Author Comment: I want to thank my Beta-reader FollowerOfAnhamirak for his time on this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.


As the four teenagers finished the preparations for their scan quest, they pulled up the location on their scanners.

"Okay, so we're going to explore this town…what's the name of it?" Kaz asked Tom as he examined the location.

"Riverbane. It's a small town near the river. I asked Maxxor about it when I was at Kiru and he said that there hasn't been any contact with it for a while. It's like something mysterious happened," Tom replied, clearly curious as to what had happened.

"Solving a mystery detective style," Peyton waved his hand as he imitated Sherlock Holmes, "Elementary my dear Sarah. We shall solve this mystery."

Sarah rolled her eyes and let out a small smile, "Don't try to sound like him. Anyway, you picked my interest. A town cannot be silent out of the blue. Even when a village is attacked by any other tribes, it doesn't stay unknown for long."

"Let's go and find out then," Tom decided.

The group pressed the button on their scanners and ported to their destination.


Chapter 62: Ghost Town

The four appeared near the village. Putting away their scanners they began approaching the town. Just seeing the walls surrounding it made them a little nervous. There was nothing wrong with them whatsoever. As a matter of fact, they were intact saved for the normal wear and tear one would find. There was no sign at all that the town had been attacked.

"Did everybody get spirited away?" Peyton asked as he scratched his jaw.

It was quiet. They heard a few sounds, but it was just the bugs and the small animals surrounding Riverbane. Nearby they saw the river after which the town was named for. It was small, but it supplied the place with water.

"Just being here is creeping me out," Sarah admitted as they looked around.

"Ghost town. A real ghost town," Peyton declared.

"I'm surprised there's a town so far from Kiru City," Kaz commented. He knew that it was mostly villages surrounding the capital of the Overworld. In turn the villages supplied the city with food and other resources that they gathered. It was a bit strange, but it seemed to work for both sides.

"It started out as a village but it prospered so much it became a town. Maxxor told me that it expanded a few times and that inside there's still a remnant of the old wall that once protected the old village from marauding Underworlders. They also watch over the far end of the Overworld territory and ease some of the weight off Maxxor's shoulders," Tom explained.

"Good news for him, but it's empty now," Peyton reminded them, "Ghost town."

"We get it Peyton," the teenage girl sighed in annoyance.

"We should check out what happened and tell Maxxor about it. I'm sure he'll send soldiers if he knows what caused this," Tom said confidently, taking the lead as they walked into town.

Despite his efforts though, his friends noticed that his pace was slow and careful. Quickly exchanging looks the three of them followed him as they wandered inside. It was empty. There were a few shops outside, but no one was there trying to sell anything. Whatever had happened the stands had been left behind with all their wares. Likewise, they could see that many of the houses and other buildings had been abandoned and left devoid of life. All was just silence.

"Okay. So, if any big trouble comes along, we port out right away?" Kaz suggested before gulping at a suspicious sound.

Before the others could respond they heard something hit the ground. Turning around they saw that a vase had rolled onto the ground from a nearby stand. The four of them pointed their scanners towards it, trying to see if there was something barely visible. They zoomed in, but nothing appeared on their screens.

"It's a ghost," Peyton decided, looking ready to port out.

"Unless it's an invisible Mipedian," Sarah said.

"No way. It's far from the desert and they wouldn't just make an entire town disappear like that," Peyton replied, looking around nervously

Tom nodded, "Yeah. If there was an attack, Maxxor would already know about it."

"I think we should stay far from the houses so we can see better," Sarah suggested. They needed to be aware of their surroundings.

"Yeah," the three boys replied.

As they progressed in the city, their hands inching slowly towards their scanners.

Tom voiced his thoughts, "I really don't like this. It seems like they are just gone."

Kaz gazed at the ground, "Not only that. Look, there's some dust on the ground. It seems like they've been gone for a while now. It's kind of looking like when someone wants to ambush us."

"Don't say that bro. Because my brain might say," Peyton said, his voice taking on a robotic tone, "'Warning. Ambush incoming.'"

"It's best that we port out now. I don't want to be in trouble again like yesterday," Sarah said with concern, frowning as she remembered being ambushed by the M'arrillian.

"I have to agree with Sarah. We shouldn't try our luck," Peyton agreed.

Tom stopped and made the decision, "Let's port out. It's best to leave before-." He stopped as he heard something.

Following the direction of the sound they saw many Overworlders gathered around a large fountain in the middle of the city.

It was strange that they would suddenly show up like that. It was all quiet and empty, but now, it was filled with creatures.

Seeing the creatures ahead Tom's mind told him that they had to get away right now. That investigating it wasn't worth it. Still, curiosity trumped caution and he said nothing as they decided to approach it. None of them said a word and slowly walked towards it.

They could hear the citizens talking together. Too many at the same time to understand what the creatures were talking about.

In those moments Kaz's logic pushed his curiosity aside, "I really don't like this. It was all quiet and now they are talking together, just when we decided to port out."

That didn't get rid of the curiosity for the other three. They still wondered what was going on, but they slowed down.

"This feels a little like a movie," Tom commented as he raised his scanner and zoomed in. He couldn't see anything suspicious.

They were close to the crowd. However, when they got too close, they suddenly all stopped talking. The town was quiet once again.

The creatures turned towards the four humans at the same time.

The action made them freeze up. This was really turning towards the horror side of things. They gazed at each other and then back at the creatures.

"Hi there everyone. Did… Did we interrupt something?" Peyton asked.

"Not at all," one of them said. He raised his finger, "We were waiting for one of you four to come for you to come… close enough."

That sounded way too specific to them. Their brains quickly searched for who would want all four of them to come.

Kaz quickly realized something was wrong, "Guys. We have to port out right now!"

"That won't be necessary. We need you to stay here," said a voice inside their heads.

Rath'tab flew down on them quickly. The four froze, taken off-guard. He landed behind them and reached for them. He aimed at Tom.

Fortunately, he had quick reflexes and jumped back when the tendril came at him. He almost let out a breath of relief when he heard something. Gazing back, he saw the creatures approaching them, "We have to port out now!"

"H-hey! Let me go!" Kaz grunted as one of them grabbed his arms and pulled him away from the group. Kaz tried pulling back, but it was of no use. He couldn't escape their grasp. Seeing this his friends came to help him.

Tom grabbed a rock and threw it, hitting the face of the creature.

The creature winced in pain and let go of Kaz'.

Sarah and Peyton pulled their friend away, trying to put some distance as the M'arrillian approached them.

Rath'tab raised his hand, "You will not escape us this time!"

The four avoided the creature and ran away, the citizens of Riverbane chasing after them.

"This is our chance to port out!" Sarah yelled at them.

They took their scanners, but an attack came and exploded between them, splitting them.

Sarah realized she had dropped her scanner and grunted, "Come on. Not this again." Eyes darting, she quickly searched for it. The Overworlders there were clearly under mind control of the M'arrillian. She froze when that thought passed, just as her hand touched the screen of her scanner. She couldn't believe it had happened again. She knew they couldn't do it after Aa'une had been defeated. They wouldn't have regained their minds if it wasn't the case.

It was clear that something happened. She grabbed her scanner, but before she could do anything the M'arrillian stood in front of her, "Got you," he raised his hand towards her.

"Leave her alone!" Tom jumped at him and pulled at the jelly-like substance, making the creature snarl. He pushed himself away and said, "Hurry. They already ported away!" he took out his scanner and disappeared.

Sarah did the same and followed him.

Rath'tab gazed at the empty street and let out a furious shout as they escaped him. Enrage, he punched the ground. He couldn't understand how it was possible.


The four players were back in the Port Court and they were panting from the exhaustion. After taking a few deep breaths it didn't take a long time to recover. They gazed at each other.

"There was a M'arrillian in there," Kaz whispered.

"The villagers weren't acting normal," Tom commented.

"They were under mind control," Sarah concluded.

No one was surprised; they had all reached that conclusion.

Peyton nodded, "Yeah. M'arrillians got their mind under their evil control," he waved his hands around his head and made a few goofy sounds, hoping to ease the tension.

The four gulped.

Tom sighed, sounding exhausted, "This is the worst. If they managed to come here and control our minds…" he didn't need to say the rest. They all knew what was coming, "I'm going to tell Maxxor about it right now. They need to know what the M'arrillians can do."

"Yeah. I'll warn Chaor. I don't care if he's pissed. This is too important," Kaz took out his scanner and picked his location.

"I'll tell the queen what's going on."

"And I'll tell Theb-Saar."

"Wait. Should we stay in a group?" Tom asked, sounding anxious.

"We better tell them all quickly. Like right now," Kaz replied, knowing why his friend asked.

"This is the only exception Tom. This is way too important. Who knows what would happen if we don't tell them as quickly as possible?" Sarah said, her scanner already out.

"Let's go!" Peyton concluded.

The four each ported to their locations to warn the tribal rulers.


Tom ported into the center of Kiru City. Looking around he saw himself surrounded by a few creatures going about their daily businesses. Knowing he had no time to waste he ignored his surroundings and headed straight for the castle. He had to tell Maxxor what they had discovered right now.

He quickly reached the castle door and told the guards he needed to meet with Maxxor. That he had urgent news. They let him pass and he went directly to the library where he was.

He opened the door and saw Maxxor checking several scrolls scattered around him. It seemed like he was searching for something important. But to him, it wasn't important, "Maxxor."

"Who's there?" the ruler of the Overworld asked. He was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn't recognize his friend. He let out a smile when he saw it was Tom, but frowned as he noticed the expression on the human's face, "Tom. What's going on?"

"A lot happened. Once we were okay, I came here to tell you something big," as he spoke Tom realized he was jumping ahead and stopped himself, and started over from the beginning, "We went to the village where you said that you had no contact for a while. We went in there and it was really strange. There wasn't a fight and it was deserted. Once we reached the center, we saw they were there, waiting for us," Tom took a deep breath and dropped the news, "Rath'tab was there and controlled the minds of everyone there."

"Their minds! Are you sure of that?" Maxxor asked, his voice filled with worry and anger.

"Yes. They were obeying his orders. They would never accept to listen to a M'arrillian otherwise. There are too many for Rath'Tab to control otherwise." Tom put his hand on his chest as he recalled what happened, "They almost managed to get us but we escaped and split up to tell you this and to the other tribes."

The ruler of the Overworld considered that Tom's friends had warned the other tribes. It would save some time when he had to speak with the other leaders. He scratched his jaw for a few seconds before looking at his friend, "This is bad. I wasn't expecting the M'arrillians to take action like that. I believe now they are almost ready to strike Chaotic."

Tom paled a little when he heard that, but he knew he had to accept the conclusion, "I'm not even sure if the Codemasters are ready."

"You better warn them when you get back Tom. Anyway, we need to get as much information as possible. Thankfully, we have a lead," Maxxor sighed.

"A lead?" Tom asked hopefully.

Maxxor nodded, "We managed to capture a prisoner. He was a spy in an isolated forest."

Tom didn't reply, instead desperately hoping it wasn't him, "Who did you capture?"

"Phelphor. He didn't put any resistance when they arrested him," Maxxor replied.

Tom couldn't hide his shock.

Maxxor noticed it and asked, "Tom?"

Now he had to find a way to explain everything.


AC: This is the end of this chapter. We are getting towards the end of this Arc. Hope you enjoyed it.

Next: Phelphor Defense.

Upon learning the news, Tom had to explain to Maxxor what Phelphor did for him and tried to avoid the ex-M'arrillian a death sentence.