Episode 2: New Two On the Scene (part 2)
Linus grinned as he approached the building, he had been told was Battle Drome Tirasis, practically sprinting at it. Sure, this place was bizarre and he couldn't fully make heads or tails of it but damn if it wasn't exciting and if it really was connected to Chaotic then that meant he had a whole new batch of opponents who could prove to be just the challenge he's been angling for.
Skidding to a halt in front of the door, he watched as it opened to reveal a blinding white light.
"Oh, this should be fun". And with that, he stepped into the drome.
Inside he found a large dark room with thin lines going up the curving walls and a giant projection floating in the center.
"Linus Fischer" a mechanical voice stated seemingly from nowhere, "chaotic screen name Creepshow"
"Heh, that's my name, don't wear it out" he joked quietly to himself.
"Your opponent" the voice continued as another person approached the centre. "Coley Adeyemi, Chaotic screen name, Green Guardian"
"So, you're new?" the guy asked.
He had a lithe but muscular build almost like a swimmer's, dark brown skin and jet-black hair that he wore in cornrows. His eyes were big and expressive with a warm amber colour to the irises. He wore a simple green tank top, dark blue trousers that stopped halfway down his calves and a pair of tan sandals on his feet, a pair of silver headphones hung round his neck.
"Is it that obvious" Linus replied with a chuckle.
"Well, you're handling it better than most other players"
"Players, dock your scanners"
Linus shrugged as he followed the voice's instructions, a holographic screen suddenly appearing in front of him.
"nice" he breathed out.
"isn't it" his opponent responded, "Works just like online"
Linus watched as his opponents flicked one of the small rings in front of him, stopping to drag something across the screen and moved onto the next one in line. He quickly mimicked that action, his own screen displaying a different creature in his deck with every spin.
"All right" he thought to himself, "looks like this is a one-on-one match so who should I go for?"
He flicked through a few of his options before settling on an old favourite of his.
"He should make things interesting"
With that, he moved onto battle gear, deciding on a Vlaric shard so he could do earth attacks and choosing a decrescendo mugic without much thought.
"Not like my guy has any mugicians to begin with" he thought to himself as he picked his locations. "Better stick with spots around the underworld".
"Players, lock your decks" the voice called out, an order both of them quickly complied with, causing the others team to appear.
"Never seen that guy before" Coley stated curiously, "figured you'd be the one getting all the surprises today".
Linus couldn't help but smirk at that, one of the reasons he was drawn to this creature at first was just that no one could quite comprehend him.
"Because this is his first match in chaotic, Creepshow will be the attacking player. Please spin the location randomiser"
Quickly, Linus reached over and spun the little tab on his screen, feeling himself get giddier by the second as the different location's flashed in front of him.
"The battle will take place in the Thorn Lands, please select the attacking and target creature"
Only one real option, he thought to himself. "Strikto attacks Ekuud"
"Place your hand on the card"
Linus reached out but as soon as his fingers grazed the picture, a bright blue stream of light began to appear around him, leaving his body transformed into a giant snake like form with a head at either end as they disappeared.
"sorry for not warning you new guy" Coley said as the lights enveloped his face, leaving a large black and red visage with huge mandibles coming out of the mouth.
"But you gotta learn fast".
"Strikto vs Ekuud in the Thorn Lands" the automated voice announced as it began to spin rapidly, Giving of a blinding light. "Let the battle commence".
If Linus somehow wasn't in awe of how he had somehow been transported to two separate places, both of which were beyond other worldly. He would be in awe of his new form. A ginormous serpentine body with red scales and spiny red frills across the back of his two fanged heads.
"This is weird" one of the two mouths said, "but awesome" the other finished as they began to slither through the large thistles and spikes that made up the Thorn Lands.
"Now where oh where is bug boy"
"Right above you"
Instinctively, Linus looked up to see the Insectoid form diving down at him.
"Pebble storm" He cried as a barrage of rocks rained down on Linus.
"AHRG"
Quickly, Coley landed on a nearby branch and bounced into the undergrowth. "you've got to try harder than that my friend"
"How about this, torrent of flame"
Fire gushed from Linus's twin maws, setting his surroundings alight in fire, forcing the Danian to dive from his hiding spot to the ground.
"I also have this" Linus announced as the Vlaric Shard appeared on his body. "Earth pulse"
A blast of energy is shot out of Linus mouth, hitting the ground at Coley's feat and causing it to erupt around him.
With that, Coley went flying into a nearby boulder. A pained groan emanating from his mouth as he picked himself up.
"That looked like it hurt" Linus's twin heads chuckled in unison.
"True, but this should make your ears ring. Swarm song"
As the notes began to play, Linus braced himself for the inevitable blast coming his way. The concentrated beam of sound knocking him of his perch a few seconds later.
"let's see if you can find me again" Coley Cried out as wind strider manifested next to him, a quick current taking both it and him off into the foliage.
"Well, that sucked" Linus thought to himself as he slithered after his opponent. "Wonder how Haley's doing?"
"Power pulse"
Haley ducked low under the window she had just been peering out from.
Cautiously, she angled her head to glance over the ledge, only to see the form of Reggie as Heptadd aiming an attack right at her.
"Ember swarm"
With a sharp cry, she was shot into the next room by the burning bugs.
"Come on Haley" Reggie stated as he landed in the building, "you've got to stay on your guard. Think, how would the creature react"
"Like this! Riptide" she cried as water surged from her hands.
Quickly, Reggie raised his arms, protecting his large green face from the brunt of the attack. Lowering them, he saw that Haley had run.
"While I can appreciate a tactical retreat" he called out as he summoned his pyro blaster and began making his way through the building. "You've got to be more offensive than that"
Haley panted as she pressed herself up against a wall, her mind racing. She looked down at the new form her mind was currently inhabiting and still couldn't believe it.
She was actually in the body of Lomma. The short layer of brown fur on her skin, the long multi coloured locks of hair cascading from her head, the antelope-like facial features. It was all there.
Not only that but she was in Kiru city and currently getting her butt kicked.
"Okay Haley" said to herself, "just got to catch him off guard".
Catching the sight of his back to her, she dived out of the door frame.
"Frost blight"
Quickly, Reggie turned and aimed his battle gear
"Sudden flare" he called as the fire overwhelmed her attack and reduced it to nothing.
"Nicely done, but you'll have to try harder than that. Lavalanche"
Haley gasped as a deluge of burning material began to flood the hallway she was in, quickly jumping out of a nearby window and crashing into the street below.
"That could have gone smoother" she said to herself as her opponent dived after her.
"Delerium" she shouted as a beam of light came out of her head and hit his, causing him to black out and hit the ground hard.
"how's that for good enough" she said she gave a little joyful hop. "Hope Linus is doing good"
The attacks zipped back and forth as they continued to chase each other through the Thorn lands, the air being filled with the sound of their cries.
"Rock wave" Coley yelled as the ground shifted rapidly into a spike, nearly pinning Linus against its own mass.
"flame orb" he shouted back as his twin heads spat out ball's of fire. One managing to catch the sail of the Danian's wind strider.
"AHHH" he screamed as he began to nosedive, quickly reaching out his hand to one of the nearby branches.
"Vine snare".
Quickly, the plant life shot out of his limb and wrapped around the target, pulling him away just as his battle gear crashed to the ground in a blazing wreck.
"Nice, a hanging target" Linus stated as he slithered forward.
"But not a helpless one. Flash kick"
quickly, Linus slithered from spot to spot dodging the blast's sent flying from each of his legs until one caught him in his side.
"That's it. Time you figure out to fear your enemy. Fear fight"
Coley watched as shadowy vapours rose from his opponent's body. Forming ghost like bodies before charging at him full force. He only had time to let out a cry before they swarmed him, his body getting coded in a instant.
"The winner is Creepshow"
"I did?" Linus asked as the swirl of light's restored him to his old self. "I DID, I WON"
"Nicely done" Coley said as he walked up to Linus, "you've taken to this like a duck to water"
"Thanks" Linus replied "just hope my sis is doing as good"
"They broadcast matches live in the hub, if she's still fighting you could catch the end of it"
"Seriously. Oh, you're the best man"
"It is nothing, mind if I tag along?"
"sure" Linus answered as the pair walked out of the drome. "By the way, where you from?"
"Abuja, in Nigeria. Always thought my accent gave that away. How about you"
"The US. Currently living in this little town in Michigan"
"Just need to find an opening, just need to find an opening" Haley repeated mentally as she jumped from spot to spot dodging the fire ball's being shot at her. She had already used her Geo flourish mugic and her equipped her ring of Na'arin, but Reggie had still managed to get her down to 15 energy.
"Good show Haley" Reggie said between shots. "you've forced me to focus my attention on stopping you from attacking rather than defeating you, very well done".
"Does he have to beat me and be so nice about it" she thought to herself as she dodged yet another blast of flames. "Ugh, this isn't working. If I cant find an opening then I've got to make one".
"Hydro balls"
Within an instant the twin spheres of water crashed into Reggie, knocking his battle gear away from him.
"That should help snuff your flame's"
"True, but you've forgotten that fire isn't all I have. Wind slash"
Haley ducked as the blades of air whooshed over her head, barely grazing the tip of her new horns.
"Dead water Devastation" she shouted, a stream of sickly-looking water erupting from her hands, only for Reggie to slide out of the way before rasing his hands for another attack.
"Dust strike"
Haley leaped over it, landing on a nearby cart. "Got to put everything into the last attack"
"Incessant wave" she screamed as the mass of water crashed forward.
"Elementalist strike" Reggie shouted back, launching forth four separate barrages to smash into the water, an eruption of light coming forth from their collision that is only eclipsed by the sudden shower of code.
"The winner is Reggie One"
"Good match" Reggie offered as he finished transforming back.
"Yeah, definitely" Haley replied as she tried to swallow the lump that had now formed in her throat.
"Haley, I'm serious" Reggie said, his tone a lot more serious now. "I was down to 5 energy and won partially thanks to luck. You have nothing to be ashamed about with this match"
"Thank you, Reggie" Haley replied, a smile now forming on her face as they left the Drome.
"Think nothing of it".
"So, what now" Haley asked as she looked around at the other teen's hanging around them. "This is fun and all but I should find my brother and go home".
At that point a rather unnerving thought entered her mind.
"Oh man, mom is going to freak out when she gets back and finds we're not there."
"Don't worry" Reggie tried to assure her, "your still home right now"
For a few seconds, Haley could only stare at her new associate in disbelief.
"Okay, I've seen some weird stuff this evening so I'll just let you explain and then possibly panic later"
Reggie let out a chuckle before continuing, "my friend Kaz does a better job of explaining this but bare with me. There are now two versions of you, the one living your life on earth and the one that exists in Chaotic and Perim"
"Wait, Perim is a real place too?" Haley asked, nearly shouting in shock.
"Oh, boy" Reggie responded nervously. "Should have waited a bit to tell you that. The point I'm trying to get to is that at any moment you can press the top button on your scanner and the Chaotic you will be combined back with the earth you, getting the memories of what both versions have been doing."
"Okay, I think I get it" Haley responded, visibly unsure of what to make out of this explanation. "I should still go find Linus"
"Well, I have a little scan quest I've been meaning to do so I believe this is where we part ways, but before you go".
Reggie absentmindedly pulled out his scanner and looked up to Haley with a smile. "Would you mind if I sent you a friend request. I'd like to keep in touch"
"sure" she said, "see you around".
"I hope so" he replied before rolling down the walkway they were standing on.
"Guess I'd better track down Linus" she thought to herself with a shrug as she headed back to the main hub.
After tracking down her brother, meeting his new friend Coley who seemed like a nice guy (not in the least because he was being a lot more polite than her brother when it came to how her match played out) and getting some more advice on porting home. The pair stood on the transport pads, looking at each other somewhat nervously.
"On three?" Linus offered with a telltale twinkle in his eye that always made Haley grin.
"one" she began.
"two" he continued.
"Three"
Haley's eye's opened with a twitch, the annoying beeping sound coming from her desk across the room. Quickly she flicked on the bedside light, wincing slightly as the bright shine from it hit her pupils.
"What the heck is making that sound?"
Yawning she got up and walked over then froze when she saw the small red light coming from her now active scanner.
"it's working now?"
Picking it up, she leaned against the side of her desk and pressed the glowing button at the top of the device.
Suddenly her mind flash with a typhoon of blue code, memories of battle and a strange world flooded her thoughts, almost making her drop her scanner in the process.
She quickly rushed to her door opening it and was about to knock on her brothers before it was flung open, a still dishevelled but now wide-eyed Linus staring at her.
"That stuff happened, right?" he asked nervously. "I'm not just loosing my mind"
"Yeah, I think so"
"AWESOME" Linus cheered loudly. "Hales, this might be the coolest thing we have ever found"
"I'm with you on that one" Haley replied, breaking out into an excited giggle at the end.
"Excuse me"
The pair turned to see their mother walking up the stairs, her slightly moth-eaten coat covering her baby blue nurses' scrubs.
"it's a school night you two, I expect you to be in bed by the time I get back"
"Sorry mom" Linus responded, "Haley just needed to double check something with me, will hit the hay now"
"Alright, Love you two". With that their mother walked into her own room, shutting the door behind her.
Quickly, Linus turned back to his sister with a manic grin.
"Head back to Chaotic before school tomorrow so we can still hang out?"
Haley could only smirk as she gave her reply.
"figured that went without saying"
