[Prologue]
In the marsh on a clear sunny day, dragonflies fly through the fauna and fireflies blink their lightbulbs. A destroyed, rusted-out tank is seen by the side of the marsh full of overgrown vegetation to the cannon, undisturbed peacefully, and somehow Mother Nature nests her little furry critters here; a family of ferrets.
Then came someone dashing through the marsh. An indian american wearing a feathered headband, topless and body-fit, with tribal marks on his cheeks, buffalo-leathered pants, and moccasin boots. He seems to be running away from somebody and carried a glowing white sphere between his hands.
There is somebody chasing him on his tail and she doesn't look friendly or sound like one, for that matter. Wielding and waving an iron sword and wore a hood and a mask, a leather long-sleeved tunic with three pouches strapped onto, leather pants, and a pair of leather boots. "Gimme that, redskin!" she yelled as she pursued him relentlessly.
"Never!" the indian replied, holding the strange sphere and kept running a mile track in circles around the marsh.
A third player hides inside a giant skull of a giant skeleton that belonged to a former prehistoric marine dinosaur. He seems to be eating a roasted ham all by himself and appears to be wearing viking armor. His long, braided beard reach from his face down to his chest. The viking's great axe rests on the ground and continues to enjoy his meal.
On the center of the marsh, a small island with a single tree, another destroyed tank by the front of it, and a large rock surrounded by water that reached the kneel spawns a crate of some kind of weapon inside of it.
There is also, yet another destroyed and rusted tank overgrown with vegetation. Resting uphill between a wide crevice in the marsh. But this tank isn't resided by one of Mother Nature's pets. A fourth and fifth player sits inside the tank, polishing their weapons.
The fourth person is armored as a roman centurion, polishing the blade of his fine gladius sword. The fifth is dressed like United Kingdom's Royal Guard., cleaning his trusted Eagle-SAH.
The indian and the hooded woman eventually run out of breath and are forced to drop themselves on the ground, regaining their energy slowly.
The indian tried to reason with the hooded woman but unfortunately, she spurns and crawls towards him. She gets closer and closer and the indian tries to crawl back before she could do something harmful that he thought includes; beating his face into potato mash.
The hooded woman crawls on the indian and tries to reach the sphere but the indian puts the sphere away from arm's reach, away from her catch.
"You'll never take it away from me," he barked and laughed devilishly as her efforts of grabbing the sphere fails.
When the hooded woman crawls a little forward, the indian throws the sphere into the marshy waters. Her eyes were in-shock and later, infuriated and screamed angrily from frustration, "OH FOR FU-"
The indian continued laughing like a wild hyena for what he just did. "What now, you strange and sad thing?" he taunted.
Then she glared at him like a feisty wolf and grabbed his throat, taking a hard and tight grip around it. "That was my sphere! It was going to change my life and you've ruined it for me!" and then began shaking him and at the same time, she was choking his life out.
The indian could hardly speak and choke on his own words, "It was worth it," is all he could blurb out.
From afar, a silhouette watching the whole wild goose chase stepped into the sunlight from the shade of a tree. Standing with both gloved hands under his brown silk pants. He seems to be wearing an easter island statue for a head, a brown suit, white polo shirt, and a red tie. Looks like someone you'd unexpectedly see from a cosplay convention or a random place you happen to be in. He shook his head down but still continues to watch the nuclear meltdown.
Back to the small island in the center of the marsh, the spawned weapon create remains unmoved during the rest of the time. That was until a seventh person wearing a ninja outfit sneakily tip-toes his way to the crate in plain sight. After he got there, he sweeps around the crate before kneeling down and opening it.
The item inside shined bright like the sunlight which sparkled the ninja's eyes. He looks to his left and to his right, closes the crate, picks it up, and dashes away in a flash.
The indian fainted and the hooden woman jumps down in the marshy waters to search for her sphere. She digs both of her hands underneath but everytime, came out of a handful of mud and soft-ball pebbles. She becomes harried. About her sphere, it may be washed away or stolen by someone eles without her even noticing while she was busy choking the indian's life out.
The viking had finished his meal and exits out of the giant skull. Which his great axe on his right shoulder, he first spots the hooded woman digging for something beneath the marshy waters. He approaches her but slowly and cautiously.
The hooded woman noticed the viking and quickly unholstered her Oozer machine-pistol from her holster. She pointed the gun at the viking and threatened him, "This is my sphere! My destiny!"
The viking stopped and reached both of his hands up. To the gun and to her eyes, he tried to reason with her that he has no intention to harm.
But once again, she spurns and shot a warning shot near his feet. Her next shot would surely be the viking's last seconds. The viking scurries away.
She then returns searching for her sphere under the waters. By her luck, she found the sphere and let her eyes locked into it. She was crazy for the sphere and as soon when she opened it, a bright like shined like a star and blinded her. Then the sphere closed itself and the hooded woman collapsed on the marshy waters, lying unconscious.
The easter island statue head later approached the hooded woman's body and so did the viking beside him. Both men looked at each other and nodded. Then the viking hoists and carries the hooded woman between his burly arms while the statue-head in a suit takes hold of the sphere in it's inactive state in his palms.
Soon the indian woke up, feeling a slight headache. He saw the the sphere and the hooded woman being carried away. He pulled himself up and followed right behind them. "Hey!" he called from behind which caught the two's attention, "Where do you think you're taking that?" pointing at the sphere the statue-head is holding.
"This?" the statue-head said, "Away from the likes of thieves." He turns to the hooded woman's body and turned to the indian, telling him, "She has entered the astral dimension with her spirit. Mekko, we're going to leave the marsh once she returns to us…" and whispered to himself, "and my friend."
Mekko, the indian brave, scowled at him. "How?" he demanded an answer, "How can SHE open the gates out of this beautiful, yet boring prison?"
"First," the statue-head began to explain, "the gate must be opened in the astral dimension with the use of her spirit, not the specter. Connecting puzzles, going through mazes and labyrinths, and completing what has been incomplete for the past seven centuries."
"What's the second?" the viking asked, looking down at him with his grey eyes.
"The second?" the statue-head took a deep guess and replied, "It's complicated to say but to keep it short, once she unlocks the gate, we'll be transported to another prison... "
The indian groaned and facepalmed. "Another prison?"
"Hey, atleast we think that we're not the only ones here."
"You said yourself that you made the sphere with your 'godly powers', Ethan," Mekko said. "Why didn't you use it to yourself and make our lives more easier?"
Ethan became pale from that question, "I tried it once. Turned me into stone."
"I have to be honest," the viking said to Ethan, "I thought that was just a helmet."
Ethan chuckled. "We've known for each other for six and a half months - how come have you not realized these hands yet, Skulvarr?" He removed his gloves to reveal hands - fingers and palms made out of stone.
Skulvarr, the viking, was amazed. Mekko remained somber.
"Anyways," he puts his gloves back on, "let's put her in a safe place. The clones will be pouring out any hour now."
They arrived at the occupied tank. Skulvarr knocks on the cupola and the United Kingdom's Royal Guard answered by opening it. The viking carefully puts the hooded woman down inside and the royal guard assists. Soon, the royal guard climbs out and leaves the cupola open.
The statue-head keeps the sphere with him by pocketing it in his suit and then went to the tank. "Where's Julius, Edward?" he asks the royal guard.
Edward, the royal guard, responds, "He's in the garden - harvesting apples and mangoes." Then he re-enters the tank and shuts the cupola close.
The viking and the statue-head looked at each other. Ethan spoke first, "Julius working something resourceful for once? I don't believe it." Skulvarr chuckled softly. Then the two hopped off from the tank.
"Don't we have a ninja hanging around the marsh?" Mekko said.
The statue-head nods, "Yes we do. Ishe is his name."
"And where is he now?"
"Oi," the ninja called behind them. The three looks at his direction and they saw a ninja with a katana between his hands, giving it a firm grip.
"There he is," Ethan said, arms crossed. "What have you been up to recently, Ishe? Stealing crates just for yourself?"
"Finder's keepers," Ishe replied with a smile full of no regret - full with pride. He sheathes the katana in his scabbard.
Mekko then looked staright at Ethan and asked him, "How many purple crates has he took from us?"
"Us?" the statue-head said. "Well, if I have to re-count this month, I say atleast seventeen now," followed a short chuckle.
"Hey, atleast I have you some!" Ishe exclaimed.