The Players: Staring Contest

[Victoria]

It was beyond bizarre, but she could only expect such things from Gamer now. It was a relief, on one hand, because they were no long held within the boring confines of the white room. Avoiding death was always fun, especially when it coincides with pretty lights and explosions. The team, as that’s what they had to be, leapt from the frying pan and into the fire. The girl followed, unsure of what the goals were, since the world had become one giant cluster of data and imagery. The sky twisted and turned, the ground became water that did not look like water. It only made her want to get out all the more, but their journey was far from over. As they pushed on the team found themselves on a pirate ship, and she went with the flow.

Victoria’s hands gripped the canon tightly, the water splashed and sprayed upon them from below while the ship cruised down the watery road. She gritted her teeth and worked the weapon, the blast tore through their competitions haul and they waved swords at them in anger. She loaded her canon, pivoted it towards her target, and let fire once again. Everything happened around her, her team mates fighting back with equal vigor, and a dragon-hamster soared above. She had to do her part, but the constant rocking of their vessel caused her stomach to churn in disagreement. It had to be at this moment that Victoria would find out she was not seaworthy.

Green in the face, but fighting with determination, she held back the increasing urge to puke her guts out. She let loose another shot towards the enemy and noticed the disappearance of their new comrade, the hamster. She paid little mind, he wasn’t real, and if the saiyan cared he would save him. She raced past the canon and leaned over the ship, no longer strong enough to hold back, she dealt with her sickness quickly and groaned pathetically. “How embarrassing,” she muttered and dragged herself back to her station. Victoria looked around quickly, taking stock of her comrades. The battle, if that’s what it was, had to be drawing to a close. They had been racing across the road-like sea for long enough, and both ships had been hit hard. They had to win, or they would be going down in no time.

Their ship sliced through the water, and she cried out eagerly. “I can see the end!” She pointed towards the line that they had to cross; it was situated between two buildings. “Wait, something’s not right.” She ran towards the front of the ship and stared at the finish line intensely. The wind pulled her hair back, fluttered her skirt, and took her breath away. She turned around suddenly, tried to call out, but nothing came out. The players had seen her moving, however, and watched as their ship raced through the finish line and right into a tattered portal. It had been as if the wall of space had been torn, similar to the tent that had all started in.

In a flash their entire ship was covered in a downpour of water. Victoria raced across the deck, hair soaked and clinging to her body. “We’re not in the same game, it’s changed again.” She shouted against the roaring wind. The others came close, clinging to the mast and the ship.

“Does this look familiar to anyone?” Kaden shouted, holding his arm up in an attempt to abate the washing waves. They were being tossed along on the ocean, caught within one hell of a storm.

“It’s…it’s the same as before,” the young man spoke out, he held on tightly to the ropes and netting that had been tied to the mast. “I was in an event with…Oh, this isn’t good.”

“What, what is it?” Orion demanded and pulled himself closer to the group. “If it’s bad, tell us now so we can deal with it.”

“A monster, in my event there was a Kraken, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it appeared again.” He shouted.

“How did you kill it?” The question had nearly been lost to the wind, but the other pink haired woman had gotten it out before the windy rain had smashed against their ship.

“Our ships killed it together, but…I don’t see another ship.” He answered and looked around helplessly.

“This might be the same, it might not. The last event was similar to yours,” Lance shot Kaden a look and used his free hand to wipe rain out of his eyes. “But it wasn’t exactly the same, since it was pirates ship not a race car or motorcycle. The other ship also had a strange group on it, so, my guess is that these events aren’t the same as before. If we’re going to fight anything here it could be completely different.” He concluded.

“Whatever, damn it, we’re going to capsize if this doesn’t stop.” Victoria cried out and pulled herself across the side of the ship towards the mast.”Let’s work on getting control of this ship, and get out of this storm. If something shows we kill it, simple as that.” She grabbed a dangling rope and pulled hard upon it.

“Spoken like a true warrior, I couldn’t agree more.” Orion reached above the fire haired youth and grabbed another handing rope. The ships sails flapped and began to catch air.

“Hey, don’t have all the fun.” Their pseudo-leader joined in, his blonde hair wet against his face and a keen look upon his youthful features.

The team worked together, everyone did their part. The players separated into groups, grabbing the ropes and letting the wind grab the sails. The ship coursed through the storm, cutting through waves and turning precariously as the ocean played with them. It wasn’t only the ocean that was out for them, it was their worst fear. The ocean began to erupt violently, and the waves thrashed towards them despite the wind having turned towards their favor. A rumble filled the sky, not so unlike the thunder, but the ominous chortle caused a shuttering chill to drag down Victoria’s spine.

“I-is that the Kraken, Belle?” She asked and looked towards him; she remembered his name from Kaden having shouted it. He would know if this were the Kraken or not.

“I don’t know, it could be.” He called from the side of the ship.

“It’s coming!” Kaden shouted and pointed at the swirling water from which the object stirred. They all held fast to the ship, ready to take action if any action could be taken.

The waters sucked inwards as the monster rose from the depths of the ocean, what came out made the hunter stare in utter confusion. A woman’s face arose from the darkness, a very ugly woman. Her huge face wobbled whilst her lips uttered the most horrid laugh that had ever befallen Vicky’s ears. Giant squid tentacles ripped into the air and smashed down around them. Their enemy continued to ascend before them, becoming the most massive human octopus Vic thought she would ever lay eyes on.

“HOLY FUCK WHAT IS THAT THING!” Belle pointed in utter disbelief. “That is definitely not the Kraken!”

“She looks familiar, but not from a previous event.” Ashe replied and looked over at the other players. “What’s the plan?”

“Usually I’d strike up a conversation, but I have a feeling this one won’t be in the mood for a chat.” Kaden held onto the netted ropes behind him with both arms. He stared at the beast, his eyes lit with zeal. Vic looked at him in amusement; it didn’t surprise her that he would have preferred to sort this out with words. She, however, had a method of fighting.

“Like I said, we kill it,” she stared at the giant squid woman, and rushed towards the side of the ship. “You hear that, you freak, we’re gonna take you down!” She roared against the whipping wind. The giant woman replied in laughter and a tentacle crashed into the ocean sending a wave against their rocking ship.

“Bohohoho, I’ll get you Snow White, and you’re little dog too!” The woman cried, her gray hair fell about her gigantic face and she raised her arms causing a series of waves to pound against their ship. Her cackling could only be compared to that of nails on a chalkboard.

“This isn’t looking good guys, she’s coming close!” Lance cried out and the ocean began to toss and turn the ship. Everyone cried out equally, tried to hang on, but the monstrous woman was on them like they were candy in a store. She grabbed them one by one, dropped them into her gapping maw, and swallowed them whole.

However, their untimely demise was not in the cards. They fell through her throat, tattered and torn, and into the darkness. “Are we in her stomach?” Someone asked, the darkness around them made it hard to discern where everyone was.

“Warning, fires have been detected on decks 12 and 15, sections 8 4 through C18.” A voice resounded and the darkness was abolished. The lights and beeps made Victoria looked around wildly.

“What…? Oh no, the Kill Cluster!” Victoria looked at the other players. “This looks similar to one of my events." She pointed towards the large screen in front of them; it was filled with stars that indicated they were in space. “This isn’t the same…” She hesitated and at the others one at a time. “What the hell is going on?”

Everyone’s clothing was the same, but the colors were distorted and tinted. She could only compare it to colors mixed together and washing downwards from a splash of water. She looked down at her own and patted the fabric of her shirt. The garment was fine, and not wet, in fact she was completely dry. The dark brown of her outfit was mixed with a light blue, and slowly oozed away like most of the world they were trapped in.

“Why is mine blue?” She asked aloud, and pointed at Kaden. “Yours is red.”

“This is a ship, maybe color indicates rank?” He replied.

“Let me guess, you’re the leader,” Orion replied smartly and walked away to inspect their surroundings.

“It doesn’t matter, this is just another game, and so what is it now?” Lance walked towards the blinking terminal ahead of the others.

“Warning, inner hull failure imminent on decks 23, 24, and 25. Decompression danger.” That same voice sounded around them, and Victoria turned sharply towards the large screen. A slew of starships appeared with their lasers ready to fire.

“I think this is another battle, and if we don’t start doing something, we’re going to be toast.” She shot a look at Kaden quickly. “What do you think, leader?”

“I wonder if they’d be up for talking this out?” He asked, smiling despite the situation. “Each event has had danger in it, but everything is changing, so I’m going to guess that somewhere in this event is another portal.”

“Just like the tent!” Ashe ran forward. “We must have entered into a new event when we entered that tent, and then when we crossed the finish line.” She explained excitedly. “Each event, whether planned or not, is opening up to another.”

“What do you mean? Are we stuck in this loop forever?” Belle asked, unsure of the new insight.

Orion turned away from the elevator he had been checking and crossed his arms. “No, this wasn’t planned. Gamer likes to make us entertain him, and every time we passed his round he would put us back into the carnival. This is completely erratic, and we haven’t had to hear his whining voice in some time.”

Victoria looked at the saiyan and smiled. He was smart, and she couldn’t help but admire the same thing about her other companions. They each had skills that she found to be more than helpful. If they were right, then the rabbit hole would end somewhere. The portals couldn’t go on forever, and as each event opened up before them, the world suffered its ill fate. She could only guess that the color of their clothing was as much indication of the situation as anything. She remembered the Titanic; the change in her attire had been the work of his game. It wasn’t working here, not how it was supposed to.

“Let’s test that theory, we don’t have much choice.” Lance nodded towards the ships navigation screen, their enemy had grown inpatient, and their weapons glowed with the intent to kill.