Chapter Text
"Alright, brought ya skateboard?"
Vee asked the approaching survivor. Noob nodded happily as they held the wooden board under their armpit.
"I'm assuming you know how to hold balance and at least ride a skateboard without necessarily doing any tricks?"
Noob thinks for a moment then shrugs: "More or less."
Vee falls silent as if to process the information. Her antennas then light up and straighten up to the sky:
"How about we go for a lap around the map first? Just to get accustomed to the sensation of being in motion 'n stuff."
Noob eagerly nods. They both line up at the ramp leading down into the garden below.
"We skate down, all the way across the bridge, we stop at the other ramp to go up, then we zigzag through the cars until we get back here. Deal?"
Vee asked while trailing her finger in the air, showing the areas they will tackle. Noob gave her a determined look before they sat on their boards, ready for takeoff. Vee practically flew off with a kickflip, gaining massive amounts of speed as Noob was holding on for dear life, not expecting such an acceleration from the slope. They get on the flat surface of the ground where things pick up a more steady pace. They both have fun feeling the night breeze caress their faces as the wheels of their skateboards roll effortlessly on the bridge. Vee, as if to show off, jumped on the railing, skating across it before landing back down on the grass where they both came to a halt.
"Up, up we go!" Vee added playfully, putting her legs in motion.
Finally back on the road above, the two survivors got back on their boards and soon enough were near the starting point. Right before reaching it, Vee got knocked off her board with a loud crash by C00lkidd, who hit a mean Walkspeed Override with his red checkered skateboard, scraping the TVs surface and leaving a small trail of fire behind. Noob stops and turns around confused before widening their eyes at the sight.
"Watcha' nerds doing out here at such a late hour? Nobody taught you these places are off limits?"
Vee slowly got back up, clearly dizzy from the fall. She rubs her head as if to relieve some of the pain.
"I feel like my motherboard's overheating.." she groaned, almost staticky.
After a few moments of silence, C00lkidd steps on the edge of the board, launching it up and catching it in his hand before leaning on it.
"And what exactly were you two doing out here in the open?"
Noob's body tenses: "Oh! uh.. We-"
But they get cut off by Vee, that was coming to her senses: "We were skating. Got a problem?"
"Skating...? and you didn't invite me?!" C00lkidd scoffs in faux betrayal, bringing a hand to his chest to further exaggerate his reaction.
"Well of course not! Because you're a big meanie!" Vee remarked, her head steaming a little.
"Me? Mean? Pfft- never." C00lkidd laughed, pushing his glasses off his eyes.
"I did see your skating abilities in some rounds, TV girl. But you.." he said getting close and pointing at Noob. "You don't know how to skate, do ya now?" C00lkidd caught Noob in a headlock, rubbing their head with his fist in a more or less friendly manner.
"Gah! I'm not an expert!"
"Well then, let's get them wheels rolling!" C00lkidd releases Noob, to which they stumble trying to regain their balance.
C00lkidd grabs his board and quickly does a kickflip, as if to show off. Vee joins in and also shows her skills. Noob stared in disbelief.
"How do you even do that? Like, how do you jump and also make the board spring up 'n stuff..? Doesn't make much sense to me..."
"Oh boy.. you have a lot more to learn than I thought.." C00lkidd sighs.
Veeronica nudges him: "Hey! Don't be rude, they're trying their best!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever.. You teach 'em. I don't wanna waste my time with absolute newbies. Tch.." C00lkidd said walking away, but not far enough to leave the scene, his demeanor changing drastically. He sat down on his board, waiting for Veeronica to start teaching Noob.
"Discouraging much..." Said Noob with a sad tone.
"And that's another way to tell someone you either aren't patient enough or are bad at explaining." Vee pouts. "Don't listen to him! We all start somewhere, no need to be embarrassed for that. Even for me it took a long while to get used to the feeling of being on a skateboard. Now look at me! I can hit whatever trick comes to mind when ever I want, where ever I want! And soon you will be able to do that too!" Vee side hugs Noob.
They sigh softly: "Thanks, Vee. I appreciate it."
"Now let's get to learnin', shall we?" Vee walks away, giving Noob some space: "I know it might seem hard to believe, but the way you do an ollie, if you didn't know it's name, is by just jumping on the board. The catch is: you have to distribute your weight accordingly to make it work. For example I have to position my feet like this, one in the middle of the board and the other in the back. I bend my knees, put my body weight on the leg in the back to make the board stand up, and this is where things get tricky: you slide your leg that was in the middle of the board to the front of it to further distribute your weight on it while trying your best to tuck your knees to your chest, lifting the leg in the back off the board. To land safely, make sure your feet are positioned over the bolts of the board and crouch. All of these steps done in quick succession will grant you an ollie! Of course, it takes time to get used to it, so don't have high hopes of doing it first try, but i believe in you, Nooby!" The robot gal finishes off her presentation with a perfectly executed jump.
Noob is left fascinated by Vee's presentation and applauds her, then proceeds to walk up next to her to put the instructions given in practice. Noob crouches, positions their feet accordingly, takes a moment to brace themselves, sighs, then tries their best to do the jump. To their surprise it almost worked, they felt the board under them rise up a little. It was far from a jump like Vee's, but even so they were proud of themselves. Vee cheered loudly. C00lkidd's eyes widened slightly in surprise, raising an eyebrow. That's when he deemed good enough to rejoin the 2:
"You have potential, kidd. But you have a looong way to go..." after a pause, almost uncharacteristically, C00lkidd adds more quietly: "Proud of ya.."
Noob's face lights up, staring back and forth between Vee and the killer.
"How about we do one more lap then head back to the cabin? I might need some medical assistance.." Said the TV, rubbing her head, recalling the incident from earlier.
"Oh geez.. I mean if you want we can go now, we don't have to go for another lap. Your health's more important afterall!" Noob added quickly with a worried tone.
"Leaving so soon? Tch.."
Vee stares daggers at C00lkidd before turning back to Noob:
"Don't'cha worry about it! A few more minutes won't kill me!"
After a few moments of silence and looking around, Veeronica asks:
"Same route? It wasn't too bad when we tried it earlier"
Noob shrugs:
"I don't mind"
C00lkidd shouts:
"Last one to the ramp is a rotten egg!" As he hastily walks in the slopes direction.
Vee gasps and quickly tails him:
"Hey!! Get back here!"
Noob is left behind and sighs of relief. Those 2 are such big dummies, but Noob's glad they get to spend time with them in a non violent way for once. They finally join the other 2 at the ramp, getting in position on their board.
"Took ya long enough.." remarked C00lkidd.
"Sorry about that.." Noob apologized quietly enough for the others to not understand properly. C00lkidd stares at them for a solid second before shaking his head "Whatever."
The killer feels the need to assert his dominance and decides to add, in his usual cocky tone:
"Let me show you how it's done, Vee Girl!"
Veeronica, accepting the challange, gives him a determined look:
"Bring it on!"
They both gain high speeds almost instantly, racing eachother. On the bridge, C00lkidd rides the rails while Vee does a sick kickflip.
Noob is left behind, taking their time. Tailing behind the other 2, they try to do an ollie mid skate. "Try" is a generous word, for they fumble and almost fall. Catching themselves before they tumble down, they cough to hide their embarrassment, face going red. How fortunate that the others didn't see, being too caught up in their race. Noob arrives back on the road and flawlessly zigzags between the cars before coming to a stop at the starting point. There, Veeronica and C00lkidd were trying to catch their breaths.
"You're good at this.." says the TV girl.
"Better than you, that's for sure!" C00lkidd keeps his ego up.
When they spot Noob, they both jump 'em: "Noob, who won the race?! Be honest!"
Confused, Noob replies: "I don't know, you guys kinda left me behind.. Let's just say its a tie for now." They rub the back of their head. The other 2 had a look of disappointment on their faces.
"Ugh.. fine." Grunts Vee before picking up her board and walking towards Noob.
They both start walking away. Suddenly, from the distance C00lkidd can be heard:
"Just so you know, it's not over yet, Veeronica!"
The 2 survivors start giggling. Noob then mentions its name in hopes it will hear them and get them back to the cabin:
"Hey! Spectre! We're done here. Could you get us back to the lodge?"
The echo could be heard throughout the map. After a few seconds, utter silence. As if no one heard them, nothing happened.
Noob turns to Vee:
"Any moment now."
As if on queue, they both get teleported inside the cabin. It was dark inside, only the cackling fire lighting up the main room in a dim orange light. It seemed some survivors were sleeping on the couch, around the warmth of the fireplace. Noob and Veeronica looked at one another with an understanding look, a silent pact to not wake the others up. They placed their boards down gently next to the door and walked upstairs in hope of finding some comfortable place to rest in until morning.