《Vaudevillain》The Many Adventures of Jacques! - 5
Advertisement
Cookie stumbled out of the smashed car, holding its head in its hands as glass and metal screeched under its feet. The cat meowed in the distance, and the Jacques focused on the noise. That cat was going to pay for humiliating Cookie.
The cat in question sat on the sidewalk, devouring the two skewers that it stole. Cookie could only let it happen, as the minion was still disoriented from the fall. The world felt like a sailboat in a storm, shifting back and forth as if trying to throw the minion overboard.
Eventually, Cookie shook the dizziness out, but it was too late for the minion to stop the cat from eating. The minion recovered to see the cat licking the last bit of fat off its paw. Cookie squared its shoulders and adjusted its hat, only to find that its hat wasn’t atop its head.
The piece of clothing had fallen off during the fall, leaving the minion’s bald head exposed to the elements. It landed on top of a mailbox, the blue-painted metal matching nicely with the hat. Cookie decided to get its hat later. Right now, a cat needed to be taught a lesson.
The minion decided to take things slow this time. Time wasn’t of the essence now that the skewers were gone. And so Cookie took to its tiptoes and slowly crept forward. The Jacques stepped around the broken glass from the smashed car and over the bent pieces of metal without a sound.
However, Cookie failed to realize that sneaking around required more than just getting on your tiptoes and staying silent. There was a little something called line of sight, and the cat had more than enough of it.
Therefore, when Cookie crept close, the cat leisurely stood, yawned, then paced down the sidewalk. The Jacques followed, making sure to keep on its toes.
Advertisement
Cookie followed the cat through the strange chrome streets and out through an alleyway. The chrome fell away like old paint, replaced by rusted pipes that twisted across buildings like snakes. Trash dotted the landscape, various pieces of scrap metal and plastic arranged in various shapes.
The cat marched on, forcing Cookie to tiptoe around the trash. The process slowed the minion down, but luckily it seemed as if the cat was waiting for the minion to follow.
In truth, the cat was just acting like a cat, but there’s no way a Jacques could know that.
The two strange companions continued onward. The cat meandering around the streets with Cookie sneaking behind. NPC onlookers and even a few players stared at the two in confusion. It wasn’t every day a minion snuck around on tiptoes after a cat.
Cookie kept its eyes peeled as it watched the cat walking, wary of any sudden movements. The minion wasn’t going to get caught with its pants down this time. No, if the cat did anything suspicious Cookie would leap to action and deliver swift justice!
A tantalizing smell caught Cookie’s attention, and he turned to see a stall selling deep-fried cookie dough. The cat smelled the food as well, and prepared to saunter over.
A thundering growl sounded before either minion or cat could make their way to the stall. Cookie turned to see a giant, mechanical bulldog growling as it walked out of a nearby alley.
At one point the dog had to have been organic. Drool dripped from the animal and patches of fur could be found across its body. But most of the creature had been replaced by the various scrap metals and plastics around the street. Smoke billowed from the bulldog’s backside as a diesel engine revved.
The cat froze, then arched its back and hissed angrily. The bulldog responded with a loud bark, the noise nearly deafening Cookie.
Advertisement
“Oh, shut up stupid mutt!” many of the NPCs yelled.
The bulldog did not shut up. The complaints and jeers only seemed to spur it onward.
Cookie was only too happy to watch as its skewer stealing nemesis was threatened. Dr. Zlo taught that revenge could be served many ways, and while the most satisfying was personal revenge, watching your enemy fall to hubris was a close second.
Now, if only Cookie had some popcorn. The minion turned to search, taking his eyes off the bulldog. There was still the deep-fried cookie dough, but the Jacques decided it might be a better idea to save such a crazy food for later. After all, it still needed to figure out how to eat normal foods.
With no popcorn, Cookie resigned itself to enjoying the show in a more mundane way. The minion tiptoed nearby, utterly assured in its stealthy ability.
The bulldog’s head snapped over to the Jacques and growled. Cookie ignored it. As if a mangy mutt could discover such a successful sneaker.
The minion crept closer until it had a clear view of the bulldog’s great teeth. The cat continued to hiss, its hackles raised to intimidate. Cookie could only scoff at how silly the animal was being. As if some hissing would scare the bulldog off.
No, the Jacques would get a front-row seat to his foe’s demise.
At least that was the plan until the bulldog jumped at Cookie.
Advertisement
- In Serial123 Chapters
Blightbane
Miscellaneous Notes: - I want to see about making a crude map of Shroud to help readers. - I also want to get back to writing Coalescence updates. Schedule Notes: - None for now, updates when I can. [ Thank you for your patience and support as I improve my writing and storytelling abilities. I'm also using this story to better develop lore that extends far beyond it. ] Thanks to another exceptionally talented artist, Hiroeth, Blightbane now has an official cover! Vera was alone again. “You’re completely unprepared. Never before has sending one of you off made me feel quite so guilty.” Whenever she found herself in doubt, she would weigh her actions against the guiding principles of the one whom she revered. “When you don’t know the rules of the game, start making them up. When you are constrained by unfavorable conditions, inject a little chaos.” It was the supplementary message that concerned Vera the most. It was difficult to follow because it was intentionally vague and mired in subjectivity. “How can I enjoy myself when you look so tormented? Are we in danger?” Vera fell silent. An experiment is taking place on a planetary scale. Across the surface of the planet, a phenomenon referred to as "Blight" is spreading. Festering regions defended by fierce creatures called “blightbeasts” taint the surface, warping the land and proliferating unceasingly. Among the sentient creatures of the planet, it is the Blightbane Guild’s responsibility to stem the tide. They endeavor to cleanse the land in a struggle of attrition, but they are losing ground. A young man named Caim has been uprooted from his former life and transported to The Shrouded Theocracy, an isolationist nation with fanatical policies. He must struggle to survive with only an unfamiliar strain of magic to aid him. There is a secret to this magic. One he knows very little about. He intends to explore just what makes this magic special. On the far border of the theocracy, a mage scientist named Inis discovers a revolutionary new way to infuse strength from defeated blightbeasts. Using herself as a test subject, this process allows her to grasp magical concepts previously thought beyond her reach. Though she tries to document any side effects that arise, something escapes her awareness. She is playing with a dangerous force that will claim her most treasured asset if she isn't careful. Everyone and everything on the planet is a part of the experiment. The experiment is a lie.
8 153 - In Serial45 Chapters
The Natural
Leo's first order of business when he is dropped unceremoniously into the pokemon world is to survive. Seeing as he is in the middle of the wild with only a small pocketknife, some papers, and a backpack, and with no signs of civilization in sight, that is setting up to be quite the task.
8 81 - In Serial46 Chapters
Prehistoric Barbarian
The future became a peaceful utopia in the Core Regions. No crime, no wars, no conflicts, even rude behavior is rare. People became complacent and lazy. The main character isn’t a hero or a typical protagonist. Calling him an… opportunist would be the least offensive probably. In this age, he’s sticking out like a sore thumb. Who would notice a few shady happenings when crime is a foreign concept and there is nobody to catch you? *Book 1 - Done.*
8 198 - In Serial7 Chapters
Chronicles of Xod (returning from hiatus)
After a long recovery over a chronic motion sickness issue, I feel I'm ready to return to writing this book. It might be slow at first, but I'm hoping to pick up where I left off. I apologize again for the long hiatus. The pages following are a true account. An account of how I, Josh--a teenage nerd from modern suburbia--ended up in a strange world filled with fantastic magic, bizarre creatures, and terrifying dungeons. Despite the troped-up fantasy feel of the world, this is hardly an ordinary tale. For one, don’t expect a happy ending. With the trials I’ve been through, the horrors I’ve seen and the atrocities I’ve committed, believe me when I tell you, this is not a happy tale filled with friendly rainbow bears or teenage flying unicorns. It’s more likely you’ll finish this book mentally scarred as I will not spare the details of my unfortunate adventures. With the help of my trusted companion Gui, I gain an insight that no one else in the world has. This knowledge allows me to exploit and, for lack of a better term, metagame the system which gave me a clear advantage over its residents. “With great power...,” someone might begin to quote to me. In my defense, I think maybe even you, reader, might have acted similarly with how this reality changed my view of good and evil. This story will be updated regularly on Wednesdays around 6 PM. There will only be about 1000 words per update. The focus is to finish the story before doing any major changes or editing. Please read as if this is a work in progress, not a finished product. Feel free to let me know if you see any error, whether glaring or minor. If you help me out, I'll be sure to add you to a thank you list at the front of the book when it is published. Chronicles of Xod is a first-person fantasy novel that follows the adventures of a young man from Earth. Through unknown circumstances, he finds himself in a fantasy world where life is not all wonders and happy endings. The story takes common fantasy concepts from my favorite video games, books and movies and gives them an adult edge. It also introduces some taboo concepts often glossed over by stories written for broad audiences. The style is meant to be immersive and heavily detailed. The short novel will be written in a way that attempts to bring a sense of realism to an unrealistic genre. Where there are realistic consequences and dangers in a world populated with violent monsters, cruel demons, bloodthirsty undead, and immoral bandits. In this fantasy world, the inhabitants are essentially gender blind as far as sexuality is concerned. There is also more variation amongst male and female physiology. This isn't meant to be any kind of promotion or demotion of social behavior in reality. Just a concept I thought would be an interesting idea to have in a fantasy setting. I highly discourage anyone from reading this material if you are personally concerned with being offended or traumatized. Both violent and sexual content will be graphically detailed. All characters involved in sexual scenes are mature and of the age of consent(18+).
8 235 - In Serial12 Chapters
Hidden Adversary
"Hidden Adversary" is a story of a world of heroes and monsters hidden in the deep shadow of the earth. Various species of such beings that have not been found,waiting for its time to destroy mankind take back what is theirs. People all over the world have witnessed people with special abilities and share it through the media of social networking site "Utube" and "Popbook". Nobody believed the existence of such beings and the people that were caught on camera some claimed hoax and some claimed it true who knows? until monsters,devils,mysterious creatures slowly appearing in the world tormenting the existence of humans not until a 15 year old boy named Takoshi Kouno with other humans with special abilities appeared at the surface of the earth.
8 247 - In Serial26 Chapters
Forced To be a Redfox
Levy McGarden, a spunky, rude, morning drinker. Her family has the second most wealthy business not just in Fiore, but in Mongolia. Being second best, her father, wants her to marry the son of the most wealthy and feared business in Mongolia, The Redfoxes, and their son Gajeel.Levy had see him, in Mongolian magazines and in casinos at times. Levy was a master gambler, that was the only reason levy agreed to meet the son Redfox. To Beat him in Gambling. A Redfox. Versus a Bookworm. Who's spunky attitude will bring the other to fall... In love?
8 234

