Berryfarmer
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- Posted: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 00:10:44 +0000
And this last part is dedicated to everyone who helped me keep my sanity during some things in my life the last two months.
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“The world is done enough that I think we can finally set our virtual feet in it.” David said as he looked over his progress notes.
“You think it’s a good idea?” Ryan asked.
“We’ve been working on the project for over a year now. I figure now or never on finding out if all that world programming and art was worth it.” David replied as he plugged the controller into the USB port of his workstation.
“Maybe just a few of us should go in. You know in case there’s a problem and we need to be pulled out.” John plugged his controller into the port as he went through a checklist of things he made sure he did every time he used the helmet.
“I think seven of us to start should be good.” David said, “After all given some of the stuff we added, we did want to work things so chapter two areas could tolerate crews of seven.”
After a few minutes of loading the work in progress models of zOMG Chapter 2 from the test servers John, David, Ryan, Garrett, Bret, Tim and Evgeniy found themselves looking at the textured grey landscape of Gnoman’s Land. “You guys haven’t done any of the coloring yet?” Evgeniy said flatly as he looked at Bret and John.
“Well John’s been tied up working on animated, and I’ve been building the base models for all this. Our only other real help has been from Andre and Jennifer, so unless you’d like to pick up a tablet and lend a hand.” Bret started.
“No, I’m much too busy tracking down some of the bugs that seem to sneak in.” Came the sarcastic reply from Evgeniy.
Ryan’s face contorted as he heard that remark, “Well if Garrett, Ben, Frederic and I weren’t overworked converting chapter one’s core programming to the new graphics and interface maybe we’d actually have some time to proofread more.”
“Settle down.” David said, “We’ve got a two week break coming up while Kenny and Derek take things down to overhaul the main site servers, you all will be taking that break. Then we can come back to this with fresh eyes and recharged batteries.” He furrowed his brow to ensure they knew he was serious. They took a couple minutes to walk around and explore the texturing and lighting and hope nothing broke the server they were on.
“Alright, I’ve seen what I need to, I’m heading back out to the surface world.” John said as pressed the keys on his PDA to log off the server. A cold washed over him as he felt the pinch that came with emerging back in the real world. And he looked across the workstations to Mark who gave him a surprised look.
“It was just you guys in there right?” Mark asked.
“Yeah, why?” John tilted his head as he pulled the helmet off.
“Well there are some anomalous readings. From what I’m reading, there were fourteen people on the server, not seven.” Mark showed John the screen as Ryan and Bret began to sit up coming out of the virtual world.
John looked at the clock and noticed it was almost five in the afternoon. “It’s been a long day how about we check it out tomorrow. I’ve got to get to my kid’s baseball game.”
“Alright, take care John.” Mark replied.
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There was a spark as Mikey raised his Ghi-infused sword to catch the Shadow Henry’s hack. And a loud clang as he raised his shield to defend himself from a dark beam from Shadow Kerri. He pumped hard as he rolled forward to avoid Shadow Penelope’s hack. The blue shield he had cast around himself shimmered as he rolled into Shadow John as he was shooting his own dark beam. He got thrown against another shelf as Shadow Jeremy used his dervish. “I just can’t catch a break.” He grumbled to himself as he stood up. The doppelgangers were moving in for another attack as he panted. The shadows never spoke, they just relentlessly attacked him as Wayne watched on, they were much more aggressive than the people they’d been copied from. “Not my lucky day.” He swung his blade to dispel the silvery black strands rising out of the ground ahead of him.
“Come now Michael, how long do you think you can keep up with them? You are hilariously underpowered compared to them.” Wayne taunted.
“Just shut up!” Mikey shouted as he caught Shadow Penelope’s hack on his blade. He swung his arm clutching the shield and knocked Shadow Jeremy back. He could see small trails of smoke rising from where the shield had made contact. The other shadows had backed up to rejoin the off balance Shadow Jeremy, and Mikey took the opportunity to expand the ring imitation shield around himself into a glowing blue egg shell around himself. “Why does the shield damage them, while the sword passed right through them when I tried?” When he’d tried to cut down Shadow John’s feet the blade simply passed the monster’s legs. He looked at both tools he held, the shield pulsed with a faint glow while the sword was the plain steel color. He looked back at the shadows through his shimmering blue energy field and saw that they were focusing their dark beams on it. A sudden urge to press his handheld shield to the energy shield came over him and he felt a shock go through him as he pressed them together. As he looked at it the energy shield had become a shimmering gold hue with purple streaks running from where the dark beams were impacting to the round shield Mikey held. “A sword designed to channel Ghi passes through them while a shield designed for just energy burns them…” Mikey heard the shield around him beginning to crack from the stress of the impact. “What if… what if they’re just a form of energy that isn’t Ghi? But every living being, animated or natural, in this world possesses Ghi and can be touched by Ghi channeling and Ghi based weapons. That means, these things aren’t alive, that maybe they’re made of… of anti-Ghi. That would explain why Ghi based projections and Ghi designed tools can’t touch them, but something that takes in any energy.” He smiled as the shield around him collapsed and he stared down the shadows.
“And these amulets they harness the powers of nature to further enhance Ghi, which is why Wayne wants them; to enhance his anti-Ghi shadows in the same way Ghi users would be enhanced.” He clutched Kerri’s shadow amulet in his hand as it glowed purple.
“Very perceptive of you, human.” Wayne snapped his fingers, “But do you really believe that you can stop them without the ability to even touch them?” He stared with a bored look at Mikey as he smirked.
“I can damn well try.” Mikey flung a shadowy purple blob at the charging shadows. As it spread across them Mikey clutched John’s earth amulet as it pulsed red-brown. His arm enlarged in size as he punched into the ground and sent a tremor towards the disoriented doppelgangers. As the wave struck them they were flung into the air, Mikey smirked as he clutched Jeremy’s air amulet and it pulsed green. With a wave of his arm he flung a cyclone at the airborne shadows to spin them up. Mikey panted as he gripped Penelope’s fire amulet that pulsed red in his hand. As the whirlwind subsided it dropped the doppelgangers into an inferno Mikey had set below the tornado. He could hear the pops and crackles of the flames as he clutched Henry’s water amulet. He began panting as he fired a jet of water at the burning copies of his crew. He held his arm wheezing as his light amulet began to glow gold, “Time to end this.” The shield he held on his other arm began to glow gold as it resonated with his amulet. He charged at the nearest copy, the Shadow Jeremy was just getting back on its feet as Mikey rammed it with his shield. There was a bright flash of light as the Shadow Jeremy ceased to exist. Shadow Penelope tried to hack at Mikey again, only for him to catch her blade with his. As they exchanged glares, Mikey punched his shield into its stomach and could see the hissing smoke forming from the interactions of the energies. Like Shadow Jeremy before, Shadow Penelope exploded in a bright flash. As Mikey turned his attention to the others, Shadow John and Kerri were backing away as Shadow Henry charged forward. The shield Mikey held fired a round golden beam of energy at the Shadow Henry and a hole began to form and expand in its body as the third shadow dissolved. “It can absorb and reflect energy. Including whatever the hell you’re made of.” He looked at the two remaining shadows as he threw the shield like a frisbee. It shattered Shadow John as it flew away, and as it circled back it did the same to Shadow Kerri. Mikey panted as he caught the shield’s handle when it returned to him.
A streak of blood ran down from his nostril as he panted and stared at Wayne, “You seem to have over exerted yourself boy.” Wayne flung his arm in a semi-circle and a shockwave flung Mikey back. “You should have saved some of that power for yourself.” Mikey felt himself sink into the rubble on the ground his attacks had kicked up. “Can’t move? Don’t even have the energy to stand anymore?” Wayne swung his arm again and another shockwave knocked Mikey into one of the walls. His vision was becoming a haze as he slumped on the ground.
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Kerri looked worried at the bio-readout as an alarm on Mikey’s interface began blaring. “What’s going on?” She saw numbers on the readout jumping around unable to keep a consistent value.
“Despite his mind disconnecting the way it has, it still seems able to relay certain reactions back to his physical body. In this case, it’s extreme pain and fatigue. Whatever he’s doing is taxing him well beyond what the human body was meant to endure, hence the alarms.” One of the medical advisors said.
“So his pain and fatigue there, can kill him here.” Henry looked at the alarms which had turned the displays a solid red. The scanners showing his brain activity showed different areas blinking on and off like a Christmas tree.
“We need to get back in there. We can’t let him die and be unable to help him like this.” Jeremy clenched his fist.
“Isn’t there something you can do?” Penelope looked angrily at Ryan.
“We’ve been trying. There’s something preventing us from making the necessary connections to the server to send you back in.” He shrugged as he kept working.
“Hang in there Michael.” John muted the alarm’s shrilling.
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“I can’t do it. I can’t generate anymore shields or ring powers.” Mikey gasped as he fell back to the ground from exhaustion. He gasped as Wayne calmly walked over.
“So this is the power of humans that The Phantom feared so much.” He grabbed Mikey’s collar and lifted him off the ground as he looked over the bloodied human with disdain. “I must say, if you are the best humans can summon then they are pitiful creatures. I shall extract what I need from you, and then you and all your kind will die.” Mikey howled in pain as Wayne pressed a finger to his forehead.
“Stand away.” Two silver beams of energy struck Wayne. He growled as he dropped Mikey and backed a few steps away. The Phantom and KJ came to a stop in front of Mikey as they approached. “So Wayne Pennyworth you would dare stand against your master.” KJ helped Mikey to his feet and supported him on her shoulder as he recovered.
“You are master no longer. I have completed my research and grown far beyond even you.” Wayne replied as a purple energy shield flickered around him.
“Such insolence will be punished.” The Phantom began forming a silver globe of energy.
“No don’t.” Mikey stammered, “Nothing I’ve thrown at it can penetrate that shield. He’ll just reflect whatever it is back at you.” He took a shaky step as he stood at The Phantom’s side.
“So how do we fight him?” KJ stood at Mikey’s other side.
“You don’t. Now be good little programs and insignificant creatures and surrender.” Wayne sneered from behind his shield.
“I have an idea but I need time to recharge enough for it. Between Malevobear, his shadows of the others, and trying to fight him, I don’t have anything left.” Mikey looked at The Phantom. “I assume you’re of the opinion that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, Kirk.”
“Fortunate for you.” The Phantom smirked. “What did you have in mind?” He added.
“He can’t move or attack when generating that shield. And when it’s up it repels any Ghi based attack. But if we could overload it, it would burst, leaving him vulnerable to an attack.” Mikey groaned as some of his wounds began healing.
“If he can’t attack while he’s using that shield why do you need us covering you?” KJ asked. She had a confused look on her face.
“I thought that would be obvious. He can drop the shield to attack at his discretion.” The Phantom said as they jumped back to avoid a multicolored orb of energy from Wayne. The ground crackled and turned to a silver crystalline material where the orb struck.
“Note to self, don’t want to get hit by that.” KJ’s eyes were wide from seeing the patch of ground transformed. “Mikey it’s the same as-“ KJ began as she remembered something Penelope told her about the Halloweentown battle.
“I know Kimberly.” He struck an orb about to hit The Phantom with his sword. There was a small explosion as the energy orb burst and rained crystal dust down.
“Michael you need to stay back. Let KJ and I take the attacks. You’re the one that’s strong enough to bring his shield down.” The Phantom shrugged as another orb impacted an energy shield he generated. The explosion pushed The Phantom back.
“But what about-” Mikey began.
“No, he’s right. Even if we knew how you planned to overload Wayne’s shield, how would we without some of your abilities? Slash and growl at it until he lowered it out of pity?” KJ knocked away another orb that was homing around obstacles for Mikey. The glowing red orb exploded in a burst of flames that scorched her arm.
“Besides, if you die here we’ll never get to finish our fight from Earth.” The Phantom kicked a purple orb back at Wayne. The purple orb exploded in billowing shadow as it struck Wayne’s shield.
“Alright.” Mikey clenched his fists as he closed his eyes to focus. In his left hand he held the shadow, water and earth amulets; his right hand held the light, fire and air amulets. The Phantom and KJ struggled to keep ahead of the orbs being flung at them as energy began to spark around Mikey.
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“We’ve got a connection to the server reestablished!” Ryan shouted excitedly as he ran to grab John and the others.
“Are you sure, how did you?” John commented as he and the others followed Ryan.
“The damnedest thing happened one second we were picking up an immense energy buildup within the server on par with whatever ripped a hole into the real world, then suddenly whatever was blocking the connection disappeared.” Ryan sat them down at their interfaces.
“Alright team we’re going back in.” John looked at each of the others as they lay down on the beds.
Mikey’s father stood by Kerri’s bed, “You’re Kerri right? My son talked about you when he was here before.” His look was a worried concern.
“Yes, why?” She remembered the stories Mikey told her about his father and the man before her seemed nothing like those stories.
“I know I have no right to ask him for forgiveness. But I don’t want to lose the only thing left in this world that has meant anything to me. Please give him that message for me.” He helped Kerri with all the plugs as she lay down.
“Okay, I will. And I’ll make sure he comes home.” She replied as she closed her eyes from the pinch of the interface activating.
“Now, we couldn’t get a lock on the toy store. There was too much interference from the energy build up. But we were able to target a location in Aekea to drop you in at.” John heard Ryan’s voice drift off as the interface emerged him into the server.
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“Wait if you five are here, that means…” McCoy began to question as John and Kerri materialized in the middle of the Aekean town square.
“As far as we know he was battling Wayne on his own.” John rapidly replied. He saw Jeremy and Penelope beginning to materialize a few feet away.
“He’s not alone, KJ is with him. At least I hope she is.” Miles chimed.
“We couldn’t come back any closer because of interference from something going on up there.” Kerri said in a worried tone.
“So Wayne blasted you back to the real world? And kept Mikey there? Why?” Deanna furrowed her brow at the news.
“I think it has something to do with how he interfaces. The attack that sent us back because of interface security, it left him unaffected.” Jeremy looked at the hillside the toy store was nestled in.
“How fast is the fastest way to get us back there?” Henry asked as he materialized.
“Not fast enough, I’m afraid.” Archer shrugged as he motioned two Aekean robots over.
“Especially, if he’s fighting Wayne alone.” Hoshi added.
“The strained bio-readings we saw in the real world?” Penelope began.
“Most definitely caused by a fight with Wayne, since Wayne was originally meant to be the original chapter two end boss.” John answered Penelope.
“Then we’ve no time to waste. The Aekeans have brought their fastest transport for us, but it will still take several minutes to get there.” Archer replied.
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Mikey felt a calmness coming over his thoughts as he began to feel the amulets he held begin to pulse in his hands. The energy coursing in himself and the amulets began to glow crystal blue. “That’s not- Your Ghi mutation can’t be complete this soon. It’s not possible!” Wayne looked scared as he threw a large orb of energy at Mikey, KJ and The Phantom.
“You think so huh?” The armor plating along Mikey’s right arm turned into a translucent crimson material as became smoother. “Kimberly, Kirk, leave this one to me.” He raised his head and opened his eyes as a crystal blue aura erupted around him. He took a step forward and held his hand out to the glowing orb as it approached. There was a flash of crimson light as the orb erupted into wisps that Mikey absorbed. “You believe yourself the only one to understand how this world works Wayne. Well I hate to break this to you, but there are others.” Mikey locked his gaze on Wayne as tendrils of energy began to spiral around his outstretched arm. “Ghi is the very energy of life. And that life seeks to move forward. It’s guided by the energies of nature: fire, water, air, earth, light and shadow. But most importantly it’s guided by the very soul that life creates.” The tendrils of energy hardened into a drill made of the silvery crystal material.
“You can’t possibly-“ Wayne was cut off by the bright light from the drill.
“I’ve been saving using this ring for just an occasion like this. Lagann Overload!” Mikey launched himself forward leaving a trail of crystal blue sparks. The shield around Wayne shattered like glass as the crystal drill pierced it. Mikey smirked as he came to a stop behind Wayne. “Just who the hell do you think I am?” The Phantom and KJ both stared in awe as crystal blue flakes showered the area.
“That’s impossible. Only someone who understands the true nature of Ghi and what it is could summon such power and pierce my shield.” Wayne shuddered in disbelief and recoiled in terror as Mikey turned back around to face him.
“Did you really believe someone who’s seen death and struggled in life wouldn’t be able to grasp at the power of its very energy?” Mikey replied as he rubbed away the trickle of blood from his nose. The Phantom looked frightened as he looked from Wayne to Mikey.
“Such power from the humans is it really possible?” He whispered.
“Starting to believe they could have a very strong possibility of beating you, aren’t you?” KJ smiled.
“Michael, KJ, I shall deal with Wayne from here. Go, and next time we meet it will not be on such friendly terms.” He looked at Mikey, who only nodded in response as he walked past Wayne.
“Come on Kimberly, let’s rejoin the others. They’re waiting for us in Aekea.” Mikey leaned on KJ’s shoulder as they both walked to the entrance of the toy store. The echoes of their footsteps were muted by the whimpering and begging they could hear Wayne making and the slashes of whatever weapon The Phantom had decided to utilize.
“It looks like you broke your goggles in that fight. I know they meant a lot to you, going to be okay?” KJ smiled as she and Mikey reached the door. Without anything trying to attack them along the way, the walk seemed much shorter. They heard an explosion echo at the back of the store as they threw open the front door and walked out.
Mikey looked down at the pair of goggles that hung around his neck. The lenses had cracked and broken apart leaving jagged edges clinging to the chipped and rugged frame. “It was the idea behind them that gave me the focus I needed.”
KJ looked at him confused as they continued down the hillside back into Aekea, “What do you mean?” She asked as he smiled.
“I’ll tell you sometime. For now how about we turn around and watch the show.” He nudged KJ to turn around as they saw the windows of the toy store begin to glow red. Purple flames erupted out of the roof before the entire building exploded in a shower of multicolored fireworks. Mikey smirked as he saw a lone streak of silver fly into the sky.
“You really are different, from even the other humans.” KJ whispered as they heard the sound of an engine coming up the path.
“I don’t believe it. They’re safe and by the looks of it they won.” John and Henry helped Mikey into the truck bed they were riding in, and Penelope and Jeremy helped KJ up.
“They’re both a little worn around the edges and bruised and scratched to hell, but alive.” Kerri breathed a sigh of relief as the truck turned around to return to Aekea.
Mikey leaned back and sat quietly as KJ recounted the story of the battle to the others. She was careful to omit any mention of The Phantom, Mikey noticed; but he suspected she believed it would cause an uproar to mention his participation. “That reminds me.” Mikey held out his hands which he still carried the other five amulets in. “They served me well, but I believe it’s time they return to their owners.” Each of the amulets glowed as their respective owners picked them up. And Mikey spent the rest of the ride back into Aekea sharing about how he had to take on the five doppelgangers on his own.
It was later while a meeting of the council that they’d freed was going on and KJ stepped out for some fresh air that she saw Mikey leaning over one of the balconies holding the goggles in his hand as he looked at the moon, “Would now be a good time to ask about those?”
Mikey calmly raised his head as he leaned against the rail, “They were a gift from my old roommate, we used to watch movies and anime together all the time. Our favorite was Gurren Lagann. And we used to play zOMG together all the time,” He chuckled as he thought of something, “We were going to be the first to conquer chapter two. At least that’s what we joked with each other, but sadly she isn’t here anymore.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Michael.” KJ began.
“Ehh don’t worry.” He shrugged as he put the broken pair of goggles away, “To be honest you sort of remind me of her, brave, stubborn, and always hungry for knowledge.
John was one floor up from the balcony Mikey and KJ were on and he thought to himself as he overheard their conversation. “I remember when I first met you Michael. You asked me a question about zOMG nobody else had asked before.”
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As the dev meat was winding to a close, a face John had only seen from the exhibition pvp match in the Barton Coliseum approached him, “John, I had a question about Ghi and the whirl patterns that appear in a lot of places.”
“Ask away, just know I might not be able to answer.” John replied casually.
“The swirl patterns tend to show up where there’s an abundance of Ghi, for example: Village Greens which is in proximity to Barton, the trees of Bill’s Ranch which appear to be growing faces, the riverbeds around Bassken Lake where you have both Outlaw Wolves and Buzz Saws, even the very layout of Undersea Ledge and the Robofish tunnel down to the Sealab Compound are swirls. Are the swirls and Ghi related? If Ghi is a form of life-force energy does that mean it spirals to new heights?” The eager face asked John.
John was taken aback by the question. In all the questions he’d answered, he could not recall anyone ever asking this one or at the very least phrasing it as accurately as Mikey had. It took him a few quiet moments to think of how best to respond to a question that was so close to the truth of the concept behind Ghi. “I’m sorry Mikey, but because that ties into the current plans for chapter two, I’m unable to answer such a well worded and thought out question.” He hoped the way he worded his response would hint to the young man that though he could not confirm the suspicions, they were accurate.
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“And judging from what happened today he heard me loud and clear back then.” John muttered to himself.
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“The world is done enough that I think we can finally set our virtual feet in it.” David said as he looked over his progress notes.
“You think it’s a good idea?” Ryan asked.
“We’ve been working on the project for over a year now. I figure now or never on finding out if all that world programming and art was worth it.” David replied as he plugged the controller into the USB port of his workstation.
“Maybe just a few of us should go in. You know in case there’s a problem and we need to be pulled out.” John plugged his controller into the port as he went through a checklist of things he made sure he did every time he used the helmet.
“I think seven of us to start should be good.” David said, “After all given some of the stuff we added, we did want to work things so chapter two areas could tolerate crews of seven.”
After a few minutes of loading the work in progress models of zOMG Chapter 2 from the test servers John, David, Ryan, Garrett, Bret, Tim and Evgeniy found themselves looking at the textured grey landscape of Gnoman’s Land. “You guys haven’t done any of the coloring yet?” Evgeniy said flatly as he looked at Bret and John.
“Well John’s been tied up working on animated, and I’ve been building the base models for all this. Our only other real help has been from Andre and Jennifer, so unless you’d like to pick up a tablet and lend a hand.” Bret started.
“No, I’m much too busy tracking down some of the bugs that seem to sneak in.” Came the sarcastic reply from Evgeniy.
Ryan’s face contorted as he heard that remark, “Well if Garrett, Ben, Frederic and I weren’t overworked converting chapter one’s core programming to the new graphics and interface maybe we’d actually have some time to proofread more.”
“Settle down.” David said, “We’ve got a two week break coming up while Kenny and Derek take things down to overhaul the main site servers, you all will be taking that break. Then we can come back to this with fresh eyes and recharged batteries.” He furrowed his brow to ensure they knew he was serious. They took a couple minutes to walk around and explore the texturing and lighting and hope nothing broke the server they were on.
“Alright, I’ve seen what I need to, I’m heading back out to the surface world.” John said as pressed the keys on his PDA to log off the server. A cold washed over him as he felt the pinch that came with emerging back in the real world. And he looked across the workstations to Mark who gave him a surprised look.
“It was just you guys in there right?” Mark asked.
“Yeah, why?” John tilted his head as he pulled the helmet off.
“Well there are some anomalous readings. From what I’m reading, there were fourteen people on the server, not seven.” Mark showed John the screen as Ryan and Bret began to sit up coming out of the virtual world.
John looked at the clock and noticed it was almost five in the afternoon. “It’s been a long day how about we check it out tomorrow. I’ve got to get to my kid’s baseball game.”
“Alright, take care John.” Mark replied.
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There was a spark as Mikey raised his Ghi-infused sword to catch the Shadow Henry’s hack. And a loud clang as he raised his shield to defend himself from a dark beam from Shadow Kerri. He pumped hard as he rolled forward to avoid Shadow Penelope’s hack. The blue shield he had cast around himself shimmered as he rolled into Shadow John as he was shooting his own dark beam. He got thrown against another shelf as Shadow Jeremy used his dervish. “I just can’t catch a break.” He grumbled to himself as he stood up. The doppelgangers were moving in for another attack as he panted. The shadows never spoke, they just relentlessly attacked him as Wayne watched on, they were much more aggressive than the people they’d been copied from. “Not my lucky day.” He swung his blade to dispel the silvery black strands rising out of the ground ahead of him.
“Come now Michael, how long do you think you can keep up with them? You are hilariously underpowered compared to them.” Wayne taunted.
“Just shut up!” Mikey shouted as he caught Shadow Penelope’s hack on his blade. He swung his arm clutching the shield and knocked Shadow Jeremy back. He could see small trails of smoke rising from where the shield had made contact. The other shadows had backed up to rejoin the off balance Shadow Jeremy, and Mikey took the opportunity to expand the ring imitation shield around himself into a glowing blue egg shell around himself. “Why does the shield damage them, while the sword passed right through them when I tried?” When he’d tried to cut down Shadow John’s feet the blade simply passed the monster’s legs. He looked at both tools he held, the shield pulsed with a faint glow while the sword was the plain steel color. He looked back at the shadows through his shimmering blue energy field and saw that they were focusing their dark beams on it. A sudden urge to press his handheld shield to the energy shield came over him and he felt a shock go through him as he pressed them together. As he looked at it the energy shield had become a shimmering gold hue with purple streaks running from where the dark beams were impacting to the round shield Mikey held. “A sword designed to channel Ghi passes through them while a shield designed for just energy burns them…” Mikey heard the shield around him beginning to crack from the stress of the impact. “What if… what if they’re just a form of energy that isn’t Ghi? But every living being, animated or natural, in this world possesses Ghi and can be touched by Ghi channeling and Ghi based weapons. That means, these things aren’t alive, that maybe they’re made of… of anti-Ghi. That would explain why Ghi based projections and Ghi designed tools can’t touch them, but something that takes in any energy.” He smiled as the shield around him collapsed and he stared down the shadows.
“And these amulets they harness the powers of nature to further enhance Ghi, which is why Wayne wants them; to enhance his anti-Ghi shadows in the same way Ghi users would be enhanced.” He clutched Kerri’s shadow amulet in his hand as it glowed purple.
“Very perceptive of you, human.” Wayne snapped his fingers, “But do you really believe that you can stop them without the ability to even touch them?” He stared with a bored look at Mikey as he smirked.
“I can damn well try.” Mikey flung a shadowy purple blob at the charging shadows. As it spread across them Mikey clutched John’s earth amulet as it pulsed red-brown. His arm enlarged in size as he punched into the ground and sent a tremor towards the disoriented doppelgangers. As the wave struck them they were flung into the air, Mikey smirked as he clutched Jeremy’s air amulet and it pulsed green. With a wave of his arm he flung a cyclone at the airborne shadows to spin them up. Mikey panted as he gripped Penelope’s fire amulet that pulsed red in his hand. As the whirlwind subsided it dropped the doppelgangers into an inferno Mikey had set below the tornado. He could hear the pops and crackles of the flames as he clutched Henry’s water amulet. He began panting as he fired a jet of water at the burning copies of his crew. He held his arm wheezing as his light amulet began to glow gold, “Time to end this.” The shield he held on his other arm began to glow gold as it resonated with his amulet. He charged at the nearest copy, the Shadow Jeremy was just getting back on its feet as Mikey rammed it with his shield. There was a bright flash of light as the Shadow Jeremy ceased to exist. Shadow Penelope tried to hack at Mikey again, only for him to catch her blade with his. As they exchanged glares, Mikey punched his shield into its stomach and could see the hissing smoke forming from the interactions of the energies. Like Shadow Jeremy before, Shadow Penelope exploded in a bright flash. As Mikey turned his attention to the others, Shadow John and Kerri were backing away as Shadow Henry charged forward. The shield Mikey held fired a round golden beam of energy at the Shadow Henry and a hole began to form and expand in its body as the third shadow dissolved. “It can absorb and reflect energy. Including whatever the hell you’re made of.” He looked at the two remaining shadows as he threw the shield like a frisbee. It shattered Shadow John as it flew away, and as it circled back it did the same to Shadow Kerri. Mikey panted as he caught the shield’s handle when it returned to him.
A streak of blood ran down from his nostril as he panted and stared at Wayne, “You seem to have over exerted yourself boy.” Wayne flung his arm in a semi-circle and a shockwave flung Mikey back. “You should have saved some of that power for yourself.” Mikey felt himself sink into the rubble on the ground his attacks had kicked up. “Can’t move? Don’t even have the energy to stand anymore?” Wayne swung his arm again and another shockwave knocked Mikey into one of the walls. His vision was becoming a haze as he slumped on the ground.
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Kerri looked worried at the bio-readout as an alarm on Mikey’s interface began blaring. “What’s going on?” She saw numbers on the readout jumping around unable to keep a consistent value.
“Despite his mind disconnecting the way it has, it still seems able to relay certain reactions back to his physical body. In this case, it’s extreme pain and fatigue. Whatever he’s doing is taxing him well beyond what the human body was meant to endure, hence the alarms.” One of the medical advisors said.
“So his pain and fatigue there, can kill him here.” Henry looked at the alarms which had turned the displays a solid red. The scanners showing his brain activity showed different areas blinking on and off like a Christmas tree.
“We need to get back in there. We can’t let him die and be unable to help him like this.” Jeremy clenched his fist.
“Isn’t there something you can do?” Penelope looked angrily at Ryan.
“We’ve been trying. There’s something preventing us from making the necessary connections to the server to send you back in.” He shrugged as he kept working.
“Hang in there Michael.” John muted the alarm’s shrilling.
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“I can’t do it. I can’t generate anymore shields or ring powers.” Mikey gasped as he fell back to the ground from exhaustion. He gasped as Wayne calmly walked over.
“So this is the power of humans that The Phantom feared so much.” He grabbed Mikey’s collar and lifted him off the ground as he looked over the bloodied human with disdain. “I must say, if you are the best humans can summon then they are pitiful creatures. I shall extract what I need from you, and then you and all your kind will die.” Mikey howled in pain as Wayne pressed a finger to his forehead.
“Stand away.” Two silver beams of energy struck Wayne. He growled as he dropped Mikey and backed a few steps away. The Phantom and KJ came to a stop in front of Mikey as they approached. “So Wayne Pennyworth you would dare stand against your master.” KJ helped Mikey to his feet and supported him on her shoulder as he recovered.
“You are master no longer. I have completed my research and grown far beyond even you.” Wayne replied as a purple energy shield flickered around him.
“Such insolence will be punished.” The Phantom began forming a silver globe of energy.
“No don’t.” Mikey stammered, “Nothing I’ve thrown at it can penetrate that shield. He’ll just reflect whatever it is back at you.” He took a shaky step as he stood at The Phantom’s side.
“So how do we fight him?” KJ stood at Mikey’s other side.
“You don’t. Now be good little programs and insignificant creatures and surrender.” Wayne sneered from behind his shield.
“I have an idea but I need time to recharge enough for it. Between Malevobear, his shadows of the others, and trying to fight him, I don’t have anything left.” Mikey looked at The Phantom. “I assume you’re of the opinion that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, Kirk.”
“Fortunate for you.” The Phantom smirked. “What did you have in mind?” He added.
“He can’t move or attack when generating that shield. And when it’s up it repels any Ghi based attack. But if we could overload it, it would burst, leaving him vulnerable to an attack.” Mikey groaned as some of his wounds began healing.
“If he can’t attack while he’s using that shield why do you need us covering you?” KJ asked. She had a confused look on her face.
“I thought that would be obvious. He can drop the shield to attack at his discretion.” The Phantom said as they jumped back to avoid a multicolored orb of energy from Wayne. The ground crackled and turned to a silver crystalline material where the orb struck.
“Note to self, don’t want to get hit by that.” KJ’s eyes were wide from seeing the patch of ground transformed. “Mikey it’s the same as-“ KJ began as she remembered something Penelope told her about the Halloweentown battle.
“I know Kimberly.” He struck an orb about to hit The Phantom with his sword. There was a small explosion as the energy orb burst and rained crystal dust down.
“Michael you need to stay back. Let KJ and I take the attacks. You’re the one that’s strong enough to bring his shield down.” The Phantom shrugged as another orb impacted an energy shield he generated. The explosion pushed The Phantom back.
“But what about-” Mikey began.
“No, he’s right. Even if we knew how you planned to overload Wayne’s shield, how would we without some of your abilities? Slash and growl at it until he lowered it out of pity?” KJ knocked away another orb that was homing around obstacles for Mikey. The glowing red orb exploded in a burst of flames that scorched her arm.
“Besides, if you die here we’ll never get to finish our fight from Earth.” The Phantom kicked a purple orb back at Wayne. The purple orb exploded in billowing shadow as it struck Wayne’s shield.
“Alright.” Mikey clenched his fists as he closed his eyes to focus. In his left hand he held the shadow, water and earth amulets; his right hand held the light, fire and air amulets. The Phantom and KJ struggled to keep ahead of the orbs being flung at them as energy began to spark around Mikey.
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“We’ve got a connection to the server reestablished!” Ryan shouted excitedly as he ran to grab John and the others.
“Are you sure, how did you?” John commented as he and the others followed Ryan.
“The damnedest thing happened one second we were picking up an immense energy buildup within the server on par with whatever ripped a hole into the real world, then suddenly whatever was blocking the connection disappeared.” Ryan sat them down at their interfaces.
“Alright team we’re going back in.” John looked at each of the others as they lay down on the beds.
Mikey’s father stood by Kerri’s bed, “You’re Kerri right? My son talked about you when he was here before.” His look was a worried concern.
“Yes, why?” She remembered the stories Mikey told her about his father and the man before her seemed nothing like those stories.
“I know I have no right to ask him for forgiveness. But I don’t want to lose the only thing left in this world that has meant anything to me. Please give him that message for me.” He helped Kerri with all the plugs as she lay down.
“Okay, I will. And I’ll make sure he comes home.” She replied as she closed her eyes from the pinch of the interface activating.
“Now, we couldn’t get a lock on the toy store. There was too much interference from the energy build up. But we were able to target a location in Aekea to drop you in at.” John heard Ryan’s voice drift off as the interface emerged him into the server.
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“Wait if you five are here, that means…” McCoy began to question as John and Kerri materialized in the middle of the Aekean town square.
“As far as we know he was battling Wayne on his own.” John rapidly replied. He saw Jeremy and Penelope beginning to materialize a few feet away.
“He’s not alone, KJ is with him. At least I hope she is.” Miles chimed.
“We couldn’t come back any closer because of interference from something going on up there.” Kerri said in a worried tone.
“So Wayne blasted you back to the real world? And kept Mikey there? Why?” Deanna furrowed her brow at the news.
“I think it has something to do with how he interfaces. The attack that sent us back because of interface security, it left him unaffected.” Jeremy looked at the hillside the toy store was nestled in.
“How fast is the fastest way to get us back there?” Henry asked as he materialized.
“Not fast enough, I’m afraid.” Archer shrugged as he motioned two Aekean robots over.
“Especially, if he’s fighting Wayne alone.” Hoshi added.
“The strained bio-readings we saw in the real world?” Penelope began.
“Most definitely caused by a fight with Wayne, since Wayne was originally meant to be the original chapter two end boss.” John answered Penelope.
“Then we’ve no time to waste. The Aekeans have brought their fastest transport for us, but it will still take several minutes to get there.” Archer replied.
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Mikey felt a calmness coming over his thoughts as he began to feel the amulets he held begin to pulse in his hands. The energy coursing in himself and the amulets began to glow crystal blue. “That’s not- Your Ghi mutation can’t be complete this soon. It’s not possible!” Wayne looked scared as he threw a large orb of energy at Mikey, KJ and The Phantom.
“You think so huh?” The armor plating along Mikey’s right arm turned into a translucent crimson material as became smoother. “Kimberly, Kirk, leave this one to me.” He raised his head and opened his eyes as a crystal blue aura erupted around him. He took a step forward and held his hand out to the glowing orb as it approached. There was a flash of crimson light as the orb erupted into wisps that Mikey absorbed. “You believe yourself the only one to understand how this world works Wayne. Well I hate to break this to you, but there are others.” Mikey locked his gaze on Wayne as tendrils of energy began to spiral around his outstretched arm. “Ghi is the very energy of life. And that life seeks to move forward. It’s guided by the energies of nature: fire, water, air, earth, light and shadow. But most importantly it’s guided by the very soul that life creates.” The tendrils of energy hardened into a drill made of the silvery crystal material.
“You can’t possibly-“ Wayne was cut off by the bright light from the drill.
“I’ve been saving using this ring for just an occasion like this. Lagann Overload!” Mikey launched himself forward leaving a trail of crystal blue sparks. The shield around Wayne shattered like glass as the crystal drill pierced it. Mikey smirked as he came to a stop behind Wayne. “Just who the hell do you think I am?” The Phantom and KJ both stared in awe as crystal blue flakes showered the area.
“That’s impossible. Only someone who understands the true nature of Ghi and what it is could summon such power and pierce my shield.” Wayne shuddered in disbelief and recoiled in terror as Mikey turned back around to face him.
“Did you really believe someone who’s seen death and struggled in life wouldn’t be able to grasp at the power of its very energy?” Mikey replied as he rubbed away the trickle of blood from his nose. The Phantom looked frightened as he looked from Wayne to Mikey.
“Such power from the humans is it really possible?” He whispered.
“Starting to believe they could have a very strong possibility of beating you, aren’t you?” KJ smiled.
“Michael, KJ, I shall deal with Wayne from here. Go, and next time we meet it will not be on such friendly terms.” He looked at Mikey, who only nodded in response as he walked past Wayne.
“Come on Kimberly, let’s rejoin the others. They’re waiting for us in Aekea.” Mikey leaned on KJ’s shoulder as they both walked to the entrance of the toy store. The echoes of their footsteps were muted by the whimpering and begging they could hear Wayne making and the slashes of whatever weapon The Phantom had decided to utilize.
“It looks like you broke your goggles in that fight. I know they meant a lot to you, going to be okay?” KJ smiled as she and Mikey reached the door. Without anything trying to attack them along the way, the walk seemed much shorter. They heard an explosion echo at the back of the store as they threw open the front door and walked out.
Mikey looked down at the pair of goggles that hung around his neck. The lenses had cracked and broken apart leaving jagged edges clinging to the chipped and rugged frame. “It was the idea behind them that gave me the focus I needed.”
KJ looked at him confused as they continued down the hillside back into Aekea, “What do you mean?” She asked as he smiled.
“I’ll tell you sometime. For now how about we turn around and watch the show.” He nudged KJ to turn around as they saw the windows of the toy store begin to glow red. Purple flames erupted out of the roof before the entire building exploded in a shower of multicolored fireworks. Mikey smirked as he saw a lone streak of silver fly into the sky.
“You really are different, from even the other humans.” KJ whispered as they heard the sound of an engine coming up the path.
“I don’t believe it. They’re safe and by the looks of it they won.” John and Henry helped Mikey into the truck bed they were riding in, and Penelope and Jeremy helped KJ up.
“They’re both a little worn around the edges and bruised and scratched to hell, but alive.” Kerri breathed a sigh of relief as the truck turned around to return to Aekea.
Mikey leaned back and sat quietly as KJ recounted the story of the battle to the others. She was careful to omit any mention of The Phantom, Mikey noticed; but he suspected she believed it would cause an uproar to mention his participation. “That reminds me.” Mikey held out his hands which he still carried the other five amulets in. “They served me well, but I believe it’s time they return to their owners.” Each of the amulets glowed as their respective owners picked them up. And Mikey spent the rest of the ride back into Aekea sharing about how he had to take on the five doppelgangers on his own.
It was later while a meeting of the council that they’d freed was going on and KJ stepped out for some fresh air that she saw Mikey leaning over one of the balconies holding the goggles in his hand as he looked at the moon, “Would now be a good time to ask about those?”
Mikey calmly raised his head as he leaned against the rail, “They were a gift from my old roommate, we used to watch movies and anime together all the time. Our favorite was Gurren Lagann. And we used to play zOMG together all the time,” He chuckled as he thought of something, “We were going to be the first to conquer chapter two. At least that’s what we joked with each other, but sadly she isn’t here anymore.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Michael.” KJ began.
“Ehh don’t worry.” He shrugged as he put the broken pair of goggles away, “To be honest you sort of remind me of her, brave, stubborn, and always hungry for knowledge.
John was one floor up from the balcony Mikey and KJ were on and he thought to himself as he overheard their conversation. “I remember when I first met you Michael. You asked me a question about zOMG nobody else had asked before.”
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As the dev meat was winding to a close, a face John had only seen from the exhibition pvp match in the Barton Coliseum approached him, “John, I had a question about Ghi and the whirl patterns that appear in a lot of places.”
“Ask away, just know I might not be able to answer.” John replied casually.
“The swirl patterns tend to show up where there’s an abundance of Ghi, for example: Village Greens which is in proximity to Barton, the trees of Bill’s Ranch which appear to be growing faces, the riverbeds around Bassken Lake where you have both Outlaw Wolves and Buzz Saws, even the very layout of Undersea Ledge and the Robofish tunnel down to the Sealab Compound are swirls. Are the swirls and Ghi related? If Ghi is a form of life-force energy does that mean it spirals to new heights?” The eager face asked John.
John was taken aback by the question. In all the questions he’d answered, he could not recall anyone ever asking this one or at the very least phrasing it as accurately as Mikey had. It took him a few quiet moments to think of how best to respond to a question that was so close to the truth of the concept behind Ghi. “I’m sorry Mikey, but because that ties into the current plans for chapter two, I’m unable to answer such a well worded and thought out question.” He hoped the way he worded his response would hint to the young man that though he could not confirm the suspicions, they were accurate.
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“And judging from what happened today he heard me loud and clear back then.” John muttered to himself.
