Silica's Stream

Legend of the Seven Lights

Any%

Stage 6: Toons in Trouble

Mission: Follow Murfy into the castle.

Murfy flew fast through the forest of giant trees, evading the gunshots of the Hoodlums while carrying Sheila. "Yeah, we got another automated section here." Silica said into her headpiece. "It's not as long as the music levels, but I can't pull any tricks."

Her movements with the Control Stick were like the wind. The Hoodlums had zero chance of hitting her. Such flawless skill was the very reason millions were online, watching her stream. Silica York was famous the universe over as the Ultimate Gamer, her 10-year-old eyes narrowed in sheer focus, her fingers in constant motion. Of course, they expected nothing less from the daughter of Carol Masterson, the creator and developer of the Kids Next Door game franchise.

Silica's room, as was partly visible in her mini-screen, contained a bed resembling a giant game console. Her desk had towers of games, and she had her own hi-def TV for the best experience. In the luxury and comfort of her mansion, there was little to disturb her technique. Still, based on her clothing and demeanor, one wouldn't assume her to be so very rich. She was cozy in her warm black sweater and blue sweatpants, legs spread on the floor in her socks. Her pigtails were spiked, a blue streak cut across the middle of her hair, and she had a slightly big nose and chubby cheeks on her scowling, freckled face. Silica had snacks and drinks with her, but would only help herself during Stage Results screens. Her sloppy way of eating showed no manners for such a rich person, but such behavior actually made her more popular.

Once the flight section was over, Silica mashed the buttons to skip the cutscene. Sheila was now on foot, bolting past all the Hoodlums as her controller gave no care. "EmilyNerd43 says, 'Why did your mom include that Easter Egg of Mrs. Dickson in the shower?' I assume one of the developers just wanted more fanservice, got nothin' to do with-"

Knock knock knock. Silica's nostrils flared and eyes swelled. The only reason that sound would be heard at her door was because someone was too stupid to read the signs. "Silica, it's your daddy! Are you busy?"

"Go… away… Dad…" Silica whispered through her teeth, hoping the message would telepathically reach.

There were all kinds of 'KEEP OUT' or 'DO NOT DISTURB' signs on his daughter's door. However, with a carefree smile, Dillon York cracked open the door. "Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to do something-"

GROWWWWLLL… Silica's shadow, Inky hissed venomously at the intruder. Dillon had never known a scarier shadow, as black and all-eclipsing as her name. Although Dillon didn't fear his daughter's shadow, it was clear she was solely determined to protect her master.

"Silica, do you wanna go do something together?"

"Dad…? I am doing… a speed run…" Silica spoke calmly and slowly, making sure her father could understand. "A speed run… for charity… and I need full concentration… so please… wait until I'm finished…"

Dillon walked in to see the TV, Inky hissing and watching to make sure he wouldn't disturb. Dillon cocked a brow as Sheila appeared to be pressing against a Hoodlum, taking rapid damage while Silica mashed a combination of buttons. "You know Sheila can do ranged attacks, right?"

"Uck…Dad… I'm performing a strategy. See for yourself."

Dillon watched as Sheila suddenly launched across a chunk of the level. "Heh. The real Sheila would be jealous. Hey, can we play together?"

"You don't know the strats, Dad, the run would take longer. …FirebenderSupreme77 asks, 'What's your schedule for this week, Sill?' Tonight, I'm gonna do a quick run of MASKED, tomorrow I'm doing 100% of Pirate Wars, and Friday's going to be 100% The Last, including the Under Army DLC and all Meta-Darkness battles. Next week, I'm doing a 100% run of this game, then I'm doing Candied Adventure with the Veggie Heist DLC…"

"Heh, your schedule's really packed." Dillon chuckled.

"Yeah, so if you wanna spend time, just log on a computer and watch…"

Dillon sighed, choosing to accept his daughter's wishes and leave. After all, having grown up with games himself, he was wise not to disturb his daughter in her quest for a World Record. Especially when so many fans were watching. This was a regular routine on Silica's schedule. People would donate money to her streams, which would go to charity, so it wasn't like there was no worth in her playtime.

Plus, it wasn't like the father had anything else to do. His wife was making money by the minute, so he didn't really need to work aside from helping clean the house. What better pastime than watching his little gamer relive his friends' adventures? So, Dillon sat at his room computer and searched for his daughter's stream.

Silica was playing the Starship Vorselon level, using Maddy to shoot against the wall of the spaceship and clip through. She and her team ended up falling into space, cutting to the part where Drake harpooned them across the exterior (even though Silica skipped the part where they rescued Drake). "Minisaela asks, 'What's your least-favorite level?' Definitely the Guertena Gallery 'cause you can't do anything besides walk around and examine paintings. Even in 100% runs, it's just a bunch of stick movements and quick button taps. Huh?"

A comment from "Darkseed1336" appeared in the chat. Haha, Maddy looks so different without her Haki!

"Ugh…Dad…" Silica rolled her eyes at such a silly comment.

When Silica got to the Civic City level, she was already having Sandman fly to Freddy's Pizzeria. She spammed Explosive Gel against a corner of the building, causing Sandman to clip inside. Sandman performed swift, precise flips in going through the glitchy pizzeria and recovering the Shock Rod, shortly before The Puppet killed her. Dillon commented, Silica, you aren't supposed to go there, yet, you can't stop The Puppet.

"Dad, I'm doing the Civic City Skip? Even though the pizzeria is already open to you, most players think you can't complete it until later, but if you can pull it off, you skip a chunk of levels. Which also means Suki won't Awaken as a Light, but who cares."

Dillon watched as Silica clipped into the Pizzeria again, making her way to the Puppet's boss room. She would defeat The Puppet without even using the cameras, and after skipping some cutscenes, Silica was already at the King's Den level. "Whoa… cool!" Dillon beamed. "But doesn't that mean you're missing the Rock Pikmin?"

"Pfft, we don't need the Rock Pikmin." Silica snorted.

Most of Silica's techniques involved clipping through walls, which was easy in Wendy's levels and even Rupert's. Rupert could glitch through the floor and suddenly reappear at a higher ground, which made getting through the Dressrosa level easy. "Darkseed1336 asks, 'Would you ever want to be a Minish explorer?' Pfft, no way. If I was that small, I couldn't tease Minisaela. Ain't that right, Shorty?" She smirked at the screen.

Minisaela wrote, *shakes fist at big fat human in anger*

When she got to the Forest of Twilight, Dillon watched as his younger self swiftly slipped past enemies and maneuvered through the forest as if he already knew it like the back of his hand. "Darkseed says, 'Hey, look, Sill, you're controlling me!' Hardy har, Dad, I sure am. Maybe I can make you stop embarrassing yourself."

After about five hours of gaming, Silica was at the final boss with Ragaj Gnik. Like the other bosses before him, Silica performed swift, strong attacks, expert dodges, suffered no damage, and defeated the boss perfectly. "YES! Game finished!" Silica fell on her back with a satisfied smile. "Let's watch the Apocalypse and enjoy a World Record!"

Dillon chuckled at her carefreeness. It was so strange to watch their most stressful adventure fly by in the blink of an eye. When the stream ended, Dillon returned to his daughter's room, Silica standing and stretching. "Okay, Dad… whaddo you wanna do?"

"Wanna do a 3-player run of your Grandpa's levels? Inky can be the other controller?"

"Let's just do a few. I'm starting the MASKED run in an hour."

Dillon assumed control of Yuki, Silica controlled Sandman, and Inky Wiccan. She was constantly running ahead of her father and beating enemies before Dillon could even think. "Heh heh…" Dillon blushed, feeling so lame next to his daughter. "How come I don't get to be part of your streams? I lived some of these adventures, I like to give my input."

"It isn't about giving input, it's trying to beat the games as fast as possible. Make your own stream if you wanna do that."

"The point of these games isn't just to 'beat them fast.' Your mom made them to-"

"Yes, to document your friends' adventures so everyone could understand all the hardships you went through. Honestly, Dad, if Mom wanted to make a game with my adventures, I would want her to leave out all those embarrassing 'character development' moments. Like, isn't it humiliating? Having millions of people watch your most sensitive moments?"

"Yes, it is embarrassing." Dillon blushed. "But it gives us good reviews, and reviews make money. I know you like high scores, Sill, but I don't want you to forget why these games are important to us."

"I know, Dad…" Silica's eyebrows curved up in a sympathetic fashion. "The character arcs within these games are… very objectively pleasing. And I hope other players will come to experience them as well as I have."

"I very objectively hope so, too." Dillon grinned, patting her back.

"Good, it seems like your stream is done." They turned to find the lady of the manor at the door. Carol's fluffy blonde hair was wrapped in a bun, and her elegant light-green dress and high-heels made her truly stand out from her husband and daughter. "It's time for dinner, Silica, hurry down."

"But it's almost time for my Operation: MASKED stream!"

"You've been streaming all day, and your breath smells like potato chips! Go brush your teeth first."

"Fine, but I'm chewing quickly." Silica marched out of the room in a huff.

"Oh, and your father is joining you on your stream, or I'm asking Laruta to extend your workout time."

"UUUUUUGGGGHHH…" Silica moaned and made the face of a strange animal.

Dillon walked with his wife to the dining room, chuckling at Silica's response. "Aren't you worried that she's getting too addicted?" Carol asked.

"The others say she does well on missions… with the right motivation. Besides, maybe these crazy techniques she pulls off will give her some combat ideas."

"I don't think depleting her health to perform a 'ghost flight' glitch will work in real life."

"Either way, I'm glad that she enjoys our adventures so much! Watching them all over again, with the way she plays… it makes them seem more pleasant in hindsight. Hehe, and she makes us all look so silly!"

"Probably you more than me~. But you take care of her when I'm not around, okay?"

"No worries. I wouldn't miss her streams for the world!"

As soon as dinner was finished, Dillon joined Silica up in her room, enjoying a fun session of Cheren glitching his way through Termina.