra gameplay screen. Feline fanatics would record their cats, then tag the videos with #CatVsHydra. Later, a researcher saw those videos. That person ran an experiment to see if lions would react the same way to The Hydra Strikes Back. They put some game footage on a screen, and sure enough... The lions watched with interest, and pawed and pounced just like the housecats did! According to the Styx database... You are a beastman with lion genes, Leona Kingscholar. So I predicted that if you played this game, you'd enjoy it and not get tired of it."

Hearing that ends up being amusing for everyone else, but not for Leona.

Briar covers her mouth and tries not to laugh.

Jamil tries the same, "Ortho, no...

Vil snickers, "Heh m Heh heh... Oh, well played, Ortho. A perfect choice."

Leona sighs.

And then Ortho says, "You were focused right from the start, and judging by your high score... My prediction was right on the mark. I'm glad you enjoyed it!"

Idia laughs, "Oh-hoh-ho, lawl. He's got a point. You might've acted disinterested, but that's a pretty high score. Did you feel compelled to keep chasing the Hydras?

And Vil says, "Leona, beholden to his feline nature? Who knew he could be so adorable?

Jamil says in thought, "I don't think Ortho meant anything by it but these guys... They close in like sharks smelling blood in the water."

"Would you like to try another level?" Ortho happily asks.

Leona lets out a deep sigh.

And says with a smug look on her face, "Sorry, kiddo. They're absolutely right. I'm beholden to my feline nature, so I get REAL sleepy during the day. I'd love to play more, but I know I'd conk out before long. Go ahead and let someone else play.

"Oh, that's too bad..." Ortho replies, disappointed

"That's Leona for you. He's a real pro at getting out of stuff he doesn't wanna do," Idia says, shrugging his shoulders.

"Have fun, guys. Here's the controller," Leona says, passing the controller to Briar.

And then leaves in a foul mood.

"Whoa, careful now... Looks like we put him in a foul mood," Jamil says.

"Don't worry about it. That's how he always is," Vil says.

Ortho turns to Briar, "Briar, why don't you play?"

"Well, since I've got the controller. I might as well give it a round," Briar says.

Soon enough, Briar begins to play the Hydra Game, and surprisingly, she's actually kind of good at Video Games. Once Briar is done, it shows that she has the same high score as Leona.

Ortho is very impressed, "Wow Briar, you were really good at the game."

"Well, I played a few games similar to this, so playing this game is easy," Briar says.

Ortho then turns to Jamil, "Jamil Viper, would you like to play Hydra?"

But Jamil says, "Actually, I'm interested in seeing how Vil is at video games."

"Me?" Vil questions

"Yes. You've only been watching so far," Jamil says.

Vil says, "I don't normally play, you know. It won't make for the most entertaining watch. But suppose I was getting a tad bored just spectating. I might as well give it a go."

Then turns to Ortho, "Is there anything you would recommend, Ortho?"

"I was hoping you'd ask!" Ortho happily says, "There's one game you MUST play, Vil Schoenheit! For a global supermodel and shining star, present... Star Rogue: A Hero's Dawn!"

"OUR LEGEND! POP OOOFFF!" Idia shouts in excitement, "This is the story of how one man became a hero. The year: Stellaris 1997. The Chronos Force invaded from the Titan Nebula, conquering the Planet Gaia and plunging it into chaos. The Gaia Dynasty was thought to have been wiped out in the invasion. However! One of their princes was raised in secrecy, his origin concealed from the Chronos Force! When his adoptive parents told him the truth about where he came from... He set forth on a journey to bring back his birth parents and restore peace to Gaia! DA-DA-DA-DAAA!"

He notices a silence and stares he receives from the others.

Idia yelps, "...Erk!" and feels embarrassed, "Uh, sorry, got carried away there... The game's a shoot-em-up, but the story's just so thrilling. Anyway, uh, you're welcome to play it if you like..."

"Why are you suddenly acting so embarrassed?" Vil questions, "We didn't say a word."

"Yeah, Idia. You should be proud of your favorite game!" Ortho agrees.

"They'll get the appeal way better by playing it than from me prattling on," Idia says. "So go on, try it out!

"I've had minimal experience with this type of game, to be clear," Vil says.

"Then I'll set it to beginner mode," Ortho says, and passes Vil the controller, "Here's your controller, Vil Schoenheit!"

"Now then..." Ortho says.

Then Idia and Ortho announce together, "Shoot for glory among the stars and soar like a comet!"