In a cell in the Plumber's Base, a young woman with red skin and dark red hair was sitting in a cell.

Her body was covered in blur patterns that resembled circuitry, whilst she wore an orange jumpsuit along with a strange collar around her neck. She sat on the cell's bed, staring at the ground as she seemed neither bored, nor interested in anything.

Suddenly, Shining Armor stepped up to the cell and looked through the glass towards her. "Viral. You've got a visitor."

The woman named Viral looked up and stared at the glass, as her visitor stepped into view. "MICRO!" She got up and ran to the glass, staring at the shorter individual who looked unsure about even being there. "I can't believe you're here."

Micro Chips stared at her, his gaze travelling over her body. "Look at you. I can't believe you found a way to actually make yourself human."

"No thanks to your friends," Viral pointed out. "Strange how the only person able to help me, was someone considered a villain." She looked over at Shining, who was keeping a very close eye on her. "Please. You have to get me out of here."

"I can't do that," Micro told her. "I know you've had a lot of horrible things happen to you, but you've done just as many horrible things back to others. You need to pay for that." Viral gave him a look of betrayal, as Micro placed a hand on the glass. "I'll make you a promise. Serve your time. Be a model prisoner and don't try to get revenge when you're released and we can start over."

"Really?" Viral asked, placing her hand on the glass as well.

"Yes. But only if you promise to behave and don't cause the Plumbers any issues."

Viral sighed. "It's not like I can do anything." She pointed at the collar around her neck. "This thing's keeping me from accessing my abilities. I'm just a normal human right now."

"Maybe that's a good thing," Micro pointed out. "It'll help you learn what being human is like. Teach you how to truly be one." Viral nodded, as she and Micro continued to talk.

Shining kept an eye on them, but didn't think Viral would pull anything. And eventually, the time for the prison visit came to an end. "Alright," he moved over to them, "it's time to go." Viral looked upset, whilst Micro gave her a promising look.

"I'll come back again. But only if the Plumbers tell me you've been behaving." Viral nodded, as Micro turned to leave. Viral did her best to keep Micro in view for as long as possible, but eventually couldn't see him anymore. Once he was gone, she sighed and sat back on her bed.

Outside, Micro had been shown the way out and found Flash standing outside the base waiting for him. "Hey," the hero gave him a smile, "how was it?"

"It was...alright." The pair started walking down the path towards the gate. "I just hope she behaves and doesn't try any escape attempts." Flash gave Micro a pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. If she tries anything, I'll stop her. She'll stay out of your life and you can enjoy yourself without having to constantly be on guard." But then Flash noticed the look on Micro's face. "You okay?"

"I don't want her out of my life." Flash hadn't been expecting that. "I know she's done a lot of bad things, but a part of me wants to believe she can change. And now that she's pretty much human, she can have the life she's always wanted. But only after she's repaid her debt to society."

"So if she's released, you're gonna what...let her live with you?" Micro shrugged, clearly thinking that was an option. "Are you sure that's a good idea? She can get a little...possessive."

"I don't know," Micro sighed. "I guess all I can do is see how well she behaves in prison. And deal with that problem if she ever gets released." Flash nodded, as they left the Plumber's compound. But as soon as they did, a limo suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Wow!" The pair jumped back, as the limo stopped and a man suddenly jumped out.

He looked over the pair before spotting Flash and smiling. "Mr. Sentry." He rushed over to him. "So nice to finally meet you in person." He was a tall thin man, with apricot skin and black hair that was wearing a suit.

"Nice to meet you too." Flash found himself shaking the man's hand. "Um...who are you?"

"Of course," he nodded. "My name is Max. Max Level. Precedent and CEO of Industrial Mirage."

"Industrial Mirage!?" Micro cried, looking shocked as Max smiled. "That's the best video game company this side of the states. You made Rise of Terik and Terik's Revenge. I loved those games."

"Always happy to meet a fan." Max turned to Flash, "and I do hope you're one, Mr. Sentry."

"I guess," Flash nodded. "I played those games, but gaming's not really a big part of my past time. So, Mr. Level, what brings you here?"

"Please, just call me Max. And I'm here to ask for the rights to turn you into a video game star." Flash let that info sink in, his eyes then going wide is shock.

"WHAT!?"

"You're gonna turn Flash into a video game?" Micro asked, with Max nodding.

"That's right. My company has created a brand new gaming system and we would like to design an MMORPG, based on Mr. Sentry and his amazing alien transformations. People all around the world, will be able to log on and transform into aliens just like you can."

Flash could hardly believe it. "Me...a video game. That's so cool."

"I'm assuming that means you'll agree to it?"

"Well..." Flash wasn't sure what to say. "I guess it couldn't hurt. But what exactly would you need from me?"

"Oh I'd need you to sign a few legal documents, but since you're a minor your parents would need to be there. So for now, why don't you come by the office tomorrow and let me show you some of the work we've already done. Then we can talk about all the legal issues with your parents at a later date."

"That's awesome!" Flash smirked, only to notice Micro looking disappointed that he couldn't come. "Can I bring some friends along to see it?"

"Sure. But not that many. Our company's had issues with multiple individuals on tours in the past. I'm afraid three is the max number I can allow." Flash nodded, okay with that number. He already had an idea who he would bring with him.

The next day.

"This is so cool!" Sunset cheered, as she, Flash, Micro and Sandalwood leapt out of the Omni-Cruiser. "Thanks for inviting us to this, Flash."

"No problem," Flash patted Chip as the car drove off to find something to do until he was needed. "I know you guys are big video game nerds and this place made some of the best games out there." The three smirked, as Micro rushed ahead to get inside. And as he did, Flash patted the other two on the shoulder.

"What's up?" Sandal asked.

"Micro might still have Viral on the brain. We need to try and keep his mind off of her for a while. Hopefully, this tour will make him forget all about her for a little bit."

"Is that really such a good idea?" Sunset asked. "If he's having problems with Viral, doesn't he need to talk about them?"

"I'm with Flash," Sandal told her. "Micro's confused about things right now and if he keeps thinking about it, he's just gonna give himself a headache and won't be able to think of a solution. Let's take his mind off her for a bit and the next time he's thinking about her, he'll be fresh and the problem won't be so hardcore."

Sunset sighed, "fine. But if he's still having trouble, you guys need to talk to him." The boys nodded, as they headed into the building.

The whole lobby was filled with pillars that had glass sections in the middle, allowing them to look inside the pillars and see old games consoles. "Wow," Micro whispered, "this one's a classic. One of the first consoles Industrial Mirages ever released."

"And that was the very first one ever made." Everyone looked around to see Max, as he headed towards them from the elevator. "Welcome, Flash. And friends. I hope you're all excited to see the many wonders that await you on this tour."

"Oh, we are." Flash smiled. "Thanks for showing us around."

"No problem," Max nodded before leading them through the room. "I started this company because ever since I first picked up a game controller, I've loved everything and anything to do with the virtual world. Many people see games as nothing but a waste of time. But I realised they were the ultimate form of expression. The same way a great book to transport you to an entirely new world, so can a great game."

The four all nodded, agreeing with him wholeheartedly.

Over the next hour, Max showed them all around the different departments working on games that would be coming out in the next year or so. They even got to see some of the work being done on the next Terik game. Sunset, Micro and Sandal were certainly amazed by this.

After having to drag them away from that room, Max led them to another department on a higher floor. "And this!" He opened the doors, "is where your game is going to be created." They stepped into the room and were amazed by what they all saw.

The room was covered in many drawings and sketches, showing every alien Flash had ever become. Volt-Edge, Kagenobi, Dragoon, Upgrade, Water Hazard and many more. There were also photos of Flash, but they were all zoomed in on his wrist. The image of the Omnitrix was plastered all over the place.

There were several individuals, working at computers clearly getting the specs for the game perfect.

"Awesome," Flash smirked. "I hope these guys get my good side."

Max laughed. "Actually, you're not going to be in this game." Flash looked shocked, as Max held up a hand. "Well, we might be able to make you an NPC, but you won't be the main character."

"But I thought this was supposed to be a Flash Sentry Game?" Sunset asked.

"Kind of," Max scratched the back of his head. "Here's our pitch for the storyline. Each player will create their own avatar and once that's done, they'll play as that avatar and eventually find their own Omnitrix. They'll then play as the Omnitrix Hero, which is what we're calling the game. If they wanted, they could play as Flash, but they don't have to if they don't want to."

"That makes sense," Micro smiled. "So the players could make themselves in game, then live out their fantasies of being Flash."

"Exactly," Max nodded. "Each player would start out with ten aliens, just like we read you started out with. And throughout the game, they would unlock new aliens using codes or by random chance."

"That does sound fun," Sunset nodded. "Ooh. Maybe the Omnitrix could have a scan function. They could unlock it at some point in the game and whenever they want to, they can use it to scan an enemy alien and use it."

Max and the game coders shared a look, clearly liking that idea. "Not bad," Max nodded. "Anyway, Flash. What we really need from you are more aliens." The teens tilted their heads. "You've got about thirty aliens at the moment, right?"

"Yeah." Flash hadn't really counted, but that sounded about right.

"Well, that won't be enough. So we were hoping you might know of more aliens that you just haven't unlocked yet. We need as many as possible. The ones you have will be fine for when the game releases. But we'll need more aliens if we want to keep the game fun."

"I getcha," Flash nodded. "And I actually do know of some aliens that I can become. I just haven't yet."

"You do?" Micro looked confused, as Flash smirked.

"I met a guy named Ben Ten a while back. He was from a different universe and had a bunch of aliens I've never used before." Everyone in the room that wasn't Flash and Sunset, suddenly looked very confused. Micro then turned to Sunset.

"You know. My life was somewhat normal before I met you." Sunset shrugged with a smirk, as Flash opened up the Ultimatrix.

Using it to log onto the Plumber database, he started bringing up the files they had on Ben and his many aliens. "Heatblast," he showed him the fire rock alien, which was floating as a hologram above the Ultimatrix.

Max was amazed by this and quickly took a photo of it. And he did the same with the other aliens. "Cannonbolt, Wildvine, Rath, Humungousaur, Spitter." Flash kept going for a while, showing him the many aliens that were used by Ben during their battles. "And Atomix."

"Amazing," Max snapped his phone's camera. "These will certainly make the players happy. I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks."

Flash nodded. "If I unlock any more aliens, I'll let you know."

"Thank you," Max nodded. "I look forward to it. Now, why don't you four come with me. There's something I'd love for you to try out." He headed out of the room and the other four followed, eventually making their way to another room which seemed more like a lab than anything else.

The place was full of machines and monitors, along with four chairs that had odd looking helmets on them.

The place had several scientists, walking around doing tests and other tasks as Max stepped up to the chairs. "Here they are. Our latest product."

"Is that what I think it is?" Micro asked, his eyes turning to stars.

"That depends," Max smirked. "Do you think it's a full dive interactive gaming system?"

"AWESOME!" Micro rushed over to it, whilst the others looked confused.

"I'm lost," Sandal frowned.

Micro quickly explained. "These kinds of games work by physically placing you inside the game. There's no controller. You literally are your avatar."

"Seriously?" Sunset moved over to one. "So if I put this on, I'd be able to enter the game world?"

"Exactly," Max nodded. "How'd you kids like to take it for a spin? We've already developed a demo game for players to enjoy when they get the game." This excited them, the four getting into the chairs and letting the scientists put the helmets on.

As they did, Flash turned to Max. "What kind of game will we be playing?"

"It's a sword and sorcery game," Max explained. "Your objective will be to fight your way to the dragon's lair and slay the beast." Everything was ready, as the scientists moved away. "Alright, you guys. Have fun."

"We will," Micro laughed before the helmets were activated.

Flash wondered how exactly it would work, only for the screen in front of his eyes to suddenly go white. The next thing Flash knew, he was being pulled down a long tunnel and crying out before he reached the end. That was when he was blinded by a bright light.

When the light faded, Flash found himself in a forest of some kind. He looked around and was amazed by how realistic it looked. And as he looked around, three more lights appeared besides him before fading to reveal his friends.

To his amazement, they were all dressed up in medieval garments.

Sunset was dressed in form fitting armor, which was only on her chest, arms and legs. The rest of her outfit was a blue leather top under her armor, along with brown leather shorts that only went to her knees. She had a buckler shield on her left arm, whilst a sword was strapped to her left waist.

Micro was dressed like a classical wizard, wearing a yellow shirt and black pants with a purple wizard's cape on top of it. He also had a purple wizard's hat on his head, along with a wooden staff in his hand.

Finally, Sandal was dressed up like a caveman. He was wearing a brown toga that went over one shoulder and had a metal belt around his waist, along with brown fur boots and a hat of some kind that looked like the skull of a creature. He was carrying a mace in one hand.

Flash looked himself over and realised he was also dressed up. He didn't have the Ultimatrix and was wearing light armor on his chest, shoulders, arms and knees. A red scarf was wrapped around his neck and his waist had a belt on it, which had short sword holsters on either waist. He also had a white shirt under his armor, brown pants and boots along with brown gloves on his hands.

"So awesome." Flash drew both his swords and held them in a backhanded grip, whilst Sunset pulled out her sword and Sandal gave his mace a few good swings. Micro raised his staff and unleashed a small fireball on command, the four laughing at how awesome this all was.

"Hey," Sandal pointed upwards, "what's that?" They looked up and saw something above each of their heads. It was some kind of green line next to a number three, Micro nodding as he realised what it was.

"Must be a life bar. We probably get three lives and if we lose them, we're done."

"Okay," Flash smirked, "three lives. I can work with that." As he said that, a growl caught their attention and they spun around.

From out of some nearby bushes, a bunch of goblins pulled themselves into view. "Our first victims," Sunset laughed as she got into a fighting stance. "Let's do this thing!" The others agreed and they all ran forward, as the goblins charged.

Micro stopped running and pointed his staff at one, "Fireball!" A small flaming sphere exploded out of his staff and hit it, the goblin exploding whilst the others approached.

"Take this!" Flash swung one of his swords around and cut through one, destroying it whilst Sandal swung his mace into another's face. Sunset blocked an attack with her shield and pushed the goblin away before slicing it in half, then charged towards the other one.

At one point, Sandal got scratched and he didn't feel any pain. His health bar did go down, however, before he crushed the goblin with his mace.

In no time at all, they found themselves with an enemy to slay. "Alright!" Flash cheered, the others looking just as excited as they began to make their way through the forest.

Back in the gaming company, Max and the scientists watched their progress on a monitor.

"Things are looking good," Max smiled. "They're enjoying the game and there don't seem to be any issues." They nodded, as they moved over to the computers. They kept doing system diagnostics, which showed no issues with the game. "People are gonna love this system when it's released."

For the next thirty minutes, they watched the teens playing the game. They seemed really good, with the only one who had lost a life so far being Micro. They were having fun and were getting closer and closer to the dragon's lair.

But as they were about to get into another battle, this time with hellhounds, a warning light suddenly signalled. "What's that?" Max turned to his head scientist, who typed away at his computer whilst trying to figure out what was happening. "Well?"

"It's some kind of glitch!" He stated, as the monitor suddenly started going static.

"Shut it down!" Max yelled, but the scientists couldn't.

"It's not responding!" He cried, "I can't turn it off." Everyone looked back at the monitor, as Flash and his friends kept fighting and were none the wiser.

Inside the game, Flash crossed his swords and used them to keep a hound from biting him.

He pushed it back before Micro shot a fireball at the creature and destroyed it. "Nice." Sunset and Sandal soon dealt with their hellhounds and checked out their health bars.

Everyone except Micro was in the yellow of their health, though Micro had already lost a life. The wizard frowned, "I wonder if this game comes with health potions." They kept moving forward, towards the mountain they guessed was the dragon's lair. But as they moved, they suddenly heard a static sound.

"What's that?" Sunset asked, as the sky suddenly started glitching. It suddenly went from being the middle of the day, to being evening, night, daytime and evening again.

Micro gulped. "I don't think they've figured out all the glitches." This worried them, as they tried to call out to Max. "Alright, turn off the game." But there was no response.

"That can't be good," Flash gulped. "What do we do?" Before he could answer, a growl caught their attention and they looked around to see a giant bear walking out of the trees.

It ran forward and before the players could react, it swung its claws at them. "Look out!" Sunset leapt away, Flash and Micro doing the same. But when Sandal tried to dodge, its claws grazed his shoulder.

"Augh!" He clutched it, as he fell to the ground. "I felt that!"

Back in the real world, Max's eyes widened. "The pain nullifier's been shut down. Not good."

"We're trying to switch the game off," one of the scientists announced. "But all the safe ways to shut it down have been fried. The only way left for them to get out is to complete the game." Max didn't like the sound of that, as he moved over to the monitor and watched them run from the bear.

"Is there a way to talk to them in the game?"

"Yes sir."

"Run, run, run, RUN!" Flash cried, as the bear kept chasing them.

"It's too fast!" Micro cried, "it's gonna catch up!" He thrust his staff backwards and launched a fireball, which flew towards the bear and slammed into it. The explosion knocked it back, but the creature remained alive.

Seeing no other choice, Flash stopped running and drew his swords. "RAAAAH!" He ran forward and by leaping forward, he slid along the ground and cut the beast as he flew under it.

The bear roared before exploding, Flash stopping as he panted. "Nice one," Sandal told him. "Now what the heck is happening?" Suddenly, a large text box appeared in front of them.

The game has glitched. We can't shut it down and the safeties have been deleted. I'm sorry, Max.

"How do we get out of here?" Sunset asked, causing another text box to appear.

You have to complete the game. It's the only way.

"Great," Flash sighed, "this isn't gonna be as much fun as I thought it'd be." He turned towards the mountain, then glanced at the others. "We can do this, guys. The four of us together can take this game down. We just need to work together." They nodded, as they headed towards the mountain and whatever battles awaited them.

Back in the real world, Max had contacted the Plumbers.

As soon as he explained what had happened, Shining and Clawcer teleported over to see if they could find a way to save the teens. Clawcer was checking out the game's coding, whilst Shining watched the teens as they thought against a mountain troll.

"Can't we just pull the helmets off?" Shining asked, turning to the real Flash as he laid there with the helmet on.

"Normally, I would say yes. But with the game glitching as it is, I don't want to risk it. The same is true for them running out of lives. It might simply eject them, or it could do serious damage to their minds."

Clawcer sighed. "This isn't a bad code and design. But there's a slight error in the code that's causing this."

"Can you fix it?" Shining asked.

"Easily," Clawcer nodded. "However, doing so would require taking the game offline. And like Max said, that's too dangerous to do whilst they're hooked up to it. They could end up brain damaged."

"So what do we do?" Max asked, as Clawcer turned back to the screen.

"The only way out is for them to complete this game. They have to defeat the final boss."

"And how long will that take?" Shining looked worried.

"Not too long," Max assured him. "This is just a demo game, to help players get attuned to the system. It won't be long until they reach the mountain. But..."

"But we still wanted this game to be considered a challenge. They have every chance of defeating the dragon and clearing the game. But...I'm not sure they'll all make it through. At least one of them is going to lose all their lives."

"And what happens if they lose all their lives?" Shining asked.

"With the safeties gone, I'm not sure." Everyone in the room shared a worried look, as the team defeated the troll. But Sandal had lost a life whilst Flash and Sunset were both hanging by a thread.

"There's gotta be something we can do." Shining tried to think, but Clawcer wasn't so sure.

"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do from out here. Attempting to rewrite the code whilst they're in there is too dangerous." He frowned. "If only we had a Mechamorph. They could connect to the game and reprogram the system from the inside." As he said this, Shining suddenly had an idea.

"Mechamorphs aren't the only things that can enter a computer and rewrite it." Shining took out his badge and tapped at it several times before disappearing in a flash of light.

"Where'd he go?" Max asked, as Clawcer kept trying to find a way to save them.

"Wherever he's going, let's hope he comes back with a way to save these kids." They watched, as Flash lead the group closer and closer to the mountain.

Back at the Plumber Base, Shining ran through the place until he reached the cell that contained Viral.

The biotech humanoid was sitting on her bed, looking bored and upset. And when Shining reached the cell, she looked up at him. "What? Come to gloat?"

"No." Shining moved over to the door controls. "I've come to ask for your help." Viral raised an eyebrow at this, as Shining typed away at the console. "There are some kids trapped in a VR computer game. A glitch has put them in serious danger and we can't save them from the outside. The only way to get them out, is to get into the computer."

"So you want me to enter the game and save them?"

"Exactly."

"Why would I help you?"

"If you help and don't try to escape, I'm sure the Plumbers will be willing to shorten your sentence." Viral didn't look interested, as Shining sighed. "And because one of the players trapped in the game, is Micro." Now Viral looked interested, as well as worried. "He, Flash and two of their friends are in danger. If they lose this game, they might not survive."

"Micro?" Viral frowned before letting out a sigh, "fine." She stood up and moved over to the doors, "I'll help. But if this is some kind of trick." The doors opened and Shining stepped back. "Take me to him." Shining nodded and raised his badge, using it to lock onto the location he had just been in.

Moments later, the pair disappeared from the base and reappeared inside the game room.

Clawcer looked away from his work and when he saw Viral, his eyes widened in shock. "Shining! What are you doing?" He scuttled over to him, "you let her go?"

"We don't have any other choice," Shining explained as Viral moved over to where Micro was sitting. "She's the only one who can enter the game and save them."

"You realise she'll just be waiting for the right time to escape. If she gets away, there's no telling how much damage she could do."

"I'm not going to run away," Viral assured him. "I just want to save Micro."

"And after that?" Clawcer asked, with Viral frowning. She really did not want to go back in her cell, but she also didn't want to lose the last bit of trust Micro had in her.

A cry made her look up at the monitor and see Micro getting knocked to the ground, as he and his friends were fighting against a bunch of monsters that were flinging rocks using their catapult like tails. The others were all having similar issues, as Flash ran in and cut one down. But there were still several more.

She turned to Shining and pointed at the collar. "Take this off and let me save them." Shining and Clawcer shared a look, one looking worried whilst the other looked both confident and unsure.

Shining then held up his Badge and pointed it towards her neck, a beam flying out of it and hitting the collar.

This green light on the front suddenly turned red and fell off her neck, Viral sighing as she held her neck before she turned towards the monitor. "Let's do this!" Her body suddenly exploded into a burst of orange energy, which shot towards the game and merged with it.

Everyone watched in amazement, as they stared at the monitor. "I hope you know what you're doing," Clawcer stated.

"WHOA!" Flash dodged another rock slinger's boulder toss, as Sunset charged and tried to cut at the beast.

But her sword hit part of its armored body and bounced off it, allowing the slinger's tail to spin around and slam into her. "Augh!" She cried, as her health bottomed out and she suddenly exploded. She then re-spawned, shaking her head as the three next to her health turned to a two. "Great."

"Fireball!" Micro launched the attack and destroyed another slinger. But as he did, the others launched more rocks in his direction. "WHOA!" He braced himself, expecting to lose another life. But before it landed, a burst of energy appeared in front of him.

That energy caught the rocks and threw them back towards the slingers, destroying them whilst everyone turned their attention towards the energy. And when it faded, they were shocked to see who it was.

"Viral?" Flash looked ready to fight, but Viral rolled her eyes.

"Relax, Sentry. I'm not here to fight you. I've been sent in to save you."

"What?" Sunset cried. "You?"

"Yes, me. Your friend, Shining, asked me to help. I will use my techno abilities to sweep through this game and help you all escape." She looked around and saw they all appeared suspicious of her, even Micro. She sighed, "I know you don't have a reason to trust me. But I am here to help."

Flash, Sunset and Sandal were still unsure, whilst Micro stared at her before nodding. "I say we trust her." The others were shocked to hear this, as Micro stepped forward. "Flash, I know you and her have a history. But Viral has the potential to do good. I'm sure of it. Please, let her help."

Flash stared at him for several moments, clearly unsure if he should trust her or not. But after a moment or two, he nodded. "Alright. If she can get us out of here, I guess we don't have a choice." He then gave Viral a serious expression. "But no funny business. If you do anything I think will put my friends in danger..." He raised his swords and she frowned.

"Fine." She turned towards the mountain. "That's where we're heading, right?" They nodded, as she started heading towards it. The others followed, Sunset leaning over to Flash.

"You sure this is a good idea?"

"Not really. But what other choice do we have? We might not be able to win this game without her. We've got to hope she can get us out of here before she decides to try something funny." He glanced at Micro, who was looking at Viral and clearly feared she would try something. "This might be her only hope to do something good for someone else. Who knows. She might come to enjoy being good."

"I hope you're right," Sandal nodded.

As they got closer and closer to the mountain, more monsters appeared. Lizard men, chimeras and giant rats. But every time they attacked, Viral unleashed blasts that deleted them right from the start. But on a few occasions, she found herself with too many opponents to fight.

"Die!" She unleashed a bolt of lightning, which struck a bunch of giant mantis monsters. But whilst a few of them were destroyed, others managed to get past her and attack the humans.

Flash blocked with his blades and cut one down, only for another to slice him in the back. "Augh!" He exploded and re-spawned, whilst the others found themselves in just as much trouble.

"Damn it!" Viral blasted the rest, as more kept appearing out of the bushes. "There are too many of them!" One suddenly leapt at her and she didn't have time to unleash a blast, the biotech women preparing to receive the damage. But then...

"FIREBALL!" A blast of fire shot towards her and struck the mantis, destroying it.

Viral panted before glancing over at Micro, who smiled only to find a mantis attacking him as well. But it was also blasted by lightning and deleted.

"Let's go!" She cried, the others nodding as they chased after her. They ran as fast as they could, with more mantis monsters trying to chase after them. But Viral kept blasting them with as much energy as she could create. But in doing so, she was feeling her own energy growing low.

When they finally outran the monsters, they reached the edge of the woods and had arrived at the foot of the mountain.

This was where they chose to stop and take a break, the lot of them panting as Viral turned to Micro. "Thank you. For saving me." Micro smiled at her.

"Don't worry about it. I do care what happens to you, you know." Viral smiled, then frowned as she stared at their medieval weapons.

"We need to get you guys an upgrade. Those weapons are barely keeping up with these monsters. There's no way they'll work against the dragon."

"So what's the plan?" Flash asked, as Viral thought for a moment. She then nodded, as her body turned to energy.

"I'll be back. Don't go anywhere." With that, she disappeared and everyone wondered what she was up to.

Back in the real world, Max and the others watched and wondered what she was doing.

Then, Viral appeared in front of them from out of the computer. "What are you doing?" Clawcer asked, as Viral ignored him and turned to Max.

"What other games do you have for this system? Anything with more high tech weapons?" Max clearly didn't understand what she was asking, the man turning to Shining.

"Answer her," Shining told him. "What other games do you have?"

"Um. We've got a few. And some of them do have more futuristic weapons. But what good would any of that do?" Viral smiled and asked him to connect the monitor, to whatever mainframe had that data.

Back in the game, the players were getting bored as they waited for Viral to come back.

"Come on!" Sandal cried, "what's taking her so long?" Suddenly, he looked very worried. "You don't think she decided to ditch us and escape, do you?" Flash and Sunset frowned, obviously thinking the same thing, but Micro stood firm.

"No. I'm sure she's doing something that'll help us." But as he said that, a growling sound made them look around to see a bunch of humanoid wolves clearly looking for their next meal.

Flash gulped, as he raised his swords. "Well, she'd better do it fast. We're not gonna last much long if we don't have her help." The wolves charged with the four rushing forward and doing battle, but these creatures were rather vicious.

Back in the real world, Max had had the mainframes with the other games brought up.

"Alright," Clawcer announced, "everything's connected." He turned to Viral. "You should be able to jump from them back into the game. But I still don't know what you intend to do." Viral smirked and gestured for him to move, Clawcer doing so as the woman flexed out.

"Watch and learn." With that, she leapt forward and jumped towards the mainframes. Her body became energy and she quickly flew into the machines, Max and the others flinching in fear of them being damaged.

The energy flowed through the systems and eventually made their way towards the main monitor, eventually reaching it and heading back into the game.

Flash kicked a wolf away and slashed at another, whilst Sunset blocked one with her shield before stabbing it.

"Fireball!" Micro launched another blast of flames, knocking a wolfman back and allowing Sandal to run forward and smash his mace into it. The beast roared as it was destroyed, but another two wolves attacked.

However, a burst of energy appeared above them and launched out a bolt that blasted them away. As it did, Viral appeared. "You all okay?" They nodded, as Viral smirked and held out her hands. "Here." Bolts flew out and shot down towards them. The first struck Sunset's sword and made it transform into a futuristic blaster.

"Wow!" The girl raised the rifle and fired, destroying three wolves at once. "Awesome."

The lightning also hit Micro and Sandalwood, transforming their weapons. Micro got an energy shield and a pistol, whilst Sandalwood got a cool looking laser axe. The two stared at the weapons in amazement, as the wolves charged.

Micro blocked them with his energy shield, which seemed to paralyse the creatures. He then shot one with his blaster, whilst Sandal swung his axe around and caused the laser blade to fly off and cut through the other.

"Where'd you get these things?" Flash asked Viral, who chuckled as she pointed her arm at him.

"From other games compatible with this system. I was able to bring their coding into this game and override the weapons. And I found something special for you." She unleashed the energy and it hit Flash, whose sword remained where they were.

Instead, something appeared on top of Flash's left gauntlet. A familiar round symbol, with a button beneath it.

"No way." Flash pressed the button and the dial popped up, the triangles overlapping to show a familiar silhouette. "This is...the Omnitrix?"

"Those programmers already made a few specs for the game," Viral explained. "I was able to bring it over, but I'm afraid there weren't many aliens in the database." Flash spun the dial and sure enough, there were only a couple of icons in the playlist.

He shrugged, "better than nothing!" With that, he slammed the dial down and transformed. In a bright flash, his first super strong alien appeared. "RIOT-HORN!" He charged and started throwing punches at the wolves, whose sharp claws and teeth couldn't even scratch him.

The others watched and smiled, only to see an image of the Omnitrix Symbol floating besides his health bar. After a few seconds, part of the green section disappeared.

Riot-Horn soon made quick work on the wolves and after kicking one away, Sunset blowing it out of the air, Viral unleashed several blasts that wiped out the rest. "Alright!" Riot-Horn cheered, only to now notice the half-full Omnitrix Symbol.

He hit the Omnitrix and changed back, as the others turned towards the mountain. "Alright," Micro cocked his blaster, "now we stand a chance against that dragon." The others nodded, as Viral flew down. "Thanks for these."

"Of course," Viral nodded. "Anything to help you get out of here." She looked around and saw that they were actually looking at her with respect and trust. She actually smiled back before turning back to the mountain. "Now, let's go slay that lizard."

"YEAH!" The others cheered, as they ran up the side of the mountain until they found the entrance.

They found it led to a large tunnel, which they headed down in search of its lair. And along the way, they saw a bunch of blue monsters that had the head, arms and naked chest of a woman, with bat wings on their backs and the waist and legs of a snake.

They charged, with Sunset and Viral zapping them. Flash, Micro and Sandal charged, with Flash transforming into Diamondhead to punch one square in the jaw. Micro blocked one's claws and shot it in the stomach, whilst Sandal cut another in the chest. They then leapt to the side, allowing the girls to finish them off.

"Yeah!" Diamondhead cheered, as they kept running forward.

As they made their way through the cave, they continued to come up against monster after monster. Giant scorpions, birds that shot fire, more snake women and so much more.

Thanks to their new weapons, the team didn't have any issue fighting the monsters off. At least, until Flash's Omnitrix dial went red.

"What's that sound?" He asked, hearing a strange chirping noise.

He looked down and saw the Omnitrix flashing before he suddenly changed back. "Seriously. A time limit?" He looked at his Omnitrix and saw it was red, with green parts slowly replacing it from the bottom up. "Whoa!" He barely managed to avoid a scorpion's stinger, which he chopped off with his swords.

The others blasted the scorpions, as Flash leapt back over to them.

"Great." Flash tapped the dial, "come on."

"Stay with us until you charge back up," Viral announced as she made her forward. The others followed and soon enough, they found themselves in front of a large set of metal doors.

"This must be it," Micro stated. "The dragon's lair." They all turned to Flash, whose Omnitrix was still charging. And after a few more seconds, it finally turned green.

"Alright!" Flash stepped forward, "let's do this!" They nodded, but were all worried. They all had only two lives, which meant they could only afford to die once. If this thing was the final boss, it had to be strong.

Flash took a deep breath and pushed on the doors, throwing them open and letting them into the room. When they looked around, they found the place was a giant throne room of some kind. piles of treasure could be seen all over the place. And as they stepped into the room, torches suddenly lit and illuminated the place.

The five got into a battle stance, Flash activating the Omnitrix and preparing to transform. But there was nothing in sight.

"Where's the dragon?" Sunset asked, as Viral flew into the centre of the room. She spun around, but couldn't find the lizard anywhere.

"Did the glitch delete it from the game?" She feared that would mean they couldn't win, but then she heard a sound coming from above her.

She looked up and gasped, when she saw a large black mass clinging to the dark ceiling. And when part of that mass moved, a pair of eyes looked down at them before smoke appeared below them. "Look out!" The others looked up and saw the dragon, which suddenly opened its mouth as a bright light appeared within it.

"Everyone get behind me!" Micro yelled, as the other four rushed over to him. He then activated his shield and made it as large as possible, right as the dragon unleashed a burst of fire.

The flames slammed into the shield and were deflected, as the beast released the ceiling and fell down.

It crashed into the ground, causing them to lose their balance for a moment. But as they regained their footing, they saw the dragon was a wyvern-like beast with black scales on the top of its body and a red under-body. Its tail had a large club-like protrusion on the end, that looked like it could do some serious damage. And above its head were three long green health bar.

The dragon glared at them, as Micro shrank his shield and Flash slammed the Omnitrix down.

In a flash of green light, Volt-Edge stood in his place and he began to spark. "Everyone, scatter. Don't be an easy target." He then ran forward and leapt into the air, unleashed bursts of lightning that struck the dragon in the head.

The beast roared, as the top health bar went down a little bit. But the distraction allowed the others to get around the dragon.

As they ran in opposite directions, Micro and Sunset fired their blasters. The lasers bounced off the dragon's body, causing more of the top health bar to go down. At the same time, Volt-Edge had landed on the dragon's head and was running down its neck whilst zapping it.

Sandal got under its wing and swung his axe around, sending the energy blade to fly off it and slam into the creature's side. Viral flew in and slashed at the beast's body with her newly grown claws.

The dragon kept roaring, but quickly got tired of being a punching bag. It swung its tail around and swept it along its back, right towards Volt-Edge.

"Wow!" The alien tried to leap over the dragon, but still got clipped by the tail and sent flying. "AUGH!" He crashed into a pile of treasure, as his HP dropped by a fair amount.

"Flash!" Micro gasped, as the dragon turned to him and unleashed a blast of fire. He barely managed to raise his shield in time, the flames bouncing off it and hitting another pile of treasure.

Sandal chose this moment to run towards the dragon's back leg, where he swung his axe hoping to hinder its movement. And whilst he did slice out a large chunk of the beast, the creature quickly kicked him and sent the teen flying back.

"Gyah!" Sandal cried, as his HP dropped to zero and he lost his second life.

"Sandal!" Sunset gasped, as the teen re-spawned. "Be careful. You're down to your last life."

"Right," Sandal groaned as he raised his axe again. As he did, Viral flew in with her claws at the ready. They sparked with energy and she quickly slashed at the dragon, whilst Volt-Edge leapt into the air and unleashed a burst of lightning that struck the beast in its head.

It roared in pain, as it fell back and Viral flew over to Micro. As she did, the tail mace swung towards her and she cried out as it almost hit her. "Careful!" Micro yelled, as she ducked under it and landed beside him. "Viral, what'll happen if you get hit?" He looked up and she didn't seem to have a health bar or lives.

"No idea," Viral replied. "I might be able to rewrite some of the game's code, but I can't do too much or risk making the whole thing crash with you in it." The dragon raised his head and unleashed a burst of fire, the pair leaping behind a large pillar. "I'm forced to follow this game's rules and I'm not a player. That either means I'm classified as an NPC or a creature like the ones you fought to get here."

"None of those creatures had health bars," Micro stated. "At least visible ones. If you do have a hidden health bar, you could be in serious trouble if you get hit."

"So I won't get hit," Viral stated before they heard a scream and looked around the pillar.

Sunset had been struck by the wing and sent flying, the girl crashing into a pillar and exploding before she re-spawned. Now she too was down to her very last life, as Volt-Edge unleashed another blast of lightning that slammed into the dragon's chest.

The beast roared before jumping up onto its back legs.

It then spread its wings and started flapping, unleashing a powerful burst of wind that filled the entire room. Volt-Edge used his claws to dig into the ground, whilst everyone else hid behind something that wouldn't be blown away.

As soon as the dragon stopped flapping, Sunset and Micro leapt out from behind the pillars and started shooting their lasers at the creature. They struck and managed to get its first HP bar down to the red, as Viral leapt out and flew towards the dragon.

The beast roared as it prepared to breathe fire at her, but Sandal ran up and swung his axe around.

The laser blade flew off and struck the dragon in the back, exploding and causing its head to fly up as it spewed the flames towards the ceiling. This allowed Viral to reach its chest and slash at the monster. This destroyed its last health bar, as Volt-Edge ran up with his claws sparking.

"YAAAAH!" He swung his claws around and sliced at the dragon's side, cutting its HP down some more.

Micro and Sunset fired at it again, whilst Viral blasted it with lightning. Sandal attacked its tail, chopping at it as the monster raised the club on the end of it.

"Try this!" Volt-Edge yelled, as he unleashed a burst of lightning at one of the dragon's wings. The lightning slammed into the membrane and sliced at it, though the heat-proof substance showed great resistance to it again. It cut the HP of the second health bar down, but the dragon was still ready to kick up a storm.

The beast spread its wings and everyone prepared to get behind something again. But before they could, the dragon suddenly unleashed its breath attack at the same time it beat its wings. The wind this caused hit the flames and caused it to explode into a large fire wave, which swept through the entire room.

Sunset and Sandal managed to get behind the pillars, whilst Micro and Viral were able to hide behind his shield. But Volt-Edge couldn't escape in time and the fire wave slammed into him. "AUGH!" His body exploded and he re-spawned, now down to his last life as well. "Okay. I'm done with this."

The others agreed and as Sunset fired more blasts with her rifle, Volt-Edge charged forward at full speed.

He surrounded himself in lightning and as the dragon swung its tail around, he jumped up and over it all the way to the ceiling.

Viral flew out and slashed at the dragon's throat, whilst Sandalwood fired another laser blade right at the dragon's head. Micro aimed for the dragon's eye and as its health came down, Volt-Edge propelled himself off the roof.

Like a bullet, he shot down whilst coated in lightning.

Everyone leapt away from him, as he slammed into the dragon's head and slammed the side of his gauntlet into its skull. The beast roared as its head was forced down, as Volt-Edge sent several hundred volts of lightning into it. This cut its second health bar into the red and as Volt-Edge pushed himself off the creature, Micro launched another laser that hit it and took out its second health bar.

"We're almost there!" Viral cried, as the dragon tried to bite Volt-Edge as he was in midair.

But Volt-Edge was able to swing himself out of the way at the last moment, the fangs grazing his shoulder and taking some life. But the alien managed to grab its neck as Sunset, Viral and Sandal launched their long range attacks.

He swung himself onto the back of its neck and slid down it, between its wings and along its spine.

As he did, he launched more lightning into its back and did more damage. The creature roared and tried to get him off with its tail, but Volt-Edge leapt up and over the club before doing several flips and landing on the ground behind it. There, he unleashed another barrage of lightning that blasted the creature and cut more of its health down.

The dragon spun around to face Volt-Edge, his tail crashing through one of the pillars and destroying it whilst sending gold flying everywhere.

Micro ran to avoid the gold, but one of the rock pieces came crashing down and hit him on the back. "Augh!" He fell to the ground and exploded, re-spawning on his final life. "Okay," he gulped, "we're good. We can still beat that thing without losing anybody." Viral flew overhead and thought the same thing, though she was still worried. All it could take was one bit of bad luck and things could go bad for them very quickly.

In that moment, Volt-Edge's Omnitrix began to chirp and he gasped. He tried to get away, but transformed before he could even take two steps. "Not good!" Flash turned towards the dragon, as the beast took a deep breath.

"Flash!" Micro yelled, "get out of there!" Flash tried to run towards a pillar, but tripped over one of the dragon's golden sceptres. He hit the ground with a grunt, moaning as the dragon unleashed a burst of fire towards him.

Flash's eyes widened and he flinched, expecting to get hit with his final life being taken out.

However, in that moment, Viral shot down and landed in front of him. The flames slammed into her and she screamed, as she was surrounded by the fire. "VIRAL!" Micro gasped, the others looking just as shocked.

When the fire finally extinguished, Viral stood there looking in bad shape. Her body sparked and she had several burns on her. She swayed back and forth, as Micro ran towards her. And as he reached her, she fell forward.

"NO!" He caught her, as she coughed. Sunset and Sandal kept the beast's attention, as Flash and Micro tried to help her. "Stay with me."

Viral looked Micro in the eyes and smiled. "It's okay. Maybe...it's better this way."

"Viral, no!" Micro held her close to him. "I'm sorry about abandoning you. I'm sorry for making you feel unwanted." Viral smiled, as she reached up and clutched his hand.

"I'm sorry too. Sorry I couldn't live up to your expectations." Micro shook his head, as Viral turned to Flash. "And I'm sorry for...everything I did to you. I wish I could make up for it."

"You have," Flash told her. "And if you don't think you have, then fight so you can keep making up for it." But Viral's body sparked once again, as she coughed.

"This...this is the end. Goodbye." Before either of them could say anything, Viral's entire body glitched before exploding. The lights flew into the air and disappeared, Micro's eyes going wide whilst Flash looked down in shame.

In the real world, Shining, Clawcer and the others were just as shocked. They watched Micro cry out in pain, which caused the dragon to notice him and swing its tail around at him. But before it could hit him, Micro used his shield to block.

The teen watched the club bounce off the energy field, as he stared at it in hatred. "RAAAH!" He pointed his blaster at the beast and fired, the shot bouncing off its body and causing its HP to drop.

As this was happening, Flash drew his sword and ran forward. He roared, as he got closer and closer. The dragon noticed him, but the long distance attacks from the other three were keeping it from getting a hit off on him.

Flash dodged its claws, side-stepped a burst of fire and jumped over its tail.

When he landed, he was right beneath the dragon as the creature prepared another fire blast. But Micro suddenly threw his shield and the energy disk sailed across the battlefield before slamming into the creature's eye, making it roar as its HP was dropped down to the red.

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" Flash then leapt up with both swords crossed. And when he reached its neck, he swung at it with everything he had.

In the blink of an eye, Flash was suddenly on the other side of the dragon whilst the beast just stood there. Flash's swords then cracked before breaking apart, leaving nothing but the handles. But as he looked worried, the dragon roared in agony as its final HP bar dropped to zero and it suddenly exploded.

As the dragon disappeared, the four caught their breath and looked around. Then, words appeared in the middle of the room.

CONGRATULATIONS ON SLAYING THE DRAGON!
YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE GAME!

They couldn't believe they had actually done it. And before any of them could say anything, they suddenly found their bodies disappearing.

In the real world, the game went to credits as the helmets all shut down.

The four players woke up and the scientists quickly removed the helmets, allowing them to pull themselves out of the chair. "We did it," Sunset smiled. "We beat the game and all got out alive!" But then she saw Micro and realised she had spoke too soon.

"Not all of us."

"I'm sorry, Micro." Shining placed a hand on his shoulder. "Viral did good. You guys never would have made it out of there without her." Micro nodded, as Max stepped up to his machine.

"I'm sorry," he told everyone. "I thought this device would be the future of gaming. I never would have thought such a terrible error could be made. And thanks to it, a life has been lost." He glared at the machine before turning to the scientists. "I'm shutting this project down." The scientists looked upset, but didn't argue. But someone else did.

"No." Micro moved over to him. "You can't do that. This system will change the gaming world."

"But your friend-"

"If you don't complete this system, her sacrifice would mean nothing." He looked down, shame on his face. "I gave up on something once. Because I was scared it would do nothing but hurt people. But I was wrong and so are you. Don't give up on this system. Figure out where you went wrong and help it grow into its full potential. Do that for Viral."

Max stared at him for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Thank you. I will." He turned to the monitor and typed at it, a part of the computer opening up to reveal a disk. "Here." He held it out to Micro. "This is the game you were just in. I don't know what your friend was. But if any part of her is still alive, she might still be in there."

Micro smiled and took the disk, holding it tight to his chest as he thanked the man.

After that, Clawcer did a few tests on the four to make sure they hadn't had any brain damage done. But after a thorough examination, he assured them they were all okay. He then offered to have some Plumbers take them home, Sunset, Sandal and Micro agreeing.

"What are you gonna do with that thing?" Sandal asked Micro, as they left the building.

Micro stared at the disk, almost unsure of what to say. "I don't know. Maybe if I take the coding apart, I can find what's left of Viral. She'll probably be reduced back to a simple program, but I know I can find and save her." The others nodded as Micro headed over to where the Plumber car was waiting.

As Micro left, Flash turned to Clawcer. "What are the chances Viral's alive?"

Clawcer didn't look sure. "It depends on how much of her programming survived. But I doubt there's very much left." They all felt horrible for Micro, as he got into the car. "Hopefully, if he can find her, he'll be able to restore her and she won't remember all the bad things that happened to her."

"She could start over," Sunset nodded. "And this time, she might choose to make the right decisions." They all nodded, wondering if they would ever see Viral again. And what kind of program she would be when they met her.

Author's Note

Well, that was a bit heartbreaking. I kind of feel bad for putting Viral through all the stuff she's been through. But she wanted to be human and being human is never easy. Will we see her again? Or is this her end? Only time will tell.

Also, yes, Max's idea for Flash's game is exactly the same one the Ink Tank proposed. Though the story might be different, since Flash doesn't know about Maltruant and the time war.