> [Displaced] Save File 1: Captain G. > by DisplacedWriter > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: Out Of This World > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Oh hey! I remember this!" Exclaimed Ryan as he pulled out an old box. Blowing the dust off and blowing it revealed his old NES and the powerglove, although damaged and tampered with. Years ago, him and his brother tried to modify so it would play Gameboy games, and despite their attempts, it never would turn on and thus, it put stored away and forgotten. Ryan slips his onto his glove, then pulled on the traps down tight. Ryan flexes his hand getting a good feel of nostalgia through his fingers. "The power glove, its so bad." Ryan quoted with a chuckle. Ryan goes to remove the glove, however he finds that the straps are firmly tight. "..Why isn't this coming off?" Ryan said as he pulls harder, only for the straps to get even tigher. "What's going on!?" Ryan asked in a panic as he pulls on the glove harder, yet all he felt was pain. Suddenly, Ryan's eyes are blinded by a bright flash coming from his nearby TV as a distorted and static spoke out in distress. “We-... N-... help- E-...stria….glitch…” “What?” Ryan said in bewilderment as he takes a step back away. Suddenly a force of gravity began pull him, he begins to panic and run away from the vortex's pull. Ryan lets out a loud scream as his voice becomes glitched and distorted as he goes flying backwards toward the TV. [World Found; entering code 171140, Transferring Now] Suddenly, Ryan's body starts to split into many colorful pixels as he gets sucked into the television. Ryan's room was left with dead silence. All around Ryan was a flashing tunnel of red, blue, and green all around, leaving the scared gamer in confusion. Ryan had to shut his eyes tightly as the colors start giving him a headache. Ryan groaned in pain, his sounding like it was playing through an old speaker. Everything suddenly stopped, allowing him to open his eyes, revealing a colorful blur if colors that slowly came into focus. Looking around, everything looked pixelated and color, yet 3D and strangely detailed despite the limited color pallet. To the northwest, he finds and square pixelated cave. Looking down, he also notices he's got the same color pallete.Slowly, a familiar melody started to drift into his ears, reminding me of the first legend of zelda game in all of its 8-bit glory. “T-this is getting freaky..” Ryan commented before looking at the power glove. The greenboy screen was brightly lit, but showing nothing on it. Out of curiosity, he presses the start button. The world freezes in time as an 8-bit hologram appears, showing his current inventory. Powerglove: Equipped Cartridge: Legend Of Zelda Connection: Stable. Inventory: No items found. Ryan turned his power glove around, and realizes it was no longer made of plastic, now it's appearing to be made of metal with the smaller plates going over his fingers like scales. This was just too wild and weird to be believable, and yet here he stood in Hyrule Fields from the very first zelda game. The poor ex-gamer had to sit down in the light yellow sand, to help calm his racing heart. “..t-this is really happening?” He said as he gripped his hand, picking up sand and allowing it to slip out in pixels. Ryan raises his arm and begins shaking it, finding it impossible to get the glove off, it was almost like it had become one. Ryan pushes the pause button assume, allowing time to resume its course. Looking at the top right corner of the holographic screen, the ex-gamer notices a meter label power with one of its six bars mousing. “..So the pause function has some limitation…” he said to himself as he lowered his arm. “Alright, I need answers.” He said as he started to move toward the caves entrance. Once inside, the cavern was lit by two torches. In the middle of the room Ryan saw a familiy old man wearing a red cloak, however it was standing on all four in the shape of a pony. “I told you, the enchanted wooden sword is all I had! If you want the White Sword, you'll need to give me more time, I-” The old man pauses to look at Ryan. “Oh! Sorry, I thought you were Rarity." He said as he put down what looked to be an unfinished sword. The old man narrows his eyes in confusion “...Strange, you…” he stopped in mid-sentence to get a good look at Ryan. “You don’t look like a pony…” “Why would I be a pony?” Ryan asked as he gave skeptic look. The old pony's eyes went wide as he looked at Ryan's Powerglove. “...That gauntlet..” The old man said as he suddenly grabbed hold of Ryan’s powerglove. “What the- HEY!” “This gauntlet…” the man traced a hoove over the glove. “..This…” He looks up at Ryan. “This..what? Dude, you’re making me uncomfortable….” Ryan said as he tries to tug his arm away, he is surprised that the old man had a firm grip on it. The cloaked man traced his hoove over the small cartridge that is currently in it’s slot. “I can’t believe it... It’s been twenty-two years since she sent that distress call. I thought the glitch managed to stop it from going out?” “What are you talking about?” Ryan asked in confusion as the old pony let go of his powerglove. “Years ago, A glitch came to our kingdom and decided to treat it as his personal playground. Celestia and Luna confronted it and tried to send it back using the Code of Elements, but alas it proved to be too strong. The Glitch corrupted Luna, forcing Celestia to flee for her life. The Glitch in its rage shattered our of Epixeria and sent it across the Zone..” The old man explained as he made his way over to his table. He picked up an old cartridge and blew the dust-out, but on closest inspection, it's more of a stone slab. “Celestia found this deep within her world of Angel Land describing a game hero of old known as Captain G.” The old man handed it to Ryan, allowing him to study the old pictures and writing. “Wait… Captain G?” Ryan asked in confusion. ”That sounded bit like Captain N cartoon…” Ryan thought to himself. “According to the slab, when the world of Epixeria is in dire need, a man from another world. the one who wields the gauntlet of power, will come to save us.” The old man said. “This is bogus..”  Ryan said as he turned the stone cartridge around to look for answers. “I mean this has got to be a joke, I can’t be this so-called hero..” “As ‘Bogus’ as it may sound, you fit the description. However, you would have came to our aid alot more sooner if the glitch hadn’t interfered.” The old man said with a sigh. "But now, you are here, you can at least save [Hyrule], please seek out rarity and help her gather the pieces of the [Triforce] ” “Don’t you have Link helping you with that?” Ryan asked as he's confused again. “Who is Link?” The old pony asked, causing Ryan to go silent for a moment at that answer. “You know, Link, the hero of Hyrule?” Ryan explained, but all he earned is a more confused look. “Never mind…” He said as he rubbed his forehead. “Maybe this is some weird alternative dimension..“ Ryan thought before looking at the old man. “You said something about [Triforce] pieces?” Ryan asked as he went through his old memories about the game. “Yes. You see, when Lord Tirek attacked Hyrule castle, Prince BlueBlood, not wanting the evil fiend to get their hands on the triforce of wisdom, he broke it into many pieces and sent them to nine temples heavily guarded by traps, puzzles, and locked doors. I sent the heroine Rarity to go ather then, I do hope she's alright." The old pony explained as he gazed through a pixeled window. “Ok, yea, I can help her out, but first, tell me If there's a way to send me back to my home?” Ryan asked in hope. “That sort of power only Celestia can do... But she’s miles away across the Zone.” The old man said as he made his way over to the cave’s entrance. “The only way to get to her is if you were to find the Codes of Harmony. Six items of power that once held Epixeria together…” Ryan followed the old man. “What is the Zone, and where can I find the Codes of Harmony?” he asked. “The Zone is basically a place outside of our world. No one has been able to traverse it since we discovered it. As for the Codes Of Harmony, well, it’s hard to say. The Glitch scattered them long ago, who knows where they ended up at..” The old man explained as he leaned onto his wooden cane. Ryan pushed his black hair back and sighed. “Great…” Ryan thought. Ryan then gave the old man a slightly annoyed expression. “I don’t even want this, all I wanted to do was pack up my things and move out of my apartment..”  he whispered to himself. “But nope, I got roped into this prophecy mumbo jumbo.” "Before you go..“ The old man said before he turned around to head back into the cave. When the old man returned, he handed Ryan a thick scroll. When Ryan opened it up, it revealed a pixelated map of Hyrule [Ryan obtained Map] A small 8-bit icon of Ryan’s head appeared on the map, showing his location. “It’s dangerous to go alone, take this.” The old man said, as he handed Ryan a wooden sword and a shield. Suddenly, both items turned into energy and got absorbed into his powerglove. [Ryan Obtained Wooden Sword and Wooden Shield.] Ryan stared at his powerglove, wondering what just happened.  “Uh... thanks?” Ryan said perplexed as he started to head out. “May the three watch over you friend. When you find Rarity, please forgive her, she can be stubborn at times.” The old man said as he waved his pale hoof. After one last look at the old man, Ryan started his journey, an adventure he didn’t want nor did he ever ask to go on. The ex-gamer honestly didn’t like how in a lot of rpgs the hero was always the chosen one, he or she who fated, destined and or prophecized to save the world based on legends. They all felt forced, like they were the only ones who can do it and that they did not have a choice in the matter. Now, apparently, Ryan is this so-called Captain G of legends that would one day appear to help them in great peril. “Of all the gamers out there, why me? I mean come on, I can’t be the only expert here… right?” Holding up his gauntlet and pressing the start button, he brings up the hologram showing his inventory. With a few button presses on the control pad and A button, the [Wooden Sword] and the [Wooden Shield] materialized in array of colorful pixels into his hands. “...What will happen if I get a game over.” Ryan asked in fear as he thrust the wooden sword into a Octorock, causing the monster to burst into red, blue, and green pixels. In its place is a floating green rupee. When Ryan reached down to pick it up, it shrunk down and got absorbed into his gauntlet. *Pa-ding* “It even has the same sound..” Ryan commented as he brought up his hologram inventory to see his currency at [Rupee x1], he glances at the upper top corner of the screen to notice his three hearts. Ryan starts to cross a bridge, when suddenly angry zoras popped out of the water. “Holy! they’re bigger than I remember!” Ryan exclaimed as he made a mad dash to the other side of the bridge, leaping left and right to avoid the barrage of fireballs. One of the shots managed to hit his leg, causing him to tumble over and hit the ground hard. Ryan quickly turns himself to lay on his back, as he raises his wooden shield to block another incoming ball of energy. Ryan pushes himself up and rushes to the other side. Despite not having any injuries on his leg, he definitely felt the pain of that shot. Ryans turns around to stare the Zora, who were now staring at him with a look of hatred and hunger. Ryan slowly backs away with shield raised, not wanting to get hit by more of the Zora's shots. Hours later, Ryan finds what loooks to be twisted looking tree having the expression of screaming in horror. He looks up to notice that there were eagles perched on top of its braches. “Can’t believe I’m doing this... but it’s the only lead to get home. Just find the heroine, help her find the Triforce of wisdom, and try find those 'codes of harmony’ thingies.” he said to himself. Ryan begin to transcend down the wooden stairs, being careful as to not trip over the 8-bit colored vines. He arrives at the bottom. His [Wooden Shield] dematerializing as he reaches out to take a torch from its scone. The floors were an aqua green and made of stone that had aged well from the passage of time. In the west wall is a small crack that allowed water leak out, allowing plant life to thrive in the temple. Ryan looks down at his [Power Glove] to bring up his inventory, and to see if by chance it give him a good idea the temple. [No map available] “Of course..” Ryan mumbled to himself as he lowered his arm. “Let’s see… If this is like the game, there are two rooms, both have enemies and a key. Maybe that heroine  the old man mentioned is here?” Ryan said. Looking up ahead curious, he notices that the door to the north had already been unlocked. “Yea, she’s been here…” he said in high hopes. Ryan heads on over to open the door that led to the next room. The next room is empty other than the skeletal remains that were once Stalfos. Ryan gives the bones a prod with his [Wooden Sword]. “..I hope they’re not going to come back to life…” he said As Ryan traveled through the rooms of the temple, he finds out that they were also empty. No enemies nor keys, nothing to stop him. It wasn’t until he got to the fifth room that he found some sort of creature hiding behind a blocky pillar, appearing as if in pain. It took Ryan a moment to remember that they were called Goriya, a race of rats that were skilled at throwing their boomerang. The Goriya took notice of Ryan and hissed at him. Despite the pain it was feeling, it was not going to go down without a fight. Pulling its arm back, it threw it’s boomerang at the ex-gamer, forcing Ryan to dive out of the where. “Even though it’s a boomerang, I know it can still hurt me.” Ryan said as he started thinking up a plan. At the moment, he had an [Torch] in his left hand and his [Wooden Sword] in the other. Looking down at the powerglove in curiosity, he notices a few buttons with each one labeled [Pause][Slow-mo][Rapid Fire]. Ryanlooks up just in time to find the Goriya throwing its boomerang at Ryan. The moment Ryan pushed the [Slow-mo] button, time started to slow down. A clock counter appeared over the Goriya’s head, showing show would be frozen for five seconds. Not wasting time, Ryan ran around the boomerang and straight for the rat with [Wooden Sword] held back. Ryan thrusts the [Wooden Sword] into the Goriya, causing it to recoil in pain in slow motion. With two seconds remaining, Ryan swung his sword to deal the finishing blow, causing the rat to vanish in a pixelated explosion. “And it’s was just one enemy..” Ryan said as he checks his power glove, he notices a small meter showing that using one [Slow-Mo] drained the rest of the meter, however lucky for him, the power meter is slowly recharging. “Jeez, it's awfully slow.” he commented. He heard a wooden 8-bit sounding thud as he looks back to see a [Boomerang] on the ground. When he reached down to touch it, it turns into pixels and gets absorbed into [Inventory], much like his sword and shield did. Ryan held his hand up and flexed his fingers. “This thing’s been pretty useful so far..” Upon entering into the next room, Ryan sees a battle already underway. Ryan saw a purple maned white coated unicorn wearing a green tunic, jumping around dodging the electric orbs that were fired by Aquamentus. Next thing Ryan notices that the room is vastly different with pillars supporting the roof, Ryan also notices that the floor was wet due to the leakage in the room. Across the room and blocking the door, stood Aquamentus, a green dragon who had webbed claws and fins along its back and neck. Ryan raises his arm to look at his inventory, which now had two three new icons. [Ally ???: ] [Ryan: ] [Aquamentus: ] "Best be careful.." Ryan said as he summoned his [Boomerang] into his hand. Puling his arm back and with a careful throw, he swings directly the dragon’s horn, allowing the boomerang to fly as if guideded by magic. As the boomerang hits the dragon's horn, the dragon's body flashes blues, stunnig it. The unicorn takes notice of the dragon’s distraction and decides to take a chance. With a [Wooden Sword] glowing in her [Magic] grip, she gallops up to Aquamentus and stabs it, causing the dragon to let out a low-quality scream. Aquamentus exhales three electric balls down at the heroine, knocking her back. Ryan catches the boomerang, then takes a quick glance at his powerglove, the [Power Meter] still recharging at [10%]. With [Slo-mo] out of the question, Ryan decides to focus on his current tactic: Keep stunning the Aquamentus. The heroine leaps out of the way as another shot is fired by the Aquamentus’s unihorn, however, she wasn't fast enough to dodge the second shot, forcing her hearts down to one piece. “Holy!” Ryan exclaimed as he ran to the othe rside of the room, his legs sloshing around 8-bit water around. “Over here, ugly!” Ryan yelled to draw it’s attention. The dragon turned to look at Ryan, then lowered its head as it started digging into the stone floor. It takes off like a bolt, charging straight at him and surprising the ex-gamer as he gets shoved into the wall. “Ok..” He croaked in pain. “That was stupid of me..” Bep-beep, bep-beep, bep-beep. [Ryan: ] [Ally ???:] [Aquamentus: ] The unicorn takes this moment to let loose a frenzy of slashes at the dragon’s tail, managing to hit it threetime in before Aquamentus turns itself around to charge at her. Ryan slowly gets up as his body is screaming in agony. He would have been gorged if the physics of this world didn’t apply to him. The [Torch] he had dropped into the water had its fire put out, only the unicorn’s magic served as a light source, casting the room is a dull dark blue color palette. Ryan looks down at his body to see it blinking and flickering in and out of reality, even the lights on the power glove were blinking like crazy, as if trying to keep Ryan stable. Meanwhile, the Heroine had managed to hold her own as she tried her best to keep her distance. “YOU RUFFIAN!” She screams while bringing down her [Wooden Sword] onto Aquamentus’s horn. It felt freaky as hell to him, how his body felt it was going disappear from this world. Soon remember the powerglove's functions, he reaches up and holds down the [ Center ] button, allowing his body to refocus into existence.. "..I had to reboot the damn thing.” he said with a shakey voice. I. Ryan makes a mental note to keep his distance. and get out of the way if it charges again. Like before, he throws his [Boomerang] to stun Aquamentus, allowing the heroine to land another blow. Aquamentu's attention is given back Ryan as it charges at him once again, but Ryan was ready this time as he leaps out of the way, causing it to ram straight into the wall. The temple shook with the dragon’s collision, causing a hole to crumble open, allowing water to rush in. “We need to get out of here.” Ryan yelled over at the Heroine. “Not without the monster’s [Heart Container] and the [Triforce Piece]!” The heroine said as she rusheds Aquamentus. The dragon pulled it head out of the wall and turned, it’s eyes glowing red with anger. It let loose a loud roar before charging at Ryan. Quickly reacting, he threw the Boomerang at the dragon, however this time it moved it’s head out of the way. What it didn’t expect was for the [Boomerang] to fly back and hit its horn along the way. It ended up losing its footing due to the dissertation from the impact. With it stunned, the heroine started stabbing at it with renewed vigor. With the last blow dealt, it quickly got up, and started to charge around the room, ramming into pillars and destroying them in a mad frenzy. Seeing the pillar’s fall made Ryan very worried, especially when the roof started to creak and groan. The Aquamentus ran into the middle of the room, threw its head up to the air, and let out a loud roar. It fell over and collapsed, then exploded into an array of rainbow pixels. The heroine then ran over to the [Piece Of Heart], holding it high as a familiar meledy played. She quickly places it into her side saddle. The place is now rapidly filling up with water. “That pony is crazy!” Ryan exclaimed as he turned around to run out of the temple. The Heroine returns from the other room, running after Ryan. The walls crumbled away, allowing even more water to flood throughout the temple, causing the two heroes to be swept up with it. They struggled against the currents, as they were tossed and thrown around. The rush of water reaches the third room near the entrance of the temple. Getting out of the water, they managed to get to the surface. The two now soaking wet their clothes. Ryan raised his arm to look at his power glove, surprised that it didn’t malfunction when water hit it. The Heroine is wringing out her tunic and cap. “This outfit took me weeks to make…” “So, you’re this heroine the old man talked about?” Ryan asked as he looked at her. She definitely didn’t look like Link other than the famous green tunic, she looked rather out of place in those clothes. “Who, me? Oh, why yes, I suppose I am.” The mare said as she placed the green cap back on her head. “No one else wanted to stand up to those brutes, so here I am.” she said as she flicked her hair out of her eyes. “My name is Rarity, please to meet you.” she said as he held out her hoof, but stopped mid-way. “My name’s Ryan.” He said as he shook her hoof before she could pull it back. “I... guess I’m the Prophesied hero.” Ryan said, his voice full of disgust at the title. “You? Strange... that thing the old man had looks nothing like you. I thought you would be more… Gallant?” Rarity said, while she looks disgusted with Ryan’s clothing of choice, which is just a black sleeved shirt, and old torn blue jeans and flipflops. “Well excuuuuse me, princess, I didn't have time to dress up better if I had known i'd get yanked from my world.” Ryan says with sarcasm clearly in his voice. “Well, anyways, I managed to grab the [Triforce Piece], one down, eight more to go…” Rarity said with a sigh as she took a sniff of her fur. "I’m going to need a nice long bath..” she mumbled under her breath as she pulled out a small [Heart Container]. Before the heroine could use it, it suddenly split itself in half, the first piece went to Ryan, fully healing him back to normal while the second half went to Rarity. “...That, wasn’t supposed to happen.” [Ryan got Half A Heart] “Hey! How can you can absorb [Heart Containers]? I thought I'm the only one who could do that!” Rarity said as she lifted her hoof to prod Ryan. “I guess it has something to do with this powerglove.” Ryan said, as he brought it up to look at his current menu, which has updated to show that one piece of the Triforce had been obtained. “That... looks a lot like my pouch, except only fancier.” Rarity said, as she watched in fascination, before a thought struck her. “Care to come along with me? I’d appreciate the help on my journey, makes things easier.” she said as she started to wring out her tail.  “A lot less dirty as well.” she whispered to herself. “Hey, I already agreed with the old man to help you, I can’t back out now.” Ryan said before allowing the hologram to fade. Both Ryan and Rarity left the temple’s island. Rarity insisted she lead the way. Along the way, the duo had to fight monsters that chose to fight them. With each monster defeated, it left behind Rupees. “Ever since Lord Tirek took over Hyrule, a lot of our currency has been turned into monsters.” Rarity said, as she scooped up the green rupees. “So basically, they served as the heart of the monster?” Ryan asked as she checked his inventory screen. Ryan has learned that anything Rarity collects, will show up on his status screen. The two heroes arrive at an entrance, which has been covered up by some sort of wooden barricade. Rarity knocks on it three times. “What’s the password?” A voice spoke from the other sort, speaking in a strange rough voice. “I am error.” Rarity answered. The wooden wall slid away to reveal a secret cave. Ryan heard a melody being played on his powerglove. “SShhh! Come, we need to get in before any Moblins discover us.” Rarity exclaimed through hush voice. Ryan follows closely behind her. There is an armored pegasus waiting for them inside. “How’s the progress?" he asked. “One piece so far, took me hours just to find it.” Rarity said as she present it to the pegasus. The triforce's size is alot smaller than its game counterpart. “Good, then we’re one step closer to freeing Hyrule.” The pegasus said as he looked at Ryan. “What’s that?” he said pointing with a hoof. “This gentlemen is Ryan, he helped me out against Aquemenus. As for what he is, he’s that prophecy Old Pony told us about.” Rarity explained. “...Seriously? This guy can’t be the one. I mean how’re you going to defeat Lord Tirek? You aren’t even fully armored or prepared to fight that mad goat.” “Hey, I don’t know how I’m going to ‘save the world’ with just a power glove either.” Ryan said with annoyance in his voice. The pegasus walked over to Ryan’s side, and gave the glove a prod. “Did the old man pay you to put on an act or something?” The pegasus asked Ryan in disbelief. “Alright boys, that’s enough. Ryan has some courage and… well, some skill. Luckily we didn't get a [Game Over].” Rarity explained. Ryan blinked at Rarity. “Game... over?” he asked. “Yes, [Game Over] is when we lose our life, foreever..” Rarity said as she looked over at Ryan, making him cringe in discomfort. “Let's not talk about that then..” Ryan said in fear as he walked passed the two ponies, and ventured deeper into the cave. Ryan arrives at the other end of the tunnel, soon noticing it's full of ponies that sat in rows in a array of colors, some of them were winged, some of them had horns, while others had none. They looked worse for wear, especially with some of them having bits of fur burnt. A baby pony is being treated for wounds. Ryan cringed at the sight when he saw that one of them is missing their eye. Ryan’s heart broke when he saw an orange filly with a light purple mane crying to herself and mumbling something about wanting to see her big sister. All of them looked up and noticed Ryan, they all stared at him with mixed reactions of fear, curiosity and anxiety. Rarity came up beside Ryan and spoke. “Don’t worry, he’s with us.” she said. The group of ponies did calm down, however some of them still watched Ryan with worry. Seeing so many injured ponies got Ryan thinking. He looks down at his powerglove, the very thing that transported him to this world. How could such an old tech do this? It’s like something out of the 80s movie “Damnit..” Ryan whispered to himself as he adjusted his rose tinted glasses. All he just wanted to go was home and forget about this whole mess, but now seeing Hyrule in such disarray made him rethink his plans. The ex-gamer would not be able to forget this even if he managed to return home. “Come on, I should guide you to one of the catacombs so you may sleep..” Rarity said as she trotted past Ryan. He follows after her as they make their way past other rooms, which oddly were all perfectly squared. “I’ll need to some research in order to find the next temple before we leave the cave.” “...Actually..” Ryan said as he turned around to look at the heroine. “You won’t need to. I know all of their locations.” “How do you know?” Rarity asked as she looked at him, “Well..” Ryan said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Years ago, this world was just a game being played on a TV” “Screens? Then.. Lady Celestia’s message did get through?” Rarity asked. “Wait, messages? Are you saying those words coming out of my TV was from Celestia?” Ryan asked skeptically. “This is just what I heard from Ace. He said that Celestia sent messages through things called screens. He said that when The Glitched attacked, Celestia attempt to send a message through her screens..” Rarity explained. Ryan was quiet as he thought about this. He wasn’t the prophesied hero, it was actually by luck that her message got to him first. “That doesn’t explain why I got sucked in in the first place.” Ryan said as he looked at Rarity with a raised eyebrow. “She was desperate, Ryan. She was trying to call someone who would help her..” Rarity said before going quiet. “If only her message arrived sooner, maybe then my sister would s-still be with me..” he said as a tear threatened to escape her eyes. “N-no… I must be strong.. I can still do something to save Hyrule, but trying to get to my friends in the other worlds across the zone will take time..” he mumbled quietly to herself. “Sorry Ryan… Lets try getting you a place to sleep. I know one of them have a sleeping bag.” Rarity said as she guided Ryan through the halls until they arrived at an empty room with nothing but a place to sleep. It was an old leather sleeping bag, different than what Ryan was expecting. “I will be sleeping in the next cavern. We will be departing after [10:00] hours.” she said before giving Ryan a smile. “I’m glad we’re destined to work together, Ryan. I look forward to taking on the next temple.” After Rarity left after saying goodnight. Ryan has been laying under the fur blankets and deep in thought over the events that had lead him here so far. He raises his arm as the green light from his powerglove lit up, showing him the current time. [9:10] What made Ryan raise his eyebrow was the lack of AM and PM. “I guess it doesn’t exist yet.” he said with a sigh. “How did all of this become a thing? How is it possible that I got here? Is this some sort of untapped technology my brother accidentally created or is it Celestia’s fault?” he asked. Slowly, his mind started to drift until he finally managed to fall asleep. > Chapter 2: A Heroine, A Gamer, And... A Batter? (Xover 1) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Saving File… File Saved] “Wha…” He wakes up to the sound of a small melody, as if he went to sleep at a video game Inn, in fact it sounded similar to that of Final Fantasy. Ryan rubs the sleep out of his eyes. Everything was still glowing in his sights, the roof, his hand, the blanket, everything. “...I’m still here.” he groaned to himself, he really hoped it was all just a bad dream. However somewhere in the cave, unknown to all at the time, a very small vortex of black and white was starting to form, slowly becoming more pixelated as it appeared inside of Ryan’s room. Suddenly, it shot out a small golden coin quickly became brightly colored and pixel to back fit in with the world. The portal then closed when it’s job was finished. Ryan’s attention is drawn when he heard the sound of a mario coin landing on the right side of his sleeping fur blankets. He blinked in confusion when he saw the coin, reaching out to pick it up. “Wha?” He then heard a voice in his head, “Hello to anyone that finds this, I’m Sans the Batter, if you need any assistance, in need of a good spar, or have a ghost problem, feel free to summon me. I’d be happy to help out.” “The hell?” Ryan asked, now even more confused than ever. “This.... doesn't look like anything of Hyrule.” [Data Token Detect] Ryan looked at his [Powerglove] in confusion as information starts to scale onto the hologram screen. [Token is made of void energy that belongs to another [Player], Token can be used to summon a new player to the game] “Another… [Player] ?” Ryan asked as he put two and two together. “I’m not the only one who got forced into this mess?” he said as he turned the coin around, seeing the weird crocodile. “But how do I use it?” At that moment, the side of the powerglove open up to reveal a slot. Ryan slides the coin into it curiously. [Scanning Token… Scanning Complete. Inputting Codes…. 527  055.. Summoning now] Ryan’s powerglove took on a bright glow before shooting a portal into the air, it swirled with green, red, and blue pixels. “..wwooooOOOAAAAAHHH!” Screamed an odd voice as it got progressively louder before out flew what resembled a baseball player with paper white skin and a monochrome outfit. He got up and revealed his four red irises over dark black eyes. It almost gave him an evil appearance but something about him didn’t make him FEEL evil to Ryan. After dusting himself off, he then turned to Ryan, “Hello there, are you that called me...” He then started staring at his hand, which confused Ryan. Unaware that the new arrival saw a massive difference as he now looked a lot brighter in comparison, his pale white skin was much brighter and looked a bit retro in a way. He took it well all things considered. “AAAHHHHHH!!! OH MY GOD! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME!? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS!?” He started screaming as he looked like he was running from... himself? “Whoa! Man, stop!” Ryan said as he quickly got up from his bed, he reached out with both arms and clapped it over the black and white batter’s mouth. [Player 2 Converted. Saving Data... Save complete.] The newly arrived displaced then started taking deep breaths to calm himself down. He started chanting in a matra “I’m fine,” over again and over again when Ryan let go. After a deep breath he said, “Sorry about that, I just didn’t expect my body to change like this, even if it’s not that big a deal. Anyway, I’m Sans, Sans the Batter, and you are?” “Ryan the… I guess ‘hero’.” Ryan said, doing air-quotes with his fingers. Even though he now believes the reason he’s here to save this world, he is still in doubt he can do it. “The old horseback at the other cave showed me a cartridge tablet and it said I was some prophesied to come here….” Sans said, “So the guy pulled the whole “The Prophecy” trope on ya then? Man, that sounds really cliche.” He then shrugged and then asked, “So do you need any help here then?” “Actually, I don’t need help, but I summoned you here when my [Powerglove] said you were another person just like me.” Ryan said as he rubbed the back of his head. “Oh, so you were dragged away from your everyday life too? Man, I thought for a minute me, my brother, and my best friend were the only ones….” Sans said in thought. “Well, where exactly am I? This doesn’t look anything like where me and the others ended up.” “Well, you’re at a [Cavern] in [Hyrule]. [Legend Of Zelda] to be exact, or I guess Rarity for some reason only the universe can tell me..” Ryan said as he glanced at the cave entrance in worry. Sans then turned to the entrance with a raised eyebrow and asked, “Something on your mind Ryan?” “You yelled pretty loudly….” Ryan pointed out. At that very moment, as if the universe was listening in. The sounds of low quality galloping can be heard coming this way. “Let me guess, that’s a bad sign?” Sans asked with deadpan as he turned to the [Powerglove] user, already dreading the answer. “Ryan?! Is everything al-” The voice was cut-off when Rarity ran in, staring at the strange black and white Batter. She had her tunic on although a little half-assed when she was rushing to get it on, her [Wooden Sword] almost falling out of it’s sheath. As the two pale white warriors stared at each other in silence, Sans cut it with a, “Hello…?” Clearly confused by her appearance. She kept looking from and back between Ryan and Sans, and became more confused than the batter. “...How is there another? I thought you were the only one who walked on two legs?” Rarity asked. “Well, looks like I’m not the only here who ended up in another world.” Ryan said nervously. Sans meanwhile was staring at Rarity and trying to pin the differences between the one from back home and the one that stood before him, before a thought came to him. “Wait, do you think there might be more like us, people who were sent to worlds like this? I mean if there’s people like you and me, then what’s stopping somebody from sending hundreds, possibly thousands of others.” “I don’t know, I inserted your coin into my [Powerglove] and it brought you here.” Ryan said as he raised his arm to show San’s coin inserted as if it was a cartridge. “The stories didn’t say anything about you being able to do this. It must be a new ability your [Powerglove] can do that you didn’t know about..” Rarity said as she started straightening out her outfit. The Batter notices that this Rarity was brim and proper, even as fashionista, especially with her hair not being as curly. Sans, however, was still mainly focusing on the fact that she’s a pony, unlike the Rarity he knew back home. However he soon simply brushed it off and asks the pony and human, “So what were you two planning to do next before I was summoned here?” “We were gonna head out and seek out the next piece of the Triforce, me and Ryan need all eight pieces if we ever hope to defeat Lord Tirek.” Rarity explained to the batter. “Yea… we’ve got seven more to go…” Ryan said, sounding discouraged. He started to remember how much he used to rage at it as a kid. Sans, recognizing the tone of Ryan’s voice as his brother Pas sounded like him when he got discouraged, then simply tipped his baseball cap over his eyes and said in thought, “Well, considering you went through the trouble of summoning me, I suppose I can probably help you two out and make it less frustrating.” “You don’t mind that?” Ryan asked with a raised eyebrow. He raised his arm to look at his gauntlet, causing a hologram screen to come up. It showed a new status screen with the Batter having three hearts. “I really don’t, besides this might be a good time to really test what this new form can do. I haven’t gotten much practice with it in the week I’ve had it,” the monochrome baseball player said as he drew his Harold Bat and gave it a few quick practice swings away from their general direction. Every time, he swung his bat, it kept making an 8-bit swoosh much like in Zelda 2. Sans then stared at his weapon before once again shrugging. “So what dungeon we off to then?” “We’ll be heading off to The Moon dungeon, it is well known to be a place of worship back before Lady Luna turned into a monster known The Nightmare Of Darkness.” Rarity explained as she pulled out her, showing a map that looks similar to a game. “We’ll need to tread carefully, who knows what might still be there,  armies of darkness, worshippers, or maybe even traps.” “Well whatever it is, I don’t think it’s going to be ready for the three of us. Well then, lead the way then, oh great hero,” the pale batter said with a mock praise at the end with a playful smirk. Ryan shook his head at the batter. “...Did I miss something?” Rarity asked as he walked out with Ryan following. The batter got a glimpse at the ponies as well who looked a little roughed up for wear. In most of the rooms of the caverns, there were all cuddled with with what limited fur blankets were left after Lord Tirek burned their homes to the ground. Ryan looked away, not wanting to be reminded of the dread he felt. The batter meanwhile only cringed at the sight with a small, “Eeeeehhhhh…,“ coming out. He was very hesitant to say anything else before following Ryan’s example and turning away as well. When they got to the end, a pegasus commander greeted with a salute. He whispered something softly to the wall, causing it to split open to reveal the outside world. To both Ryan’s and Sans’s ears, they can the melody coming from all around them, yet the ponies didn’t. At the three walked outside, only the gamer and the batter can hear overworld’s theme. Sans eventually started to hum to the melody as the trio began to walk to the Moon Temple’s location. When he got a look from the two, he quickly defended with, “What? It’s catchy.” “You won’t be saying that after you hear it for hours on end..” Ryan whispered to Sans. “At least it only plays here and not in the caves.” “Now, it will take us a while to get there, we need to get through the forest, past the lake, through another forest, then up into the mountains.” Rarity said as she placed the map into a pouch smaller than it, however like video game logic, it went in without a hassle. Sans, having a inventory that works not unlike hers, didn’t as much raise an eyebrow at that sight as he followed her lead. As the three journey, they came across more of the dread energy spewing Zolas and Octoroks, however in this area they proved to more of a swarm, forcing the trio to be on their guard. Sans got to experience what it was like to feel pain without any visible bruises, however he also got some combat experience along the way. He did find a few hearts to restore the ones he lost and some rupees. He had to force himself not to quote Morshu from the CD-I games. The moblins though, they were a bit of a pain, some of them were normal sized while others were bigger. Ryan had to use his [Powergloves] [Slo-Mo] to make it easier to deal with some of their numbers. Sans meanwhile, while he was blocking an attack from a huge moblin and counter attacking, turned to Ryan and asked, “How in the name of all that is holy are you doing that speed up stuff, you got a turbo button on that thing?” “Yea, there is a [Turbo] button but I haven’t used it yet. I’ve been-” Ryan ducked under a spear that was flying at him. “Slowing down timing.” “Ah, that sounds really useful,” Sans commented while he finished off the giant moblin he was fighting. “Not unless I end up in Castlevania..” Ryan said as he rubbed at his arm as he wasn’t used to betting stabbed by spears and not have blood gushing out. “I could get the [Stopwatch] for ya, maybe.” he said as his [Wooden Sword] materialized back into his inventory. “...Perhaps,” Sans said in pure thought before a voice in the back of his head told him to watch his left as he dodged an attack from a normal moblin’s spear before smacking it with his bat and into the air. With their hearts refilled and rupees clicking in their pockets, or invisible inventories. They’ve arrived at the dungeon entrance that was a stone staircase away. At the entrance wood stone pony figures holding a spear in their mouth and a giant shield along their arm. Things got creepy as the sun suddenly vanished from the sky and to be replaced from the glow of a crescent moon. Sans only said very slowly, “What a terrible night to have a curse…” before the monochrome displaced started chuckling to himself. “Wow, I haven’t heard that since 1987…” Ryan said in astonishment at Sans. Rarity stopped in her step to look at the two in confusion. Sans then said to the gamer with a smirk and said, “What can I say, I’m a fan of the classics like Mega Man, Mario, and Kirby.” “Oh! Thy must have been taking Lady Celestia’s test too.” Rarity said before she made her way over to the entrance of the temple. It looked like a Luna statue was hugging around its door with a tender smile on her face. Sans gave a Ryan a questioning look, before he then said aloud with a shrug. “Sure, let’s go with that.” with all 4 of his eyes giving an eye roll. “...Please don’t do that. Your extra eyes creep me out.” Rarity said with minor disgust. Meanwhile Ryan couldn’t throw off that feeling of deja-vu as he gazed upon the door. “I… can’t see to find a way to open it. It’s locked with a key.” Rarity said as she stood up on her forelegs. “Wait what? That can’t be right.” Ryan said as he got closer to the door to examine it, that eerie feeling still nagging at his mind. Sans then asked, “Maybe we could try forcing it open?” As Ryan glanced up, he noticed the Luna statue starting to get a bit creepy, its hair turning into snakes and the statue’s two eyes forming into a single eye, taking on more of a medusa look for a split second. Ryan and Rarity backed away in surprise at the statue’s split second shift. The baseball playing displaced meanwhile was still trying to figure out how to open the door, wondering if saying they had girl scout cookies would work, and was about to do just that before the two bumped into him. “Hold up,” Ryan said with a snap of his fingers as he notices a skull at the top of the door. “For some reason, this reminds me of Shadowgate for the NES, although what it’s doing in the Zelda world, I don’t understand…” he said as he scratched his head. He reaches out and pushes the skull up, revealing a [Iron key]. [Ryan obtained 1 x Iron Key] “Darn, I wanted to try my idea,” Sans muttered to himself before Ryan unlocked the door and the trio went inside the dungeon. > Chapter 3: A Glitch's Accordance. (Xover 2) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As they got inside, a pair of glowing serpent eyes gazed upon the three from above. “Welcome to my playground, heroes.” a disembodied voice spoke from all around. “So you’re the fabled hero? Strange, I expected you to be a lot younger, but of course, you would have been if I didn’t stop Lady Celestia from trying to send her message.” “T-the glitch?!” Rarity spoke out in fear as she backed away a step, but she quickly put her hoof down as she gained back her bravado. Sans meanwhile shouted, “Reveal yourself and fight us, you coward!” He then got out his bat and started scanning the room, spending a few CP points on Wide Angle to see if he could get it to work, however it fails to scan anything due to his lack of experience. Nonetheless, the batter displaced got into a defensive pose. “Ohohohȯ̶̠̽͜ẖ̷̖̭̔̎̕ǫ̸̯̺̠̐́̚͝ḧ̷̬̺̰͖̈́̚͝o̶̻̫̮͑̀̿̚ooh̵͔̯̀̿̒ơ̴̢̮̞̱͎h̶̥͈̫̊͂͌̃o̸͈͈̒̇!” The voice echoed, its laugh constantly distorted, sped up, rewound, and froze up. Everything in the room froze before returning back to normal, causing the three heroes to feel disoriented, a persistent ringing in their ears. They felt like they wanted to puke. “I’m sorry, but it wouldn’t be fair for you to fight the [Final Boss] so soon in the [Game]. You still have four more worlds to get through. That’s four [Games] total.” “Four games?!” Ryan almost screamed, then lowered his voice when he realized he had yelled. Sans meanwhile was freaking out in confusion at what he was witnessing. He felt like he almost just crapped a brick, and steadies himself before he then takes a deep breath and deadpanned to the glitchy voice, “Just who the hell do you think you are?” “We̴͈̿e̸̼̐ll, I was called The Glitch hundreds of years ago, I could tell you my real name, but merely saying it, let alone speaking it will cause you or those near you to bug out, or worse… G̵̢͝L̴̜̉I̷̱͋T̶̺͊C̵̳͆H̶͚̓  out of existence.” The voice said, the emotion in its voice was hard to describe, it sounded a strange mix of sadness, amusement and anger. Sans then starts to get worried, as he covers his ears in the case it tries to tell his name to them, the only thing the two could hear him saying under his breath was, “You sadistic...” “But I can’t have Ryan or any of his F̶r̶i̸e̶n̸d̷s̴ getting an early [Game Over] before the fun can start, so you may call me Glitchcord. It’s the only thing you can call me without the [Life] threatening headache. For now, I’ll be watching you play a little bit of [Shadowgate] for my amusement. Ta’ta~” The voice, the eyes slowly fading away. “...Jesus Christ, what have I gotten myself into…” Ryan said as he glanced at his [Powerglove] which was having its own freakout displaying a bunch of [Errors] [9s] and [1]s. Ryan held down the [Reset] button to reboot it. “I gotta keep this thing functionally correctly, or else I’ll end up with my own [Gameover]” he said. “Probably literal hell,” Sans commented as he then shook his head, “What do you think he means though by watching us play a bit of [Shadowgate] though?” “It’s an old, point and click game from the 1987 for the NES, same exact year Castlevania 2 came out on…” Ryan as he glanced around the room. “Same exact layout too, although the key opened the front door instead of the other..” he said. Just as he finished his sentence, a fast paced song started to play. Sans then said to nobody in particular, “Oh that’s just wonderful,” before turning to his two teammates, “Well then, I suppose standing around won’t do much. We should get moving.” Ryan held up his arm and slid the hologram screen to [Inventory], then with a pulling motion of his arm, he pulls out a [Torch], “If this place is anything like the game, we’ll need to have a [Torch] lit all the time, having it go out is an instant death. Don’t ask me why though, the main character always ended up hurting himself when he fumbles around in darkness.” The Batter was about to roll his eyes, however he stopped himself when he remembered what Rarity said outside. He closed the lower two eyes, and rolled the upper ones. “Oh don’t be ridiculous what could possibly happen in darkness...” he said. Sans then walked outside the range of the torch, before he was suddenly heard bumping into something as he fell down, taking damage and losing a whole heart piece. “...Not… ...a… ...word…,” was all the displaced groaned out. “I wouldn’t bother trying to understand the logic of the video game world, so don’t try to deny it.” Ryan said while Rarity gathered the two unlit [Torches] that hang from the [East] and [West] walls. There are two doors in this room, the one the [North] is a made of wood while the one to the right of it is a door that’s a few inches of thick stone. Sans then turns and asks Ryan, “So should we stick together or split up and cover more ground?” “Considering that [Shadowgate] is in [Hyrule], I… don’t know how I should treat this.” Ryan said in bemusement, looking deep in thought. “I suggest we split but tread carefully, if we run into danger we can’t handle, we should quickly retrace our trots... or steps in your cases.” Rarity said as she deposited the unlit [Torches] into her inventory. “I think the door on the right is locked so…” Ryan said as he made his way to the [North], he gave it a push, allowing himself through. “I might not remember the other things though.” Sans then tries to open the stone door, but to no avail. It seemed like a key is needed to open it. “Even though I have memories of this place, I think this Glitchcord character might have changed it up a bit.” Ryan said as he was in the next room with [Torch] in hand. The next room was more of a hallway with a stone door to the north, a book standing on a stone slab surrounded by candlelight, no torches though. “...Yea, I remember this had torches on the wall.” Sans, meanwhile, took a quick look at the book’s cover. It was in a language he didn’t recognize, and with no picture or image to help give him an idea of what it was about. He then was about to grab and pick up the book so he could ask if Rarity or Ryan recognize it. The moment the batter picked the book up, the floor suddenly collapse from under him. Ryan reached out to grab Sans’s arm, but he wasn’t quick enough, Rarity however grabbed hold of him with her magic. “Shit! I forgot Shadowgate had too many damn ways of dying.” Ryan said as he helped Rarity get Sans back up. Sans then wiped off some sweat and said, “Ok, lesson learned.” Before he then turned to unicorn,  “Oh and thanks. I’d rather not find out if I respawn from death with a heart loss or I just end up staying in my coma.” Ryan peered into the darkness below, shuddering at the thought. He turns to look at the [Book] Sans tried to pick up, he opens it up to reveal a hidden [Key] within it’s pages. [Ryan Obtained 1 x Key] “Would this key open that one door we came across?” Rarity asked as she eyed the gap between her and the other side. “Either that, or a trap…” Ryan said, gulping. Sans then said, “Well, whatever is in there I don't think it's ready for the three of us.” Ryan glances at his [Powerglove] to notice a map this time on his hologram screen, although it was filling up the areas they’ve been through. His eyes go wide when he noticed that there were no heart containers by their names. “...We should be more careful, that lil shit Glitchcord changed the rules!” Sans looks over to see Ryan's [Powergloves] screen and also sees the lack of hearts. “Well that makes us one hit wonders for pretty much damn anything.” Rarity was trying her best to put on a brave face as she leaped across the gap. She wasn’t going to allow the glitch to win. Ryan followed soon after, then Sans. They returned to the previous room and opened the stonedoor, although slowly with caution. Inside, there was a [Sword] and a [The Sling] resting on stone shelves. The batter then examined the sword for a moment before handing it Ryan, “Here, I think this might be a step up over that wooden blade of yours.” The [Wooden Sword] de-materialized as he takes the [Sword]. Judging from its appearance, it was either made of gold, or just made of the same pixelated colors. [Ryan Obtained Sword] Rarity took the [The Sling]. “It reminds me of a Slingshot, almost the same thing.” she said happily as she placed it in her pouch. With nothing left in the current room and the previous, the trio adventure further deeper into the dungeon. They upon in the third room with three doors, [West], [North], and [East] Sans then said, “So there’s three doors and there’s three of us. I’ll go this way.” Sans said as he goes to the [West] door. But before he opens it, Ryan gives him a lit [Torch] “Be careful.” Ryan said. Sans nods before opening the door and going inside. Ryan and Rarity went in the opposite door. Inside, was some sort of cavern filled with water, a dead skeleton holding a key clinging to the [North] wall as if it was trying to get away. Rarity’s eyes went wide when she saw the sharkfin casually moving through the water. Ryan gets an idea as he brings up his inventory, selecting the [Boomerang], with a flick of the wrist, he throws it at the key. The rang magically grabs hold of it and returns back to him. [Obtained 1 x Key] “Clever gamer…” A disembodied voice commented. Ryan chose to ignore as the duo go into the next room. They arrived into a wide cavern with a [Waterfall] to the [North], it appears there had been a small rock slide not long ago.  Rarity started picking up pieces of [Rock] and placing them into her pouch. Ryan examined the [North] wall, scratching his head as he was trying to remember the game. Raising his arm, he covers part of himself as he quickly sticks his head in, noticing a hidden passage inside. His mind clicks when he remembers something, he gives the rock a punch with his [Powerglove]. [POW!] Ryan had to blink his eyes a few times when it was literally flooded with the word pow. The rock loosens to reveal a hidden bag of gems. [Ryan Obtained bag of gems. 1 x Blue, 1 x Red, 1 x White.] Rarity’s eyes sparkle with interested when he returned with them. Before they can leave, an Zora emerges from it’s depth, revealing itself to be part shark, although parts of it’s body was glitching as it spit a rock straight at them. Rarity leaped in front of Ryan, raising her [Wooden Shield] to bounce the rock back at it. The Zora went down in one hit as it sunk back into the water. Ryan could have sworn he felt his heart stop for a split second at that. “Thank you, Rarity.” he said with breath of relief. The heroine smiled, she was about to put it away, but a thought made her think twice, she decided to keep the shield out incase of any more surprise attacks. They make their way back to the main entrance. Raising his arm to look at his hologram screen, Ryan notices that Sans obtained some new items. He gets an idea and slides the screen to his [Inventory], he drags the [Bag] from his inventory, and into Sans. “Hopefully he’ll notice a sudden shift in his inventory.” [Boom!] “...Was that a [Bomb]?” Ryan asked as he recognized that old 8-bit sound. > Chapter 4: Glitched Madness. (Xover 3) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Find anything?” Ryan asked when Sans returned from the left corridor of the castle.  Sans pulled out his newfound bombs and the [Magic Boomerang], “Found these, among others.” He then pulled out the [Sphere]. “And that was all thanks to this thing that I managed to beat some dragon guarding a key. What about you two, what did you find?” “Just a key, some rocks, and that bag of gems I sent over to you. I’m surprised you figured how out how to use it on the pedestal.” Ryan asked as his [Powerglove] flashed an on screen message [New Weapons Detected, now copying] [Wooden Boomerang replaced with Magically Boomerang] [Ryan obtained Bombs] “Wait since when...” Ryan started to say as he glanced at his screen with a confused expression. When Sans saw him get the bombs, he quickly said, “Fair warning, be careful with those things in here unless you want to piss off our glitchy friend.” “He didn’t object much when I used the boomerang to retrieve the [Key]” Ryan asked as he lowered his arm. Sans said with a smirk as he held his own Boomerang, “That's because you weren't blowing a hole in the wall and into the original Zelda dungeon, where else did you expect me to get this thing?” “Maybe that’s why he was pissed off.” Ryan said. Rarity was going through his pouch, a look of surprise when she noticed she also had copies of what Ryan obtained.  “This makes things so much better.” Rarity said as she clopped her hooves. Sans then looked between the two natives of this world, though one could be called that loosely, “Now what?” “We continue.” Ryan said as he walked [North], he raised his hand as a [Key] materialized, he inserts it into the keyhole, turning it until he heard a satisfactory click. “Works for me,” Sans said and followed the two, bat in hand in case something attacks. Once inside, the group saw a row of Coffins, some made of wood while others were made of stone. Ryan had an eerie familiar feeling about this place but he couldn’t remember why. Rarity started to inspect each coffin, often looking disgusted at some of them. Sans was inspecting some as well, but with curiosity rather than disgust. Ryan raised his powerglove to bring up a holographic screen of the map, revealing rooms they had visited. He notices that there were some rooms they hadn’t visited back in the Dwarven Halls, but for some reason, that area to the left side of the halls was being displayed as [Error] messages. Sans saw the screen and asked with a bit of a confused and uneasy expression, “Um…. Is that normal for this thing?” “No, it’s not.” Ryan said as he smacked the side of his powerglove. His body glitched out for a second.” OK! Not doing that again.” he exclaimed at the freaky sensation.  “Yeah! I agree! I thought I was on drugs for a minute there!” Sans agreed, very startled by what he witnessed, now feeling very unsettled. Not even wanting to even think about what it might have felt like. “We need to be more careful… What knows what that [Glitch] might be cooking up.” Rarity said as she walked past the coffins and toward the door on the other side.  Ryan was trying hard to remember this room and what it contained. He shook his head before following Rarity to the other side. Sans, somehow ending up in front of them, was greeted by a set of three large full body mirrors. He stared at his own reflection for a moment and asked Ryan, “What's with the mirrors?” “I… can’t remember.” Ryan said as he inspected each one. Rarity was looking at her reflection, she sighed as she was reminded how dirty she looked. “It’s for the sake of [Hyrule]” She mumbled as a mantra to help her endure whatever chaos may await them.  Ryan blinked when he started hearing a very muffled song coming from the third mirror. He walked over to it and was about to put his hand on it. “Ah-ah-ah! Don’t bother with that one, it’s death.” The voice of Glitchcord spoke out, sounding nervous. Ryan raised an eyebrow at this odd change in attitude.  Sans meanwhile, looked rather skeptical by this, “What? Don't want a trap to actually steal your kill?” “Oh no, I’d love to see you three D̶̠̗̤̺̼͋͊͊̈́͌̕͝i̷̜̐e̵͔͓̿̆͊̀ … But that wouldn’t be fun to get a gameover so soon~” He said with a playful voice.  Ryan ignored the glitch’s warning as he pushed his ear against the mirror, his eyes went wide as he recognized it as the dungeon melady “Oh no you don’t!” the voice screamed as a freak discolored, draconic claw reached out in attempt to grab Ryan. Ryan, quickly reacting, raised his powerglove to push the [Pause] button, freezing time in its place. The gamer’s [Power Meter] is being quickly drained of its power. Taking this temporary moment of frozen time, he smashes the [Mirror] to pieces. Meanwhile with Rarity and The Batter in normal time, all they saw was Ryan moving as a blur and the mirror scattering into shards. “How in the blazes!?” Sans screamed in surprise, before he then attempted to attack the multicolored nightmare claw with his Harold Bat. When his bat made contact with the living glitch, Sans was thrown for a chaotic nightmare, his body started sparking and glitching through multiple colors, Sans could have sworn he felt his body stretch. Rarity had her sword and shield drawn and was going to attack as well, however a blurred arm pulled her through the [Portal] that was hidden behind the now broken [Mirror]. Ryan rushed back in as he left the frozen dimension, cursing under his breath then he saw San’s state. “Ă̶͎̩ ̵̠͙̫͉̺̰̐͝Ḥ̶̦͋́͌ ̶̨̋̋H̴̜̘̏͒͘͘ ̵̦̖̞̓̊̔͠H̸͍͖̤̯̕͜ ̶̰̫̠̟̠͊̄̕H̴̨̩̭͎̑͠ ̶̡̞̱͈͑H̷̢͈̙̉̾̾ ̷̭̦̄H̷͍̤͍̱̥̤̄̾ ̵͓̈̇̓͗H̷͎̳͆̈́͘̚͘ ̷̞̗̳̟̗́̓ͅH̸̨̥̞̘̪̀̒̈̄͊͘͜ ̸̨͎̙͎̟̇͂̊̋Ḥ̵̗̗̬̮͗̏͑͐͒͐ ̸̨̝̖̗̯̉̇͜H̵̢̬̤̺̐̔̀̎̅ ̵̠̻̘̬̤̳͆̂̄̑!̶̞̮͚̘̈́ ̴̰̻̱̘̄!̸̬̅̀̕͜͝͠ ̴͈̌͑͊̓̀!̷͔̞͔̳̦͈̍́̅̃” Sans screamed out, no longer able to feel his body over the amount of pain coursing through him, his vision blurred and darkened. His once monochromatic colors now flashing between new ones rapidly. The Glitch swung it’s disembodied arm, knocking the Batter into the wall.  “You Ẉ̵̛̻̘̥̈̑Ị̴̼̄̉̕L̶̬̟̮̭̪̘̀͂̕Ḻ̶̡͔̰̫̈́͜ ̵̟͂̂̈́̂̅ not Ȇ̵̤͠ͅS̶̜̒̓̈Ç̴̞͌͝ͅẠ̴͐P̵̺̭͐́È̷̩̣͆̊” Glitch said, his voice sounding pissed off and lagging behind.  Ryan’s powerglove was going a little crazy, it’s screen opening and closing.  [Glitched Detected! Fleeing is highly suggested. Not enough [Codes] to fight Glitch] “You shut up you-!” Glitch’s sentence was cut-off as his anger was causing the world of [Shadowgate] to freak out. Sans’ body managed to recover but still feeling a soft buzz throughout his body. Sans groaned out, “UGH! What happened?” However, he was greeted by the now freaking out [Shadowgate] game and leaps through the broken [Mirror], shouting, “Fuck this shit, I'm out!”  Glitchcord’s whole body materialized into the quickly pixelated and fading room, it’s words nothing but mostly static gibberish. Ryan, not wanted to be touched by the monstrosity, he leaps through the [Portal] Rarity was thrown out, then Sans, then Ryan last, the swirling vortex of pixels blipping out of existence. Sans, still pretty groggy from his experience then asked to no one in particular, “What kind of drug induced nightmare did I just witness?” “There’s a reason why he calls himself the glitch.” Rarity said as she shook her head. She huffed, a little annoyed that Ryan pulled her out of there. “I could have avenged Lady Celestia!” she said as she looked over at the gamer. “You saw how everything freaked, Rarity!” Ryan said as he got up, hissing slightly as he felt his [Hearts] recovering back to five.  As the three looked around, they noticed they were in a very dark room. Ryan pulled out his [Torch] to light the place. They were back in the [Moon Dungeon]. The ground was soft and pixelated with browns and yellows. “....Sand?” Ryan asked in minor confusion. [Sans no longer has access to [Magical Boomerang]] “D'oh,” Sans said in response, before checking his pockets and realized he had the original version of it. [Sans Obtained [Boomerang]] “Better than nothing I suppose,” The Batter displaced muttered to himself. giving it a test throw and is happy it works. Rarity was still upset. “I would have still tried, Ryan, that Glitch took my sister Sweetie Belle, all of Epixeria would have came back together if-if-if.” she started tearing up, she had to stop talking and start chanting to herself, trying to gain back her bravery.  Sans then looked sympathetically at her, “Listen, I kind of know how you feel. Me, my brother, and my best friend all lost everything, forced to wake up with brand new lives and bodies with no knowledge of where we are or what is going to happen, but yet, I still find the courage to keep on moving ahead with the encouragement of our new friends,” he spoke, putting a hand on her shoulder, “But, I know it must be even harder for you and I don't blame you for it, considering the circumstances of this world from what I've seen, but I think you need is a friend, a friend who understands you and your pain.” “Help is what I need… I don’t want to get too attached to new friends incase I… I were to get my [Game Over] or see it from others. Glitchcord had take so much from me… Twilight, Applebloom, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash. They’re all scattered across the [Zones] fighting in whichever world he sent them too..” she said, almost shuddering through her sentence. “I asked Ryan for help so I can get the Triforce back for Prince Bloodblade, and use it to try and get to the nearest world..”  Ryan frowned at her words and felt a gentle pain in his heart. “That many people?” he asked. “T-thats just five of millions. Lady Celestia and Lady Luna is somewhere out there too.” She answered.  Sans then pat her on the back, “I'm sure you'll find them someday and then you'll be reunited with your sister and those you've lost, and then, the sun will shine tomorrow,” he said confidently and gave her a grin. “I’m fighting for that, Sans. I… I just need to remain brave and strong.” Rarity said as she picked up her [Wooden Sword] The longer Ryan stayed here, the more he got to learn. It was becoming more and more difficult to even want to go home. With a gentle breath, he patted Rarity’s head. “Me and Sans will try our best. For now, we need to get to the end of this dungeon and get the second Triforce..” he said, being reminded of the seven remaining dungeons they need to transverse. “Now… where are we?” he said as he brought up his powerglove, the image now more clear. Sans only crossed his fingers and prayed to any good willing to listen, “Safe for now I hope.” To the [North] and [East], were stone doors that appeared to have crumbled with time. The four corners of the room each had a statue pillar with a stone crescent moon that has lost their magic long ago. The Batter displaced then got up and asked Ryan and Rarity, “Well what's the plan you two? Where do we go from here?” Ryan was looking around as he struggled to remember the game. His ears perked up when he started hearing short roaring coming from the [North]. “Oh! Right, the boss of this level often grunted..” he said as he looked at his holographic screen, zooming the screen into an empty greyed out square, he marked it with an X where the boss was located. “The bombs!” He said as old memories returned to him.   Sans then said, “Great! I can't wait to bomb some Dodongos.” “God… damnit, Sans..” Ryan said with a groan as he pressed his hand upon his face. Rarity looked back and forth, clearly confused by this interaction and their joke. “I wonder how Celestia foresaw all of this before she was taken by Glitchcord..” Rarity said as he tapped her chin in though. “I mean I know they were tests to get her champion, but I didn’t know she would even provide future knowledge...” Sans meanwhile, only said back to Ryan with a smirk, “Oh come on, how could not make that joke? You left the chance wide open for me!” “But did it really have to be THAT old pc game?” Ryan asked in disbelief, he looked over at Rarity who looked back in confusion.  “More worlds outside of ours?” Rarity asked.  “Yea, you could say that.” Ryan answered, relieved to have dodged the bullet.  Sans meanwhile was still smiling as he said, “There could be plenty of them, some similar and some completely different. But if Ryan or I were to list them, we'd lose track of time. Speaking of which, we should probably get moving.” Ryan agreed. Things are eerily quiet besides the music only he can hear. Slowly, he made his way over to the [North] door and peaked in, seeing nothing but brown orange snakes slithering around. He turned his head to the [East] as he heard low quality bat squeaks coming from the entrance, telling the group there were bats. “Robes and Keeses.” Ryan said as he looked to the group. Sans then asked as he began to reach for his bat, “So what's the plan then, should we evade or fight them?” “I suggest the Keeses, the Robes are very fast moving snakes.” Rarity explained as she made her way [East], with Ryan following behind. Sans then nodded and walked after the two, “Got it.” As the three entered the room, a total of four Keese bats were hanging upside down on the roof of the room, their little beedy light blue eyes looking around the room.  Something weird was going on though as the moment Ryan stepped in, the whole room was thrown into dark. [Warning, [Code Flux] detected] [Due to Glitch’s temporary presence, there is now leftover residue of his chaotic powers] As the group looked around in confusion, they were standing on what appeared to be the same blue stone lighten up by their bodies, another glance around allowed them to see that the field was separated by a silver box. Ryan begins to hear a melody play in his ears. “...Final Fantasy?” Ryan asked, perplexed by the sudden change in surrounders.  [Wild Keeses x 4 Appeared] On the opposite side of them were four bats hovering in place, as if they were waiting for something. Sans looked pretty confused, “Well it seems Glitchcord just seems to love crossovers doesn't he? First [Shadowgate] and now [Final Fantasy], what's next [Castlevania] in [Super Mario Bros]?” “Don’t jinx it, Sans. He might be listening..” Ryan said as he glanced around in paranoia. [Rarity’s Turn] “...I’m familiar with this, it reminds me of the day I took a trip to [Cornelia] and came across a group of nasty [Goblins]” Rarity said as she took out her [Wooden Sword] and [Wooden Shield], she remains where she stood, glancing at the first Keese and stabbing at its direction. [1 damage dealt to Keese#1] [Sans’s Turn] “Well, if I really WAS The Batter, I'd feel right at home right now,” He said as he then swung his bat in the direction on another Keese. [1 damage dealt to Keese#3] [Ryan’s Turn] He opened up his holographic screen, now seeing a different view of the battle now mimicking the menus. He selected [Item], scrolled down and picked [Bombs], allowing a blue bomb to materialize in his hand. He chucks the [Bomb] at the group of Keeses [1 damage to Keese Group] [Keese#1 attacked Ryan. 1 Damage] [Keese#2 attacked Ryan. 1 Damage] [Keese#3 attacked Sans. 1 Damage] [Rarity’s Turn] Rarity took out her [Magical Boomerang] and threw it at Keese#3 [1 damage. Keese #3 has been slain.] [Sans’s Turn] [Two Keese remain] Sans selected [Item] and then choose [Bombs]. Just like Ryan did before, a blue bomb appeared in his hand and he chucked it towards the 3 Keese. [Critical Hit. 2 Damage to Keese#1. Keese has been slain] [1 damage to Keese#2] [Rarity’s Turn] Rarity thrusted her wooden sword at the last remaining Keese, turning it out of its existence. [Victory!] [0̸͔̖̍̏ ̵̛̗̫̘͙̎̎̽  experience earned] [Bomb x 1 found.] [Earned five rupees] “...No surprise since [Final Fantasy] wasn’t meant to be in [Zelda 1] weren’t meant to be together..” Ryan commented with a sigh. “...A-actually.. All of the game worlds were once together in perfect harmony.” Rarity explained as she glanced around the room for anymore enemies. All she saw, were spiderwebs and strange four sided spike blocks. “Lady Celestia kept the [Code] flexible and adaptable to prevent the different realities from glitching up like what you saw.” “So that means I could have potentially leveled up? Darn, maybe I could've unlocked Save First Base, sure would be nice to have a healing move on hand,” Sans with a sad tone of voice, however he perked up quickly. “Oh well, beggars can't be choosers I suppose.” he said. “....There’s nothing in this room.” Rarity said with a frown, however she started poking at the walls, listening carefully for something. Sans then put his ear on the wall asking in a whisper, “What are we listening for, other than more enemies?” “A weak w-” Rarity cut her sentence off when one of the [Blade Traps] came flying at her, forcing her to stumble back to avoid being gutted. Sans meanwhile ducked down, screaming as he gripped his hat to avoid himself and it both being turned into swiss cheese. “I HATE [Blade Traps]!” Rarity exclaimed as she watched it reset to it’s starting position. Ryan shook his head as he took remembered how much trouble they gave him as a child. He begins to inspect the walls too, except staying away from the traps. “AS OF TODAY, I SECOND THAT NOTION!” Sans screamed in agreement, as he began to breathe in and out. “What Rarity was about to say is that some of the walls can be destroyed with a [Bomb]” Ryan explained. Sans, after he finally got himself together, then nodded. He reaches into his pocket and pulled a [Bomb Bag] out, the explosives inside we're ready to be used.  Ryan pulled out his copy of the [Magical Boomerang] and throw it at the [North Wall], the impact making a rather dull ‘dink’ [Weak wall detected] “Sans, throw a bomb at that wall.” Rarity suggested as she readdied her sword aneld.  Sans nodded and chucked a bomb towards the wall Ryan’s [Magical Boomerang] hit. The 8-bit explosion sound rang in their ears. [BOOM!] The familiar melody of a secret discovered was played, revealing a new hole in the old room. Rarity jumped through, not wanting to trigger the flying [Blade Traps] again.  Sans followed her example and leapt after her and into the hole, trying to avoid activating the traps, Ryan followed suit. In the next room, it was in a far worse shape in the other. All around the room were weird green slimes that moved around slowly, as if lost and confused.  Ryan froze in his step, then breathed a sigh of relief when a random encountered did not acquire. “I remember those things.” he whispered at the watched the [Gels] wondering around.  “Sans, get a bomb lit.” Rarity said as she pulled out her [Magic Boomerang] via her magical telekinesis. “I’m going to stun them all, get ready to throw it after I do, ok?” Rarity asked. The Batter nodded and prepared the explosive, the bomb ready to be thrown. Moving her head back, she chucked the blue boomerang as it swirled with boomerang, it flew off still coated in Rarity's magic as she controlled it, bouncing it between the [Gels] and stunning each one. Sans then threw the bomb into the middle of them, before it exploded and destroyed the [Gels]. Or so Sans thought, for when the smoke cleared, the [Gels] have split into three. “Another before they scatter out of range!” Rarity said as she took out her own bombs, their lit igniting automatically, she threw it out to the right side of the group of slime just as they started panicking, wondering where the attack came from. Sans then threw another bomb to the left side of the group, causing even more panic when the slimes noticed the bomb, but it was too late. [BOOM!]  The remaining [Gels] has been vaporized. Rarity smiled as she went to collected the spoils of war, all being added to inventory that split between the party. “So far, it’s going a lot easier than being in Shadowgate.” Ryan commented as a grin. He looks around the room, noticing a locked door to the [west] while the door to the [North] did not have lock. The answer was obvious as he walked toward the [North] door, Rarity followed next, while Sans was not too far behind, wondering to himself just how long he's actually spent here and what time it's going to be when he gets back to his friends. Rarity’s eyes widen when she saw a cloaked being laying on the ground. “[Old man!]” she screamed, quickly running on over to him. A soft beep was played on Ryan’s powerglove, he looked at the holographic screen to notice a fourth new icon. [Old Man. Status: One half of a heart remaining] “What are you doing here?” Rarity asked as she helped the person up.  “I c-came when I felt something off about this place, I feared the worst had happened to you..” The old four legged cloaked being said.  “That was stupid to even come, you’re one of the last people I have. I don’t need your death weighing on my mind too.” Rarity said, her voice full of worry. Sans then looked like a perfect blend of scared and concerned, wishing he really did have that “Save First Base” Competence right now, or at least some Luck Tickets. “Don’t worry about me, Rarity, i’ll be fine. I’ve been through worse than this.” The old one said, having a moment to laugh, only to end up coughing afterwards. “Never mind that, I want you to head back to your cave.” Rarity said as she started heading toward the door to the [West]. “Wait! I have some advice that can aid you against the great Dodongo Lord. He hates smoke.” The old horse said as he slowly got up onto his feet with some shakiness. Ryan frowned at that name, just another thing indifference to the original game. Ryan mentally smacked himself to stop comparing this world to the other. Sans then looked at Ryan with a raised eyebrow, noticing the frown on his face, before simply shrugging. “Basically we need to bomb his mouth.” Ryan said with a shrug of his own, he walks on over to continue the dungeon. Rarity was giving the old bearded stallion a stare, she was serious what said. The old horse started making his way out. The next room had Moblins waiting to ambush the group, however they were dealt with thanks to the combination of three. Luckily for them, they've some pieces of heart to help them along their journey. > Chapter 5: [Great Dodongo Lord, King Torch] (Xover 4) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the group entered the final room of the dungeon, they were greeted by quite the sight. Most of the floor was burnt away, replaced by hot liquid magma surrounding what appeared to be a platform and a very large throne. “Father, this is madness!” A voice rang out from the center of the room where a small scaly humanoid dodongo stood. “I helped to rule over those ponies, not destroy them! “Pah ha ha ha, please daughter... don’t tell me you’ve gone soft?” A larger dodongo said as it towered over the smaller one. “Madness? This... is... Sparta!” Sans whispered to himself, before going into a fit of giggling, not resisting the chance to use that age old joke. “Damnit Sans!” Ryan said in a hushed voice, but it was too late. Sans’ voice had drawn their attention. Sans, realizing what he had just done, leaned over to Ryan and said, “If we get out of this alive, I owe you an apology letter and a batch of cupcakes.” “What?! Intruders? This far? Ember, I’ll deal with you later. Get in that room and guard that triforce!” The large dragon commanded. Ember walked off, grumbling how power hungry her father had gotten. [Great Dodongo Lord, King Torch] [King Torch: Six Hearts.] The dodongo rose to his full height from his throne of stone, letting forth gout of flames into the air. Rarity took a stance with her sword and shield, making Ryan frown considering her weapon of choice was made of wood. Sans meanwhile, drew his iron bat and took a combative stance, before remembering something and pulling out his currently half melted [Shield] and the [Helmet] he got from earlier when he fought the dragon in [Shadowgate]. Ryan’s [Iron Sword] materialized into his hand, however he didn’t bother to take out his [Wooden Shield], as he didn’t trust himself to be wielding it since they’re fighting a fire breathing dodongo. Torch started to slowly making his way toward the group, each step causing the room to rumble. Sans started out by rushing forwards and attacking Torch with a swing of his cast iron, hitting Torch in the arm. Torch burst out laughing when Sans attacked, his bat not making a tint in his scales. He raised his arm back before tempting to smack the batter away as if he were an insect.  Sans, now sweating and currently regretting life choices, could only say with some hesitation in his tone, “Umm… mercy?” Before holding the [Shield] up in what might be a futile attempt to block the attack, Sans is successful, it blocked most of the impact, however he went flying, hitting the nearest wall, he almost fell into the lava, sadly the same could not be said for the [Helmet] as it then fell into the lava, melting it. Rarity, reacting quickly, put away her sword and took out the [Sling] she had obtained from [Shadowgate], with a rock placed inside, she started to twirl it around over her before, then let loose the rock. It flew in an arc and hit Torch square in the eye, direct hit! “Why you little pest!” Torch growled he started exhaling air. Ryan took this as his cue to react, summoning a [Bomb] into his hand, he pulled his arm back then throw it into the Dodongo’s gaping mouth. Ryan was surprised he was able to throw it that high. Torch swallowed the [Bomb] in reflex, it went off with a loud boom, causing him to hack out  and spit out bits of flame in an attempt to clear his throat of the vile smoke.  Sans, after facepalming himself, both mentally and physically for what he just did, pulled out [Shadowgate]'s [Hammer] and then whistled, getting Torch's attention before throwing it towards his other eye. The hammer landed perfect into Torch’s right eye, sending him into a furious rage. He lowered his head and began to claw at the ground like a bull, The dragonlord went on a mad charge straight at Sans. Ryan summoned his [Magical Boomerang], moving his arm back and preparing to throw it at Torch. Sans meanwhile, was running away from said dragon, shouting out, “I have so many regrets right now!” Torch was furiously spit out fireball after fireball at the fleeing Batter. Ryan threw his boomerang at Torch, trying to go for his eyes, however the boomerang was not fast enough, forcing it to make a return trip.  Rarity cursed under her breath, how unlady-like! She began to gallop after Torch, trying to catch up and redirect the mad dodongo’s attention. Sans meanwhile, continued to sprint, outside of his standard bat and his newfound bombs and boomerang, the only items he had left were his [Shield], which looked like it could melt with a bit more fire, a [Spear], and the icy [Sphere]. He blocked a few fireballs with the shield before eventually, the thing became extremely damn hot. This caused some burns on Sans hands to appear, so in a last ditch effort, he tried to pull a Captain America. The Batter attempted to throw the damn thing at Torch, however he missed his target completely and the shield landed in the lava, it was now gone. He began to swear under his breath like Rarity while he shaking and blowing on his hands to cool them down. Ryan was having trouble staying along side Rarity due to her being four legged, he started panting a bit, not used to having to run so much compared to his usual life routine. Raising his powerglove, he pushed the [Slo-mo] button, slowing down time around him while making himself look like he was running faster than before. “Hey! You big brute!” Rarity screamed, causing Torch to come to a screeching halt, kicking up lava and brimstone as he took a u-turn. It appears Torch didn’t care who he went after, he just wanted them dead!  “That's it, big boy, chase me! I want to see that fiery temper and breath!” she mocked, causing the dragon to run faster. As soon as the giant began to chase Rarity, he took this moment to catch his breath before he then pulled out the [Sphere]. The chilling aura it has gave Sans a new idea. Since he had been throwing all his items from [Shadowgate] into the lava... He then turned to the lava and back to the ice [Sphere], before he chucked it into the lava, causing it to freeze and turn into solid ice, removing the danger of falling into it from them. “Perfect,” he said to himself with a smile. As soon as Sans froze the lava, Rarity had gotten a good idea, she ran onto the ice, than quite literally, started skitting across it. The dragon lord was too furious to even notice that his moat of lava had cooled down, thus suddenly slipped and went spiraling out of control when he ran onto it. Rarity took this moment to turn herself around, slashing across the dragon feet in a quick [Spin Attack], even if it did a little damage. Every bit counts. Ryan lifted his power glove to see the boss’s status. [Dodongo Lord Torch: Three full hearts and one half] They were making good progress so far. Torch tried to get up, only to fall straight on his face, further pissing off the dodongo lord even further. He began inhaled air into his maw, planning to breath at Rarity. Sans meanwhile, had laid a bomb in front of him and pulled out his bat, “Fore!” He shouted as he sent the bomb flying like it was a golf ball and landed in between the two. “Rarity!  Rarity, quickly reacting, quickly bucked the [Bomb] right into Torch’s mouth, giving the same result as before. “Hhhhhhhrrrraaaaaah!!” Torch screamed out in agony, he started stomping hard, quickly breaking the ice so that he some form of footing. “You little pests are not going to ruin it for Lord Tirek!” he said. Ryan ran up close to the sword and swung his [Iron Sword] hard at the back of Torch’s leg, dealing a little bit of damage. “And you!” Torch said, snatch up the annoyance known as Ryan. “Weak human! You shouldn’t even BE here!” he said before sending the poor guy flying through the air. Ryan slammed into the closest temple wall, causing him to scream in pain. It felt like his bones had just been broken when he hit the wall, but he knew that it was only the pain from the twisted logic of old gaming. “Ryan!” Sans shouted before he threw his [Boomerang] and nailed him in the back of the head, not doing anything to Torch, however it did catch his attention, before seeing said batter toss up a bomb and hit it with a homerun towards his mouth, before it blew up. At this moment, Torch was furiously enraged. He opens his mouth wide, however he kept his head up toward the ceiling. With fierce exhale, the flames hit the roof, forcing to spread. The whole field was now raining with hellfire. Ryan groaned as he got up onto his hands and knees. “God…” he groaned as he got up, enduring the pain the best he could. His eyes went wide when he saw what Torch had done, the flames moving toward Rarity, forcing the heroine to raise her shield, the enchantment trying its best to reduce them. Sans meanwhile, after he ducked into the now frozen lava to avoid the flames, reached for another bomb, only to realize the finite amount he could carry at once had finally caught up to him. “Ah crap,” was all he could say about his situation. Ryan was starting to get tired of this. Raising his powerglove and activating [Slo-mo], he ran fast toward Rarity. The moment he picked Rarity up, she too was able to be in Torch was a lot more of a threat than the previous boss, he same time flow as him. Everything was moving in slow motion, Sans meanwhile was watching and wondering if could get something like that in the future. Ryan stopped running but still held his hand on her shoulder. With her [Wooden Sword] raised and Ryan’s [Iron Sword] at the ready, they swung together in harmony, slashing down together to strike at Torch’s leg. [Dodongo Lord Torch: 0 Hearts] Torch started stumbled backwards, his face revealing a look of horror, confusion, and disbelief. He started wobbling with a shaky step toward the group. One last step and he went crashing down into the ice, destroying it and falling through into the abyss. Rarity and Ryan held their breath, not daring to let down their guard.  [Heart Container Found] In the center of the room laid one of the grand prizes for their victory. “Yeah! Good job everyone” Sans called out as he gave Ryan and Rarity a thumbs up. Ryan fell onto one knee in relief as he checked everyone’s status. [Ryan: two and a half hearts] [Rarity: three hearts] [Sans: one and a half.] While the Torch was a lot more of a threat than the previous boss, at least Ryan didn’t lose all of his health like before. Rarity ran past Ryan and Sans as she quickly made her way to the final room, her goal was to get the [Triforce Piece]. “Geez that was a close one, am I right Ryan?” Sans asked Ryan as he took a few deep breaths from exhausted as he watched Rarity run into the next room. “This whole world follows the logic of video games, while I’m grateful that I'm not a bloody mess on the wall, it still hurt like hell.” Ryan said as he stayed on one knee, allowing him a little bit of a breather. “OUT OF MY WAY!” Rarity screamed. Ryan looked over at Sans, then got up to run to the next room to see what was going on, he grabs the [Heart Container] along the way, allowing himself an extra piece of health and to be fully healed, increasing his heart count to five. Sans felt a rush of energy flow over him, the [Heart Container] doing the same for him and giving him a fourth heart, “Huh? This feels really nice. Thank you Ryan!” Sans said, his confusion wearing off before he gives the running Ryan a smile with a nod. The gamer however, was way out ear range. Before he takes off after him. “What’s going on?” Ryan asked as he got inside, noticing a blue anthro dodongo known as Ember guarding  the second [Triforce piece]. “Not until you tell me what happened to my father!” Ember demanded Rarity to tell her, the Dodongo’s nostrils blowing out flames. “We should probably break them up before the two start fighting, I think there has been almost enough of that for one day,” Sans suggested, catching up with Ryan, watching the two females and prepared to step in. “Your tyrant of a father is dead!” Rarity said it bluntly, causing Ember taken aback by the comment. “H-he is?” Ember asked as if it was some small joke. Sans then took off his hat and put it over his heart and said while looking at the ground, “I'm afraid so, he fell through the now frozen lava and into the pits below.” he then turned back to Rarity, wondering if she could have been a bit more gentle with her phrasing. “Why are you even giving sympathy for that giant scaled monsterisity? He’s one of the eight that serve under Tirek’s rule!” Rarity said as she walked past Ember. Then Sans started saying as he put his hat back on and pulled it down over his eyes, “It's an act of respect. This girl here,” he pointed to Ember “Just lost her father, part of her family, sound even just a bit familiar? Besides just because he's one of those who served under Tirek, doesn't mean he can't be treated like he didn't matter to anyone or like he was another person.” “....Sans… He killed many ponies… destroyed many towns… and you tell me you can still show ‘Respect’? To him?” Rarity asked, her voice was not angry, but her eyes were. Sans then nodded and said, “True, he may have deserved death based on his past actions, there is no denying that. However, let me pose a scenario for you, say you found some pony dead, killed by an unknown third party, how would you tell their family? How would you try and break the news that their loved one is now no longer with them? The news would be earth shattering to them.” his voice sounding rather grim. “...I didn’t want him hurt, I just wanted him to open his eyes and listen.” Ember said as he rubbed her forehead. Her voice did carry sadness, but it went away rather suddenly. “I guess it couldn’t be helped, I told him he’d get himself killed, but all he did was laugh to the heavens!” Ember said as she threw her arms into the air. “If you ever get Prince Blueblood back, I need to discuss something with him.” the dodongo said as she moved out of the way, allowing passage to the other two. [Triforce two of the eight pieces obtained!] The whole room room darken as the triforce piece glowed brightly despite its size. After watching that, Sans, a bit surprised that Ember is taking this so well, then said to the duo, “So two down, six to go. I suppose you two have your work cut out for you then.” The monochromatic colored sportsman then said with a somber tone to his voice, “I guess is goodbye for now? As much as I'd like to stay, my friends and brother are probably worried about me.” “I’m not stopping you.” Ryan said as he turned around to look at Sans. Ember too was giving a curious look as well. Sans then nodded with smile before asking, “Great, now then… how do I get back?” “Uuuhhh… “ Ryan began as he brought up his powerglove’s hologram screen, sliding the windows over to [Inventory] and selecting [Coin Of Purity]. “....I guess I…” he continued as he inserted the coin into the powerglove as if it was a cartridge. [Token Detected] A new set of menus appeared on the screen. [Summon] [Dismiss] “Huh.” Ryan commented as he used the control pad to select [Dismiss]. Ember looked over Ryan’s shoulder, her curious peaked even more.  “Ready, Sans?” Ryan asked as he looked over at The Batter. “Wait just a moment, just to see their reactions.” Sans says, as he pulls out his phone, a bit surprised it made the trip, pulling up the camera app on it before he held it up with the camera pointed at him, Rarity, Ryan, and Ember before he said, “Say fuzzy pickles!” and snapped a pic of the four of them. Leaving Rarity and Ember confused as to what just happened while Ryan merely stayed silent. After that, Sans then made sure he had his Harold Bat and his new [Bomb Bag] and [Boomerang] ready, He then nodded, gripping his hat and shouted, “Ready!” With a gentle touch of a button, Sans was now on his way home.  [Sending Player 2 back to [World: 527  055]] A swirling portal of red, blue, and green appeared in front of them, the 8-bit vortex sucking him up pixel by pixel as he began to wave goodbye.