Posted by Tommy Tanaka
on 6/18/2009, 9:36 am, in reply to "Re: The Curious Case of Tommy Tanaka"
Serna moved towards The Gamer and spoke to him a little uncertainly, "Uh, Master Tommy, please don't die. I like you, I like you a lot. You like Mistress Kana and me and the rest of us. And I want you to stick around. I need you to stick around. And you need to stick around to teach Neven a thing or two about being a decent human being rather than a mean nasty Thief which he still is. Even though I wanted Mistress Kana to bite him--and I still do--you see something in Neven that none of us do. And if you leave him now, Master Tommy, how will he ever redeem himself? How we he ever learn to be a better person. Please come back, Master Tommy, we need you and we miss you--even now."
Buddy you're a young man hard man
Shoutin' in the street gonna take on the world some day
You got blood on yo' face
You big disgrace
Wavin' your banner all over the place
The sleeping form of the Gamer shimmered and changed once more. His visage was identical to that of his skinsuited appearance, though somehow more relaxed. He wore a simple pair of tan slacks, and a t-shirt bearing the words "Miskatonic West – Home of the Fighting Cephalopods" above the image of a football helmet with a mass of writhing tentacles where a face should be.
Serna stepped aside as Willow approached and said, "Gamer, you have a way of verbal obfuscation worthy of a High Elf. Return to us. We miss your company and I miss your company. Of all of the Humans that I have ever met in my life, you are the most Elf-like in your humor and mannerisms. If you were to leave us, I would sorely miss that as I travel with this group. You are important to us, important to me, and your company would be sorely missed if you were to die this day. Stay with us Gamer, your talents are needed, your tongue is required and your presence is demanded."
Sí na veth bâden im derel
Vi dúath dofn tummen.
Atham meraid velig a tynd
Athan eryd bain beraidh
Or 'waith bain nura Anor
A panlû elin cuinar
Ú-pedithon 'i-aur gwann'
Egor nai îl 'namarië'.
The Gamer underwent a most unusual transformation at this point. In a long flowing wave, he gained at least a foot in height, his skin growing pale and his features becoming distinctly Elven. His mundane clothing was replaced by an ornate pearl-grey robe bearing the emblem of a kaleidoscopic, fractal butterfly over his left breast. Finally, a slender tentacle stretched from the back of his head around to curl across his chest, tip flicking back and forth like the tail of a sleeping cat.
The Ranger moved aside as The Swordsman walked towards his friend, "Well, Tommy, it has fallen to me to bring you back home to the rest of us. Tommy, you are the most irritatingly, confusingly, mind-boggling enigma that I have ever had the good fortune to run into in all of my lives. But you are also one of the most loyal, dedicated, honorable and just friends that I have ever had in my life. Come back, Tommy, I don't want to be the last of the original Realmers in this corner of The Realm. We started travelling this world together, you and I, and it is only fitting that we should finish it as well. You are the Wellington to my Napoleon, the Merlin to my Arthur and the Holmes to my Moriarty and I would be lost without your wise counsel to caution me about venturing where angels fear to tread. I need you, pal, I need you to give me alternatives and options when everything gets confusing, when everything seems their darkest and when the tide is riding high. Come back to me, Tommy, come back to us. We have a world of work ahead of us and so little to time to do it all in. So, Tommy, if you need one more bit of encouragement to come back then take this to heart."
In his best command voice, Irzen snapped, "Do not go gently into that good night. But rage! Rage! Against the dying of the light! Now wake up! Get off your rear! And become the frustrating, irritating, kind-hearted and understanding Gamer, Human-Amberite hybrid, pseudo-Gallifreyan that we all know, love and respect!"
Once the Swordsman was finished with his words, Dungeon Master's gem and Tommy's Weapon of Power glowed once again matching their former brilliance until all within the party had to shield their eyes. When the light died down, the Adventurers found themselves back in The Arboretum.
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.
"It is done!" acknowledged Dungeon Master as he rose to his feet once more, "Gamer, please, awake and rise!"
With the return to the Arboretum, the Gamer's appearance changed one final time. Returned to solidity, he now wore the face with which he'd first graced the Realm, hair red and flowing loose. His Chinese-style pants and shirt were similar to his original outfit, though the cloth was a black star field, his belt a sash of golden silk. His Weapon of Power, a red gem matching the Game Master's own talisman, lay open on his chest, glowing dimly.
Tommy opened his eyes, seeing first the Dungeon Master standing above him. Softly he whispered, "And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray." He blinked then and looked around, finally aware of his surroundings.
Sitting up, apparently not yet ready to stand, the Gamer spoke again. "I…bide a moment." He closed his eyes and took several slow, deep breaths, the gemstone pulsing in time with his heartbeat. After half a minute, the glow reduced to a faint ember, and he opened his eyes once more.
"Thank you all," Tommy said then, eyes moving around the glade to acknowledge his companions. "My, it's nice to have binocular vision again." He smiled. "I think there's a lesson – well, probably several – to be learned here. While it's generally good for your reach to exceed your grasp, it's also good to know your own limits. Unfortunately," he chuckled, flicking lightly at his pendant with one finger, "this thing didn't come with a User Manual." A shake of the head. "Also a bit of the old 'be careful what you ask for…' Borrowing aspects from a couple of major initiatic rites wasn't one of my brightest ideas, given that they were both of the 'succeed or die' variety. I came remarkably close to becoming one with the universe, which from another perspective is the same as ceasing to exist, and I'm not really ready to do either of those, so once more thank you all for calling me back to myself. Or selves, or something like that. It's going to take me a little while to get settled back into my own head, but as…" he looked at the Swordsman. "I think it was you who said, 'we have a world of work ahead of us and so little to time to do it all in.' So let's be about it."
((OOC: Translation from Elvish (Sindarin, to be precise):
Here at my path's end I am lingering
In deep darkness buried.
Beyond towers strong and high
Beyond all mountains steep
Above all shadows rides the Sun
And stars always dwell.
I will not say 'The day is done'
Or to the stars 'farewell'.))
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