Guardians

by underrated Drake

First published 27th of April, 2021

You've got to conquer the monsters in your head.

"Who will protect the earth from the alien invasion? Do you think you have what it takes? Then join the fight today! the world needs you, become a Guardian!" That's what the ad says, and it's making everyone go crazy.
Everyone wants one, everyone needs one, everyone wants to be the best and, just like with previous competitions, the tournaments are all people can think of.
Can you conquer your monsters and become the best?
Once again I must ask for your guys help for ideas, everything and everyone is welcome to comment on the story

Guardians Ch.1 The forgotten legend

Author's Notes:

Disclaimer:

Hi everyone, I'm going, to be honest:
I was way too lazy to come up with new names for every single video game that will appear here in the fic, so, I hope I don't get copyrighted for this.
second, this is a work of FICTION!!!! I don't want anyone to believe that League of Legends or Fortnite have been cancelled.
And third, Guardians is based on the "Not so great" Destiny.
Suggestions are welcomed anytime.

“... AND WITH THAT GREAT POWER MOVE, THE DRAGONLANDS HAVE DONE IT, THE HAVE WON THE WORLD SERIES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY!!!!!”

“WE HAVE JUST WITNESSED ONE OF THE GREATEST COMEBACKS IN ESPORTS HISTORY, FROM BEING DOWN 30 TO 5, THEY HAVE OVERCOME THE RESULT TO WIN IT 58 TO 76!!!”

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, REMEMBER THEIR NAMES… OR, IN A PARTICULAR CASE, THEIR CYBER ID’S!!!”

“Next up, we have the handing of the trophy, to end this beautiful story of a group of underdogs who believed in their abilities and came out as world champions!” came the anchor’s voice from the cellphone.

A lone student sat at his desk in a now deserted classroom, his eyes glued to the scream of his phone as he watched the members of the team lift the trophy and celebrate.

“Those were the days,” he thought

“Ha, look at that loser, sitting all alone, watching highlights of a game that is obsolete,” said a male voice

“Yeah, you can tell he's a weirdo, who, in their right mind, will sit in an empty classroom to watch videos without headphones?” said another male voice sarcastically

“I know, right, HAHAHAHA!” said the other male voice

“Come on, let’s go see what REAL pros are doing,” said the other voice as they walked away.

The boy listened to what they said but paid them no attention, he only collected his things, plugged his headphones into his phone, and began to blast some music, before walking out of the classroom, talking to himself… provably.

“Hi… My name is Spencer Davidson, but my friends call me Spike… well, the nickname wasn't given to me by a friend… it’s actually a derogatory nickname, that was changed by a teacher in elementary school, back then, I was called porcupine, or pineapple, due to my hair being green, and being a mohawk… which was one of my father’s pranks… one of his last pranks that is… Anyway, I’m 19 years old, and as of earlier today, I am a High school graduate; Yup, in 4 months I’ll be a freshman in college… anyway, I’m what people call an “Emo nerd”, yup, long hair, glasses, skinny frame, and quiet… the only exceptions are the fact that I like to work out, I’m tall, have good grades… I’m not crazy about anime, despite the fact that I like hentai… and, of course, I love videogames, with a passion… just like everyone else,” he said as he walked through the deserted school hallways.

“To be completely honest… I used to be one of the best players in the world, a “Legend” of the Esports, but… I retired… after my favorite game, LOL, became a “secondary” game and was abandoned by the masses and forgotten, I lost many things, my friends, my status… my only talent… and I fell into a deep depression, a depression that almost ended me… after the scare, I decided to take a shot at other things; I discovered that I have a great memory, which helps me when it comes to studying and learning, heck, the last time I studied for a test was… in the 4th grade, ever since then, I don’t really study and always get straight A’s,” he said as he walked down the stairs

“But that wasn’t enough for me, I needed something to keep my mind and body occupied, so, I turned to learn music, I watched many hours of videos on youtube, and I learned to play many instruments, yet, that still wasn’t enough, after I mastered the instruments I wanted to master, I was met with the same dilemma, “The fuck do I do know?” and so, I decided to sign up for a gym and some sports clubs here in school,” he said as he looked out a window and his eyes rested on the soccer pitch below.

“Even after all that, I still felt the need to do something else, and since I didn’t leave with my parents… for obvious reasons… and wasn’t really receiving much money from my grandparents, I decided to get a job at a local Video Game store and arcade, that is owned by my best friend’s family… actually, his my only friend, Martin Cresswell, or MicroChip, as we call him… actually I’m heading there right now, and…” was the last thing he said as he felt someone bump into him and shove him out of the way, causing his headphones to fall off his head, only for him to catch them in mid-air.

“SORRY DUDE! BUT WE CAN’T-MISS THIS!!!!” said a group of underclassmen as they ran past him

“Rude… I wonder what that was about?... well, they’re headed to the Gamer club… something big must be happening!... better go check it out,” said Spike as he followed the underclassmen

“If you’re wondering what all that was about, well, about 10 years ago, everyone became enamored of video game competitions, it started with World of warcraft all the way back in 08, but it became mainstream with video games like NHL, FIFA, 2K, PUBG, LOL, and Fortnite… LOL, being the one that made it so popular, Esports became so popular that every city created their own teams, some cities even have up to 10 teams, on occasions… this school isn’t the exemption, the Gamers club is the team that represented the school in those tournaments, and they aren’t half bad...WOW,” said Spike as he turned the corner and saw the massive crowd of students around the doors and windows of the room.

“Half bad was an understatement, in reality, we have the best Esport team in the city, the girls went undefeated for 3 years… and yes, I said girls,” said Spike as he walked to the back of the crowd.

Since he was the tallest person there, he had no trouble looking into the room, where 7 girls were sitting next to each other as they held a match against a bunch of underclassmen, and they were annihilating them.

“It’s to be expected, these girls are all elite… if you’re wondering what that means, well, we divide the levels of expertise in Esports in 8 categories: noob, beginner, amateur, semi-pro, pro, semi-elite, elite, and legend,” said Spike as he walked a bit more to the left of the hallway to gain a better view at the girls.

Their eyes were glued to the screens and they pressed the buttons in their controllers as fast as they could getting point after point

“The girl to the far left is the leader of the group Thea Sandoval, she’s is 18, a tad younger than me, about 5’4”, has long purple and magenta hair, cerulean eyes, and has a somewhat curvy body, she is a massive bookworm and, according to many other students, she has a rivalry with me for who is the smartest student in the school… despite the fact she doesn’t even know who I am,”

“The girl next to her is Scarlet Stuart, Thea’s childhood friend, and temporal rival, she used to be a very mean person… and she still has a lot of work to do with her gamer rage and anger management, but putting that aside, she’s a nice person, a complete 180 from the beginning of our high school lives… She is 18, we share birth week, but I’m older by 5 days. She's about 5’6”, give or take, has red and yellow colored hair with orange highlights, blue eyes, and has almost the same body type as Twilight… according to what I know, her boobs are a bit bigger than hers, but, I couldn’t tell you for sure,”

“Next is Phoebe Diane Patterson, she is the school party animal, as her nickname explains, she loves throwing parties, no matter the occasion, she even threw me a small birthday party, but, no one came… well except for her and Micro chips… she is also a good baker and works at a local cafe called Sugarcube Corner… from what I know, she just turned 18, about 5’5”, has long, pinkish wavy hair, and a nice body, with no unnecessary extra fat anywhere… possible because she is so hyper,”

“Next to her is Adeline Jackson, she’s one of the schools’ hottest girls, not fat in the wrong places, just muscle, from what I know, her family owns a farm in the outskirts of the city, Sweet Apple Acres, they mostly grow apples and brew one of the most, IF not the most delicious cider in the world, all that hard manual work I bound to give you hard muscles… yet, she’s not bulky like if she was a bodybuilder, but you can make out the muscles… she’s tall, almost as tall as me, about 6’1”... I’m 6’2”, she has long blond hair, jaded green eyes, and… well, I think I already over explained her body figure… 18, 4 months older than me, she’s nice, once you get to know her, sadly, I didn’t get to do it much,”

“Next comes Freya Sullivan, unlike her name, she is nothing like the north goddess… much, Freya is extremely shy, and usually avoids making eye contact with anyone she doesn’t know, she barely talks at all, and when she does she mostly whispers… nonetheless, that shyness makes her look really cute and added to the fact that she has big boobs, she is one of the school’s hotties, possibly #2, sadly for many all the guys, single or not, she never accepted anyone’s proposal, sometimes she didn’t even show up to the confession… I remember that around April, on our sophomore year here in school a rumour started to spread saying that both her and her friend Rachel Donovan were actually lesbian lovers, but it was immediatly denied by Rachel… Freya is 17, about to turn 18 which makes her the youngest member of the team, she is not very tall either since she is only 4’9”, she has long pink hair, blue eyes, and a very lean body, except for her boobs that is… maybe she is one of those girls who store all of the fat they consume in their boobs… no, wait, she’s a vegetarian, or was she vegan?... nope, Vegetarian, she loves Ice cream, pistacho is her favorite, I remember the ice cream party that Pinkie made for our graduation 3 weeks ago, she ate 4 gallons of ice cream by herself… she is also a BIG animal lover, and works part-time at an animal sanctuary, she even has a pet bunny, the name’s Angel… though, he is more of a little white devil to me… Believe it or not, Fluttershy is ranked #2 in the team from best to worst, it seems that when she is in the other dimension she is a completely other person,”

“Next we have the aforementioned Rachel Donovan, Freya’s childhood friend, and #1 of the team, despite the fact that she prefers to play sports and be outdoors more than sitting in front of a screen for a long time, she is the school’s top athlete and has broken almost every record in the school, including the “saved by the bell” record, she isn’t much of a study nut, but she isn’t dumb either… she has almost the same amount of muscle than Adeline, but if I have to guess I still think that Adeline is stronger than her, she is 18, born a month after me, and stand at 5’9”, has rainbow colored hair, God knows why, and has reddish eyes, when it comes to her body, she is curvy, but if we put all of the girls bodies into perspective, she has the smallest boobs; everyone calls her Rainbow Dash, the same name she uses online, never really cared to ask why; they say she joined the club only to be close to Freya, I think she was being bullied by other members, so she skipped soccer practice that day and headed to the club, she stayed there the whole time and at some point she started to play and she became a full-time member despite still being a member of the soccer, basketball, volleyball, and swimming teams… from all of the girls in the club, I think I know much more about her, I mean, she kind of forced me to join all of the school sports teams, including football were I was selected for the All Equestrian team… she has a strong sense of loyalty but she can also be a sore loser… You know, I remembered something very curious, last year, Rachel tried to join the city’s Esports team but they said no, they said it had something to do with the fact that she wasn’t a nerd or something, I didn’t pay much attention to the story…”

“And lastly we have Rosalia Belle Bellingham, the school Queen, the #1 hotty in the school, and… the biggest drama queen there is, both in the school theater and in real life; she loves fashion and design, TO DEATH, I think she even has her own boutique, one of the good things about coming from an amazingly rich family… still, I never really learned why she decided to join the gamers club, she used to shame everyone that liked to play video games or watched anime and all that kind of ish… but then, all of a sudden she began to hang out with the girls in the club and started talking to many other students, including the ones dubbed as “nerds”... except for me, once she tried but called me Simon, who was another student in the school, I told her that and she walked away after apologizing; she is tall, but since she is always wearing high heels people think she is taller than she really is, 5’7”, she is 18, but she is one of the youngest members of the group, she has long dark purple hair, which she is always combing and styling, she always dresses fashionably with expensive clothes, yet she isn’t the one to brag about her wealth, plus, she can be really generous, she has purple eyes and a perfect body, which is kind of surprising, since she never worksout ,maybe that’s just her type of body…”

Spike was about to continue when he heard the crowd cheer

“Oh!,Rainbow Dash just surpassed her previous record, and set a new high score for the club” said Spike as Rainbow Dash threw her arms in the air and celebrated her achievement

“Well done Dash!” said a girl with long Purple and green hair with a beanie

“Oh, that’s Sheila Garrison, she is another member of the team, but she isn’t an elite… yet, she is in the Pre-elite group , but she is good… she is a very supportive person, and sometimes works as the school counselor, but many students say that she was really mean before, she is around 5’8” and is one of the oldest members of the team, a month older than me, she has magenta eyes, and a curvy body… but don’t get your hopes up with her, she is already taken, despite the fact that her boyfriend goes to a different school… don’t really know much more about her… which is funny since I have a great memory,”

At that point Spike heard a voice coming from the screen

“ATTENTION GUARDIANS, FINAL ROUND!!!!” said the female robotic voice

“If you’re wondering what game they’re playing, the game is called Guardians, it’s almost like Halo, but everyone prefers this game do to the fact that the this game includes a feature known as “Live Environment” which makes every single map have a different level of difficulty when playing in it, this alone caused everyone to become obsessed with it, and I know, like I said before I was interrupted, I work at a video game store, and every day we have at least 100 people coming in to ask if we have a copy of the game for X/Y consol, but it solds out as soon as we place new ones in the stand, it’s almost a crime not to have one copy… I haven’t seen something like this, since Fortnite came out, which is the closest game considered a rival for Guardians, except, everyone prefers that game on PC… you might think this is funny, but… I don’t like Guardians, I know of it, but I’ve never played it… I don’t really game anymore, ever since… welL, HOLY SHIT I’M GOING TO BE LATE!!!” said Spike as he looked at his phone screen as he ran down the hallway.

He was unaware that the game had ended and that a certain someone saw the back of his head as he disappeared from the window.

“Dash… something wrong?” asked Freya as they all placed their controllers on the table

“I think I saw Spencer looking at us play,” said Rainbow Dash, her eyes glued to the window

“Who’s Spencer?” asked Adeline

“Our teammate in the soccer team… the one with the green hair,” said Rainbow Dash

“Long hair?” asked Adeline

“Yeah,” said Rainbow Dash

“Isn’t that Sandalwood?” asked Rosalia

“No, not him, the other one,” said Rainbow Dash

“Oh! the emo looking dude,” said Phoebe

“Yeah, him!” said Rainbow Dash

“So what?” asked Adeline

“Nothing, it’s just… I’ve never seen him around here before,” said Rainbow Dash

“Well, in our defense, our eyes are always glued to the screens so, he might’ve been here before, but we didn’t realize it,” said Twilight

“Maybe you’re right,” said Rainbow Dash as she turned her screen off

“I still don’t know why you made a big fuss about it… so what if he was watching us play?” said Rosalia

“Yeah, It’s not out of the realms of possibilities that he… WAIT!!! You have a crush on him don’t you?!” said Phoebe as she got on Rainbow Dash’s face

“N-no!” said Rainbow Dash turning red

“Oh yeah, she definitely likes him,” said Rosalia

“NO I DON’T!!!” said Rainbow Dash

“She loves him,” teased Sheila

“GOD YOU GALS ARE ANNOYING!!!” said Rainbow Dash as she ran out of the room

“Do you think she actually likes him?” Scarlet asked Freya

“It’s hard to say, but, after Santiago and Sophie became a couple and graduated, maybe she developed a crush on him, why?, I don’t know,” said Freya.

---

IN ANOTHER PART OF TOWN

“... AND, MADE IT!” said Spike as he crash landed inside the arcade after successfully jumping off his bike.

“Dude! you know you have a phone right!” said Microchips as he helped Spike up

“I know, but I got distracted,” said Spike as he dusted himself up

“I’ve got to hand it to you, Spike, that was some perfect aim,” said Microchip’s father as he pointed to Spike’s bike, stationed perfectly in the bike rack.

“Thanks, I’ve been practicing,” sais Spike sarcastically

“Well, go and lock it up and then get ready to work,” he said

“Right,” said Spike as he went outside and looked his bicycle

---

SOME TIME LATER

“... Sorry kid, we are all out copies of Guardians, the next shipment is coming in on Monday,” said Spike to a kid not older than 10 as he walked away with a sad face.

“How many are there today?” asked Micro Chips as he walked up to Spike

“22… 7th in the last hour,” said Spike

“Well, that’s a new record,” said Micro Chips

“What’s the point with this game, and why is everyone so desperate about it?” asked Spike, mostly to himself

Micro Chips stopped typing in the computer and looked at Spike

“What’da ya mean “The Point”? Guardians is one of the greatest games to ever exist, the graphics are awesome, the gameplay is straight forward, and the competitions… oh, don’t get me started,” he said

“Is it really that good?” asked Spike

“Is Pepperoni pizza good?” said Micro Chips

“Yeah… but I don’t see the connection,” said Spike

“Dude, you’re… oh, right… you don’t game anymore,” said Micro Chips

“Did you forget that small detail?” asked Spike

“Small?” said MicroChips in disbelief “Dude, you were… are a legend, one of the greatest gamers ever, and all that before you turned 14, while I am an elite, and I’ve been stuck in that division since I was 15,”

“You’re right, I am a legend… a forgotten legend,” said Spike

“Bro, I don’t know why you’ve taken that stance about playing video games like if you weren’t a pro, oh… is it, for what happened before you came here?” said Micro Chips

“Yeah… After that I decided to stop playing professionally… or playing altogether,” said Spike

“But why?!” said Micro Chips

“Because that life style almost killed me,” said Spike

“So?” said Micro Chips

“So? so?! That’s all you can say?” asked Spike getting angry

“Dude, we all have our tumbles once in a while… I understand why you are so afraid about it, but…” Micro Chips began

“Excuse me sir,” said a boy, not older than 13

“Something wrong?” asked Spike

“The person playing in rig number 5 is cheating,” said the kid

“Are you sure?” said Spike

“Yeah, maybe he is just good,” said Micro Chips

“I know it’s true, I shot at him and he didn’t die, despite me kick-scoping him in the head,” said the kid

“In which rig are you?” asked Spike

“Rig number 2,” said the kid as he walked towards the rig with Spike in tow

“Dad, can you take over the counter for a second,” said Micro Chips

“Sure, something wrong?” asked his dad

“A possible code 13,” said Micro Chips

“Right… what does that mean again?” asked his dad

“Forget about it,” said Micro Chips as he followed Spike and the little kid

“There, this is me, and that’s him, the one in the red and black gear,” said kid

“Oh… you’re playing Guerrilla wars,” said Spike

“Yeah, and he isn’t dying,” said the kid

“Can I? I want to prove a theory,” said Spike

“Sure,” said the kid giving Spike the controller

Spike immediately began to play the game, killing all of the enemies he found on the way, but for some reason he couldn’t find the “Cheater”

“Wow, he is good!” said the kid

“Yes, well, That’s Spencer Davidson, also known as GRIMDragon, but you probably don’t know him,” said Micro Chips

“I know him! He was one of the greatest LOL players ever!” said the kid

“Not only is he one of the greatest LOL players ever, he is the undefeated champion of Guerrilla, al 5 tournaments done for the game, he won them all, without receiving damage at all,” said Micro Chips

“Awesome!” said the kid

“Found you!” said Spike, this caused the 2 of them to look at the screen

Spike was chasing the “Cheater throughout a mountain pass while shooting at each other

“Where is he going?” asked the kid

“1 of 2 places, Deadman’s drop or… Oh you lousy bastard,” said Spike as he stopped chasing him and followed another route

“What? what is it?” asked Micro Chips

“The only other place in this mountain is known as “BOOM alley” it’s perfect for an ambush,” said Spike as he continued jumping over the ledges

“But wouldn’t it destroy him?” asked the little kid

“Of course, unless he is using the IGS cheat,” said Spike

“IGS?” asked the kid

“I’m a God Simulator cheat,” said Spike

“Wait, you’re telling me that there are cheats in Guerrilla?” asked Micro Chips

“There are millions, for the ones that give you better armor, all the way to the God Cheat,” said Spike

“SO is he using it?” asked the kid

“Only one way to find out,” said Spike as he jumped off a ledge and started shooting at the “cheater”

Spike didn’t miss a single shot but he wouldn’t die, instead the “cheater” aimed at Spike while on the air and fired, despite the bullet missing, Spike still was killed by it

“THE HELL!!!” said Micro Chips

“Confirmed,” said Spike

“What?” asked the kid

“he IS using IGM and Grim Shot,” said Spike

“I know about IGM, but the second one…” said Micro Chips

“It’s not only a cheat, but it’s illegal to use it, even if you are playing by yourself,” said Spike

“Wow, really?” asked the kid

“Yup, the developers created this cheat to test levels before selling the game, but they forgot to remove it,” said Spike

“Why don’t they remove it with an update?” asked the kid

“The cheats is deeply rooted in the shooting codes, if they remove it, the shooting system will become obsolete,” explained Spike

“Wow… is there a way to counter this?” asked the kid

“There is, but not in the game,” said Spike as he got up

“Where are you going?” asked the kid

“You’ll see soon enough,” said Spike as he and MicroChips went back to the counter at the entrance.

“So, are you going to do it the nice way or make him regret it?” asked Micro Chips

“If I told you… it wouldn’t be any fun,” said Spike as he started typing codes down on his laptop

After a few more clicks and clacks of the keyboard Spike was finally able to access the cheater’s account and was able to see his screen.

“Do you see it?” asked Micro Chips

“Not yet… but if I do this… and that… BINGO!” said Spike as the cheater’s console command came into view, and there, highlighted, were all the cheats he was using.

Most of them were harmless, but the last 2…

“IGM and Grim shot… they never learn do they,” said Micro Chips

“Yeah… not to mention, this kid isn’t even that good, he is only a level 15,” said Spike

“That means he must be new to the game, taking into consideration that Guerrilla ranks you up quickly,” said Micro Chips

“Then… how did he find out about these cheats… you think there is a video on Youtube?” asked Spike

“Doubt it, and if there is it would’ve been taken down,” said Micro Chips

“Then someone else told him about it… oh well, time to show him a lesson,” said Spike as he began to type different command settings into the console command

“Whaddya gonna do?” asked Micro Chips

“Wait and see,” said Spike as he hit Enter.

Immediately after that they heard a small shout

“WHAT THE HELL?!!!” said the cheater

“It’s showtime,” said Spike as the 2 of them walked over to the rigs

A few seconds later the cheater shouted again as his avatar once again died, this was repeated again and again for a bit over 5 minutes.

“WHAT IS GOING ON?! WHY DO I DIE EVERY 30 SECONDS!!!!” screamed the cheater

“Maybe you’re just not good at this game,” said Spike

“Yeah, just keep practicing and you’ll make it,” said Micro Chips

“But… But- I’ve been playing so well before, I don’t know why my luck changed so suddenly,” said the cheater

“Well, maybe you’re body is tired, call it a day,” said Spike

“Yeah, guys you’re right,” said the cheater as he paid and turned to leave

“Oh, and one last thing… if we ever catch you cheating again… a quick death bug will be the least of your concerns,” said Spike

This caught the attention of the cheater as he turned and saw Spike’s face

“No… it can’t be… you’re...you’re…” said the cheater

“That’s right, now leave,” said Spike with a serious face

“RIGHT!!!!” said the cheater as he ran out of the arcade

“Wow, that was awesome, “ said the kid from earlier

“Nothing out of the ordinary if you ask me,” said Spike

“I can’t believe you're GRIMDragon!” said the kid

“Keep your voice down,” said Spike

“Ups, sorry,” said the kid

“What’s your name kid?” asked Micro Chips

“William, William Morgan, but everyone calls me Button Mash,” he said

“Well, Billy, hope you learned something today,” said Spike

“Yeah, I learned 2 things, to not cheat in Guerrilla, and 2, to never anger you,” said Button Mash

“Good kid, now, call it a day, and go do some real sports,” said Spike

“Yes sir!” said Button Mash as he paid and left

“And you said you didn’t have a paternal side,” mocked Micro Chips

“I was just being nice,” said Spike

“And doing something illegal,” said a male voice behind them

“DAD!!!!” said Micro Chips

“Don’t dad, me, we’ve had this conversation before,” said Micro chips’ dad

“We only wanted to stop an illegal cheat, nothing more,” said Micro Chips

“And the second you take something else out from someone’s computer it’s a felony,” said his dad

“Remind me, why do you run an arcade when you have a law degree?” said Spike

“The best of both worlds… plus, it was a good investment,” said Micro Chips’ dad

“If you say so,” said Spike as he continued to place price tags on video games that were going to be placed on display

“Listen, kids… I know that you don’t have evil intentions when you do the hacking, but…” said Micro chip’s dad

“We may get caught and sent to jail, blah, blah,” said Micro Chips as he continued monitoring the right game times

” I only want you to realize, that the 2 of you have great potentials in other areas, look at this, for example…” said Micro Chips’ father as pulled out his phone and accessed a video on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBgl4rVz3Ks

“How did you find that?” asked Micro Chips’

“You friend Sofia showed it to her dad, and he showed it to me, and I have to admit, I’m pleasantly impressed,” said his dad

“I told you to make sure she didn’t say anything,” said Spike

“I ain’t her dad,” said Micro Chips

“Isn’t she your girlfriend?” said Spike

This made Micro Chips turn red

“Scribble isn’t my girlfriend, we’re just friends,” he said

“Well, anyway, you guys have a gold mine here, look, you guys have over 10 millions views,” said his dad

“Micro has, I only helped compose and write the song,” said Spike

“but aren’t you talented in this business as well?” asked Micro Chips’ dad

“It’s not for me,” said Spike

“Then what is?” asked Micro Chips

“I… I don’t know,” said Spike

“Dude, ever since your game was brought down, you don’t seem to be like yourself,” said Micro Chips

“Let me remind you, we met after that,” said Spike

“And I have youtube, I’ve seen every video of you playing... the hunger, the concentration, the… sheer will to keep fighting, and most importantly, the happiness… it’s all gone, and now, you’re even afraid of lifting a controller and playing,” said Micro Chips

“Well, I did retire,” said Spike

“Why, because you didn’t want to go with the current?” asked Micro Chips

“Because I wanted a real education,” said Spike

“If an education is what you want, why don’t you let me pay your tuition too?” said Micro Chips’ dad

“I appreciate the gesture, but, one tuition is enough strain in your pocket, plus, do to my grades, I got a scholarship,” said Spike

“Well, if something happens, or you change your mind, my offer still stands,” said said Micro Chips’ dad as he walked away

“That was weird,” said Spike

“Well, he does see you as his second son,” said Micro Chips

“Wow, I’m touched… listen, Micro… about gaming…” said Spike

“Dude, you have to get over your fear, what happened that day, happened, it’s in the past, stop running and learn from it,” said Micro Chips

“Heh, I never thought you were going to give me a life lesson,” said Spike with a smile

“I’ve learned from the best,” said Micro Chips

“Ok… I’ll give it another try,” said Spike

“Finally, follow me, I have something for you,” said Micro Chips as he guided Spike to the resting room and to his locker.

“Something important?” asked Spike

“I’ve been saving this for the moment your brain started working again and you decided to play again,” said Micro Chips as he handed Spike a video game

“Guardians… I though they were sold out,” said Spike

“They are, I bought this one 3 months ago,” said Micro Chips

“How much was it, I’ll give you the money back,” said Spike

“You even dare to hand me money, and I’ll cut your hand off,” said Micro Chips “Consider it a gift for all you’ve done for me this past 3 years,”

“Are you sure?” asked Spike

“I was born sure,” said Micro Chips

“Thanks… now I just have to go buy a console, I sold my old one to… you!” said Spike

“That’s right, and I got it revamped, now it’s almost brand new,” said Micro Chips as he handed it over to Spike

“Dude, seriously, I have to pay you for this,” said Spike

“What did I say about the money?... plus, when Kurt broke my computer you fixed yourself and you didn’t charge a penny, let’s call it even Steven,” said Micro Chips

“My name is Spencer, but thanks,” said Spike as he placed everything in his backpack

“Now, I piece of advice, don’t play the campaign,” said Micro Chips

“Why?” asked Spike

“No one does, they say it’s broken, just play the tutorial and when you’re ready, head over to the survival mode, that’s where everyone plays,” said Micro Chips

“Really?” said Spike

“Yup, the higher your level the more respect you get… I’m a level 67 and I’m on the 2nd division, It might take you a while to get there,” said Micro Chips

“Right… I’ll restart everything and give it a go,” said Spike

“Now that’s what I want to hear… also, If I were you I’d change my online name, I’m pretty sure everyone will grow suspicious, if they saw your tag on the screen,” said Micro Chips

“Right, will do,” said Spike

“Hope to see you in the second soon, or possibly the first who knows!” said Micro Chips as he exited the rest lounge, leaving Spike alone with his thoughts.

“Well, I’ve got nothing to lose… I’ll just go buy some extra food for the weekend,”

---

LATER THAT NIGHT

“Let’s see… GreenDeath? nah, not… powerful enough… Phoenix!... nah, it’s already taken… how bout… DrakeReaper!... perfect, I hope no one recognizes this… then again, no one remembers me and it’s better than just writing “Spike” on the ID…,” thought Spike as he finished fixing the ID of the console and waited for the game to download

“I should get everything ready, maybe even use an alarm to tell me when I’ve played for long enough and take a break,” he said as he got up and started fixing everything.

Sometime later, the game was ready to play, Spike just had to wait for it to finish installing

“Ha, and Micro said that buying a Sofabed and a bed was a waste of money...well, let’s see what this game is all about,” said Spike as he prepared to play the game

He was about to access the tutorial just as Micro Chips instructed when his phone rang

The sudden jolt, made Spike jump and accidently press the campaign option

“Hello?” said Spike as he took his phone and answered

“Hey, Spike, just me, Micro… listen, I was just calling you to let you know that i’ll be checking on you form time to time,” he said

“Wow, thanks dad,” said Spike sarcastically

“Don’t mention it, after you giving you the console I started to think of the possibility that you fall into one of those “Gaming trance” of yours and forget to breath,” said Micro Chips

“Right… anyway, thanks… if you don’t hear of me in the next 48 hours…” said Spike

“I can assume you died,” said Micro Chips

“What?! No!” said Spike

“It’s a possibility,” said Micro Chips

“Hahaha, very funny… I was going to say that, you can assume I fell into some sort of trance… you have a copy of my apartment key so…” said Spike

“Yeah, I got you covered,” said Micro Chips “Good luck and… happy hunting,” he said as he hang up

“sigh, well, let’s get into it… WAIT, WHY IS IT SET FOR THE CAMPAIGN?!!!” said Spike as he tried to exit the campaign

he was about to exit when a narrator began to say

---

“Hundreds of years ago, a mysterious new life appeared out of nowhere, at first we believed they were coming in peace, to join our intergalactic community, but we soon found out, their mission was nothing but violent, that new life, called themselves Thretieks, and unlike their know relatives the Kriqas or the Zadrats, who are peacekeepers, the Thretieks only cared about one thing… Power, after negotiations with them failed the attacked, fast and devastating as a Hurricane, and they quickly took over our galaxy, killing everything and everyone that dared to oppose them,”

“50 years later, and the life on the galaxy was almost extinct, but luckily, a group of exceptional life forms were suddenly born amidst all of the suffering and death, these life forms are able to the galaxy at their will… we call them Guardians!... And with their help and leadership, we are ready to take back our galaxy.” finished the narrator as the screen went white and 3 different options appeared before Spike

“Choose your category!” said the Narrator

“Ok this is getting interesting,” said Spike as he looked at the 3 different categories

“Category one, Berserker, You possess inhuman strength and resilience, allowing you to take more damage before being killed, you can also make a new way if there is no other choice, since your muscles are so tough, you can run through any structure known to us,”

“So basically a muscle head… the plus sign is you can carry heavier weapons with ease… the down side… you aren’t exactly fast, so mission that require stealth are out of the question,” said Spike

“Category two, Rogue, As fast and silent as the wind can be, you are wild and able to take on various challenges at the same time, maybe a level must be take out quietly, or someone needs backup at the otherside of the map, well, they can count on you for that,”

“So, you get inhuman speed and agility, which is perfect for stealth, downside is, carrying heavy weapons makes you incredibly slower, not to mention, your major asset is support moves, which also means, solo missions are even tougher that normal, especially against bigger opponents,” said Spike

“Category three, Mage, You mastered the secrets of the galaxy and it bends at your will, summon your inner power when on a tight spot to create more chances, aid your comrades and lead them to victory, the more knowledge you possess the better,’ said the narrator

“So, Mages are free to use any weapon and skill they prefer, which is good, but the downside is that they must rely on their knowledge of the terrain, enemies and weapons to be effective… now I see why there are so little mages in the game, it’s so complicated… and I accept the challenge,” said Spike as he selected the mage category.

“ARE YOU READY TO FIGHT?!!!!!... GREEN LIGHT, GO, GO, GO!!!!” said the narrator as the screen went black.

When the screen lit up again, Spike found himself in a what seemed to be a deserted wasteland

“What the fuck?” he said

“Hello!” said a robotic voice behind him

“Holy shit, don’t do that!!!” said Spike

“Sorry, I am your “Ghost” my main mission is to aid you while you fight your way through the game, including, but not limited to, the multiplayer platforms like survival and Guerrilla wars,” said the Ghost

“Great… what’s your name?” asked Spike

“Give me a name you desire,” said the Ghost

“What about… Peewee?” said Spike

“Peewee?” said the Ghost

“I had a pet that went by that name,” said Spike

“Then Peewee it is, Thank you DrakeReaper,” said Peewee

“Ok, just call me Spike, it’s easier than my cyber ID,” said Spike

“Alright then,” said Peewee

“So, what do I do first?” asked Spike

“First… RUN FOR IT!!!!” said Peewee as he noticed a group of aliens charging towards them

Spike turned and saw the aliens, he then made a run for it

“Quick, into the hangar to your left,” said Peewee

“Which one?” asked Spike

“The only one that is open!” said Peewee as Spike continued to run

Spike could hear the steps of the aliens getting closer as he rushed through the hangar doors.

As soon as he was inside, Peewee closed the doors locking the aliens out.

“What are they doing here?” asked Spike

“This land was lost to the Thretieks many years ago, it was just a coincidence that we ran into a patrol,” said Peewee

“What now?” asked Spike

“You must find a way outta here,” said Peewee

“Easier said than done,” said Spike

“Look, there is a map of this hangar, it seems that there is launch pad at the otherside of the Commonwealth, on the top floor, we just have to get there and search for a ship,” said Peewee

“What if there isn’t any?” asked Spike

“We’ll find something, even if it’s an alien ship... this way, there should be some stairs to your left, that would take us to the second floor,” said Peewee

“Ok then… wow, they even created a sentient AI for this part of the game… maybe that’s why you should play the game with a wifi connection,” said Spike as he followed Peewee

Spike and Peewee dashed through the darkened corridors of the abandoned hangar, until it seemed they were running in circles.

“Up ahead,” said Peewee

“What, are those the stairs to the third floor?” asked Spike

“No… there is a supply crate, and by the looks of it, it’s still sealed, quickly, I’ll open it for you,” said Peewee as it started to hack the lock.

After a few seconds, They heard a click and the crate opened

“Voila, weapons,” said Peewee

“An M-16 rifle and an Assault rifle,” said Spike as he equipped them

“If you turn to your left you will find a revolver on the ground,” said Peewee

Spike did as he was told and found the revolver

“Ok, I don’t have much ammo, what do I do if I ran out?” asked Spike

“Every time you kill an alien, they may drop ammo, in some particular cases, they will drop especial rewards that you may keep or sell at the home base or even trade with fellow players, and if after all that you still have trouble, don’t forget about your abilities, just bres L1 and R1 together and you will be able to use it,” said Peewee

“Ok, got it,” said Spike

“Good, cause there are aliens up ahead,” said Peewee as he showed Spike the map with heat signs on them

Spike creeped towards the alien life forms and saw the life bars also contained the level they possessed

“They’re all level 1s,” said Spike

“Yes, but I do recommend that you don’t take their levels for granted, here a level means almost nothing,” said Peewee

Spike however, didn’t pay attention and headed in, guns blazing, he was able to kill one of the aliens with a perfect headshot, but the remaining 4 took cover and began to fire back hitting Spike various times forcing him to take cover and wait for his health to replenish

“Man this is harder than it looks,” said Spike

Spike struggled for a few seconds to take out the remaining aliens before continuing up the hangar.

“Man that was tough,” said Spike

“Spike, I should warn you, this hangar has many more alien forms, some of which are tougher than the last, you should prioritize strategy,” said Peewee

“If you say so,” said Spike as he entered a pitch black room

“A hive,” said Peewee

“A what?” said Spike

“A Hive, aliens use the darkness to recharge their energy, just like you do when you sleep, only… there might be a bit too many for you to take on your own,” said Peewee

“So, I should go through this quietly?” asked Spike

“As much as possible, or, if you are feeling brave or… suicidal, start firing,” said Peewee

Spike began to move slowly, doing his best to not make much noise.

He was half way through the hive, when he stepped on something… or someone

He quickly aimed down and saw an alien, looking back at him

Spike then tried to melee him but pressed the wrong button and fired a load shot into the skull of the alien

“You were supposed to do this quietly!” said Peewee

Spike then made a run for the otherside of the floor, unfortunately he was not fast enough, and was cut off by a group of level 10 aliens

“Fuck this I’m heading out of here!” said Spike as he opened fire around him

Spike was killing aliens left and right, but at the same time he was receiving so much damage, his whole screen was red

“The door!” said Spike as he ran out through it with all of the surviving aliens not far behind

He made it down the stairs and to his horror, he saw 5 aliens at the bottom of the stairs

“THE HELL ARE THEY DOING?!!! I KILLED THEM!!!” said Spike as the aliens turned and charged at him

That’s when Spike noticed the bodies of the aliens he killed earlier

“That the patrol that we outrunned outside, they must’ve blown the door down,” said Peewee

“Oh, fuck, I’m dead,” said Spike as he saw the massive wave of aliens crowding him.

Then, as if on impulse, Spike pressed a random combination of buttons and created a massive explosion around him killing all of the aliens around him and causing the ones nearing him to burn alive.

“What just happened?” asked Spike

“Well done Spike, You were successfully able to create a Nova discharge, a rare skill,” said Peewee.

Spike looked at the carnage around him and said

“Can you give me a minute,” and paused the game

He got off his sofa bed and looked at the control

“That combination… it’s the same one for Guerrilla, to use a hidden ability… that’s too much of a coincidence,” said Spike as he headed to his computer.

He opened the browser and quickly searched for the Guardians video game, and when the information popped up, a smirk appeared in his face

“SO it was created by the same studio that made Guerrilla… heck it was the same game developer… Max Hellstrome… the controllers are also the same, same buttons, and same combinations…” said Spike

At that moments a memory came into his head

“No one plays the campaign,” said Micro Chips

“Why?” asked Spike

“It’s broken,” said Micro Chips

“What did he mean, broken?” said Spike as he searched for information regarding the campaign of Guardians.

“Bingo… the reason no one seems to last too long playing the campaign in Guardians is due to the map and enemy randomness, which irritates many players… “If you are able to work your way around the enemy and map system for the campaign, you can become the best player… or you could play the multiplayer function of the game and grow there, it takes longer however,” said lead developer Max Hellstrome… “It a chance to demonstrate the you are not following a code, but gut feelings, in the real world, you wouldn't be able to see the skill level of your opponent, yet you are still forced to fight against them… the game is about strategy, not another, Shot him, shot that, sequence game in which you are made to fight against rivals of your own level to level up, here you have to follow your instincts to come up on top,” said Max… That’s the mentality of a legend… wait a minute, that’s the way I used to think before the cancelation of LOL, That’s why I like Guerrilla so much, it didn’t really had a code or logic, it was all skill or luck, and if this game works the same way… then, it’s time for me to face my old demons… one last time,” said Spike as he turned his computer off and walked back to his sofa bed.

“It’s gaming time!” he said as he pressed play.

Guardians Ch.2 The rise of "PheonixGuard" part 1

48 HOURS LATER

RING… RING… RING…

“SPIKE?!!!... IT’S ME, MICRO… DUDE! ARE YOU OK, YOU HAVEN’T ANSWERED ANY OF MY MESSAGES OR CALLS SINCE LAST NIGHT… SPIKE?! ARE YOU OK IN THERE?!!!” said Microchips as he stood at the other side of the closed white door that granted entrance and ext to Spike’s apartment.

“Fuck it… I’M COMING IN!!” said Micro as he used the emergency key Spike had given him to enter his home.

When he made it inside, he was surprised at what he saw.

Spike’s room was as clean as a museum, dishes were in the dish rack, garbage in its place, dusted and polished, the only things that were off-putting were: the fact that all of the lights were off, the TV was off, and, most importantly, Spike was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is he?” said Microchips as he walked around the apartment, heading for the sofa bed that was facing the TV.

Microchips then proceeded to plop down onto the couch, hitting the PS4 controller in the process, this caused the TV to turn on and show the character menu for Guardians.

“Heh, I take it, he gave it a try… wait a minute,” said Microchips as he noticed something on the screen.

He was still trying to make sense of what he was seeing when all of a sudden the door to Spike’s room swung open and out walked Spike.

“Micro, what are you doing here?” asked Spike

“You weren’t answering my calls or text, so I thought that it had happened again,” said Micro as he stepped away from the TV screen.

“Oh, no, I swore to myself to never let that happen… but I was not aware that you called me,” said Spike as he walked towards the sofa bed and fished his phone out of the gap between the cushions.

Micro Chips, however, only stared at his best friend in total disbelief, not moving a muscle or making a noise.

“Oh, what do you know, the battery died… come to think of it, I should’ve plugged it in, if I was going to be using it that much… don’t you agree?... What?” said Spike as he turned to face his best friend.

Without warning, Microchips placed his hands on Spike’s shoulders and said

“Please tell me you hacked the game,”

“What?... the fuck would I do that for?” asked Spike

“THESE STATS ARE IMPOSSIBLE… NOT TO MENTION, EVERYTHING IN YOUR ARMORY IS OF LEGENDARY CLASS!!” said Microchips as he began to shake Spike

“It’s not impossible, may hard, but not impossible,” said Spike

“But… ok, your a mage with a level 500 magic power, level 800 defense, level 500 scouting, adding your amour, you have a complete character level of 1500, no one has achieved that level before,” said Microchips

“Really?” asked Spike

“Yeah, Rainbow Dash is the highest-ranking player I know, and she has a complete character level of 563… added to her, the highest-ranking players in the world are “Royal3mber” with a level of 650 and another person called “Thoralling” with a level of 653… you’ve surpassed them, and all of them have been playing this game since day 1… how did you do this?” asked Microchips

“Oh, I finished the campaign…” said Spike

“WHAT?!!!!” was all that escaped his mouth

“... twice,” said Spike

Microchips looked at his friend in disbelief

“Then I bought and downloaded the 5 DLCs and finished them too… and then I went to sleep

“Unbelievable,” said Microchips

“Is it?” said Spike

“You’re telling me that you finished 1 month worth of gaming in 48 hours?” said Microchips

“More like in 40 hours 34 minutes and 24 seconds,” said Spike

Microchips looked at Spike and then said

“Mind if I stay over and play?”

“Not at all… I'll give you the code for the DLCs… I bought the party premium so I can give the code to anyone I want for the next 10 years… it also gives me early access to any new DLCs on the market,” said Spike

“I’ll be right back!” said Microchips as he jumped off the sofa and ran out of the apartment heading for his Ford SUV, which his parents had bought for him as a graduation present.

“I know my apartment is big enough for 2 people, even with the extra bedroom I use as an office/study… but I have the feeling he’s going to stay here for a while… better go buy more frozen food,” said Spike as he put his traditional purple hoodie on, grabbed his wallet, spare phone, and headphones and headed out to the store.

---

1 WEEK LATER

“... Well done Guardian, thanks to you the universe is now safe once more, your sacrifices and deeds will never be forgotten.” said the electronic voice in the game as Microchips finished the last of all the DLCs to become the 2nd ever person to finish the game

“That took longer than I thought,” said Spike as he continued typing into his laptop

“Oh, shut up… but thank,” said Microchips

“For what?” asked Spike

“For helping me get better at the game… I mean, I’m not you, but, my total level went from 216 to 969, something that is amazing,” said Microchips

“Yeah well, we’re forever loners, we have to look out for each other, I mean, that's what friends are for,” said Spike

“Ok, what is that supposed to mean?” asked Microchips

“Let’s face it, what are the possibilities of either of us getting a girlfriend… In my case, almost 0 in yours… 75% if we count Scribble in, but…” said Spike

“Ok, stop ruining the moment,” said Microchips as he grabbed his phone and started to scroll around

“I’m not, I’m being realistic,” said Spike

“Sure you are,” said Microchips

“Anyway… any ideas for university?” said Spike

“Aren’t we going to Canterlot State?” said Microchips

“Yeah,” said Spike

“Then?” said Microchips

“I mean, regarding your field of studies,” said Spike

“Oh… Game design and Electro engineering” said Microchips

“I saw that coming,” said Spike

“What about you?” asked Microchips

“Game design or Law… maybe both,” said Spike

“Well, with your brain, it seems like an insult if you don’t...” said Microchips as he went silent

Spike turned to face his friend in concern

Microchips face was glued to the screen of his phone, his eyes wide in shock

“What is it Lassie, Jeff fell down the well?” said Spike

“How could I be so stupid?” said Microchips, not talking to anyone in particular

“Is that supposed to be a rhetorical question?” said Spike

“What?” said Microchips

“Cause I can give you an answer,” said Spike

“No… no… I mean, I overlooked a massive detail,” said Microchips

“Regarding?” said Spike

“The game and colleague,” said Microchips

“And it is?” said Spike

“You are yet to be clear for competitions… and Canterlot State has the fame of having the best gaming shelter for Esports,” said Microchips

“And I have to give a damn because?” said Spike

“You said you were going to give competitive gaming another chance,” said Microchips

“No, I said, I would give the GAME a chance, not competitive gaming,” said Spike

“Oh come on dude, I thought we had agreed on it,” said Microchips

“You never mentioned competitive gaming,” said Spike

Microchips went silent, remembering the conversation

“Oh… guess you’re right… but don’t you want to?” said Microchips

Spike remained silent for a few seconds as he looked out the window

“I did promise I was going to confront my demons… but that still means reliving my past… a past I’ve worked so hard to forget… on the other hand, playing this game gave me the adrenaline rush I’ve been running from for so long… but I’m I ready?...” he thought to himself

Spike then turned to face Microchips

“Sure, why not,” he said

“Awesome,” said Microchips as he continued to read the screen of his phone

“Something important?” asked Spike

“Yeah...2 things actually… first there is a division battle happening tomorrow,” said Microchips

“A division battle?” asked Spike

“Yeah… you see, to be able to compete in any local, regional, national or international competitions you have to be a first division player, like me,” said MIcrochips

“Ok,” said Spike

“It works like this… you start in the lowest division, the 4th division, as you are currently in the 5th division, also known as the “In-game” division… so, you are placed in a team of 5, and then added to a group of 4 teams, each group has different objectives or missions for the teams to complete, if you’re team is either the first or the second of the group, you are then promoted to the 3rd division, where you are to play another team from another group, and then do the same on the second and first divisions if you reach them that is,” said Microchips

“Sounds fun… and when is it happening?” asked Spike

“Saturday, June 26 at 4 PM,” said Microchips

“That’s today… in 2 hours,” said Spike

“Yeah, I just realized… but you’re ready,” said Microchips

“What about the teams?” asked Spike

“If you have one, just logging with them… if not, you’ll just be added to the drop-ins, and then join them when the game starts,” said Microchips

“Oh… and if there aren’t any drop-ins?” asked Spike

“Then we have an issue… but it’s highly unlikely,” said Microchips

“Ok… I’ll do it,” said Spike

“Great… I take it you’re going to go buy stuff at the supermarket right?” asked Microchips

“Yup,” said Spike as he walked out of the room

“Dude, I’ll just call and order a pizza or something,” said Microchips

“What about drinks?” said Spike as he turned right and walked down the stairs

“Touche,” said Microchips as he closed the door.

---

2 HOURS LATER

“Ready?” asked Microchips

“Yeah,” said Spike as he logged into the event

“WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO THIS DIVISION RANKING EVENT, ALL OF YOU ARE HERE FOR A COMMON GOAL, WHICH IS, REACHING THE GOLDEN FIRST DIVISION TO GAIN THE GOLDEN PIN FOR YOUR ARMOUR THAT GRANTS YOU ACCESS TO ANY PROFESSIONAL COMPETITION… NOW, IF YOU HAVE A TEAM, PLEASE SEARCH FOR THE NAME OF YOUR TEAM AND USE THE TEAM’S PASSWORD, IF YOU DON'T, GO TO THE END OF THE LIST AND PRESS THE “DROP-IN” OPTION AND WAIT FOR MORE PLAYERS TO JOIN,” said the computer voice

Spike followed the instructions and headed to the drop-in option

“CONGRATULATIONS ON JOINING A TEAM!!! NOW, TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER!” said the voice

Spike then activated his microphone and said

“Uhm… hi,”

“Sup,” came a voice

“Hello,” said another

“Welcome on board,” said another

“Great… well know that we are a complete team, tell us something about yourself,” said another voice

“Well, as you can see I’m DrakeReaper... Uhm… I’m usually not big on competitions, but, my friend asked me… well, more like, forced me to be here,” said Spike

“Oh, that’s cool dude… you’re a dude right?” said one of them

“Do I sound like a girl to you?” said Spike

“Right answer, well, I’m GreenDeath99, I play as a Berserker, and this ought to be my 20 attempt, my current character level is 43,” he said

“Normix10, I also play as a Berserker, but this would be my 3rd attempt, my character level is 35,” said another one

“WizzardKing, Rogue, this is my 30th attempt, my character level is 87,” said another

“And I’m, Crimson_Shadow,” another rogue, this is my 27th attempt, but I could’ve already reached the first division, at the time I was part of a team but it disbanded and no one let me join, and my character level is 132,” said another

“What about you DrakeReaper?” asked Normix10

“This is my first try actually,” said Spike

“Wow, really?” said Greendeath99

“Yeah, I play as a Mage,” said Spike

“That’s so cool,” said WizzardKing

“That means we have a member of each category, maybe we can even try playing with advanced formations, like the Pentagon formation,” said Crimnson_Shadow

“Bad idea, we don’t have enough members or that position, our backs will be completely open and undefended,” said Spike

“Wow, you know about the formations?” said Crimnson_Shadow

“Well, I’m a Mage, I must know everything about the game,” said Spike

“Awesome… by the way… what is your Character level?” asked Greendeath99

“It’s…” Spike was about to answer when

“PLAYERS READY, DROPPING IN 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… GO!!!!!” said the robotic voice as they all were teleported to a planet.

“Where are we?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“Gaia,” said GreenDeath99

“Oh, I remember this level, it was one of the free-training levels,” said WizzardKing

“Was it complicated?” asked Normix10

“To b honest, it was pretty straightforward, nothing really interesting,” said WizzardKing

“ATTENTION PLAYERS! YOUR OBJECTIVES ARE… GET TO THE CHECKPOINT ON YOUR GPSs AND… SURVIVE!!!” said the computer voice

“Survive?... Survive what?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“Maybe that means it’s a team deathmatch,” said GreenDeath99 as he began to walk down the trail

“Are you sure?” asked WizzardKing

“Well, it’s the only thing that makes sense… I mean, this level itself isn’t that interesting,” said GreenDeath99 as he continued running down the path with the rest of the members of the team in tow.

Unknown to him, he was getting too close to the edge of the trail, and unfortunately, the only person that knew what happens if you abandon the trail was Spike… but that was soon going to change.

“Hey, according to the map, there is an open zone at the otherside of this hill, let’s climb the hill, it’ll make it faster,” said GreenDeath99 as he turned to start climbing when

“NO STOP!!!!” said Spike as he fired a couple of rounds to the trees before him

“WOW!! Dude, what was that for?” said GreenDeath99 as he stepped back and pointed his gun at Spike

“If you don’t want to climb you could just say so!” said WizzardKing

“It’s not the climbing I’m concerned about!” said Spike

“Then what is?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“That!” said Spike as he shot the trees a bit more, killing them

The whole gang then turned and saw “Tree Monsters” fall to the ground dead

“What the fuck?!” they all exclaimed

“Gaia is based on a scarier and deadly version of the Rainforest, here, everything that moves can kill you,” said Spike as he rushed over to the Ammo boxes on the floor.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” said Normix10

“I wasn’t sure which version of the map it was, I didn’t want to sound Stupid or paranoic,” said Spike

“How did you know?” asked GreenDeath99

“I played the campaign,” said Spike

‘YOU WHAT?!!!!” they all said

“Actually, I finished it… twice… including the DLCs,” said Spike

“OK WHAT!!” they all said again

It was at this point when they noticed Spike’s character level

“Holy shit! You are the only person I know of that has finished the game!” said Normix10

“I’m not the only one… my friend Micr… I mean TechGod2000 also finished the campaign and DLCs,” said Spike

“You’re bluffing… right?!” said GreenDeath99

“Nope, he did it after I lent him my console and game codes for the DLCs… here in my home,” said Spike

“Wow!” they all said

“Ok, new plan… Whatever DrakeReaper says, we do, copy!” said GreenDeath99

“COPY!!” they all said

“Ok, DrakeReaper, lead the way!” said GreenDeath99

“Ok, but on one condition,” said Spike

“And what is that?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“I will not intervene much, only when there is a boss fight, or a hoard… or we get overrunned by enemies,” said Spike

“Why?” asked WIzzardKing

“Because, you have to increase your level as much as possible before the next stage, who knows what we’ll find then,” said Spike

“That makes sense… I agree with that,” said Normix10

“Me too,” said GreenDeath99

“Sure,” said WizzardKing

“Let’s keep moving,” said Crimson_Shadow

“Ok, everyone…. Stay behind me and follow the same route I’m taking… shot at the trees if you think you have to…” said Spike

As soon as he said that, everyone began to open fire at the trees around them, killing all of the monsters as they continued to run down the path.

After 10 more minutes of the bullet hurricane they stopped to assess the damage created and pick up the ammo boxes they found.

“That also works too… but you should also be concerned for the REAL enemies, so, save your bullets as well,” said Spike

“I’m all for nature and it’s protection, but if these trees were her on earth… fuck’em, kill them all,” said GreenDeath99

“Yeah, but, then there’ll be no oxygen,” said WizzardKing

“Plus… can you blame them for attacking us… after all the shit we’ve done to nature?” said Crimson_Shadow

“Point,” said GreenDeath99

“Anyway… we better get going, the checkpoint is still pretty far, and this map is huge,” said Spike

“Right, everyone… follow DrakeReaper,” said Greendeath99

---

A FEW MINUTES LATER

“Kill count check!” said GreenDeath99

“32 kills, 10 Precision kills,” said WizzardKing

“34 Kills, 2 Precision kills,” said Crimson_Shadow

“40 kills, 28 Precision kills,” said Normix10

“And I have 56 kills, 34 Precision kills, said GreenDeath99

“What about you DrakeReaper?” asked Normix10

“74 kills, 72 Precision kills,” said Spike

“THE FUCK!!!” screamed WizzardKing and Crimson_Shadow

“In his defense, he did wipeout that massive hoard, almost by himself,” said GreenDeath99

“Level check!” said Spike

“When this began I was a level 43, now I’m a level 96, that’s plus 53 points,” said GreenDeath99

“35 at the start, now I’m a level 90, that an increase of 55 points,” said Normix10

“How the hell does he have more increase points that me?” asked GreenDeath99

“Most of his confirmed kills were headshot, you tend to get more points for that,” explained Spike

“At the beginning I was level 87, now I am a level 147, that’s an increase of 60” said WizzardKing

“I was 132, now I’m 203, that’s an increase of 71 points,” said Crimson_Shadow

“How come?!!!” said Greendeath99 and Normix10

“Rogue’s tend to level up faster with hand-to-hand, stealth and quick fire weapons,” said Spike

“So then, what are we supposed to do to level up faster?” asked Greendeath99

“Berserkers level up faster by doing combos, the more enemies you kill without interruption, be it by shooting or bulldozing them (Tackling them like in Rugby or Football), after the “Killing Frenzy” is over the points you got for the kills multiply and are added,” said Spike as he reload his guns

“Interesting… how do you know?” asked GreenDeath99

“Ever heard of a game called “Guerrilla”? Said Spike

“Yeah, I love that game… wait a minute!” said GreenDeath99

“Same developers, almost the same controllers, and… I read the manual,” said Spike

“WAIT! THERE IS A MANUAL FOR THE GAME?!!!” they all said

“Yup, there is a small booklet and there is an option in the game’s Main Menu… it textually says “Manual and rules” said Spike

“Live it to a Pro, eh!” said Crimson_Shadow

“As soon as this is over, I’m going to read both manuals until my eyes fall off,” said WizzardKing

“By the way DrakeReaper, what is your current level?” asked Normix10

“Let me check… when we started I was a level 1500… now, I am… 1649,” said Spike

After he said that, there was around 20 seconds of Radio silence, no one said a word

“Guys… and/or Gals?” said Spike

“THOSE SOMEONE HERE SOUND LIKE A GIRL TO YOU?!!!!” screamed Crimson_Shadow

“You never know,” said Spike

“True… sorry, I was just taken a back from the information,” said Crimson_Shadow

“That just shows us that we have a lot to do,” said GreenDeath99

“Well… Not to rub salt in your… “Wounds” but… Mages level up incredibly slow… we have to be good at every single aspect of the game…” said Spike

“Dude, that’s enough… for now,” said Normix10

“Anyway… at the otherside of this hill, is the checkpoint… and by the looks of it, we are dead last,” said WizzardKing

“Then let’s hurry!” said GreenDeath99 as they all sprinted down the hill

“About time they show up!” said someone in another team

“Wow, check out the mage guy!” said another

“Is that level real?!!!” exclaimed someone else

“Well Drake… you’re just about to become a celebrity,” said Normix10

“Again?!” said Spike

“What do you mean again?” they all asked

But before Spike could answer

“WELL DONE, YOU HAVE SURVIVED… FOR NOW… YOUR LAST MISSION IS… GET TO THE PORTAL!” said the robotic voice as a portal opened up at the otherside of the valley

“That’s it?!!” said someone in the other team

“This is easy, it’s a test of speed,” said another

“Everyone, get ready to bolt,” said someone else

“What do you think Drake?” asked GreenDeath99

“Is it a test of Speed?” asked Normix10

“No… look at the layout of the valley, there are places to take cover… if this was completely about speed, there shouldn’t be those types of obstacles,” said Spike

“So… something is going to happen?” said WizzardKing

“But what?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“It’s D-Day!” said Spike

“WHAT?!!” they all said

“It’s just like D-Day, I’m 100% sure, aliens are going to start bombarding us with gunfire and mortars,” said Spike

“Shit! You sure!?” asked Normix10

“We all saw the pictures during History class… right?!” said Spike

“Is this a bad time to say that I failed History class?” said Crimson_Shadow

“WHO THE HELL FAILS HISTORY?!!!” screamed GreenDeath99

“I always confuse the dates,” said Crimson_Shadow

“READY…” said the robotic voice

“Just follow us!” said Normix10

“SET…” said the robotic voice

“Everyone readdy?” asked Spike

“Yup!” they all said

“GO!!!!” said the robotic voice

Spike and his team then started running towards one of the big pieces of debris that were on the valley

This caught the attention of other teams

“What are they doing?” asked one of them

“Maybe they want to lose!” said another person in a mocking tone

“Or there is more to this challenge that what they showed us!” said another

As soon as that was said a hurricane of bullets and mortars began to rain on the other teams

“GET TO COVER!!” screamed someone, but it was too late for the team that was currently in first as in the blink of an eye, all of the members were killed by the hail of bullets and mortars

‘I TOLD YOU SO!” said Spike

“What now?” asked Normix10

“RUN FROM COVER TO COVER… QUICKLY!” said WizzardKing

“JUST LIKE IN THE REAL THING!!!” said GreenDeath99

“GO, GO, GO!!!!” shouted Spike as he aimed for the windows of the building before them, and opened fire, giving his team time to reach cover

“THANKS!!!” screamed Normix10

“NOW WE COVER YOU!!!” said GreenDeath as they all opened fire, giving Spike enough cover to regroup

“5 MORE SPRINTS AND WE’RE THERE!!!” screamed Spike

Just then, Crimson_Shadow looked at the building and yelled

“MORTARS, TAKE COVER!!!!”

They all quickly ran in different directions and took cover, just as another team was eliminated by the Mortars

“ONLY 2 TEAMS LEFT, WE MADE IT!!!!” screamed Normix10

“DON’T SING VICTORY YET!!! IF WE ARE ELIMINATED, WE HAVE TO PRAY WE DID BETTER THAN OTHER TEAMS BEFORE GETTING HERE!!!” screamed Spike

“THEY HAVE THE OTHER TEAM PINNED DOWN, LET’S MAKE A RUN FOR IT!!!!” screamed WizzardKing

“GET TO THE CENTER COVER!!!!” screamed Spike as he and Crimson_Shadow dashed to the cover

“YOU HEARD HIM!!!” said GreenDeath99

They all made it and regrouped

“NOW THEY’RE FIRE POWER IS ON US!!!” screamed WizzardKing

“BUT NOT THE MORTAR POWER!!!” said Spike as they all saw the mortars falling around the other team causing them to pull back, running into the aliens line of fire

“NOW!!!!” screamed Spike as they all got out of cover and dashed for the portal

“ALMOST THERE!!!!” screamed Normix10

And just as they said that, they all crossed the portal and entered a dark room

“Is that it?” asked WizzardKing

“CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY REACHED THE ELEVATOR, PLEASE, PREPARE FOR THE NEXT DIVISION!!” said the robotic voice as the screens went dark

“What do you think is coming up next?!” asked Crimson_Shadow

“We’ll know soon enough,” said Spike.

Guardians ch.3 The Rise of the "PheonixGuard" Part 2

“How much longer do we have to wait?” asked WizzardKing while their screens still reflected the end stats of the previous division.

“We have to wait for the other groups to finish to see who is our next opponent,” said GreenDeath99

“Yeah, but it’s taking forever,” said WizzardKing

“Well, 2 of the other groups have literal team deathmatches, and so far none of them show signs of giving up,” said Normix10

“This is going to take a while,” said Spike

“So… anyone here likes comics?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“HELL YEAH!” everyone said

“What’s your favorite comic?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“I love Dragonkin,” said GreenDeath99

“Oh, I’ve read it before, I didn’t like the ending though, I mean, the main character…” said WizzardKing

“DON’T SAY IT MAN, I HAVEN’T FINISHED IT!!!” interrupted GreenDeath99

“Dude, you haven’t finished reading the comic?” asked Spike

“Nah, I’ve been busy,” said GreenDeath99

“I think you’re the only person here who hasn’t finished it,” said Crimson_Shadow

“Well excuse me for having a life!” said GreenDeath99

“Anyway… I love Gladiators,” said Normix10

“Who doesn’t should be the proper question,” said Crimson_Shadow

“Yeah, who do you think Lester is going to end up with?” asked WizzardKing

“My money is with Robyn, I mean, she literally waited for him for more than 10 years since he left,” said Normix10

“Or with Tiffany or Sam, they did become really close as fighters,” said GreenDeath99

“What about Fiona? He is always protecting her!” said WizzardKing

“I think he’ll end up with either Ramona or Ashley… maybe even Patricia,” said Crimson_Shadow

“Harem much,” said WizzardKing

“You only mentioned Fiona because of her massive rack,” said Crimson_Shadow

“Like any of the 3 girls you mentioned don’t have big boobs!” exclaimed WizzardKing

“Lester is going to end up with all of them,” said Spike

“Another harem fanatic!” said Normix10

“Nah, that’s the author’s idea for Lester,” said Spike

“You sure?” asked GreenDeath99

“Yup, he did mention that Lester was initially going to be Asexual, but that idea changed, now it’s just a matter of waiting for season 2 and see who is the first wife,” said Spike

“My favorite comic series is Isekai’d, dude’s awesome,” said Crimson_Shadow

“You just love the gore and the sex, don’t you?” said WizzardKing

“Can you blame me?” said Crimson_Shadow

“Not… really, I mean, I love it, the story is so well made that it engulfs you,” said WizzardKing

“Who’s your favorite character...and Delsin is not allowed!” said GreenDeath99

“Gabby!” said WizzardKing

“Clyde, how he went from a klutz to the God of Destruction was awesome, he actually inspired me to start lifting weights!” said Crimson_Shadow

“I like Sasha, her backstory and all she went through, and how she turned it around it was perfect, and then her love story with Delsin before he obtained his harem… 5 stars!” said Normix10

“For me… I know he isn’t exactly the main character, but I like Claymore, even when he went to Drakewood and informed Delsin of the situations back home, the way he obliterated the inquisitors, he is a fine warrior,” said GreenDeath99

“What about you DrakeReaper?” asked Normix

“Huh! What?” asked Spike

“Any thoughts on Isekai’d?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“Oh… Uhm… actually I lost myself on the comments you were giving about the comic,” said Spike

“Why?” asked GreenDeath99

“Well… I’ve never… really heard anyone speak so highly about the comic,” said Spike

“So, does that mean you hate it?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“NO! No!, I, Uhm, am actually the author,” said Spike

The second he said this, the lines went dark, no one said a word

“Guys?” asked Spike

“You’re messing with us right?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“I wish I was, it’ll make the next conversation less awkward,” said Spike

As soon as he said this everyone scream at the top of their lungs

“WHAT!!!!!!!!!”

“HOW?!!” asked GreenDeath99

“Well, it’s a bit of a funny story actually, you see, I had just finished learning to play the guitar, and to be honest I grew a bit lazy when it came to practice, so, I tried to play some video games instead but I got bored rather quickly, but then an idea popped into my head, why don’t I make my own video game story, and so I did, when I finished the first chapter I was so proud of it that I thought of uploading it to the internet and let people read it… by some funny twist of fate, I accidentally uploaded it to a “New writers” competition and it actually won… you can imagine my face when I got the email telling me about it, and one thing led to the next and now I’m currently taking a break from season 2, just as they finish the TV series,” said Spike

“NO WAY!” said Crimson_Shadow

“Not lying, my pen name is actually an old Gamertag that I had before I became known as…” Spike continued to say until he finally realized where he was going and stopped himself

“As to what?” asked WizzardKing

“DrakeReaper,” Spike quickly said

“Dude, that’s awesome,” said Normix10

“Awesome?! Just awesome?!!! THE DAMN THING IS GETTING A TV ADAPTATION!!! AND ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IS AWESOME?!!!” said Crimson_Shadow

“Well, it is awesome,” said Spike

“I think it’s incredibly amazingly awesome!!!” said Crimson_Shadow

“Thanks… going back to our previous topic… What about you WizzardKing? Any comics you like?” said Spike

“I don’t really have a favorite, but maybe Dragonlord,” he said

“Oh, that one’s good, but it’s not done yet,” said Normix10

“Yeah, it’s only on issue 32,” said WizzardKing

“I’m on issue 30,” said Spike

“I should check it out,” said Crimson_Shadow

“Agreed, matter of fact, as soon as this competition is over, I’m heading to the comic book shop to buy it,” said GreenDeath99

“What about you DrakeReaper, any comic you like?” asked Normix10

“Power Maidens,” said Spike

“Ah! A true connoisseur,” said Normix10

“Yeah, definitely one of the best comic series ever, maybe top 10 with Iseaki’d,” said Crimson_Shadow

“I don’t think my comic is THAT good,” said Spike

“Bro, your comic is already being adapted into a TV series, Power Maidens hasn’t,” said WizzardKing

“Yes it has, it’s on NetFlex, I think their on season 2 episode 4 right now,” said Spike

Once again the line went silent again

“Give me a second!” said WizzardKing as Spike heard everyone’s headset hit the floor or desk and the sound of running footsteps getting further and further.

A few seconds later

“Damn algorithm, you were right, I have so much catching up to do,” said Wizzardking

“Me too,” said Crimson_Shadow

“Me three,” said Normix10

“Oh, I have a question!” said Greendeath99

“What’s up?” asked Normix10

“Who is the best villain in the franchise?” asked GreenDeath99

“Specter!” said WizzardKing in a heartbeat

“Why him?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“The dude was a crazier, much more sadistic version of Thanos!” said WizzardKing

“True, but he was also a multi-billionaire crackhead,” said Crimson_Shadow

“That’s why! he wanted to eradicate life on this planet cause he was bored,” said WizzardKing

“Ok, he was a good villain, but I personally think that Arlequinn was way worse, the dude actually went through with Specter’s plan… What's more, he killed Hum Drum!” said Crimson_Shadow

“Technically he didn’t kill Hum Drum, he sacrificed himself to destroy the bomb by absorbing the core and keeping it stable until they reached space,” said Spike

“Still, Hum Drum was just beginning to get the respect he deserved not to mention, he and Radiance were thinking about getting married!” said Crimson_Shadow

“Good point… Although I hated Corenium, he literally tried to invade earth countless times, plus he was controlling Hum Drum and used him as a weapon against his friends” said GreenDeath99

“True… and that is why I hated Hum Drum’s evil cycle, he had no care for who he killed or injured, he was ruthless,” said Normix10

“So true, the author really made us have a love-hate relationship with Hum Drum,” said WizzardKing

“What about you DrakeReaper?” asked GreenDeath99

“Nox, definitely,” said Spike

“OH! Don’t get me started about Nox!” said WizzardKing

“He was pure evil,” said GreenDeath99

“He used the girls’ bad memories to torment them… especially Hum Drum’s death over and over again,” said Normix10

“I was so happy when he died, it felt so good and… therapeutic,” said Crimson_Shadow

“Actually, I hate him because he is the reason that Hum Drum became “Evil,” said Spike

“WHAT?!!!” they all said

“Yeah, when he was dying, you can see he was watching all of the memories of the important parts of the series, and when he got to Hum Drum’s death scene he said “The friend who they can’t forget… a Perfect plan B,” as he touched the memory, modified it and then disintegrated,” said Spike

“WOW… let me check that out!” said WizzardKing as he quickly got up and grabbed something, moments later they could hear the sound of pages ruffling as he scanned the comic.

“Yup, here it is… he does say that,” he said

“THAT SON OF A…” said Crimson_Shadow

“Oh the other teams are done!” said Spike

This got everyone’s attention as they looked at the screens again.

“Congratulations on reaching the next stage of our tournament, from now on, every move you make will count in and against your favor, and the maps are going to be even harder… teams prepare for landing,” said the computer voice

“That’s it?!” asked Crimson_Shadow

“Huh, wonder what they have up their sleeve?” said GreenDeath99 as their screens suddenly changed to a loading screen

“What the?!” they all said

“Guardians… ready?... GO! GO! GO!” said the robotic voice as they appeared on a deserted wasteland, with no one or nothing surrounding them.

“Where are we?” asked Normix10

“Crystalia… oh how I hated this map,” said Spike

“Wait, why?” asked WizzardKing

“Not much cover, full of bobby-traps and most importantly… Corrupted!” said Spike as he opened fire against a group of darkened suited enemies, killing them almost instantly

“What. In. The. World. Are. Those?” asked GreenDeath99

“Corrupted,” said Spike

“Corrupted, I’ve never seen them before,” said WizzardKing

“Well they only start appearing after you complete map 8 and destroy the Hive,” said Spike

“So, DrakeReaper, how do we kill them?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“There are three types of Corrupted and those three categories have a subdivision, first is the foot soldiers, Rangers, Acolytes, and Spearheads, you can kill them faster with shots to the head and chest plates, then you have the underlings, Knights, Captains, and Wizards/Witches, these ones are a bit more powerful, especially because they have a shield you have to weaken before making any real damage, and lastly you have the Lieutenants, these ones are hard to kill because they can summon as many corrupted as they want, and there is no easy way to kill them, only to keep firing… with guns over 250 damage bonus,” said Spike

“So these things are basically the same enemies in the game, only 10 times harder to kill and deadlier?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“Of course not!” said Spike “They’re 20 times deadlier,”

“We don’t even have weapons that strong,” said Normix10

“Point… that’s why here you have to be fast and silent… unless…” said Spike

“Unless what?” they all asked

“Unless you have me on your team,” said Spike as he moved forward and summoned different weapons before him “Take your pick,”

All of the guys ruched forward and equipped their new weapons

“WOW, my level just went from 147 to 157,” said WizzardKing

“That is bound to happen, the better your weapons and armor, the easier it is to level up… unfortunately, they will only take you so far,” said Spike

“Well then, we better take advantage of this,” said GreenDeath

“Yeah, thanks man, we’ll give them back to you as soon as this ends,” said Normix10

“Oh no, they’re gifts, from me to you,” said Spike

“Seriously?” they all asked

“Yeah, I have way too many anyway,” said Spike

“Thanks!” they all said

After this, they all headed forward towards the checkpoint.

A FEW SECONDS LATER

“Question… did anyone hear the mission?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“We haven’t received the mission yet, we have to get to the checkpoint, just over the… hill!” said GreenDeath99 as they climbed the hill and saw another team battling against a group of Robots

“What the hell are those?!” asked Normix10

“What are they even doing here!” said Spike

“DrakeReaper, what are those things?!” asked WizzardKing

“Vexes… killer robots,” said Spike

“OH COMMON ON!” said Crimson_Shadow

“WE JUST WENT FROM HARDER ENEMIES TO THIS!” said WizzardKing

“Luckily for them, those are low-level Vexes, they’re a pain in the ass though,” said Spike

“Wait there are higher-level Vexes?” asked GreenDeath99

“Yup, some of them are even immune to bullets,” said Spike

“SO how do you kill them?” asked Normix10

“Depends on your characters’ class,” said Spike

“What does that mean?” asked WizzardKing

“If you are a Berserker you have to ram it, to make it weak, or use grenades, if you are rogue, you have to stab its weak spot inside its armor, and if you are a mage, like me, you use the void,” said Spike

“Sounds complicated,” said GreenDeath99

“Well, all in all, you have to destroy the armor to kill it,” said Spike

“Oh, that makes sense… should we help them out?” asked Normix10

“If you want to,” said Spike

“CHARGE!!!!” screamed Crimson_Shadow as they all began to head towards the battlefield.

When they were about 10 Mts away, a massive orb of light exploded in the general area of the vexes, whipping almost all of them out.

“What was that?” asked Normix10

“That was a Void!” said Spike

“So they have a Mage in their team!” said WizzardKing

“Why didn’t he or she do that before?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“The void takes long to charge and you only get one chance for about 5 minutes,” said Spike

“The void is very powerful,” said GreenDeath99

“No… the mage is powerful, the void gets bigger depending on the level you are,” said Spike

“So, what level is this Mage?” asked Normix10

“It has to be over level 500 to create one so big! Maybe even higher” said Spike

As soon as he said this, the mage in question came into view

“Holy shit!” said WizzardKing

“He’s armor, is all legendary,” said GreenDeath99

“He has heavy bonus weapons,” said Normix10

“And he even has a stellar shield over the level of 200,” said Crimson_Shadow

“Then he is over the 800 level,” said Spike as they all aimed at the Mage

“LEVEL 1325!” they all said

“He is also a campaign player, but he is yet to finish it completely,” said Spike

“Let’s head over there and make contact!” said GreenDeath99

“Copy!” everyone said as they sprinted over.

---

A FEW INSTANTS LATER

“Everyone ok?” asked the Mage

“We’re here, we need bullets though,” said a female player

“Give me a second,” said the mage as he summoned various packs of ammo

“God, I hate does things,” said another member

“Be thankful they were only low-level Vexes if they had been over level 30 you’d have serious issues,” said Spike as he and his team arrived near the other team and entered their communication circle

When everyone turned to face him they went silent for a few seconds, no one said a thing until Spike had enough

“What are you so amazed about, even your mage has a 4 digit level,” said Spike

“Yeah… but, we’ve never seen one so high,” said another member

“Who did you manage to reach such high levels?” asked the mage

“I played the campaign… just like you,” said Spike

“Oh, right, in what map are you?” asked the mage

“I already finished the game… DLCs included,” said Spike

Once again, there was a short time of radio silence

“AWESOME!!!!” screamed someone in the background

“Thanks,” said Spike

“How long did it take you?” asked the female member of the team

“About 40…” said Spike

“Days?” asked the mage

“Hours,” said Spike

“That’s impossible,” said another member of the team

“Not if you understand the code,” said Spike

“What?” they all asked

“Well, let’s change the subject, you can call me Redsopine, I’m a mage and I’m currently on my 75th attempt to enter the competitive division,” said Redsopine

“Call me Moondancer, I’m also a mage, but I’m just a level 278, so I’m not that powerful, this is my 4th attempt this month to enter the division, 30th overall,” she said keeping her aim on Spike

“I’m Maverick, rogue, level 353, on my 48th attempt to enter the main division,” he said

“Koryo, rogue, level 376, and on my 37th attempt to enter the division,” he said

“Drosberg, I’m a berserker, level 300, and on my 60th attempt to enter the main division,” he said

“And we are members of team Hurricane,” said Redsopine

“Wow, I didn’t know that Hurricane was not legally allowed to play this game on competition,” said GreenDeath99

“We are the next-gen, or, noobs to the team, as they say, so we have to earn our badge,” said Redsopine

“What about you guys?” asked Moondancer

“Uhm…” said GreenDeath99

“well…” said Normix10

“you see…” said WizzardKing

“we aren’t…” said Crimson_Shadow

“Currently playing with our official name, you can just call us… Team #20,” said Spike quickly

“Oh… and what is your real team?” asked Maverick

Everyone turned to face Spike, and boy was he feeling the pressure.

“Shit, I didn’t think this through,” said Spike

“DrakeReaper?” said Redsopine

“Sorry… Mic issues, again I say… our name is… PhoenixGuard,” said Spike

The other members of the team just looked at each other and back at Spike

“Cool name, when was it established?” asked Moondancer

“We aren’t official yet, we are planning to establish it when we reach the division,” said Spike

“I respect that… anyway, we wish you all good luck,” said Redsopine as he motioned for his team to follow him into the beacon.

As soon as the notification appeared saying that they were no longer on the same radio frequency, everyone crowded Spike

“DUDE!!!” they said

“Sorry, that was the only thing that came to my head!” said Spike

“THAT WAS THE BEST NAME EVER!!!!” they all said

“Really?” asked Spike

“Yeah… now we just have to make it to the gaming division and make it official,” said GreenDeath99

“We also need an extra member to make it 6,” said Crimson_Shadow

“That’s… already covered,” said Spike

“Awesome… but why did you come up with that just now?” asked WizzardKing

“Because these guys were looking down on us,” said Spike

“How do you know?” asked Normix10

“Did you see how their demeanor changed when I gave them the name,” said Spike

“Now that you mention it… it did change a bit,” said Crimson_Shadow

“Well, that’s because first, they noticed our levels, they saw that we are all over triple digits even if it’s just barely,” said Spike pointing at Normix10

“Why is that important?” asked WizzardKing

“They wanted to know if they could take us seriously and if we were actual competition,” said Spike

“That makes sense… why?” asked Normix10

“Because they are actually trying to reach the “Legend” state in gaming,” said Spike

“WHAT?” everyone asked

“If you want to become a legend, you have to do 3 things, 1) find a way to break the system, 2) be able to gain knowledge from every single game and apply it wherever you can, and 3) know your competition,” said Spike

“So, you told them that to make them leave?” asked WizzardKing

“Not exactly… but I’m pretty sure they are reaching their own conclusions about now,” said Spike as he began to head towards the beacon.

---

WITH HURRICANE

“Yo, Redso, why did you end the conversation so early?” asked Maverick

“Because that team is dangerous,” said Redsopine

“Why? They only have 1 dude over our rankings,” said Drosberg

“And just by being around him, that team is leveling up like no tomorrow,” said Redsopine

“Why aren’t we?” asked Koryo

“Because unlike you, they actually realize that compared to him, they are nothing,” said Redsopine

“So they use him a walking encyclopedia,” said Moondancer

“Exactly, and if what all these years of gaming have tough me is going to happen… we better make sure to not meet up with them until the final,” said Redsopine

“Wait, you think they’ll make it?” asked Maverick

“I think… that out of all of the teams left… they are the strongest team… and once the other members reach their full potential, we will all understand why,” said Redsopine

“Wow dude, you sure?” asked Koryo

“Mark my words… we will meet them at the professional level… and THAT will be a match to remember,” said Redsopine as they all noticed Spike’s team entering the radio frequency.

---

INSIDE THE BEACON

“Welcome to the checkpoint, and gratulations on reach it with full squads, you will now be thrown at our mercy and be given different objectives to accomplish before reaching the next “chillzone” and advance to the quarter finals… teams that fail to complete this objectives WILL be eliminated,” said the robotic voice

“Told you,” said Spike

“So at this point is a matter of both luck and skill,” said Redsopine

“If what I’ve heard about this competitions are true, then the challenges will go from easy to suicidal,” said another player called Artemis

“And according to history, no team that has gotten the suicidal challenge has ever made it to the final,” said another player with a name tag of Crystal_03

“What can the suicidal challenge be?” Spike asked Microchips covering his microphone

“No clue, just imagine the worst case scenario… and hope for the best,” said Microchips

“Yo, Drake? You there?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“Yeah, wassup?” asked Spike

“Any idea of what may the suicidal challenge be about?” he asked

“Boss Hoard,” said Spike

“A what?” everyone asked

“A boss hoard is a hoard that contains only high ranking enemies, and that may be a challenge,” said the robotic voice

“WHAT!!!!!!!!!” everyone said

“Now, each team leader must walk up and spin the wheel, the color they get is the challenge level, green for easy, yellow for normal, orange for hard, and red for insane, now… Galaxy1, your leader please,” said the robotic voice

Then Artemis walked over to the wheel and interacted with it, after a couple of spins, it finally stopped in yellow.

“Galaxy1, your challenge is… survive the ambush, good luck,” said the robotic voice as the team disappeared.

“Survive the ambush?”asked GreenDeath99

“A time sensitive challenge, basically you have to kill as many enemies as you can before you get reinforcements,” said Spike

“Did I forget to mention that teams may receive the same challenges, and must then work together to win,” said the robotic voice

“Great,” said Redsopine in a sarcastic way

“Hurricane, your leader,” said the robotic voice

And as expected, Redsopine walked over to the wheel and interacted with it, after a few spins it landed in green.

“Lucky,” muttered WizzardKing under his breath

“Your challenge… free fire… enjoy the hunt,” said the robotic voice as they disappeared

“Free fire?” asked Normix10

“Clear a map just like in the normal videogame… now the map that was chosen that’s the challenge,” said Spike

“Oh…” said Normix10

“Goldluck, your leader,” said the robotic voice

Crystal_03 then headed towards the wheel and interacted with it, landing in orange

“Your challenge is… capture the relic, good luck,” said the robotic voice as they disappeared

“Capture the relic?” asked WizzardKing

“Capture the flag, but much more… deadlier,” said Spike

“Team#20… your leader,” said the voice

Everyone then turned to look at Spike

“What?” asked he asked

“Well, are you going?” asked GreenDeath99

“Going where?” asked Spike

“The wheel?” said WizzardKing

“Doesn’t the leader do that?” asked Spike

Everyone looked at him

“Oh,” he said as he walked up to the wheel

Spike then interacted with the wheel and it landed in red

“Fuck!” they all said

“Your challenge… survive the hoard,” said the robotic voice “good luck”

When the screens went from white to color, they realized they were standing in the middle of an open valley with just a moderate amount of cover and vantage points.

“Oh dear,” said Spike

“Something wrong?” asked GreenDeath99

“Apart of the fact we ended up with the hardest challenge in the game?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“We are in Noblisk… I hated this level,” said Spike

“Why?” asked Normix10

“This level is brutal when you go at it alone, even if you are more than 5 players in the same map at the time it can still prove difficult…” said Spike

“Your challenge begins in 5 minutes,” said the robotic voice

“OH COME ON!!!” they all said

“Well we tired,” said WizzardKing

“What?” said GreenDeath99

“Dude, let’s face it, we have no way of defeating the hoard of bosses, I doubt even DrakeReaper can do it,” said Crimson_Shadow

“So you’re just going to give up?” asked Normix10

“Not without a fight, but I know we ain’t gonna win,” said WizzardKing

“SO that’s it? You have no confidence in yourselves?” said Normix10

“It’s not that simple,” said Crimson_Shadow

“Why not?” asked GreenDeath99

“We know nothing about these enemies, about the map, and more importantly… Why is Drake staring into nothingness right now?” said Crimson_Shadow

“You think he’s on pause?” asked Normix10

“Maybe… Yo Drake, you there?” asked GreenDeath99

“Huh? What?” said Spike

“Something wrong?” asked Normix10

“Nope, just finishing up,” said Spike

“Finishing up what?” asked WizzardKing

“You said it yourself, you guys know nothing about these enemies and/or map, but I do… and I can create the weapons we need to kill them faster, and the how,” said Spike as he once again did the same movement and summoned varios weapons in front of him.

“He’s so cool,” said WizzardKing

“Agreed,” said GreenDeath99

“Ok, first berserkers, who feels more confident when it comes to close range combat?” asked Spike

“I do!” said GreenDeath99

“Ok, grab the Missile launcher machine gun,” said Spike as he pointed to the weapon which GreenDeath99 took

“Nomix, can you use sniper rifles?” asked Spike

“Can I?” said Normix10 as he grabbed the weapon and fired a round perfectly between a whole in a nearby wall and hitting an explosive barrel 10 ft. behind it

“That answers my question,” said Spike “Rogues… who has the “Speed devil ability?” asked Spike

“Me!” said WizzardKing as he grabbed the weapon on the right

“Great, this is a Fusion rifle, perfect for the speed devil type as it is quick to reload itself,” said Spike

“And I take it this one is mine?” said Crimson_Shadow

“Yes, the Shadow gun, it is specially designed for silent players who love stealth over anything,” said Spike

“You just read my resume,” said Crimson_Shadow

“2 Minutes,” said the robotic voice

“Ok then… Peewee!” said Spike as Peewee appeared

“Wow, what’s that?” they asked

“My ghost… oh right, you didn’t play the campaign so you didn’t get him,” said Spike

“That’s not fair,” said WizzardKing

“Well then play the campaign,” said Spike

“You called Spike?” asked Peewee

When Peewee said this, something clicked in WizzardKing’s head

“Spike?... I’ve heard that before…. But where?” he said

“Can you scout the area and tell us what we’re up against,” said Spike

“With pleasure,” said Peewee as he disappeared

10 seconds later he reappeared

“You have 10 goliaths, 10 fallen knights, 10 warlocks, 10 minotaurs, and 1 Drax the Destructor, all over the level of 300” said Peewee

“So we meet again...Thank you,” said Spike as Peewee disappeared

“That sounds like trouble,” said WizzardKing

“Not if we do this, Normix… do you see that ledge over there?” asked Spike pointing at the top of a structure

“Yup,” said Normix10

“Go there, our enemies are all actually common bosses, except for Drax, just aim for the chest or head,” said Spike

“Copy!” said Normix10 as he made his way to the vantage point

“Anything for us?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“Whatever you do, don’t stop moving,” said Spike

“The hoard is here!” said Peewee

“Fire!!!” said Spike

And as soon as the first enemy entered the line of fire, Normix10 sniped him down, hitting right in the center of the head.

“Time to dance with the widowmaker!” said WizzardKing as he opened fire and charged towards the hoard with Spike and GreenDeath99 right behind him.

“Wizzard take the ones on the left, Green right, the motherfuckers in front are mine,” said Spike

“Gotcha!” said WizzardKing as he turned and opened fire again

Don’t stray too far, don’t let your backs be exposed!” said GreenDeath99

As soon as he said that, various power orbs landed behind them causing damage, minimum, but damage

“We’re being overrunned!” exclaimed WizzardKing

“PULL BACK!!” said Spike as they all kept firing as they did their best to get away from the hoard of enemies.

“I’m running low on bullets!” said WizzardKing

“Leave it to me!” said Crimson_Shadow as he dashed behind the first line of enemies stabbing them in their weak spots and causing their armors to fall off.

“NOW!!” said Spike as he and GreenDeath99 used their grenades and RPGs on the enemies on the first and second rows.

“There Ammo!” screamed Crimson_Shadow as he fired against the enemy drones

“Wizzard, go! We’ll cover you!!!!” said Spike

“On it!!!” said WizzardKing as he dashed and grabbed the supplies bringing them behind the line

“Ok, reload!” said Spike as everyone grabbed ammo

“Guys, I hate to be “That Guy” but can someone bring me more ammo!” said Normix10 as he fired another round

“On my way!” said WizzardKing as he dashed up the hill towards Normix10

“How many are left?!” asked Spike

“32 Spike!” said Peewee

“You heard that guys?!” asked Spike

“Yeah! Let’s turn them into scrap metal!” said Crimson_Shadow as threw various grenades at the approaching enemies debilitating their armors “Now, shoot!”

Everyone then created a massive tsunami of bullets and one by one they killed all of the enemies.

3 minutes later

“How many?” asked Spike

“3 left… 2 left… 1 left!” said Peewee

“That must be Drax!” said Spike

“But where is he?” asked Normix10 as he scanned the surroundings

“Attention… Galaxy1 has been wiped out!” said the robotic voice

“They didn’t make it!” said GreenDeath99

“So now we have to make sure we do!” said Spike

“THERE!!!!” screamed Normix10 as he saw Drax power charging a cannon and aiming it at him “Oh no!” he said as he jumped off the ledge as the plasma beam destroyed the area he was previously on

“Normix, you ok man?” asked GreenDeath99

“Yeah, I only lost 3% of my life, it will quickly be restored!” said Normix10

“This guy Drax is powerful,” said Crimson_Shadow

“Yeah… that’s why I’ve been saving this for this moment,” said Spike as he walked over the hill and made eye contact with Drax.

“Saved what?” asked WizzardKing

“Drax has one fatal flaw in his armor… and I know exactly how to use it,” said Spike as he charged Drax

“Dude, where are you going?!” scream GreenDeath99

“Just stay put and look away… it’s for the best,” said Spike as his hands began to lit up

“Is he… is he planning to do…” said Normix10

“Just turn around!” said WizzardKing as Spike created a massive orb of light and shot it at Drax, seconds later a very powerful bright light engulfed the surroundings.

The light was so bright, that even after turning around, the rest of the team had to squint or look anywhere else but their screens to avoid eye damage.

After a few seconds the light dissipated, and they also the notifications

“DrakeReaper created 1 billion orbs of light!”

“Drake, you ok?!” asked GreenDeath99

“Yup, Drax is dead!” said Spike

“Dude, that was awesome!” said WizzardKing

“Thanks… level check!” said Spike

“Level 378!” said WizzardKing

“Level 380!” said Crimson_Shadow

“Level 375!” said GreenDeath99

“Level 377!” said Normix10

“Level 1829,” said Spike

“We’re doing great!” said Spike

“But who did we level up so much?!” asked GreenDeath99

“Tougher enemies give you more points after killing them, so after eliminating Drax and his hoard your levels must’ve skyrocketed!” said Spike

“Awesome!” said Normix10

“Attention GoldLuck has failed their objective, please report back to the beacon to receive a new assignment,” said the robotic voice

“They failed?!” said Crimson_Shadow

“Attention, Team#20 has successfully defeated the hoard, please advance to the chill zone to complete the level and ascend to the next round!” said the robotic voice

“So that’s the final challenge, a foot race to the chill zone!” said Spike

“Let’s go!” said Normix10

“Peewee, how far are we?” asked Spike

“I estimate that you will arrive at the Chill zone in 15 minutes by foot,” said Peewee

“The fuck!” said Crimson_Shadow

“I told you I hated this map, it’s massive!” said Spike

“Should I summon the Ryder?” asked Peewee

“DO you even have to ask?” said Spike as the Ryder (Star Wars like speeder/motorcycle) appeared

“Wow! Awesome!” they all said

“Where did you get it?” asked GreenDeath99

“First map, old Maressia… oh, right, you haven’t played the campaign,” said Spike

This realization hit everyone hard

“Dang it!” they all said

“Peewee, where can we find Ryders around here?” asked Spike

“10 clicks northeast, there is a small cabin with a generator… I must warn you, it is hostile area,” said Peewee

“Not for long… follow me!” said Spike as he sped away at full speed

“Did he forget that we are on foot?” asked WizzardKing

“Then start running!” said GreenDeath99

2 MINUTES LATER

The rest of the team finally reached the cabin, just to see the carnage that Spike had created

“Did you do all this?” asked Normix10

“No, my grandma… now come in here and get your Ryders… I've modified them to your needs, Green far left, Normix next to Green, Wizard in front of me, and Crimson… well it’s obvious,” said Spike.

“How do we use them?” asked GreenDeath99

“Hop on, and the instructions will appear,” said Spike as he summoned his

“We better hurry, we don’t know where the last team is,” said WizzardKing as he sped off

“Right, come on!” said Spike

A FEW MINUTES LATER

“There is the chill zone!” said Normix10

“And there is the other team!!!” said Spike as he pointed at the explosion at the distance

“Turbo boost!” screamed GreenDeath99 as they all jetted their Ryders into overdrive

“Almost there!” said Crimson_Shadow

As soon as he said that, the Ryders failed and disappeared

“What happened?” asked Normix10

“There is a shield, Ryders don’t work here,” said Spike

“Now what?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“RUN!!!!” everyone said as they sprinted to the chill zone.

---

WITH HURRICANE

“HOW MANY MORE LEFT?!” asked Redsopine

“12!” said Moondancer

“Push forward, we’re almost there!” said Koryo

“Look!” said Drosberg as he pointed at Spike and his team

“They’re almost there!” screamed Maverick

“How did they get here so fast?!” said Moondancer

“Not our problem, HURRY!” said Redsopine

But it was too late, Spike and his team crossed the line and won the round

“YESSS!!!” they screamed

“Congrats,” said Redsopine as his team entered the chill zone

“Thanks, you guys didn’t do so bad yourselves,” said Spike

“Well, know we just have to wait and see who our rivals will be,” said Redsopine

“ATTENTION! ALGORITHM FAILURE!!! Said the robotic voice

“What’s going on?” asked WizzardKing

“No Idea,” said Spike

“Attention, multiple forfeits…” said the voice again

“What?” asked GreenDeath99

“Attention… tournament over… congratulations!” said the Robotic voice

“What?” said Spike

And just as he said this all of their screens went blank, and then showed the main menu.

“What just happened?” asked Normix10

“I think… we won!” said GreenDeath99

Just then a golden badge appeared on screen and placed itself next to their IDs

“Just like that?” asked WizzardKing

“I believe various other teams and players quitted because of the nature of the challenges,” said Spike

“Hey, I take it,” said Crimson_Shadow

“Well, it was nice to play with you guys,” said Spike

“Wait! Where are you going?” asked GreenDeath99

“Uhm, to catch some Zs I’m sleepy,” said Spike

“What about the team?” asked Normix10

“You still want to go through with it?” asked Spike

“Well, yeah… you don’t?” asked Crimson_Shadow

“Of course, but… do we even live in the same city?” asked Spike

“I live in Canterlot,” said GreenDeath99

“Me too,” said Normix10

“And me,” said WizzardKing

“All of us live in Canterlot… and I’m going to go to Canterlot U.” said Crimson_Shadow

“You too!” everyone said

“What about you Drake?” asked GreenDeath99

“Me too,” said Spike in a shocked voice

“So… let’s meet up tomorrow and get to know each other!” said Normix10

“Good Idea… but where?” asked WizzardKing

“What about the burger bar on Main St. and Celestial Highway?” said GreenDeath99

“Sounds good… you Drake?” asked Normix10

Spike remained silent for a few seconds and finally said

“If you guys say so,”

Guardians Ch. 4 PhoenixGuard ascension

SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD

“Sir, why did you end the tournament early?” asked a female voice

“Cause all of the teams checked all of the boxes to receive the badges,” said a man sitting on a very expensive gaming chair

“But… you just gave 32 teams of 5 gold badges to participate in the tournaments,” said the woman

“Katte, can’t you understand why I did it?” asked the man

“No sir,” said Katte

“The more badges, the more teams, the more teams, the bigger the competitions, the bigger the competitions, the more views, the more views, the more money, it’s a simple equation,” said the man

“Oh, that makes sense,” said Katte

“I know… now, what is the whole “sir” thing, I mean, you're my wife, aren’t you?” said the man

“Sorry Max, but we are at the office so…” said Katte

“Right… anyway, it’s time for lunch… what would you like to eat?” asked Max

“How ‘bout, Mareamese?” said Katte

“Excellent choice… go on ahead, I’ll catch up with you,” said Max as Katte left the office

Max then turned to face the computer screen again and said

“Drakereaper, TechGod2000, and now Redsopine… the only three players to ever finish the campaign,” said Max as a notification popped up saying “Redsopine has successfully finished the game”

“These 3 are going to be something else, I better keep a close eye on them… I mean, it is weird to ever see legends in the making… I wish to see what teams they join,” said Max as he turned the monitor off and left the office.

---

AT THE BURGER BAR ON MAIN ST. AND CELESTIAL HIGHWAY

“Are you sure about this?” asked Microchips

“Dude, think about it, we all live in the same city, we are attending the same university, and… they are probably the only people that will talk to us, nerds, like normal people,” said Spike

“Ouch… but you’re right, let’s see what they’re all about,” said Microchips and they both walked through the doors

“Welcome to Awesome Burger, table for 2?” asked the waiter

“Actually, we are looking for a reservation,” said Microchips

“Certainly sir, how many would it be?” asked the waiter

“Actually, it’s under the name PhoenixGuard?” said Spike

“Right this way please,” said the waiter as she guided them to the back of the burger bar and showed them a booth with 4 other boys seated there with shocked faces.

“Thank you,” said Spike giving her a $20 bill as she walked away

“Here goes nothing,” said Microchips as they walked towards the table

“I still can’t believe that you’re GreenDeath99,” said WizzardKing

“How do you think I feel?” said GreenDeath99

“What I can’t believe is that we’ve known each other for the past 5 years and we never talked to each other like this,” said Normix10

“No kidding… I can’t wait to see who is Drakereaper though,” said Crimson_Shadow

“Maybe he’s going to be one of the popular techy kids,” said Normix10

“Techy kids?” asked WizzardKIng

“Sorry, that’s the nickname we used to give guys and gals that loved techno,” said Normix10

“Oh, it almost sounds insulting,” said WizzardKing

“It was, but I don’t mean it in that way,” said Normix10

“Anyway, do you think he’s going to show up?” asked GreenDeath99

“Well, he didn’t sound too keen on the idea, but let’s hope for the best,” said Crimson_Shadow

“That’s because I only had one friend during high school,” said Spike

When they all heard this, they turned and their jaws hit the table

“SPENCER!!!!” they all said

“And me!” said Microchips

“MICROCHIPS!!!” they all said

“That’s it!” said WizzardKing when he jumped up from his seat

“What is?” everyone asked

“During the last stage Peewee called you Spike, I knew I’ve heard that before, and now I know why, Micro was always calling you that,” said Wizzardking

“Well now you know… sorry if you’re disappointed,” said Spike

“Why the hell would we?” asked GreenDeath99

“I’m not the cool kid you expected,” said Spike

“Dude, do we look like cool kids, we were rejected too… well, except for those 2,” said Crimson_Shadow pointing at GreenDeath99 and Normix10

“Anyway, may we sit down?” asked Microchips

“Do you even have to ask?” said Normix10

Spike and Microchips then, sat down, and an awkward silence took over

It lasted for about 30 seconds before GreenDeath99 had enough and said

“So, Spencer, I know we didn’t really talk… at all, but, I can assume you know something about us… right?”

“A few things…” said Spike

“Then let us start over and reintroduce ourselves, like if we’ve never met before,” suggested Normix10

“That’ll work, I’ll go first,” said WizzardKing as he stood up “ Hi, my name is William Kincaid, I’m 18 years old, my birthdate is September 10th, 2000, I’m 5’11” and my favorite subjects are math, science and tech, feel free to call me Wiz Kid since that’s what everyone calls me… even my mom,”

Wiz Kid was a lanky looking guy, the stereotypical nerd, look included, brown, mushroom-styled hair cut, big, nerdy, glasses, and a button-up shirt with a bow tie, he had brown eyes, and by the looks of him, the Gym was probably the only places he’s never gone too, that and a night club.

“Nice to meet you”: they all said

“Hello, My name is Cole Nasslund, I’m 18 years old, born May 1st, 2000, I’m 6’0 and my favorite subjects were music, PE, and history, as you can see I’m a rocker, and I love my music, my friends call me Crimson Napalm, because of my band, feel free to call me that too,” he said

Cole was the true definition of punk, he even had a mixture of a mohawk and a mullet for a hairstyle, he was thin, but by no means lanky, you could tell he worked out, he had blue eyes and a friendly smile, despite his glaring eyes

“Nice to meet you,” everyone repeated

“My name is Norman Peterssen, I’m 19 years old and my birthdate is December 3rd, 1999, I’m 6’1 and I love fashion, my dream is to become a world-famous fashion designer, as you may know, my favorite subject in school was design and economics, I didn’t really have a nickname when I was in school, so call me Normix, or just call me Norman,” he said

Norman was the typical image of a top model, skinny but too skinny, with the right amount of muscle, or as they called it “Fashionably svelte”, it was easy to see that he was an actual fashionista as he was the only one there wearing something that wasn’t a T-shirt and jeans, but he wasn’t overdressed either, he was wearing a leather brownish-red jacket, a pair of designer black jeans, expensive-looking red jordans and greenish beanie, he had medium, reddish-brown length hair, fashionably combed under the beanie, and green eyes

“Nice to meet you,” everyone said again

“My name is Sergio Soto, but my friends call me Sandalwood, I’m 19 years old, born November 20th, 1999, I’m 6’3” and I’m a vegetarian, I like biology and science, I am an advocate for human rights, as well as animal rights and green energy research,” said Sandalwood

Sandalwood was intimidating, he was not only tall, but by the looks of him, you could tell that he lifted weights for fun, he had long, braided, green hair, green eyes, he wore a black vest with a recycle pin, a red button-up shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and oddly enough, a pair of black Champion tennis shoes, topping it all off with a black beanie.

“Nice to meet you,” everyone repeated, at this point getting tedious

“Well, I assume it’s my turn, Hey my name is Martin Cresswell, you might know me as Microchips, I am 19 years old, I was born February 2nd, 2000, I’m 6’1” and I am a massive techie, my family owns the Fusion Blast arcade downtown, in which I work, I am planning on studying Game Design or Electro engineering,” said Microchips as he sat down

“I’m guessing it’s my turn,” said Spike “Hi, my name is Spencer Davidson, I am 19 years old, I was born November 17, 1999, I am 6’3” and my favorite hobbies are reading, writing, and working out… and as of late… video games… again… I also like music, and I’m planning to study Law once I get my undergraduate degree,” said Spike

“What do you mean by again?” asked Norman

“Excuse me?” said Spike

“You said that video games had become a hobby again,” said Norman

“Oh… can you guys keep a secret?” asked Spike

“Dude, we’ll be teammates from now on, we better,” said Sandalwood

“I actually quited playing video games when I was 14,” said Spike

“Why?” asked Wiz Kid

“When I was 8, some bad things happened in my life, and I became addicted to gaming, especially to play LOL,” said Spike

“Oh, I remember that game, it was fun!” said Crimson

“Yeah well, I became so engrossed in the game that I didn’t care about anything else in my life… this was actually a double-edged sword for me, on one side I became a gaming legend, on the other I distanced myself from my family… it was my own personal drug, my escape… my everything,” said Spike

Everyone looked at Spike with disbelief

“Then one day, I saw a notification on my phone saying that LOL was going to be discontinued, as you can imagine, this hurt me a lot, I felt like my world was crumbling, so, I decided to go to a nearby gaming cafe and play LOL until the server died, hoping that if I played for a long time, the game developers would not discontinue the game and leave it running… As soon as I started playing, I fell into a trance. I played non stop for 8 days, I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep, I didn’t even go to the bathroom, and this took a toll on my health, it was so severe that I actually collapsed… when I awoke, I was in a hospital bed, the doctors told me I had been very lucky, 10 more minutes, and I was as good as dead… I spent 2 more weeks at the hospital, and during that time I told myself I was no longer going to play videogames again… I talked it over with my grandparents and they agreed to let me move out on myself, and that’s how I came here to Canterlot… of course, I had a scholarship for Canterlot High, and here we are now,” said Spike

“Wow… dude, you almost died!” said Sandalwood

“Yeah… almost developed cancer as well,” said Spike

“Wow, you are lucky… What brought you back to gaming?” asked Wiz Kid

“Microchips told me I had to get over my fear and face my demons, and that’s what I did,” said Spike

“Wow!” they all said

“WAIT! you said you were a legend, but I don’t remember hearing about your ID,” said Crimson

“That’s cause I created that ID recently,” said Spike

“And what was your old ID?” asked Norman

“Drag0n_L0rd99,” said Spike

The second he said this, everyone, even Microchips’ jaw dropped

“Prove it!” said Sandalwood

Spike then dug into his bag and pulled out his laptop, he then began to type his password and into the “GamerRegistry” and just before he pressed “enter” he turned it around for everyone to see the screen light up and a robotic voice saying “Welcome back Drag0n_L0rd99, we have been waiting for you!”

Everyone’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets

“Now do you believe me?” asked Spike

Everyone nodded

“But why don’t you play with this ID?” asked Sandalwood

“Cause this part of me is dead, I am no longer Drag0n_L0rd99, but DrakeReaper, and I don’t want anyone finding out… just yet,” said Spike

“Well, we’ll respect your decision,” said Crimson

“Wow, I can’t believe I just became friends with a legend,” said Wiz Kid

“I know right,” said Norman

“Changing the subject… Any ideas for the team?” asked Microchips

“Branding!” said Norman almost instantly

“Branding?” asked Spike

“Yeah, if we trademark our team, and then start getting fans it will be easier for us to get fame and recognition, almost like the Elements, back during school, or even Hurricane,” said Norman

“And I suppose you have ideas to do that?” said Sandalwood

“Of course, what is the first thing, and the most important thing an Esports team needs?” asked Norman

“A good name?” asked Wiz Kid

“We already have that,” said Norman

“Fans?” asked Microchips

“We need this to get that,” said Norman

“A brand?” asked Spike

“Close... we need a logo,” said Norman

“A logo?” they all said

“Yeah, a way so that people can know who we are when they see us,” said Norman

“So you have any ideas?” asked Spike

“Yeah, actually, after the conversation yesterday, I could sleep and I began to create some drafts, what do you think?” asked Norman as he dropped a few sketches on the table.

The guys then proceeded to look at all of them, but none of them caught their attention

“They’re good, but, they don’t seem too attractive,” said Crimson

“Well duh, they’re sketches, not the finished product,” said Norman

Spike, however, had been staring at one of them in particular

“Norman, pass me your drawing equipment,” said Spike

“What makes you think I have it?” asked Norman

“No true fashionista leave home without it, you never know when inspiration will hit you,” said Spike

“How did you know?” asked Norman as he handed it over

“I heard you guys saying that millions of times during high school,” said Spike as he grabbed a pencil and some color pencils and began to draw

“Wait, you’re left-handed?” said Norman

“Is that suddenly a crime?” asked Spike

“No it’s just, we didn’t have any lefties in the arts or design class, and the teachers were always telling us it is bad to draw with your left hand because of the smudging,” said Norman

“Yeah, typical high school segregation,” said Spike as he gave the sketch a few finishing touches “Voila, what do you think?” he said as he showed everyone

“Love it!” said Norman

“Me too,” said Crimson

“It’s official then,” said Microchips as everyone nodded

“Now I only have to put this in a bunch of caps, beanies, hoodies, t-shirts, and other gadgets!” said Norman

“Hold your horses, first we have to make a name for ourselves,” said Spike

The moment he said that everyone went silent

“And how do we do that?” asked Sandalwood

“First things first… you all need to finish the campaign,” said Spike

“But how are we going to do that?” asked Norman

“Just bring your games to the arcade, we have a private gaming room that no one uses, we can set up the consoles and have a marathon, and since both Spike and I have already finished we can guide you till the end, what do you say?” said Microchips

“Sounds like a plan… but what about the cost?” asked Wiz Kid

“If this work, it will pay itself off,” said Microchips

“So, when do we go there?” asked Sandalwood

“I take it you are all adults but are any of you living with your parents?” asked Spike

No one lifted their hands

“Ok then, go home and get the discs, unplug any electronics that use too much electricity, and leave your pets, if you have any, with a friend, Spike and I will head to the arcade, and set everything up, is that a plan?” asked Microchips

Everyone nodded

“Then see you there in the next hour,” said Microchips as everyone got up and went to their different locations.

---

DOWN AT THE ARCADE

Spike proceeded to give a 1 hour seminar about the different rules, tactics and points of interest in the game that might come in handy while playing.

“If any of you needs to take a break then do so, it is not good for your health to sit in front of a screen for a long time, go outside, walk around the block, get some fresh air at the park 2 blocks away,” said Spike

“What about food and water?” asked Sandalwood

“Leave that to us, we will rotate between helping you out, ordering food and drinks, and other miscellaneous activities during the whole time,” said Microchips

“Last question, why did you choose the name PhoenixGuard?” asked Wiz kid

“A phoenix always rises from its ashes, at some point in our lives we will go through dark times, but if we are smart and learn from those dark times, we will be just like Phoenixes… and since we are also soldiers in game, I thought it would be cool to add Guard,” said Spike

“Cool,” said Wiz Kid

“Remember, our goal is to finish in time for the regional tournament, which a great resource for new teams to brand themselves, that’s happening in a month, so,” said Microchips

“Game on!” they all exclaimed

---

1 MONTH LATER

“WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO THIS YEAR’S ANNUAL REGIONAL GUARDIANS TOURNAMENT!” said the anchor

“TODAY, WE’LL HAVE 16 NEW TEAMS FIGHTING EACH OTHER IN DIFFERENT DEATHMATCH ENCOUNTERS, WINNER TAKES ALL!!!!” said the anchor

Meanwhile, outside the arcade plaza

“Ok, so, you guys are ready right?” asked Microchips

“Definitely, all the gaming we’ve done was amazing practice,” said Crimson

“Good, cause there are going to be players here, that have more skill, remember, the level is just a number,” said Spike

“Right!” they all said

“Ok, registration is complete, now they can follow us on social media… you did change your names on IG right?” asked Microchips

“Yup,” everyone said

“Ok… let’s do this!” said Spike as he put on a skull mask and his hoodie over his head

“Wait! Where did you get the mask?” asked Crimson

“Oh, I made some masks resembling our in-game characters… I’m using it so my identity remains a mystery, and add an extra layer of intrigue to the game,” said Spike

“Son of a bitch, took you this long to tell us!” said Wiz Kid as everyone dug into the duffle bag

Sandalwood, grabbed a Cyberpunk demon green colored mask that matched his hoodie

Norman grabbed a Kitsune red and black mask

Crimson grabbed a red tactical skull face mask that looked just like his characters mask

Wiz Kid took a mask that looked just like the Abyss King’s mask, except it was white

“You all set?” asked Microchips as he walked up to the group with his custom made HUBOPTIC electric mask

“Yeah,” they all said

“When did you make these masks?” asked Norman

“While you guys were playing, I began to design them and then when you fell asleep I would measure your heads to make them custom for you, and all I needed was a 3D printer,” said Spike

“So that’s what you’ve been doing while we were gaming?” asked Sandalwood

“Nope, it was something very different… we’ll tell you after the tournament,” said Microchips

“By the way, Norman, good job with the team’s uniform/hoodies, they resemble our armors in the game and it has our logo,” said Spike

“Thanks, this will be the perfect publicity stunt,” said Norman

“Let’s do this!” said Sandalwood as they entered the arcade hall.

“AND NOW, THE LAST BATTLE OF THIS ROUND, WE HAVE R0uTER, and it’s members, JINX, CYBORG, BUBBLE, KING, RUNSOV, AND DREAMBOUND, FACING PHOENIXGUARD, AND IT’S MEMBERS DRAKEREAPER, TECHGOD2000, GREENDEATH99, NORMIX10, CRIMSON_SHADOW, AND WIZZARDKING!!!” said the anchor as both teams entered the platform

Immediately everyone began to whisper and look at Phoenixguard and their uniforms.

“Are they cosplayers?” said someone

“They must be rich kids, I mean the masks and the hoodies must’ve cost a fortune,” said another

“I like their presence,” said another

“Yeah, they cool, let’s see if they can hold their own,” said another

Immediately after, PheonixGuard’s IG became hot topic on social media, and they earned many followers in a matter of seconds

“NOW, TO PRESENT THEMSELVES, WE WILL ASK EVERY SINGLE MEMBER TO LOG IN AND SHOW US THEIR CHARACTERS… FIRST OF… JINX!!” said the anchor

Jinx walked up and logged in, then turned to face the crowds and show her character, she was a level 420, which was fairly impressive; Then came Cyborg, who was a level 350, followed by Bubble who was a level 349, then King who was a level 330, then Runsov how was a level 328, and finally Dreambound how was a level 325.

“THAT’S A TOTAL OF 2,102 LEVEL POINTS, VERY IMPRESSIVE!!!” said the anchor

Then it was PhoenixGuard’s turn, and Spike walked over to his stations and logged in

When his character information appeared on screen, the whole room went quiet

“Is… is that number real?” asked someone

“No, there has to be a mistake, they must’ve hacked the game,” said someone else

“MAKE NO MISTAKE PEOPLE, WE HAVE VERIFIED THEIR ACCOUNTS, THE NUMBERS YOU SEE ON SCREEN ARE 1000% REAL!!!” said the anchor

Spike was a level 1500, then came Microchips who was now a level 1362, and Sandalwood who was now a level 1245, Norman who was a level 1243, Crimson who was a level 1239, and Wiz Kid who was a level 1235

“THAT’S A TOTAL OF 7,824 LEVEL POINTS, SIMPLY EXTRAORDINARY!!!” said the anchor as he walked over to PheonixGuard

“Tell us, how did you achieve such high levels?” he asked

“We finished the campaign, DLCs included,” said Spike, the microphone on his mask making his voice sound robotic

“Really?” asked the anchor

“Yes… if you want to see proof, follow us on our social medias, that’s PhoenixGuard on IG, and PhoenixGuardGaming on Youtube to see walkthroughs and Speedruns of every single level and difficulty in Guardians,” said Microchips

“What about the masks and attire, are they for sale? Who made them?” asked the anchor

“Normix10 design the hoodies, Drakereaper made the masks, yes they are for sale, just go to our social media for the purchase links, or create your own,” said Microchips

“Well, now you know people, go onto their social media and follow them!,” said the anchor as he walked over to the other team to ask the same questions.

After he left, Spike pressed a button on the left side of his mask that made the microphones work only with the team communication

‘How is the social media thing going?” he asked

“We are at 1.3K followers, and all of our personal social medias are also growing,” said Microchips

“Excellent, everything is going according to plan,” said Spike

“GAMERS!!! TO YOUR SEATS!!!” said the anchor as everyone sat down

“You know the rules, the last team standing wins… FIGHT!!!” said the anchor

---

INSIDE THE GAME

The characters appear on a map they all knew to well

“Capital Nova,” they all said

“Enough hiding spots,” said Norman

“Abush spots located at 3 clicks north and 2 clicks west,” said Crimson

“Center stage is the prime location of a face to face confrontation,” said Wiz Kid

“Watch out for meteors!” said Sandalwood

“Regroup at Dusk Point (here), in 10 minutes, if you are having trouble give your coordinates and hold for assistance,” said Microchips

“Happy huntings,” said Spike as he dashed off.

A FEW MINUTES LATER, 10 CLICKS TO THE SOUTH-EAST

Wiz Kid was rushing the area, making his way back to the Dusk Point

“Odd, there is no one in the area, did they go after Spike? Makes sense, if they all attack Spike they could leave him in a tight spot, but he can overcome it,” thought Wiz Kid

As soon as he said that a bullet hit his arm’s armor

“Sniper!!” he said as he slid into cover just as a bullet impacted the the edge of the wall he was taking cover on

“Ok, bullet came from up top, maybe the 3rd level of the building across… only way to reach it is with a jetpack which I don’t possess… but If I am able to access the second level of the building I can use my rifle to shoot through the floor,” said Microchips as a hurricane of bullets began to hit the wall

“New plan… hello Mr. Flashbang!” said Wiz Kid as he through the flashbang into the open

At first he thought it wasn’t going to work, but then he saw that the bullets were missing the target so he made a run for the left side of the building.

He was about to enter the first floor, when he noticed something

“Oh, you cheeky bastard!” he said as he noticed a scaffolding placed so that you could reach the third floor.

Wiz kid then began to climb the scaffolding until he made it to the third floor and hid behind the wall

“Where did he go?!” said King as he frantically looked around the area

“Wow, he is using a Thermal Vision aim, I should ask Norman if he has one,” as he crept silently towards King

“Damn it, this is King, I lost him, I’m moving out to…” said King before

“WIZZARDKING HAS SLICED KING’S NECK, KING IS OUT!!” said the robotic voice

“Heading to the checkpoint!” said Wiz Kid

“Copy that Wiz, good job!,” said Spike

AT ANOTHER POINT OF THE MAP, TO THE WEST

“Nothing so far… wonder where they went… OH! Got movement!” said Norman as he aimed his sniper rifle to the land below

There he could see Runsov heading to secure a point of interest on the map from which you could learn the location of your enemies.

“Huh! I see what your plan is, but sorry, I won’t allow it!” said Norman

“Ok, guys, the safe zone is almost ours, I can see the location of some of the members of PhoenixGuard,” said Runsov

“Where are they?” asked Jinx

“The closest one to my location is…” was all Runsov could say before

“RUNSOV HAS BEEN SNIPED BY NORMIX10, IT’S A 60 MTS. SHOT!” said the robotic voice

“Damn it,” said Jinx

“Well, my job here is done,” said Norman as he came out of hiding and headed to the Dusk point

“Cyborg, Bubble, DreamBound, where are you?” asked Jinx

“Heading towards you,” said Cyborg

“The Plaza,” said DreamBound

“The wasteland,” said Bubble

“Ok, everyone come towards me, we are heading to their safe zone and attacking them there,” said Jinx

“On my way,” said Dreambound

“Be there short…” said Bubble

“CRIMSON_SHADOW HAS SLASHED BUBBLE,” said the robotic voice

“DAMN IT!!!” said Jinx as she headed for the PhoenixGuard safe zone.

MINUTES LATER AT THE PHOENIXGUARD SAFE ZONE

“Be careful guys, they might be here,” said Cyborg

“Doubt it,” said Jinx, “They might have finished the campaign, but I doubt they know that if we capture their safezone they lose automatically,”

They were just about to enter the safe zone when

“NOW!!!!” said Spike, as he, Microchips, and Sandalwood sent a barrage of bullets, grenades, and RPGs down on the last remaining members of R0uTER.

Even if Jinx and Cyborg lasted a few seconds longer than DreamBound, they were no match for the attack and succumbed to it.

“R0uTER HAS BEEN DEFEATED, WINNERS PHEONIXGUARD!!!” said the robotic voice

The crowd then cheered and applauded both teams as they all got off their stations and went over to congratulate each other.

“Good match!” said Jinx as she shook Spike’s hand

“Likewise, almost had us there,” said Spike

“How did you know we were going to do that?” asked Jinx

“Simple, when you notice the superiority of the other team, the logical thing is going for the tactical victory it was just a matter of waiting or being discovered,” said Spike

“Awesome… by the way, what are the prices for the outfits?” asked Jinx

“Depend on how elaborate you want it, but I don’t recommend buying from another team, it may seem like treason to your teammates,” said Spike

“Oh, please, the great and powerful Trixie would never do that!” said Jinx as she left

“Wait a minute… was that?!!!” said Spike

MINUTES LATER

“AND WE ARE BACK, PHOENIXGUARD ARE NOW FACING, DEATHWISH, A TEAM OF 7,824 LEVEL POINTS, VS A TEAM WITH 3,569 LEVEL POINTS… READY… FIGHT!!!” said the anchor

The team then appeared at the level they all knew to well, the level that started it all

“Gaia!” they all said

“How do you want to go around with this Spike?” asked Microchips

“Number 15,” said Spike

“Who shall go?” asked Sandalwood

“Leave it to me,” said Wiz Kid as he sped off into the map.

SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE MAP

“What do we do boss?” asked Fusion

“Stay close, they’ll try to take us out one by one if we separate,” said Mou5e

“What if they are headed our way?” asked Pompeii

“I’m counting on that!” said Mou53

“And if they want us to go to them?” asked Ghost

“We are Deathwish, we are all Rogues, they won’t be able to match our speed,” said Mou5e

“You’re right, we even defeated that other team the same way!” said Eclypse

“Our tactics never fail!” said Snake3y3s

Just then a few bullets hit the land before them

“Catch me if you can bitches!!!!” said Wiz Kid as he fired at them causing damage

“GET THE FUCKER!!!” said Mou5e as they all began to chase Wiz Kid while firing at him

A FEW METERS LATER

“Mou5e, it must be a trap!” said Ghost

“So let’s end him fast and scram!!” said Mou5e

“Too late, pal!” said Sandalwood as they all opened fire on the team and the surroundings, causing some of the trees to fall on top of them or shooting them down.

“DEATHWISH IS ELIMINATED, PHOENIXGUARD WINS!!!” said the anchor

“That was easy,” said Norman

“That’s why you never have to be too impulsive when fighting, be it real life or game,” said Spike

“OK, I’ll take note of that,” said Crimson

“You better, we are in the semi-finals, and I just checked, our rival is one of the toughest local teams there is,” said Microchips

“Elements?” asked Wiz Kid

“No, the girls never come to this competitions, they’re not “Important” enough for them,” said Microchips

“Well that’s a foolish belief,” said Spike

“A lot has changed in the gaming world Spike, that mentality is common in powerful or popular teams,” said Sandalwood

“Well let’s make sure to not end that way, right!” said Spike

“Right!” everyone answered

“So, who’s are enemy?” asked Norman

“Casa Cristo,” said Microchips

“So we meet again,” said Spike

“You know them?” asked Wiz Kid

“They were the second best team in LOL in the world, not surprised they made it into this game too,” said Spike

“Ranked #3 in town at the moment, they are all elites,” said Sandalwood as he read an article on them from his phone

“Bunch of rich kids,” said Spike

“What?” asked Crimson

“Casa Cristo members come from the same background, in other words, if you or your family don’t have a bank account over the 1 million dollar mark, you’re not aloud in,” said Spike

“Plus, they tend to look down on teams below them, even people that don’t play videogames,” said Microchips

“So just a bunch of privileged assholes,” said Crimson

“Yup, and their… “acceptance” right also helped create Killshot, the #2 team in town,” said Microchips

“And the team waiting for us in the final,” said Crimson as he pointed to the screen

“Now this is going to be fun… here’s what we’ll do…” said Spike as they all huddled together

---

“NOW FOR OUR SECOND SEMIFINAL OF THE TOURNAMENT, THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK PHOENIXGUARD GO UP AGAINST A HOMETOWN FAVORITE, ONE OF THE TOP 5 TEAMS IN CANTERLOT, AND DESPITE EVERYTHING, ROUND FAVORITES,” said the anchor

The teams then appeared on a very strange map

“Wow, I thought they were going to save Valhalla for the finals,” said Wiz Kid

“Then that only leaves 2 maps, and I am really hoping it’s not the one I’m thinking about,” said Spike

“Regardless, what do we know of Valhalla?” said Microchips

“Basically a heavenly plain, not many places to hide or take cover,” said Sandalwood

“Momentary fog is the best support for Rogues,” said Wiz Kid

“Stay far away from the south sector of the map to avoid sinkholes,” said Crimson

“Only three areas to respawn on the map,” said Norman

“1 of them already out of contention,” said Sandalwood

“And knowing these map, there is only one place Casa Cristo will head to…” said Spike as everyone looked to each other

“Asgard” they all said as they headed to the massive castle at the North-West of their location.

INSIDE ASGARD

“Let’s show these noobs who’s boss!” said Blueblood

“Yeah, they may be stronger, but we bought the best weapons and gear in the game,” said DoubleDiamond

“And now that we are in our rightful place in the map, they will have a hard time getting to us,” said JewelH3art

“Nevermind that, let them try to make it in here, I can’t wait to use my Prisma Canon on them, it cost me $20,000 on the online store,” said AvatarGold

“Ava, only $20,000, don’t make me laugh, my Diamond encrusted, custom made Photon Gun cost me $90,000 only to make it,” said LyndaSt33l

“My High Frequency Thermal Rifle is much more valuable than those subpar toys of yours, this beauty cost me $130,000,” said D3L3G4T3

“Can you 3 stop fighting over whose weapon is pricer, besides, compared to all of my attire, you’re guns are cheap, my “Nord Goddess armor, and Chaos Phase Rifle are worth $1.3 million,” JewelH3art

“Just $1.3 million, my Frenzied Proton Shooter and my “Malevolent” armor are worth $3.2 million… plus tax,” said DoubleDiamond

“And despite all that, I posses the best armor and weapon on the team, my Armageddon Meson Shooter and my “Chaos Harbinger” armor are worth $5 million,” said Blueblood

And after that a full blown argument began between the members of the team and it got heated in a matter of seconds.

It continued going for a few more seconds when a notification caught their attention

“DrakeReaper waves at Blueblood,” read the notification

Immediately they all turned to see PheonixGuard standing before them guns ready to spit lead

“HOW DID YOU GET HERE SO FAST?!!!” asked Blueblood as they all pointed their guns at PhoenixGuard

“What part of “We finished the whole campaign” did you not understand, we know Valhalla and Asgard as the palm of our hands,” said Microchips

“Plus, we know that there is a secret entrance at the back of the castle that brings you directly to Odin’s throne room,” said Spike

“We’ve actually been watching you argue and make fools of yourselves for the last couple of seconds, just like everyone watching the livestream and everyone present on the plaza,” said Sandalwood

At the mention of this, all of the members of Casa Cristo looked away from their screens and noticed the looks on the spectator’s faces.

“Well, this game isn’t over, we can still defeat you, we have better weapons and armor,” said Blueblood

“Actually…” said Spike as the robotic voice said

“PheonixGuard has successfully captured Casa Cristo, PheonixGuard wins!”

“HOW?! THIS ISN’T EVEN OUR SAFE ZONE!!!” said DoubleDiamond

“Yeah, but thanks to your brilliant plan of setting up the defense and trap systems inside the palace, and the fact that you locked the door, technically leaves you trapped in here with us, and do to our armor and guns the algorithm has dictated that your chances of winning are 0%, so, you technically defeated yourselves,” said Spike

“It’s the same concept in Guerrilla Wars,” said Microchips

“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!” JewelH3art screamed

“NO! YOURS!!!” said LyndaSt33l

“Actually, it’s everyone's fault, ou cared more about your wallets and the price of IN-GAME weapons and armor that in fighting your enemy,” said Spike

“Not to mention, just because you spent millions of dollars on an armor and gun doesn’t mean they’re indestructible,” said Microchips

The Casa Cristo members went silent

“Although, I have to handed to you, I thought you guys were going to be fighting over who is going to seat on Odin’s throne, I was not expecting that fight, so… props to you,” said Spike as he gave them a thumbs up, infuriating them

“Of course I get to seat on the throne, I am the leader,” said Blueblood

“According to who? I made the team!” said DoubleDiamond

“And I have a better level than the 2 of you!!!” said JewelH3art

And once again, conflict erupted

“This is why I hate getting the rebound teams,” said Spike

“Rebound teams?” asked Wiz Kid

“Teams that only care about themselves more than the game, they tend to kick themselves out of the game, which doesn’t allow you to gain much in-game experience, so it makes it harder to level up against them,” Spike explained

“Do they do this a lot?” asked Norman

“When Filthy_R1ch was the leader, no, he wouldn’t allow it… plus it was pointless, he was the richest member of the team,” said Spike

“I take it he retired?” said Sandalwood

“Yup, he decided to focus solely on his company, but now his daughter is beginning to follow his steps on the minor leagues,” said Spike

“And these guys and gals?” asked Crimson

“They’re our age, I mean, we all know who DOUBLE DIAMOND is right?” said Spike as he pointed to him as Casa Cristo left the stage

“Derek?... Derek Daniels?” they all said

“Bingo,” said Spike

“Oh! It’s the school’s rich kids team,” said Crimson

“And they will be our competition during University as well,” said Spike

“Oh yeah, Canterlot U. is taking in as many local Esports university teams as it can,” said Microchips

“So that makes… us, Casa Cristo, Elements, and…” Norman said

“Killshot,” they all said as the members of Killshot appeared on stage

“Things just got interesting,” said Spike.

---

“ AND NOW PEOPLE, THE MOMENT YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR, THE BIG EVENT OF THE NIGHT, THE FINAL!!! KILLSHOT, SEASONED VETERANS, TAKE ON THE NEW MAESTROS, PHEONIXGUARD!!!”

The teams then logged in and prepared to fight

“AND AS AN ADDED BONUS, WE SAVED THE SIMPLEST, YET, BEST MAP FOR THE END…” said the anchor as the teams appeared on a building that resembles a stadium

“THE ARENA!!” everyone said

“Hypothesis confirmed,” said Spike

“WHY?!!!” everyone asked

“Because that way they can modify the surrounding and make things even more complicated,” said Spike

“Any ideas?” asked Microchips

“Don’t get yourselves killed early,” was all Spike said

“FIGHT!!!” said the anchor as the 2 teams immediately began to exchange bullets.

The match continued like that for a few seconds, bullets flying and missing or creating low damage to each other's characters

Then, Spike noticed something

“Everyone get away from the colored blocks!” he said as he jumped off the block he was, followed by his team

Seconds later, the colored blocks exploded.

The Killshot members realised this too late, but almost all of them managed to avoid being blown away from the floor

“I_Don’t_Sc4re has been blown to pieces,” said the robotic voice

Just as the floor went back to its original state, Wiz Kid made a dash for the disoriented members of Killshot

Just as he crossed the centerline, his character was pommeled by various bullets and RPGs

“C0wb0YFromH3ll has obliterated WizzardKing!” said the robotic voice

“Sorry guys,” said Wiz Kid over the radio

“It’s ok, you tried your best,” said Spike

Then Spike once again noticed something

“Everyone, hit the deck!” he screamed as he stopped moving and dropped to the floor, his team following

“DO WHAT THEIR DOING!!” said Killshot’s leader R0V3R as all of them dropped to the ground, only for the floor to break beneath one of them, causing him to follow into a spike pit

“AlamRyder has been skewered,” said the robotic voice

“They’re toying with us, be weary of your surroundings!” screamed R0V3R as he got up and headed shotted Crimson

“FUCK!!!” he screamed

“It’s ok dude!” said Spike

Then the ground began to shake as various parts of the ground turned into covers and platforms

“FREE FIRE!!!” screamed R0V3R as his team charged Spike’s shooting like crazy

“GET TO COVER!!!” screamed Spike

“Normix10 has been gunned down,” said the robotic voice

“Damn it!” said Normix10

“These guys are good!” said Sandalwood

“And foolish!” said Spike as he motioned for a member called F1D0

Just F1D0 leapt into a platform this one disappeared causing him to free fall to his death

“F1D0 has ventured too far!” said the robotic voice

“DAMN IT FIDO!!!” said R0V3R

“We have them, where we want them!!!” said ZP0T

“CHARGE!!!” screamed R0V3R as the last 3 remaining members jumped over Spike, Microchips and Sandalwood, shooting in the process

However, Spike and Co where not going out without a fight and they returned fire

“ZP0T HEADSHOTS SANDALWOOD!!!” said the robotic voice

“SANDALWOOD GETS A KILL BEYOND THE GRAVE AS HE HEADSHOTS ZP0T!”

“R0V3R HAS COMMITTED SUICIDE!!!”

“TECHGOD2000 HAS COMMITTED SUICIDE!!! Said the robotic voice when both R0V3R and Microchips created kamikaze attacks on each other

That left Spike and the player called C0wboYFromH3ll who had missed their last shots, leaving each other with just 1% life left

They both pointed their rifles at each other, but then Spike had an idea

“DrakeReaper has motioned CowboYFromH3ll to halt!” said the anchor

This confused C0wboYFromH3ll

“Spike has switched to his hand gun!” said the anchor

C0wboYFromH3ll then caught on and nodded doing the same

Spike then motioned for the anchor and blinked his 5 fingers twice

“Understood! 10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… SHOT!!!!” said the anchor as both Spike and C0wboYFromH3ll turned and fired one round each.

The crowd went silent, both teams looked on with baited breath until finally, C0wboYFromH3ll fell to the floor dead

“DRAKEREAPER HAS ELIMINATED C0WBOYFROMH3LL!” said the robotic voice as the crowd cheered and roared with applause

Seconds later, all of the members of PhoenixGuard jumped up form their seats and went over to hug Spike

“PHEONIXGUARD HAS WON IT… ESPORTS BEWARE, WE HAVE A NEW DREAM TEAM ON THE LOOSE!!!!” said the anchor as confetti began to cover the stage as Spike raised the trophy.

---

ON A BOOTH ON THE PRIVATE SECTION OF THE PLAZA

“That was beautiful, am I right Katte,” said Max

“Yes sir,” said Katte

“PhoenixGuard, they seem interesting, I’ll follow their development closely… who knows, maybe we’ve just witnessed the creation of a beast club,” said Max

“Just like Pangea?” asked Katte

“Maybe even better,” said Max as he bit down into his noodles.

---

OUTSIDE OF THE CONVENTION CENTER

“WE WON!!!” said Wiz Kid as he ran around with the trophy

“Our social media has blown up, the PhoenixGuard IG has reached 2.5 million followers,” said Microchips

“And our personal accounts are almost hitting the millions as well,” said Sandalwood

“Not to mention, the amount of orders for our merch has tripled in the last 5 minutes,” said Norman

“Everything worked out like we planned,” said Crimson

“Yeah… What do you guys say? We head back to the “Barracks” and put the trophy on the stand, my dad is going to be so proud!’ said Microchips

“Yeah, and maybe you can tell us what is this big secret you kept from us,” said Sandalwood

“Deal, I’ll go order a few pizza’s to celebrate,” said Microchips

“Ah, Micro…” said Sandalwood

“Don’t worry I’ll order a vegetarian pizza just for you!” said Micro as he dialed the pizzeria

“Thanks!” said Sandalwood, when he noticed the stares “What, big guy, plus I don’t eat meat, 8 slices of veggie pizza would be the equivalent to the other pizzas you’ll share,” he said

“Let’s hurry back and get ready to party!!” said Crimson as they all headed towards the subway station

That was when Spike noticed something out of the corner of his eyes

“You guys go on ahead, I have an errand to run,” said Spike

“Sure, but don’t be too late or I’ll finish you pizza,” said Microchips

“You touch my pizza, it’s your head!’ said Spike as he walked away

“What is his pizza?” asked Wiz Kid

“He doesn't really have a preference, but, right about now I can tell he wants a Spinach Alfredo with double cheese,” said Microchips

“Oh, I love that flavor!” said Sandalwood

“Should I change your order?” asked Microchips

Half and Half,” said Sandalwood as they began to walk down the stairs.

WITH SPIKE

Spike had noticed the members of Killshot talking nearby, he was planning to go over and congratulate them, but he stopped when he heard their conversation

“What is wrong with you?” said R0V3R

“You could’ve offed the noobie and win!” said ZP0T

‘And then he defeated you in a duel!!!” said F1D0

“ah wasn’t gonna shoot someone on the back, that’s cowardly, let alone cheating,” said the tall, muscular guy with a southern accent, Spike understood was C0wboYFromH3ll

“YOU DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO WIN!!!! THAT’S OUR MOTTO!!!” said R0V3R

“ah though the motto was “Never Give Up When Having Fun!” said C0wboY

“There is nothing fun about losing!!” said R0V3R

“Ah enjoyed fightin’em,” said C0wboY

“THAT’S IT, YOU’RE HEREBY EXPELLED FROM THE TEAM!!!” said R0V3R

“Give us your gloves!!!” said F1D0

C0wboY did as he was told

“I still don’t know why I let a loser like you join the team,” said R0V3R as they walked away leaving C0wboY behind

“Sore loser?” asked Spike

“Looks like it,” said C0wboY

“Well, I just wanted to say… thank you and well played,” said Spike

“Thank you fer what?” asked C0wboY

“For not shooting me in the back,” said Spike

“Ah, never do that, Granny raised no cheater,” said C0wboY

“What are you going to do now?” asked Spike

“What any normal Gamer does… search fer a new team,” said C0wboY

“Well, good luck with that,” said Spike as he stretched his hand forward

C0wboY then proceeded to shake Spike’s hand, only to feel Spike handing him something as their hands parted

C0wboY then looked at his palm and saw a card on it

“The Barracks, 3291 Central Blvd.” read C0wboY

When he looked up, and noticed that Spike had disappeared, he looked around for a few seconds and then down at the card.

---

LATER THAT DAY

“YOU’VE BEEN PROGRAMMING A VIDEO GAME?!!!!” everyone said

“Yup, and we just finished it… we’re only missing the Game’s soundtrack,” said Microchips

“So, is it like the rhythm inside the game?” asked Sandalwood

“Nah, we mean the song that let’s everyone know about the game,” said Microchips

“Oh!!!!” everyone said

“And what’s the game about?” asked Norman

“A mix of GTA, CyberPunk, and Infamous,” said Microchips

“Second son or original?” asked Crimson

“Both,” said Spike

“Then my band is out of the question, you should get a metal band or at least a hard rock band to do it, we’re just punk,” said Crimson

“We actually were thinking of doing the band ourselves,” said Microchips

The second he said this everyone got the message

“Oh, because I can play the drums,” said Sandalwood

“Bass,” said Normix

“Guitar,” said Crimson

“Guitar and Keyboard, I can also sing,” said Wiz Kid

“I’ll take care of the additional cleans, and keyboards since that’s the only instrument I can play perfectly,” said Microchips

“And I take it Spike’s gonna sing,” said Crimson

“Obviously, guys got golden vocal cords, he can sing in theater musicals to brutal metal growls… he can even play all of our instruments,” said Microchips

“So what do you guys think?” asked Spike

“When do we start?” they all asked.

---

1 MONTH LATER

“And with a few clicks… it’s online,” said Microchips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLPesxVAysg

(No Lyric video... odd)

“Well done boys,” said Norman

“Let’s see how this goes,” said Sandalwood

“Let the adventure begin,” said Spike as they all turned to face the emblem painted on the wall.