Chapters A female voice began talking as Twilight went through her login process, putting in her account name and password.
"You've stepped into the virtual universe known as the Terrain of Magical Expertise. Within this expansive, interactive world, players of all ages, gender, and race from across the world unite together to a single community of social networking and gaming with an unprecedented level of customization! You can create your personal avatar character to interact with friends and battle foes!
Twilight's character finally completed its rendering and was sent soaring across the sky to its destination as the voice continued on.
"And our unparallelled and renowned virtual reality system dictates your thoughts and actions instantly to create an incredibly realistic sense of life, making it the most immensely popular and sought after game title in the world to date.
Twilight landed in the section of TOME known as ;Lavendera, the open combat section of the game to meet up with the rest of her friends and try out this new and unique game that was finally approved for use by Celestia and Luna. The game at first seemed to be overtly complicated, requiring technology that no one in Equestria had ever really seen. It took some doing, but eventually, even the resident mail mare was able to work and use this 'computer'.
Each of Twilight's friends gained an account in this new game and agreed to play their first session together, just to feel more comfortable about this venture. Just starting the game was an odd situation as well, where a drawn picture could also be used to make the avatar, instead of going through the general process that the game had. Twilight didn't really have an eye for art, but she tried her best at making an avatar she could use that was unique.
"Let your unlimited adventure begin! Welcome to TOME!"
Username: SparkleLight
Class: Spellcaster
Power: Elemental
SparkleLight was similar to Twilight's humanistic form when she went after Sunset Shimmer. The character had purple skin, long purple hair with a pink stripe in it, and a fair definition of a chest in Twilight's mind. She wore a loose robe adorned with multiple stars that glinted when the light hit it just right.
"They said they should be around here... somewhere?" SparkleLight thought quietly. She took a few steps as the avatar and found it much easier to do than when she tried to the first time as a human. It was then a roar was heard behind her.
She jumped back and lifted her hands to defend herself when she saw Spike's avatar.
Username: DragonAlong
Class: Animalistic
Power: Dragon
Spike was rather beefed up than how he normally looked. His arms were at least eighteen inches in diameter, the chest puffed out in pride, abs that almost seemed impossible. His eyes glinted in confidence as he looked down at SparkleLight, towering over at roughly about a foot. The wind kicked up for a moment, making his red cape wave.
"Did I scare you, Twi- I mean, SparkleLight?" DragonAlong asked, showing that if his look changed, his personality and voice wasn't.
"Yes, you did!" SparkleLight angrily huffed. "We're in the one place that is combat exclusive, and I'm not prepared for conflict yet!"
DragonAlong raised his hands in defense, an uneasy look on his face. "Alright, relax! I just wanted to spook you a little, not get you worked up."
SparkleLight gave a sigh and crossed her arms. "Sorry, I'm still a little nervous about this. The first game that had to be approved by the princesses before anypony could use it, along with all of this new equipment that is required to use it, it's a large leap in technological prowess."
DragonAlong lowered his arms and gave a look around him. "I don't see anything else around here except us, let me get a better view from above."
DragonAlong slowly traversed to higher ground to see around when a sudden blur of movement and shock suddenly hit him.
"Get you some!" A tomboyish voice yelled out as DragonAlong forced himself back to his feet. Before the blur could reach him, he unleashed a breath of Dragonfire, igniting the ground in front of him and giving him a breather from the sudden strike.
"I don't want to start something, right now!" DragonAlong yelled out, keeping a sharp look around for the attacker.
"Tough!" the voice cried again. "Either you get out now, or I'll run you over!"
DragonAlong slowly shifted to where he originally wished to go when he saw the blur again, moving from pillar to pillar. The figure kept shifting closer until it seemed that the figure ran into something.
"What the-?!" the voice yelled out, just before a loud bang went off, followed behind by colored streamers.
DragonAlong watched the figure as it bounced along the ground and slid to a halt.
Username: FasterThanRainbows
Class: Mechanical
Power: Speed
"No fair!" FasterThanRainbows cried out. "You got in my way!"
Another figure came out from the pillar that FasterThanRainbows attempted to hide behind.
Username: PartyPrincess
Class: Mechanical
Power: Explosives
PartyPrincess only giggled and gave a slight hiccup before she spoke up. "I just wanted to surprise you! Did I? Please tell me I did!"
DragonAlong scratched his head for a moment before speaking up. "You both don't happen to be Dash and Pinkie, are you?"
FasterThanRainbows was visibly shocked. "H- How did you know?!"
DragonAlong shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno, maybe its how you're looking right now."
FasterThanRainbows floated back up, antigravity thrusters keeping her upright as she bobbed up and down. Her hair was represented by multiple wires, going through the rainbow colors as they ran down past her neck. Her chrome body and red LED eyes completed her cybernetic look.
PartyPrincess on the other hand was vastly different. Her character consisted of a tank, complete with cannon at the ready, with her upper body poking up from it. The human form had her usual poofy pink hair, and she wore body armor that looked to belong to modern soldiers.
"This is so cool, right?!" PartyPrincess exclaimed. "We can be and do anything we want in this game!"
FasterThanRainbows eyes shifted in anger. "Like get in somepony's way in the middle of a battle?"
DragonAlong interrupted the two before another battle could erupt. "Sparkle is waiting for me in the canyon, I promised to head up here to try and find you guys."
PartyPrincess leaped up in excitement, making the treads barely leave the ground before crashing to the ground again. "Oooh! I wanna see what Twilight looks like!"
"Don't use our real names, Pinkie!" FasterThanRainbows snipped at PartyPrincess.
PartyPrincess put a finger to her chin in confusion. "But you and Spike just did."
FasterThanRainbows flustered for a moment, "Just don't use it habitually!"
PartyPrincess put up a saluting hand gesture, "Aye aye, mi amiga!"
Both FasterThanRainbows and PartyPrincess began descending the canyon towards SparkleLight, leaving DragonAlong to keep an eye open for anyone else nearby.
SparkleLight waved at her friends as they approached.
"Finally, some of us are actually here. I was getting worried it was just going to be me today." SparkleLight sheepishly admitted.
"We wouldn't leave you here, Sparkle," FasterThanRainbows commented. "Especially not in the coolest game in all of Equestria!"
"Right?" PartyPrincess giggled, almost vibrating up and down in excitement. "Like that time I hit you with my Streamer Cannon? That was fun!"
FasterThanRainbows hair sparked with rage. "That wasn't fun at all!"
SparkleLight observed both FasterThanRainbows and PartyPrincess in close detail, noting that simply touching them made her believe they were actually there; the avatars 'existed'. She did stop in front of FasterThanRainbows and looked closely at her chest. "What the hay is 'swag'?"
FasterThanRainbows looked down at where SparkleLight was peering, "I didn't notice that! The stupid scanner must have accidentally captured some of my rough sketching and mistook it for some nonsense word!"
"Ya'll here?"
SparkleLight, PartyPrincess, and FasterThanRainbows turned to the familiar voice.
Username: Jackedin
Class: Morphological
Power: Binding
"Pardon for a moment," Jackedin continued, shuffling her way to the group. "I'm looking for some friends of mine and they should be around here."
Jackedin was an orange slime with lighter spots dotting her body wearing an all too-familiar Stetson hat. Her arms remained on the ground as she moved, looking intimidating. Her solid light green eyes looked at them all.
FasterThanRainbows began laughing at the sight of Jackedin, prompting upset looks from the group.
"You look good, AJ," SparkleLight interjected in the middle of FasterThanRainbows laughter. "I considered that class as a possibility, but I wanted to stay with something I was comfortable with."
Jackedin made her hat move off her head and into one of her arms, sweeping it across as she bent a little. "Much obliged, Sparkle." Her body soaked up the hat and moved it back to the top of her head with a slight blurping noise.
PartyPrincess began clapping repeatedly, "Ooh, ooh, ooh! Do it again! Please? Please? Pretty pleeeeeease?"
Jackedin only smiled. "Just the four of us, only two more to come."
"And they're both here!" DragonAlong yelled from above.
Jackedin looked up to see the large dragon waving from his position before he began descending.
Username: ForeverDiamonds
Class: Swordsman
Power: Shine
Username: Aflutter
Class: Fighter
Power: Camouflage
ForeverDiamonds strut forward, wearing a flowing gown that sparkled with jewels and gems, completely contrasting against the normal look of sword fighters. Her pure white skin and eyeliner made her face look angelic as she rested a hand on her sword's hilt. The sheath was lightly adorned with gold and silver trim that looked to spin and twist all the way down.
Aflutter stood out with her pink hair and light skin, making her power title seem a little misconceiving. Wings were folded behind her back, her hands were hands, but her feet remained hooves as she nervously shuffled them. Her uniform consisted of the bottom half looking similar to a large leaf wrapped around her waist and barely touching the ground, a large butterfly crossing over her chest, another butterfly covering her back as both of their wings just touched.
"Forgive the lateness," ForeverDiamonds started. "I just HAD to get the design right on this sword sheath."
FasterThanRainbows rolled her eyes, "Always the perfectionist."
"You're not late at all, Diamonds," SparkleLight responded. "In fact, your right on time."
Aflutter continued to shift her eyes to and away from the group, unsure of what to think. "I don't think I'm ready for this just yet." She commented, making Jackedin turn to her.
"Not ready?" Jackedin repeated, a look of confusion on her face. "What makes you say that, Sugarcube? Still not used to the whole computer thing?"
Aflutter kept her head down as she continued to clack her hooves together nervously. "I-i-it's not that. Just... a lot of other things." Everyone kept quiet, wanting Aflutter to continue. "While I'm here, I can't pay attention to the animals. I did tell Angel that if it was an emergency to unhook me, but I'm still worried something will happen."
DiamondsForever nodded in understanding. "You're just nervous because you aren't focused on what is happening in your home, in Ponyville." She gave a grin and raised her head. "But, we are not of that world here! We are the few of TOME, set out to create our own destinies, forge the paths that have yet to be made! As sure as the blade I wield, we will have grand adventures!" DiamondsForever unsheathed her blade, a long double-edged sword, and raised it to the sky, the blade golden in color and the hilt shining in silver. "For I, DiamondsForever, wielder of the Blade of Light, will live this life as her own and not as the life that exists in the beyond!"
Everyone in the group felt a sense of excitement that radiated from DiamondsForever and gave a cheer.
***
In another part of ;Lavendera, two players landed in the desolate land.
"Hmm, hmm, hmm, the music begins to plaaaaay~" One of them said.
"I missed this place sooooo much." The other figure said. "They even repaired the damage that I did." The sound of a fuse lighting went off, showing a white jacket with arms crossed and a claw with brown fur holding a very crude bomb. "Let's fix that issue."
***
Kirbopher groaned as he shifted his weight again, poised for attack when Alpha would login.
Username: Kirbopher
Class: Swordsman
Power: Enchanted Sword
"He usually arrives by now," Kirbopher grumbled, not wanting to wait any longer than he needed to. Kirbopher had an odd look about him, grey skin, really patched up clothes, a burlap sack as a hat adorning his head. If not for his sword, he would look nothing more than a peasant NPC. Giving a glance up, he watched for any transports that would come close by him and soon saw his winged friend coming in.
Username: Alpha
Class: Fighter
Power: Mythology
Alpha touched down on land and stretched out, readying himself to meet his online friends and continue exploring the untamed ;Lavendera. His avatar still remained unchanged after the Forbidden Power was finally extracted from him and thrown away, never to be seen again. He wore a simple blue armless shirt, blue wristbands on both his arms, and light purple pants. His wings and white tail were the only things separating him from being completely human in design.
Kirbopher jumped from his hiding spot, his sword raised in the air to strike. "I've got you this time!"
Alpha threw up his Orion's Shield, blocking Kirbopher's attack and knocking Kirbopher back as well. Throwing the shield, Kirbopher couldn't block in time, having the shield hit him in the head, making him stagger.
"You really need to find a better strategy to attack me besides running up and screaming like a maniac," Alpha chuckled.
Kirbopher stomped a foot and glared at Alpha, "I'm going to win against you one of these times! Don't think I won't!"
Alpha readied himself in his fighting stance, "Riiiiight."
Kirbopher let loose a Dust Tornado from his sword, Alpha countering it with a Poseidon Wave from his right hand, offsetting both attacks. Both of them rushed forward and went into a short scuffle, Kirbopher occasionally hitting Alpha with the hilt of his blade as Alpha struck Kirbopher with as many punches he could land.
Both pulled back and circled each other for a moment. Alpha tripped up, his knee touching the ground.
"Gotcha!" Kirbopher yelled, moving in with a Spin Slash, rolling forward as he brought his sword in front of him.
Alpha only grinned as he moved behind Kirbopher as he landed, gathering energy in his fist and letting loose a Vulcan Fist, sending Kirbopher sailing upwards.
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMNNNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTT!" Kirbopher screamed out as he flew upwards. He soon landed down again, a LOSE! graphic hovering above him for a moment. Victory music played as Alpha reached for Kirbopher's hand to help him up.
"I was close, you know it," Kirbopher moaned.
***
Nylocke ran along the landscape of ;Lavendera, his smile as wide as it was when he first began playing.
Username: Nylocke
Class: Swordsman
Power: Ice
"WHOOSH!~" Nylocke would occasionally yell out as he past other players. Making them take notice of his dragon form, his long and flowing orange cape, his Sword of Cold Steel, that GLORIOUS beard, and overall his enjoyment. His fun was halted by a fallen pillar of stone that blocked his path, causing him to ponder aloud. "This does not seem right. Other times I have gone down this path, no pillar of stone blocked my way! Something fowl lies with this stone, and I-"
Nylocke leapt up, screaming up into the heavens. "-NYLOCKE, DRAGON OF INTRIGUING INVESTIGATIONS!-"
Landing back down, he continued his speech. "-will figure out who or what has caused such a disturbance!"
"You won't need to look faaaar~" a voice responded.
"What ho? Who goes there?" Nylocke dramatically called out.
A person stepped forward in awkward steps, looking almost inhuman as he moved.
Username: MentalMusic
Class: Fighter
Power: Crippling
MentalMusic wore a pure white straightjacket, his arms locked in place. A pair of thick black headphones covered his ears, no wire or connection seen on it to any device. His black hair jolted out in multiple directions, only adding to his crazed image. The left eye was surrounded by tribunal markings, the iris a thin, spinning circle that looked to move with each blink the man made. His right eye looked normal on the other hand, despite it continuously jolting around. A mask covers his mouth, showing a permanent smile. The pants this fighter wore were made of leather and covered in metal studs around the ankles.
"Hee, hee, hee..." MentalMusic chuckled, still twitching uncomfortably.
Nylocke pointed a finger at the laughing madman, "You? You are the cause of this fallen stone?" Clenching his fist tight, he condemned this foe. "A hacker, no doubt! You will suffer for this injustice on these sacred grounds at my hand!"
MentalMusic's head tilted sideways, "Aww, the voices like you~," he began, very soft and relaxed. "Now, WHERE'S YOUR DRAIN EDGE?" He spoke, his voice going lower and harsher.
Not taking a chance to respond, Nylocke fired off White Wind and Stalagmite Storm, wanting to take down the hacker quickly. One of MentalMusic's legs swept in a downward arc, breaking through the White Wind putting him in a splits position before he pushed onto his head and spun like a helicopter, breaking the ice of the Stalagmite Storm. With the momentum of the spin still going, MentalMusic moved to his knees and snapped back upright.
Nylocke closed the gap and swung with his sword, meeting with the studded ankle of MentalMusic. Pushing with the blade, MentalMusic forced Nylocke downward as his other ankle came down on the back of Nylocke's neck, putting the dragon warrior face first into the ground. Taking a leap back MentalMusic stuck a leg back, going on tiptoe on his other foot and spun once.
"The music of pain is a joy to hear and dance to~" MentalMusic spoke, still spinning before pointing again at Nylocke, trying to right himself again. "But, that is not what I need to do, oh no, he'll get mad..."
Rushing forward as Nylocke got to a knee, MentalMusic slammed his knee and ankle into the face of Nylocke, knocking Nylocke onto his back and away from his blade. "Don't make me ask again~" He hummed, jamming a foot into the neck of Nylocke.
Nylocke struggled to pull the foot off, still unsure as to why someone so lanky could overpower him. "You... evil being... How can you fight me like this with such an unfair advantage?"
MentalMusic pulled his foot away and screamed at Nylocke. "FAIR?! WHEN IN LIFE IS ANYTHING FAIR ?!"
Nylocke gripped his sword and rushed to MentalMusic to strike again, only to see a bomb planted in his path.
"Surprise!" Another voice yelled out, before the bomb went off and knocked Nylocke down again, forcing a LOSE! with the impromptu match.
MentalMusic remained where he was as another player burst from the ground.
"It's good to be back!"
Username: Rockoon
Class: Animalistic
Power: Explosives
The brown raccoon laughed uproariously, his red eyes looking at his downed prey. The lengthy claws looked ready to strike again. "Can you believe it?! Ya'll better recognize this pretty face!"
MentalMusic strut forward and swung a leg toward the head of Rockoon, making the animal whimper as it nearly struck him. "You poor excuse for a solo, how dare you interrupt in the melody that was occurring?!" He spoke, upset about what had occurred.
Rockoon gingerly pushed the leg away from his face with a pointed claw, "Right, right. Didn't need to interfere, but, c'mon man! It's been FAR too long since I blew up someone!"
MentalMusic bent forward, looking eye-to-eye with the animal, his voice quiet and level. "Your pianissimo improvisation to this arc of destruction I had been creating is unappreciated." His voice went back to normal as he tilted his head to the left. "And a shame! No other works of yours has ever held importance."
Rockoon clenched a fist and bared his teeth, "Listen, you over-hyped hacker, you've never experienced what I had to! I have, as the French call it, Experi-awnce in le field." Rockoon's confidence returned, putting a hand to his hip. "Ya see? I can say fancy words too; nutcase."
MentalMusic stepped over Nylocke's prone body once more with Rockoon on the other side. Placing a knee to Nylocke's throat, MentalMusic peered down at Nylocke. "Sticks and stones, my mammal friend," he quietly cooed at Rockoon. "You wouldn't be able to do things like this a cappella, would you?"
Rockoon gave a confused look to MentalMusic, "What the what?"
MentalMusic peered down to Nylocke again as he began to stir. "Shhh, he awakens to the aria of defeat."
Nylocke groaned as his eyes looked up to the two hackers. "I... have nothing to say to you..."
MentalMusic shushed the dragon in a calming tone. "It's fine, all we need to know is what happened to your Drain Edge after the events of the Gemini Tournament. The tones have been leading to the crescendo of where the forbidden power is."
Nylocke's eyes opened wide at the name of the beast that had nearly torn him and his friends apart. "I'll not say a word about that unspeakable atrocity! I'm glad that it is gone!"
Rockoon sputtered for a moment, "Gone?! You mean that we missed our chance at securing the biggest score of all time?!"
MentalMusic pushed once more into the neck of Nylocke, "Oh, but if it is gone, it means it can be found, can't it?"
Nylocke coughed a laugh, "Not a chance! I sent the accursed object flying through the skies of TOME, never to be seen again!"
MentalMusic glanced over Nylocke and gave a grin. "I think this ensemble has reached the last verse." With a final push into the neck, Nylocke was forcibly spawned out. "Let's get back to Master, we've done good on this piece."
Rockoon crossed his arms and pouted, "Fun ruiner."
MentalMusic leaned into Rockoon's right side, his eyes half-closed. "Orrrrr~ We can give ;Lavendera the encore of Rockoon, hmmm?~"
Rockoon leapt up with a whoop, "Now you're speaking my language, crazy man! C'mon, let's see if we can find some more familiar faces of my past!"
Rockoon began spinning in place as he moved, laughing maniacally as he did. MentalMusic leaned forward and began sprinting after the twisting raccoon.
***
Username: Gamecrazed
Class: Morphological
Power: Shadow
Username: Flamegirl
Class: Spellcaster
Power: Fire
Flamegirl and Gamecrazed waited patiently beside a quest marker at ;Mechcity. Flamegirl kept checking both sides of the streets, uncharacteristically pacing in the process with continual anxiety.
Gamecrazed dark purple form glared at the moving woman in front of him, doing his best to remain as patient as he could. A left and right shoulder button belonging to a controller hung on his shoulders, a red 'A' button adorned on his forehead, and a blue 'B' button directly on his chest.
Flamegirl's once shortened hair had grown back to its long form, her red top covered her chest, but kept her midriff and arms exposed. Her black shorts reached down to her thighs, but her boots came up to her knees, just barely covering her legs.
"You need to calm down, Flamegirl," Gamecrazed finally spoke up in his calm tone. "Alpha, Kirbopher, and Nylocke should be arriving at any moment. Pacing will not hasten their arrival."
Flamegirl grunted in annoyance, "I know! I know!" Her hand went up to her opposite arm and gripped it. "I'm... just nervous."
Gamecrazed remained quiet as Flamegirl took a breath and went back to him. "If is about the quest, we could do it at another time. Though, I'm sure your anxiety is not about that at all."
Flamegirl composed herself before speaking again, "The thing is, I've been getting really offputting messages recently, and none of them are coming from players. Every time I try to look up the name on the message or try to report it for harassment, the message just suddenly disappears from my inbox!"
"Hacker?" Gamecrazed speculated.
"Maybe, but a hacker wouldn't put up a mess of letters and numbers if they wanted to intimidate me or get something," Flamegirl responded.
Gamecrazed only gave a "Hm." As Nylocke came rushing towards them.
Nylocke breathed heavily behind every word he attempted to let out, hands at his knees as he bent over. "Sir Ga... mecrazed a... nd Lady... Flamegi... rl... Terri... ble news!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down, Nylocke!" Flamegirl hurriedly reacted, putting up her hands to try and get Nylocke to calm down. "What's terrible news?"
Nylocke finally gathered his breath and stood again. "I was in recent battle at ;Lavendera against a heinous foe! A hacker!"
Flamegirl's eyes widened, "What?"
"This hacker spoke of the forbidden power, he's out to search for it!" Nylocke continued. "He somehow knows of the Drain Edge that was used to seal the creature away and now knows that I no longer possess that item!"
Gamecrazed reacted in surprise, "You threw that item away, there shouldn't be a way that the item still exists on this gameplane."
Nylocke clenched a fist, an upset look on his face as he spoke. "The hacker knows that I had thrown the accursed device across the heavens, but something in his eyes told me that he knows it still exists here."
"What did he look like?" Flamegirl asked.
"The hacker," Nylocke angrily recollected, "he fought without using his arms, in fact, he had restricted them in a jacket of white and straps! His legs were the only device he used in not only defeating me, but gathering his information."
Gamecrazed crossed his arms and gave a "Hm." Thinking of any character that he may have seen before that fought similarly. "Did you get his name?"
Nylocke continued to bitterly recount his events. "Yes! A name that will burn in my heart as hot as the flame of the dragon within me! A name that will be recounted with great ferocity and spite!" Nylocke's eyes seemed to light ablaze as he spoke the name, "MentalMusic." Almost instantaneously, his eyes went softer and a hand went to his chin, "And... a raccoon? I can't recall his name, though I swear my eyes have seen his visage before..."
"We're going to need to talk to Alpha about this," Flamegirl worriedly mumbled to herself. "If the hackers are back-"
"Is this the line for the quest?" A voice asked from behind Flamegirl.
Flamegirl turned and saw a wide variety of colors in the group that looked back at her. "Excuse me?"
The floating robot behind the robed spellcaster groaned, "Didn't you hear her the first time?"
A resounding shush came from the group as the spellcaster turned back to Flamegirl. "Sorry, she tends to be a little rude. Let's try that again. Hello, my name is SparkleLight, and these are my friends, is this the line for the quest?"
Flamegirl remained quiet, unsure of how to take the tonal shift back down from shock in the discovery that the Forbidden Power was being hunted for again to a relaxed discussion.
Gamecrazed took over the situation, responding to the question presented by the newbie. "There's no line to take quests," he flatly explained. "You just need to approach this circle with your group of friends and press 'Accept' when everyone in your group is present."
SparkleLight gave a nod and a smile. "Thanks for telling us," she responded. "We're not really experienced in this game entirely."
"It's okay," Gamecrazed continued, "We all had to start somewhere in this game."
A gasp from Nylocke was heard as he pushed past Gamecrazed toward DragonAlong. "Another dragon member?" Embracing DragonAlong in a hug, Nylocke's eyes welled up in joy. "A second dragon in this vast world, under the sky created by the Webmaster himself! I-"
Nylocke jumped up, still gripped to DragonAlong as he proclaimed his joy, "-NYLOCKE, NO LONGER THE ONLY DRAGON OF TOME!-"
Landing back down, his hug remained as DragonAlong's face began to turn blue, "-shall share his excitement with this fellow dragon as his brother in arms!"
Nylocke's grip finally loosened, causing DragonAlong to collapse to the ground. "Perhaps I got a little too excited about this meeting," Nylocke sheepishly chuckled. "Sorry, Sir DragonAlong."
"Not a problem." DragonAlong shakily responded, trying to get back to his feet.
Jackedin helped lift DragonAlong up and looked to Gamecrazed. "You're not gonna do something like that to me, are ya?"
Gamecrazed sighed, "Forgive Nylocke, he's a little more into the game than most other players."
PartyPrincess quipped in, "I'll say."
"Ya'll waiting on somepo-" Jackedin began to say before backpedaling, "-er, someone?"
Flamegirl quickly took control of the conversation, "We are, but that's nothing to worry about, you can get ahead of us."
FasterThanRainbows passed the trio of players into the quest marker, "Well, guess that handles that."
The rest of the gang soon followed, but DiamondsForever remained out of the circle.
"C'mon, Diamonds!" FasterThanRainbows cried out, "Let's do this! I- We've been waiting to do this since we got on!"
DiamondsForever tapped her hand on the sword hilt at her side, "Why can't we join these players as well? After all, they do have experience in the game itself, not to mention that it would greatly increase our chances at completing the quest successfully."
Aflutter shuffled her hooves nervously, "I don't think they would be interested in that, unless, they are okay with that."
Nylocke prepared to speak before being interrupted by Flamegirl, "It's appreciated, but we're also waiting on him to tell some news we've recently learned." Her eyes bore into Nylocke, "Right, Nylocke?"
Nylocke gave a sigh, "Of course. Personal affairs, really."
DiamondsForever reluctantly entered the quest marker as well. "Well, if we meet again, lets do something together. A friendly competition?"
Nylocke gave a nod. "Of course, m'lady, Diamonds. I'm sure we would all enjoy that very much."
FasterThanRainbows pressed the 'Accept' button and the group vanished from the map, making Flamegirl breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness they left, I didn't know if I could hold up any more patience with them around."
Nylocke turned to Flamegirl, "They were friendly players wanting to learn more about the game and of ourselves, there is nothing wrong with that."
Flamegirl crossed her arms, "Then telling them about what you just went through shouldn't be an issue then?"
Nylocke reacted in shock, "I would never! Such recent players should not know of the Forbidden Power or of our troubles!"
"Exactly," Flamegirl agreed.
"Hey guys," Alpha's voice called out. Flamegirl, Gamecrazed, and Nylocke waited for Alpha and Kirbopher to get closer. "Ready to go?"
"Not quite," Gamecrazed spoke in a deadpan manner.
"What, left your arm blade at home?" Kirbopher sarcastically replied.
Nylocke clenched his fist and looked to Alpha, "I don't believe we're going on this quest, Sir Alpha and Squire Kirbofer. Another issue has come up."
Kirbopher only sighed, hearing his name mispronounced again.
"We've all been excited to see this new quest that Webmaster had been developing, what's going on?" Alpha asked.
Flamegirl spoke up, "It's back, Michael."
Alpha's ears perked up at his real name, Flamegirl had used his real name before in a rather dire situation after the final confrontation against the Forbidden Power and Zetto. He knew Flamegirl's real name as well, Stephanie, and had learned so much about her from just being a part of the game with her.
Nylocke clenched his teeth and gave an apologetic look to Alpha, "It's the Forbidden Power..."
Alpha's eyes shot wide, memories flooding back of being possessed by the virus and its capability of hurting others in real life. "What?!"
Kirbopher's reaction of disbelief followed, "No way..."
Nylocke continued, "Yes, Alpha and Squire, the beast that was sealed away may still be here."
Alpha gripped onto Nylocke's chest piece in fear, "How? How, Nylocke?!"
Nylocke whimpered, "I- I don't know! The only thing that tipped me of this unfortunate news was an attack on me done by hackers!"
Alpha let go of Nylocke and began pacing in a panic, "No. Not again. We got rid of it, there's no way its still out there!"
Kirbopher remained still as Alpha passed him, "Calm down, Alpha, maybe the hackers were behind the curve on what happened."
Nylocke grimaced, "Not if the other hacker is what I just realized..." He composed himself again, "Do you all remember the first hackers we fought together were?"
The group seemed to struggle until Kirbopher slammed a fist into his hand, "It was a slime guy and a raccoon!"
Nylocke nodded. "I'm sure that same raccoon was accompanying the other hacker that assaulted me."
Kirbopher put a hand to his mouth, "Him, again?" He murmured.
Alpha continued to pace, hands to his head as he spoke, "This is bad, really, REALLY bad!"
Gamecrazed spoke up, "We need a plan to go about this. How about we inform one of the moderators? It would at least get some kind of report written down, even if it gets rejected."
"But who would believe us? One year is a heck of a time to report about everything that happened!" Flamegirl argued.
Alpha finally stopped pacing and got with the group again, "We need to find the Forbidden Power first."
Nylocke gave a whine, "We're going to hunt for the damned Drain Edge keeping that thing at bay?"
Kirbopher nodded to the plan. "We need to cover a lot of ground if we do this. Since we don't have a clue where it could be, we need to be as thorough as we can. Alpha, stick with your girlfriend Flamegirl and go over to ;Sanctuary, it should be easy to spot the thing in a non-combative zone. Nylocke, you and Gamecrazed go over to ;Lavendera and check over every rock and crevice you can."
Kirbopher began heading away from the group, "I'll stay here in ;Mechcity, I've got some friends who owe me favors here who could lend me a hand."
"Kirb!" Alpha called out to his friend, making him stop. "I swear, this won't be like the last time we had to struggle against this thing. Promise."
Kirbopher's face remained down and away from the group, "I really hope you're right." With that, he left the street, going toward the harbor.
"Sir Gamecrazed, let's make haste to ;Lavendera and search for this great evil so that no one else needs to suffer from it!" Nylocke cried out in bravado.
"Let's go," Gamecrazed said before both of them shot off into the sky in a white light toward ;Lavendera.
Alpha began his teleport to ;Sanctuary when Flamegirl touched his shoulder.
"Michael, I'm sorry that this had to happen... especially since-" Flamegirl began.
"I know," Alpha quietly acknowledged. "It's nearly our own anniversary since we met too."
Both of them remained quiet as the white light of the teleport sent them toward ;Sanctuary.
***
SparkleLight groaned as her face smacked the desk in front of her. "Why can't we get this quest thing to work?"
The NPC clerk raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Milady, are you feeling ill? I comprehend some of your language, but without the right font, I'm left confused still!"
DragonAlong whispered into PartyPrincess' ear, "Why's he sound like a medieval Zecora?"
DiamondsForever snapped her fingers, an idea forming in her mind. "Stand aside, SparkleLight, I believe I know how to speak with this quest giver." She gave a brief cough and began speaking in a more formal tongue. "Mine cohorts are not so elegant in their speech, but I am willing to speak for them. Reports have reached our ears of assistance you perhaps require? Please, enlighten us with your task so, maybe, we can gain life experience and maybe even combat experience if we are forced into it."
The man at the desk smiled, now better comprehending what needed to be done. “Of course, now it makes sense! The urgency behind their voices, oh, how could I be so dense?” He pulled back from the desk and reached into a drawer behind him, pulling out a scroll. “;Mechcity is indeed a fair place of profit, but for my needs, I’ll be making a deposit.”
Rolling out the scroll, the keeper continued, revealing a section of ;Lavendera. “More specifically, a deposit of supplies, more than enough to make a surprise.”
ForeverDiamonds went into business mode, her tone more authoritative and stern. “What sort of surprise are you planning? Nothing that will be of harm, I would hope.”
The NPC only chuckled, “Harm? No, no! Not of the sort! I was about to continue, until my words were cut short!” He gave a cough and made a circle on the map. “Here is where I need my things to be, and with enough help, a new town will be made by decree! ;Tradecity will be its name. Players will flock to it, and make it a place of acclaim.”
ForeverDiamonds continued to sort the information as she tried to run numbers on how dangerous the journey may be. “A noble challenge, trying to build a new place in an area that consistently sees players attempting to annihilate one another. What makes you sure that this town will be successful or not be torn apart by other more evil characters?”
The man gave a sad look to the group, “I don’t. Only by the will of the Webmaster shall my efforts be made to succeed and grow or fail and wither." His face lightened up as his eyes looked over the seven players, "With you and your friends, all I ask is an escort, just let me know if this pay is good and we'll deport!"
With that, a screen pulled up, revealing a brief overview of what the quest, the pay, and options to accept or decline the quest. ForeverDiamonds gave a small grimace to the pay, 4500 credits. Divided evenly, each of them would receive 500 credits only for something that may be more dangerous than the quest giver was letting on. She checked her in-game wallet and only saw 100 credits from the initial starting kit.
"Hoowee! An ol' fashioned caravan run! Been awhile since even the Apple family did a long haul cross-country!" Jackedin excitedly hooted.
PartyPrincess cocked her head sideways, "I dunno, walking a long time with just a trail and maybe a guy jumping out and going 'OOGA BOOGA!'? BO-RING!"
SparkleLight read over the mission details in careful detail, "It looks simple enough. Remember girls, we've just started, so something as easy as this should be well within our current skill set."
DiamondsForever pressed the 'Accept' button and saw a smile go over the NPC. "Oh, good! For only a short moment, I had thought that perhaps you would not agree! I promise you, when the town is completed, you'll be rewarded in the future as well, trust me!"
The NPC left from behind the counter and toward the door of his shop, only stopping to turn back. "If you need to take time to plan out what needs to be done, do it now. When your ready, step outside; and to the town we'll say 'Ciao!'" With that, he left the store and the seven group members to make a plan to keep the caravan from being attacked in any angle.
***
Back in ;Lavendera, Rockoon's rampage had been decimating the landscape and any other unfortunate victims caught in the blast of his bombs. A trio of players had been sprinting away from the abnormally fast raccoon and attempting to keep their heads low to avoid any attacks.
"Help! Hacker!" One yelled out, hoping to catch anyone's attention. As the player screamed out his plea, his two friends were blown into ashes by a bomb that had landed next to them. "Someone! Anyone!"
His run was halted by a cliff wall, forcing him to slide and try to think of another way to escape.
Username: ImnotLion
Class: Animalistic
Power: Lion
"You've gotta be kidding me!" ImnotLion yelled out as he turned. Getting into a fighting stance, ImnotLion watched his pursuer close in, another figure blocking the only exit from the crevice.
"Hah, good chase," Rockoon smirked. "We had fun, me destroying everyone that was close to you, you screaming like a dying goat, its really unbecoming of someone who plays off as a king of the jungle."
ImnotLion growled, simply looking like a guy wearing lion pajamas. "And you think its fun to purposely be as annoying as possible, you little rat?!"
Rockoon's smile vanished into irritation. "I'm not a rat. Raccoon's are NOT a part of the rodent family! How many times do I need to explain this to uneducated losers like you, huh?"
ImnotLion activated the battle grid, enclosing the two players in a boxed area. The battle grid had been upgraded with the ability to accept or deny players that wanted to enter in mid-battle, which was immediately locked by ImnotLion, restricting the area to the two of them. "I'm not going down without a fight, cheater! I'll have you know, I have fought with sixty-three of my friends in a tournament style setting and came out as first!"
Rockoon faked fear as he waved his fingers, "Oh, no. Big bad player thinks he's a big shot." His sarcasm halted as he put a hand to his side. "Yeah, like I'll have a problem with you."
ImnotLion roared upwards, getting psyched as Rockoon pulled an arm back, summoning a bomb.
"Say goodbye, kitty!" Rockoon laughed, hurling the bomb at ImnotLion.
ImnotLion finished his roar and stared into the bomb coming at him, with an accurate swipe, he caught the bomb and began spinning in place. "You first, rat!" He yelled out before the bomb sailed back in the direction of Rockoon.
Rockoon's eyes shot out in fear and shock before he ducked the incoming projectile, making the bomb hit the grid wall behind him. "How the-?"
ImnotLion flexed his fingers, causing his claws to shine. "It's called, skill. Maybe if you didn't have to rely on cheats, you'd get some."
Rockoon angrily huffed and yelled out, "Bomb time! Bomb time! Bomb time!" With that, he shot into the air and began throwing as many bombs as possible down, shadowing ImnotLion as they fell. As Rockoon fell, he watched ImnotLion for his expression, only seeing the annoying smile still remain on his face instead of fear. For a single instant, both of them looked at each other, ImnotLion still smiling, as if to say "You couldn't beat me fairly, even if you tried."
The explosion that followed was close to the equivalent of a tank shell hitting the side of a building, leaving an empty crater as the battle grid vanished.
Rockoon huffed, "I'm done with this, lets get back to GM."
MentalMusic stepped from the entryway of the crevice to Rockoon, humming a tune that may have been playing in his headphones. "Oh? All done with the symphony? How... mundane."
"I'm just wanting to get to the next part of what we need to do," Rockoon snipped. "Is that so wrong, freak?"
MentalMusic shut his eyes and shrugged, "For someone with so much experience in the game, I had assumed that maybe I was going to see something new. Sadly, the dynamics and pace was all unoriginal." MentalMusic's eyes opened and a slight chuckle came out. "But, I was surprised to see that last score between yourself and that player, hee, hee, hee~"
Rockoon had steam coming from his ears from anger, "And what was so surprising ? That I took him down in an efficient and clean manner?"
MentalMusic began guffawing loudly, "HA, HA, HA~ That?" His laughter cut off as his face turned serious. "You think that I would be impressed by a player, without having the need to cheat, had nearly defeated you?"
"Whatever," Rockoon spat, "Let's just go and-"
"YOU!"
Rockoon and MentalMusic looked up, seeing two players outlined in the setting sun of TOME. "What now?" Rockoon frustratedly groaned.
"Did you think that justice would not come for you, criminal hackers?" The dramatic voice continued.
MentalMusic gave a long sniff and sighed, "Those dulcet tunes, have I heard them not too long ago?"
One figure jumped from the high ledge to the ground below as the other figure sank into the ground. In the remaining light, Rockoon and MentalMusic saw Nylocke as he rose from his kneeling position back to his feet. Another player came up behind him, Gamecrazed.
"He has a friend to play with us!" MentalMusic gasped. "This is such good news! I love it when a performance piece just adds that little extra something that you didn't get to hear the first time!"
Rockoon grumbled at MentalMusic before locking eyes with Nylocke. "I'll say it once, lizard boy, log off and there won't be any harm done to your account."
Nylocke's sword pointed forward at the two hackers, "You would think that I would back down after what you have told me of your plans? Hear me now, players of ill repute! If it is even down to my dying breath, I will put a stop to your hunt for the Forbidden Power and its harmful secrets!"
MentalMusic twitched his head to look at Gamecrazed, his eyes wildly looking over the Morphological player. "I want that one! I want the new artistic piece!"
Rockoon gave an unenthused sigh, "Yeah, sure."
"Nylocke," Gamecrazed spoke up before a fight could begin, "What about our own hunt? We know that they'll come back, even if we beat them."
Nylocke's face determinedly stared down the two hackers that jumped him only thirty minutes ago, he knew that what Gamecrazed said was true, but he also knew that Nylocke as a character would not accept that as the logical answer. "It is not a matter of if they come back, Sir Gamecrazed, it is a matter of lost honor! I have lost against the restrained one in conflict, but I will not have both of these criminals escape me while they are here!"
MentalMusic squirmed in joy, "Ooooh, a change in tone from the first confrontation as well! An elegy of vengeance!" His eyes continued to peer between the two players in front of him. "If only you were with us instead of against us, oh, the places we could go!"
Rockoon whipped out bombs in both hands, "Enough chatter, let's dance!"
MentalMusic sprinted forward as Rockoon threw both bombs, preparing for a duo attack. "Insane power and speed is what we all need!~" He sang out, striking a bomb with a kick as he flipped, sending the projectile at Gamecrazed.
Gamecrazed could barely dodge the attack as the other bomb came between him and Nylocke. The bomb exploded, sending Nylocke skidding on his feet and Gamecrazed to not be seen anywhere.
Nylocke's eyes went to MentalMusic who only stared back, jolting his head in the direction of Rockoon. Nylocke gave a glance at Rockoon and saw the player tunnel into the ground.
Nylocke turned back to MentalMusic, who only winked as Gamecrazed trapped him in a dark hand, hoping to end the battle in the realm of shadows.
Nylocke was left alone with the shadowy hand still gripped tightly at the center of the crevice, waiting to see a hint of movement in the ground to tell him where Rockoon was hiding.
In the shadow realm, MentalMusic was fending off against every dark, gooey tendril that tried to get him until one finally snapped around an ankle and hung him upside-down. The face of Gamecrazed pushed through the slimy wall and looked at MentalMusic. "Do you yield?"
MentalMusic only began chuckling as he stayed there. "Keep me here, pound my face in, do anything you please! The only issue is, what's going to happen to your friend while you are busy entertaining me?"
Gamecrazed continued to watch MentalMusic with an increasing anger as MentalMusic began laughing and spinning in his one position.
***
SparkleLight made her way to the front of the caravan, holding up a flaming ball to light the way. It was definitely a new experience creating magic without the use of a horn, but that didn't stop SparkleLight as she made short work of figuring out how to use Burning Hand. Behind her, PartyPrincess and FasterThanRainbows covered the front of the traveling carrier. DragonAlong and DiamondsForever covered either side, occasionally switching off with the rear group of Jackedin and Aflutter.
"We're nearly there," the NPC cried out. "Just need to enter that fissure and I can build a temporary lair."
As the NPC said this, a loud boom rang out and a bright light ahead of them signaled its origin. SparkleLight held up a hand to stop the caravan and signaled the group to come to her.
"Somepony is up ahead," SparkleLight whispered to the huddled gang, "And from how it sounds, they have some powerful spells."
"What are we going to do?" Aflutter asked.
"Dragon, Rainbows, Diamonds, you all come with me and we'll scout out what's ahead," SparkleLight quickly assigned roles, thinking on the fly. "Aflutter, Party, and Jacked, stick with the caravan, if we come running back, then you'll know there's trouble."
"Careful in there," Jackedin said with concern.
SparkleLight was about to say something to comfort Jackedin when another explosion went off, much closer than before.
"You're mine, dragonbreath!" A voice echoed out.
A badly singed Nylocke hobbled into sight, trying to avoid further damage. "You again?" He said in surprise before moving towards them and gripping onto the caravan's front.
"Help!" The NPC screamed out, "I'm under attack!"
"No, no! We know him!" SparkleLight began as another figure came into sight.
"Hiding behind girls?" Rockoon chuckled, "You really think I'm not going to destroy them too?" DragonAlong pushed past the girls and stood above the small raccoon who had since stopped laughing. "Oh-"
DragonAlong gave a strong uppercut to the small raccoon, sending him flying high and far away.
"Whaaaaaaaaa!" Rockoon yelled out until his voice could no longer be heard.
DragonAlong flexed his arms and gave a thumbs up. "Did you just see that? Nothing but pure power!" He looked to the group and was disappointed with them all focused on Nylocke instead of what he did, making him huff, grey smoke shooting from his nostrils.
"You poor thing!" DiamondsForever cried, "What did that... thing do to you?"
Nylocke winced as SparkleLight attempted to soothe the wounds with Crystal Water, "It's nothing to worry about, but I must go back to help my friend Sir Gamecrazed!"
Nylocke attempted to stand but found himself unable to do so, the attack from Rockoon having took too much out of his health bar.
Without prompt, FasterThanRainbows rushed forward towards the darkness before stopping short of being out of sight. "C'mon! Let's save this Gamecrazed guy and get this quest finished!"
Aflutter and Jackedin helped Nylocke to his feet and led him to the back of the caravan, PartyPrincess waved out to her friends as they rushed into the fray, "Come back to me! Promise me you will come back to me!" She cried out in dramatic fashion before pulling out a handkerchief to stop tears from going down her eyes.
FasterThanRainbows reached the open crevice first, seeing a dark blob in the center. As it blew apart, she saw the exhausted avatar of MentalMusic, still laughing despite his legs barely holding him up.
"More~" MentalMusic harshly gasped.
FasterThanRainbows took a step back, unnerved by the sadistic creature in front of her.
"Get down," she heard from behind her.
MentalMusic gave out a sharp intake of breath as his high-pitched laughter rang out. His laughter continued as he sprinted toward FasterThanRainbows.
Before the laughing maniac reached her, the sound of a blade swinging and something igniting greeted FasterThanRainbows ears. She saw the head of MentalMusic nod down towards her before disappearing with a LOSE! graphic in his place.
In shock, she stayed in place as SparkleLight, DiamondsForever and DragonAlong passed her and looked around for any other hidden surprises. She remained still as SparkleLight started shaking her, "Dash? You okay?"
FasterThanRainbows finally snapped back and looked away, "Ye- Yeah. I was just really caught off guard by that guy."
The caravan finally moved in and the NPC jumped out. "Whew! We made it, and with only a... few distractions."
DragonAlong crossed his arms, "If you call a raccoon that tries to blow up others and an escapee from the psychology ward as a 'few distractions'."
Nylocke was led out of the caravan, his wounds healing faster than anything the girls have seen before. As he came out, Gamecrazed reformed beside him.
"You look beat up," Gamecrazed spoke with his usual canter.
Nylocke grunted, but straightened up. "I'm glad that I ran into these players again, otherwise, I might have lost a lot more than a few credits." He attempted to straighten his beard, only to see it blow away as ash. "My beard! My glorious, magnificent beard!"
Gamecrazed turned his focus to the girls as Nylocke began to lament the loss of his facial hair, "What are you all doing here to begin with?"
PartyPrincess raised her hand up high and tried to get Gamecrazed's attention. "Me! Oooh, ooh, ooh, pickmepickmepickme!" Without waiting for a response, she continued. "We had to lead this guy here to set up the chance to build a new town!"
Gamecrazed raised an eyebrow, "Really?"
"Yep!" PartyPrincess continued, "We're going to get paid and everything!"
As she said this, the NPC handed a bag of credits to her which instantly transferred to her money pouch.
"I'm going to turn in for the night, come back sometime when I start getting more things from ;Mechcity!" the NPC said cheerily.
"We'll do that," SparkleLight responded.
"A hideaway town in ;Lavendera?" Gamecrazed continued to question. "That actually doesn't sound like a bad concept."
"Wait, did he say night?!" Jackedin screamed. "How long have we been on?! There's no way that-!"
A pause came from the group before Aflutter spoke up, "It's still morning back home."
Gamecrazed was stunned at how little this group knew about TOME, even the most unaware player would have taken some time to read over the basics of the game. "The sun and moon rotate as normal in a 24-hour cycle, the only time it may act differently is in an area involving a quest. The light should come back when you leave here."
"Oh," Jackedin coughed embarrassingly. "That's good news, I needed to get some farm work done and I just entered a full-blown panic."
"This was a nice bit of entertainment for all of us," SparkleLight said. "Even if we aren't going to be online, we can still see each other in town like normal."
Nylocke finally stopped his mourning of his beard and sniffled. "You all live close by each other?"
Aflutter coughed, "Of course, we all gained a copy of the game and wanted to try it out together."
Nylocke almost began weeping again at the sentimentality of it all. "How tender and beautiful! The group of friends that remain close together in game and in life, a shade resembling of my own group of friends gathered from all corners of the Terrain of Magical Expertise!"
"Nylocke," Gamecrazed interrupted the starry eyes and bright smile of his friend, "Let's get back to our own task at hand."
Nylocke sent friend invitations to each of the players, "Let us see each other once more as friends when we meet again!" With that, he turned and began rushing off. "WHOOSH!~"
Gamecrazed disappeared as well, leaving the seven as they were.
"I like him!" PartyPrincess happily grinned.
***
In a hidden portion of TOME, Kirbopher stood in front of a glowing orange sign that read 'D-BUGGERS.ORG', clear irritation on his face.
"I thought we agreed to put a stop to finding the Forbidden Power after that attack," Kirbopher angrily spoke.
"We have," the heavily distorted voice behind the sign responded. "Our efforts were stopped per your request."
"Then, why is a hacker, under our former employ out trying to find it?!" he screamed.
"Rockoon is not hired with us anymore, and he still isn't," the voice continued. "If he is trying to find the Forbidden Power, then it of his own accord, or as we suspect, he is now working for someone else."
A visual blip came up, showing another sign, a set of gears running as 1s and 0s fell into them, the title saying 'CODECRUNCHR.ORG'.
"We believe this other group is making moves in TOME, already, high-profile hackers are signing into the game," the voice continued. "If they are making attempts for the Forbidden Power, then we'll have no choice but to re-initiate our efforts."
Kirbopher sighed, "I was afraid of that." His eyes shut for a moment, trying to think of the available options. "This means I'll have to re-log Zetto, and if Alpha or anyone close to me takes notice of his return, it could snowball all of the drama of the past again."
"This is something that we didn't want to go into either," the voice quietly answered. "But it is necessary."
Another pause of silence went between the two before Kirbopher spoke up again, "Three days. Get everything prepared in that time. Send out the applications, restart the vaccination program, and make a plan to confront this other group. Alpha and the rest of my friends will still search as long as we can."
"Don't let your friendship get in the way of what needs to be done, Kirbopher," the distorted voice warned.
Kirbopher contemplated responding back, but couldn't bring himself to tell Kizuna that his focus would be entirely on the Forbidden Power. He shivered, knowing what he was forced to do when he thought like that the last time. Instead, he ported out, leaving Kizuna to begin the process of finding the most dangerous virus and deleting it, permanently.
The sun had come back up as the seven avatars moved out of the canyon.
"I do need to get back," Jackedin said as she sunk lower into the ground apologetically. "When you have a farm to look after, there ain't usually any breaks."
"Same here," Aflutter whispered. "The mail should be coming in and I don't want to break away from the care schedule that I've already made."
DiamondsForever gave a nod of her own, "It's time to open shop for me, so I must be going that way as well."
SparkleLight gave a soft smile to her departing friends, "As long as we stay in touch either here or in Equestria, I don't mind. When are any of you planning on coming back in?"
"I'm thinkin' just before sunset," Jackedin pondered. "Maybe get in another hour of this game before heading for bed."
"Shop closes around six, but I do need to spend some time in my idea room," DiamondsForever put a finger to her lips and tapped it. "I can't say when I could get back on."
"I'll be on and off throughout the day," Aflutter announced, "But it won't be for longer than maybe thirty minutes at a time."
SparkleLight had in the meantime pulled out a parchment piece in-game and was writing information down on it. "Well, if all goes well, we could do another big event like this again, but I'll need to put in the times you come in after a few days, that way I can get an average time for when you may be on or off."
FasterThanRainbows began moving from the group, "I'm sticking around a little longer, I've yet to get a good fight happening in this game." It was then her head turned to SparkleLight and brought up a battle grid. "I challenge you, SparkleLight!"
SparkleLight put up her hands and waved them back and forth, "Wait a minute, I don't want-!"
SparkleLight's plea came to late as the battle grid fully activated and the battle was on.
FasterThanRainbows activated her thrusters and charged with her shoulder out, executing her Thrust Tackle.
SparkleLight took the brunt of the attack and slid backward, now aware of the fight going on. What she wasn't aware of was the fact that all seven of them remained on the grid, despite thinking it was a one-on-one match.
"Rainbows!" DiamondsForever scolded, "How unladylike for you to just attack somepony without consent!"
FasterThanRainbows waved away the upset reaction and activated her Wire Whip by snapping her head toward SparkleLight, her hair flinging forward with sparks of electricity running from them.
SparkleLight saw this and put up a hand to get hit by the electric attack, only to redirect it with her other hand, pointing a finger at FasterThanRainbows' chest.
Rainbows remained momentarily shocked and paralyzed as SparkleLight activated Rock Wave, making the ground in front of her raise up and forward like a wave and towards Rainbows. The wave was ineffectual as FasterThanRainbows rode above it and over, remaining upright.
"It's on!" FasterThanRainbows cried out, now moving so fast around SparkleLight that it seemed multiple versions of her surrounded her opponent.
"SparkleLight!" DragonAlong yelled out, "I'm coming!" He rushed towards SparkleLight and held out a fist in the circle of afterimages. FasterThanRainbows was not quick enough to dodge the sudden obstacle and got clotheslined by the arm of the dragon, causing her momentum to continue on its forward path and making her tumble for a moment before stopping, a LOSE! graphic over her.
"You can't do that!" An angry FasterThanRainbows yelled out, trying to get back up, but finding herself unable to. "What does this stupid message mean that I can't move until the match ends?!" A brief pause from FasterThanRainbows and a surprised gasp came, "It says that you're all in the match! How'd that happen?!"
"A thing just came up about the match and I just pressed accept," DragonAlong plainly explained.
The other avatars agreed, causing FasterThanRainbows to groan, "Great, now I'm last in this battle royal you've all decided to join."
"You mean we're fightin'?" Jackedin said, her eyes going wide.
"I'm winning this for the motherland!" PartyPrincess screamed out, her tank turret aimed directly at Jackedin. Jackedin barely had a chance to react as PartyPrincess unleashed her Streamer Cannon, making the slime spread out across the battlefield.
Aflutter put her arms up defensively and inadvertently faded from sight, having activated her Chameleon Camo. DiamondsForever put her sword up to the sky and let out a bright light trying to blind her opponents with a Solar Flare.
SparkleLight and DragonAlong tried to blink away the sudden brightness, and had done so as DiamondsForever had leaped up on PartyPrincess' tank and was approaching the top.
"Get off! GET OFF! GET OFF!!!" PartyPrincess yelled out, each time more frantic as her turret began spinning in an attempt to make the fashionista sword fighter fling off. Her efforts were of no use as DiamondsForever made quick work of PartyPrincess with a few swings of her blade.
SparkleLight looked to DragonAlong and summoned Crystal Water, firing it into the open mouth of DragonAlong and stopping the attempt of Dragonfire from billowing out at her.
DragonAlong gave a few coughs and stumbled for a moment before falling over the invisible Aflutter, nearly crushing the hidden avatar. Aflutter reappeared, curled in a ball as she shook in fear.
DiamondsForever began firing off as many Light Beams as possible at SparkleLight, who was desperately attempting everything to not get hit by deflecting the shots with her Rock Wave.
DiamondsForever kept her attack going before being rolled over by a retreating Aflutter and chasing DragonAlong. DragonAlong momentarily stopped and looked back to DiamondsForever and back to Aflutter before continuing his chase.
Taking advantage of the distraction caused, SparkleLight lit up her hands with Burning Hand and began striking DiamondsForever with punches as she kept attempting to get up and defend herself.
Aflutter kept dodging away from the various attacks DragonAlong attempted to hit her with, each time increasing his frustrations. "I! WANT!" DragonAlong screamed, his body increasing in muscle mass and his eyes going reptilian. The change caused by DragonAlong's ability, Burnout, served to terrify Aflutter as DragonAlong moved even faster and eventually brought his large hand and claw crashing down on Aflutter and prompting a LOSE! graphic over her body.
With a final roar of satisfaction, Burnout ended and DragonAlong returned to his regular size and got down on a knee, breathing heavily, remaining prone and defenseless as a cooldown effect took over him.
SparkleLight finally let up on DiamondsForever and turned up towards DragonAlong. "This is a lot more fun than I thought it would be."
DragonAlong stood back up and rolled his shoulders, "Definitely a lot different than what happens in Equestria."
The two of them squared up as above them two other avatars teleported to an unsanctioned part of TOME.
***
Rockoon and MentalMusic landed in a dark and largely unfinished level, only known as ;Hellscape.
"I hate coming here for meeting the big man," Rockoon shivered. "I know he's paying us and everything, but I don't like this place."
MentalMusic remained humming a tune as a rumble sounded and a dark fog moved to them.
"You took your time," a deep male voice came out of the fog.
MentalMusic crossed his legs and gave a curtsy. "Forgiveness in the highest regards," MentalMusic cheerily laughed. "We would arrive sooner, but Rockoon felt the need to run wild in the terrain."
Rockoon pointed a claw at MentalMusic, "Don't saddle this as my fault!"
"Enough, the both of you!" the loud voice exclaimed. "What news do you have after finding the last owner of the Drain Edge?"
Rockoon straightened up and gave his grin, "Turns out that the dragon drama queen threw the sucker across the plains of TOME."
"If his strength was how I saw it," MentalMusic added, "It means that the object landed either in ;Lavendera or in ;Sanctuary."
The fog burbled for a moment in thought, "And that means in any of that time, the object could have been picked up. However, if the virus was true to itself, at the moment the object would be picked up, the virus would merge itself with a new host."
The dark fog began to clear as a figure resembling Webmaster could barely be made. "The Drain Edge was not found. It remains hidden. I will send message to the rest of the... hunters."
Four PMs flew from the fog and out in multiple directions as the fog grew thicker yet again. "Your payment will arrive once the Drain Edge is found and brought to me."
Rockoon became upset, "Hang on, you said that you'd pay up if we gave you the information about the Drain Edge! Don't try to skimp out on the check that's on the table, head honcho!"
MentalMusic tilted his head as he continued to stare into the fog. "A simple fifty dollars should be enough, a small amount, but perhaps you could consider it as... a forward to us to continue business without complication."
The fog remained quiet again.
"Fifty?!" Rockoon nearly screeched, "Nah, nah, that's waaaaay too low for my expertise. I'll accept the standard two hundred that was promised ."
The fog spoke up again, "I've sent the payment to you Mental, I trust that you will be of great use to me in finding the Forbidden Power." A rumble came up and the voice expressed anger, "Rockoon, your own lack of trust only says to me that continuing business with you is not best for me. You'll have your money, but I expect your silence."
Rockoon gave a light chuckle, "Please, little 'ol me? I'd never rat out guys that pay me."
"Good," the fog spoke up. "But, I can't risk anything."
A program shot out and attached to Rockoon. "Any mention of what is happening, then your character is going to light up every red flag the moderators have and you'll be gone from the game."
"Y-You can't do that!" Rockoon nervously yelled. An attempt at cracking the new program sent shockwaves throughout Rockoon's body. "I- I- I- I felt that!"
"As I've stated," the fog continued, "I can't risk anything. Goodbye, Rockoon."
"Waitaminute! How'd you-?!" Rockoon was about to object before being forcibly teleported away.
MentalMusic cracked his neck, "Awww, I was just beginning to tolerate his company."
***
"Thanks anyway," Flamegirl said to another player.
"Anytime," the checkerboarded suit spellcaster lolled out. "Have my card, just in case you're interested in buying, selling, or trading your items for any reason."
Flamegirl grunted and moved away from the shilling salesman toward Alpha. "There's so many people here, even if the Drain Edge is here, someone could just as easily pick it up and have it sent from person to person without us knowing."
Alpha remained quiet, still in deep contemplation over the potential devastation the virus could do if it was released.
Flamegirl put her hands on both of Alpha's shoulders and looked at him, "Alpha, if you need to log off and take a breather, its fine."
Alpha shook his head and gave a weak smile, "No, I can handle this. It's..."
Alpha reached into his inventory and brought out a necklace with an orange stone at its center, giving a pulsing light. "Here."
Flamegirl clasped the necklace in her hand and looked at it carefully. "A Crystalline Flame Gem necklace? These things are so expensive, how did you get one?!"
Alpha gave a nervous chuckle, "I had to fight a lot and sell some of my old stuff." His look went soft as he stared into Flamegirl's own eyes. "I wanted to get you something for our anniversary since I lost the chance to finally meet you in California."
"Alpha..." Flamegirl went quiet and placed the necklace on, knowing her fire spells would become much more powerful with this jewel. "You didn't need to do this for me."
The moment of quiet love was soon interrupted by loud music from nearby.
Username: Mouthofthesouth
Class: Fighter
Power: Soundwaves
"LLLLLLadies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, the man on top of the ranking charts is issuing his daily challenge in ;Mechcity!" Mouthofthesouth bellowed out, causing players to try and cover their ears. "He is the undefeated, unprecedented, and unparalleled man of TOME and is your current NUMBER SIXTH RANKING IN THE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORLD! He is... BigTime!"
Rounds of sparks and fireworks went off as a plume of smoke came from behind Mouthofthesouth. A figure walked from the smoke, a shining smile on his face and a metal hand readjusting his star sunglasses.
Username: Bigtime
Class: Mechanical
Power: Special Effects
The cyborg threw his arms wide, making the coat that hung on him jingle as swords and staffs clanked together, reminders of his former opponents that challenged him. Not only was his coat a reminder of every player he had beaten, but his chest was layered with multiple coats of armor, ranging from simple clothing to high-end steel, only adding further to his outlandish look.
"That's right, losers!" Bigtime began, "Those of you that haven't already been aware of who I am or what I do, let me make it clear!"
Irritated players already began moving away or logged off at the presence of this rather bombastic individual and his little cheerleader.
"One battle, one arena, and for all of this," Bigtime continued, unnerved by the comments and reaction he was getting. Spinning in place, he let the blades and armor shine all around, presenting his 'prize'. "That is, if any of you lackluster players have the guts to do it!"
Flamegirl began moving away from the loud character, "Let's get away from this guy."
As she said this, another loud set of fireworks went off near the statues of Webmaster and his fellow administrators. Alpha's eyes followed the trail of the sparks when he saw a Drain Edge, hanging dangerously at the tip of Webmaster's own head. "Flamegirl, th-!"
"Are you calling my buddy a girl, pal?!" Mouthofthesouth yelled out. "Hey, Bigtime, this sap thinks you aren't as great as you say you are!"
Bigtime reacted to hearing this with a roll of his shoulders and snapping of his neck, "That a fact?"
Alpha's stammering couldn't help him as he was lifted up by the large cyborg. "You think I'm not good enough? You believe I'm a girl? A wimp? A guy that can't back up his words?"
"I- I never said-" Alpha tried to explain.
"You listen here, Gemini hot shot," Bigtime growled, "Just because you think that being in the finals of a tournament that had you rely on your partner for the entire time, doesn't mean you are as good or better than me." He pulled Alpha closer, "I may not be able to fight here, but I can make you regret making me upset."
With that Bigtime set Alpha down and shoved him into the Webmaster statue, rocking it slightly. Alpha rubbed a sore spot on his head as Bigtime raised his hands.
"Sorry, man," Bigtime faked his sincerity, "I didn't see you there. I hope you don't get upset at me and find me in ;Mechcity to settle things."
With that, a sign post was put up in his spot as he teleported away. Alpha shot a glance up at the Webmaster statue, noticing the Drain Edge he saw was gone. He quickly began scuttling around the statue, trying to see where the weapon add-on landed.
Flamegirl noticed Alpha's rushed actions and ran up to him. "What happened? You okay, Alpha?"
Alpha tried desperately to not scream in frustration as he made more passes around the statue. "It was there, I saw it, it was up there!"
As Alpha continued to scuttle around, five avatars walked away from the area, one unaware of the Drain Edge that hung on the statue now rested on her jetpack.
Username: BellesRinging
Class: Spellcaster
Power: Healing
BellesRinging hopped along, her eyes shut as her ornate white robe denoting her white mage status moved with her as she went up and down.
Username: Scootandloot
Class: Mechanical
Power: Flight
Scootandloot continued walking, but kept her jetpack warmed up and ready for flight. Her body seemed half-organic, half-robotic, giving a Terminator vibe.
Username: Bloomdoom
Class: Fighter
Power: Karate
Bloomdoom pulled out a long strip of blue from her martial arts uniform and wrapped it around her head, wanting to look as intimidating as possible.
Username: BadSeed
Class: Fighter
Power: Brawler
BadSeed already looked intimidating, resembling a 1980s road warrior. Faded jeans for her legs, leather jacket zipped up on her chest, makeshift football shoulder pads made from steel plates and hubcaps on her shoulders.
Username: MashMaster
Class: Swordsman
Power: Energy Blast
"This game is WAY better than anything else I've played," MashMaster happily bounced along; his green hat and green outfit resembling closely to another iconic video game character. "Mom told me that this game is too violent for me, but I don't see it."
Bloomdoom gave a quick readjustment to her blue martial arts headband, "Ya'll think we could take that BigTime fella?"
BadSeed scoffed, "If we's all jump 'em, sure; but I don't think that'll happen." She paused to wipe at her faded jeans and give a pull on her leather jacket.
BellesRinging gripped the Drain Edge from Scootandloot's pack and brought it to her face, "What is this thing, Scootaloo?"
Scootandloot turned to BellesRinging and noticed the item she was holding. "Whoa, where'd you get that?"
"It was hanging off your back," BellesRinging answered, tilting and observing the object.
MashMaster looked at it carefully and held his sword up to it, "Looks like something that can fit on my blade, try and put it on."
BellesRinging held up the Drain Edge and brought it closer and closer to MashMaster's blade before it snapped on. MashMaster went quiet and his body became limp as the virus went through its new host. The virus found no use of this avatar as it couldn't hold and returned to the Drain Edge. The object unattached itself and hit the ground as BellesRinging picked it back up.
"Guess it didn't fit your blade, Mash," BellesRinging said with a little disappointment. "It must be just a worthless piece of junk."
"It does look neat though," BadSeed mentioned, "It has to be worth something. How's about we check the shops and see what we can get for it."
"I don't mind that," Bloomdoom said.
"Eh, if it gets us some extra credits for some awesome weapons or something, I guess we can do it." Scootandloot added.
MashMaster grabbed his head after exiting the daze he went through. "I think I'll get off, my head hurts."
The friends made their farewells with MashMaster and looked to each other with smiles on their faces. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS GAMERS, YAY!"
TOME Short - New Generation
"I'm really glad you came with me into ;Lavendera, its really scary," a nervous girl voiced as a shadowy figure hid behind a pillar.
"It's no problem," a guy spoke back. "Maybe we can see each other more, I'd like to maybe get to know you some more."
The figure tilted its head out, eying the two avatars as they came closer.
Username: Com.E.D.
Class: Swordsman
Power: Misdirection
The female wore the classical comedy mask of theater, hiding her face. Her hair spiraled upwards, resembling chocolate ice cream on a cone, and her schoolgirl uniform easily stopped weeaboos who eyed her bright red stockings, red skirt, and white shirt. Two daggers hung by her side, one with the hilt end looking like a heart, the other dagger with its end like a diamond. Beyond the look, her presence let out out an air of joy and happiness.
Getting close to the pillar, the figure wrapped her arms around the male avatar and placed a shining dagger to his throat, while another poked into his back.
Username: Trag.E.D.
Class:Swordsman
Power: Hoodwink
"Too bad, you won't be knowing my twin for much longer," the tragedy mask wearing avatar threatened. Trag.E.D. looked to be a mirror image of Com.E.D. The only differences being in hairstyle,color of clothing, and how her daggers looked. The brown hair she had fell around her shoulders, her bangs just above her eye level. Her schoolgirl uniform was a dark blue in contrast to Com.E.D.'s red ensemble. One dagger had its end resembling a spade, while the other's end was a club.
"Wait, what's going on?!" the male avatar screeched out as Com.E.D. pulled out a program.
"Now, hold still," Com.E.D. happily encouraged. "This won't hurt you, but it will hurt your bank account."
The focus cut off as it rose to the sky and settled back down to a brawl.
Username: Billy_B.A.
Class: Animalistic
Power: Gun Runner
A group of five avatars surrounded the black snake-skinned warrior as he remained still. His head remained down as he brought up a pistol close to his sleeveless red shirt.
"Nowhere to run, snake man!" An avatar called out as the wind barely made Billy's cargo shorts move. "Your ours, now!"
Billy only gave a smile, revealing his fangs before his reptilian eyes opened as well. "Making a mistake, surrounding a deadly animal. Especially when that animal can do this." With a swing behind him, the pistol fired a bullet, striking an avatar in the head.
The four remaining avatars moved to attack, forcing Billy_B.A. to slide away and pull the shotgun attached to his leg. A few short blasts later and two other avatars were sent careening backwards and to the ground.
"Forget this!" One of the two yelled out, retreating at full speed.
Billy put his shotgun back and whipped his assault rifle from his back, aiming down the sights and sniping the runaway. The final avatar stood in stunned silence as Billy kissed his rifle and put it away.
"You want to see something really cool?" Billy chuckled, holding his hand out to his side. The avatar could only stare as a large shadow towered over him before the focus cut back to the sky again.
In ;Mechcity, Bigtime was performing some shadow boxing in a ring corner as another challenger entered his ring.
Username: Sniperwheel
Class: Mechanical
Power: Arsenal
The light purple robot with blue LED eyes raised his arms up as the crowd roared at his entrance. "Oh, yeah! Bring the noise! Greatest freakin' player in the game has just entered the ring to take out the obnoxious champion!"
Bigtime only smiled as Sniperwheel continued bad mouthing him. He enjoyed making people want him to lose, only to see him come out victorious again and again.
The ring bell went off as the battlegrid locked in, prompting Sniperwheel to rocket forward with a fist out. Bigtime only got down on a knee and let Sniperwheel's single wheel strike his shoulder, but moved with the momentum to cause Sniperwheel's front to hit the ring floor.
Sniperwheel's attempt to recover was cut off as Bigtime stomped on the axle portion of Sniperwheel, making it bend slightly.
Bigtime moved away as Sniperwheel tried his hardest to get back up from the ground, "What's wrong? Can't make your tough words meet your actions?"
"Oh yeah? You gonna act like that?!" Sniperwheel frustratingly yelled before a large cannon stretched out from his chest. "Eat some o' this, ya slime!"
Bigtime only grinned as he watched the cannon charge and fire.
In a large explosion, the dust settled to see Bigtime crumpled on the ground, the crowd immediately cheering at the sight. Sniperwheel's arms rose up as he turned to the crowd. "That's right, I did it! Not any a this-"
"BA-BOOM!" Bigtime yelled out as his fist collided with the back of Sniperwheel, a large explosion of its own sending Sniperwheel flying into the battlegrid wall and sliding down before the LOSE! graphic came up.
"And another victim of Bigtime's Stunt Double technique!" Mouthofthesouth yelled out over the intercom of the faux arena as multiple avatars booed angrily at what had happened. "They don't call Bigtime the 'Master of Deception' for nothing, folks! Check off another win for Bigtime as he prepares for another opponent!"
Bigtime's attention went to a personal message that appeared before him, reading the message his already large smile went wider. "South!" Bigtime yelled, "I'm not taking any other challengers, a new business opportunity has come up for me."
***
Back in ;Lavendera, Com.E.D. and Trag.E.D. were reading their own messages.
"Aww, but I really wanted to get more money out of these hapless suckers!" Com.E.D. moaned.
"Stuff it," Trag.E.D. snipped. "With this, we'll be set for life."
***
Billy_B.A. only nodded from his seated position. "Well, my friend, I've got to go." Getting up and stretching for a bit he looked around and gave a laugh. "I keep forgetting that OMEGA can do this much destruction."
Billy began moving from the crater left behind by the OMEGA-RPG and cracked his knuckles. "It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum. Sadly, TOME don't have any gum."
***
Mentalmusic only rocked back and forth from his seated position as his fellow workers came into ;Hellscape. "Here we all are. The actor, the theatrical, the gunslinger, and the music man."
"Wait, who's the actor?" Bigtime said with minor confusion.
"Thank you for coming so quickly," the dark fog of ;Hellscape interrupted. "I'm sure that I wasn't interfering with any of your own personal work?"
"Rather standard day, to be honest," Billy_B.A.shrugged.
"It was fun!" Com.E.D. chuckled.
"It was a waste of time, before we got your message," Trag.E.D. contested.
Bigtime put a mechanical hand to his chin, "What's the word?"
The black fog only hovered as it slowly disapparated again, showing the darkened form resembling Webmaster again. "The Drain Edge has been confirmed to be out of the hands of its previous owner. I'm sending programs to each of you that should aid in finding the right one. Each Drain Edge is set with a specific programmed code, this program will alert you when one is close by."
The programs were sent to each of the hackers with a wave of the doppelganger's hand, "When you have the right Drain Edge, you will bring it to me."
Each hacker nodded as the fog thickened yet again. "Go now, every day that the Forbidden Power remains out of my hands, the more I will be forced to resist the urge to come up from this place and find it myself." Two fiery red eyes lit up from behind the wall of fog. "I will not be pleased if such a thing were to occur."
MentalMusic stood up and gave a bow, "As you wish, our master. We will no longer remain in your august presence until the prize is found for your glory."
"Yeah, go team go!" Com.E.D. cheered as Trag.E.D groaned.
The hackers all teleported away, leaving the dark figure behind the CODECRUNCHR.ORG sign to begin pondering on his return back into the world he left behind.
