Ch.10: I'm Toast!

With a fierce battle cry that sounded more like a squeaky toy - Shiksa's one liner "Ah-ha!", I charged Shiksa toward one baby ogre, brandishing her mighty flying skills with all the grace of a penguin on ice skates.

The baby ogre, clearly unimpressed by my dramatic entrance like I was a disturbing fly, swatted Shiksa away with a lazy swipe of its gigantic hand.

She flew across the battlefield like a ragdoll in a tornado.

"Oof!" I grunted as Shiksa crashed into a nearby boulder, her lifeline depleting with a disheartening "ding!"

Stunned by the swift defeat, I gawked at the screen, mouth agape. "Did that really just happen?" I thought, shaking my head in disbelief. "And no one even noticed?"

I glanced around furtively, relieved to see that my teammates were too preoccupied with their own battles to witness Shiksa's humiliating demise.

Well, not me, it was her who died!

With a sheepish grin, I blew out a puff of hot air, trying to brush off the embarrassing setback. It was like getting pantsed in gym class – only this time, it was in front of a virtual family of ogres.

"Alright, Freddy, time to focus," I whispered to myself, rallying my determination. "You've still got three lives left."

Shiksa respawned, her health and life gleaming blue in its bars, giving me a renewed sense of hope. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd just been bested by a giant, drooling infant.

It was like playing a high-stakes game of "got your nose," and I'd just had my entire face swiped out.

Yeah, the infant swept me off my 'face'!

Resolved to redeem myself, I prepared for my very own round two with the same baby ogre, this time determined to prove that Shiksa was more than just a pretty face – or, in this case, a pretty avatar.

Oh yeah, did I forget to tell you guys how f**king hot this avatar? Well, I'd tell you guys later but let me warn before hand, the fact that she's WORTHLESS can't make her any prettier than an over pampered dolly girl.

Ehem! Back to the game.

"Okay, Shiksa," I thought, "let's show them what we're made of – and try not to get squashed like a bug this time."

With renewed resolve, I guided Shiksa back into the fray, her newly replenished health/life bar taunting me with the promise of potential victory – or, perhaps, yet another hilarious defeat.

Yeah, I've got to keep my fingers crossed yunno!

The baby ogre noticed my return and let out a baby gurgling chuckle, as if mocking my earlier failure.

"Not this time, you overgrown booger!" I shouted in my head, feeling more determined than ever.

I deftly maneuvered Shiksa around the battlefield, dodging the baby ogre's clumsy swipes like a nimble dancer – or at least a dancer with two left feet. Hmph!

Just when I thought I had found my rhythm, the baby ogre's mother let out a roar that shook the ground, causing me to momentarily lose my footing.

"Focus, Freddy!" I scolded myself mentally, steering Shiksa back on track. I could almost hear the baby ogre's laugh as it prepared for another swipe.

This time, I was ready.

I took out Shiksa's gun and jabber it forward with all the precision of a shooter champion – or maybe just a really lucky amateur playing a worthless avatar, and shot a bullet at the baby ogre.

The bullet found its bullseye, striking the baby ogre right in its pudgy belly. The ogre let out a surprised yelp, more shocked than hurt, and staggered back.

Seizing the opportunity, I launched into a flurry of attacks, each hit chipping away at the baby ogre's health bar.

"Take that, you snot-nosed behemoth!" I murmured triumphantly, trying to keep my tone low so my teammates don't f**king pay attention to me.

The baby ogre, now on the defensive, tried to swat Shiksa away again, but this time I was ready.

I dodged left, then right, delivering shots after shots until the baby ogre's health bar was nearly depleted.

With one final, dramatic shot - BANG!, Shiksa's bullet pierced the baby ogre's hide, and it toppled over with a ground-shaking thud.

"Yes! Take that, you giant toddler!" I wanted to shout while pumping my fist in the air but only ended grunting victory, "Mmm!" Making sure not to get the others attention.

As the baby ogre's health bar hit zero, I couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. Shiksa had redeemed herself, and I had shown that I could handle even the most daunting of virtual challenges.

"Alright, team," I called out, my confidence restored. "Let's finish this!"

With the baby ogre down, I turned my attention to the rest of the battlefield, ready to take on whatever came next.

Victory was blinding my sight, and nothing – not even a drooling ogre – was going to stand in my way.

A moment of stunned silence hung in the air as all eyes – teammates, opponents, and an ogre alike – turned to Shiksa.

It was like the moment in a comedy when the record scratches and everyone freezes. You could practically hear the collective gasp.

"Oh, shit," I whispered, suddenly aware that I'd just obliterated the last remaining offspring of the ogre family.

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks, and I could almost feel the fury radiating from the adult mama ogre. Or was it a Papa ogre?

Its eyes bore into Shiksa, and by extension, me, with a mix of rage and sorrow that made me want to shrink to the size of a pixel.

In a panic, I quickly hid Shiksa's health bar, hoping no one would notice her dwindling life points. But it was too late. The remaining adult ogre, now a grieving, raging sibling, charged toward Shiksa like a freight train of vengeance.

"Uh, guys?" I called out nervously, glancing at my teammates for assistance.

They were still busy mopping up their own battles this time with the opposition team for nothing!, completely oblivious to my predicament.

Gregg was gleefully hacking away at the other team's Vector X, and Skyro was still doing who-knows-what in the sky with the other Skyro of the opposition team.

Everyone else was too occupied to care. I'm toast!