Chapter 1

Crellan drome

"If I didn't know you better, Crellan, I'd say you were stalking those affiliated with Major Tom." That voice caught the attention of CodeMaster Crellan, interrupting his observation of the Chaotic match that was going on in his drome at the moment. The voice, however, was no cause for alarm as Crellan knew the owner of that voice, even with their helmet disorienting it a bit.

"You cannot blame me for doing so, Imthor." Said Crellan as he turned towards the CodeMaster of the Imthor drome, dressed in his usual golden helmet and gauntlets over the standard robes of the CodeMasters, who was walking towards him. "Major Tom and his group of friends are quite interesting. I've never seen such bravery and selflessness in any Chaotic player before. Not in the amounts they have shown anyway." Imthor just nodded in agreement as he joined in on the viewing of the match going on. If he recalled correctly the one affiliated with Major Tom was the one called PeytonicMaster. According to the teams, he was winning narrowly. He had three creatures to his opponent's two. However, it appears that the numbers have evened out as his opponent just casted the Mugic, Melody of Malady, healing the opponent as well as damaging PeytonicMaster's Siado. He then used his Viledriver to defeat Siado, coding him and leaving PeytonicMaster with only two creatures.

"Yes. Their empathy towards the creatures of Perim is admirable." Said Imthor, recalling all that they did for the creatures of Perim. "Even when it risked them losing their presence in Chaotic, they still choose to help the creatures of Perim in their plights. Such traits are quite rare to be found on Earth."

"Very." Agreed Crellan. "As well as Perim." Imthor nodded as they watched the next battle start.

"How is Perim, anyway. I've been too busy with CodeMaster matches to be up to date with the politics and situations around regarding Perim." Said Imthor.

"Quite interesting, to say the least." Said Crellan. "The tribes, their greatest Muges at least, have banded together and rose an ancient city from its resting place. Long thought lost to history. Now it's a hot spot for Chaotic players as well as the creatures of Perim. I've even heard that the creatures are attempting to find the Cothica in the city, believing it's hidden in its walls."

"A fool's errand." Commented Imthor. "The power of the Cothica is something that no one, not even the most selfless of creatures, should attain. Power corrupts. You know it. And I know it. That's why it's hidden in the first place. Doom will befall on Perim if anyone acquires its power." Crellan nodded in agreement as the battle between PeytonicMaster and his opponent reached its climax.

"Yes. Hopefully, they won't find it. Otherwise, we may have to step in." Said Crellan as PeytonicMaster made a fatal mistake that caused his creature to be nearly coded. He managed to correct himself in time and got back in the game. Imthor nodded at that before looking back at the battle.

"I take it that this battle will qualify PeytonicMaster for a CodeMaster battle with you, yes?" Asked Imthor as he changed the subject.

"Yes." Said Crellan. "I'm quite eager to see if PeytonicMaster is as skilled and knowledgeable as he boasts. He will need it if he wishes to defeat me."

"Indeed." Said Imthor. "Just because his friend managed to defeat you once, doesn't mean he can achieve the same results."

"Nor does it mean that I have run out of tricks to use." Said Crellan as the match ended with PeytonicMaster winning it.

Meanwhile

Port Court

"Alright, Peyton!" Yelled Major Tom as he, his best friend Kaz, and Sarah, another friend, cheered on their mutual friend PeytonicMaster on his recent victory in his drone match. "Just one more creature and he'll win this match." While he was optimistic about Peyton winning, Kaz wasn't so sure.

"I don't know, Tom." Said Kaz as he observed the screen that showed Peyton's match. "He only has Mudeenu and Tianne left. And his opponent has Chaor with a Gigantroper as battle gear. And that thing has wiped out three of his creatures. Peyton's in for a hard battle Tom." Sarah, upon hearing that, smirked.

"Are you just saying that because you don't want to see Chaor lose of Mudeenu or Tianne?" Teased Sarah as both she and Tom looked at Kaz with looks of amusement, befuddling Kaz.

"Of course not." Said Kaz as he defended himself. "I'm just saying that Peyton has a hard fight or two if he wants to win. And for the record, Chaor can totally beat Mudeenu and Tianne at the same time without question. Without any difficulty."

"Really?" Asked Tom with a devious smile. "That's what you said before you lost a match against Bodal with Chaor in your last match."

"He didn't code me!" Yelled Kaz as he glared at Tom incredulously as both Sarah and Tom laughed at his expense. "It was the location that coded me. There's a difference." After Tom and Sarah finished laughing, they all went back to watching the match. Meanwhile, back at the Crellan drome, Peyton was conversing with his opponent, a player from France.

"Got to say, man, this was a sick match." Said Peyton with a grin. "Kind of a shame that we got to end this so soon." His opponent just nodded in agreement as he spoke.

"Agreed. You've been a worthy opponent." Said his opponent, a teen by the name of Hugo. "But, in order to qualify for a CodeMaster match, I have to beat you."

"Same here." Said Peyton. "Guess we both have high stacks, huh?" Hugo just nodded in agreement. "Then let's get Chaotic!" Peyton then activated his location randomizer. Both players and their audience watched as the randomizer slowed down to reveal the next location.

"The next location: Iron Pillar." Said the Crellan drome's AI announcer as the location was locked in on the original Iron Pillar, before the sentient Gigantropers wrecked it before eventually becoming a part of it.

"Tough break man." Said Peyton with a smile. "Battle gear doesn't work at Iron Pillar. So, your little bot won't work, evening the playing field."

"Ho, ho, ho." Said Hugo. "We'll see about that, monsieur Peyton." Peyton just smiled even more before declaring the attack.

"Mudeenu attacks Chaor!" Yelled Peyton before selecting his Mudeenu card while Hugo selects his only creature left. Blue digital codes then began to surround them, turning them both into their selected creatures. Once this was done, Peyton, now Mudeenu in form, spoke out. "Now let's get Chaotic!" The drome then sent them to their destination.

Few minutes into the match, Peyton was climbing up Iron Pillar, keeping an eye out for Hugo.

"Now where is Mr. temper." Thought Peyton as he climbed up a support beam before landing on a stable, flat sheet of metal. On high alert, Peyton was about to move when his tail, Mudeenu's tail, raised up in alarm. Acting quickly, Peyton dived out of the way as a fireball blasted his original location.

"Nice dodge, Peyton!" Yelled Hugo, now Chaor, before firing a few more fireballs from a higher platform, forcing Peyton to dodge them all lest he gets hit. "But not good enough. Heat Ray!" Beams of flame erupted from Hugo's eyes, this time hitting Peyton and causing significant damage.

Shaking his head, Peyton roared out before launching a Flash kick at Hugo as he landed on the platform Peyton was on, hitting his square in the chest. Grunting at the hit, Hugo tried to dodge the blast of Iron Balls from Mudeenu's eyes, but couldn't as Peyton kept peppering him with the Iron Balls before launching another Flash Kick as he got close. The Flash kick nearly sent Hugo over the edges of the platform, almost causing him to fall to the bottom of Iron Pillar, which would have lost him the match.

Roaring out a challenge, Hugo launched an Inferno Gust at Peyton as he closed in. Peyton, deciding to take a risk, took the Inferno Gust square in the chest, reducing his Mudeenu to just ten energy, and causing him to spiral to the ground in pain.

"Why did Peyton tank the hit!" Said Tom in surprise as the trio watched this in surprise. "Mudeenu is down to only ten energy."

"He's got something cooking him in his brain." Said Sarah. "Though whether it's a good one is up for debate." Kaz just nodded as Hugo prepared to launch a final attack at the downed Mudeenu.

"Game over, Peyton!" Yelled Hugo as he was about to launch his attack. Before he did, however, Peyton suddenly got up and tackled Hugo over the edge, sending them plummeting to the bottom of Iron Pillar, where they both ended up code, causing them to be sent back to the drome.

"The match is over. The winner is PeytonicMaster!" Declared the AI as Peyton smirked at his victory. Because he was the only one with a creature left, Peyton was the winner of the match, thus securing his qualifications of challenging CodeMaster Crellan. After retrieving his scanner, Peyton spoke to Hugo.

"Thanks for the great match, man." Said Peyton. "You really gave me a good fight."

"Same to you." Said Hugo. "I didn't expect you to pull off such a move, monsieur Peyton. Good lock on your CodeMaster match." Peyton nodded his thanks before leaving with his opponent in tow.

Upon arriving back at the Port Court, he looked around for his friends, eventually finding them and sitting with them at the table.

"Dudes, guess who's going to be fighting a code master soon!" Announced Peyton with a big smile on his face.

"That's great Peyton!" Said Tom with a smile. "If you win your battle, that'll be two people in our gang that's beaten a CodeMaster."

"You got that right, dude!" Yelled Peyton with excitement. "Imthor may have beaten me last time, but Crellan isn't going to escape me!"

"Well, in that case, you better come up with a good strategy, Peyton." Said Sarah. "And a good one, Peyton. Just because Tom beat Crellan last time, doesn't mean that you can. Heck, for all we know, Crellans' got some new creatures, Mugic, and battlegear since his battle with Tom."

"Sarah's right, Peyton." Said Kaz. "Not only do we have to discuss a strategy for you, but we also got to get you some new scans."

"Not to worry, good dude." Said Peyton with a smile. "I've been making a strategy for this moment to come since the day I needed a seventh win in the Crellan drome. Not to worry, I got everything under control. Crellan won't know what hit him."

"Really?" Asked Tom in surprise. "Then can you tell what your strategy is?"

"No way, Tommy boy." Said Peyton with a wave of both his hands. "Got to keep it all hush-hush so to prevent the CodeMaster from hearing about it." Upon hearing that, Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Peyton, the CodeMasters don't overhear all our conversations." Said Sarah. "They're good, but they don't need to overhear all our conversations and strategies in order to beat us. They're hard to beat because they're that good and because they have some hard to acquire creatures, battlegear, and Mugic."

"Yeah, but you never be too sure, Sarah." Said Peyton. "But if you're right, then they'll be wishing they eavesdropped for what I got will surely get a reaction out of them." That caused his friends to raise an eyebrow, their curiosity growing.

"C'mon, Peyton, can't you just give us a little hint?" Asked Tom with a smile. "I mean, you do owe me one for getting you that scan of Mudeenu when he was powered up with Mugic."

"Sorry, Tom-o, these lips are sealed." Said Peyton, causing Sarah to grunt. "But trust me, you'll all be stoked to see what I got in store for Crellan. Just you wait!" With that, Peyton then saw a girl that caught his eye and quickly left to go talk to her.

"*Sighs* God, I can't stand waiting." Said Sarah. "I got to see what he saw in store for Crellan."

"Well, we got no choice." Said Tom with a shrug. "If Peyton wants to keep it hush-hush, then we got to respect it."

"Yeah, I guess." Said Kaz with a sigh. "Well, I got to go to the Underworld. H'earring told me a while ago that Chaor made some improvements to his personal Viledriver and I want to get a scan of it. Want to come?"

"Actually, Tom and I have to go to Mount Pillar." Said Sarah. "Apparently there are some interesting developments going on there that involve the Overworlders and I want to go find out what it is."

"Yeah, and I want to figure out what the Danians are doing that's got Maxxor going there." Said Tom, causing Kaz to widen his eyes in shock.

"What Maxxor is going to Mount Pillar?" Asked Kaz. "How'd you figure that out."

"Bodal." Said Tom simply, causing Kaz to nod in understanding.

"Figures." Said Kaz. "Well, tell me what you guys find out there when you get back. I'm actually eager to see if it's good news or not."

"Will do." Said Tom as they all got up and walked towards the teleporters, one heading to the Underworld and the other two to Mount Pillar.

Mount Pillar

Teleporting straight outside Mount Pillar, Tom and Sarah looked to see Mount Pillar in all its glory.

"Okay, so is getting to Mount Pillar still difficult as before?" Asked Tom as they saw a couple of guards near an entranceway.

"Unfortunately, yes." Said Sarah with slight disappointment. "Even after the whole M'arrillian invasion and tribal alliance, the Danians are still hostile to outsiders, especially Chaotic players."

"Okay, so how do we get in?" Asked Tom. "Sneak our way in or convince the Overworlders to let us in on their behalf."

"Don't worry." Said Sarah. "Wamma and I already made arrangements. He'll be here soon to get the guards out of the way and we can get in. Just have to wait a few minutes." Tom nodded at that as the two waited for Wamma to come and deal with the guards.

Few minutes later

The two were still waiting for Wamma to come and remove the guards.

Another few minutes

They still were waiting, this time with bored expressions.

Thirty minutes later

"Argh! That's it!" Said Sarah in anger as she saw the guards were still there. "Where's Wamma!? That fat piece of larb better have a good excuse why he hasn't removed the guards yet?"

"Think he's busy or something?" Asked Tom as he scratched his head. He knew Wamma was lazy, but he was punctual enough to do something easy like getting guards away from their post to help Sarah out.

"He couldn't be." Said Sarah. "Last I heard from him, he got demoted back to Mandiblor after he helped get me a scan of Nom. So, he shouldn't be busy with anything."

"Well, unless you like to wait for an hour more, I'd say we should either try to get in touch with the Overworlders or try to sneak in. Got any other entranceways to Mount Pillar?" Asked Tom.

"Tons." Said Sarah with a smile. "Every Danian player has at least half a dozen ways to enter Mount Pillar undetected. Even Buzz junior and senior can get in without much trouble. Though they did nearly get caught the first time they tried it. And it was a very close call. Come on, I'll show you where the quickest one is."

"So what was the close call?" Asked Tom as they walked to the entranceway.

"They were trying to get a scan of Lore, the Danian's spiritual leader for a trade. Lore nearly caught them, but they managed to escape through a garbage chute." Explained Sarah before giggling. "Boy did they smell when they got back to Chaotic." Tom laughed a bit at that. Eventually, they arrived at a hidden crevice leading to the interior of Mount Pillar.

"Okay, this entranceway leads directly to one of the barracks the Mandiblors use." Said Sarah. "If we're quiet and lucky, we can get in and out without anyone noticing. So, stay close and follow me."

"Got it." Said Tom, trusting Sarah on this. The two then entered the crevice, eventually forcing them to crawl to get through. Soon, they were at the Danian barracks that Sarah talked about. Luck would have it, all the guards there were asleep. Telling Tom to be quiet, the two stealthily went towards the exit. Once the two were safely out of the barracks and a good distance from any Danians, Sarah spoke up.

"Alright, if memory serves me right, the embassy for the Overworld is several floors above where we are now." Said Sarah as she looked around their surroundings. "So, unless we want to stay hiding all the time, I'd say it's best for us to go to the Overworld embassy and try to get Maxxor to help us out."

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan." Said Tom. "Know where the embassy is?"

"Of course." Said Sarah. "Just follow me and don't do anything stupid." With that, the two walked towards the upper levels of Mount Pillar, careful not to alert any Danian guards on patrol.

"So, any ideas what the whole thing is about?" Asked Tom. "All Bodal said it was something important that involved Maxxor."

"No idea. Wamma didn't say much. Just that it involved the Overworld and that Maxxor would be here." Said Sarah. "Apparently queen Illexia's daughter asked Maxxor to come. With as many guards as he wished." Upon hearing that, Tom widened his eyes in surprise.

"Illexia has a daughter?" Asked Tom in shock. He knew that she was a queen and all, but he never thought she had a daughter. At least right now. Sarah saw his shock and understood.

"Yeah, it's a very closely guarded secret." Said Sarah. "Even Danian players didn't know about her. Heck, I wouldn't know about her if it wasn't for Wamma and he only got it through sheer luck. She's kept hidden from everyone, even other Danians. I guess it's because Illexia didn't want her daughter to be in danger from Danian dissenters and enemies from the other tribes." That caused Tom to raise an eyebrow.

"So, if that's true, then why is she revealing herself now?" Asked Tom. "And what does it got to do with Maxxor?"

"That's what I want to know as well." Said Sarah as they climbed up some stairs. "I really doubt it's something as petty as teenage disobedience."

Tom was about to make his own comment on that when they heard some loud voices coming from the other end of the stairs. Sarah heard them too and the two looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

Before either could make a plan, they saw who was making those steps and were relieved.

"Wamma." Said Sarah as she saw her Danian compatriot coming in full view alone. "You nearly gave us a scare. We thought you were another Danian."

"Sorry, Sarah." Said Wamma as he made his way to his human friend. "Things got a bit complicated and I was forced to stay around to guard the queen's daughter."

"Really?" Asked Sarah. She then noticed that Wamma still held a sash full of medals. Among those medals was a badge signifying that the wearer was a Battlemaster. "What's with that? I thought you got demoted from Battlemaster back to Mandiblor after you got me that scan of Nom?" Upon hearing that, Wamma scowled, both in sadness and anger.

"Oh, it's terrible Sarah. Just terrible." Said Wamma before motioning for both Tom and Sarah to follow, which they did after a look at each other. After a few minutes of walking, Wamma talked again. "You see after I helped you get that scan, Lore demoted me back to Mandiblor. There were a lot of disappointed Mandiblors about that because I was the first Mandiblor to become Battlemaster, but I didn't care. My old life was coming back to me. I can finally be back to being old lazy Wamma." Wamma then whined and placed a hand on his head. "But then the queen's daughter happened. She got me back up to Battlemaster and then used me to advocate her cause. *Whines* Since then, I've been put in charge of her personal guard. Going with her to political meetings. Guarding her when she sleeps. Even be forced to witness her speeches to the other Danians. *Cries* It's been awful." Although Sarah couldn't help but roll her eyes at Wamma's laziness, she was intrigued with what he said. If Wamma was this close to the Illexia's daughter, then he must know what she's been up to.

"Wamma, as much as it pains me to see you like this." Said Sarah, trying to butter up Wamma. "What exactly has Illexia's daughter been doing? You must know with how close you've been around her."

"Yeah, and what does it have to do with Maxxor?" Asked Tom, catching on. "What does the Overworld got to do with the Danians?" Wamma took a minute to get ahold of himself before speaking.

"It's about the Danians usage of parasites and the princess' ascension to the throne." Said Wamma as he wiped a tear from his left eye. "Illexia's daughter, Aszil, has been advocating for the Danians to stop the usage of parasites and infestation as well as improving our relations with the other tribes. Needless to say, that caused some controversy with the rest of the nobles and Battlemasters." That caused both Tom and Sarah to widen their eyes in shock.

"She wants to ban the usage of Danian parasites?" Asked Sarah. "Why? That's one of your most effective strategies. And she wants to get rid of it all?"

"Well, it's because of the M'arrillian invasion." Explained Wamma. "You see, during the siege of Mount Pillar, a M'arrillian managed to find Aszil and attempted to mind control her." That shocked both humans a bit. If a M'arrillian managed to brainwash someone, then that was bad news, especially if they were a political figure.

"Were they successful?" Asked Tom, concerned about this.

"Yeah." Said Wamma. "We managed to get rid of the mind control in time before she could do anything damaging, but the experience left her traumatized. Made her second guess everything about Danian warfare. Eventually, it caused her to try to advocate the discontinuation of Danian parasites as well as advocate stronger relations with the other tribes."

"Wow." Said Tom as he took all this in. "That must have made her a lot of enemies."

"Oh, you're understating it." Said Wamma. "If she wasn't the queen's daughter, she would have her head on a pike or something. Things got worse when she began to garner support from most of the Mandiblors. She managed to get their support by promising better quarters and food for them. She even got most of the Battlemasters to side with her. Heck, even one or two nobles are backing her up. Oh, I'm telling you Sarah, things are getting quite hectic right now." Sarah hummed at that.

"Think it's going to lead to a civil war between those supporting Aszil and Illexia?" Asked Sarah, worried that all this will end in a civil war between those that support Aszil and those that didn't.

"Probably." Said Wamma. "Illexia is in support of those that want to keep the old ways. She thinks her daughter's views are too radical. Too unrealistic right now. Sure, the tribes worked with each other against the M'arrillians when they invaded, but that doesn't wipe out generations of warfare between the tribes. At least that's what Illexia says. She also says the Danians need as many advantages as they can get with how cozy the Underworld and Overworld are getting with the Mipedians."

"Uh, they aren't that buddy with each other." Said Tom. "There are still some issues between the tribes."

"Yeah, but not enough compared to what the other tribes have against the Danians." Said Wamma. "Between the infesting of that Mipedian assassin and the infesting of the Overworld ambassador, and a whole bunch of stuff that way beyond my time, we Danians got a lot of things to answer for. That's why Illexia is so against her daughters' plans. She fears that her daughter will weaken the Danians enough that our enemies will try to attack us."

"And is that why Maxxor is here?" Asked Tom, guessing why Maxxor was here. "On request of the Danian queen's daughter?"

"Yeah." Said Wamma. "She went to him first. I was there. Didn't hear what they said to each other. That stuff was kept between them, but it must have been enough to get Maxxor to come here." Upon hearing that Wamma didn't know anything why Maxxor was here caused Sarah to groan.

"Okay, Wamma." Said Sarah after controlling her temper. "How about you get us straight to where Aszil is. I want to scan her and figure out what she's up to."

"Where do you think we're going?" Asked Wamma. "We're going straight to Aszil's chambers." Upon hearing that, both humans widened their eyes in shock.

"She isn't going to do anything to us, right?" Asked Tom, placing a hand on his scanner just in case. Upon hearing that, Wamma shook his head.

"Oh no." Said Wamma as he waved a hand. "Aszil figured out my friendship with Sarah."

"Really?" Asked Sarah. "What did she say?"

"Nothing really against it." Said Wamma. "All she did was ask me to bring you here. Said that you can help with the situation here."

"Really?" Asked Sarah in surprise. She had helped the Danians before with the whole Mipedian assassination attempt, but that was complete without anyone asking for her help. This would be the first time that a Danian, baring Wamma, asked her for help. "What does she think I can do?"

"No idea." Said Wamma with a shrug. "Just said to bring you here as soon as possible. She said there's a reward for you if you come. So, come on, I told Aszil that you were here and to wait for you in her chambers. Don't want to keep her waiting. She's got a lot on her plate." With that Wamma urged the two humans forward, even gently pushing them forward with his weapon.

"Hey. Watch it." Said Sarah as Wamma pocked her back. She then looked at Tom. "Gonna guess what Aszil wants?" Tom just shrugs.

"No idea. Hopefully, it isn't something too dangerous." Said Tom as the two walked with Wamma behind them, urging them to go faster.