SSV III: TFO Chapter 6. The Pretty Faces of Destiny pg.59
Getting the hint, I.C. tells the rest. “So, now you know that my grandmama was actually a Lure Bot, created by that ugly pig woman. God allowed her to be helped and changed, and she had a beautiful family, a fabulous family. But when that bitter granddaughter went the way of the world, Eppie’s past easily haunted her. AB and Missy had captured her early in her life, so she never got a chance to hurt anyone, and yet she felt that my rebellion was her fault. It wasn’t. I was just selfish and angry, bratty really. I moved myself to the Ruyngardian equivalent of Paris, France, and I was a…not sure there’s a word to describe my daily routine with children present. Let’s just say that when I joined the CFA, all those girls that just talked about how nasty and dirty they were…yeah, I was the bad guy to them. ‘We do that, but at least we’re not like her.’ My fighter name is something I can’t even repeat. I was a horrible, horrible human being. So then, a relative of mine named Red T. joined the CFA. We didn’t talk much, but people could tell we were related. Due to Granny being a former Lure Bot, we all look identical, but this isn’t such a big deal when you consider the genetics of New Ru. Well, she tried to keep her distance and love me from afar, but the day came when I was bored. I needed something to do. I started an argument, we fought…dragged it all over the place. I tried to make her pay for failing me. I tried to kill my own mother.”
The girls voice various comments of concern, sympathy and encouragement. The one voice that matters most, though, speaks up. “Yeah, she tried to claim the insurance on me in that fight, but I was only severely injured. While I was recovering, I.C. got into the famous scuffle with the sadistic biker goths, Death Syrum and Natania. Death Syrum, or Lucy Nelson, was struggling with her own peer pressure problems because people thought she should be like the elegant Lucy Randal simply over having the same name, so she tried to be like the famous Death Syrum, but with a biker twist. The moment came when Lucy and I.C. clashed, and I.C.’s smart mouth earned her the beating of her life that saved her life. It was this beatdown that opened my daughter’s eyes to the brat she was. Everything changed when Lucy wounded I.C. Mendez. She repented, changed her disgusting fighter name, restored her relationship with me and Mom, and then went through the cutest phase of trying to find her new look and theme until Greco Romana and Kimmy K. Ferguson offered her a spot on their little team they were calling ‘The System Guards’ in hopes that Missy would be willing to recruit them one day if they stopped living like animals. And that’s how my daughter slowly became the wonderful star of Inner Man Theatre that we all know and love!!”
“A-choo!!” teases Kimmy K., “She’s the star we all know and love when she’s not getting us sick at allergy-infested farms.”
“Ha ha!” I.C. loves it. “Yeah, you should totally play that game. It’s still on the site, you know.”
“Oh, man!” Missy says in disbelief. “We did it. We actually did it! There was a lot, a lot to cover, and I wasn’t sure if we’d get it all in a good time, but I think we’re doing fine. The only thing left to do is answer one final question, right Eppie?”
Taking her cue, she steps forward and asks the thing that you may still be wondering yourself, “What does Eppie have to do with the Fall of Ruyngard?”