Behind The Mask

Chapter 11: Play Dates

It's been a few months since my anniversary and the concert at Club Titiboo - I don't have the best grasp of time but I think it's been a year and 4 months since I was resurrected and given my enhancements. My training is pretty much the same as usual - beat up Pigmasks, shoot things with my arm cannon and practice using PK Thunder - recently I've been trying to develop a different variation of PK Thunder.

Normally, I strike with lightning from the sky, and while it's certainly effective, the accuracy is a bit of an issue. I've been getting better, but I would prefer something more consistent. Hence, I have developed a variant which has me discharge the electricity in one quick beam. There's a trade off - it doesn't seem to be as powerful as the regular variation of PK Thunder. There's always a downside to every alternative, isn't there? Power over accuracy, speed over defence and being brought back as a cyborg or dying.

That last one may be too specific though.

Some interesting things have happened though: the most noticeable being my new living space. Pork...Master Porky, has kindly given me an area in the Empire Porky Building to make my own, so I'm going there now. It's a bittersweet moment in a way: I'm moving to an area to make new memories, but at the same time, I'm leaving the place I lived over a year. The place I have so many memories of. The place with my... friends.

But I'm still going to train with them thankfully. So, it's not farewell. It's just... moving on.

This afternoon, I'm taking one of those pig-shaped pods -  apparently they do have a name, Porkships, named so to stick with the pig theme. Soon enough, I'm at New Pork City, and I get to enter the Empire Porky Building. I make my way to the 98th floor - where I'm supposed to have my own living quarters apparently. The idea is I'll be close to Master Porky, so I'll be able to reach him at a moment's notice, a reasonable enough suggestion.

It's a fairly simple trip, although I get some nostalgia when I pass the 57th floor - it's the one where I assisted with the construction of Mr Genator and Lil' Miss Marshmallow.

With that, I quickly reach the 98th floor... which consists of a corridor with three doors - one on the left and right wall and a larger one on the wall opposite the elevator. And literally nothing else. It's spacious at least...

I head to the central door, since its size seems to indicate that someone important resides there - like Master Porky. I give a perfunctory knock and wait. No one answers. I try knocking again, but there's still no answer. The door is locked so I can't just simply enter. I can't just break down the door either, as I can tell it's made of an incredibly durable material. Not to mention, it would be rude. Now what?

"HIS HIGHNESS IS NOT HERE AT THE MOMENT, COMMANDER."

That voice... I pivot around, and as I thought, there is Lil' Miss Marshmallow. Or to me, Miss Marsh.

"Lil' Miss Marshmallow, I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you were supposed to be at the Thunder Tower. To guard Master Porky's room?"

"THAT IS CORRECT. HOWEVER, THE ROOM YOU SPEAK OF HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETED YET. THEREFORE, HIS HIGHNESS HAS GIVEN ME ORDERS TO BE HERE, SO I MAY ASSIST HIM IN HIS VARIOUS NEEDS. HIS HIGHNESS SENDS HIS REGRETS THAT HE COULD NOT BE HERE TO WELCOME YOU TO YOUR NEW RESIDENCE, HOWEVER HE IS CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN A MEETING WITH FASSAD."

A meeting with Fassad? What could it be about?

"What is this meeting about then?"

"I DO NOT KNOW. EVEN IF I DID SUCH INFORMATION WOULD BE CONFIDENTIAL, AND I WOULD LIKELY BE GIVEN ORDERS TO KEEP THAT INFORMATION SECRET."

"Even from me?"

"YES, EVEN FROM YOU, COMMANDER."

Interesting. In truth, I'm not really offended at the fact that Master Porky doesn't trust me with the contents of the meeting - the fact that I was told about the meeting shows he has a great deal of trust in me. Nevertheless, I can't help but be curious as to what this meeting is about. Maybe Fassad is being fired? That'd be nice.