Summary
The year is 2083. The massive company Techna Unlimited has turned the entire world into a huge virtual interface. How cool would it be to play a video game in real life? Own a HoverBoard, or a NaviGear? The worlds politics have changed as well. Free Healthcare, education, no war, a great economy in every single country. Techna Unlimited has made it all true, but the best thing they have made is KyberNet. It's the most versatile, realistic, in-depth, and popular video game in history, with over 4 billion players. Enter Kyle, an upcoming hotshot KyberNet battler, who strives to be the best. But when a rival appears and reveals shocking secrets about the game that has taken the world by storm, will Kyle fight for the truth? Will he win? Find out in KyberNet Online!
KyberNet Online!
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
The year is 2083. The massive company Techna Unlimited has turned the entire world into a huge virtual interface. How cool would it be to play a video game in real life? Own a HoverBoard, or a NaviGear? The worlds politics have changed as well. Free Healthcare, education, no war, a great economy in every single country. Techna Unlimited has made it all true, but the best thing they have made is KyberNet. It's the most versatile, realistic, in-depth, and popular video game in history, with over 4 billion players. Enter Kyle, an upcoming hotshot KyberNet battler, who strives to be the best. But when a rival appears and reveals shocking secrets about the game that has taken the world by storm, will Kyle fight for the truth? Will he win? Find out in KyberNet Online!
KyberNet Online!
Chapter One
The sunlight shone on my face and woke me up. I always close the curtains at night before I go to bed, but somehow, they always blow open in the morning to annoy me. I was about to turn the other way and ignore it, but then my alarm clock started ringing. Stupid, stupid.
“Alright, you convinced me! I’ll wake up now!” I said, as I got up and put my hands in the air. I shuffled to my closet and got dressed. Always my T-shirt and jeans, with a black hoodie.
I went to the bathroom and washed my face with ice cold water. That really woke me up. I brushed my brown hair out of my eyes and brushed my teeth. I went back to my bedroom, and checked my NaviGear. It’s sorta like an electronic watch... the display is 4D micro-sensors. I had a few new messages from some friends. Nothing important. I heard my family downstairs, so I figured I would join them.
I walked down the stairs and smelled bacon frying on the stove. My dad was reading a newspaper and my mom was cooking. Yuki looked at me and smirked.
“You’re late... AGAIN...” she said, and gave me a devious grin.
“I’m in 9th grade, and you’re starting middle school. Don’t you think it’s kinda childish to count stuff like this still?” I asked, exasperated. Yuki just smiled and her light brown hair bounced. She looked really childish, but I guess in a cute way. Dad freaked out when she had a male friend over for a sleepover, even though she invited other people too, ones that were girls.
“Hey, stop arguing, family breakfast!” My mom came over and gave us all bacon and eggs. Such a typical family, ha. I finished eating and grabbed my backpack.
I linked my HoverBoard and hopped on. One old guy gave me a “Stupid kids” look as I zipped past him. Mellodia City was a really nice place. Green trees on the side of the road, sparkling stream, blue sky, a nice neighborhood of white houses... I’ve loved it ever since I was a little kid.
The implanted contacts in my eyes glowed for a moment, and then I saw everything.
You see, KyberNet, or just KN for short, is a Reality Online Game. It was made possible because of the new electronics company,Techna Unlimited. They are a REALLY important company. All of their executives are in the government, and they give out a lot of free stuff. Like implanted contacts and brain chips. It’s sorta like having a computer in your head, and basically everyone gets them nowadays, for free. Same with all the healthcare and education sponsored by Techna Unlimited, it’s all free.
Think of it this way. Most video games have an interface that are on a screen right? KyberNet Online’s interface is the real world. It’s still there, it's just that when a Link Visor is activated (my contact is my Link Visor), a virtual hologram appears. They aren’t actually there, but it’s cool because they're visible in real life, even when walking and moving. Basically, KyberNet turns real life into a video game!
That’s the premise of KyberNet battles. When you activate your contacts with NaviGear, and initiate a battle, your person in the virtual world gets armor. It’s like an RPG, except the actual fighting happens in real life. Gaming nerds can’t really compete anymore, because how strong you actually are and your physical skills matter a lot. Of course, every time you win, you get EXP, and when you level up, your KyberNet stats go up, and even if you were a fat chubby middle-aged guy named Bob, you could theoretically win if you were level 98 and your opponent was level 4, even if they were bodybuilder. My thought process was interrupted as one of my alerts sounded.
“[School starts at 8:00 am. Current time: 7:55]” my NaviGear spoke, and I panicked.
“Shoot! I can’t miss the first day of class!” I hastily shouted
I made it to my new High School, just barely on time. I got my schedule by email a few weeks ago, so I knew where my first class was. I arrived with a bunch of other guys, probably slackers like me. Not surprisingly, there were a lot.
I shuffled into my class, and took a seat behind a random guy. The teacher started talking. She had a very... husky voice for a woman, also, she was middle-aged, wore glasses, and looked like a Rhino.
“I’m glad most of you could make it on time. However, cutting by with just being barely on time is not acceptable.” She leered at a couple of latecomers (me included) and I felt a little piece of myself shrivel up and die.
“My name is Ms. Rindle, and I would like to welcome you too Blackwood High School, and I hope we become friends.” Then she beamed at those popular, sucky-uppy people, and they beamed their innocent goody-goody smiles back.
“Pfft, more like Ms. Rhino,” an orange-haired guy next to me remarked under his breath. I chuckled. Rhino looks our way for a second, but didn’t do anything.
“She does look remarkably like a Rhino,” I muttered to him. He smiled. “Yes. Yes, she does.”
A few other guys started laughing, and Ms. Rindle looked our way again.
“*Cough, now I’ll be taking you on a tour of the school. Please follow me.” We all filed in a line and followed her as she showed us the library, gym, pool, lounge, and cafeteria. I caught that orange-haired guys eyes, and he looked at me. He decided to walk over.
“Hey, I’m Tristan. What’s your name?” He greeted me.
“Oh, um... I’m Kyle. Nice to meet you,” I replied.
I heard Rhino muttering in the front.
“And THIS is the KyberNet Arena for our school,” she said. Suddenly I paid attention.
“Seriously? Our school has an Arena for that?” I asked.
She looked happy for a moment that a slacker like me was interested, but it toned down when she realized it was about a video game.
“Yes,” she sighed. “It’s so popular, we had to put one in.” I fist bumped Tristan.
“In fact, I was thinking of having two volunteers do a match,” she added in.
Wow, this was too good to be true. It’s like a scene out of an anime or something...
“I volunteer!” I shouted, and raised my hand as high as I could.
Rhino crossed her arms, and smiled. “I figured you’d say that. Anyone else?” she asked the others.
“I volunteer,” a guy in the back said. Students parted away for him, and he walked up. He had blue hair, with a tattoo crossing his left eye, and he wore a black sweatshirt and jeans. He had a NaviGear on his right wrist, and a chain on his left.
“I’m Blake. Nice to meet you,” he smirked confidently.
“Nice to meet you too, I’m Kyle,” I replied. I was getting excited. Adrenaline pumped into me. I could tell he was good. It was going to be a 5 minute timed battle with no other restrictions. Just my type of fight.
I walked to one side of the Arena. It was a circular field, about 50 feet long. Screens were on both sides of it, with seats. It was perfect for KyberNet battles. I held up my NaviGear.
“Link Visor activate!” we shouted simultaneously. My contacts activated, and suddenly the world turned into a virtual field. I could see all the other kids, with activated Visors.
“KyberNet, Initiate!” Aster and I shouted, and our armor appeared.
My armor was white, with gold linings. I had wings on the back, golden feathers streaking out, with a thunderbolt pattern leading down the side. A sword was strapped to my side. It’s funny, you know? This armor is a part of me almost. It’s called Enforcer, and in my opinion, it’s the coolest armor ever.
“Nice,” Blake commented. Then I looked at him. His armor was a sort of black, evil overlord type. He had a devilish looking helmet covering his face, and glowing silver-white runes covering his entire body. He looked amazing.
“Let’s start,” I said. He nodded.
I charged at him, breaking the wind with my body. My sword slashed at him, and he dodged it, kicking my feet from under me. The system helped me regain balance with my wings, and I parried his next attack and tackled into him. We kept trading blows and attacking each other, but we got nowhere. It looked like we’ll have to use special attacks.
“Enforcer, activate!” I shouted, and the system recognized my voice command. My armor got bigger. Now, I could use vocal commands to use special attacks.
“Cursius, activate!” Blake used his armor boost, and his armor changed too. This looked like it was getting exciting.
“Aerial Blade!” I shouted. The system made a wind typhoon, with feathers swirling around. I ran at Blake. My blade swung, and it made blue-streaks, shining against the light. Everything moved in slow motion.
The attack sliced into Blake, and his health went down a little. I was about to cheer, but then he attacked too.
“Black Thunder,” he said. He pointed his sword up in the sky, and a black thunderbolt struck him on the spot. I gasped. So did everyone else.
His body crackling with electricity, he tackled me to the ground. Then he raised his sword. Purple and black electricity was covering his entire body. And he swung his sword down.
“Golden Shield!” I said, and a force-field appeared, blocking his attack. Usually, shields can last for a while, but this was close-range. It shattered, but allowed me time to get away. I looked at the display. It was a timed battle. Half a minute left.
“Aurora Force!” I shouted, and a blue-white beam pulsed at Blake. It was a huge and really powerful attack. One of my best.
Blake just waved his hand and my attack disappeared.
“No way!” Tristan said on the sidelines. Even Rhino gasped. He just made that attack disappear by waving his hand.
“Surprised?” He asked, and smiled. I nodded.
“It’s a skill I’ve been working on. It’s actually a special move called Aster Vortex.”
This was amazing. An ability that no one’s heard of before, and I’m battling it!
“Justice Blow!” I said, and my sword glowed and I rushed at him. He managed to block it, but I used an attack with my wings by twisting and bending down, and I managed to hit him.
He pushed me away and raised his sword. He was using a sword move. And from the way he looked at me, it was like it’s his strongest move.
“Ready?” He grimaced.
“You betcha,” I smiled, and raised my sword.
His sword glowed purple for a moment.
“Dark Wolf Arc!” He shouted.
“White Lightning Flash!” I said, and my entire body flashed white. We charged at each other, energy flying both directions. I jumped up, and so did he. I raised my sword and swung, and they were about to collide.
Suddenly, the timer beeped and we ran out of time. I took a knee, I was tired.
Blake held out his hand.
“Good game,” he smirked. “But you could improve.”
I smiled back.
“We’ll see,” and I shook his hand. It was a tie, but everyone clapped. Honestly, this was a fun battle. I walked back, and everyone continued the tour of the school.
“Awesome battle!” Tristan ran up to me. I high-fived him.
“So, you play KyberNet?” He asked. I nodded.
“Level 86. My armor’s named Enforcer.” I replied.
“Yours is named Enforcer? Mine’s named Blazefury,” he said.
“We gotta hang out,” I said.
“It’s a cool name. Level 86 is pretty good, huh? That’s only 5 levels higher than me,” he continued.
“Really? But... getting above 70 is pretty hard,” I said. He nodded, then shrugged.
“I’ve heard levels can get up to like 100 or so,” he said, and it immediately reminded me of this morning.
“Lemme tell you something. Did you look at Blake’s level?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“No, I didn’t see either of yours. The battle was too fast in the beginning, and in the end, too many cool moves to bother looking at numbers.”
“Blake’s level was 136,” I said.
“Whoa! No way! For real?” he shook his head. “That’s crazy...”
“I know, right? Someone beat the level 100 cap. I heard rumors, but..”
He looked at me.
“Hey, wanna go looking for battles tonight?” He asked. My ears perked at the idea.
“Sure. Let’s hang out after school!”
“Alright, you convinced me! I’ll wake up now!” I said, as I got up and put my hands in the air. I shuffled to my closet and got dressed. Always my T-shirt and jeans, with a black hoodie.
I went to the bathroom and washed my face with ice cold water. That really woke me up. I brushed my brown hair out of my eyes and brushed my teeth. I went back to my bedroom, and checked my NaviGear. It’s sorta like an electronic watch... the display is 4D micro-sensors. I had a few new messages from some friends. Nothing important. I heard my family downstairs, so I figured I would join them.
I walked down the stairs and smelled bacon frying on the stove. My dad was reading a newspaper and my mom was cooking. Yuki looked at me and smirked.
“You’re late... AGAIN...” she said, and gave me a devious grin.
“I’m in 9th grade, and you’re starting middle school. Don’t you think it’s kinda childish to count stuff like this still?” I asked, exasperated. Yuki just smiled and her light brown hair bounced. She looked really childish, but I guess in a cute way. Dad freaked out when she had a male friend over for a sleepover, even though she invited other people too, ones that were girls.
“Hey, stop arguing, family breakfast!” My mom came over and gave us all bacon and eggs. Such a typical family, ha. I finished eating and grabbed my backpack.
I linked my HoverBoard and hopped on. One old guy gave me a “Stupid kids” look as I zipped past him. Mellodia City was a really nice place. Green trees on the side of the road, sparkling stream, blue sky, a nice neighborhood of white houses... I’ve loved it ever since I was a little kid.
The implanted contacts in my eyes glowed for a moment, and then I saw everything.
You see, KyberNet, or just KN for short, is a Reality Online Game. It was made possible because of the new electronics company,Techna Unlimited. They are a REALLY important company. All of their executives are in the government, and they give out a lot of free stuff. Like implanted contacts and brain chips. It’s sorta like having a computer in your head, and basically everyone gets them nowadays, for free. Same with all the healthcare and education sponsored by Techna Unlimited, it’s all free.
Think of it this way. Most video games have an interface that are on a screen right? KyberNet Online’s interface is the real world. It’s still there, it's just that when a Link Visor is activated (my contact is my Link Visor), a virtual hologram appears. They aren’t actually there, but it’s cool because they're visible in real life, even when walking and moving. Basically, KyberNet turns real life into a video game!
That’s the premise of KyberNet battles. When you activate your contacts with NaviGear, and initiate a battle, your person in the virtual world gets armor. It’s like an RPG, except the actual fighting happens in real life. Gaming nerds can’t really compete anymore, because how strong you actually are and your physical skills matter a lot. Of course, every time you win, you get EXP, and when you level up, your KyberNet stats go up, and even if you were a fat chubby middle-aged guy named Bob, you could theoretically win if you were level 98 and your opponent was level 4, even if they were bodybuilder. My thought process was interrupted as one of my alerts sounded.
“[School starts at 8:00 am. Current time: 7:55]” my NaviGear spoke, and I panicked.
“Shoot! I can’t miss the first day of class!” I hastily shouted
I made it to my new High School, just barely on time. I got my schedule by email a few weeks ago, so I knew where my first class was. I arrived with a bunch of other guys, probably slackers like me. Not surprisingly, there were a lot.
I shuffled into my class, and took a seat behind a random guy. The teacher started talking. She had a very... husky voice for a woman, also, she was middle-aged, wore glasses, and looked like a Rhino.
“I’m glad most of you could make it on time. However, cutting by with just being barely on time is not acceptable.” She leered at a couple of latecomers (me included) and I felt a little piece of myself shrivel up and die.
“My name is Ms. Rindle, and I would like to welcome you too Blackwood High School, and I hope we become friends.” Then she beamed at those popular, sucky-uppy people, and they beamed their innocent goody-goody smiles back.
“Pfft, more like Ms. Rhino,” an orange-haired guy next to me remarked under his breath. I chuckled. Rhino looks our way for a second, but didn’t do anything.
“She does look remarkably like a Rhino,” I muttered to him. He smiled. “Yes. Yes, she does.”
A few other guys started laughing, and Ms. Rindle looked our way again.
“*Cough, now I’ll be taking you on a tour of the school. Please follow me.” We all filed in a line and followed her as she showed us the library, gym, pool, lounge, and cafeteria. I caught that orange-haired guys eyes, and he looked at me. He decided to walk over.
“Hey, I’m Tristan. What’s your name?” He greeted me.
“Oh, um... I’m Kyle. Nice to meet you,” I replied.
I heard Rhino muttering in the front.
“And THIS is the KyberNet Arena for our school,” she said. Suddenly I paid attention.
“Seriously? Our school has an Arena for that?” I asked.
She looked happy for a moment that a slacker like me was interested, but it toned down when she realized it was about a video game.
“Yes,” she sighed. “It’s so popular, we had to put one in.” I fist bumped Tristan.
“In fact, I was thinking of having two volunteers do a match,” she added in.
Wow, this was too good to be true. It’s like a scene out of an anime or something...
“I volunteer!” I shouted, and raised my hand as high as I could.
Rhino crossed her arms, and smiled. “I figured you’d say that. Anyone else?” she asked the others.
“I volunteer,” a guy in the back said. Students parted away for him, and he walked up. He had blue hair, with a tattoo crossing his left eye, and he wore a black sweatshirt and jeans. He had a NaviGear on his right wrist, and a chain on his left.
“I’m Blake. Nice to meet you,” he smirked confidently.
“Nice to meet you too, I’m Kyle,” I replied. I was getting excited. Adrenaline pumped into me. I could tell he was good. It was going to be a 5 minute timed battle with no other restrictions. Just my type of fight.
I walked to one side of the Arena. It was a circular field, about 50 feet long. Screens were on both sides of it, with seats. It was perfect for KyberNet battles. I held up my NaviGear.
“Link Visor activate!” we shouted simultaneously. My contacts activated, and suddenly the world turned into a virtual field. I could see all the other kids, with activated Visors.
“KyberNet, Initiate!” Aster and I shouted, and our armor appeared.
My armor was white, with gold linings. I had wings on the back, golden feathers streaking out, with a thunderbolt pattern leading down the side. A sword was strapped to my side. It’s funny, you know? This armor is a part of me almost. It’s called Enforcer, and in my opinion, it’s the coolest armor ever.
“Nice,” Blake commented. Then I looked at him. His armor was a sort of black, evil overlord type. He had a devilish looking helmet covering his face, and glowing silver-white runes covering his entire body. He looked amazing.
“Let’s start,” I said. He nodded.
I charged at him, breaking the wind with my body. My sword slashed at him, and he dodged it, kicking my feet from under me. The system helped me regain balance with my wings, and I parried his next attack and tackled into him. We kept trading blows and attacking each other, but we got nowhere. It looked like we’ll have to use special attacks.
“Enforcer, activate!” I shouted, and the system recognized my voice command. My armor got bigger. Now, I could use vocal commands to use special attacks.
“Cursius, activate!” Blake used his armor boost, and his armor changed too. This looked like it was getting exciting.
“Aerial Blade!” I shouted. The system made a wind typhoon, with feathers swirling around. I ran at Blake. My blade swung, and it made blue-streaks, shining against the light. Everything moved in slow motion.
The attack sliced into Blake, and his health went down a little. I was about to cheer, but then he attacked too.
“Black Thunder,” he said. He pointed his sword up in the sky, and a black thunderbolt struck him on the spot. I gasped. So did everyone else.
His body crackling with electricity, he tackled me to the ground. Then he raised his sword. Purple and black electricity was covering his entire body. And he swung his sword down.
“Golden Shield!” I said, and a force-field appeared, blocking his attack. Usually, shields can last for a while, but this was close-range. It shattered, but allowed me time to get away. I looked at the display. It was a timed battle. Half a minute left.
“Aurora Force!” I shouted, and a blue-white beam pulsed at Blake. It was a huge and really powerful attack. One of my best.
Blake just waved his hand and my attack disappeared.
“No way!” Tristan said on the sidelines. Even Rhino gasped. He just made that attack disappear by waving his hand.
“Surprised?” He asked, and smiled. I nodded.
“It’s a skill I’ve been working on. It’s actually a special move called Aster Vortex.”
This was amazing. An ability that no one’s heard of before, and I’m battling it!
“Justice Blow!” I said, and my sword glowed and I rushed at him. He managed to block it, but I used an attack with my wings by twisting and bending down, and I managed to hit him.
He pushed me away and raised his sword. He was using a sword move. And from the way he looked at me, it was like it’s his strongest move.
“Ready?” He grimaced.
“You betcha,” I smiled, and raised my sword.
His sword glowed purple for a moment.
“Dark Wolf Arc!” He shouted.
“White Lightning Flash!” I said, and my entire body flashed white. We charged at each other, energy flying both directions. I jumped up, and so did he. I raised my sword and swung, and they were about to collide.
Suddenly, the timer beeped and we ran out of time. I took a knee, I was tired.
Blake held out his hand.
“Good game,” he smirked. “But you could improve.”
I smiled back.
“We’ll see,” and I shook his hand. It was a tie, but everyone clapped. Honestly, this was a fun battle. I walked back, and everyone continued the tour of the school.
“Awesome battle!” Tristan ran up to me. I high-fived him.
“So, you play KyberNet?” He asked. I nodded.
“Level 86. My armor’s named Enforcer.” I replied.
“Yours is named Enforcer? Mine’s named Blazefury,” he said.
“We gotta hang out,” I said.
“It’s a cool name. Level 86 is pretty good, huh? That’s only 5 levels higher than me,” he continued.
“Really? But... getting above 70 is pretty hard,” I said. He nodded, then shrugged.
“I’ve heard levels can get up to like 100 or so,” he said, and it immediately reminded me of this morning.
“Lemme tell you something. Did you look at Blake’s level?” I asked.
He shook his head.
“No, I didn’t see either of yours. The battle was too fast in the beginning, and in the end, too many cool moves to bother looking at numbers.”
“Blake’s level was 136,” I said.
“Whoa! No way! For real?” he shook his head. “That’s crazy...”
“I know, right? Someone beat the level 100 cap. I heard rumors, but..”
He looked at me.
“Hey, wanna go looking for battles tonight?” He asked. My ears perked at the idea.
“Sure. Let’s hang out after school!”
Chapter Two
We sat on the rooftop of his house. The sun was setting, and it cast a golden glow over everything. Despite the calmness of it all, it felt like something fun was going to happen.
“Where do you wanna start?” He asked.
“Let’s see... the arena would be a good place to start, or the park...”
“How about the arena?” He asked.
“Sure,” I replied, and we got our hoverboards over there. The wind whipped past us as we rode. Small anti-grav plates attached to the bottom of my HoverBoard glowed, and energy-efficient solar energy plates boosted small air-fans coupled with electric rockets propelled me forward.
The evening looked really well on the houses. White, Blue, Brown, and Brick were the only colors allowed on houses. They were all designed to give maximum aesthetic and calming effects.
One of the doors on a medium-sized white house fizzled. A woman stepped right through it. All doors and windows these days were holograms. The actual physical part of it was an electro-shield. They were all implanted with DNA scanners, computers so fast they could scan trillions of lines of genetic code in half a second. Only authorized DNA could pass, along with inanimate objects, like clothes and bags.
“So, do you have a season pass for group Quests?” he asked me.
“Of course, duh,” I laughed.
Apart from battling player's, you could sign up with a group at the Arena, a huge building with tons different terrains you can fight on. You get a group of four to six, and you activate your Link Visor. Then, with that group, you fight on missions together. It’s really fun, because you can go to the Jungle, Ancient Egypt, Outer Space, the Mafia’s hideout... anything from History to Fantasy to Sci-fi. Not to mention, it was really realistic because you are actually moving and going through stuff. A season pass is about 130 Units, and monthly fees for KyberNet are a little over 10 Units. Since there are four and a half billion people out of ten billion that play KyberNet, Techna Unlimited makes a ridiculous amount of money.
I landed in the parking lot and parked my board next to Tristan’s.
“Hey, got a nice crowd tonight,” he remarked. Every KyberNet Arena is four... no, make that five blocks big. They also have four floors... so hundreds of Quest Games can happen at once.
“Ready to go?” I asked him as we walked into the lobby.
“Yeah”, he replied.
We went to the counter, and we signed up to on an A-ranked Quest with a random group.
“What genre do you want?” the lady asked. I looked at Tristan.
“I haven’t done fantasy in a while,” he answered. I nodded. Fighting dragons and sorcerers seemed fun to me. We got our ticket and we walked to the briefing room. As we sat down, we saw that the other people in our group were already there. Then I looked at my Coordinator.
“Hey, I’m George, and I’m gonna be your Quest Coordinator today!” He said cheerfully. He looked like a typical coordinator, brown shorts, floral shirt, like a Hawaiian tourist or something.
“So, before we begin, let’s introduce ourselves!” He gestured to everyone in our group. We were sitting in a private briefing room, and the seats were arranged in a square and they were basically booths attached to the wall. It looked pretty much like the rooms you go into when Laser Tag existed. Of course, basically every sport and every game was busted after KyberNet came out.
“I’m Kyle,” I said, raising my hand.
“Tristan,” Tristan said, and did the same thing.
“Greg,” replied a goth guy who was really skinny, pale, and hunched over.
“Tyler,” said a tall, blond guy with a red sweatshirt and headphones on his neck.
“Alita.” We all turned around to see who it was.
She had long, light brown hair. She dressed a bit like someone cosplaying, and she had the look for it too. But, she wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Unlike other games, KNO has as much girl player's as guy player's. The ages range from 13 to 45. Just about every young person plays it, and some parents play it too.
“Hey, so, just reminding you guys, you’re doing a medieval fantasy quest, Sword of Legend, your goal is to defeat the boss, and it will take about an hour and a half,” he said really quickly. Then, even more quickly, he said, “This quest is intended for higher-leveled player's, blah blah blah, KyberKorp holds no liability for injuries, blah blah blah, game storyline is fictional, all references to real people or events are coincidental, blah blah blah. I get it, you get it, and we all know it’s a super boring part of my job, but the job pays good so I’m gonna do it anyways.”
I laughed, and so did everyone else including the goth. Only Alita didn’t laugh.
“We finally get a funny coordinator,” Tyler joked. “Most coordinators are boring and nerdy.”
“Agreed,” I replied.
“Hey, what’s that suppose to mean?” George exasperated.
Tristan patted him on the shoulder.
“It means your good at your job. So hurry up and let’s do this!” He said.
George smiled. “Alright, alright! Quest Start!” He opened the door, and we all shuffled through. The moment we stepped in and he closed the door, we were all in our battle armor. I was in my Enforcer. Tristan had a red, cool-looking flame armor, Greg was a Mage, Tyler had silver, also cool looking armor, and Alita had a white rogue armor, separate leggings, a skirt, and a surprisingly large rapier attached to her side (though a rapier is basically a toothpick, so a large rapier is nothing).
“Medieval village, huh?” Tyler asked. I looked around at the surrounding countryside, and looked at the Quest date on my Visor. November 26th, 1456, Sussex, England. Tristan walked over to a virtual NPC.
“The great lord of darkness has come! He shall slay us all!” The NPC woman cried. I smirked.
“Info.” I commanded, and she said the same thing. I shook my head.
“Go over to that blacksmith right there,” Greg pointed. I walked over, passing by some geese and chicken. Virtual children played out in the field, the sunlight shining on us, with a blue sky all around. Hard to believe this was all fake, because it looked so realistic.
“Info.” I commanded.
“I hear he’s dwelling up to the north, massing his army. We went to the Augurer for help, and she’s told us a group of mighty heroes will come and slay the lord of darkness. Are you these heroes?” He asked, and a screen popped up.
[Yes]
[No]
I looked at Tristan, and he shrugged.
I clicked “Yes”, and the NPC man smiled.
“Here’s something I found in the forest. Hope it helps!” I received the item with a popup screen again. I looked around in my inventory.
“So we each get three free potions, huh? One 100%, and two 50% ones...” I said mindlessly as I scrolled down. Tristan and Tyler looked over my shoulder.
“What’d you get from him? A quest item or some useless half-rate sword?” Tyler asked.
I smiled. “A premium.”
Tyler fell back.
“Whoa, for real? I guess these A-ranked quests really do get you good stuff. It’ll probably be hard to complete though...” he said.
“The Seal Key,” I muttered. “Grants access to all hidden boss levels immediately.”
“That’s worth a lot...” Tristan said.
True, it was. However, this was an A-ranked quest. You needed to be level 60 or higher to participate, and if your health dropped to zero, you lose a bunch of stuff. That said, premium items, quest items, and armor/weapons are all the items you get to keep. Stuff like potions disappear after you finish a quest.
I walked up to the church. It was the Augurer’s place.
“Let’s collect info first before we do anything rash, okay?” Greg asked. I nodded.
I walked up the stairs, and a nun was meditating on a small cushion with crosses around her.
“One of three, three of four, then the second will lead the door,” she chanted after we talked to her. That was probably really important, but we needed more info. All the others scratched their heads. We already talked to all the NPCs, and this was the last place left. Unless... I looked at the wall.
A bunch of panels separated the the walls from each other, and each had a white cross on it. Except... one of the panels had a blue cross.
“Info.” I commanded.
[Open door?]
[Yes]
[No]
I clicked Yes, and the panels parted to reveal a secret room. Tristan patted me on the back.
“Nice, man,” he congratulated me.
We walked into the room, and there was a man sitting in the center. I talked to him, and he gave another riddle.
“In the mountains binds the curse, to see the truth, you must reverse,” he muttered.
I scratched my head.
“It makes no sense, but we might as well go north to the mountains and battle the boss,” Greg said. We agreed. No point in just standing here, we probably got all the hints we were going to get. We walked out of the church and headed to the forest.
It only had one path to go on, and we went that way. The trees looked frighteningly realistic. Birds chirped outside, and an artificial breeze blew at me.
“It’s been 15 minutes...” Tristan muttered.
“I thought this was an A-Rank quest? How come there are no monsters?” Greg asked.
I threw my hands up. “No idea, maybe they wanna build up suspense?” I asked.
“But it’s so boring, just walking around in this maze, and we should--” A loud rustling cut Tyler off.
All of us quickly made a circle to cover each other’s backs. We tensed up, weapons ready. Then, a bunch of green, gelatinous blobs appeared out of the bushes.
“12 slimes...” Alita muttered. That was the first time she had talked since saying her name.
“I got this!” Tristan shouted. He jumped up in the air, and his flame armor glowed.
“Blazefury, activate! Red Fire Storm!” His armor changed modes, and he put his hand to the ground. Fire erupted everywhere and he KOed all twelve slimes in one hit.
Tyler and Greg started clapping. I shot them a look.
“They were all level one, don’t get ahead of yourself,” I reminded him.
Tristan looked at me. “Sure, sure. Now let’s go up some more,” he said. He barely finished before I saw a shadow move past in the trees.
“Get down, ambush!” Tyler shouted. Greg immediately put up a force shield. An Black Assassin popped out, and shattered the force field with one slash of the dagger.
“What? One hit? That’s boss level power!” Tristan shouted. I looked at the Assassin. He had a skull mask, knives strapped to his chest and legs, and looked like a macabre, typical monster you’d fight. Except his level was 57. That wouldn’t be a problem, but fifteen more surrounded us in the trees.
“Go all out!” Greg shouted, and he shot lightning, and managed to scorch two of them. One of the Assassins slashed at me from behind. I barely managed to dodge it, and I twisted back and hit him too. Assassins have an ability that’s really annoying. If they get behind you and you don’t notice them, they can OHKO, no matter what your stats are. Usually, it’s not a problem, unless your facing Red Assassins. Swift Kill, which is what it’s called, is much more dangerous than any other attack from normal monsters.
I slashed at one attacking Greg, and he blasted one that was hiding behind me. I shouted at the others to get going, but they didn’t need it.
Tyler picked up his sword and slashed one of them with it. It was a slow attack that took a lot of energy, but he managed to OHKO it. Tristan used his Red Fire Storm again, and he damaged all them at once, but they weren’t as weak as slimes, they only lost a little health.
“I can do this,” I whispered to myself. I clicked my release button.
“Enforcer! Justice Blow!” The system heard my command, and immediately, I shifted my legs and ran towards the Assassins, all standing in a line. I raked my sword on their chests.
“Finish it, guys!” I shouted.
“Roger that!” Greg shouted. He raised a skinny hand, and shouted, “Dark Shock!” A small lightning bolt hit all the Assassins, and they all got KOed.
“Whooo, nice!” Tyler high fived Tristan.
“Heh, I did all the work,” I joked.
“What? No, Greg finished them!” Tristan protested.
“It’s called teamwork, morons,” Tyler added.
“Yeah, teamwork,” Greg finished. I smiled. Then, I looked around.
“Hey, where’s Alita?” I asked.
“Behind you.” I turned around, and there was a Red Assassin right behind me. His dagger glowed. He was going to Swift Kill.
“Where do you wanna start?” He asked.
“Let’s see... the arena would be a good place to start, or the park...”
“How about the arena?” He asked.
“Sure,” I replied, and we got our hoverboards over there. The wind whipped past us as we rode. Small anti-grav plates attached to the bottom of my HoverBoard glowed, and energy-efficient solar energy plates boosted small air-fans coupled with electric rockets propelled me forward.
The evening looked really well on the houses. White, Blue, Brown, and Brick were the only colors allowed on houses. They were all designed to give maximum aesthetic and calming effects.
One of the doors on a medium-sized white house fizzled. A woman stepped right through it. All doors and windows these days were holograms. The actual physical part of it was an electro-shield. They were all implanted with DNA scanners, computers so fast they could scan trillions of lines of genetic code in half a second. Only authorized DNA could pass, along with inanimate objects, like clothes and bags.
“So, do you have a season pass for group Quests?” he asked me.
“Of course, duh,” I laughed.
Apart from battling player's, you could sign up with a group at the Arena, a huge building with tons different terrains you can fight on. You get a group of four to six, and you activate your Link Visor. Then, with that group, you fight on missions together. It’s really fun, because you can go to the Jungle, Ancient Egypt, Outer Space, the Mafia’s hideout... anything from History to Fantasy to Sci-fi. Not to mention, it was really realistic because you are actually moving and going through stuff. A season pass is about 130 Units, and monthly fees for KyberNet are a little over 10 Units. Since there are four and a half billion people out of ten billion that play KyberNet, Techna Unlimited makes a ridiculous amount of money.
I landed in the parking lot and parked my board next to Tristan’s.
“Hey, got a nice crowd tonight,” he remarked. Every KyberNet Arena is four... no, make that five blocks big. They also have four floors... so hundreds of Quest Games can happen at once.
“Ready to go?” I asked him as we walked into the lobby.
“Yeah”, he replied.
We went to the counter, and we signed up to on an A-ranked Quest with a random group.
“What genre do you want?” the lady asked. I looked at Tristan.
“I haven’t done fantasy in a while,” he answered. I nodded. Fighting dragons and sorcerers seemed fun to me. We got our ticket and we walked to the briefing room. As we sat down, we saw that the other people in our group were already there. Then I looked at my Coordinator.
“Hey, I’m George, and I’m gonna be your Quest Coordinator today!” He said cheerfully. He looked like a typical coordinator, brown shorts, floral shirt, like a Hawaiian tourist or something.
“So, before we begin, let’s introduce ourselves!” He gestured to everyone in our group. We were sitting in a private briefing room, and the seats were arranged in a square and they were basically booths attached to the wall. It looked pretty much like the rooms you go into when Laser Tag existed. Of course, basically every sport and every game was busted after KyberNet came out.
“I’m Kyle,” I said, raising my hand.
“Tristan,” Tristan said, and did the same thing.
“Greg,” replied a goth guy who was really skinny, pale, and hunched over.
“Tyler,” said a tall, blond guy with a red sweatshirt and headphones on his neck.
“Alita.” We all turned around to see who it was.
She had long, light brown hair. She dressed a bit like someone cosplaying, and she had the look for it too. But, she wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Unlike other games, KNO has as much girl player's as guy player's. The ages range from 13 to 45. Just about every young person plays it, and some parents play it too.
“Hey, so, just reminding you guys, you’re doing a medieval fantasy quest, Sword of Legend, your goal is to defeat the boss, and it will take about an hour and a half,” he said really quickly. Then, even more quickly, he said, “This quest is intended for higher-leveled player's, blah blah blah, KyberKorp holds no liability for injuries, blah blah blah, game storyline is fictional, all references to real people or events are coincidental, blah blah blah. I get it, you get it, and we all know it’s a super boring part of my job, but the job pays good so I’m gonna do it anyways.”
I laughed, and so did everyone else including the goth. Only Alita didn’t laugh.
“We finally get a funny coordinator,” Tyler joked. “Most coordinators are boring and nerdy.”
“Agreed,” I replied.
“Hey, what’s that suppose to mean?” George exasperated.
Tristan patted him on the shoulder.
“It means your good at your job. So hurry up and let’s do this!” He said.
George smiled. “Alright, alright! Quest Start!” He opened the door, and we all shuffled through. The moment we stepped in and he closed the door, we were all in our battle armor. I was in my Enforcer. Tristan had a red, cool-looking flame armor, Greg was a Mage, Tyler had silver, also cool looking armor, and Alita had a white rogue armor, separate leggings, a skirt, and a surprisingly large rapier attached to her side (though a rapier is basically a toothpick, so a large rapier is nothing).
“Medieval village, huh?” Tyler asked. I looked around at the surrounding countryside, and looked at the Quest date on my Visor. November 26th, 1456, Sussex, England. Tristan walked over to a virtual NPC.
“The great lord of darkness has come! He shall slay us all!” The NPC woman cried. I smirked.
“Info.” I commanded, and she said the same thing. I shook my head.
“Go over to that blacksmith right there,” Greg pointed. I walked over, passing by some geese and chicken. Virtual children played out in the field, the sunlight shining on us, with a blue sky all around. Hard to believe this was all fake, because it looked so realistic.
“Info.” I commanded.
“I hear he’s dwelling up to the north, massing his army. We went to the Augurer for help, and she’s told us a group of mighty heroes will come and slay the lord of darkness. Are you these heroes?” He asked, and a screen popped up.
[Yes]
[No]
I looked at Tristan, and he shrugged.
I clicked “Yes”, and the NPC man smiled.
“Here’s something I found in the forest. Hope it helps!” I received the item with a popup screen again. I looked around in my inventory.
“So we each get three free potions, huh? One 100%, and two 50% ones...” I said mindlessly as I scrolled down. Tristan and Tyler looked over my shoulder.
“What’d you get from him? A quest item or some useless half-rate sword?” Tyler asked.
I smiled. “A premium.”
Tyler fell back.
“Whoa, for real? I guess these A-ranked quests really do get you good stuff. It’ll probably be hard to complete though...” he said.
“The Seal Key,” I muttered. “Grants access to all hidden boss levels immediately.”
“That’s worth a lot...” Tristan said.
True, it was. However, this was an A-ranked quest. You needed to be level 60 or higher to participate, and if your health dropped to zero, you lose a bunch of stuff. That said, premium items, quest items, and armor/weapons are all the items you get to keep. Stuff like potions disappear after you finish a quest.
I walked up to the church. It was the Augurer’s place.
“Let’s collect info first before we do anything rash, okay?” Greg asked. I nodded.
I walked up the stairs, and a nun was meditating on a small cushion with crosses around her.
“One of three, three of four, then the second will lead the door,” she chanted after we talked to her. That was probably really important, but we needed more info. All the others scratched their heads. We already talked to all the NPCs, and this was the last place left. Unless... I looked at the wall.
A bunch of panels separated the the walls from each other, and each had a white cross on it. Except... one of the panels had a blue cross.
“Info.” I commanded.
[Open door?]
[Yes]
[No]
I clicked Yes, and the panels parted to reveal a secret room. Tristan patted me on the back.
“Nice, man,” he congratulated me.
We walked into the room, and there was a man sitting in the center. I talked to him, and he gave another riddle.
“In the mountains binds the curse, to see the truth, you must reverse,” he muttered.
I scratched my head.
“It makes no sense, but we might as well go north to the mountains and battle the boss,” Greg said. We agreed. No point in just standing here, we probably got all the hints we were going to get. We walked out of the church and headed to the forest.
It only had one path to go on, and we went that way. The trees looked frighteningly realistic. Birds chirped outside, and an artificial breeze blew at me.
“It’s been 15 minutes...” Tristan muttered.
“I thought this was an A-Rank quest? How come there are no monsters?” Greg asked.
I threw my hands up. “No idea, maybe they wanna build up suspense?” I asked.
“But it’s so boring, just walking around in this maze, and we should--” A loud rustling cut Tyler off.
All of us quickly made a circle to cover each other’s backs. We tensed up, weapons ready. Then, a bunch of green, gelatinous blobs appeared out of the bushes.
“12 slimes...” Alita muttered. That was the first time she had talked since saying her name.
“I got this!” Tristan shouted. He jumped up in the air, and his flame armor glowed.
“Blazefury, activate! Red Fire Storm!” His armor changed modes, and he put his hand to the ground. Fire erupted everywhere and he KOed all twelve slimes in one hit.
Tyler and Greg started clapping. I shot them a look.
“They were all level one, don’t get ahead of yourself,” I reminded him.
Tristan looked at me. “Sure, sure. Now let’s go up some more,” he said. He barely finished before I saw a shadow move past in the trees.
“Get down, ambush!” Tyler shouted. Greg immediately put up a force shield. An Black Assassin popped out, and shattered the force field with one slash of the dagger.
“What? One hit? That’s boss level power!” Tristan shouted. I looked at the Assassin. He had a skull mask, knives strapped to his chest and legs, and looked like a macabre, typical monster you’d fight. Except his level was 57. That wouldn’t be a problem, but fifteen more surrounded us in the trees.
“Go all out!” Greg shouted, and he shot lightning, and managed to scorch two of them. One of the Assassins slashed at me from behind. I barely managed to dodge it, and I twisted back and hit him too. Assassins have an ability that’s really annoying. If they get behind you and you don’t notice them, they can OHKO, no matter what your stats are. Usually, it’s not a problem, unless your facing Red Assassins. Swift Kill, which is what it’s called, is much more dangerous than any other attack from normal monsters.
I slashed at one attacking Greg, and he blasted one that was hiding behind me. I shouted at the others to get going, but they didn’t need it.
Tyler picked up his sword and slashed one of them with it. It was a slow attack that took a lot of energy, but he managed to OHKO it. Tristan used his Red Fire Storm again, and he damaged all them at once, but they weren’t as weak as slimes, they only lost a little health.
“I can do this,” I whispered to myself. I clicked my release button.
“Enforcer! Justice Blow!” The system heard my command, and immediately, I shifted my legs and ran towards the Assassins, all standing in a line. I raked my sword on their chests.
“Finish it, guys!” I shouted.
“Roger that!” Greg shouted. He raised a skinny hand, and shouted, “Dark Shock!” A small lightning bolt hit all the Assassins, and they all got KOed.
“Whooo, nice!” Tyler high fived Tristan.
“Heh, I did all the work,” I joked.
“What? No, Greg finished them!” Tristan protested.
“It’s called teamwork, morons,” Tyler added.
“Yeah, teamwork,” Greg finished. I smiled. Then, I looked around.
“Hey, where’s Alita?” I asked.
“Behind you.” I turned around, and there was a Red Assassin right behind me. His dagger glowed. He was going to Swift Kill.
Chapter Three
I sat down on the couch, and I looked around the room. Diamond chandelure. Professionally designed table. Des Gucci coat rack. 126” Plasma screen tv. Heck, this couch probably costed more than a small country before Techna Unlimited came along. And that was exactly the problem...
Techna Unlimited.
“Blake, I have high hopes for you,” said a handsome man wearing a tuxedo, hair combed back.
I crossed my arms and relaxed on the couch. The windows had a great view of the city skyline. The lights of all the skyscrapers looked so beautiful, like a sea of stars among the waters of the ocean.
“Really, father? How so?” I asked. He stopped sipping his champagne. Then, he looked at me straight in the eye. I didn’t look away. Neither did he.
“Perfect grades. Good-looking. Talented. Athletic. Smart,” he flattered me while twirling his silver chain around his neck. A habit, I’ve noticed while watching his business meetings, that he does when lying.
“So, you’re proud of me?” I asked. He smiled. Another habit he does when lying.
He replied, “Of course. If you were to take over the company, I would be even more proud. You know how much I love you, son...” he trailed that last sentence.
Do I believe it? He’s raised me from ever since I was little. He’s given me everything I wanted. The best clothes, HoverBoards, rooms, tried to tempt me with girls. He’s spent millions on me, and given me nearly everything he has. Except love.
“I don’t know about that, father...” I began. “I think being a garbage man is a much more fulfilling profession.” I smiled and kicked my feet back.
He gripped his champagne glass. His charm and endeavor disappeared.
“Blake, I am your father. You will do as I say!” he commanded, and I stared back at him, unfazed. I looked at the window again.
I sat up, slowly, and whispered two words.
“Screw you.”
He gripped his champagne glass so hard it shattered. He stood up. An angry look filled his eyes. The same look he gets right before he orders his “bodyguards” to “take care of someone”.
He started, “Blake, I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but I’m gonna -” a cell phone ring cut him off. The song was the second theme of Triumph in the End by S.M. Jiang. Funny how the CEO of the most technologically advanced and influential company in the world still uses a cell phone.
“Yes? They’re here? Alright, I’ll be right down.” He finished talking and shoved his phone back into his pocket. He looked at me.
“You’re coming with me. Alicia is here.” I was surprised but I tried not to let it show. He still noticed, and smirked. Then he turned around and beckoned me. I followed.
An awkward elevator ride it was, as expected. I kept thinking about today. That one guy I faced, Kyle. He might be able to help me. Aside from being the strongest normal opponent I had ever faced, he looked honest. Techna was planning something big. I had my suspicions, but no proof.
I walked down the grand hallway. Think of the finest marble corridor you can think of, and multiple it. The receptionist nodded to my father, and he nodded back to her. I looked at the front entrance. A revolving door moved, and out stepped Alicia. Her hair was curled into blond ringlets at the end, and she wore a pink dress laced with pearls. Typical. I caught her glance, and she looked away quickly. Again, typical.
“Hello, Lady Alicia,” I said in my most formal voice. My father laughed on the inside. He knew it was killing me. Arranged marriages are the stupidest thing in history, aside from my father.
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Oh my god, he looked so good, just standing there in such casual clothes. Just a simple suit, nothing else. He looked good in everything. I blushed when he said hello, and I glanced away when he looked at me.
“H-hello, B-Blake. How are you, M-Mr. Techna?” I stammered. Shoot, way too nervous.
“Fine, how are you?” Mr. Techna replied. He was like an older version of Blake, except he didn’t have long blue hair.
I gripped the folds of my dress.
“Very good, thank you,” I replied. He nodded, and gestured to Blake.
“Why don’t we let our lovely couple have some alone time?” He smiled. My heart jumped, but Blake just looked bored. It was so hard to please him, no matter how beautiful I was.
Blake looked to the side. He put his hands in his pocket nervously. Maybe he was a little excited? Too much to hope for...
“C’mon, might as well go,” he said, and I followed him to the elevator. Mr. Techna went to talk to my parents.
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Alicia. I’ve known her since we were like, three. She’s always had a crush on me. I’ve always never cared, and I never will.
I pressed the button for the 14th floor, my suite. Alicia clamored beside me. It was another awkward elevator ride. I’m really good at those, aren’t I?
I started talking as I opened the door for her.
“So, how have you been?” I asked as she and I sat down on the couch.
“Great! I’ve gotten a lead as a voice actress, and my parents got another big business deal,” she said happily.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I shook my head, and Alicia looked like she was gonna say something, but I put up my hand.
“Look, you know I don’t like you,” I said. Her smile fell, and she nodded.
“I’m going to have to marry you next month anyways, so I might as well get on better terms with you. But I have other, more important things in my life right now,” I continued.
Her eyes widened, and she tilted her head in curiosity.
“What things?” she asked. I smiled. Things were going out just as I expected.
“I need you to cover for me. Say that I’ve been up here all the time when our parents come to check up on us,” I whispered. She smiled, and nodded. It hurt that I had to play with her like this, but it couldn’t be helped. I had to do it. I promised to myself maybe I would fall in love with her after we married.
“I’m going now,” I said, and I walked out of the door as she said, “Good luck.”
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“You’re lucky she saved you, man,” Tristan laughed.
I blushed, because it was kinda hard to get saved by a girl. I mean, be honest, guys out there.
“Uh... th-thanks,” I stammered. Alita stopped tensing, relaxed, and shoved her Rapier back in her belt.
“You’re welcome,” she beamed, and the virtual sunlight beamed off her hair. Alita used her speed skill Rapier just in time to get the Assassin before he used his Swift Kill.
“C’mon, let’s finish the quest,” Tristan suggested, and we all headed up the path. Soon, there was a mountain, just like the villagers told us. I took the Seal Key I got, and held it up.
“Use Seal Key,” I commanded.
The mountain opened up, with rocks tumbling down. I could feel some of the rock grit getting on me. Probably special effects, like the Coordinators putting a little sand on us. I stepped into the dimly lit cavern first.
There were torches on the walls, and three tunnels branched off in different directions.
“That one NPC said ‘One of three, Three of four, then the second will lead the door’, right?” I asked.
“So the first one, then the third, then the second?” Alita chimed in. I glanced at her, and she quickly looked away.
“Yeah, so let’s go,” Tristan pointed, and he led us down the first tunnel.
“No, wait!” Greg shouted. We all looked at him, and he smiled sheepishly.
“The Augurer said ‘In the mountains binds the curse, to see the truth, you must reverse’.” He looked at the ground. “Doesn’t that mean we should do the opposite?”
I looked at the others...
“Hey, isn’t that a good idea?” I asked. They nodded. We headed to the fourth one first, and then , just like the riddle said, the next path had four tunnels. We chose the third, and the last one, we went to the second tunnel.
“This looks... boss,” Tristan said, and I smiled in awe. There was a huge black castle inside the mountain. On the floor were ruins depicting the face of a skull. It was made of square mosaics.
“This is amazing. By far the best quest I’ve EVER done,” Greg commented. Tyler laughed.
“Yeah, I agree,” he said. Alita appeared unfazed. She grabbed her Rapier.
“C’mon, let’s go,” she led. I walked behind her. Suddenly, one of the square mosaics making up the skull pattern on the floor lit up for half a second.
“Wait, Alita, stop!” I grabbed her, but it was too late. She stepped on the tile, and several crevices opened up in the rock around us.
“Oh, snap.” Greg said, jaws dropped. I facepalmed.
“Oh snap is right,” I replied.
There was an entire army of Orcs.
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I quickly went down to the fire exit. Father let it slip that the lab was on the thirteenth floor, right below me. I ran down the stairs, and plunged into the hallway. The room I was looking for was 6B. I was next to Room 2D right now. I ran to the left, silently but quickly.
Suddenly, I heard two scientists walking down the corridor. I quickly force activated their Link Visors and had them hologram me as part of the wall. I was invisible.
They walked past, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It was a trick I thought of myself. There are perks to being his son after all.
I quickly ran down the hallway. Room 6B was empty. I grabbed my flash drive. These things were old and slow, but they didn’t leave a trace. I downloaded all the info on computers as fast as I could, and slowly slinked out, but I flattened myself back to the wall. It was my dad, talking to the lead scientist, a Swiss guy named Steinle.
“The transition from virtual to physical will be possible in 3 days,” Steinle said.
“Great. Where are update chips currently?” My father asked.
Steinle laughed. “Oh, in Room 8A. They’re not much to see, but do you wanna look at them now?” he asked.
“No, no. Not so soon. I have confidence you will finish them by the deadline. Let’s go down to dinner. I’ll invite Blake and Alicia there in a few hours.”
I almost wet myself right there. Virtual to Physical? If they did that... no... it’s the worst case scenario. I gotta act fast.
I made sure they were gone, and I raced down the hallway. I ran like the famed athlete, Usain Bolt. Good thing there weren’t much scientists working this late at night. I got into Room 8A and fumbled for the lights. A row of chips lined the table. I grabbed one, then immediately activated my NaviGear.
“Find: Kyle Vollister,” I commanded. My NaviGear beeped.
“[Kyle Vollister: District Nine KyberNet Arena. Distance: 2.3 miles. Time of arrival: 4 minutes. Link flight plan to HoverBoard?” it asked.
“Yes,” I commanded. I grabbed my Hover and jumped out the balcony window. I freefell 20 feet before my board activated, sharply turning and speeding toward Kyle. My board had a maximum speed of 123 mph. At that speed, this high up, if the magnetic attachments to my shoes somehow malfunctioned, I would fall off and die.
“Go to maximum speed,” I commanded. My board lurched forward and I almost lost my balance right there. I almost lost the whole game. But I continued. Nothing scared me compared to the alternative. I could do this.
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“Sir? An attack on the KyberNet server just happened a few minutes ago. We’ve traced it to Blake’s signature. One of the Physical Reality chips is missing,” a security guard whispered to Dmitry Techna.
“What?!” he screamed. He looked at Steinle. “How did this happen?” he screamed. Some of his esteemed guests looked at him oddly.
“I don’t know, I didn’t foresee this coming! I know he’s in the rebellious stage, but he’s clearly not going too-” he stammered, but was cut off.
“You idiot! You didn’t lock the door?” Dmitry Techna shouted. He fumbled and pointed at the security guard.
“Where is he right now?” He asked forcibly. The security guard looked like he was taken aback.
“U-umm, he’s still in District 3. From the looks of it, he’s heading to District 9,” he said quickly.
“Deploy the Black Ops! Find him NOW!!” he screamed. The guard nodded and said, “Right away, sir.” He spoke into his NaviGear.
On the roof, four black-clad figures wearing helmets got there HoverBoards ready. They grabbed their Laser Guns, XV-39 Terra-Novas with automatic firing, a 4,000 shot crystal battery and auto-aim. They were ready to deploy, but one voice said, “Not yet. You don’t need those guns.” They looked back. A stubble-bearded man in his late twenties and with glass wearing a labcoat stood, and was holding four update chips.
The Black Ops looked confused. The man smiled.
“You know what these are, right?” he asked. They nodded.
One of the Ops took a chip, and placed it on his NaviGear. A popup immediately read, “[Physical Reality Update Completed.]”.
The OP threw his gun off the side of the building. The others followed suit.
The man in glasses smiled. “Now you’re ready.”
Techna Unlimited.
“Blake, I have high hopes for you,” said a handsome man wearing a tuxedo, hair combed back.
I crossed my arms and relaxed on the couch. The windows had a great view of the city skyline. The lights of all the skyscrapers looked so beautiful, like a sea of stars among the waters of the ocean.
“Really, father? How so?” I asked. He stopped sipping his champagne. Then, he looked at me straight in the eye. I didn’t look away. Neither did he.
“Perfect grades. Good-looking. Talented. Athletic. Smart,” he flattered me while twirling his silver chain around his neck. A habit, I’ve noticed while watching his business meetings, that he does when lying.
“So, you’re proud of me?” I asked. He smiled. Another habit he does when lying.
He replied, “Of course. If you were to take over the company, I would be even more proud. You know how much I love you, son...” he trailed that last sentence.
Do I believe it? He’s raised me from ever since I was little. He’s given me everything I wanted. The best clothes, HoverBoards, rooms, tried to tempt me with girls. He’s spent millions on me, and given me nearly everything he has. Except love.
“I don’t know about that, father...” I began. “I think being a garbage man is a much more fulfilling profession.” I smiled and kicked my feet back.
He gripped his champagne glass. His charm and endeavor disappeared.
“Blake, I am your father. You will do as I say!” he commanded, and I stared back at him, unfazed. I looked at the window again.
I sat up, slowly, and whispered two words.
“Screw you.”
He gripped his champagne glass so hard it shattered. He stood up. An angry look filled his eyes. The same look he gets right before he orders his “bodyguards” to “take care of someone”.
He started, “Blake, I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but I’m gonna -” a cell phone ring cut him off. The song was the second theme of Triumph in the End by S.M. Jiang. Funny how the CEO of the most technologically advanced and influential company in the world still uses a cell phone.
“Yes? They’re here? Alright, I’ll be right down.” He finished talking and shoved his phone back into his pocket. He looked at me.
“You’re coming with me. Alicia is here.” I was surprised but I tried not to let it show. He still noticed, and smirked. Then he turned around and beckoned me. I followed.
An awkward elevator ride it was, as expected. I kept thinking about today. That one guy I faced, Kyle. He might be able to help me. Aside from being the strongest normal opponent I had ever faced, he looked honest. Techna was planning something big. I had my suspicions, but no proof.
I walked down the grand hallway. Think of the finest marble corridor you can think of, and multiple it. The receptionist nodded to my father, and he nodded back to her. I looked at the front entrance. A revolving door moved, and out stepped Alicia. Her hair was curled into blond ringlets at the end, and she wore a pink dress laced with pearls. Typical. I caught her glance, and she looked away quickly. Again, typical.
“Hello, Lady Alicia,” I said in my most formal voice. My father laughed on the inside. He knew it was killing me. Arranged marriages are the stupidest thing in history, aside from my father.
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Oh my god, he looked so good, just standing there in such casual clothes. Just a simple suit, nothing else. He looked good in everything. I blushed when he said hello, and I glanced away when he looked at me.
“H-hello, B-Blake. How are you, M-Mr. Techna?” I stammered. Shoot, way too nervous.
“Fine, how are you?” Mr. Techna replied. He was like an older version of Blake, except he didn’t have long blue hair.
I gripped the folds of my dress.
“Very good, thank you,” I replied. He nodded, and gestured to Blake.
“Why don’t we let our lovely couple have some alone time?” He smiled. My heart jumped, but Blake just looked bored. It was so hard to please him, no matter how beautiful I was.
Blake looked to the side. He put his hands in his pocket nervously. Maybe he was a little excited? Too much to hope for...
“C’mon, might as well go,” he said, and I followed him to the elevator. Mr. Techna went to talk to my parents.
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Alicia. I’ve known her since we were like, three. She’s always had a crush on me. I’ve always never cared, and I never will.
I pressed the button for the 14th floor, my suite. Alicia clamored beside me. It was another awkward elevator ride. I’m really good at those, aren’t I?
I started talking as I opened the door for her.
“So, how have you been?” I asked as she and I sat down on the couch.
“Great! I’ve gotten a lead as a voice actress, and my parents got another big business deal,” she said happily.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I shook my head, and Alicia looked like she was gonna say something, but I put up my hand.
“Look, you know I don’t like you,” I said. Her smile fell, and she nodded.
“I’m going to have to marry you next month anyways, so I might as well get on better terms with you. But I have other, more important things in my life right now,” I continued.
Her eyes widened, and she tilted her head in curiosity.
“What things?” she asked. I smiled. Things were going out just as I expected.
“I need you to cover for me. Say that I’ve been up here all the time when our parents come to check up on us,” I whispered. She smiled, and nodded. It hurt that I had to play with her like this, but it couldn’t be helped. I had to do it. I promised to myself maybe I would fall in love with her after we married.
“I’m going now,” I said, and I walked out of the door as she said, “Good luck.”
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“You’re lucky she saved you, man,” Tristan laughed.
I blushed, because it was kinda hard to get saved by a girl. I mean, be honest, guys out there.
“Uh... th-thanks,” I stammered. Alita stopped tensing, relaxed, and shoved her Rapier back in her belt.
“You’re welcome,” she beamed, and the virtual sunlight beamed off her hair. Alita used her speed skill Rapier just in time to get the Assassin before he used his Swift Kill.
“C’mon, let’s finish the quest,” Tristan suggested, and we all headed up the path. Soon, there was a mountain, just like the villagers told us. I took the Seal Key I got, and held it up.
“Use Seal Key,” I commanded.
The mountain opened up, with rocks tumbling down. I could feel some of the rock grit getting on me. Probably special effects, like the Coordinators putting a little sand on us. I stepped into the dimly lit cavern first.
There were torches on the walls, and three tunnels branched off in different directions.
“That one NPC said ‘One of three, Three of four, then the second will lead the door’, right?” I asked.
“So the first one, then the third, then the second?” Alita chimed in. I glanced at her, and she quickly looked away.
“Yeah, so let’s go,” Tristan pointed, and he led us down the first tunnel.
“No, wait!” Greg shouted. We all looked at him, and he smiled sheepishly.
“The Augurer said ‘In the mountains binds the curse, to see the truth, you must reverse’.” He looked at the ground. “Doesn’t that mean we should do the opposite?”
I looked at the others...
“Hey, isn’t that a good idea?” I asked. They nodded. We headed to the fourth one first, and then , just like the riddle said, the next path had four tunnels. We chose the third, and the last one, we went to the second tunnel.
“This looks... boss,” Tristan said, and I smiled in awe. There was a huge black castle inside the mountain. On the floor were ruins depicting the face of a skull. It was made of square mosaics.
“This is amazing. By far the best quest I’ve EVER done,” Greg commented. Tyler laughed.
“Yeah, I agree,” he said. Alita appeared unfazed. She grabbed her Rapier.
“C’mon, let’s go,” she led. I walked behind her. Suddenly, one of the square mosaics making up the skull pattern on the floor lit up for half a second.
“Wait, Alita, stop!” I grabbed her, but it was too late. She stepped on the tile, and several crevices opened up in the rock around us.
“Oh, snap.” Greg said, jaws dropped. I facepalmed.
“Oh snap is right,” I replied.
There was an entire army of Orcs.
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I quickly went down to the fire exit. Father let it slip that the lab was on the thirteenth floor, right below me. I ran down the stairs, and plunged into the hallway. The room I was looking for was 6B. I was next to Room 2D right now. I ran to the left, silently but quickly.
Suddenly, I heard two scientists walking down the corridor. I quickly force activated their Link Visors and had them hologram me as part of the wall. I was invisible.
They walked past, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It was a trick I thought of myself. There are perks to being his son after all.
I quickly ran down the hallway. Room 6B was empty. I grabbed my flash drive. These things were old and slow, but they didn’t leave a trace. I downloaded all the info on computers as fast as I could, and slowly slinked out, but I flattened myself back to the wall. It was my dad, talking to the lead scientist, a Swiss guy named Steinle.
“The transition from virtual to physical will be possible in 3 days,” Steinle said.
“Great. Where are update chips currently?” My father asked.
Steinle laughed. “Oh, in Room 8A. They’re not much to see, but do you wanna look at them now?” he asked.
“No, no. Not so soon. I have confidence you will finish them by the deadline. Let’s go down to dinner. I’ll invite Blake and Alicia there in a few hours.”
I almost wet myself right there. Virtual to Physical? If they did that... no... it’s the worst case scenario. I gotta act fast.
I made sure they were gone, and I raced down the hallway. I ran like the famed athlete, Usain Bolt. Good thing there weren’t much scientists working this late at night. I got into Room 8A and fumbled for the lights. A row of chips lined the table. I grabbed one, then immediately activated my NaviGear.
“Find: Kyle Vollister,” I commanded. My NaviGear beeped.
“[Kyle Vollister: District Nine KyberNet Arena. Distance: 2.3 miles. Time of arrival: 4 minutes. Link flight plan to HoverBoard?” it asked.
“Yes,” I commanded. I grabbed my Hover and jumped out the balcony window. I freefell 20 feet before my board activated, sharply turning and speeding toward Kyle. My board had a maximum speed of 123 mph. At that speed, this high up, if the magnetic attachments to my shoes somehow malfunctioned, I would fall off and die.
“Go to maximum speed,” I commanded. My board lurched forward and I almost lost my balance right there. I almost lost the whole game. But I continued. Nothing scared me compared to the alternative. I could do this.
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“Sir? An attack on the KyberNet server just happened a few minutes ago. We’ve traced it to Blake’s signature. One of the Physical Reality chips is missing,” a security guard whispered to Dmitry Techna.
“What?!” he screamed. He looked at Steinle. “How did this happen?” he screamed. Some of his esteemed guests looked at him oddly.
“I don’t know, I didn’t foresee this coming! I know he’s in the rebellious stage, but he’s clearly not going too-” he stammered, but was cut off.
“You idiot! You didn’t lock the door?” Dmitry Techna shouted. He fumbled and pointed at the security guard.
“Where is he right now?” He asked forcibly. The security guard looked like he was taken aback.
“U-umm, he’s still in District 3. From the looks of it, he’s heading to District 9,” he said quickly.
“Deploy the Black Ops! Find him NOW!!” he screamed. The guard nodded and said, “Right away, sir.” He spoke into his NaviGear.
On the roof, four black-clad figures wearing helmets got there HoverBoards ready. They grabbed their Laser Guns, XV-39 Terra-Novas with automatic firing, a 4,000 shot crystal battery and auto-aim. They were ready to deploy, but one voice said, “Not yet. You don’t need those guns.” They looked back. A stubble-bearded man in his late twenties and with glass wearing a labcoat stood, and was holding four update chips.
The Black Ops looked confused. The man smiled.
“You know what these are, right?” he asked. They nodded.
One of the Ops took a chip, and placed it on his NaviGear. A popup immediately read, “[Physical Reality Update Completed.]”.
The OP threw his gun off the side of the building. The others followed suit.
The man in glasses smiled. “Now you’re ready.”
Chapter Four
An Orc charged at me from the side. It raised it’s humongous club and slammed it to the ground. I barely used my Speed Boost to dodge it. Orcs are absolutely humongous monsters. They stand about 10 feet tall, have flaky skin, and tusks that elongate all the way to their skull.
“Justice Blow!” I commanded. My sword and armor glowed again, and I swept through a bunch of them. Fortunately, apart from their gargantuan attack, their other stats are mediocre. I got about fourteen of them down to 64% health.
“RAAAARGH!” The cry shook the ground. A larger than average Orc slammed it’s club down on Alita. Greg managed to open a force field for her, but it shattered right away, and Greg got hit by a club.
“Hurry, hurry! Make a circle and push them off!” Tyler shouted. I made a semicircle with him and Tristan, and Greg at the center. Orcs kept coming at us, but in this formation, we kept beating them down. There were just so many.
“Help!” Alita screamed. I could barely see her through a mass of all the Orcs, slamming into her with their clubs. Her life was dropping drastically.
I’m going in to get her,” I muttered, and gripped my sword even tighter.
“Wait, what? Don’t break the formation!” Tristan shouted. I put all of my energy into a Speed Boost.
“Ahhh!” I yelled, less like the brave hero and more like the scared fool. I slashed the head off an Orc, and grabbed Alita just as an Orc was about to finish her.
I held her in my arms and ran to the corner of the room. I leaned against the wall and set Alita down.
“Hey, are you okay? I was worr-”
She punched me.
“You idiot! Don’t break the formation! You coulda lost the whole thing for everyone!” She pounded at my chest, tears pouring down her eyes.
“It’s just a game, don’t do stupid stuff!” She hugged me and cried on my chest. I resisted the urge to ask her, if it was a stupid game, why was she crying because I saved her?
I looked at the group. Orcs were breaking through the Rune Traps Greg had set up. One almost nailed the coffin shut for Tyler until Tristan killed it. Then I looked up, and I saw it.
It was a huge metal circle with spikes. Gray pikes littered the whole of it, menacingly dropping down on everyone. We could use this to win. It even had a hole in the center so people in the middle wouldn't get hit. Perfect.
“Guys, just trust me on this! On the count of three, Greg’s gonna shoot an attack up to the ceiling, and you’re gonna move as close to the center as you can!” I shouted, and saw all three nodded.
“One!” I shouted.
An Orc got past all the Runes and held his club up high.
“Two!”
Tristan immediately broke formation and cut it down. Because of him missing from the front lines of the formation, several more Orcs broke though. One of them grabbed for Greg.
“Three!” I screamed.
Greg shot a huge energy blast up towards the ceiling. It shook the entire room. Tristan and Tyler ran to the center of the room, the skull pattern’s nose. They pulled Greg along by the scruff of his neck.
The whole ceiling fell on top of all the Orcs, crushing them. Every last one. Everything was silent for a moment.
Tristan couldn’t believe his eyes. He laughed, and Tyler started laughing. Greg chuckled, and Alita giggled. Then I burst out, a heart and warm laugh that filled my insides with happiness. And that’s what we did, despite the artificial dust covering all of us. Laugh.
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The wind whipped past me, throwing my hair in every which direction. I dodged a skyscraper, riding along the dark glass horizontally. SkyCars and HoverBoards bustled around, several hundred feet below me. My heart skipped a beat as my NaviGear alerted me.
“[Four Black Ops, incoming. Distance: 3 minutes away]” my NaviGear spoke.
Damnit, this is gonna be close. I pushed on, skimming the water on the Trauva River. I ducked under the white marblestone of the Trauva Bridge. This is gonna be close...
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“Hey, guys!” I said. They all just kept on laughing.
“Guys!” I repeated. They still laughed.
“Guys! We gotta finish the Quest!” I said. Even those words sounded weak to my ears. Alita looked at me, and she laughed. It’s amazing how a really gloomy and secluded girl looks so beautiful when she opens up and smiles.
She touched my cheek.
“Stop being a party-pooper, and enjoy the moment, ‘kay?” She asked. I still had a blank expression on my face. She smiled like she was trying hard not to laugh. I did the same. Then, we both burst out laughing.
“We killed an Orc army with the ceiling! An army! With the ceiling!” Greg pounded his fists on the ground.
Tristan was running out of breath. “Oh my god, oh my god!” he laughed, exasperated.
Tyler managed to stand up first. He got up on one knee, and he was still slightly laughing.
“Ya know, guys, I think this will be one of those magical moments I’ll always remember,” he said, brushing away a tear in his eyes. Whether that tear was from laughing or he was getting nostalgic, I have no idea.
“Shut up, stop being a sentimental weirdo. Like my grandpa,” Greg remarked as he pulled himself up using Tyler’s shoulder.
Finally we stopped laughing, and we all got up. I looked around. Everyone was holding in half-smiles and trying to stifle their laughter.
“Let’s do this,” I said.
Suddenly, the walls of the room fizzled and a black-clad figure landed awkwardly on his HoverBoard and rolled across the floor. I got out my sword.
The figure stood up, then looked at our swords and tense, angry expressions. He put his hands up.
“Whoa, whoa! I’m not a monster, I’m human! Don’t attack!” He said, hands still in the air. I lowered my sword. That voice was familiar.
“Blake?” I asked. The black-clad figure breathed a sigh of relief. That shadow armor was definitely Cursius, Blake’s armor.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. I fumbled. “No other person can interrupt a Quest game until it ends? How’d you get in?” I questioned.
“I’m Dmitry Techna’s son. My father owns the company,” Blake said, and Tristan’s jaws dropped.
“S-so-so you’re...” Tristan couldn’t believe it.
“Yeah! And you’re all in danger!” He shouted, and frantically motioned his arms.
“Whoa, whoa, slow down? What’s happening?” Tyler and I asked. Blake spoke really quickly.
“I heard of a plan my dad was working on. He’s gonna turn Virtual reality into Physical reality! He’ll make all of this real!” He shouted. I gasped.
If Orcs... monsters like these... and Assassins... if they were real, the world would be in trouble. Not to mention, battling someone else on the KyberNet could be deadly. You could kill people.
“So, how do we stop it?” Alita asked. I looked at her, and she looked back. She’s so brave.
“There are four Black Ops heading here right now, and they have Physical Reality Chips! We gotta fight them off!” He said, and I nodded. Black Ops were the special defense division of Techna Unlimited, trained to help defend the company. I heard of their reputation, and it was scary to face one. Then something hit me.
“Hey, we don’t have Physical Reality Chips. How are we suppose to fight them?” I asked. The others nodded at my words.
“I’m sending you an update right now. It contains the download data for the chip. It should update automatically into your NaviGear,” he said, and pressed a button on his wrist.
I looked at my NaviGear. Gift from Blake Techna... it looked like he was telling the truth. I quickly downloaded it.
“Are you guys ready?” Blake asked. “Cuz we gotta get ready fo-” the whole Quest Simulation stopped working. It looked like the whole world just warped into something different.
We were standing in a room. Plain, white. A lot of props were set up around us. Sprinklers were on the ceilings, and fans were attached to the walls for special effects. Just as I thought, sand littered the floor. That was the rock grit we had felt earlier. But the biggest change was four black figures wearing helmets, blue stripes running down their sides.
It was the Black Ops. They all lined up in a row, the four of them. One of them spoke. It was pretty obvious there was a voice changer at work.
“Blake Techna, Kyle Vollister, Alita Pureheart, Gregory Mallum, Tyler Akagi, Tristan Shwittz. Dmitry Techna has ordered us to kill all of you,” he said.
Blake’s eyes widened. He was shocked. His dad ordered for his own son to be killed. If I was going through that... what a terrible father.
Then, all four of them held up there NaviGears, and flashed there profiles. Light glinted of the visors on their helmets. They were all level 99.
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Blake had been gone for about 15 minutes when 3 Black Ops charged into the room with Mr. Techna. My parents were behind him. Mr. Techna looked enraged.
“Where is Blake going?!” He screamed. He almost never screamed. Not even when he was angry.
“I-I-I don’t know, Mr. T-Techna, he said he was going down to use the lobby bathroom-” I began, but he cut me off.
“LIAR! He has left the building, and he is going to do something very foolish and destroy his own future!” He yelled, and my parents both looked very frightened.
“Please, I’m sure she doesn’t know, she must be-” My dad was silenced with one look from Mr. Techna.
He looked like he was going to be angry again, but he smiled, and calmed down. He smiled.
“I’m sorry for the unpleasantness,” He said in the nicest voice possible, “Please forgive me. I will leave you to your daughter.” He walked right out of the room. My parents sat down next to me.
I looked out the window. Oh, Blake, I thought, staring out at the night sky and the bustling city lights.
“Where are we going, Mommy?” I asked. I grabbed her hand with mine, even though it was so small and delicate. Mommy always looks so pretty, pearls on her neck, shining lip gloss.
“Well, we’re going to meet Mr. Techna. You know, he always brings you presents?” She smiled. My heart leapt with joy.
“Really? We will?” I asked her, and she grabbed my hand and gestured me into the limo.
“Yes, and we’re going to meet his son. A boy, around your age. Three year-old girls should make some friends, you know,” she said warmly. I crossed my arms and pouted.
“I don’t like boys. A refined lady doesn’t need them,” I said, eyes closed and turning the other way. Back then, I always had my say. Whatever I wanted.
My mother just laughed, like she knew I going to say that. “You’ll join your mind. He’s very handsome,” she said, and laughed. I blushed. I would show her. I don’t need boys. They’re gross. I’m gonna make Mr. Techna’s son look like an idiot.
We drove in the limo for a few minutes. Then, we arrived at the Techna Unlimited building. It was always so big and cool. I stepped out of the car and went through the revolving door. It was so fun to push the glass.
“Wheee!” I said, happily playing. My mother scooped me up. Then, she saw Mr. Techna, and put me down.
“Hello, Mrs. Lyderman. If I may add, you look wonderful,” Mr. Techna said politely. My mother smiled, and they exchanged greetings. Then they noticed me looking at them.
“Oh, and I brought Alicia to see Blake. Is he here?” she asked. Mr. Techna smiled, and nodded. Then they led me up the stairs, into the banquet hall. Then, I saw him.
Chubby, boyish face. He had long, black hair, it wasn’t dyed back then. He was wearing a tuxedo, and he had this look in his eyes. Even though he was only three, that fierce look of determination gave him the look that even a rugged man in his twenties couldn’t achieve. I fell in love instantly.
“H-h-hey,” I said shyly, and he looked at me with a bored expression.
“Hey,” he said flatly, then he walked away. It was clear he didn’t like me.
“W-wait up!” I said, shouting after him. And that’s how I met Blake.
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“Yuki, stop messaging your friends and go do the laundry!” my mom yelled from downstairs. I sighed.
“Coming, mom!” I turned of my NaviGear and passed through to the front door of my room. I slightly glanced in the mirror at my short, light brown hair. I was wearing a mini-skirt, white school uniform, and a hair clip in my hair. It was super cute. I walked down the wooden stairs in my house. Brushing my hands against the white walls, I glanced over my living room. A widescreen tv and three couches made a square, and flowers sat by the windowsill. I walked over to the bathroom.
I was about to get to the laundry when the doorbell sounded. Maybe Kyle’s finally home! I put down my laundry and rushed to the door.
I stopped halfway. It wasn’t Kyle. A bald man in a black suit was flanked by two Black Ops. Black Ops!! They’re super scary!
“What’s this about?” My mom asked. She wasn’t nervous at all. I could see her apron, and a small little bump poked through. She had a knife! Mom’s super brave.
“Have you seen your son, Kyle, recently? Do you know where he is?” the bald man asked. My mom put her hands to her hips. Go mom!!
“No, he’s still out with his friends. I don’t know where he is, or when he’ll return,” she replied. The bald man nodded. He was super weird.
“Okay, I appreciate it. Goodbye,” he said, tipped his hat, and left. I rushed over to my mom after they were gone.
“Mom! I’m super worried! Where’s Kyle? Who where they? You were super brave!” I shouted, all at the same time. She just hugged.
“Go back to your room, Yuki. I’ll do the laundry,” she sighed, and went back to cleaning the house. I didn’t have to do the laundry! That’s super awesome! I ran back upstairs and back into my room. I was about to start messaging my friends again, but then I remembered Kyle.
Sigh... my big brother was super cool. Like, he’s super good at HoverBoarding and he’s like, level 80 or something on KyberNet! I wish my boyfriend would be as cool as him. He’s super amazing! But...
I couldn’t shake the dreadful feeling something bad was gonna happen. I looked at my window, then looked down at the porch. Kyle had one of his HoverBoards still left there. “Mom, I’m gonna be super brave too,” I whispered softly, and jumped out the window. I landed in a bunch of bushes, hopefully quietly. I stepped on the HoverBoard.
“Initiate HoverBoard,” I said quietly. It started glowing! That’s super cool! Then I took one last look at my bedroom window. I was only a 12-year old girl, what could I do that my big brother couldn’t? I shook my head. I promised myself I would live up to my big brother’s expectations. I would find him, and help him. I glided past my neighbors lawn and their dog barked at me. The wind ruffled my skirt and my hair, and the hair clip I put in it, no matter how cute, was getting in the way. I pulled it out. Big Brother, I’m coming, I thought.
“Justice Blow!” I commanded. My sword and armor glowed again, and I swept through a bunch of them. Fortunately, apart from their gargantuan attack, their other stats are mediocre. I got about fourteen of them down to 64% health.
“RAAAARGH!” The cry shook the ground. A larger than average Orc slammed it’s club down on Alita. Greg managed to open a force field for her, but it shattered right away, and Greg got hit by a club.
“Hurry, hurry! Make a circle and push them off!” Tyler shouted. I made a semicircle with him and Tristan, and Greg at the center. Orcs kept coming at us, but in this formation, we kept beating them down. There were just so many.
“Help!” Alita screamed. I could barely see her through a mass of all the Orcs, slamming into her with their clubs. Her life was dropping drastically.
I’m going in to get her,” I muttered, and gripped my sword even tighter.
“Wait, what? Don’t break the formation!” Tristan shouted. I put all of my energy into a Speed Boost.
“Ahhh!” I yelled, less like the brave hero and more like the scared fool. I slashed the head off an Orc, and grabbed Alita just as an Orc was about to finish her.
I held her in my arms and ran to the corner of the room. I leaned against the wall and set Alita down.
“Hey, are you okay? I was worr-”
She punched me.
“You idiot! Don’t break the formation! You coulda lost the whole thing for everyone!” She pounded at my chest, tears pouring down her eyes.
“It’s just a game, don’t do stupid stuff!” She hugged me and cried on my chest. I resisted the urge to ask her, if it was a stupid game, why was she crying because I saved her?
I looked at the group. Orcs were breaking through the Rune Traps Greg had set up. One almost nailed the coffin shut for Tyler until Tristan killed it. Then I looked up, and I saw it.
It was a huge metal circle with spikes. Gray pikes littered the whole of it, menacingly dropping down on everyone. We could use this to win. It even had a hole in the center so people in the middle wouldn't get hit. Perfect.
“Guys, just trust me on this! On the count of three, Greg’s gonna shoot an attack up to the ceiling, and you’re gonna move as close to the center as you can!” I shouted, and saw all three nodded.
“One!” I shouted.
An Orc got past all the Runes and held his club up high.
“Two!”
Tristan immediately broke formation and cut it down. Because of him missing from the front lines of the formation, several more Orcs broke though. One of them grabbed for Greg.
“Three!” I screamed.
Greg shot a huge energy blast up towards the ceiling. It shook the entire room. Tristan and Tyler ran to the center of the room, the skull pattern’s nose. They pulled Greg along by the scruff of his neck.
The whole ceiling fell on top of all the Orcs, crushing them. Every last one. Everything was silent for a moment.
Tristan couldn’t believe his eyes. He laughed, and Tyler started laughing. Greg chuckled, and Alita giggled. Then I burst out, a heart and warm laugh that filled my insides with happiness. And that’s what we did, despite the artificial dust covering all of us. Laugh.
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The wind whipped past me, throwing my hair in every which direction. I dodged a skyscraper, riding along the dark glass horizontally. SkyCars and HoverBoards bustled around, several hundred feet below me. My heart skipped a beat as my NaviGear alerted me.
“[Four Black Ops, incoming. Distance: 3 minutes away]” my NaviGear spoke.
Damnit, this is gonna be close. I pushed on, skimming the water on the Trauva River. I ducked under the white marblestone of the Trauva Bridge. This is gonna be close...
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“Hey, guys!” I said. They all just kept on laughing.
“Guys!” I repeated. They still laughed.
“Guys! We gotta finish the Quest!” I said. Even those words sounded weak to my ears. Alita looked at me, and she laughed. It’s amazing how a really gloomy and secluded girl looks so beautiful when she opens up and smiles.
She touched my cheek.
“Stop being a party-pooper, and enjoy the moment, ‘kay?” She asked. I still had a blank expression on my face. She smiled like she was trying hard not to laugh. I did the same. Then, we both burst out laughing.
“We killed an Orc army with the ceiling! An army! With the ceiling!” Greg pounded his fists on the ground.
Tristan was running out of breath. “Oh my god, oh my god!” he laughed, exasperated.
Tyler managed to stand up first. He got up on one knee, and he was still slightly laughing.
“Ya know, guys, I think this will be one of those magical moments I’ll always remember,” he said, brushing away a tear in his eyes. Whether that tear was from laughing or he was getting nostalgic, I have no idea.
“Shut up, stop being a sentimental weirdo. Like my grandpa,” Greg remarked as he pulled himself up using Tyler’s shoulder.
Finally we stopped laughing, and we all got up. I looked around. Everyone was holding in half-smiles and trying to stifle their laughter.
“Let’s do this,” I said.
Suddenly, the walls of the room fizzled and a black-clad figure landed awkwardly on his HoverBoard and rolled across the floor. I got out my sword.
The figure stood up, then looked at our swords and tense, angry expressions. He put his hands up.
“Whoa, whoa! I’m not a monster, I’m human! Don’t attack!” He said, hands still in the air. I lowered my sword. That voice was familiar.
“Blake?” I asked. The black-clad figure breathed a sigh of relief. That shadow armor was definitely Cursius, Blake’s armor.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. I fumbled. “No other person can interrupt a Quest game until it ends? How’d you get in?” I questioned.
“I’m Dmitry Techna’s son. My father owns the company,” Blake said, and Tristan’s jaws dropped.
“S-so-so you’re...” Tristan couldn’t believe it.
“Yeah! And you’re all in danger!” He shouted, and frantically motioned his arms.
“Whoa, whoa, slow down? What’s happening?” Tyler and I asked. Blake spoke really quickly.
“I heard of a plan my dad was working on. He’s gonna turn Virtual reality into Physical reality! He’ll make all of this real!” He shouted. I gasped.
If Orcs... monsters like these... and Assassins... if they were real, the world would be in trouble. Not to mention, battling someone else on the KyberNet could be deadly. You could kill people.
“So, how do we stop it?” Alita asked. I looked at her, and she looked back. She’s so brave.
“There are four Black Ops heading here right now, and they have Physical Reality Chips! We gotta fight them off!” He said, and I nodded. Black Ops were the special defense division of Techna Unlimited, trained to help defend the company. I heard of their reputation, and it was scary to face one. Then something hit me.
“Hey, we don’t have Physical Reality Chips. How are we suppose to fight them?” I asked. The others nodded at my words.
“I’m sending you an update right now. It contains the download data for the chip. It should update automatically into your NaviGear,” he said, and pressed a button on his wrist.
I looked at my NaviGear. Gift from Blake Techna... it looked like he was telling the truth. I quickly downloaded it.
“Are you guys ready?” Blake asked. “Cuz we gotta get ready fo-” the whole Quest Simulation stopped working. It looked like the whole world just warped into something different.
We were standing in a room. Plain, white. A lot of props were set up around us. Sprinklers were on the ceilings, and fans were attached to the walls for special effects. Just as I thought, sand littered the floor. That was the rock grit we had felt earlier. But the biggest change was four black figures wearing helmets, blue stripes running down their sides.
It was the Black Ops. They all lined up in a row, the four of them. One of them spoke. It was pretty obvious there was a voice changer at work.
“Blake Techna, Kyle Vollister, Alita Pureheart, Gregory Mallum, Tyler Akagi, Tristan Shwittz. Dmitry Techna has ordered us to kill all of you,” he said.
Blake’s eyes widened. He was shocked. His dad ordered for his own son to be killed. If I was going through that... what a terrible father.
Then, all four of them held up there NaviGears, and flashed there profiles. Light glinted of the visors on their helmets. They were all level 99.
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Blake had been gone for about 15 minutes when 3 Black Ops charged into the room with Mr. Techna. My parents were behind him. Mr. Techna looked enraged.
“Where is Blake going?!” He screamed. He almost never screamed. Not even when he was angry.
“I-I-I don’t know, Mr. T-Techna, he said he was going down to use the lobby bathroom-” I began, but he cut me off.
“LIAR! He has left the building, and he is going to do something very foolish and destroy his own future!” He yelled, and my parents both looked very frightened.
“Please, I’m sure she doesn’t know, she must be-” My dad was silenced with one look from Mr. Techna.
He looked like he was going to be angry again, but he smiled, and calmed down. He smiled.
“I’m sorry for the unpleasantness,” He said in the nicest voice possible, “Please forgive me. I will leave you to your daughter.” He walked right out of the room. My parents sat down next to me.
I looked out the window. Oh, Blake, I thought, staring out at the night sky and the bustling city lights.
“Where are we going, Mommy?” I asked. I grabbed her hand with mine, even though it was so small and delicate. Mommy always looks so pretty, pearls on her neck, shining lip gloss.
“Well, we’re going to meet Mr. Techna. You know, he always brings you presents?” She smiled. My heart leapt with joy.
“Really? We will?” I asked her, and she grabbed my hand and gestured me into the limo.
“Yes, and we’re going to meet his son. A boy, around your age. Three year-old girls should make some friends, you know,” she said warmly. I crossed my arms and pouted.
“I don’t like boys. A refined lady doesn’t need them,” I said, eyes closed and turning the other way. Back then, I always had my say. Whatever I wanted.
My mother just laughed, like she knew I going to say that. “You’ll join your mind. He’s very handsome,” she said, and laughed. I blushed. I would show her. I don’t need boys. They’re gross. I’m gonna make Mr. Techna’s son look like an idiot.
We drove in the limo for a few minutes. Then, we arrived at the Techna Unlimited building. It was always so big and cool. I stepped out of the car and went through the revolving door. It was so fun to push the glass.
“Wheee!” I said, happily playing. My mother scooped me up. Then, she saw Mr. Techna, and put me down.
“Hello, Mrs. Lyderman. If I may add, you look wonderful,” Mr. Techna said politely. My mother smiled, and they exchanged greetings. Then they noticed me looking at them.
“Oh, and I brought Alicia to see Blake. Is he here?” she asked. Mr. Techna smiled, and nodded. Then they led me up the stairs, into the banquet hall. Then, I saw him.
Chubby, boyish face. He had long, black hair, it wasn’t dyed back then. He was wearing a tuxedo, and he had this look in his eyes. Even though he was only three, that fierce look of determination gave him the look that even a rugged man in his twenties couldn’t achieve. I fell in love instantly.
“H-h-hey,” I said shyly, and he looked at me with a bored expression.
“Hey,” he said flatly, then he walked away. It was clear he didn’t like me.
“W-wait up!” I said, shouting after him. And that’s how I met Blake.
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“Yuki, stop messaging your friends and go do the laundry!” my mom yelled from downstairs. I sighed.
“Coming, mom!” I turned of my NaviGear and passed through to the front door of my room. I slightly glanced in the mirror at my short, light brown hair. I was wearing a mini-skirt, white school uniform, and a hair clip in my hair. It was super cute. I walked down the wooden stairs in my house. Brushing my hands against the white walls, I glanced over my living room. A widescreen tv and three couches made a square, and flowers sat by the windowsill. I walked over to the bathroom.
I was about to get to the laundry when the doorbell sounded. Maybe Kyle’s finally home! I put down my laundry and rushed to the door.
I stopped halfway. It wasn’t Kyle. A bald man in a black suit was flanked by two Black Ops. Black Ops!! They’re super scary!
“What’s this about?” My mom asked. She wasn’t nervous at all. I could see her apron, and a small little bump poked through. She had a knife! Mom’s super brave.
“Have you seen your son, Kyle, recently? Do you know where he is?” the bald man asked. My mom put her hands to her hips. Go mom!!
“No, he’s still out with his friends. I don’t know where he is, or when he’ll return,” she replied. The bald man nodded. He was super weird.
“Okay, I appreciate it. Goodbye,” he said, tipped his hat, and left. I rushed over to my mom after they were gone.
“Mom! I’m super worried! Where’s Kyle? Who where they? You were super brave!” I shouted, all at the same time. She just hugged.
“Go back to your room, Yuki. I’ll do the laundry,” she sighed, and went back to cleaning the house. I didn’t have to do the laundry! That’s super awesome! I ran back upstairs and back into my room. I was about to start messaging my friends again, but then I remembered Kyle.
Sigh... my big brother was super cool. Like, he’s super good at HoverBoarding and he’s like, level 80 or something on KyberNet! I wish my boyfriend would be as cool as him. He’s super amazing! But...
I couldn’t shake the dreadful feeling something bad was gonna happen. I looked at my window, then looked down at the porch. Kyle had one of his HoverBoards still left there. “Mom, I’m gonna be super brave too,” I whispered softly, and jumped out the window. I landed in a bunch of bushes, hopefully quietly. I stepped on the HoverBoard.
“Initiate HoverBoard,” I said quietly. It started glowing! That’s super cool! Then I took one last look at my bedroom window. I was only a 12-year old girl, what could I do that my big brother couldn’t? I shook my head. I promised myself I would live up to my big brother’s expectations. I would find him, and help him. I glided past my neighbors lawn and their dog barked at me. The wind ruffled my skirt and my hair, and the hair clip I put in it, no matter how cute, was getting in the way. I pulled it out. Big Brother, I’m coming, I thought.
Chapter Five
“What? You can’t be serious!” Steinle shouted. He took a step back. “That’s not possible! You can’t do this!” Steinle’s face was frightened, shock overcoming everything except his primal instinct of fear.
“You’re now obsolete, Robert,” Techna said as he twirled his silver chain. He looked to the man on his right. His glasses flashed. This was the man that had given the Black Ops the PR chips.
“But, an entire simulation Quest that’s Physical Reality?!” He cried, incredulously. “A chip is something by itself, by how did you manage that?” The man in the glasses stepped up.
“Because genius cannot be replicated,” he answered simply. He nodded to Techna, who nodded back.
Techna motioned with his hand. “Get rid of him.” Two Black Ops grabbed Steinle and hauled him away. His screams could be heard throughout the night, echoing, echoing.
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“Honey, please don’t do this,” mom pleaded. I looked at my father, and he gave me the same look.
“I have to, mom,” I replied. I looked at my NaviGear. Blake was at the Arena, and there were five other people around him. I had taken HoverBoarding lessons before. I could do this.
“Mom, dad. Blake’s in trouble. I have to find him,” I said, begging them to understand. Blake was everything to me. I don’t know what I would do if he got hurt. They seemed to understand, but they still shook their heads.
“Even if you want to help, what are you going to do?” my dad asked.
I smiled.
“I’ve taken HoverBoard lessons. I got ranked 2nd out of 78 people in my class,” I answered. They were shocked. Their daughter, pretty little Alicia, doing dangerous sports like that? I got up and walked towards the bathroom. A closet inside had a bunch of clothes. Blake’s, except they looked like something he would have worn when he was younger. That’d be fine, I’m smaller than him anyways.
I stripped off my dress, and looked in the mirror. I needed something to cover my chest when I’m riding. I looked around, and grabbed a towel, and tightly wrapped it around my torso.
I looked around looking for a headband to tie my long blond hair, but I found something even better. A black smart-fabric suit, about my size, with blue neon stripes running down the side, and a helmet with a high-definition Link Visor built in. It was a Black Op suit.
My only worry was that Blake and whoever he was with wouldn’t notice me when they saw my outfit, but I didn’t have time to think about that now. I strapped an electro-blade to my leg, and grabbed a HoverBoard, and walked out of the bathroom.
“Honey, wha-” I cut off my parents as I opened the door to the balcony, and jumped off the 14th floor. I got onto my HoverBoard. “HoverBoard Initiate,” I commanded, and then my HoverBoard stripes glowed, and I felt myself rising. Then, it abruptly stopped working.
“[Malfunction]” my NaviGear said.
Shoot, I thought to myself, as I fell down the 1,450 feet tall building.
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“Enforcer, activate! Velocity Crash!” Kyle reacted the fastest, and charged towards the lead Black Op. He was so fast, I could barely see him, yet they still dodged him easily.
“Alita, get back!” Tyler said, blond hair flying, and he pushed me back. One of the female Black Ops used a command special move, Air Razor, and a ton of tiny white blades of wind rushed at me. It was a weak attack, so I didn’t know why Tyler told me to get back.
Then, one of the small wind blades cut me. I felt the pain as it sliced my skin, and my brain registered the pain. That was NOT suppose to happen. Your brain chip was suppose stop all pain registered in a KyberNet battle.
“Stop standing there, Alita! Blake was telling the truth! Everything’s real!” Tristan shouted, and a shadow flashed above me. I looked up, and the female Black Op had two twin blades, and was about to slash me using a speed skill. I almost laughed.
“Rapier Force!” I shouted, and my special move propelled me out of her reach, and I appeared behind her, and swung my blades. Nobody could beat me in speed moves.
Suddenly, she disappeared. I looked around, confused, and then a scorching blast of energy hit me from the back. It hurt. A lot. I turned my head, and it was the female Black Op, switching from speed skill to magic skill. What a total witch.
“Titania, activate!” I shouted. My light rogue armor suddenly grew bigger, and a long metal skirt of knives formed around my legs. Silver wings grew out of my back, shining radiantly in the light.
The female Black Op looked surprised when I changed modes. Now her magic attacks won’t hurt so bad.
“Alita!” someone shouted. I looked to my left, and it was Kyle. His brown hair waved around from the wind as he flew. His warm brown eyes looked deeply into me, and I looked back, and he looked so amazing in that white and gold armor, he was just so hot- whoa, whoa. Wait, wait, wait. He flew. He FLEW. He was FLYING ON HIS WINGS FROM HIS ARMOR.
Kyle smiled when he saw the realizing look in his eyes, and pointed behind me. I smirked. This time it was gonna be easy. I concentrated, and instantly my wings blew me up towards the ceiling. The female Black Op looked surprised, and she looked up. Too late, she was already under me.
“Fairy Queen’s Light!” I shouted, and my wings, which I thought were just for decoration, bathed themselves in a warm light green aura, and an energy beam shot itself at the female Black Op. She was dazed, and then I saw Kyle running towards her, and he opened his blade, it glowed, and he finished her.
Good game.
He smiled and looked up at me, and I looked back at him. Suddenly, my wings stopped moving and I fell down. The ground rushed towards me really fast. Then, I hung limp. Turning my head, I saw Kyle’s smile, and I laughed.
“You gotta work on that landing,” he joked. Then, he too, started laughing.
I stopped, and I looked him in the eye. “We make a pretty good team, you and I,” I whispered softly. He smirked.
“How about coffee this weekend?” he asked. I blushed. Oh my god, oh my god.
“B-b-but I’ve never been on a d-date-” I stammered, and he cut me off with a kiss. His lips felt surprisingly warm and gentle, and he pressed against me. He held me tight, right there, my long, light brown hair flowing gently in the wind while I was in his arms.
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“Aster Vortex!” I said, and one of the Black Ops flew back. Another one charged at me. I moved my hand, and a hand came out of his shadow, grabbed his ankle, and he tripped.
I opened my palms and blasted one of them with a Black Thunder attack. Kyle’s friends, the red-haired guy named Tristan, and the blond guy called Tyler, finished off another one with the help of that skinny goth, Greg. Not bad, they appear to be a rag-tag team, but we got three of the Black Ops Elite already. Well, that was one more left.
“Hey, Kyle, get the last-” I turned around and saw him making out with the girl in rogue armor. I facepalmed. You’ve gotta be kidding me, I thought.
“Save it for the prom, Romeo!” I shouted, “There’s still one left!” I barely finished my sentence before a sword cut flashed through Tristan, Tyler, and Greg. The damage was spread out among them, but I could see their health drop into the red zone. Damn, it was the leader.
He ran towards me, weapon in hand. I grimaced. Looking at Kyle and his girlfriend, it looked like I wasn’t getting help any time soon. And the other three were out of commission.
“Black Thunder!” I shouted. A thunderbolt of purple and black erupted out of my hands, and the Black Op cut the attack with his sword. Okay, he was a cut above the rest.
“Six Style Slash!” he shouted from his voice changer. Six attacks, all coming from different directions, slammed into me, too fast for me to react. Glad my armor protected me. I was on the ground, and he jumped up, apparently aiming for a finishing blow.
“Requiem!” I said, and a storm of shadows grabbed him, and rammed him into the ceiling, allowing me time to get up.
“Heh, I love using Shadow-type moves,” I muttered under my breath. The Black Op apparently was done playing around, and cut all those strands of darkness with his sword, and fell towards me, entire body wrapped in energy.
I was about to shout, “Black Thunder Drake,” but Kyle cut me off by slamming into the Op leader from the side, tackling him to the ground. I sighed, and smiled. Figures.
“Requiem!” I said again, and a I binded him to the floor. I walked over, and stepped on his chest.
“Tell me what my father’s planning,” I demanded. He laughed, voice changer changing his laugh into an electronic sound. All I heard was a robot duck coughing up monkey poop.
“Tell me,” I said, and kicked off his helmet. Generic looking guy, nothing strange or special.
“You’ll have to make me,” he dared me, and I got a little angry. Kyle looked at me.
“Core Blast!” He shouted, and it hit the guy on the chest, dropping his HP to zero. I smirked.
“Now are you gonna talk?” I said confidently. I bet that attack hurt. Nobody’s that strong, and it’s not worth it. If I was caught, I wouldn’t take any trouble defending my dad.
“Nope,” he replied, and he suddenly coughed blood. His head lurched, as if something exploded inside his brain. His eyes lurched, and he fell back, body limp.
“What was that?!” Kyle screamed. I panicked.
“What? I don’t know! How hard did you hit him?” I frantically pulled my blue hair.
He gestured wildly with his hands. “That was my weakest attack! He’s not such a sissy!” he cried.
I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. “Then how did he die? You killed him!” I screamed.
“What? Don’t blame everything on me! You started it!” he yelled.
“I started it? That’s such a kindergartner thing to say, grow up, moron!” I shouted back.
He punched me. “Who’re you calling moron, blue hair?”
“My hair happens to look fine, you worthless womanizer!” I shoved him, and he pushed me in response.
“I actually like her a lot, you wouldn’t know because you’re a heartless bastard!” He shouted. We were about to punch each other again until Greg jumped in.
“Guys, stop,” he said, and we both looked at him, still grabbing each other’s necks. He tapped his NaviGear.
“According to my iScanner, his brain chip exploded inside his head when his health dropped to zero,” he said.
Oh. my. god.
“And, we looked at all the other Black Ops we defeated. They’re dead in the same way,” Greg said softly.
Surprisingly, my hand was wet. I felt something running down my face. I was crying. Kyle’s eyebrows furrowed in a concerned look.
Dad, what kind of sick game have you come up with? I thought.
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“Techna,” I said. He looked back at me through the gloom of the laboratory. The only light on in the room was the lamp placed on the table he was working at.
“Professor Ryker,” he replied softly. I held up a HackWare, a device made to attack servers and break down firewalls. My invention, of course.
“The broadcast is going to be in a minute. World Lock is complete and ready to initiate,” I reported. He smiled.
“Excellent, excellent,” he congratulated me. “Let’s go to the recording room right now.” He beckoned me to his hand, and we walked down a long, dark hallway into the studio. Recording equipment was set up everywhere. He walked into the room, opened the door into the recording studio, and walked in, facing the camera.
A lady working on the soundboard started talking. “Going live, in three, two, one. Broadcast started.”
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My HoverBoard sped past the superstore and plaza mall. The superstore was a large building, huge parking lot out front and tons of cars packed in it. The plaza mall had a cool entrance, white columns with clouds on the top. Several stores were bustling inside it. Screens were on, playing a new single, “Life’s a Party”, by Jump Start, one of my favorite boy bands. Despite myself, I couldn’t help singing along. What? They were super cute.
Couples and friends hung around, eating food, shopping, and talking. It was a really calm peaceful night, and I would have really wanted to hang out with my friends on a night like this.
Suddenly, all the screens fizzled into static, and then the face of Dmitry Techna, owner of Techna Unlimited appeared.
“Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!” he said, laughing like a little child. People all around gasped, and stared at the screen.
“I’m sure you’ve all heard of my popular game, KyberNet Online, no?” he asked. “Well, now, you can play that game for real! And no, I don’t mean virtual reality, that’s old news,” he giggled. Then he started all-out laughing like a maniac. Someone called him a freak, and threw an egg sandwich at him. Eww... that’s super gross.
“Now everything created by KyberNet Online’s servers will be real!” He smiled. “How, you ask? Well, simply put, we forced activated your Link Visors and disabled the Logout and force Logout options on them. Now, you have to participate in this Quest!” He laughed again maniacally.
Then, he pulled out a slightly chubby man wearing a floral shirt and tan shorts.
“Now, to prove my point, I’m going to kill George, who is a Coordinator at the Quest Arena in District 9,” he said, and a sword materialized out of his hand.
“Don’t do it!” I yelled, and then Techna swung his sword. Blood erupted out of that man’s neck.
“Nooo!” I shouted. How could he do that? That’s super horrible! A woman screamed, and some people followed suit. I realized, looking at the corner of my vision, that my Visor was activated, just like he said. This was super creepy...
“What the hell?! I can’t logout!” one man screamed. Ooh, he uses bad language. I looked around some more, and people were panicking. They were all scared. Poor people, they didn't have a sense of purpose like me. I looked towards my goal; The Quest Arena in District 9. It was definitely not safe to go. But I promised myself already.
“I’m super brave,” I whispered.
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“Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!” I banged and banged on the HoverBoard and tapped my NaviGear. The building zipped past me at what seemed like an impossible speed. I rushed towards the ground, heart in my throat. I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I thought.
“[HoverBoard activated]” My Navigear suddenly said. Suddenly, my body lurched, abruptly changing direction. The my butt slammed into the back of the board, and only my magnets held me on the board.
I was finally riding at night! My tight black suit wrapped itself tightly around me, and heated me up. Smart fabric was really cool. I shifted my legs to get a better stance, and suddenly I was hit with a really annoying wedgie. I was about to curse, but the suit fixed it for me.
“Wow, Black Ops have it good,” I remarked. I lowered myself down to the treeline, and slowed down. I was going into a park. Suddenly, the park trail ended and I found myself in the plaza mall. Right at the worst time too.
People screamed, and stared at the public viewing screens. I looked up. Blood erupted from a man’s neck as Mr. Techna held his sword in one hand, and laughed. I heard a woman scream, and one girl shouted, “Nooo!”. I gasped.
Mr. Techna just killed someone. I thought he was maybe worse than I had initially expected, but... I didn’t think he would be a cold-blooded murderer.
The girl who had screamed “Noooo!” left, and zipped past on Main Street. I looked back at the screen.
“This is what I mean when I say everything KyberNet Online generates is now real!” Mr. Techna laughed.
So THAT’s what Blake was trying to warn me about. This was bad... no, this was the worst-case scenario. I looked to my right. A dark street, 2nd avenue. I could go really fast on this street, and, and turn to Main Street so I could head for the Quest Arena. I zoomed quickly in the shadows, faster than anyone ever rode. I sharply turned at a crossroad, and banked into Main Street. I didn’t see until it was too late.
I crashed into a girl, younger than me, about 12 years-old, riding a HoverBoard. My helmet came off, and the girl rubbed her head. “Ouch,”she muttered. Then, we looked at each other in the eye.
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I rode along Main Street, coming up fast but not going overboard, as there were a lot of people here. I was about to pass a super small street when a girl crashed into me.
Her helmet came off, and her blond hair fell onto her shoulders. I rubbed my head. “Ouch,” I muttered, then, we caught each other’s eyes. Her blue eyes went perfectly with her blond hair, and even though stereotypically, she would look like a dumb blond, there was a certain glint to her that said she was smart and quirky. She also had a determined look, like she had to do something, just like me. Basically, she was super pretty.
“Hey, are you...?” she started.
“Going to the Quest Arena?” I somehow knew what to say, like this was destiny that I met her.
“How’d you know?” she asked, shocked. Her black bodysuit was super tight on her, and I was super jealous.
“I’m looking for my big brother. I heard the World Lock announcement, and I was worried about him. Some weird men came to my house and asked about him. I have to find him!” I declared, and the pretty girl smiled.
“I’m looking for someone too,” she said, concerned look in her eyes. Hmmm...
“You’re boyfriend?” I asked obnoxiously. She blushed, and I giggled. I was starting to like her.
“W-what? N-no, nothing like that!” she stammered. I held her hand.
“Let’s go together!” I suggested, and stood up. She smiled. Then, she grabbed my hand.
“I’m Alicia,” she said.
I laughed. “I’m Yuki!” I replied. We both giggled, and got on our HoverBoards.
Here we come, I thought.
“You’re now obsolete, Robert,” Techna said as he twirled his silver chain. He looked to the man on his right. His glasses flashed. This was the man that had given the Black Ops the PR chips.
“But, an entire simulation Quest that’s Physical Reality?!” He cried, incredulously. “A chip is something by itself, by how did you manage that?” The man in the glasses stepped up.
“Because genius cannot be replicated,” he answered simply. He nodded to Techna, who nodded back.
Techna motioned with his hand. “Get rid of him.” Two Black Ops grabbed Steinle and hauled him away. His screams could be heard throughout the night, echoing, echoing.
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“Honey, please don’t do this,” mom pleaded. I looked at my father, and he gave me the same look.
“I have to, mom,” I replied. I looked at my NaviGear. Blake was at the Arena, and there were five other people around him. I had taken HoverBoarding lessons before. I could do this.
“Mom, dad. Blake’s in trouble. I have to find him,” I said, begging them to understand. Blake was everything to me. I don’t know what I would do if he got hurt. They seemed to understand, but they still shook their heads.
“Even if you want to help, what are you going to do?” my dad asked.
I smiled.
“I’ve taken HoverBoard lessons. I got ranked 2nd out of 78 people in my class,” I answered. They were shocked. Their daughter, pretty little Alicia, doing dangerous sports like that? I got up and walked towards the bathroom. A closet inside had a bunch of clothes. Blake’s, except they looked like something he would have worn when he was younger. That’d be fine, I’m smaller than him anyways.
I stripped off my dress, and looked in the mirror. I needed something to cover my chest when I’m riding. I looked around, and grabbed a towel, and tightly wrapped it around my torso.
I looked around looking for a headband to tie my long blond hair, but I found something even better. A black smart-fabric suit, about my size, with blue neon stripes running down the side, and a helmet with a high-definition Link Visor built in. It was a Black Op suit.
My only worry was that Blake and whoever he was with wouldn’t notice me when they saw my outfit, but I didn’t have time to think about that now. I strapped an electro-blade to my leg, and grabbed a HoverBoard, and walked out of the bathroom.
“Honey, wha-” I cut off my parents as I opened the door to the balcony, and jumped off the 14th floor. I got onto my HoverBoard. “HoverBoard Initiate,” I commanded, and then my HoverBoard stripes glowed, and I felt myself rising. Then, it abruptly stopped working.
“[Malfunction]” my NaviGear said.
Shoot, I thought to myself, as I fell down the 1,450 feet tall building.
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“Enforcer, activate! Velocity Crash!” Kyle reacted the fastest, and charged towards the lead Black Op. He was so fast, I could barely see him, yet they still dodged him easily.
“Alita, get back!” Tyler said, blond hair flying, and he pushed me back. One of the female Black Ops used a command special move, Air Razor, and a ton of tiny white blades of wind rushed at me. It was a weak attack, so I didn’t know why Tyler told me to get back.
Then, one of the small wind blades cut me. I felt the pain as it sliced my skin, and my brain registered the pain. That was NOT suppose to happen. Your brain chip was suppose stop all pain registered in a KyberNet battle.
“Stop standing there, Alita! Blake was telling the truth! Everything’s real!” Tristan shouted, and a shadow flashed above me. I looked up, and the female Black Op had two twin blades, and was about to slash me using a speed skill. I almost laughed.
“Rapier Force!” I shouted, and my special move propelled me out of her reach, and I appeared behind her, and swung my blades. Nobody could beat me in speed moves.
Suddenly, she disappeared. I looked around, confused, and then a scorching blast of energy hit me from the back. It hurt. A lot. I turned my head, and it was the female Black Op, switching from speed skill to magic skill. What a total witch.
“Titania, activate!” I shouted. My light rogue armor suddenly grew bigger, and a long metal skirt of knives formed around my legs. Silver wings grew out of my back, shining radiantly in the light.
The female Black Op looked surprised when I changed modes. Now her magic attacks won’t hurt so bad.
“Alita!” someone shouted. I looked to my left, and it was Kyle. His brown hair waved around from the wind as he flew. His warm brown eyes looked deeply into me, and I looked back, and he looked so amazing in that white and gold armor, he was just so hot- whoa, whoa. Wait, wait, wait. He flew. He FLEW. He was FLYING ON HIS WINGS FROM HIS ARMOR.
Kyle smiled when he saw the realizing look in his eyes, and pointed behind me. I smirked. This time it was gonna be easy. I concentrated, and instantly my wings blew me up towards the ceiling. The female Black Op looked surprised, and she looked up. Too late, she was already under me.
“Fairy Queen’s Light!” I shouted, and my wings, which I thought were just for decoration, bathed themselves in a warm light green aura, and an energy beam shot itself at the female Black Op. She was dazed, and then I saw Kyle running towards her, and he opened his blade, it glowed, and he finished her.
Good game.
He smiled and looked up at me, and I looked back at him. Suddenly, my wings stopped moving and I fell down. The ground rushed towards me really fast. Then, I hung limp. Turning my head, I saw Kyle’s smile, and I laughed.
“You gotta work on that landing,” he joked. Then, he too, started laughing.
I stopped, and I looked him in the eye. “We make a pretty good team, you and I,” I whispered softly. He smirked.
“How about coffee this weekend?” he asked. I blushed. Oh my god, oh my god.
“B-b-but I’ve never been on a d-date-” I stammered, and he cut me off with a kiss. His lips felt surprisingly warm and gentle, and he pressed against me. He held me tight, right there, my long, light brown hair flowing gently in the wind while I was in his arms.
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“Aster Vortex!” I said, and one of the Black Ops flew back. Another one charged at me. I moved my hand, and a hand came out of his shadow, grabbed his ankle, and he tripped.
I opened my palms and blasted one of them with a Black Thunder attack. Kyle’s friends, the red-haired guy named Tristan, and the blond guy called Tyler, finished off another one with the help of that skinny goth, Greg. Not bad, they appear to be a rag-tag team, but we got three of the Black Ops Elite already. Well, that was one more left.
“Hey, Kyle, get the last-” I turned around and saw him making out with the girl in rogue armor. I facepalmed. You’ve gotta be kidding me, I thought.
“Save it for the prom, Romeo!” I shouted, “There’s still one left!” I barely finished my sentence before a sword cut flashed through Tristan, Tyler, and Greg. The damage was spread out among them, but I could see their health drop into the red zone. Damn, it was the leader.
He ran towards me, weapon in hand. I grimaced. Looking at Kyle and his girlfriend, it looked like I wasn’t getting help any time soon. And the other three were out of commission.
“Black Thunder!” I shouted. A thunderbolt of purple and black erupted out of my hands, and the Black Op cut the attack with his sword. Okay, he was a cut above the rest.
“Six Style Slash!” he shouted from his voice changer. Six attacks, all coming from different directions, slammed into me, too fast for me to react. Glad my armor protected me. I was on the ground, and he jumped up, apparently aiming for a finishing blow.
“Requiem!” I said, and a storm of shadows grabbed him, and rammed him into the ceiling, allowing me time to get up.
“Heh, I love using Shadow-type moves,” I muttered under my breath. The Black Op apparently was done playing around, and cut all those strands of darkness with his sword, and fell towards me, entire body wrapped in energy.
I was about to shout, “Black Thunder Drake,” but Kyle cut me off by slamming into the Op leader from the side, tackling him to the ground. I sighed, and smiled. Figures.
“Requiem!” I said again, and a I binded him to the floor. I walked over, and stepped on his chest.
“Tell me what my father’s planning,” I demanded. He laughed, voice changer changing his laugh into an electronic sound. All I heard was a robot duck coughing up monkey poop.
“Tell me,” I said, and kicked off his helmet. Generic looking guy, nothing strange or special.
“You’ll have to make me,” he dared me, and I got a little angry. Kyle looked at me.
“Core Blast!” He shouted, and it hit the guy on the chest, dropping his HP to zero. I smirked.
“Now are you gonna talk?” I said confidently. I bet that attack hurt. Nobody’s that strong, and it’s not worth it. If I was caught, I wouldn’t take any trouble defending my dad.
“Nope,” he replied, and he suddenly coughed blood. His head lurched, as if something exploded inside his brain. His eyes lurched, and he fell back, body limp.
“What was that?!” Kyle screamed. I panicked.
“What? I don’t know! How hard did you hit him?” I frantically pulled my blue hair.
He gestured wildly with his hands. “That was my weakest attack! He’s not such a sissy!” he cried.
I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. “Then how did he die? You killed him!” I screamed.
“What? Don’t blame everything on me! You started it!” he yelled.
“I started it? That’s such a kindergartner thing to say, grow up, moron!” I shouted back.
He punched me. “Who’re you calling moron, blue hair?”
“My hair happens to look fine, you worthless womanizer!” I shoved him, and he pushed me in response.
“I actually like her a lot, you wouldn’t know because you’re a heartless bastard!” He shouted. We were about to punch each other again until Greg jumped in.
“Guys, stop,” he said, and we both looked at him, still grabbing each other’s necks. He tapped his NaviGear.
“According to my iScanner, his brain chip exploded inside his head when his health dropped to zero,” he said.
Oh. my. god.
“And, we looked at all the other Black Ops we defeated. They’re dead in the same way,” Greg said softly.
Surprisingly, my hand was wet. I felt something running down my face. I was crying. Kyle’s eyebrows furrowed in a concerned look.
Dad, what kind of sick game have you come up with? I thought.
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“Techna,” I said. He looked back at me through the gloom of the laboratory. The only light on in the room was the lamp placed on the table he was working at.
“Professor Ryker,” he replied softly. I held up a HackWare, a device made to attack servers and break down firewalls. My invention, of course.
“The broadcast is going to be in a minute. World Lock is complete and ready to initiate,” I reported. He smiled.
“Excellent, excellent,” he congratulated me. “Let’s go to the recording room right now.” He beckoned me to his hand, and we walked down a long, dark hallway into the studio. Recording equipment was set up everywhere. He walked into the room, opened the door into the recording studio, and walked in, facing the camera.
A lady working on the soundboard started talking. “Going live, in three, two, one. Broadcast started.”
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My HoverBoard sped past the superstore and plaza mall. The superstore was a large building, huge parking lot out front and tons of cars packed in it. The plaza mall had a cool entrance, white columns with clouds on the top. Several stores were bustling inside it. Screens were on, playing a new single, “Life’s a Party”, by Jump Start, one of my favorite boy bands. Despite myself, I couldn’t help singing along. What? They were super cute.
Couples and friends hung around, eating food, shopping, and talking. It was a really calm peaceful night, and I would have really wanted to hang out with my friends on a night like this.
Suddenly, all the screens fizzled into static, and then the face of Dmitry Techna, owner of Techna Unlimited appeared.
“Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!” he said, laughing like a little child. People all around gasped, and stared at the screen.
“I’m sure you’ve all heard of my popular game, KyberNet Online, no?” he asked. “Well, now, you can play that game for real! And no, I don’t mean virtual reality, that’s old news,” he giggled. Then he started all-out laughing like a maniac. Someone called him a freak, and threw an egg sandwich at him. Eww... that’s super gross.
“Now everything created by KyberNet Online’s servers will be real!” He smiled. “How, you ask? Well, simply put, we forced activated your Link Visors and disabled the Logout and force Logout options on them. Now, you have to participate in this Quest!” He laughed again maniacally.
Then, he pulled out a slightly chubby man wearing a floral shirt and tan shorts.
“Now, to prove my point, I’m going to kill George, who is a Coordinator at the Quest Arena in District 9,” he said, and a sword materialized out of his hand.
“Don’t do it!” I yelled, and then Techna swung his sword. Blood erupted out of that man’s neck.
“Nooo!” I shouted. How could he do that? That’s super horrible! A woman screamed, and some people followed suit. I realized, looking at the corner of my vision, that my Visor was activated, just like he said. This was super creepy...
“What the hell?! I can’t logout!” one man screamed. Ooh, he uses bad language. I looked around some more, and people were panicking. They were all scared. Poor people, they didn't have a sense of purpose like me. I looked towards my goal; The Quest Arena in District 9. It was definitely not safe to go. But I promised myself already.
“I’m super brave,” I whispered.
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“Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!” I banged and banged on the HoverBoard and tapped my NaviGear. The building zipped past me at what seemed like an impossible speed. I rushed towards the ground, heart in my throat. I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I thought.
“[HoverBoard activated]” My Navigear suddenly said. Suddenly, my body lurched, abruptly changing direction. The my butt slammed into the back of the board, and only my magnets held me on the board.
I was finally riding at night! My tight black suit wrapped itself tightly around me, and heated me up. Smart fabric was really cool. I shifted my legs to get a better stance, and suddenly I was hit with a really annoying wedgie. I was about to curse, but the suit fixed it for me.
“Wow, Black Ops have it good,” I remarked. I lowered myself down to the treeline, and slowed down. I was going into a park. Suddenly, the park trail ended and I found myself in the plaza mall. Right at the worst time too.
People screamed, and stared at the public viewing screens. I looked up. Blood erupted from a man’s neck as Mr. Techna held his sword in one hand, and laughed. I heard a woman scream, and one girl shouted, “Nooo!”. I gasped.
Mr. Techna just killed someone. I thought he was maybe worse than I had initially expected, but... I didn’t think he would be a cold-blooded murderer.
The girl who had screamed “Noooo!” left, and zipped past on Main Street. I looked back at the screen.
“This is what I mean when I say everything KyberNet Online generates is now real!” Mr. Techna laughed.
So THAT’s what Blake was trying to warn me about. This was bad... no, this was the worst-case scenario. I looked to my right. A dark street, 2nd avenue. I could go really fast on this street, and, and turn to Main Street so I could head for the Quest Arena. I zoomed quickly in the shadows, faster than anyone ever rode. I sharply turned at a crossroad, and banked into Main Street. I didn’t see until it was too late.
I crashed into a girl, younger than me, about 12 years-old, riding a HoverBoard. My helmet came off, and the girl rubbed her head. “Ouch,”she muttered. Then, we looked at each other in the eye.
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I rode along Main Street, coming up fast but not going overboard, as there were a lot of people here. I was about to pass a super small street when a girl crashed into me.
Her helmet came off, and her blond hair fell onto her shoulders. I rubbed my head. “Ouch,” I muttered, then, we caught each other’s eyes. Her blue eyes went perfectly with her blond hair, and even though stereotypically, she would look like a dumb blond, there was a certain glint to her that said she was smart and quirky. She also had a determined look, like she had to do something, just like me. Basically, she was super pretty.
“Hey, are you...?” she started.
“Going to the Quest Arena?” I somehow knew what to say, like this was destiny that I met her.
“How’d you know?” she asked, shocked. Her black bodysuit was super tight on her, and I was super jealous.
“I’m looking for my big brother. I heard the World Lock announcement, and I was worried about him. Some weird men came to my house and asked about him. I have to find him!” I declared, and the pretty girl smiled.
“I’m looking for someone too,” she said, concerned look in her eyes. Hmmm...
“You’re boyfriend?” I asked obnoxiously. She blushed, and I giggled. I was starting to like her.
“W-what? N-no, nothing like that!” she stammered. I held her hand.
“Let’s go together!” I suggested, and stood up. She smiled. Then, she grabbed my hand.
“I’m Alicia,” she said.
I laughed. “I’m Yuki!” I replied. We both giggled, and got on our HoverBoards.
Here we come, I thought.
Chapter Six
“That’s ridiculous,” I murmured, halfway in shock from what I had just heard.
“I know, Kyle. I know,” replied Blake. He looked to the ground and Alita trembled slightly and held onto my arm. Tristan and Tyler gripped their fists. We all could not believe what had just happened.
“T-t-this can’t be real!” Greg stammered, and fell to his knees. He suddenly started hyperventilating.
“W-whoa, hang on there!” Tristan grabbed his arms and held him up. Blake just stared as Alita went over to help.
He looked at me.
“I’m sorry,” he said simply. I grabbed the collar of his shirt.
“You arrogant blue-haired little... what right did you have to involve all of us in this?!” I screamed, and the tough guy looked away. His eyes were sad. Even though I hated him, I still felt bad for screaming. This... “Word Lock” thing... it seemed like something out of a movie. I wouldn’t have believed it if not for the four dead Black Ops.
“I’m so, so sorry,” Blake whispered, and he gripped his wrist. Then he looked up, and started right into my eyes challengingly.
“But the whole world is involved in this now,” he stated, voice strong and clear. He looked around at everyone. “We’re the only ones that stand a chance. We knew about this first, and I have inside knowledge on Techna Unlimited. I’m sure there are other groups out there dedicated to fighting Techna, but we have no way of reaching them, if they’re out there.” Then, he held up his finger. “But, there is one thing I know,” he said.
That intrigued me. Something he knew... I looked around at the others and saw that they were intrigued too.
“My father has an even bigger ego than me,” he started, and I snorted. He looked at me, but I let him continue.
“He will have some way to destroy World Lock. It’s a Quest, so that means, if we find a way to beat it, the Quest simulation will end, right?” he asked, and everyone nodded.
He smiled.
“So let’s get the hell out of here.”
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The Chinese Premier, Zhou Chen, was a middle-statured man with no outstanding physical attributes. He stood around a humongous wooden round table. Seated around this table were delegates from important countries all around the world. Attendants and reporters quickly got out their cameras and laptops, writing and recording everything that was about happen. The world’s fate rested on this meeting. Literally.
“As you all know,” Zhou began, “The Chinese-Russian Alliance was formed when the allied Japan and Iraq revenge-bombed both the West Coast and East Coast of America, making them now unsuitable due to radiation, and America has since been called the United States of the Midwest and Canada.”
The delegates nodded accordingly, as they already knew this information. They could feel what it could lead on too, and the tension in the air was ecstatic.
Zhou looked at his partner, Vrosjr Chernobyl, the delegate representing Russia, who nodded for Zhou to continue.
“The Chinese-Russian Alliance was created to help defend each other from possible attacks from Japan and Iraq, and, since their partnership worked so well, they combined to form one republic, which is now one of the strongest nations in the world. And we have a plan.”
Delegates, attendants, and reporters alike all moved in closer. THIS is what they had come to hear. The solution to World Lock...
Zhou took a 4D hologram video from his pocket, and placed it on the table. It instantly started showing a clip.
“Chinese and Russian teens that are very adept at KyberNet Online! have started military training as possible soldiers for their country. Some have reached levels nearing and exceeding 100, which was thought to be the maximum. We believe that strength, combined with possible teens from your respective countries, could battle and defeat Techna Unlimited.” Zhou looked around, hands behind his back, as the room was aghast and surprised by the suggestion.
An older man with silver hair and a face that was definitely handsome when he was younger stood up. It was Richard Johnson, president of the United States of the Midwest and Canada. He slammed his palm against the table and all the quiet murmuring and discussion in the room ceased instantly.
He looked at Zhou and Chernobyl.
“Then, we go to war,” he said.
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“There! There’s the Arena!” Yuki pointed, and I felt my heart light up. Blake was near, I could feel it! We landed our HoverBoards, and looked at the entrance.
Several Black Ops were stationed outside, along with a laser cannon mounted on a SkyCar. Several police officers surrounded them, pointing laser guns. One of the Black Ops simply said, “KyberNet Initiate,” and a sword materialized in his hand, and he cut down a police officer.
“Damnit, shoot!” one of the officers said, and squeezed the trigger of his gun.
It didn’t work.
“Fire again!” he shouted, and the platoon of troops clicked their guns.
Nothing happened, and it dawned on them that anyone who had a high level on KyberNet was now superior than any modern weaponry.
With a whisper of “KyberNet Initiate” and a swing of their swords, the Black Ops mowed down every single police officer, silently and effeciently. Yuki gasped, and put her hand to her mouth.
I felt like I was going to puke. I held myself up by putting my hand a nearby SkyCar that shielded us from being seen by the Black Ops.
“We get in from the back?” Yuki asked me. I nodded.
“Get in from the back,” I replied. She nodded back at me, and we tiptoed around the edge of the parking lot. It was really dark right now, and electro-lamps cast their pale blue light over everything. We crouched, and ran really quickly behind to the back of the humongous building.
I pointed at an Emergency exit in the back, and silently motioned to Yuki. She gave me a thumbs up, and we quickly got in the door. I slid against the wall in relief.
“Phew, now we can talk,” I said, relaxing with my back against the wall. Yuki put a finger to her lips alarmingly.
“Shh! We might not be safe yet! We hafta find my brother!” she said softly. I nodded, and we tiptoed quietly into the hallway.
It was a generic robot janitor charging booth, and we passed by the sleeping machines quietly. They were chubby, about four feet tall, and colored white. An assortment of cleaning fluids and a multi-purpose mop were attached to their arms. Their faces had cute electronic expressions, which was usually auto-set to smiling.
When I was little, I use to try to jump on their backs and annoy them so the emoticon would change into angry, which made them looked like mad panda bears. It was so fun...
“Look out!” Yuki grabbed my arms and pulled me behind one of the charging booths. I heard the crunch of footsteps. I heard two voices talking as they walked past me.
“So, all the people doin Quests are trapped inside?”
“Yeah, I even heard that Blake, ya know, Mister Techna’s son, ran away and is hiding inside Quest Room 45.”
“Hahaha, what a laugh. If I was him, I would be ruling the world with my pops right now!”
“I know, what a moron!”
I could see Yuki from my hiding spot. She looked back at me, and I pleaded her with my eyes. I looked left, and I saw that that those guards were gone.
“Please! Blake’s in room 45! We have to get to him!” I begged her. It was best that we stayed together, but she had to find her big brother and I had to find Blake. She seemed to understand.
“Yeah, I get it. I know it’s super hard not to see someone you care about,” she nodded, and we got out of our hiding spots. I brushed my legs.
I pointed. “So, room 45 should be that way,” and Yuki walked towards that hallway. I walked behind her, and we came up across a door.
“Hey, what’s your brother’s name?” I asked. Yuki looked surprised at my question, and she smiled.
“Kyle. And he’s super cool and super strong, but I can’t the feeling that something bad’s gonna happen,” she replied. I sighed.
“Y-yeah, it’s like we’re gonna get attacked anytime, so let’s be on our guard-” I was suddenly interrupted as I heard a footstep behind me. I turned around.
“Well, well, playing espionage, are we? Little girls shouldn’t be sneaking around dangerous places like this.”
It was the two guards we had seen. They were wearing green camo jackets and black pants. One was really tall and skinny and one had a very paunch belly and was as short as Yuki. They were second-rate security guards hired by Techna Unlimited to patrol places that it wasn’t worth it to send Black Ops. Still, they were stronger than us.
This was bad. I turned to Yuki.
“Can you KyberNet battle?” I asked. Her eyes widened in fear.
“Nope,” she replied. “Can you?” I shook my head.
“Does level 2 count?” I asked. Yuki pulled her hair.
“ARGH! Just run!”
She grabbed my hand we bolted.
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Zhou and Chernobyl walked into the training room. Several teens of ranging ages worked out, jogged, and sparred.
One of the teens jogging saw them, and beckoned another teen, a girl, with his hand, signaling to Zhou and Chernobyl.
He walked over.
Dragon Xiaoping stood tall, six feet high. He was wearing the flexible black smart fabric and excercise shorts of all the trainees. He thick black hair fell to one side, framing his sharp chin.
The girl he had motioned walked over, and both bowed to Zhou and Chernobyl. Her name was Anastasia Veruli, and she, like Dragon, was very tall. Her slender frame went well with her straight blond hair, and her blue eyes displayed no emotions as she and Dragon greeted the leaders of the CRA training program.
“How did the meeting go, sir?” Dragon asked. Zhou appraised him, and then answered.
“It went well. The president of the USMC, Richard Johnson, has agreed to our plan. Likewise, the other nations did as well. Unanimously,” he said.
Anastasia nodded her head and slightly smiled.
“That is good. Uncle, when will the actual fighting start?” she asked, and Chernobyl wrinkled his nose.
“In three days. No matter if you two are the top trainees of the CRA, it will not be easy facing a horde of Black Ops. Train your KyberNet armor, and aim for nothing but the best, Anna.”
With that, Dragon and Anna bowed, and Zhou and Chernobyl left.
“Well, that’s good news,” Dragon said to Anna as they walked back to start training.
Anna’s pretty eyes lit up. “Yeah, I guess it is. Hey, do you wanna do a Quest for fun?” she asked, and Dragon looked mildly shocked at her suggestion.
“Uhhh... do we have time? I mean... it’s three days until we launch an attack. But... what kind of quest?” he asked, faltering slightly at the end. Anna smirked.
“You’ll see,” she replied, and they walked into a simulation chamber.
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“Damnit! We can’t do anything!” I slammed my fist against the wall. Alita looked trouble, as she always did when I was upset. Her petite face looked at me, and she opened her imploring warm brown eyes at me.
“Don’t be worried. We’ll think of something,” she reassured me. I just grabbed her in a hug. In times like these, when random, terrible things bring people closer together, you just have to take all the comfort you can get. Blake leered at me again.
“What are you talking about, we’re trapped? Why don’t we just walk out?” he said, clearly annoyed. I stopped hugging Alita and walked up to that blue-haired freak.
“Stop acting so superior! If you know something, tell us!” I said to him angrily, and he started getting mad too.
“Uhh, well excuse me, I was just about too. And don’t you think it’s not the time to be cuddling?” he replied. I always lost my temper around this guy. Always. How many fights have we had in the hour we’ve known each other? Three. And that’s just counting the major ones.
“Shaddup and tell us!” I raged. I guess I had a really funny expression on my face, because Alita giggled, and looking at Tristan, he smirked. Blake looked at me oddly.
“You have a really weird angry face...” he began. I grabbed his shoulders.
“Just say it already,” I said, depressed. Everyone thought I looked funny...
“Usually you can only exit a game after you lose all your health, or the Quest is completed and the Coordinator comes and gets you. But, there’s an emergency exit in everyone Quest room that goes directly into the back hallways where the janitor robots get recharged,” he answered. Then, Blake tapped his NaviGear, and red arrows appeared on the floor and the walls, directing us.
“Oh... so that’s it... okay, let’s go!” Tristan ran in the direction the arrows pointed. We all followed.
The Quest Room was a maze almost, but we simply went along with the arrows and we saw a hidden door.
“Look, there it is,” Blake pointed, with that I told you so look on his face. Stuck-up jerk.
I got to the door first, and there was a button on the side. I tried to pass through, but it wouldn’t let me. I tried again, and my hand just felt buzzed against the electro-shield.
Blake shoved me aside.
“It’s an old manual door without a DNA scanner, you reckless idiot!” he said exasperatingly and pushed the button.
“Hey, I rush into things because I care, okay?” I retorted. Blake shook his head and sighed. Typical him, from what I’ve seen.
“Let’s just go,” he said. I walked out the door right behind him. Suddenly I heard a scream to my left. We were standing in a long hallway, and on the left side, two girls were getting chased by two guys, one tall and skinny, one short and fat.
One of the girls glanced past us, and her blue eyes instantly light up with... I don’t know, endless joy?
“Blake!” she shouted, and ran towards us, holding the hand of another girl. A young girl with short, light brown hair and a miniskirt and looked REALLY familiar. It was Yuki.
“What the heck, sis?!?! What are you doing here?!?!” I screamed. My eyes nearly popped out of my head.
“Hey, big bro!” She yelled, seemingly unaware of the danger two guys chasing after her posed. Suddenly, the short, chubby guy flashed a knife.
“Yuki!” I screamed. My KyberNet armor instantly transformed and my wings sped towards her.
“Wait!” Blake shouted after me, but I pretended not to hear.
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“Wait!” I shouted.
Kyle, being the idiot he was, just ignored me. His wind trail blew my blue hair everywhere. Stupid moron. Fortunately he’s strong, so I don’t have to worry about him getting hurt or anything, but still. Can you believe it?
What if those two guys were stronger than they looked? Jeez... I put my palm to my forehead. Then, I caught Alicia’s eye.
She smiled when she saw me looking at her. An innocent, naive, and, I have to admit, pretty smile.
“Justice Blow!” I suddenly turned my head towards Kyle and saw him knock those two guys flying with the flat part of his sword. Good, we don’t need any more casualties.
Kyle ran to his sister, Yuki, he called her, and Alicia walked up to me. She smiled, and was about to hug me.
“Hey, I’ve been-” I shoved her to the ground. She fell, and bit her lip. Putting her hand to her mouth, she looked up at me, eyes full of hurt.
“You shouldn’t have come,” I said softly. She stood up, and tears filled the corners of her eyes.
“I-I’m sorry, I promise I’ll do anythi-”
SLAP.
Alita hit me with a good one, and I felt the pain register as my head spun for a second.
Alicia rushed over to me.
“Are you okay?” she asked, full of concern. I gently nudged her away and put my own hand to my cheek, and looked at Alita. She was breathing heavily, and she was scowling.
“How can you just act like that?” She screamed. Everyone, including Kyle and his sister, looked at me.
“She cares about you so much, and just shove her away?” She shouted. “I don’t know who either of you are, so I can’t say anything, except what I see right now, and right now, you’re being an asshole!” Alita puffed, and Kyle, gaunt, walked up to her, and put his hand on her shoulder and led her away.
I stood there, face numb. Alicia looked at me, hands instinctively wanting to reach me, to help me, to comfort me.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to her.
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I led Alita away as Blake stood there with Alicia. I took a few steps with Alita in my arms, and she started crying.
I took a final glance at Blake, and he was near tears. Somehow, the other’s couldn’t tell, but I could. There was another reason why he didn’t want to get close to Alicia.
I mean, she’s obviously really pretty, and definitely cares about him more than anything. Blake’s not stupid, and hopefully, he’s not gay(okay, I’m just kidding here). There must be another reason why he’s acting like that. .
“Are you okay?” Tyler asks Alita cautiously. She was just crying, so I nodded for her. Tyler sighed with relief, and Tristan and Greg walk over. Greg held his NaviGear out, and it showed a map of Mellodia city.
“Look, right here,” Greg pointed to a red dot on the screen. “Tristan has an old hangout, a warehouse, that we could use for a safe spot to recuperate.” I looked at Tristan, and he nodded.
“Yeah. I used to be in a gang, until it dissolved, back when I was kinda a bad kid...” his sentence faltered for a moment. “And we need a place for all of us to stay until we can figure up a plan. So, I sent the coordinates to all of your NaviGears,” he said, and I nodded.
This was perfect. Exactly what we needed. Alita stopped crying and looked at me with determination. Did I mention that I like her?
“Blake, Yuki, uhhh, Alicia, did you hear that?” Tristan asked them. They all nodded, and Blake moved somberly.
“Where’s the exit?” I asked. Yuki answered for me, her face still concerned. She was worried.
“I’ll show you. Follow me,” she said nervously. We all went with her and went out of an emergency exit. I quickly scanned around. No one here.
“Coast is clear. Call your HoverBoards,” I whispered. Everyone clicked their NaviGears, and seven HoverBoards smoothly glided towards us. I got onto mine.
“Hey, everybody ready?” Yuki asked, taking some responsibility. I smirked at her, and she stuck out her tongue. I promised myself to buy something for her when this was all over.
“Yeah, let’s go!” Tyler shouted. Instantly, we heard people coming.
I looked frantically at him. “Way too loud!”
“I’m sorry!” He apologized really quickly. Suddenly, we heard the whirring sound of HoverBoards going into high-speed mode.
“Go! Come on guys, follow me!” Tristan zoomed up into the sky, and the rest of the group followed suit. I rocketed into the sky, neon lights blazing because my HoverBoard sensed the night sky.
Wind blew hard and fast, ruffling my hair. I could barely see, with the dark night and air blowing into my eyes.
“Look out!” I heard Alita cry out. I heard a buzzing, crackling, electric sound. I moved up as quickly as I could, and a green ball of energy whipped past me, missing me by an inch.
Suddenly, I looked back. I don’t know who shouted it, but I still have nightmares about it to this day, just because of the suspense and fear and adrenaline pumping through me.
“It’s the Black Ops!”
“I know, Kyle. I know,” replied Blake. He looked to the ground and Alita trembled slightly and held onto my arm. Tristan and Tyler gripped their fists. We all could not believe what had just happened.
“T-t-this can’t be real!” Greg stammered, and fell to his knees. He suddenly started hyperventilating.
“W-whoa, hang on there!” Tristan grabbed his arms and held him up. Blake just stared as Alita went over to help.
He looked at me.
“I’m sorry,” he said simply. I grabbed the collar of his shirt.
“You arrogant blue-haired little... what right did you have to involve all of us in this?!” I screamed, and the tough guy looked away. His eyes were sad. Even though I hated him, I still felt bad for screaming. This... “Word Lock” thing... it seemed like something out of a movie. I wouldn’t have believed it if not for the four dead Black Ops.
“I’m so, so sorry,” Blake whispered, and he gripped his wrist. Then he looked up, and started right into my eyes challengingly.
“But the whole world is involved in this now,” he stated, voice strong and clear. He looked around at everyone. “We’re the only ones that stand a chance. We knew about this first, and I have inside knowledge on Techna Unlimited. I’m sure there are other groups out there dedicated to fighting Techna, but we have no way of reaching them, if they’re out there.” Then, he held up his finger. “But, there is one thing I know,” he said.
That intrigued me. Something he knew... I looked around at the others and saw that they were intrigued too.
“My father has an even bigger ego than me,” he started, and I snorted. He looked at me, but I let him continue.
“He will have some way to destroy World Lock. It’s a Quest, so that means, if we find a way to beat it, the Quest simulation will end, right?” he asked, and everyone nodded.
He smiled.
“So let’s get the hell out of here.”
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The Chinese Premier, Zhou Chen, was a middle-statured man with no outstanding physical attributes. He stood around a humongous wooden round table. Seated around this table were delegates from important countries all around the world. Attendants and reporters quickly got out their cameras and laptops, writing and recording everything that was about happen. The world’s fate rested on this meeting. Literally.
“As you all know,” Zhou began, “The Chinese-Russian Alliance was formed when the allied Japan and Iraq revenge-bombed both the West Coast and East Coast of America, making them now unsuitable due to radiation, and America has since been called the United States of the Midwest and Canada.”
The delegates nodded accordingly, as they already knew this information. They could feel what it could lead on too, and the tension in the air was ecstatic.
Zhou looked at his partner, Vrosjr Chernobyl, the delegate representing Russia, who nodded for Zhou to continue.
“The Chinese-Russian Alliance was created to help defend each other from possible attacks from Japan and Iraq, and, since their partnership worked so well, they combined to form one republic, which is now one of the strongest nations in the world. And we have a plan.”
Delegates, attendants, and reporters alike all moved in closer. THIS is what they had come to hear. The solution to World Lock...
Zhou took a 4D hologram video from his pocket, and placed it on the table. It instantly started showing a clip.
“Chinese and Russian teens that are very adept at KyberNet Online! have started military training as possible soldiers for their country. Some have reached levels nearing and exceeding 100, which was thought to be the maximum. We believe that strength, combined with possible teens from your respective countries, could battle and defeat Techna Unlimited.” Zhou looked around, hands behind his back, as the room was aghast and surprised by the suggestion.
An older man with silver hair and a face that was definitely handsome when he was younger stood up. It was Richard Johnson, president of the United States of the Midwest and Canada. He slammed his palm against the table and all the quiet murmuring and discussion in the room ceased instantly.
He looked at Zhou and Chernobyl.
“Then, we go to war,” he said.
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“There! There’s the Arena!” Yuki pointed, and I felt my heart light up. Blake was near, I could feel it! We landed our HoverBoards, and looked at the entrance.
Several Black Ops were stationed outside, along with a laser cannon mounted on a SkyCar. Several police officers surrounded them, pointing laser guns. One of the Black Ops simply said, “KyberNet Initiate,” and a sword materialized in his hand, and he cut down a police officer.
“Damnit, shoot!” one of the officers said, and squeezed the trigger of his gun.
It didn’t work.
“Fire again!” he shouted, and the platoon of troops clicked their guns.
Nothing happened, and it dawned on them that anyone who had a high level on KyberNet was now superior than any modern weaponry.
With a whisper of “KyberNet Initiate” and a swing of their swords, the Black Ops mowed down every single police officer, silently and effeciently. Yuki gasped, and put her hand to her mouth.
I felt like I was going to puke. I held myself up by putting my hand a nearby SkyCar that shielded us from being seen by the Black Ops.
“We get in from the back?” Yuki asked me. I nodded.
“Get in from the back,” I replied. She nodded back at me, and we tiptoed around the edge of the parking lot. It was really dark right now, and electro-lamps cast their pale blue light over everything. We crouched, and ran really quickly behind to the back of the humongous building.
I pointed at an Emergency exit in the back, and silently motioned to Yuki. She gave me a thumbs up, and we quickly got in the door. I slid against the wall in relief.
“Phew, now we can talk,” I said, relaxing with my back against the wall. Yuki put a finger to her lips alarmingly.
“Shh! We might not be safe yet! We hafta find my brother!” she said softly. I nodded, and we tiptoed quietly into the hallway.
It was a generic robot janitor charging booth, and we passed by the sleeping machines quietly. They were chubby, about four feet tall, and colored white. An assortment of cleaning fluids and a multi-purpose mop were attached to their arms. Their faces had cute electronic expressions, which was usually auto-set to smiling.
When I was little, I use to try to jump on their backs and annoy them so the emoticon would change into angry, which made them looked like mad panda bears. It was so fun...
“Look out!” Yuki grabbed my arms and pulled me behind one of the charging booths. I heard the crunch of footsteps. I heard two voices talking as they walked past me.
“So, all the people doin Quests are trapped inside?”
“Yeah, I even heard that Blake, ya know, Mister Techna’s son, ran away and is hiding inside Quest Room 45.”
“Hahaha, what a laugh. If I was him, I would be ruling the world with my pops right now!”
“I know, what a moron!”
I could see Yuki from my hiding spot. She looked back at me, and I pleaded her with my eyes. I looked left, and I saw that that those guards were gone.
“Please! Blake’s in room 45! We have to get to him!” I begged her. It was best that we stayed together, but she had to find her big brother and I had to find Blake. She seemed to understand.
“Yeah, I get it. I know it’s super hard not to see someone you care about,” she nodded, and we got out of our hiding spots. I brushed my legs.
I pointed. “So, room 45 should be that way,” and Yuki walked towards that hallway. I walked behind her, and we came up across a door.
“Hey, what’s your brother’s name?” I asked. Yuki looked surprised at my question, and she smiled.
“Kyle. And he’s super cool and super strong, but I can’t the feeling that something bad’s gonna happen,” she replied. I sighed.
“Y-yeah, it’s like we’re gonna get attacked anytime, so let’s be on our guard-” I was suddenly interrupted as I heard a footstep behind me. I turned around.
“Well, well, playing espionage, are we? Little girls shouldn’t be sneaking around dangerous places like this.”
It was the two guards we had seen. They were wearing green camo jackets and black pants. One was really tall and skinny and one had a very paunch belly and was as short as Yuki. They were second-rate security guards hired by Techna Unlimited to patrol places that it wasn’t worth it to send Black Ops. Still, they were stronger than us.
This was bad. I turned to Yuki.
“Can you KyberNet battle?” I asked. Her eyes widened in fear.
“Nope,” she replied. “Can you?” I shook my head.
“Does level 2 count?” I asked. Yuki pulled her hair.
“ARGH! Just run!”
She grabbed my hand we bolted.
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Zhou and Chernobyl walked into the training room. Several teens of ranging ages worked out, jogged, and sparred.
One of the teens jogging saw them, and beckoned another teen, a girl, with his hand, signaling to Zhou and Chernobyl.
He walked over.
Dragon Xiaoping stood tall, six feet high. He was wearing the flexible black smart fabric and excercise shorts of all the trainees. He thick black hair fell to one side, framing his sharp chin.
The girl he had motioned walked over, and both bowed to Zhou and Chernobyl. Her name was Anastasia Veruli, and she, like Dragon, was very tall. Her slender frame went well with her straight blond hair, and her blue eyes displayed no emotions as she and Dragon greeted the leaders of the CRA training program.
“How did the meeting go, sir?” Dragon asked. Zhou appraised him, and then answered.
“It went well. The president of the USMC, Richard Johnson, has agreed to our plan. Likewise, the other nations did as well. Unanimously,” he said.
Anastasia nodded her head and slightly smiled.
“That is good. Uncle, when will the actual fighting start?” she asked, and Chernobyl wrinkled his nose.
“In three days. No matter if you two are the top trainees of the CRA, it will not be easy facing a horde of Black Ops. Train your KyberNet armor, and aim for nothing but the best, Anna.”
With that, Dragon and Anna bowed, and Zhou and Chernobyl left.
“Well, that’s good news,” Dragon said to Anna as they walked back to start training.
Anna’s pretty eyes lit up. “Yeah, I guess it is. Hey, do you wanna do a Quest for fun?” she asked, and Dragon looked mildly shocked at her suggestion.
“Uhhh... do we have time? I mean... it’s three days until we launch an attack. But... what kind of quest?” he asked, faltering slightly at the end. Anna smirked.
“You’ll see,” she replied, and they walked into a simulation chamber.
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“Damnit! We can’t do anything!” I slammed my fist against the wall. Alita looked trouble, as she always did when I was upset. Her petite face looked at me, and she opened her imploring warm brown eyes at me.
“Don’t be worried. We’ll think of something,” she reassured me. I just grabbed her in a hug. In times like these, when random, terrible things bring people closer together, you just have to take all the comfort you can get. Blake leered at me again.
“What are you talking about, we’re trapped? Why don’t we just walk out?” he said, clearly annoyed. I stopped hugging Alita and walked up to that blue-haired freak.
“Stop acting so superior! If you know something, tell us!” I said to him angrily, and he started getting mad too.
“Uhh, well excuse me, I was just about too. And don’t you think it’s not the time to be cuddling?” he replied. I always lost my temper around this guy. Always. How many fights have we had in the hour we’ve known each other? Three. And that’s just counting the major ones.
“Shaddup and tell us!” I raged. I guess I had a really funny expression on my face, because Alita giggled, and looking at Tristan, he smirked. Blake looked at me oddly.
“You have a really weird angry face...” he began. I grabbed his shoulders.
“Just say it already,” I said, depressed. Everyone thought I looked funny...
“Usually you can only exit a game after you lose all your health, or the Quest is completed and the Coordinator comes and gets you. But, there’s an emergency exit in everyone Quest room that goes directly into the back hallways where the janitor robots get recharged,” he answered. Then, Blake tapped his NaviGear, and red arrows appeared on the floor and the walls, directing us.
“Oh... so that’s it... okay, let’s go!” Tristan ran in the direction the arrows pointed. We all followed.
The Quest Room was a maze almost, but we simply went along with the arrows and we saw a hidden door.
“Look, there it is,” Blake pointed, with that I told you so look on his face. Stuck-up jerk.
I got to the door first, and there was a button on the side. I tried to pass through, but it wouldn’t let me. I tried again, and my hand just felt buzzed against the electro-shield.
Blake shoved me aside.
“It’s an old manual door without a DNA scanner, you reckless idiot!” he said exasperatingly and pushed the button.
“Hey, I rush into things because I care, okay?” I retorted. Blake shook his head and sighed. Typical him, from what I’ve seen.
“Let’s just go,” he said. I walked out the door right behind him. Suddenly I heard a scream to my left. We were standing in a long hallway, and on the left side, two girls were getting chased by two guys, one tall and skinny, one short and fat.
One of the girls glanced past us, and her blue eyes instantly light up with... I don’t know, endless joy?
“Blake!” she shouted, and ran towards us, holding the hand of another girl. A young girl with short, light brown hair and a miniskirt and looked REALLY familiar. It was Yuki.
“What the heck, sis?!?! What are you doing here?!?!” I screamed. My eyes nearly popped out of my head.
“Hey, big bro!” She yelled, seemingly unaware of the danger two guys chasing after her posed. Suddenly, the short, chubby guy flashed a knife.
“Yuki!” I screamed. My KyberNet armor instantly transformed and my wings sped towards her.
“Wait!” Blake shouted after me, but I pretended not to hear.
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“Wait!” I shouted.
Kyle, being the idiot he was, just ignored me. His wind trail blew my blue hair everywhere. Stupid moron. Fortunately he’s strong, so I don’t have to worry about him getting hurt or anything, but still. Can you believe it?
What if those two guys were stronger than they looked? Jeez... I put my palm to my forehead. Then, I caught Alicia’s eye.
She smiled when she saw me looking at her. An innocent, naive, and, I have to admit, pretty smile.
“Justice Blow!” I suddenly turned my head towards Kyle and saw him knock those two guys flying with the flat part of his sword. Good, we don’t need any more casualties.
Kyle ran to his sister, Yuki, he called her, and Alicia walked up to me. She smiled, and was about to hug me.
“Hey, I’ve been-” I shoved her to the ground. She fell, and bit her lip. Putting her hand to her mouth, she looked up at me, eyes full of hurt.
“You shouldn’t have come,” I said softly. She stood up, and tears filled the corners of her eyes.
“I-I’m sorry, I promise I’ll do anythi-”
SLAP.
Alita hit me with a good one, and I felt the pain register as my head spun for a second.
Alicia rushed over to me.
“Are you okay?” she asked, full of concern. I gently nudged her away and put my own hand to my cheek, and looked at Alita. She was breathing heavily, and she was scowling.
“How can you just act like that?” She screamed. Everyone, including Kyle and his sister, looked at me.
“She cares about you so much, and just shove her away?” She shouted. “I don’t know who either of you are, so I can’t say anything, except what I see right now, and right now, you’re being an asshole!” Alita puffed, and Kyle, gaunt, walked up to her, and put his hand on her shoulder and led her away.
I stood there, face numb. Alicia looked at me, hands instinctively wanting to reach me, to help me, to comfort me.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to her.
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I led Alita away as Blake stood there with Alicia. I took a few steps with Alita in my arms, and she started crying.
I took a final glance at Blake, and he was near tears. Somehow, the other’s couldn’t tell, but I could. There was another reason why he didn’t want to get close to Alicia.
I mean, she’s obviously really pretty, and definitely cares about him more than anything. Blake’s not stupid, and hopefully, he’s not gay(okay, I’m just kidding here). There must be another reason why he’s acting like that. .
“Are you okay?” Tyler asks Alita cautiously. She was just crying, so I nodded for her. Tyler sighed with relief, and Tristan and Greg walk over. Greg held his NaviGear out, and it showed a map of Mellodia city.
“Look, right here,” Greg pointed to a red dot on the screen. “Tristan has an old hangout, a warehouse, that we could use for a safe spot to recuperate.” I looked at Tristan, and he nodded.
“Yeah. I used to be in a gang, until it dissolved, back when I was kinda a bad kid...” his sentence faltered for a moment. “And we need a place for all of us to stay until we can figure up a plan. So, I sent the coordinates to all of your NaviGears,” he said, and I nodded.
This was perfect. Exactly what we needed. Alita stopped crying and looked at me with determination. Did I mention that I like her?
“Blake, Yuki, uhhh, Alicia, did you hear that?” Tristan asked them. They all nodded, and Blake moved somberly.
“Where’s the exit?” I asked. Yuki answered for me, her face still concerned. She was worried.
“I’ll show you. Follow me,” she said nervously. We all went with her and went out of an emergency exit. I quickly scanned around. No one here.
“Coast is clear. Call your HoverBoards,” I whispered. Everyone clicked their NaviGears, and seven HoverBoards smoothly glided towards us. I got onto mine.
“Hey, everybody ready?” Yuki asked, taking some responsibility. I smirked at her, and she stuck out her tongue. I promised myself to buy something for her when this was all over.
“Yeah, let’s go!” Tyler shouted. Instantly, we heard people coming.
I looked frantically at him. “Way too loud!”
“I’m sorry!” He apologized really quickly. Suddenly, we heard the whirring sound of HoverBoards going into high-speed mode.
“Go! Come on guys, follow me!” Tristan zoomed up into the sky, and the rest of the group followed suit. I rocketed into the sky, neon lights blazing because my HoverBoard sensed the night sky.
Wind blew hard and fast, ruffling my hair. I could barely see, with the dark night and air blowing into my eyes.
“Look out!” I heard Alita cry out. I heard a buzzing, crackling, electric sound. I moved up as quickly as I could, and a green ball of energy whipped past me, missing me by an inch.
Suddenly, I looked back. I don’t know who shouted it, but I still have nightmares about it to this day, just because of the suspense and fear and adrenaline pumping through me.
“It’s the Black Ops!”
Chapter Seven
“What? I thought it was suppose to be three days from now!” Dragon protested. Zhou shook his head, and Anna looked worried. They were standing in the briefing room for the CRA training program, and Chernobyl, headed by two bodyguards, stood in front of them.
A screen was on in front of them, and it showed the essentials of breaking down, accelerating, and reconstituting particles. A huge machine with an atomic speed cycle was being diagrammed, analyzed, and recorded in real-time. Essentially, it was a teleporter.
“You can go NOW.” Zhou said firmly, and Anna furrowed her brows in concern. She put her hands on the table.
“But is it safe?” she asked. Chernobyl nodded to Zhou, who looked back to Anna and Dragon.
“We have had test subjects. Alive. All have made it through. The estimated survival rate is 99.9%,” Zhou declared, and Dragon put his hand to his chin, thinking.
“But is it so important? Dmitry Techna’s son getting killed? I mean, how would we be able to trust him and this group that’s with him?” Dragon asked, and Zhou immediately answered, seemingly prepared for all the questions Dragon and Anna were gonna ask.
“No, we cannot trust them, but they cannot die either. Hacking into the Quest Arena security footage, we can safely assume that they are against World Lock, and are fighting Techna Unlimited. You do not need to show yourselves to them, but rather, take care of the Black Ops quickly and effeciently,” Zhou said, and both Dragon and Anna nodded.
Zhou continued, “Then, we will keep tabs on them. They will lead us to Dmitry Techna, and, after they are soundly beaten, we will swoop in and win this war. Reinforcements from the USMC will be arriving with President Johnson tomorrow. You are going to teleport in 12 minutes, on HoverBoard, to the exact spot where the fight is taking place.”
Dragon looked to his left. Anna looked at Dragon. They both gripped their NaviGears, and looked up at Zhou.
“We’re ready,” they said.
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“Red Fire Storm!” Tristan shouted, and five jets of flame skyrocketed toward the Black Ops. Six of them dodged it, and two were struck by the flames, and fell of their HoverBoards.
“Blake, we gotta make it,” Kyle said to me, and I nodded. An unheard of condition for a KyberNet Battle. We were firing energy attacks at each other while flying several hundred feet in the air on HoverBoards.
Just as I thought this, a blast of energy grazed the tip of my HoverBoard, sending my board spiraling. I barely managed to get my balance back on, and as I just did, I barely twisted my body to avoid another attack.
“Climb higher!” Alita shouted, and I promptly and gladly followed that idea as slingshotted myself higher into the clouds. Speeding higher up, I passed through several clouds, silhouetted against the light of the moon.
A breeze chilled me, even though I was wearing a black hoodie, since this was so high up. I looked down at the battle below.
Energy blasts of various colors flew in all directions, as both the Black Ops and my friends dived and feinted to avoid them. It was total chaos, screaming all around. I was the only one who had heard Alita to climb up, so I was alone up here. Even Alita herself couldn’t get higher, as I could see her tailboard smoking, and Kyle covering for her by furiously shooting one energy attack after another.
It started raining. Suddenly, I heard a scream. Looking through the confusion of all the various colored balls of light flashing around, I saw who screamed. Yuki, Kyle’s little sister, was hit, and she was hit hard. Kyle swooped in to try to save her, leaving Alita unguarded, who barely managed to get out of the way of another Black Op.
I heard another yell, and a rumble in the clouds, and saw Tyler being surrounded by two Black Ops. I shook my head.
This wasn’t going to work. We were outmatched, outnumbered, and outskilled. To the right, I could see several more Black Ops incoming. My friends were furiously fighting for their lives because I went to them for help.
“Damnit! I have to do something,” I cursed. Suddenly, I heard another rumble. Then, I noticed, I had been hearing rumbles for a while now. Not to mention, it was raining. I looked up to my back.
A huge storm cloud with fragments of electricity crackling on the surface and inside was directly above me. Every few seconds, a thunderbolt would randomly fly somewhere. I had an idea.
“Cursius, activate! Black Thunder!” I reached my hands up, and I could feel it in me. My signature attack, the one I used in nearly every battle. One that my dad custom-designed for me.
I waved my hand slowly, and I could feel the lightning attracted to me like I was a humongous magnet. I gripped my fists hard, and the lightning flared up, increasing it’s voltage, and turned purple. Black Thunder, I smiled.
“Rargh!” I yelled. I threw my hand towards the ground, willing the lightning to strike Black Ops. It obeyed me.
A storm of purple electric daggers descended upon the Black Ops, taking out the six of them that were fighting my friends, all at the same time.
The group of about twenty Black Ops who were coming in and my friends looked up to see me. I liked to imagine in my minds eye that I looked like a god, standing in the sky, with the lightning at my beck and call. In reality, I probably looked like a kid who was really wet from the rain and breathing really hard.
“Whoo, nice!” Kyle congratulated me, and I smiled. But no, this wasn’t over yet. Ten Black Ops from the group veered of their normal course of attacking my friends and instead headed over to me. It was ten highly trained professionals. I was a kid. In normal circumstances, I had no chance. But, in this circumstance, I had lightning.
“Black Thunder!” I screamed, and hurled three bolts at the first to Ops coming toward me, knocking them off their HoverBoards. I had no time to celebrate, however. Four more of them charged at me, nearing close by. I gathered all of my strength and concentration, and just let loose an uncontrolled storm of thunderbolts. It was dangerous, if I wasn’t so high up I would have never attempted it. However, I managed to get four of them.
A few stray bolts missed the battle completely and landed in the city. I could see several trees light on fire, and buildings around it were completely blacked out, overloaded by voltage. I could not use this same move again. If I did, people that weren’t involved into this could get hurt.
“Vestros Pulse!” I moved out of the way an inch, but the shot grazed my arm, sending spikes of pain through my entire body. I looked around, and the remaining three Ops surrounded me, hands glowing with the red aura signature to Vestros Pulse, a high-energy, high-speed, and low-cost energy pulse attack made especially for Black Ops.
“Shadow Shield!” I said. A Black sphere formed around me, and two Vestros Pulses bounced off harmlessly, but the third one cracked the shield. The Black Ops came in closer, but I was already on the move.
I flew across the sky, right behind one, and grabbed electricity in the palm of my hand, and hurled at an Op. It knocked him off his HoverBoard just as his came up to my side, and hurled another Vestros Pulse. I dodged it, but I was too late for the next one.
“Ivy Whip!” I turned around, and a green rope of energy slapped me off my HoverBoard.
I looked at the emotionless helmet visors of those two Black Ops as I fell down the dark, stormy sky.
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“Yo, what’s with the lightning, man?!” Deshawn nearly jumped out of his chair as several booms rocked the entire Mellodia city.
Justin was clearly annoyed. They sat in a restaurant bar, and several patrons scared and quietly eating their food and watching the TV for news. Normally sports were playing, but now, everything was tuned to the broadcast channel.
“You’re just high-strung because of World Lock! We all are, calm down, it’s just a storm!” He said sarcastically, and Deshawn looked at him.
Deshawn wore a red t-shirt and jeans. His black and grey sneakers matched well with his dark, toned skin. His muscles could be seen under the relatively loose t-shirt he wore. His handsome black face was sweating, and he seemed like he seriously was going to break something or someone if he did not let his tension out.
“Hey man, I’m not scared! Just worried!” He protested. Justin sighed.
“Brother, we won the tag-team national championships for KyberNet, I think we can take of ourselves against no Black Op crazies! Just, the lightning is getting on my nerves, okay??” Deshawn said, quite loudly, and Justin nodded understandingly.
He had short, spiky brown hair, and his good-looking face looked dark as he stared out at the window. His left hand was in the pocket of his brown cargo shorts, and his other hand was resting on the belly of his white t-shirt.
“Okay, I get it. Let’s not get too nervous here,” Justin said. Deshawn nodded, and they peacefully went back to eating their meals. Suddenly, the door slammed open, and several people suddenly gasped and looked at the three men who entered.
They were dressed in black business suits, white shirts underneath, and black ties. Their shoes were polished to a shine, and they all had earphones in their ears. The lead man held up a card. FBI was shown in huge letters on the card.
“Justin Kibou, Deshawn Tamashi? We need your help,” the man said, and Deshawn and Justin looked at each other.
“Uhhh, can I finish my meal first?” Justin asked, grinning. The three men were anxious.
“This is not a joke, you are being commanded by the president too-”
Deshawn held up his hands.
“Whoa, whoa whoa!” He began. “You’re trying to involve us in this, aren’t you?” he asked the three men. They nodded nervously.
“I don’t wanna fight! I’m lazy! I wanna chill out Justin and some girls! I don’t wanna do no fighting for you crazy FBI dudes!” Deshawn continued, and Justin smirked. He spoke up just as the man in the black suit was about to speak.
“Hey, I think what my friend means here is that you can screw off,” Justin said with his signature sarcastic tone, and Deshawn laughed. The three men looked angry.
“Look here,” he started, “This is a dangerous situa-” the windows breaking interrupted him as several Black Ops jumped in, and surrounded the perimeter. Several restaurant eaters that were already high-strung couldn’t take it anymore, and fainted.
Justin and Deshawn stood up, back to back, and stared at group of Black Ops leering them down.
“Well,” Deshawn began.
“This is awkward,” Justin finished. The three FBI officials looked stunned, like they didn’t believe what was happening.
Suddenly, one of the Black Ops took out a laser tomahawk and threw it at the FBI man. He flinched.
“That won’t work, bro,” Justin smiled, and Deshawn cracked his fists. The tomahawk was frozen into ice, and it fell to the ground, shattering.
The Black Ops looked surprisingly at the two.
“Loki, advance armor activate!” Justin shouted, and he transformed into a maroon armor. Cold air instantly surrounded him like a haze.
“Nightdreamer, advance armor activate!” Deshawn echoed, and he turned into a huge, hulking figure. One side of his armor was silver, and the other was deep red.
They both held scythes.
“What-” the FBI man began.
“Ice Pillar!” Justin shouted, and his armor flashed blue for a moment, blades of ice appearing from the floor and catching several Ops in the chest, tearing their smart fabric open. Several more lunged at Justin, but Deshawn caught them with his scythe.
“Nightmare strike: Radiation Slice!” He said, and his scythe glowed green and blue, burning Ops on contact with a heated energy.
Suddenly, a bunch of Ops pulled out laser guns, and fired at Justin.
“Frozen Spectres!” He shouted. Instantly, he multiplied into several of himself and the shots all missed.
“Nightmare Burst!” Deshawn shouted, and he opened his palms. Black and green energy flashed out and caught all the shots aimed towards him. He then grabbed Justin by the feet and swung him around.
Justin opened his scythe and slashed down a dozen Ops while running on the wall, ice attaching his feet, helping him defy gravity.
Deshawn charged at several Black Ops breaking down two just by tackling them, and swiping the others off with his scythe.
When they were done, the restaurant was filled with silence and a few dozen defeated Black Ops.
Deshawn and Justin deactivated their armor.
“Man, that wasn’t so hard! These Black Ops ain’t nothing!” Deshawn commented, and Justin laughed. He looked at the FBI.
“Why do you even need our help taking on these pussies?” Justin laughed, and suddenly, the crowd clapped. Deshawn was embarrassed and kept on saying thank you, while Justin just looked at the FBI man.
“Twenty million. Each. Help us take on Techna Unlimited,” he offered.
Deshawn and Justin looked at each other, considering this proposal. The crowd still cheered, and Justin began.
“Twenty million’s a lot. And this would be easy for us,” he said to Deshawn.
Deshawn pumped up his muscular fist.
“Hell yeah, let’s do it!”
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I sent a small shock of electricity to the magnets on my shoes and the magnets of my HoverBoard. It worked.
The circuit created by it instantly attracted to each other, and I was back on my HoverBoard.
“Black Thunder!” I shot another purple bolt of energy at an Op. He used a shield, but I penetrated it right away and hit him. However, it didn’t do much damage.
I dived up, and tipped the tailboard of another Op. He spun out of control, and I shot an energy bolt at him. His partner came in, tackling me with his board, and my attack missed by a long shot.
“Ivy Whip!” they intended again. Another green rope of energy was sent at my, trying to send me off my board. But I was prepared this time.
“Aster Vortex!” I shouted, and, even though they couldn’t see it, a black hole appeared and sucked up the attack. I felt drained every single time I used it, but it was worth it this time.
“Black Thunder!” I shouted once more. I nailed the Op in the chest, and I sent him flying off his board into the sky.
“Score,” I muttered. Then, I tried to look around for the next Op to finish him off. Too late.
I saw it coming, but I had no time to react. The Op swooped out of the sky above me, diving at maximum speed. He slammed into me incredibly hard, and I could feel the breath leave my chest. I was dizzy for a moment, but when my vision cleared, everything was suddenly worse, and a little part of me almost wanted to just keep on being dizzy and not see anything.
The Black Op tackled me right inside the humongous storm cloud I had used to power up my Black Thunder attacks. And millions of volts of uncontrolled electricity were running wildly all around me.
A screen was on in front of them, and it showed the essentials of breaking down, accelerating, and reconstituting particles. A huge machine with an atomic speed cycle was being diagrammed, analyzed, and recorded in real-time. Essentially, it was a teleporter.
“You can go NOW.” Zhou said firmly, and Anna furrowed her brows in concern. She put her hands on the table.
“But is it safe?” she asked. Chernobyl nodded to Zhou, who looked back to Anna and Dragon.
“We have had test subjects. Alive. All have made it through. The estimated survival rate is 99.9%,” Zhou declared, and Dragon put his hand to his chin, thinking.
“But is it so important? Dmitry Techna’s son getting killed? I mean, how would we be able to trust him and this group that’s with him?” Dragon asked, and Zhou immediately answered, seemingly prepared for all the questions Dragon and Anna were gonna ask.
“No, we cannot trust them, but they cannot die either. Hacking into the Quest Arena security footage, we can safely assume that they are against World Lock, and are fighting Techna Unlimited. You do not need to show yourselves to them, but rather, take care of the Black Ops quickly and effeciently,” Zhou said, and both Dragon and Anna nodded.
Zhou continued, “Then, we will keep tabs on them. They will lead us to Dmitry Techna, and, after they are soundly beaten, we will swoop in and win this war. Reinforcements from the USMC will be arriving with President Johnson tomorrow. You are going to teleport in 12 minutes, on HoverBoard, to the exact spot where the fight is taking place.”
Dragon looked to his left. Anna looked at Dragon. They both gripped their NaviGears, and looked up at Zhou.
“We’re ready,” they said.
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“Red Fire Storm!” Tristan shouted, and five jets of flame skyrocketed toward the Black Ops. Six of them dodged it, and two were struck by the flames, and fell of their HoverBoards.
“Blake, we gotta make it,” Kyle said to me, and I nodded. An unheard of condition for a KyberNet Battle. We were firing energy attacks at each other while flying several hundred feet in the air on HoverBoards.
Just as I thought this, a blast of energy grazed the tip of my HoverBoard, sending my board spiraling. I barely managed to get my balance back on, and as I just did, I barely twisted my body to avoid another attack.
“Climb higher!” Alita shouted, and I promptly and gladly followed that idea as slingshotted myself higher into the clouds. Speeding higher up, I passed through several clouds, silhouetted against the light of the moon.
A breeze chilled me, even though I was wearing a black hoodie, since this was so high up. I looked down at the battle below.
Energy blasts of various colors flew in all directions, as both the Black Ops and my friends dived and feinted to avoid them. It was total chaos, screaming all around. I was the only one who had heard Alita to climb up, so I was alone up here. Even Alita herself couldn’t get higher, as I could see her tailboard smoking, and Kyle covering for her by furiously shooting one energy attack after another.
It started raining. Suddenly, I heard a scream. Looking through the confusion of all the various colored balls of light flashing around, I saw who screamed. Yuki, Kyle’s little sister, was hit, and she was hit hard. Kyle swooped in to try to save her, leaving Alita unguarded, who barely managed to get out of the way of another Black Op.
I heard another yell, and a rumble in the clouds, and saw Tyler being surrounded by two Black Ops. I shook my head.
This wasn’t going to work. We were outmatched, outnumbered, and outskilled. To the right, I could see several more Black Ops incoming. My friends were furiously fighting for their lives because I went to them for help.
“Damnit! I have to do something,” I cursed. Suddenly, I heard another rumble. Then, I noticed, I had been hearing rumbles for a while now. Not to mention, it was raining. I looked up to my back.
A huge storm cloud with fragments of electricity crackling on the surface and inside was directly above me. Every few seconds, a thunderbolt would randomly fly somewhere. I had an idea.
“Cursius, activate! Black Thunder!” I reached my hands up, and I could feel it in me. My signature attack, the one I used in nearly every battle. One that my dad custom-designed for me.
I waved my hand slowly, and I could feel the lightning attracted to me like I was a humongous magnet. I gripped my fists hard, and the lightning flared up, increasing it’s voltage, and turned purple. Black Thunder, I smiled.
“Rargh!” I yelled. I threw my hand towards the ground, willing the lightning to strike Black Ops. It obeyed me.
A storm of purple electric daggers descended upon the Black Ops, taking out the six of them that were fighting my friends, all at the same time.
The group of about twenty Black Ops who were coming in and my friends looked up to see me. I liked to imagine in my minds eye that I looked like a god, standing in the sky, with the lightning at my beck and call. In reality, I probably looked like a kid who was really wet from the rain and breathing really hard.
“Whoo, nice!” Kyle congratulated me, and I smiled. But no, this wasn’t over yet. Ten Black Ops from the group veered of their normal course of attacking my friends and instead headed over to me. It was ten highly trained professionals. I was a kid. In normal circumstances, I had no chance. But, in this circumstance, I had lightning.
“Black Thunder!” I screamed, and hurled three bolts at the first to Ops coming toward me, knocking them off their HoverBoards. I had no time to celebrate, however. Four more of them charged at me, nearing close by. I gathered all of my strength and concentration, and just let loose an uncontrolled storm of thunderbolts. It was dangerous, if I wasn’t so high up I would have never attempted it. However, I managed to get four of them.
A few stray bolts missed the battle completely and landed in the city. I could see several trees light on fire, and buildings around it were completely blacked out, overloaded by voltage. I could not use this same move again. If I did, people that weren’t involved into this could get hurt.
“Vestros Pulse!” I moved out of the way an inch, but the shot grazed my arm, sending spikes of pain through my entire body. I looked around, and the remaining three Ops surrounded me, hands glowing with the red aura signature to Vestros Pulse, a high-energy, high-speed, and low-cost energy pulse attack made especially for Black Ops.
“Shadow Shield!” I said. A Black sphere formed around me, and two Vestros Pulses bounced off harmlessly, but the third one cracked the shield. The Black Ops came in closer, but I was already on the move.
I flew across the sky, right behind one, and grabbed electricity in the palm of my hand, and hurled at an Op. It knocked him off his HoverBoard just as his came up to my side, and hurled another Vestros Pulse. I dodged it, but I was too late for the next one.
“Ivy Whip!” I turned around, and a green rope of energy slapped me off my HoverBoard.
I looked at the emotionless helmet visors of those two Black Ops as I fell down the dark, stormy sky.
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“Yo, what’s with the lightning, man?!” Deshawn nearly jumped out of his chair as several booms rocked the entire Mellodia city.
Justin was clearly annoyed. They sat in a restaurant bar, and several patrons scared and quietly eating their food and watching the TV for news. Normally sports were playing, but now, everything was tuned to the broadcast channel.
“You’re just high-strung because of World Lock! We all are, calm down, it’s just a storm!” He said sarcastically, and Deshawn looked at him.
Deshawn wore a red t-shirt and jeans. His black and grey sneakers matched well with his dark, toned skin. His muscles could be seen under the relatively loose t-shirt he wore. His handsome black face was sweating, and he seemed like he seriously was going to break something or someone if he did not let his tension out.
“Hey man, I’m not scared! Just worried!” He protested. Justin sighed.
“Brother, we won the tag-team national championships for KyberNet, I think we can take of ourselves against no Black Op crazies! Just, the lightning is getting on my nerves, okay??” Deshawn said, quite loudly, and Justin nodded understandingly.
He had short, spiky brown hair, and his good-looking face looked dark as he stared out at the window. His left hand was in the pocket of his brown cargo shorts, and his other hand was resting on the belly of his white t-shirt.
“Okay, I get it. Let’s not get too nervous here,” Justin said. Deshawn nodded, and they peacefully went back to eating their meals. Suddenly, the door slammed open, and several people suddenly gasped and looked at the three men who entered.
They were dressed in black business suits, white shirts underneath, and black ties. Their shoes were polished to a shine, and they all had earphones in their ears. The lead man held up a card. FBI was shown in huge letters on the card.
“Justin Kibou, Deshawn Tamashi? We need your help,” the man said, and Deshawn and Justin looked at each other.
“Uhhh, can I finish my meal first?” Justin asked, grinning. The three men were anxious.
“This is not a joke, you are being commanded by the president too-”
Deshawn held up his hands.
“Whoa, whoa whoa!” He began. “You’re trying to involve us in this, aren’t you?” he asked the three men. They nodded nervously.
“I don’t wanna fight! I’m lazy! I wanna chill out Justin and some girls! I don’t wanna do no fighting for you crazy FBI dudes!” Deshawn continued, and Justin smirked. He spoke up just as the man in the black suit was about to speak.
“Hey, I think what my friend means here is that you can screw off,” Justin said with his signature sarcastic tone, and Deshawn laughed. The three men looked angry.
“Look here,” he started, “This is a dangerous situa-” the windows breaking interrupted him as several Black Ops jumped in, and surrounded the perimeter. Several restaurant eaters that were already high-strung couldn’t take it anymore, and fainted.
Justin and Deshawn stood up, back to back, and stared at group of Black Ops leering them down.
“Well,” Deshawn began.
“This is awkward,” Justin finished. The three FBI officials looked stunned, like they didn’t believe what was happening.
Suddenly, one of the Black Ops took out a laser tomahawk and threw it at the FBI man. He flinched.
“That won’t work, bro,” Justin smiled, and Deshawn cracked his fists. The tomahawk was frozen into ice, and it fell to the ground, shattering.
The Black Ops looked surprisingly at the two.
“Loki, advance armor activate!” Justin shouted, and he transformed into a maroon armor. Cold air instantly surrounded him like a haze.
“Nightdreamer, advance armor activate!” Deshawn echoed, and he turned into a huge, hulking figure. One side of his armor was silver, and the other was deep red.
They both held scythes.
“What-” the FBI man began.
“Ice Pillar!” Justin shouted, and his armor flashed blue for a moment, blades of ice appearing from the floor and catching several Ops in the chest, tearing their smart fabric open. Several more lunged at Justin, but Deshawn caught them with his scythe.
“Nightmare strike: Radiation Slice!” He said, and his scythe glowed green and blue, burning Ops on contact with a heated energy.
Suddenly, a bunch of Ops pulled out laser guns, and fired at Justin.
“Frozen Spectres!” He shouted. Instantly, he multiplied into several of himself and the shots all missed.
“Nightmare Burst!” Deshawn shouted, and he opened his palms. Black and green energy flashed out and caught all the shots aimed towards him. He then grabbed Justin by the feet and swung him around.
Justin opened his scythe and slashed down a dozen Ops while running on the wall, ice attaching his feet, helping him defy gravity.
Deshawn charged at several Black Ops breaking down two just by tackling them, and swiping the others off with his scythe.
When they were done, the restaurant was filled with silence and a few dozen defeated Black Ops.
Deshawn and Justin deactivated their armor.
“Man, that wasn’t so hard! These Black Ops ain’t nothing!” Deshawn commented, and Justin laughed. He looked at the FBI.
“Why do you even need our help taking on these pussies?” Justin laughed, and suddenly, the crowd clapped. Deshawn was embarrassed and kept on saying thank you, while Justin just looked at the FBI man.
“Twenty million. Each. Help us take on Techna Unlimited,” he offered.
Deshawn and Justin looked at each other, considering this proposal. The crowd still cheered, and Justin began.
“Twenty million’s a lot. And this would be easy for us,” he said to Deshawn.
Deshawn pumped up his muscular fist.
“Hell yeah, let’s do it!”
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I sent a small shock of electricity to the magnets on my shoes and the magnets of my HoverBoard. It worked.
The circuit created by it instantly attracted to each other, and I was back on my HoverBoard.
“Black Thunder!” I shot another purple bolt of energy at an Op. He used a shield, but I penetrated it right away and hit him. However, it didn’t do much damage.
I dived up, and tipped the tailboard of another Op. He spun out of control, and I shot an energy bolt at him. His partner came in, tackling me with his board, and my attack missed by a long shot.
“Ivy Whip!” they intended again. Another green rope of energy was sent at my, trying to send me off my board. But I was prepared this time.
“Aster Vortex!” I shouted, and, even though they couldn’t see it, a black hole appeared and sucked up the attack. I felt drained every single time I used it, but it was worth it this time.
“Black Thunder!” I shouted once more. I nailed the Op in the chest, and I sent him flying off his board into the sky.
“Score,” I muttered. Then, I tried to look around for the next Op to finish him off. Too late.
I saw it coming, but I had no time to react. The Op swooped out of the sky above me, diving at maximum speed. He slammed into me incredibly hard, and I could feel the breath leave my chest. I was dizzy for a moment, but when my vision cleared, everything was suddenly worse, and a little part of me almost wanted to just keep on being dizzy and not see anything.
The Black Op tackled me right inside the humongous storm cloud I had used to power up my Black Thunder attacks. And millions of volts of uncontrolled electricity were running wildly all around me.
Chapter Eight
“That was weird,” Anna muttered, and Dragon stumbled a little. They had just randomly appeared behind a dark bush in Laudia Park, right next to the plaza mall. The downpour was nearly torrential, and it shook the dark leaves of the trees as it cascaded down.
Suddenly, a purple thunderbolt flashed across the sky, and a rumble shook the ground like an earthquake. Dragon, still feeling the tingly effects of the matter transporter, fell down on his butt. Anna stumbled as well, and fell on top of him.
“Getting a bit close?” Dragon smirked, and Anna brushed him off with a smile.
“You wish,” she joked. Then, they both looked up at the sky. Several people on HoverBoards having an aerial battle up in the sky, energy blasts blazing like demented fireworks. A huge thundercloud, extremely high in the sky, rumbled with more purple electricity.
“So, they’re fighting up there?” Anna asked. Dragon shielded his eyes from the rain, and looked up.
“Yeah, that’s them,” he replied. “We should attack now.” Anna nodded, and a golden flower appeared, stem wrapped around her wrist.
She smirked. “Aurumania isn’t suited for this type of battle. You should just use Emperor.” Dragon raised an eyebrow and looked at her.
“You’re letting me have all the fun? What’s happened, Anna?” he asked, smiling. Anna touched his face, and kissed him fully on the lips, breathing in his exotic dark hair and sharp chin.
“You know what happened,” she said.
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“So, whaddya wanna us to do, man?” Deshawn asked. Justin looked at the FBI man, and raised his eyebrows.
“Yeah, we agreed. Now, what should we do?” Justin asked him, and the FBI cleared his throat.
“I am Agent Trevor Streich. I’m gonna be in charge of you two,” he replied, and Justin shook his head with a tsk.
“No, no, we are in charge of ourselves. We take out the Ops, and you give us the money,” Justin said, and Deshawn nodded his head in agreement.
Streich stuttered. “Uh-um, of course! Uh, well, um, starting with... you c-could uh, attack some Black Ops in District 5,” he stammered out, and Deshawn and Justin looked at each other.
“The warehouse district? You mean, the old bases for gangs before they were all shut down?” Justin asked, and Deshawn interjected.
“Man! I don’t wanna fight no gangstas! We going against these Black Ops!” Deshawn protested, and Streich nodded.
“The gangs are now all gone. Dissolved. All that’s left is a bunch of empty warehouses that served as their base when they were active. It’s a huge maze there, and the Ops have taken an advantage and set up there. We can’t beat them, especially without weapons. We need you to take them on,” Streich briefed them, and they nodded.
“Let’s go,” Justin said, and Deshawn followed him out of the door, into the raining and windy storm.
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“Agh!” I screamed in pain as the Op slashed my thigh with a laser knife. He grabbed me and pulled me closer, trying to shove the knife into me. No, I thought.
Blake Techna is not going to die like this.
I pushed him back, and zoomed up deeper into the storm cloud, clutching my bleeding leg. I hid behind a cluster of cloud material as the Black Op went by slowly, looking for me. Small volts of electricity danced around the entire thing. I followed the Op, hidden behind a cover of clouds, as he hovered along the length of the cloud, searching for me. Suddenly, I saw an opening as he turned his head away.
“Wolf Arc!” I screamed, swinging my sword, and my blade made a large black semi-circle I was swung it at the Op. He turned around just in time and blocked my attack with his own sword. I pushed harder, but he was heavier than me.
With a heave, he rammed into me, tackling me out of the cloud. I looked up, and he rushed, blade pointed straight ahead. I quickly scrambled to call an energy attack. I pulled the lightning attack towards me, and beckoned it to come, but the Op was already inches away from me.
His sword was about to sink into my stomach, which would cut up my internal organs, and I would no doubt die. I flinched, waiting for the blade to end it all.
“Ahh!” I heard someone scream. A huge silver Chinese dragon appeared out of nowhere, and consumed the Op in it’s mouth. That was the scream I heard. I looked at the dragon surprisingly.
It was about 60 feet long and had a large beard and whiskers like the dragons of Chinese legend. It’s scales were silver, and covered it’s entire body. The dragon shone with a radiant silver light, illuminating the sky around it with an aura. I looked more closely, and I saw two people riding the dragon, right behind it’s head.
I couldn’t see their faces. Suddenly, the dragon roared, and plunged down into the battle below.
“Noo!” I screamed. I rushed my HoverBoard as quickly as I could down to my friends. There was no way any of could beat a dragon. KyberNet battlers who could summon a large monkey were considered powerful and skilled. Imagine how powerful someone who could summon a dragon as large as this, that could swallow someone in a single gulp would be.
I skydived, rocketing myself towards the battle. I put every ounce of my concentration and focus into reaching them. But I was still no match for the dragon. It flew faster than me effortlessly, and started attacking. It ate someone, and then roared, an energy beam catching two people in it’s wake. I stopped.
It was only attacking Ops. I just stood there, hanging on my HoverBoard, as the dragon picked off every single Op with ease. Kyle came up to me on his board.
“Did you do that?” he asked. I shook my head.
“Summon a dragon? I didn’t even know you could do that! And if I had something like this, we wouldn’t even be in trouble now!” I replied, and Kyle pointed at the dragon’s head.
“Look. Two people are riding behind it’s head. From the looks of it a boy and a girl,” he remarked, and I nodded.
“So I was right about there being other groups who want to take out Techna Unlimited,” I said. Kyle suddenly gasped.
The dragon finished eating all the Black Ops, and a white hole opened up. The dragon went inside the hole, and it disappeared. I was stunned.
“Did it just... teleport?” I asked, and Kyle nodded, still staring with his mouth agape.
Looking up at us, Tristan came up.
“What the hell was that?” he asked, and both Kyle and I shrugged.
“It’s beyond me,” Kyle muttered, and Tristan continued without losing a beat.
“C’mon, we still gotta get to that warehouse!” he said. I gathered with everyone else, and we stared up at the spot where that hole appeared.
“Who are you?” I asked.
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“Hey there!” Justin said as he put his arm around a random girl. A random girl that had pretty brown hair and the body of a dancer, and was absolutely gorgeous.
“You wanna come with me tonight?” he smiled, and the girl looked at his face and blushed, clearly charmed. Justin was about to grab the girls hand, but suddenly, Streich stopped him.
“I thought you were going now?” the FBI man said firmly, and Justin sighed.
“Alas, I must go, my love,” he joked, and the girl just sat there, thinking about the handsome, good-looking guy who she clearly belonged with for life just disappear, out of her grasp.
Justin met up with Deshawn, and they climbed into a HoverLimo. The smooth black vehicle glided along the road as it approached District Five.
In the car Justin appraised a bottle of champagne. He looked at Deshawn, who nodded his head in approval.
“Some nice win, man,” Deshawn commented, and the FBI looked slightly annoyed. There wasn’t anything Streich could to Justin or Deshawn now, they were too important. And they milked every moment of it.
“I’m gonna take this wine,” Justin said. Then, his eyes lit up. “Ooh, is that a FBI NaviGear?” he suddenly asked, looking at Streich’s watch. Streich rolled his eyes and took his NaviGear off, giving it to Justin. The expensive velvet and leather inside of the limousine was covered in fancy, expensive items, and Streich had no doubt that Justin and Deshawn would take all of it, the twenty million each, and the glory of defeating Techna Unlimited.
“Hey, this is like the bounty hunting we did, right?” Justin asked Deshawn, who smiled.
“Yeah, it is! Except we’re getting paid more, and all these other perks!” Deshawn replied, and they both laughed carelessly.
They’re clearly not taking this seriously, Streich though, sighing. They didn’t let anything bother or worry them, and this all seemed like a game to them. Oh well, he consoled himself. As long as they got the job done.
Abruptly, the limo stopped, and the SkyCar fell down to the ground, making Justin knock his head and Deshawn let loose with a flurry of swear words.
Streich looked worried. He turned to the driver.
“Hey, what’s going on?” he asked. The driver was frantically pushing buttons and twisting dials.
“I dunno! It just stopped work-” a red beam cut through the driver’s head, and he instantly fell limp onto his seat.
Deshawn screamed, and Justin perked his ears. It was a steady, metronome beeping sound, he thought. Sort of like...
A bomb!
Just as he thought this, he wrapped himself, Deshawn, Streich, and his two guards in a bubble of ice. Not a moment too soon either, as the car exploded around them, shrapnel tearing up the ice shields. The fancy champagne and velvet leather seats were all gone. In it’s place was nothing but a few scraps
The bomb was so strong that the steel of the car did not even withstand it. It wasn’t like in movies, were the burning frame of the car is just sitting there, slowly on fire. It was gone.
Justin cracked the ice shield, and looked up at the surrounding rooftops. Black Ops stationed themselves like ninjas on the roofs of several houses and buildings. One grabbed his sword, and swooped down.
Justin was about to react, but the Op was too fast. He slashed, and cut down Streich’s two bodyguards. Deshawn looked at Justin.
“We’re in deep shit now,” he said.
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“So how was it?” Zhou asked as Dragon and Anna teleported back to the briefing room of the CRA, which was located in a secret hideout in Beijing.
Dragon shook his wet hair.
“Boring. Emperor could took care of them easily. Blake must be weak to be struggling with them,” he replied, and Zhou nodded. Then, he looked at Anna.
“So, what about you?” he asked. Anna shrugged her delicate shoulders, and smiled.
“Drag did all the work. I just sat behind him enjoying the show,” she said, and Zhou nodded. He stood up from his black leather chair.
“Well, we have a limousine ready for you to meet Chernobyl and discuss more of our plan,” Zhou said, and gestured his hand, leading them out of the room. They rose the elevator up, and the clear crystal glass walls of the elevator let them see everything and they climbed up from the basement.
The door opened, and they walked into a Hyatt hotel, an inconspicuous one located near the airport. The female receptionist smiled at Zhou politely, who waved back. They walked out of the gliding doors, and a black limousine was waiting for them. The driver stood outside.
Zhou walked to the door of the limo, and Dragon and Anna flanked him. Zhou just stood there.
“Well?” the driver, a young boy, asked. Zhou looked at him calmly.
“Open the door for me,” he commanded in a stuck-up tone, and the driver immediately replied, “Sheesh,” as he opened the door for Zhou.
Dragon and Anna sat on the other side of the limo, opposite to Zhou, he was clearly annoyed.
“Can you believe it? What an impolite driver! What happened to our regular one?” He complained, and Dragon and Anna looked at each other, smiling on the inside. Zhou was always like this, they thought. The limo glided along the highway, street lights passing by with their light. They got into the city streets of Beijing after a few minutes, and the driver sharply turned right, causing Zhou to move into the wall of the car.
“Do you know how to drive?” he asked the driver angrily. “Arrogant fools like you never make it in life!” he lectured, and Dragon and Anna flinched. That was harsh, Dragon thought. He’s kind of being a hypocrite, Anna said inside her head.
Suddenly, the car stopped, but it was still floating. Zhou pounded on the door.
“What is this?!? Hurry up, immediately!” he growled. Dragon and Anna alerted.
Anna stared outside the window. They were in Tiao Jiashing park, in the middle of a circle clearing with a fountain in the middle. At first glance, there were no people. Suddenly, Black Ops dropped out of the sky on their HoverBoards, and started walking towards them.
“Uhh, Zhou we might have a proble-” Dragon began, but Zhou did not stop ranting.
“Driver! What is this! I demand you tell us right now what’s going on!” he screamed virally, and the young boy looked back at him.
He smiled. “You’re getting ambushed, Mr. Zhou,” he smirked, and Zhou looked shocked at the notion.
“Release us right away!” He said, and the young driver just shrugged.
“Or what?” he retorted. Zhou began.
“Or... I’ll...” he struggled to find something to say.
The young driver put his hand to his forehead. He shook his head, and smiled.
“You know, arrogant fools like you never make it in life,” he said. He took a laser gun out of his pocket, and fired it at Zhou, killing him.
Zhou fell over on the ground, wound bleeding from his chest.
The young driver looked at Anna and Dragon.
“Sorry,” he fake-smiled. He pointed his gun at Dragon, and fired.
[/spoiler]
Suddenly, a purple thunderbolt flashed across the sky, and a rumble shook the ground like an earthquake. Dragon, still feeling the tingly effects of the matter transporter, fell down on his butt. Anna stumbled as well, and fell on top of him.
“Getting a bit close?” Dragon smirked, and Anna brushed him off with a smile.
“You wish,” she joked. Then, they both looked up at the sky. Several people on HoverBoards having an aerial battle up in the sky, energy blasts blazing like demented fireworks. A huge thundercloud, extremely high in the sky, rumbled with more purple electricity.
“So, they’re fighting up there?” Anna asked. Dragon shielded his eyes from the rain, and looked up.
“Yeah, that’s them,” he replied. “We should attack now.” Anna nodded, and a golden flower appeared, stem wrapped around her wrist.
She smirked. “Aurumania isn’t suited for this type of battle. You should just use Emperor.” Dragon raised an eyebrow and looked at her.
“You’re letting me have all the fun? What’s happened, Anna?” he asked, smiling. Anna touched his face, and kissed him fully on the lips, breathing in his exotic dark hair and sharp chin.
“You know what happened,” she said.
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“So, whaddya wanna us to do, man?” Deshawn asked. Justin looked at the FBI man, and raised his eyebrows.
“Yeah, we agreed. Now, what should we do?” Justin asked him, and the FBI cleared his throat.
“I am Agent Trevor Streich. I’m gonna be in charge of you two,” he replied, and Justin shook his head with a tsk.
“No, no, we are in charge of ourselves. We take out the Ops, and you give us the money,” Justin said, and Deshawn nodded his head in agreement.
Streich stuttered. “Uh-um, of course! Uh, well, um, starting with... you c-could uh, attack some Black Ops in District 5,” he stammered out, and Deshawn and Justin looked at each other.
“The warehouse district? You mean, the old bases for gangs before they were all shut down?” Justin asked, and Deshawn interjected.
“Man! I don’t wanna fight no gangstas! We going against these Black Ops!” Deshawn protested, and Streich nodded.
“The gangs are now all gone. Dissolved. All that’s left is a bunch of empty warehouses that served as their base when they were active. It’s a huge maze there, and the Ops have taken an advantage and set up there. We can’t beat them, especially without weapons. We need you to take them on,” Streich briefed them, and they nodded.
“Let’s go,” Justin said, and Deshawn followed him out of the door, into the raining and windy storm.
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“Agh!” I screamed in pain as the Op slashed my thigh with a laser knife. He grabbed me and pulled me closer, trying to shove the knife into me. No, I thought.
Blake Techna is not going to die like this.
I pushed him back, and zoomed up deeper into the storm cloud, clutching my bleeding leg. I hid behind a cluster of cloud material as the Black Op went by slowly, looking for me. Small volts of electricity danced around the entire thing. I followed the Op, hidden behind a cover of clouds, as he hovered along the length of the cloud, searching for me. Suddenly, I saw an opening as he turned his head away.
“Wolf Arc!” I screamed, swinging my sword, and my blade made a large black semi-circle I was swung it at the Op. He turned around just in time and blocked my attack with his own sword. I pushed harder, but he was heavier than me.
With a heave, he rammed into me, tackling me out of the cloud. I looked up, and he rushed, blade pointed straight ahead. I quickly scrambled to call an energy attack. I pulled the lightning attack towards me, and beckoned it to come, but the Op was already inches away from me.
His sword was about to sink into my stomach, which would cut up my internal organs, and I would no doubt die. I flinched, waiting for the blade to end it all.
“Ahh!” I heard someone scream. A huge silver Chinese dragon appeared out of nowhere, and consumed the Op in it’s mouth. That was the scream I heard. I looked at the dragon surprisingly.
It was about 60 feet long and had a large beard and whiskers like the dragons of Chinese legend. It’s scales were silver, and covered it’s entire body. The dragon shone with a radiant silver light, illuminating the sky around it with an aura. I looked more closely, and I saw two people riding the dragon, right behind it’s head.
I couldn’t see their faces. Suddenly, the dragon roared, and plunged down into the battle below.
“Noo!” I screamed. I rushed my HoverBoard as quickly as I could down to my friends. There was no way any of could beat a dragon. KyberNet battlers who could summon a large monkey were considered powerful and skilled. Imagine how powerful someone who could summon a dragon as large as this, that could swallow someone in a single gulp would be.
I skydived, rocketing myself towards the battle. I put every ounce of my concentration and focus into reaching them. But I was still no match for the dragon. It flew faster than me effortlessly, and started attacking. It ate someone, and then roared, an energy beam catching two people in it’s wake. I stopped.
It was only attacking Ops. I just stood there, hanging on my HoverBoard, as the dragon picked off every single Op with ease. Kyle came up to me on his board.
“Did you do that?” he asked. I shook my head.
“Summon a dragon? I didn’t even know you could do that! And if I had something like this, we wouldn’t even be in trouble now!” I replied, and Kyle pointed at the dragon’s head.
“Look. Two people are riding behind it’s head. From the looks of it a boy and a girl,” he remarked, and I nodded.
“So I was right about there being other groups who want to take out Techna Unlimited,” I said. Kyle suddenly gasped.
The dragon finished eating all the Black Ops, and a white hole opened up. The dragon went inside the hole, and it disappeared. I was stunned.
“Did it just... teleport?” I asked, and Kyle nodded, still staring with his mouth agape.
Looking up at us, Tristan came up.
“What the hell was that?” he asked, and both Kyle and I shrugged.
“It’s beyond me,” Kyle muttered, and Tristan continued without losing a beat.
“C’mon, we still gotta get to that warehouse!” he said. I gathered with everyone else, and we stared up at the spot where that hole appeared.
“Who are you?” I asked.
[o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o][o]
“Hey there!” Justin said as he put his arm around a random girl. A random girl that had pretty brown hair and the body of a dancer, and was absolutely gorgeous.
“You wanna come with me tonight?” he smiled, and the girl looked at his face and blushed, clearly charmed. Justin was about to grab the girls hand, but suddenly, Streich stopped him.
“I thought you were going now?” the FBI man said firmly, and Justin sighed.
“Alas, I must go, my love,” he joked, and the girl just sat there, thinking about the handsome, good-looking guy who she clearly belonged with for life just disappear, out of her grasp.
Justin met up with Deshawn, and they climbed into a HoverLimo. The smooth black vehicle glided along the road as it approached District Five.
In the car Justin appraised a bottle of champagne. He looked at Deshawn, who nodded his head in approval.
“Some nice win, man,” Deshawn commented, and the FBI looked slightly annoyed. There wasn’t anything Streich could to Justin or Deshawn now, they were too important. And they milked every moment of it.
“I’m gonna take this wine,” Justin said. Then, his eyes lit up. “Ooh, is that a FBI NaviGear?” he suddenly asked, looking at Streich’s watch. Streich rolled his eyes and took his NaviGear off, giving it to Justin. The expensive velvet and leather inside of the limousine was covered in fancy, expensive items, and Streich had no doubt that Justin and Deshawn would take all of it, the twenty million each, and the glory of defeating Techna Unlimited.
“Hey, this is like the bounty hunting we did, right?” Justin asked Deshawn, who smiled.
“Yeah, it is! Except we’re getting paid more, and all these other perks!” Deshawn replied, and they both laughed carelessly.
They’re clearly not taking this seriously, Streich though, sighing. They didn’t let anything bother or worry them, and this all seemed like a game to them. Oh well, he consoled himself. As long as they got the job done.
Abruptly, the limo stopped, and the SkyCar fell down to the ground, making Justin knock his head and Deshawn let loose with a flurry of swear words.
Streich looked worried. He turned to the driver.
“Hey, what’s going on?” he asked. The driver was frantically pushing buttons and twisting dials.
“I dunno! It just stopped work-” a red beam cut through the driver’s head, and he instantly fell limp onto his seat.
Deshawn screamed, and Justin perked his ears. It was a steady, metronome beeping sound, he thought. Sort of like...
A bomb!
Just as he thought this, he wrapped himself, Deshawn, Streich, and his two guards in a bubble of ice. Not a moment too soon either, as the car exploded around them, shrapnel tearing up the ice shields. The fancy champagne and velvet leather seats were all gone. In it’s place was nothing but a few scraps
The bomb was so strong that the steel of the car did not even withstand it. It wasn’t like in movies, were the burning frame of the car is just sitting there, slowly on fire. It was gone.
Justin cracked the ice shield, and looked up at the surrounding rooftops. Black Ops stationed themselves like ninjas on the roofs of several houses and buildings. One grabbed his sword, and swooped down.
Justin was about to react, but the Op was too fast. He slashed, and cut down Streich’s two bodyguards. Deshawn looked at Justin.
“We’re in deep shit now,” he said.
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“So how was it?” Zhou asked as Dragon and Anna teleported back to the briefing room of the CRA, which was located in a secret hideout in Beijing.
Dragon shook his wet hair.
“Boring. Emperor could took care of them easily. Blake must be weak to be struggling with them,” he replied, and Zhou nodded. Then, he looked at Anna.
“So, what about you?” he asked. Anna shrugged her delicate shoulders, and smiled.
“Drag did all the work. I just sat behind him enjoying the show,” she said, and Zhou nodded. He stood up from his black leather chair.
“Well, we have a limousine ready for you to meet Chernobyl and discuss more of our plan,” Zhou said, and gestured his hand, leading them out of the room. They rose the elevator up, and the clear crystal glass walls of the elevator let them see everything and they climbed up from the basement.
The door opened, and they walked into a Hyatt hotel, an inconspicuous one located near the airport. The female receptionist smiled at Zhou politely, who waved back. They walked out of the gliding doors, and a black limousine was waiting for them. The driver stood outside.
Zhou walked to the door of the limo, and Dragon and Anna flanked him. Zhou just stood there.
“Well?” the driver, a young boy, asked. Zhou looked at him calmly.
“Open the door for me,” he commanded in a stuck-up tone, and the driver immediately replied, “Sheesh,” as he opened the door for Zhou.
Dragon and Anna sat on the other side of the limo, opposite to Zhou, he was clearly annoyed.
“Can you believe it? What an impolite driver! What happened to our regular one?” He complained, and Dragon and Anna looked at each other, smiling on the inside. Zhou was always like this, they thought. The limo glided along the highway, street lights passing by with their light. They got into the city streets of Beijing after a few minutes, and the driver sharply turned right, causing Zhou to move into the wall of the car.
“Do you know how to drive?” he asked the driver angrily. “Arrogant fools like you never make it in life!” he lectured, and Dragon and Anna flinched. That was harsh, Dragon thought. He’s kind of being a hypocrite, Anna said inside her head.
Suddenly, the car stopped, but it was still floating. Zhou pounded on the door.
“What is this?!? Hurry up, immediately!” he growled. Dragon and Anna alerted.
Anna stared outside the window. They were in Tiao Jiashing park, in the middle of a circle clearing with a fountain in the middle. At first glance, there were no people. Suddenly, Black Ops dropped out of the sky on their HoverBoards, and started walking towards them.
“Uhh, Zhou we might have a proble-” Dragon began, but Zhou did not stop ranting.
“Driver! What is this! I demand you tell us right now what’s going on!” he screamed virally, and the young boy looked back at him.
He smiled. “You’re getting ambushed, Mr. Zhou,” he smirked, and Zhou looked shocked at the notion.
“Release us right away!” He said, and the young driver just shrugged.
“Or what?” he retorted. Zhou began.
“Or... I’ll...” he struggled to find something to say.
The young driver put his hand to his forehead. He shook his head, and smiled.
“You know, arrogant fools like you never make it in life,” he said. He took a laser gun out of his pocket, and fired it at Zhou, killing him.
Zhou fell over on the ground, wound bleeding from his chest.
The young driver looked at Anna and Dragon.
“Sorry,” he fake-smiled. He pointed his gun at Dragon, and fired.
[/spoiler]
