MasterX3

When I was a king.
(this may be a repeat.)

Back in the early 90s I was working for a retail chain at the mall. One day a friend of mine Hoppy were driving by the mall when we noticed that there was a new building going in at the mini mall across the street. There was a name on the wall that said TRACER.
Intrigued we walked in even though they were not open yet.
They were kind and showed us around. It seems that this was a sort of laser tag arena game. It had 2 bases and a maze between them. Robots in the ceiling to shoot at players and a fog machine.
We signed up on the spot. I chose the code name “DEKKARD” (Harrison Ford's character in Blade Runner)
A week later we moved in.
It was glorious!
We met many people and I discovered I was freaking GOOD!
There was one guy who was “the guy” the guy that everyone liked and to be beat by him was a honor. He went by the name of Armsmaster. I believe he was one of those SCA kinda guys, in fact there was a whole group of them. A couple of hotties as well.
Anyway.
Armsmaster was a cool guy. Scrawny little fuck probably in his high 20s at the time but personable.
He was the man to beat.
I still remember a group coming up to him to ask him to play and he threw his arm around me and said “Take this guy. He's pretty damn good.”
It was like getting a blessing from a King.
I played and played and played. I discovered muscles I had forgotten I had. I developed skills and abilities I did not know I had.
The targets worn by an opponent were the helmet, the chest and gun. I found I could snap shot to a persons head with an assassin like accuracy and skill. I even created my own signature move where I would spot someone coming in at me and I would leap straight up in the air spinning in a pirouette and firing as I came down. It was 95% effective and spectacular to watch (so I was told).
Soon I was the King.
I was adored and revered (and I do not exaggerate this point.)
I held court every weekend and some weekdays.
I was finally “the cool guy”
People hung on my every word and spoke my name with reverence ( ok a bit of exaggeration there)
I dated the hottest chicks and played against everyone. People would drop out of games when they saw my name on the opposing team. I had to start creating alias's just to be able to play.
(RAVENBLADE and INCOGNITO)
One night in came a 8 man team of air force louts as my 2 buds and I were getting ready to leave.
They were being loud and disdainful to this little game.
The manager stopped us and asked us to do her a solid.
She asked us if we would play these guys “on the house.”
It was a slaughter.
They did the whole “hut-hut” thing and called out potions of flank and such.
We destroyed them.
When the smoke cleared they were glum and disjointed.
They had scores in the 2 digit range
we had scores in the high 4 digit range.
We were glorious.


Soon after then the end started. I created a team for tournament play named “The Assassin's Guild”
Then I started going to night school.
Then came in the new breed.
When I was able to go. it became like an old gunslinger unable to hang up his guns without being “called out”.

Finally one day I was done.
My glory days behind me
Life, Love and all that grown up crap shouldered it's way into the forefront.
But oh, those days!
They were golden.