Spike

by Garino

3. Frankie and Heli (or Level 1-1), part 2

Cemetery, 12:48 am

Larry paced around the camera for quite a while. In hindsight, he probably should've warned Spike about Heli's tendency to self-destruct when their attachments were removed. Then again, the look on his face was absolutely priceless. Man, he hated when emotions conflicted like that. Before he could start looking around again, he saw the camera's red light blink twice. Then, in a flash of light, Spike appeared.

"So, did you have fun?" Larry asked, completely serious.

"Depends. Would you like to talk to Death and convince him not to use you as a test subject for his newest scythe?" Spike replied.

"...no. No, I wouldn't."

"Didn't think so." Spike looked around, remembering this was the place that TV decided to become an impromptu firework. But he forgot which way they were supposed to travel. He was about to ask Larry, when a bony hand appeared out of the ground and pointed right. Then another hand came out and handed Spike a letter. He took it and read it with eagerness. "When in doubt, go right. There's a way around everything." Well, it's a start, I guess, Spike thought. So, without further ado, he went right.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Spike was finally getting the hang of things. He learned Frankies don't work together, TV explosions hurt everyone, and the de-rez pool, as Spike started calling them, also eliminated threats. Larry had quit helping, so now it was up to Spike to figure out where to go and what to do. Finally, he came to another wall. I am really starting to hate walls, Spike thought. This one was too high to jump and had spikes, so the dragon couldn't scale it. He put his hand on a nearby pedestal so he could think. Time-out...when did this place get a pedestal? Spike turned his gaze towards the pedestal to see a remote. 12 buttons, had a skull on top, and generally fitted in with the drab, dead place he was in.

"Hey, Larry, is it safe to grab that thing?" Spike asked. He didn't know why, but he felt it better to ask about things then just act on instinct. Who knows, maybe it was a trap set by that monster in the Dome.

Larry inspected every detail about the pedestal, making sure nothing was wrong. After a while, he replied, "You're good. No tricks, traps, or any other problems if this thing is moved."

With a smile, Spike grabbed the remote. Or, he would've, if it had not disappeared the moment he touched it. Spike's jaw once again dropped. He was told it was safe! What did he do wrong? Spike smacked the ground with his tail in disgust. He heard a rumble underneath his feet. He quickly looked down to find he was no longer standing on the ground. He fell through and landed face first into the ground. Larry, however, simply floated down. Helping Spike stand up (at least as much as a ghost can do), he noted the background now.

"That looked like it hurt," Larry said. "You need to rest?"

Spike shook off the pain and replied, "No. I'm fine. Let's just keep...whoa." Both of them were glad Spike had landed where he did. Because in front of them, was the biggest de-rez pool that either had ever seen. There was just no way he could get across: No bridge, the ceiling was too high, and no moving platforms to ferry him across. That's when Spike noticed the background as well. Didn't it look like the walls he had been climbing? Maybe...he unsheathed his claws and grabbed the background. Success! He could use the background to get to the other side! Carefully, he moved along the background, watching for any Helis that might try and make him lose balance. When he finally reached the other side and could safely drop down, he did. Right in front of a huge, yellow TV with static signal. It seemed the static read "Exit."

"Looks like you made it," Larry remarked. "Think you can handle this world now?"

"A bit, yeah," Spike nodded.

"Well, hit the power button, and let's be on our way."

Spike pushed the power button on the yellow TV. The world around him disappeared, replaced entirely with static. Spike didn't fall, nor did he rise. He stood right in the middle. Larry was nowhere to be seen. Movement caught Spike's attention. As he turned to see it, he saw the remote from before. It hovered in front of him before resting in his hands. The world finally tuned back in, Spike standing in front of the coffin TV. Except instead of the laughing skeleton, it was all static-y.

Spike sighed. Whether it was one of relief, discomfort, or a combination of the two, he didn't know. On the one hand, he made it out of there in one piece. On the other, he had a bad feeling he was just getting started on a very, VERY long journey.

______________________________________________________________________________________
None of them were turned on.

There wasn't a single, solitary TV set that was on,, save for the Dome's and the one Spike just busted. He'd walked around the place 5 times, and still nothing changed. On his 6th round, Spike saw Larry sitting lazily on top of one of the nonworking TVs.

"Are you waiting for an invitation to get in?" the ghost asked.

"Not really. Do I need one?" Spike replied.

"No. But these things aren't going to activate on their own. And unlike the others, the power buttons are busted."

"So how do we get them to work?"

"In my world, when the buttons on the TV don't work, hope you have the remote."

Larry gave Spike a look. One that said "I gave you the answer, go from there." The dragon reached into his pocket and pulled out the skull remote. Would it work? He pressed the top right button and watched an aqua-colored light flow from the remote to Larry's seat. The blank screen turned into the countdown from the flying TVs! Spike jumped behind the nearest tombstone, trying to hide as much of himself as he could. When the countdown finished, however, there wasn't an explosion. In fact, there was a creepy laugh. Spike looked to the TV, trying not to leave the safety of the tombstone. The countdown had been replaced by the skeleton.

"Huh," Larry muttered. "Seems like the TVs buttons have been repaired." Turning to the dragon, Larry called out, "You ready for the next one?"

Spike left the safety from behind the tombstone, albeit slowly. He walked up to the now-blaring TV, and took another deep breath. "Ready as I'll ever be," he announced. He hit the power button, and watched the world disappear once more.

Comments

[MorningDart]

Well, I must say, I am not disapointed! In fact, I like Spike being the protagonist, going through a game, accompanied by an annoying ghost named Larry. Good job. Now I'll be tracking it!

~Morning Dart

[Garino]

239771 Glad to see you like it. Seems like I've started well, let's keep the pace, yes?

[MorningDart]

240160 Totally, yes

~Morning Dart