Chapter 36
Leah POV
I looked our new guests in the eye, who are you?
Eventually I said my thoughts, "Who are you?!"
"I will say no more than the leaders of Team Virus," the green-haired girl said flatly.
Something feels very off about these two… and it's not just their role in the game…
I don't like this.
I started to feel dizzy all of the sudden. Three new people fell from the ceiling too, followed by a bunch of regular members.
These new people scared me even more than the leaders. Their magic signature…
I can tell that the leaders are human… but these three….
It's like their magic signature is non-existent…
I aimed my question at the three newcomers this time, "Who are you?!"
Even their voices sounded inhuman, "I doubt you really want to know," the one closest to me, a guy with long light brown hair, said sounding bored.
Oh I want to know… I growled in my thoughts. I asked him who he was. The heck I want to know!
"Leader…" the one furthest away from me, a girl with wavy white hair said, "enough magic has been absorbed to start the machine."
Gary was stunned, but he eventually got his composure, "What machine?! What the heck are you guys talking about?!"
Hono and Ritsu were tense and silent.
The guy leader sighed, "Might as well activate it, it's been long enough."
I gulped down asking what this machine was again. It was hard. I usually would ask it again without question, but for some reason I know they won't answer…
The last one of the three walked over to us, he was a shorter guy with dirty blonde hair that was so dirty it almost looked black, "You seem (giggle) confused (giggle)," he said excitedly, like he was enjoying something.
I resisted the temptation to attack him while he explained himself, "This building (giggle) is no other than Team Virus Headquarters (giggle). It was disguised as the Elite Four building so we could get enough magic energy from the participants who went up against the Elite Four (giggle)."
What. "There's a machine under the building (giggle). It can be used to summon any living creature (giggle), and we're going to be using it to summon the legendary Pokemon Akio and Leanna (lots of giggles)."
No way, Akio and Leanna? They're here?! "How does that help you rule the world?!" I screeched at him, still a little confused.
The guy's face looked ten-times more evil now, "The machine (giggle) also gives us the ability to control whoever we summon (giggle)."
"LEAH!" was all I heard before Jason ran into me to push me out of the way of a colossal wave of fire and ice coming from the bottom of the ceiling.
"Ow…" I grunted while Jason and I got up. I looked at the door to see everyone else standing there. Their faces were wide with shock.
I smiled and thanked him, "Thanks…" I paused for a second, "Wait… when did you guys get here?..."
Jason struggled a little to get up, "We heard noise that didn't sound like fighting, so we came up to see what was happening…"
I looked at the distance between me and the door, "How did you get all the way over here so fast?"
Jason scratched his head shyly, "I used the air vents…"
My face went into a state of total shock, "Really?!"
Jason seemed surprised, "I used them all the time in the guild hall… Where else do you think I go?"
I gave him a funny look, "To train?..."
Jason laughed, "Oh! I do go and do that, but most of the time I'm just hiding."
I wonder why. Suddenly, I saw the girl come up from the hole. It seemed like it was the wind that brought her up. She was levitating.
"Summoning successful, my leader," the white-haired girl bowed a little to the blonde leader.
The blonde leader smiled warmly at her, "Good job, start the operation."
How did the game let him do that… It was the little things that I was noticing that were making me terrified on the inside.
I was reading the magic signatures of everything here… and I noticed one thing was different.
They are getting those strange new codes I saw in Mission Control as we speak…
I looked around to see that Hono went off somewhere. Then it came to me.
If Akio and Leanna saw him now, they'd easily figure out his secret…
I glared at whatever I could see of Team Virus while I watched seven-year old Akio and Leanna make their way out of the hole out of the corner of my eye.
I started to feel dizzy again. Those codes are dangerous Leah. Keep your eye on the three sub-leaders. It was a voice in the back of my head. It sounded female and it was in a language that I've seemed to understand since I can remember.
Why?... I replied to her in the same language.
Just do it! They give me a bad feeling!
Glad I'm not the only one.
She rarely would show up in my mind, but we've developed a relationship over the years. Sometimes I feel I'm going insane that I talking to some girl inside of my head, but I know the voice doesn't belong to me.
Ritsu's stunned voice woke me from my thoughts, "Akio and Leanna?!"
Leanna was carrying Akio in the air by flapping her big, ice blue dragon wings.
Leanna sounded irritated, "What do you want with us? Don't you see I had to save this one here from falling into a humongous hole?"
That's exactly what she'd say in real life, but I'm pretty sure the game wants otherwise… How is everyone getting so out of character?
Akio opened his eyes softly and groaned, "W-where are we?'
Leanna aimed her irritation at him now, "The training game you so desperately wanted to play."
Akio seemed pleasantly surprised, "Oh," he grabbed his arms. "It's really cold here…"
Then Leanna snapped, "Well I think it's really hot here, so deal with it."
The green-haired leader coughed, "You're ordered to help us eliminate them." She pointed at us.
Leanna threw Akio over to us, "Akio, you wanted to do this, so you get to fight them."
Akio screamed before landing at our feet, "But I can't fight!"
Leanna sighed before leaving Akio to his work, "You can fight. You won't really need to try…"
Akio grunted as he landed flat on his stomach. He looked up at us nervously, "Hi, I'm supposed to be fighting you now, so…"
I came up with an idea, "Ritsu!" I called to my brother, "You take on Akio while I get the blonde leader! Everyone else take out the green-haired leader!"
To my udder surprise, everyone listened. Even Mia, but I could hear her grunting complaints as she fought. I smirked.
I expect no less.
I walked up to the blonde leader. His smile was wide, but I could see the game start to tear it down. He gave a stuffed laugh when we got close enough to talk,
"I've been waiting a while to face you, Miss Leah Dragneel. I've heard stories."
I could feel unexpected warmth in his words, "Do I know you?" I grunted at him.
He laughed again, the effects of the game gone now, "No, but you will eventually."
"JUST GET IT OVER WITH, YOU IDIOT!" It was the green-haired leader as she was fighting my friends. I stared at her wide-eyed. Clearly the game wasn't working on her either.
What's going on…
"I will Amber!" he called back lightly.
"I'm not planning on holding back…" I heard him whisper before his body was covered in visible sequences of codes that I've never seen before.
"Knock Out Magic…." Before I knew it, I was hit with punch that made me start to black out instantly. All I could hear is the narrator,
Fire doesn't affect Akio.
Fire doesn't affect Akio.
Fire doesn't affect Akio.
He or she was talking about Ritsu and Akio's fight. It stopped once he started using ice only moves.
Then I heard the announcement system before I passed out completely, "All players meet in Town Central. The opening ceremony for the All-Game Tournament is about to begin. All players in training games will be teleported immediately."
So it's finally time.
…
Third Person POV
The three "sub-leaders" of Team Virus were meeting in their makeshift guild hall. The teleportation spell didn't work on them.
"We've completed our mission so well (giggles)!" The giggling guy exclaimed happily.
The white-haired girl was silent; she didn't feel the need to talk.
The other two members of their guild made their appearance, "How easily? Is it how we managed to infect this entire game system with our infectious codes?" He was an extremely tall man with dark hair. He was so thin that it seemed unnatural.
"This phase was so boring to me. I glad that it's finally over." The long-brown haired one commented.
The strongest one talked loudly, "I agree with all of you, and I'm just as excited about finding our masters in this game."
The giggling one said, "I'm so so excited (lots and lots of giggles)!"
"That might not actually be boring."
"How excited should I be over this?"
The white haired girl was quiet still.
The strongest one laughed sadistically, "And like you, I'm also excited to bring this pitiful game to its knees. As well as its just as pitiful leader."
His laugh got louder, "And it will all happen in the All-Game Tournament. A tournament where the last guilds standing win."