The Game

I OWN NOTHING!

Chapter 6: Borderline

"When are we going to find them?" Libra whines a little and Cubby, who walks by him, meows. He looks back at the other players who are walking at a leisurely pace.

"Hold your horses, Libra…it takes time and from what Hire said, we need to be careful."

The group of players continues roaming the docks, looking for the bosses. They see some players playing in the water or relaxing on the beach.

"Why aren't they looking for the bosses?" Pega asks.

"Because they have the forward guilds like us…" Sagi says nonchalantly.

"What do you mean?" Star asks.

"And what's a guild?" Libra raises an eyebrow.

"Guilds are groups of players who work together to get though the game faster. They are a ton of bigger guilds who are trying to get through the levels…"

"That's how we got through levels seven through eleven so quickly. We didn't have to fight the bosses." Libra says as he picks up Cubby and starts petting him.

"Yeah, that's when they started forming. They heard of a small guild, you guys, working your way through the levels really quickly. A ton of players worked to build guilds and started getting through the levels. But as you can tell, there were some levels that they couldn't get though without help."

"Yeah but I wonder why no one here has tried against the bosses." Star says.

"But they have…" A new voice says.

"And who are you?" Sagi asks.

"I am….Program 1334…" The person wears a cloak and hat so you can't tell who he is.

"What did you mean by they have?" Libra asks as he strokes a growling Cubby.

"I mean just that…I am your last chance to turn back." The player motions to the area next to him.

"Why's that?"

"Because the bosses you seek are beyond this point. But, be warned…once you cross, you can't return until the boss is beaten or you die."

"Oh…" Pega and Star share a look.

"Yeah, right!" Libra scoffs as he walks over and stops at the border point. "Watch this…" Libra puts Cubby down and steps across.

"LIBRA!" Sagi calls.

"See," Libra's voice is suddenly muffled. "I can cross back anytime I want!" Libra tries but an invisible wall appears and he's trapped.

"Libra!" Pega tries to approach. Libra pounds on the wall but before Pega can get there, Program 1334 stops him.

"Wait…if you cross, you will become "trapped" like your friend there."

"PEGA!" Libra yells. He cocks his head and turns away for a moment. He looks beyond the point of view for the others and turns back to them quickly.

"What' wrong?" Sagi yells.

"There are really pretty girls with amazing voices over there. They want me to go over there." Libra's eyes start to glaze over.

"LIBRA, WAIT!" Star says, starting forward. She trips at the last second, crossing the line.

"STAR!" Pega comes as close as he can. When Star tries to touch the wall, it isn't there.

"Um, I think your barrier's broken!" Madoka says. She makes her hand cross back and forth over the line to make her point.

"You are a female; you may cross as you wish."

"What?!" Pega demands.

"You just said it would keep all of us in there."

"You didn't let me finish." Program 1334 answers to Sagi's outburst. "I said it would keep you in there if you are a male. The female players may come and go as they please."

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Pega shouts. He takes a huff of a breath and steps over. Sagi protests but follows his example. The players meet in a group with Star holding Libra back. He holds his hands over his ears but still his head is cocked towards the melody.

"What's the music?" Sagi asks as the other two boys mimic Libra.

"I don't really hear anything." Star says.

"Who's that?" Libra tips his head towards a small boy with his hands over his ears. He rocks back and forth in the sand as he shakes his head a little.

"Hold on." Star lets go of Libra and walks over.

"Who are you?" The little player asks.

"I'm Stargirl24, but everyone calls me Star…who are you?"

The small player has purple hair with three pink pigtails, two on bottom and one on the top of his head. He wears a pair of brown pants with no shoes. He wears a brown, open vest that's too small for him. He has a weird set of curved blades strapped to his calves that somehow don't dig into his skin when he sits.

"I'm QuetzalcoatlBeats'emAll… but everyone calls me Quetza…." The player smile and he looks over at the sound of the music.

"What's with everyone looking over there?"

"It's where the bosses are…" Quetza says with a small smile.

"Do you who they are?" Star tries with a small smile.

"It's not a who…it's a what." Quetza says. "They're Sirens."


Thanks for reading this chapter. I know it's shorter than other chapters but I wanted to cut it off here because it would've been SUPER long.

I introduced a character in this chapter, QuetzacoatlBeats'emAll or Quetza… AKA TITHI! My siblings voted for Tithi to enter in this level. Another new character will enter on this level but you'll find out next chapter. That is when Star will fight the bosses to save her friends.

I wanted to give a brief talk about the Sirens. In mythology, Sirens were monsters who took the form of woman whose voices lured men in. When the men got close, the sirens would lash out and kill him. This is why in the chapter before Hire told them they would need a girl. The Siren's voice doesn't affect girls and that's why Star wasn't affected by the border or the voices. Also in the myths, Sirens were always by water which is why the bosses were by the docks.

So anyway, tell me what you think. Review and thanks for reading. TTYL