Since the arrival of Alpha, Flamegirl, Gamecrazed and Kirb, the Dragon Lands had gotten just a little safer.
The wall fortifications we're finished, a group of willing drakes we're training and gathering weapons, some even adorning armor as the beasts outside.
And finally, the day of the wedding arrived.
Ember and Nylock were taken to separate caves to prepare.
“Trust me, it’s going to be fine Nylocke.” Alpha said to the extremely nervous dragon knight.
"I- I just… agh…" He groaned, his armor painted black as old draconic symbols painted along his face, arms and tail. All part of the ceremony.
"It could be worse my guy." Kirb shrugged. "We could be in a weird Hangover situation today."
"I just… well…maybe… ugh… Ember is gonna kill me…" Nylock groaned. "I don't know how to be a husband, you can't role play that!"
"Just be yourself." Alpha said. "Either as your role playing self or your real self."
"And trust me, you can role play in a marriage, just make sure it's in private alright big guy?" Kirb teased.
Nylock looked down at the squire, and to everyone's surprise, kicked the small dark elf into Alpha's quick catch. "This is no time for jokes, mini emo Link!"
That took everyone in the room by shock.
"Well fine, if your gonna be a dick about a basic ass joke…" Kirb frowned.
"I'm with Kirb here Nye…what the hell was that?" Alpha asked worriedly.
"I am getting married to the Dragoness Lord of a world not our own, in the body of my avatar… and Tonight I'll have to… to… to perform… husbandly duties! I've never even kissed a girl before let alone has sex!"
"No need to be a dick about it though." Kirb stated.
"I'm sure things will be alright." The Greek/Roman inspired player said honestly. "I know it's a lot to take in, but how do you think Ember feels about this?"
Meanwhile…
"Do you think Nylocke has one big one or two?" Ember asked Flamegirl and Gamecrazed, who both comically fell to the floor at that question.
"Ember!" Flamegirl blushed brightly at that question.
"Hey, I'm just asking cause…I've…never been with another dragon before…" Ember answered, blushing a bit as she was dressed up in the old ways.
"And…if he has two big ones?" Gamecrazed brought up carefully.
"GC!" Flamegirl shouted incredulously.
"Then I hope I'm able to walk tomorrow." Ember blushed even brighter.
"I doubt that. Knowing Nylock he'll probably be as awkward as you." Gamecrazed.
Ember sighed, looking herself over in the reflective mirror. Black and gold paint covered her and ancient draconic symbols were painted on her torso, wings and belly.
"I just…hope I'm good enough…" Ember said honestly.
"Right… you two are perfect for one another…" Flamegirl sighed, knowing Nylock is likely freaking out just as bad as she was if not worse.
"And how do you know that?" Ember inquired.
"I've known Nylocke long enough." She stated. "Both are similar yet different. Like opposite sides of the spectrum."
"Well…glad to know I have a chance." Ember said honestly. "Cause…Nylocke is an amazing guy, role playing or not."
"Ah, so you know about that." Gamecrazed said. "That's good, best to know that about him before you marry the nerd."
"Yeah, I learned that when he beat my dad in a fight." Ember admitted.
"Yeah, he did mention that's how this whole thing started." Flamegirl said.
"Yeah, we dragon's hold a contest and 'bet' the most prized thing they have…and lo and behold, my dad's most prized possession was me and my hand in marriage."
"Makes sense. What more would a father treasure than his daughter?" Gamecrazed stated.
"True." Ember nodded. "So, how'd you two meet Nylocke?"
"I was on a quest. Just for some work and he ended up tagging along. Was weird but fun and different, so we kept in contact and eventually our group formed." Flamegirl said.
"He found me. I usually hung around… sparsely populated areas. Nylock found me by chance, and went on and on with his whole knight gimmick. And, well, we just kept running into one another, so eventually I ended up joining the group." Gamecrazed said.
"Sounds like fun." Ember said honestly.
"It has been. So, you two are really going to… do that, after the wedding?"
"Well…" Ember blushed. "We…have to right? It's only proper to…share an intimate moment after a special day right?"
"Well, that is the common going yes." Flamegirl said. "Maybe just take it slow. I'm betting this will be his first time too."
"It'll be my first time to…" Ember said nervously. "Well…let's hope this day goes well…"
And so, the wedding began. Ember walking down the aisle as Nylocke standing at the alter.
Before and above the two stood Torch. "Dragons, and guests, we are gathered here to witness the union, of Dragon Lord Ember, and the Noble Knight Nylocke, in holy matrimony. I, as the former Dragon Lord, and father of the bride, by my authority, wed these two. The runes across Nylock read for protection, honor, duty, and loyalty to his mate and family. The runes across Ember, read for happiness, fortune, luck and fertility." That made Ember blush. "These are the runes given to us by the Dragon God Bahamut, to create a union between two drakes of exceptional promise or of rare nobility. By my authority as the former Dragon Lord, I wed these two in holy matrimony. May they find strength, love and riches and honor for the glory of the Dragon Lands. You may kiss, and be wed."
And with that, Nylock and Ember kissed, rather awkwardly, and we're flown to a private cave.
"Well… that happened." Alpha said.
"Expected a little bit more fanfare, maybe those runes glowing a bit more but eh." Kirb shrugged. "So, while they go off to do the dirty, what are we all gonna do?"
"I was gonna check the training camps." Alpha said.
"Same." Flamegirl said.
"I was going to check on Luna and the Zeppelin." Gamecrazed said.
"Fair enough." Kirb nodded. "Well, you three have fun then, I have to…do something." Kirb said vaguely, hating the choices he's about to make but knowing it was for the best.
Once he was far enough away and hidden, he pulled out the card with his Zeto avatar on it. He looked the card over.
"If I do this…there's no going back…" Kirb muttered. "Am I…this desperate to save my friends?"
With a heavy sigh, he touched the card to his chest, and Zero emerged as Kirb went into the card.
With a rush of speed, he stealthily made his way up the mountain to the private cave Ember and Nylock were within.
His plan was simple: hide out, wait for the two to finish and fall asleep, then sneak in and take the scepter.
As gross as it felt he leaned an ear to the cave to listen…
…
…
…
The silence confused him.
"Uh…why am I not hearing anything?" Zeto mentally questioned himself, wondering why the two awkward love birds weren't going at it like rabbits.
Slowly, he walked into the cave. Once in halfway he spotted them. A bed, a proper bed it seemed, and Nylock rested on his back, Ember atop them and the two just sat like that, red faced and looking at one another as if in a trance.
"I…didn't expect…both to be so big…" Zeto heard Ember comment in a breathless tone.
"Did…she say 'both'?"
"I… didn't know I had… two." Nylock replied.
Zeto slowly walked back out of the cave, his mind processing that short yet all too revealing conversation between the two awkward newlyweds.
“Uh…sure…” Zeto shook his head slowly. “I…really hope the Zeppelin has some strong drinks…”
And so, Zeto waited. After a full ten minutes the sounds he was expecting started coming from the cave. Trying to ignore that and wait it out.
Two hours later the sounds finally stopped.
“Good lord…” Zeto grumbled, not believing he had to endure hearing those two go at it for two goddamn hours…”I’m seriously gonna need to drink after this…”
Walking inside, the small of heat and… fluids in the air. Holding their breath, he walked around the bed, not looking at the two and the mess they were sleeping in as he spotted the carved blue scepter, adorned with a large red gem at the top.
"There you are…just gotta grab you, and get the hell out of this absolute mess..." Zeto thought to himself, trying to sneak around to get to the scepter.
He grabbed the scepter, and slowly began making his way out-
Slip
With a thud, Zeto slipped on something rather slippery… and sticky…
"Gross…" Zeto let slip a whine of pure disgust.
"What was- what?!" Nylock said as he sat up.
Zeto rapidly got up and ran.
"Shitshitshitshit!" Zeto repeated quickly as he ran away as fast as he could.
Zeto made it to the wall when suddenly Ember landed before him, surprisingly clean… and walking. "You… on my wedding night have the gall to steal my scepter?!"
"What's one little scepter to the two you spent riding on for two hours?" Zeto asked. "Had to wait two Goddamn hours hearing you two awkwardly fuck, I'm taking this as payment."
"You- you pervert thief!" She shrieked. "That scepter is mine, and as the Dragon Lord it's my right to kill you for taking it!" She yelled, charging at Zeto.
"Oh? Little whelp wants to fight like an adult?" Zeto taunted. "Then hit me with your best shot!" He shouted, his declaration seeming to shake the ground a bit.
Unphased, Ember continued, bringing her claws out and ready to slash at their torso.
As Zeto raised his arms, Ember slashed down onto his torso…only to feel her claw’s stop on his torso. “Wh-what?” Ember asked in shock.
Zeto shook his head with a growing grin. “Thought you were stronger than that princess?”
She backed up, breathing deep as she then blew out a breath of fire right into Zero's face.
“Thanks, it was getting a bit chilly in here.” Zeto said nonchalantly.
Before Ember could react, Zeto gave her a hard slug to the jaw, knocking the Dragon Lord down. As she got back up, she spat out two teeth and some blood.
“Listen, I sympathize with what you're dealing with.” Zeto said honestly, leaning down to be eye level with her. “Being’s that are completely immune to your race, slaughtered like animals…I understand it’s a massive pain in the ass.” He said, raising the Dragonlord Scepter up and lightly placing the stone on her head. “But let me show you a real nightmare.” Zeto growled, as Ember saw Zeto’s robotic arm glow with an aura she’d never thought she’d ever see, as the Dragonstone Scepter funneled a painful memory of his into her.
What Ember saw was…bone chilling. A monster as big as her father, as black as a starless night, and with the power of Negative Emotions funneling it, she saw a young man, another ‘avatar’ like Nylocke explain get it’s arm cut off…but the pain, and the blistering scream’s of real, unfettered pain assaulted her mind and body. “Know that I do this not for petty reasons, to mess with you on the night of your wedding, but to save you, and everyone you’ll learn to care about.” Zeto stated in a hushed tone, his voice cold, calculating, and filled to the brim with experience and age. “So if you’ll excuse me, I have someone more important to meet.”
With that, Zeto left Ember there, processing the memory and the burning illusionary pain she felt from it.
He jumped the wall and quickly spotted Voodoo, leaning against a tree with what seemed to be a wine glass filled with an unknown bubbling liquid. "Not bad, not bad at all kid." He said.
“I hate everything about this…also how the hell did I do that?” Zeto asked Voodoo, now processing what he just did.
"That." He motioned with his glass to the scepter. "It's not just some magic rock that links it's user to the dragon's kid, it's an Elemental Gem. Specifically, an Emotion Gem. Through it one can pass along feelings, desires, memories and all sorts of neat tricks. What they're using it for is but a fraction of it's actual power." Voodoo explained, managing to take a sip of his drink.
“Then…why did my arm glow like that?” Zeto asked. “It felt…different than before…and I doubt it had something to do with the Gem…also how the hell is Emotion’s an Element?”
"Elements are a lot more complex and plentiful than you typically believe them to be. The fact is anything that's part of existence is considered an element and therefore can have a gem variation. But that glow has to do with you, or rather, that 'avatar'."
“Why would it have something to do with my avatar?” Zeto asked. “Sure I’m a Netking, who Beta Tested the VR tech but…that shouldn’t give me some extra powers right?”
"Oh back in your home reality of software and hardware, none at all, but here, you would and have been classified as a demi-god my cybernetic friend."
Zeto went wide-eyed at that. “No…but…if I’m a Demi-God…then…that thing would be…” Zeto trailed off in horror.
"An abomination. After all, here, the Net Kings, Sofdi, Gods. You and your female fellow beta tester, Demi-Gods. That thing, an Abomination. Ah, don't worry every God makes one or two by accident in their early years. Most of the Eldritch monsters are such abominations."
“But…then Alpha would be suffering even more now…” Zeto said fearfully. “That monster would have untold amount of power, even in it’s contained state…” The beta-tester said, trying to think of how in the world this can all go horribly wrong if he, or literally anyone else, got careless.
"Relax, your friend Alpha is tougher than you give him credit for. Now then, I believe we had a deal?" Voodoo said, pulling up the flip phone from his vest pocket.
“Y-yes…” Zeto nodded, composing himself after that revelation. “You get the Scepter…or the Gem at this point, and I get a fancy transdimensional flip phone.” He said, handing the scepter to Voodoo.
Voodoo took the scepter, and gave the flip phone to Zeto. Once it was in his grasp, he popped the gem atop it out and tossed that to Zeto too.
“Is there a way to replace the Gem?” Zeto asked, taking the phone and the gem.
"With great difficulty. Emotion Gems need to be made and they are not easily made."
“Gonna need a whole lotta emotion’s put into a special kind of gem I take it?”
"In simple terms yes, basically."
“Fair.” Zeto nodded. “Well…time to give this back and tell them they can create another one…newlyweds might be able to do it on pure accident.”
"I never said the gem was to return." Voodoo said.
“Not the Gem,” Zeto raised the gemless scepter. “This thing, why do you think I mentioned they would create another on pure accident?”
"I doubt they'll be grateful to receive an empty stone stick."
“Hmm, fair.” Zeto shrugged. “But information to get it to work again, that would at least soften the blow.”
"That will cost you again."
“Are you kidding me?” Zeto frowned.
"I make deals kid, you want something you have to give me something. The only ones who will give you anything for free are Genie and Demon but they already have their assigned champions. I'm all you got."
Zeto frowned, rubbing his temples bitterly. “Cause of course…” Zeto muttered. “So…might as well ask, did you figure out who the ‘big bad’ is right now?”
"Yes. Felt a bit obvious but his ambitions are greedy enough and he is willing to do anything for power, so we picked him, but we did also pick a backup just in case." Voodoo said. "Now then, onto business. The price of information is rarely cheap, but you've shown your determination so far."
“I want to protect my friends…even if I have to be a monster to do it…” Zeto said, trying to push past the feeling of his heart being ripped apart by that statement.
"Good answer… hmm, what to charge, what to barter… ah, perfect. Information for information is as fair a trade as any. There are dragons here that spend their long lived lives writing down this and that and whatever upon their own scales. They guard an old skull, a relic from a bygone war." Voodoo said, tossing Zeto a card that was blank. "Place that on the skull, it will be stored within and bring it to me."
“Alright…” Zeto nodded. “And where would this skull be?” Zeto inquired, taking the card and pocketing it.
"The cave is fairly deep in those mountains. But you'll know it when you see it. Lot of old clawed in symbols and such around the entrance."
“Alright.” Zeto nodded. “This all…better be worth it in the end…”
"That's up for you to decide kid."
"And you're sure it was Zeto?" Alpha asked.
"Positive." Nylock said with a nod. "He stole the scepter and Ember chased after him immediately. When I found her she was injured a bit but not badly. If anything she was just… shaken." Nylock said, angered at the fact Zeto appeared here, stole his wife's scepter and ruined what was ending up to be an amazing day. "She's in the cave resting."
“That’s…strange…” Gamecrazed commented vaguely.
“I mean, while it’s terrible that he stole something from Ember on your wedding night…better question is…why?” Flamegirl pointed out. “What does the Scepter have to do with anything involving Zeto?”
"I don't know, but I'm wagering a guess that these higher beings that are causing all this mess are the leading reason."
“The All Makers…” Gamecrazed answered. “They are…extremely powerful, and know things about us that even we don’t know…” The morphological explained carefully.
"This Zeto, is he a criminal from your world?" Luna asked.
"No." Alpha shook his head. "He knows…a lot about what's plaguing me…" Alpha put a hand to his chest. "He has good intentions but…he's kind of an asshole."
"I see. Well, for the act of theft from royalty he is one now, and in the dragon lands, he is to be hunted down and executed for his crime."
"Whoa hold up, isn't that a little drastic?" Alpha asked worriedly.
"You're not going to kill him." Gamecrazed stated bluntly.
"Tis not up to me, tis up to Dragon Lord Ember if he is captured within the Dragon Lands." Luna stated.
"What…was that monster?" Everyone turned to see Ember, still clearly shaken as she held her right arm from the phantom pain.
"That was… something from back home." Alpha commented. "It goes by the Forbidden Power. But it's… sentient and… dangerous. I don't know what it is entirely, all I do know is that it's very, very angry."
"Zeto…showed me that monster…" Ember said, which shocked everyone at that revelation. "He…the pain…I thought your…'avatars' weren't supposed to feel pain in your world?"
"We…we're not…" Flamegirl shuddered. "But this…thing that's haunting Alpha…it goes beyond anything we know…"
"I see. Well, for now he has escaped, should he return we shall hunt him down for questioning. For now, we split up. If he does decided to strike again it could be with far worse damage." Luna stated. "Sir Gamecrazed, with me, Nylock, tend to your wife, Flamegirl and Alpha, patrol around and see where your friend Kirb vanished off to."
With that, Luna and Gamecrazed went off, and once they were far enough away she asked. "So, what do you know that they do not?"
"It's…he's my mistake…" Gamecrazed said sadly. "It…it was too much…I…I didn't mean to…"
"Calm yourself, please. How did this creature come into existence?"
"Too much data…negative emotions…I thought I could contain it but…the Shadow Guard was too scary and…He wanted out.."
"I see, so in a moment of fear you accidentally created this power but never knew it would be capable of causing harm to the people. Tell me, does he have a name? Alpha called it the Forbidden Power, and you mention a Shadow Guard, but neither of those seem like it's name."
"Kajet…" Gamecrazed answered. "The very first boss my family created for their game…"
"I see, and this Kajet is in what relationship to you? Sibling? Child?"
"He…would be my brother, but his powers were born from me…" Gamecrazed answered. "But…it's tormenting my friends…it's hurting my brother, causing him to do bad things just to make sure it doesn't hurt the others more…" The purple shapeshifter looked down, trying to keep their composure even though they blamed themselves for this.
"I see, would you say that you could reabsorb this power from Kajet?"
"I…can't…" Gamecrazed sighed. "The moment it bound to Kajet, it became it's own being…the only way I could stop it was to seal it away…but someone just had to start hunting for it when it was perfectly sealed away…"
"Any power given by a god can also be taken back by said god. I believe you can, Gamecrazed."
"But…how?" They asked. "I…I don't know how…I still don't understand how I'm a God…"
"With practice and a teacher." Luna informed them. "Private lessons of course, after all this is your secret to tell them if you choose."
"I…I know…" She sighed. "I just…hope Zeto will be alright…if there's anyone that cares about TOME and it's players more than me, it would be him…"
"So what is Zeto then? Is he like your makers?"
"He was the beta tester for the combat of the game and the VR technology that they were developing for my home." Gamecrazed said. "He was…the first to suffer from my mistakes…his avatars arm was cut off…and…and the scream of pain he made…"
"I see… so while not directly he did aid in your world's development. That would make him a Demi-God here then."
"Which…raises all sorts of problems…" She brought up.
"Very much so. As a demi-god all his abilities will be lesser variations of the ones who crafted him, possibly even some of yours. While he won't be making planets and galaxies he will be capable of powerful deeds. And if these All Maker beings are guiding him, who knows what powers he is working to obtain."
"The power to either contain, or kill Kajet." Gamecrazed answered. "And…technically, because he's a Demi-God working to defeat a monster…he could be given some 'Divine Adventure' clause or something to make his actions at least not illegal…"
"No such laws exist I am afraid." Luna said with a click of her tongue.
"I'm sure Ember won't press charges if she knows about Kajet….and the dangers it can bring…"
"Maybe not, but her Father Torch on the other hoof, well, he is notoriously protective of his daughter. Odds are he would try and kill Zeto for his crime."
Zeto huffed, trying to better sneak through the lands again and finding the cave he needed. The dragons inside were strong, Powerful, but he was better. Each of the drakes we're beaten into unconsciousness and soon he spotted it. A skull of some large beast burning in an eternal fire at the bottom of a Pitt in the back of the cave.
“Jeez…” Zeto muttered. “Talk about a trophy…” He muttered, gently pulling out the card and tapping it to the beast’s head. “Wonder what you truly were…”
In a flash the skull itself disappeared, it's image appearing on the card and acting fast he rushed out of the cave, sneaking through the walled off area and thankfully meeting up with Voodoo with no issues.
Voodoo took the card, looking it over and despite lacking facial features, Zeto could just tell he was smirking. "Good, very good, and much sneakier than before."
"So what was that thing?" Zeto inquired.
"A beast, a prankster lacking taste or skill, unleashed to see how strong the dragons really were. Unlike him however, we know better than to just throw a beast of brute force at them." Voodoo said, looking the card over before tossing a book at Zeto. "That book contains the means to make them a brand new Emotion stone, and so much more."
“Thank you.” Zeto nodded. “And…beast’s that were capable of fighting against Dragon’s in a fist fight? That’s a first.”
"Maybe for you, but your still a young blood. You best hurry along now, I imagine your friends will be wondering where Kirb is by now."
“Yeah…” Zeto nodded. “And…well, Kirb can say ‘Zeto left this as forgiveness’.” Zeto said. “I…still hate this…”
"So he just threw this at your head then ran off?" Nylock asked as Kirb was finally found just outside the wall.
“Yes.” Kirb nodded. “Bastard has a hell of a throwing arm that’s for sure…” Kirb said, rubbing the back of his head that had a small pump that he made himself to help the bit.
"I can see. Strange. Steals the Scepter, steals the relic from their one and only major war… then throws a book at you?" Nylock questioned.
“Well, maybe it has something of equal or greater value?” Kirb suggested. “I haven’t read it yet, but if he threw a book at me after doing that, it must be filled with something important.”
"Maybe. Honestly that player confuses me." Nylock sighed as he opened the book. "Sweet Gods above! This book tells in detail how to create a variety of artifacts and unique items." He said, flipping the pages.
“Like what?” Kirb asked, trying to see what nonsense was in this book Voodoo gave him.
"Well, it seems to be a mix. Some items from TOME and some items I've never seen before. They're mixed into either Combat or Support or Artifact categories."
"That's pretty cool." Kirb said honestly, managing to see some of the items in the book and in awe at all of them.
"I'll bring this to Princess Luna. With luck we might be able to recreate some of these items."
With that Nylock walked off to the Zeppelin. Kirb, against their better judgement, decided to check on someone.
He found Ember in her cave, sitting on a stone slab made into a makeshift chair. "Oh, you're Kirb, right?" She asked him.
"Yes I am." Kirb nodded, trying not to be awkward around her after that whole situation. "And you must be Ember, the lucky lady to marry my best friend Nye."
"Heh, I guess I am." She said, rubbing her slightly swollen jaw. The impact from Zeto's hit left a few of the scales cracked. "Not gonna be enjoying gems for a while."
"I can imagine, but do dragon's regrow teeth like sharks can?" Kirb inquired.
"Yeah, just takes a while." She huffed. "Just glad he hit me in the jaw and not the stomach."
"He's an asshole, not a monster." Kirb said honestly. "At least, that's what my friends told me."
"Yeah, well at least that asshole didn't do much else. Those… memories were terrifying. I just hope dad doesn't freak out too bad… nevermind, he will. But hey, if it could have been worse if he did hit me in the guts…" She sighed, placing a hand over her belly.
"Wait…you're already pregnant?" Kirb asked in shock.
"Those runes they painted on us weren't just for cosmetics." Ember said, breathing a small bit of fire on her belly. The same runes from the wedding where there, formed by the flames then quickly faded. "A dragon without a mate can not procreate. It was a decree by the Dragon God Bahamut. Basically it doesn't matter how much we fool around unless we're married to them we aren't having kids. Males, females, even with other species. Unless we are bound in marriage we are not producing offspring. Given how long gives dragons typically are, it's beloved he did that so we didn't just overpopulate the planet. We also can only have one egg a year."
"Huh, that's interesting." Kirb said. "Wondered why the runes didn't glow when you officially were married, cause its less flashier than I thought." Kirb shrugged. "Well, congrats on the kid."
"Heh, thanks. Honestly telling Nylock all that was… awkward but, better he know before than when I was laying the egg." She chuckled. "As for that, what I do know about Draconic runes is that they are not as flashy as pony magic is. It's more subtle and immediate. Less colorful lights and such."
"Works for me." Kirb nodded. "Better to know it works than have a laser light show ya know?"
"Yeah. Well, thanks for visiting."
Avenborn floated rather bored in the void between TOME and this new land, Equestria, he had been informed. There was long periods of nothing to do.
"My god this is boring!" Aven groaned loudly.
"Yeah that checks." Aven jumped, or made the motion as he floated in the rift at the new voice. The being before him was dressed in blue jeans, a red hoodie, and wore a complete blank mask to cover their face. "Hi, Shopkeeper." They waved.
"Sup." Aven nodded. "Avenborn." The griffon introduced.
"This set up is kinda dull." With a snap of his fingers, Shopkeeper and Aven suddenly found themselves in a fair sized room. A door on each end, a carpet connecting the two. On one door read TOME, the other, Equestria. Aven suddenly fell the the floor, a thud as he felt the weight of gravity pull him down. "There, that's a bit better."
"Well…this is a bit better…" The dragoon commented, getting back up and stretching a bit.
"Like it, figured an office type setup might be nice." Shopkeep said as the room changed. Suddenly a waiting area, a desk and a new door appeared behind the desk as a counter and various other office supplies appeared. "There we go."
"While working a desk job is…rather annoying, better than floating in space doing nothing." Aven shrugged. "And here I wanted to just farm raid bosses for their weapons…"
"Oh relax, I treat my employees right." Shopkeep said as he walked over to the new door, Aven following. Shopkeep opened the new door and Aven was greeted by… a perfect replica of his home apartment. Everything. "Figure a little slice of home makes you feel less… depressed."
“Wh-what? This…this is exactly my place…” Aven said in awe. “How…?”
"Has anyone come here and given you the usual orientation?" Shopkeep asked as his faceless mask looked over at Aven.
“Genie gave me a brief bit, saying my new job is a Ferryman and…that’s more so it I guess.” Aven shrugged.
"Ugh, of course. Just because you fall into my jurisdiction I have to do all the work here." Shopkeep said, taking in a big breath of air. "So, long story short, I and the others are what are known as All Makers, basically think of a God, any God, any religion and we are what those guys pray too." He stated bluntly. "We go around messing with people and galaxies and dimensions and universe's for two reasons. One, it's fun and we are very old and very bored. Second, we select champions to represent these places and the winning champion gains a great reward. And then there's people like you," Shopkeep turned around, poking a finger in Aven's chest. "Who end up working for me. You are not a champion but you are vital to this play, game, Tomfuckery whatever you want to call it, you are needed and thus gain the privilege of when all is said and done if you have a home dimension to return to, can return to it or continue working for me if you so choose or in the event your home reality is obliterated back into empty void."
“Right then.” Aven nodded. “So, what’s my special part in this shenaniganry? Cause while I was told I was a Ferryman, I don’t have a boat, or have any customer’s for it.”
"Yeah, Ferryman might be beautifying it. You're more like… border patrol." Shopkeep said, pushing Aven out of his apparent replica and into his desk. "So, you sit here and someone, either from the TOME door or the Equestria door will get dropped in. They take a number, you call that number up and then your desk magically spawns a file folder of them. Their life story, special talents, powers and ECT all on display for you to read. From there you decide if they go back or through to the other door. However, you will get a few that have 'passports'. These passports give them free travel between TOME and Equestria."
“Fair enough.” Aven nodded. “Good thing I’ve gotten all the achievements on Paper’s Please…”
"Yes well that aside you do have a second job. When it is slow you will open the drawer to your left." Aven looked, seeing said drawer and pulling it out. Inside was two decks of cards. "Those cards carry with them every monster that exists in TOME and Equestria and you will pick which ones get sent to a random place on either world."
“Interesting.” Aven nodded, sifting through many of the cards. “Jeez, even after grinding for well over a year, I still hate how I only have a third of the TOME boss weapons…”
"Right. Well all that is left now is the matter of your payment."
“And what’s my payment?” Aven inquired.
"Well that depends solely on what you want to be paid in."
“And what can I be paid in?” Aven asked curiously. “Cause I doubt money will be a problem here.”
"Whatever you want within reason really." Shopkeep shrugged.
“Damn…” Aven said in awe. “Hmm…so many decision’s…”
Aven considered his options. Anything within reason was definitely a surprise… though he did wonder, given who he was now working for, what actually fell within reason.
“What actually falls within reason?” Aven inquired, nocurious as to what ‘within reason’ for someone doing extra dimensional border patrol would be.
"I will not make you a God. I will not give you all the secrets of the universe. Mostly for your own safety, your head will explode. Literally. Lastly I will not tell you the meaning of life because the answer is just anticlimactic."
“Right then.” The former hacker nodded. “So…then I suppose…” He hummed. “Jeez there’s still a lot of things, cause I probably need money and food even with my new…job.”
"So standard employee payment package then?"
"Yeah, might as well start off simple." Aven nodded. "By the way, will I have time off to do some monster hunting? Cause I still have bosses to grind."
"Well this is a 9-5 plus weekends off so, yes."
"Awesome." Aven nodded. "At least I'll have plenty of time to grind…seriously, the fact that I'm a border patrol officer for the multiverse and the fact I still want to grind a video game is…almost laughable at how absurd it is."
"Not really, considering the hobbies of some of your co-workers."
“Who are my co-worker’s if I may ask?”
"You'll meet them, mainly on your days off."
“Fair enough.” I nodded. “So, how strong are some of the monster’s I’m gonna have to be fighting?” Aven asked, checking to see if he can open up his stats menu and mess with it.
"What monsters will you be fighting?"
“Well, I’m border patrol as you said and…well either monster’s from ‘out of town’ will try to force their way through the barriers, or some dumbasses try to illegally get past and try to start a fight…right?” Aven asked.
"Sometimes. If they do, then you have the right to imprison, detain or kill them on the spot."
“Fair enough.” Aven nodded. “And how strong are they?” Aven asked, thankful to open his stat’s menu.
"Most anything from Equestria you should be stronger than, TOME, it varies. Thankfully you still have your little Cheat Power in the form of a spell. It will max your stats out to full for five minutes."
“Five minutes? That’s a pretty heavy nerf.” Aven said.
"Trust me, it will be more than enough. Now then, expect at least several people and or creatures a day and try not to lose the ones you imprison. Last thing we need is another Backrooms search and rescue."
“Cause of course that’s real…” Aven groaned. “Seriously…just thought it was some creepypasta nonsense…”
"Okay, you need to remember one thing here Aven… we deal with a Multiverse of Multiverses, an infinite cycle of realities made every millisecond, eternally… that means everything you think is fiction… exists. There is everything you can and can't imagine out there. Your biggest fantasies and your darkest fears all out there. So, good luck with all that."
“Fantastic…” Aven grumbled. “But…hey, more raid bosses to hunt and jack their shit right?”
"More or less yeah."
"On your right!" Flamegirl called out, Alpha dodging a swing from a six legged giant spider as she shot a fireball at it.
“So remind me again what a giant fuck off spider has to do in a molten jungle!?” Alpha asked, firing off a lightning bolt at the giant thing.
"No idea, but they fry like any other bug." Flamegirl said as she landed atop it's head, crushing the exoskeleton of the head.
“Thanks Steph…” Alpha shuddered lightly. “Still hate spiders.”
"Yeah, not a big fan myself but all in all at least there aren't many."
“Yeah, that’s very preferable.” Alpha nodded. “So…everything’s started to go to hell…”
"In a handbasket, and up shit creek without a paddle." Flamegirl agreed.
“Better question is…how does Zeto know about the Forbidden Power?” Alpha asked. “Ember said Zeto shared a memory of his but…something about that doesn’t feel right.”
"Yeah… you don't think he's experienced it before have you?"
“I mean…the only reason why I’d think he did was…Ember holding her right arm, Zeto’s robot arm.” Alpha brought up carefully.
"Well… yeah, but that would imply he either faced it before in some previous break out… or he was there when it was made."
“That’s…” Alpha started, before thinking a bit. “Well…there are those two destroyed statues in Sanctuary…and he seems to be…a lot more higher level and powerful than most players, even when Nylocke was grinding his own liver and blood pressure away with caffeine.”
"So, you think he's like… an early player… or…?"
“There’s no way he…personally worked for the Netking’s…right?” Alpha wondered. “No way he…he couldn’t be a Netking himself…can he?”
"Well… I don't know. I mean, we know the Netkings made TOME from the software to the hardware. But… they would have had to have beta testers for all of it…"
“I’m seriously not liking this conversation…” Alpha said carefully. “Cause if Zeto is a Netking, and is trying to hunt down the Forbidden Power for whatever reason…why are the other’s ignoring it?”
"Maybe… maybe they didn't expect to resurface? If they couldn't remove it, then they hid it away… until…"
“Yeah…” Alpha sighed, putting a hand to his chest. “But…at least this thing’s been quiet for a good while…”
"For some reason that's not that reassuring to me…" Flamegirl said. "Well, aside from killing these monsters, what should we do?"
“Hmm…look around to see if there’s anything neat?” Alpha suggested.
"Maybe, I just wish we had a map or maybe a goal in mind. It sucks not knowing what to do."
"That can be quite troublesome can't it?" Flamegirl jumped, turning and backing up and against Alpha. The two looking at the purple dress suit wearing skeleton in a top hat before then. "Greetings, my name is Voodoo, and we have not yet been properly introduced." He said with a bow to the two.
“Uh…yeah…” Alpha said carefully. “It’s nice to meet you…and I presume you're one of those ‘All Makers’ right?”
"Indeed I am. Middle man to the champions of good and evil and game master extraordinaire. Pleasure to make your acquaintance Alpha, Flamegirl."
“Nice to meet you.” Alpha nodded. “So…what do we need to do to get a map?”
"A map, simple enough to muster and gift, but at the price, hmm… maybe perhaps a bit of blood would suffice."
"Blood?" Flamegirl asked.
“Who’s blood?” Alpha frowned.
"Yours, his, just a drop and the map is yours." Voodoo said.
“That’s…weird…” Alpha said carefully.
“Oh you know, blood of a virgin and all that.” Voodoo added in with a little hand wave, which made both Alpha and Flamegirl blush brightly.
“Shut…” Alpha took a deep breath. “Fine…just a drop them?”
"Just a drop." Voodoo said, handing Alpha a strange needle with a small glass ball at the end. He took it, and upon pricking himself saw the glass ball fill with blood. Once he gave it back Voodoo handed them a map.
Flamegirl opened it up and saw it was a world map. Equestria, Dragon Lands, Zebra Plains, all of them were here with cities, towns and roads marked.
“Wow, this place is…really big.” Alpha said in surprise.
"This planet usually is." Voodoo shrugged. "The map can also zoom in and out of locations too, just a little trick to help you navigate better and view the landscapes easier. Just be careful now, the plants and the beasties aren't the only new additions to the dragon's lands we made."
Before the two could question further, Voodoo was just gone. As if he was never there.
“Well…that’s not ominous at all…” Alpha commented.
With Voodoo gone, Alpha and Flamegirl quickly found out the map's zoom feature was automatic. They just had to think about it. From the zoomed in view it gave them spotted the safe, walked off location, their current location, and something a fair walk north. From the map, it looked like ruins and the name over it read 'Spire Cave Entrance'.
"Huh, why do I have the feeling that's not something normally found in the dragon lands?"
"That…sounds like a dungeon." Alpha said honestly. "And I really doubt it was here before."
"Crazy monsters, loot drops, and now dungeons? These All Makers must really like RPG's."
“Well…we came from an RPG, might as well keep it similar?” Alpha suggested.
"Do we check it out?"
“Does Nylocke have a Coffee dependency?” Alpha joked.
"Fair." With that, the two rushed off and ran towards the Spire Cave.
After a twenty minute run the two came across a collapsed building of sorts, the ruins too damaged to make sense of save the long stone stairway leading into the earth.
“Well…this certainly looks like a dungeon area.” Alpha commented to all the ruins.
"Yup. Typical ruins." Flamegirl said. She and Alpha walked down the stairs, the daylight above dying out and leaving them in the dark.
Flamegirl made a small fire in her hands for light. After some time they reached the bottom floor… and saw the bones around them. All dragon bones, all around Ember and Nylock's size and age they assumed.
"Well…this is getting…really morbid…" Alpha frowned.
Flamegirl kneeled down. "They're old." She said, blowing some dust off the bones. "Not victims of the monsters, just really old bones. Still, something did kill them. Given dungeon logic, that something is still in here."
"Probably either monsters, or the boss."
"I was thinking something less physical." Flamegirl said as she picked up an old rusted piece of armor. "No damage, just rust. Whatever did kill them either lacks the means to or attacks in a non physical way."
"That's fair." Alpha nodded, looking around carefully for whatever monster was around. "It could also be a Rust Monster, something that's pretty strong and rusts any and all metal for food?" Alpha suggested.
"Then it wouldn't have been able to kill them now would it?" Flamegirl asked as the two ventured further.
Kizuna pinched the bridge of her nose, closing yet another map of TOME and groaning. “Come on Zeto…give me something...” She muttered, the cat-girl gunner pulling up another screen showing her many of the Admin’s chat’s on what they were trying to find.
"You won't be finding them." She looked up, seeing a character dressed in a red suit, blue tie and a frowning drama mask for their head. "They are a bit out of that little map's radar."
“And who the hell are you?” Kizuna asked, pulling out her .45 caliber pistol and aiming it at him.
"Call me Demon. And, I am looking out for your best interest." Demon said, suddenly behind Kizuna and to her shock pulled the gun out of her hands. "After all, you've been looking for Zeto for, what, almost a week now?"
“Nonstop yes…” Kizuna sighed. “Nobody knows what the hell happened, I’ve been trying to find any scrap of code that Tempest had that caused that to happen…and still nothing…”
"Oh don't you fret little kitty, Zeto is just fine. He's working with an associate of mine. He's healthy and getting to his goal of stopping that little virus that's plagued him since your days as the glitch tester."
“H-how do you know that?” Kizuna asked, stunned that he knows such a sensitive topic.
"There is not a secret you have that I don't know. For example, I know you don't care much for stopping the Forbidden Power as much as you lead on. It's all for Zeto. And not the avatar, the person, the man behind the VR gear. You'll do anything just to be with him… and yet he doesn't even notice you're there."
“He fully notices I’m here!” Kizuna stated bluntly. “And…how the hell do you know that?” She asked, a little flustered that .
"Like I said, there isn't a secret you, Zeto or the Netkings have that I don't know. The birth of that virus, your antivirus project, Sofdti, your little government arrangement. But that's not why I am here. Tell me, when was the last time you and Zeto met face to face.?"
“It’s…been a while.” She said carefully. “But this isn’t about my love life, this is about stopping that thing from hurting other people.”
"Oh but that is where you're wrong. I'm only here because I am quite invested in your love life. Consider it my personal entertainment." He said, snapping his fingers as suddenly Kizuna suddenly found herself back in the old computer lab. Where it all began, TOME's birthplace. Sofdti's birthplace… that Virus's birthplace.
“Wh-what!?” Kizuna asked in shock, reading her pistol again. “What’s going on? What are you?”
"Well if you're an idiot you'll assume I'm a hacker. Brain dead stupid if you call me a god. Fact is I'm several million Leagues higher than that simple divine title. But enough about me, time to see about you." He said spinning her around as suddenly she was witnessing the event.
Zeto, his human self, the real him, collapsing in pain as he screamed in agony, grabbing at his arm and not feeling it.
“NO!” Kizuna shouted. “Not again…” The cat muttered, feeling powerless to help the one she cared for.
"This event set in stone his ambitions and hatred for that little virus. Stand by him til the end, but when it's all said and done we both know he won't be looking at you the way you want him too. After all, he found a sense of peace and happiness with them."
Looking up, Kizuna saw Zeto, in that Kirb avatar and with that group… his friends.
“That’s…that’s not true…” Kizuna shook her head, trying not to believe it. “He…he uses Kirb to try and…have fun, to remember what we’re fighting for…”
Demon leaned in next to her ear. "Then why didn’t they invite you?"
“Because while he’s been with the Carrier, keeping a close eye on him, I’ve been hiring and paying Hacker’s.” She said, “While he was keeping track of things, I had to do a lot of the paperwork…”
"Yes, all the work and what does he reward you with? Maybe a nod, some sign of approval to keep you moving? Don't you want more?" Demon said, eye to mask holes with her now. "Don't you want to hear him say he loves you?"
Kizuna lowered her gun, feeling defeated as he was right. “What…what do you want me to do?”
"It's very simple really. In exchange for taking you two him and… pulling strings in your favor, you just need to… discreetly, sabotage a few things."
“And…wh-what do you need to sabotage?” She asked carefully.
"Oh, this and that really, nothing that concerns you personally just to others that live where Zeto and them have been whisked away to." Demon said simply. "You'll get your orders via telepathy and when you don't have one to be on you can be with Zeto, Kirb, whatever avatar they use you get to be with him. And, as promised. Pulling strings. Each successful job is another string I'll pull."
“Alright…” Kziuna took a deep breath.
"It's a deal then?" Demon asked, holding out a hand.
Kizuna took one last moment to think about this, trying to understand if she’d sooner hurt innocent people, Zeto’s friends, just to fill the void in her heart…to finally hear him tell her he loves her.
To be continued...