The Players: Staring Contest

[Victoria]

As of being swallowed wasn’t enough, being stretched like putty was on a whole other level of messed up. She felt the world twist in on itself, felt the air sucked out of her lunges, and the darkness envelope her entire being. This was not the first time, and with relief she breathed a sigh and looked at the small room she and her companions had been sucked into. It had been another Gate, one more realm that Gamer had created for their adventure. She had been right; most of them had the same idea, each time they found the portal, black hole, or whirlpool they moved onward. It wasn’t clear as to whether they were going backwards of forwards, but they weren’t dying. The game was becoming unstable, and unable to fulfill its deadly deeds. They managed to warp into the next level, trudging through with only one goal: Freedom.

Victoria followed the troop, and like the other events, this was not different. Despite the cube being marked so pointlessly, it proved to be a necessary tool. She couldn’t help but admire the puzzle dynamics behind the game, but she didn’t want to remain long. She didn’t lack intelligence, just patience. It wasn’t until the gunfire that was unleashed upon them that she considered this place to be less of a snooze fest. Thirsting for some battle, she had attempted to sneak a peek at the enemy, only to nearly have her head shot off. The other female was smart, however, and used the same cube to solve the puzzle. Her victory in hand, she raised the object high, and then proceeded to fall into the newly formed pit that Belle had opened in the ground. It had been placed for the turret, but if anything, it could be their way out.

She jumped down into the darkness, her hair flew upwards with the pull of gravity, and she fought back the urge to scream as she plummeted towards certain death. With her eyes held tight, and her fists clenched, she prepared for the landing. Her body turned within the dark space, and she felt strangeness. Like a feather floating on the wind, she seemed to drift slower and slower until finally landing with little to no notion. Vic opened her eyes and stared at the sky, fluffy fat clouds slowly crept along the dark blue expanse. She held a hand up lazily, and made to grab the puffs with her fingers, much like star catching.

“Wait,” she bolted upwards into a sitting position. “Are we…could we have…” she looked at the others, each of them rising from the ground or standing already.

“No, we’re not out, look,” Kaden pointed towards the horizon. The edge of the world was distorted; code flickered in and out, as if the system could not support the graphics. As if to add to the ominous sight the ground began to shake, and each member of the team seemed to cast a cautious glance at each other and the ground beneath them.

“Hey, check out the digs.” Victoria looked down at her clothing, no longer a surprise, it had changed once more. Her body was adorned with a white and red robe, and a hood that she could wear over her head. “You guys have different clothing too.”

Each of them had different clothing, but it was just that, clothing. Victoria turned away to look across the ocean they had been placed before. The warm sun beat down on them and she felt herself yearning for home once again. It was nice to feel at peace for once, the cold air and the calming waves lapping against the shore made her want to close her eyes. She looked across the water, and her lips curved downwards. They had no time to rest, or to consider themselves free yet. The flickering and trembling were just indication of the bigger threat. She wanted the answers, but so far none had been given. They would have no choice but to keep going, or stay and be killed. She tightened her fists, and faced the team. “We have to move, the code is being…eaten.” She walked past the group and towards the trail that led away from the beach.

“Eaten, how?” Orion looked out across the water with a hand over his eye. “Oh, that’s how.” The others followed with their own eyes. The sky and the water were equally becoming flickering code, and it was slowly moving towards them. The system was beginning to decompile.

“Hey, look, I think that’s a camp!” The young girl called and waved a hand at them. Victoria hurried towards her, wondering how the youth had gotten ahead so quickly.

“Hey, you’re right. What’s with this place, anyway? No monsters, or…anything.” Belle asked and scratched the top of his head. “What’s with that exclamation point?”

“Only one way to find out.” Lance walked past them.

They proceeded towards the small camp. A meager fire produced smoke into the air, while a makeshift shelter made from animal skins cast a shadow on the figure sitting beneath. The stranger sat upon a grass matt whilst a stick of fish cooked upon the flames. They rounded the camp and faced the only person in the vicinity, but held their guard.

“Who’re you?” Victoria asked and looked down at the man. He looked up and made her take half a step back. “What…are you?” She asked, not as confident as before.

“Hmm, this dude looks familiar.” Ashe stated and eyed the humanoid. He stood up and looked at each of them in turn, the bright yellow exclamation point floated above his head, similar to the halo that remained above Orion’s head.

“Humph, this is it?” He replied gruffly. “My name is Margoz, and I’ve got a quest for you.” His lips revealed his savage teeth, and his piercing eyes bore into each of them.

“Look, we aren’t here for a quest, we’re here to advance another level and get the hell out of this game.” Victoria found her confidence again and raised a fist. “Where’s the next Gate, is it another portal, or a whirlpool?” She demanded.

The orc laughed, and then proceeded to place a hand on his torso and laugh even harder. She lowered her hand and lost her resolve. “W-what’s so funny?” She asked.

“This guy isn’t one of us, he probably doesn’t know what’s going on.” Kaden explained.

“Then let’s keep going.” She turned away and moved towards the path.

“Wait, this creature may have a purpose. His quest might be where the level ends, and it might take us further.” Orion said this as he held out his arm to stop her from leaving. “First the race, and then the sea battle…everything is different, we can’t afford to look something over.” He looked at her sternly.

“You’re right.” She nodded and turned around again to look at the quest giver.

“So, what’s our quest?” Ashe perked up, eager to get the game underway.

“A beast has been terrorizing Orgrimmar, and the last hope of the city lies with you six.” He crossed his arms. “Its power is beyond anything we have ever seen, so it won’t be easy.” He nodded grimly.

“What is it?” Lance asked.

“It’s a dragon, his name is Bahamut.” The orc replied ominously, his eyes narrowing. “The last news I received told me that even Thrall,” he paused and took a seat again on the grass matt, “is having a difficult time.” He finished. “I was told that a group would come, and they would save us, and so I waited.”

“Hmm, this is very far-fetched.” Victoria said aloud.

“This isn’t supposed to be realistic, none of it is real. Gamer can make anything, and do anything, as long as we’re trapped here.” Kaden replied and moved a hand through his blonde hair. “All we have to do is kill a dragon right? It doesn’t sound so bad, considering its six against one.” He flashed a smile.

“Yeah, right, because you kill dragons all the time.” Belle rolled his eyes at the older man. “We don’t even know what the damn thing can do!” He exclaimed and raised his hands.

“It can’t be any worse than what we’ve come across so far.” Ashe interjected. “We’ve played how many games now, and we haven’t even been scratched. Maybe we can’t be hurt anymore?” She glanced at the others.

“That doesn’t explain the sign falling earlier; it could have caused some serious damage.” Lance pointed out. “But you’re right, these games have been…sub-par, especially for Gamer.” He held his hand to his chin and lowered his face in thought.

“There’s only one answer to this problem,” Victoria walked past the group and past the saiyan that had stopped her once already. “We can’t go back, it's like Orion said,” she looked towards the ocean, nearly completely eaten by the menacing code, “so we go forward.” She pointed towards the town that was nestled within the rocky mountain it had been carved into. “Who wants to go dragon slaying?” She pulled up the hood of her white robe and looked over her shoulder, she smirked, not ready to be defeated by the game.