Hope You Have Extra Lives...(Solo)

With a gasp, Jorge awoke and was blinded by the light of an overhead light bulb. So deep was his gasp for breath that his lungs screamed at him, greedy for more oxygen. But the series of coughs that followed made it harder for him to breathe, to the point that he was struggling to keep his breathing stable. When he finally did manage it, he sighed as he placed his hand over his chest and massaged the muscles, trying to ease the pain from his lungs. It took a couple seconds but finally his coughing stopped and he could breathe normally.

Slowly he opened his eyes but winced at the brightness of that cursed lightbulb. It really was far too bright to be normal. Or maybe his eyes were just sensitive. Either way, his inability to really open them had caused a miniature sense of panic since he could not just sit here with his eyes closed. He needed to see what was going on.

Gently he massaged his eyes lids before she cautioned to open his eyes. The room was bright still but slowly it came into focus until finally he could squint without making his eyes water. His resistance to the light built up, little by little, until finally he opened his eyes all the way with a satisfied groan. Still sore but definitely feeling better.

When he finally managed to open them the whole way, he blinked when he realized that he was actually in a rather small room.

A glance down and Jorge saw that he was sitting back on a recliner, but one that was completely old, tattered, that looked as if it was ready to fall apart. The odd thing, though, was that he was not tied down to it, nor was he at all bound in away. Except for his sensitive eyes and the dull pain on the back of his head, the detective did not seem to be held against his will. But one glance at the tiny room and he could tell that this was not normal.

White. Everything was so, absolutely, white. Except for the chair it looked as if the room was new; freshly painted walls, a desk, a shelf (but no books), a computer (missing a screen), all as white and clean as fresh snow (no wonder the hanging light bulb hurt his eyes).

He stood up and turned to the only door in the room. That had to be the way out but what was he going to find on the other side? Guards? Thugs? Mutants ready to tear down anything person affiliated with the police? Automatic sentries? It was just crazy the possibilities. And, as fruitless as he knew it would be, he reached down to pat his pocket. Everything was gone (wallet, cell phone, his gun) all that he had left was his badge.

He was…on the job when this happened? Wait…WHAT exactly happened? The last he could remember…he was investigating…something…

Damn it…he couldn’t remember. This was not good.

But just as he set about trying to figure out how to get himself out of this room, he heard a click of the door and spun to see it swing up. Beyond it, he saw only more darkness, and a voice suddenly rang in his head…

“Come along, detective! Step into Level One.”

It was then that Jorge began to remember and he snarled as he spit out the one name he knew would be connect to all this…

“Game Lord,” he growled disdainfully. He knew he was in trouble now…

The darkness in the next room was disorienting at first. Jorge didn’t know how deep the room went, how big it was, or even if there was anyone else in there or if he was completely by himself. It was rather disturbing and a circumstance that he truly and deeply just did not want to be in. But unfortunately he really didn’t have a choice in the manner. There was no other way out of that white room and while he would have loved to call for back up, he knew that it was impossible. No cell phone, no x-communicator, no nothing. The man was on his own until he could get out.

Breath held, the detective eyed the darkness and peered about, trying to see anything in his inky blackness. He did not want some two-bit thug to get the drop on him now. Not after everything he had done for the MRC, not after just getting ready to start a life with both Gemma and Chase. He was not going to die here.

Fist clenched, he snarled a little as he whipped about, trying to orient himself to anything. Then, as he felt he gone on long enough, there was a suddenly illumination.

Jorge hissed and covered his eyes from the suddenly brightness. When he finally did caution to uncover them, he blinked…and noticed a lot of blue. He was standing in a rather massive looking space with blue skies…blocky white clouds, green hills and green pipes sticking up and out of a brick colored ground? Jorge felt his senses being thrown for a loop as he tried to make heads or tails of what he was standing in, but unfortunately his mind simply refused to wrap around it. This had to be one of Game Lord psychic worlds.

“Great,” he grumbled as he looked up to notice the word “World 1-1” hover in the air. “What the hell is this supposed to be,” he said through ground teeth.

It was as he began to step forward and suddenly he heard a rather strange sound. It almost sounded like a spring, or a pogo stick…or…jumping?

Jorge turned, trying to find the sound of the sound until he looked over to some brick blocks that were floating in the air and noticed a shape leaping, somersaulting, and shouting “Ya-hooo!” over and over again. The detective slowly backed up took a more defense posture as he waited. Finally, with another leaping sound, the creature landed in front of him.

The man, dressed in white shirt and hat, and red overalls, stood proudly as he twitched his mustache. Suddenly he grinned as he lifted his hand and, with a spark, fire formed in his palm. Jorge blinked and backed up as suddenly the creature hurled his hand forward, lobbing the fireball straight at him.

“It’s-a me! MARIO!!”

Jorge blinked and immediately jumped away as he stared up at the largest, goofiest looking plant that he had ever seen in his life. It crept out of the green pipe he hid behind, it’s red, bulbous head was spotted with white and it opened his mouth, hissing and showing off its rows of fangs. It was like a parody of real venus fly trap or something, only this look far more dangerous than something that just squeezes bugs to death.

Hiiiissssss!!!!

It growled again, saliva dripping from its mouth before it suddenly lashed out and snapped at Jorge once, then twice! The detective gasped as he suddenly stepped back, side-stepped, and then rolled out of the way, trying to dodge the beast’s open mouth. It snapped shut on open air so many times it grew frustrated and reared back, hissing and growling even louder.

The detective returned to his footing and tried to keep himself loose and ready to dash in either direction should he need to.

“You are one…ugly…mothe—“

HHHHHIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!![/b]

The beast roared into the sky before suddenly it lashed out again, attempting to take another bite of Jorge. The detective dashed off to the side and soon realized that he was out of the creature’s reach. He took a second to breath in relief when, he noticed the plant inhaling and puckering its lips. A red glow could be seen from between its teeth and, suddenly, he felt things around him get hotter. This was definitely not a good feel.

“COME ON!” he shouted and ran off. Suddenly the plant shot its head forward and spit out a swirling, undulating fireball directly at him. Jorge ran as fast as he could until he managed to dive behind a series of those raised bricks that were littered about. He was ready for this to be over.

“Wa-HOOO!” a voice suddenly called out.

Jorge spun around, awkward with the big black shell on his back, but it was still just in time to see the plumber plop down and ready himself to hurl another fireball. But the detective was not going to fall for such tricks again. Twirling the hammer in hand he smirked as he suddenly pointed it at “Mario” and unleashed another wave of hammers at the over-all wearing fat man.

“Wahh!” Mario leaped up, out of the way, and aimed his two boot heels directly on top of Jorge’s head.

Jorge barely had time to dodge out the way as Mario crushed the very brick blocks that made up the ground that they stood up upon. When he recovered is when the fight truly began. Mario punched and kicked with a speed that Jorge had vastly underestimated but the detective managed to maneuver his way around to keep from being pummeled too badly. In the end Mario had smashed the shell off of Jorge’s back, but the detective still held fiercely onto the hammer in his hand. He was not going to lose his only weapon in this twisted game.

It was not until Mario had misplaced a kick that Jorge finally found his opening. A sudden lunge forward and he rammed his shoulder into the mustache-wearing man’s chest and caused him to stumble backwards. Momentarily at a loss, Mario took a second too long to breathe. Jorge aimed the hammer again and breathed a sigh of relief.

Another trio of hammers flew out from the end and struck Mario, twice. One hit him, causing him to returned to red and blue overalls, another strike caused him to shrink, and finally, the last hit him in such a way that he actually leapt up into the air, and faded into a cloud of pixels. Jorge sighed and stood, staring at the spot the plumber disappeared from. He always willed the man to return. When he didn’t, though, the detective tucked the hammer into his belt as a strange music filled the air around him.

“Heheheheehe!! Congratulations, detective. I didn’t think you were going to figure the game out, yet,” a voice cackled in the air. In front of him, suddenly a small, brick tower rose up with a black door big enough for him to walk through. “So many fail to. Anyways! On to level two!”

Jorge growled. “I’m done, Game Lord! Show your face! You’re under arrest!”

“Ah, ah, ah! That’s not the way the game is played, detective. You get meet the final boss after the first level! So, come on, you want me, you need to get through level two…”

Jorge narrowed his eyes. He then spit with disdain off to the side before he stormed through the doorway of the tower, wondering where this mad man was going to lead him next.

The detective paused and surveyed his surroundings. Everything looked so small and fantasy-like. The stone bridge lacked a railing but was lined with spikes and skulls and various other evil signs. A volcano in the distance seemed to constantly be spewing molten rock while a large, heavy moon huge in the sky and offered light to this most nightmarish of settings. Jorge was not liking the looks of this. He turned and spied the opening that he had just walked through was now sealed with spiked bars of iron and steel. There was no leaving in that direction.

A glance down the length of the bridge and he paused as he saw another opening on the other end, only this one was not barred. Of course he would have to cross.

He peered over the edge and was nearly overtaken by vertigo. The fall was long and…were those spikes he saw at the bottom.

“You’ve got to be KIDDING me!” Jorge shouted to the heavens. This was going on long enough. Jaw clenched, Jorge steeled himself up and began to long walk forward. “I swear, I’m going to throttle you myself, Game Lord!!”

“You should worry move about me!”

Jorge paused as, in the opening ahead, he saw a pair of fierce, pale eyes staring at him. The moved force, slowly until a form walked out of the darkness. There, stood, another interestingly dressed man. This one looked like some undead ninja/samurai or something, decked out in yellow, swords strapped to his back, and dead eyes that still managed to glare.

The police officer cracked his neck to the side as he assumed a fighting stance.

“Really, buddy, you don’t want to get in my way today,” Jorge warned the video game construct. “I’m just NOT in the mood!”

The ninja laughed darkly behind his skeletal mask. As he stepped out past the doorway, suddenly bars sealed it shut that looked just as menacing as the ones from the other opening. Jorge was quickly putting it together that his only way out…was to win.

Standing on the narrow bridge, the detective glanced out of the corner of his eye and arched a brow…there were two floating red bars, one with his name written in it, and the other with the word “Scorpion.” Really? SCORPION? He shook his head as he turned back to his opponent.

“Get out of my way, last warning,” he muttered.

Scorpion’s eyed lit with amusement as he shook his head and suddenly raised his hand…

“Get over here!”

The yellow ninja laughed and scoffed as fire hovered around his hands before it began to erupt all around Jorge’s feet. The detective felt the miniscule flames licking around his leather shoes and practically melting the soles of his feet into the very bridge; apparently this man had far more powers than he was initially letting on. Jorge leapt backwards, wincing and gasping as he tried to snuff out the fires on his shoes. When he did finally manage to stomp them out he looked up just in time to see Scorpion lunging at him with a yellowed, diabolical looking short sword.

Jorge was quick to pull the hammer from his belt and, just in time, managed to swing it hard enough to deflect the sword. Scorpion took this as the obviously opening from a weapon-to-weapon fight. Jorge grumbled but had to go through with it.

Sword met hammer, sparks flew, but neither one of the combatants stopped to catch their breath. Jorge was not trained in weapon fighting so the most he could do was keep swinging and blocking, taking whatever punches or kicks that happened to follow through. It was getting so brutal that breathing was soon proving to be a little difficult. He gasped as he felt a knee drive into his stomach, but at least he managed to keep that sword of his from splitting his head open.

Another punch and Jorge stumbled…a bit farther than he wanted to. Hammer skidding across the bridge, Jorge gasped as he felt the pull of gravity bring him over the edge. A normal man would have fallen to his death but the detective managed to grip onto the bone-like spines that jutted off to the sides. He groaned and gripped them as tight as he could, wincing as he tried to ignore the pain and pull himself up.

However, the sounds of footsteps drew his attention upwards. He looked over to see Scorpion, casually walking forward, sword still in hand as he tilted his head to peer at the detective with dead eyes.

Jorge grimaced as he struggled to hold onto the spines. His grip was loosening and the pain in his ribs was killing him. But he was not giving Game Lord the luxury of watching him give up…

“Done already?” the ninja scowled. He then pointed the blade directly at the detective’s hands. “Ending you will bring me one step closer to my revenge!”

Sword raised, murderous intent in his eyes, Jorge took a breath…and focused….

Jorge quickly slithered back to his clothes, seeped into them and reformed (it was better than reforming in the nude). Just as he did, he looked down to see the harpoon and line it was attached slowly unwinding, following the falling body of Scorpion as he sailed down into the pit below. Against his bettered judgment, the detective was quick as he grabbed the barb and line and, as fast as he could, lashed it around one of the boney spines along the edge of the bridge. Apparently it was just in time because as soon as he was done, the line went taut.

There was a gasp and cry. Jorge leaned over the edge and looked down to see the ninja, flailing as he held onto his own line, hovering over the massive amount of spikes that jutted out from the ground below. Scorpion growled as he swung there, and turned his gaze up to meet Jorge’s.

“Surrender the fight and I’ll let you climb up!” Jorge shouted down to him. “I don’t have time to waste with you!”

A deep, hated laughter erupted from the ninja’s chest as he shook his head. His maddened cackles reached Jorge’s ears and instantly he knew that things were not going to be that easy.

“You show mercy! That is your weakness!” Scorpion yelled up to him. “Don’t you see? There is no room for mercy or ties in Mortal Kombat! Only one of us may win!”

“Bull!” Jorge shouted. “I don’t take lives! I enforce justice!”

Scorpion raised his eyes, meeting Jorge’s gaze so far above him. There was an second in which the two regarded each other, that offered a second of hope that maybe things did not have to end in such a way. But, a glance behind the detective and Scorpion could only lower his head. The pixilated timer had only seconds left…and his health bar was lower than Jorge’s.

“Then your conscience should be clear!” Scorpion yelled and pointed behind him.

Jorge blinked as he turned to look back at that timer that hovered in the air between the two health bars. Scorpion’s seemed to have the lowest bar. And, just as he Jorge watched the timer reach double zeros…the line went loose.