The following morning, Theo and Laura showed up a little after the rest of the team arrived and noticed something odd.

"Why is Sol's car still here?", Laura asked.

Theo looked equally confused.

"I don't know. Maybe he came in here earlier than we did."

Laura had a plate of brownies with her which Theo thought was a nice gesture. When they came in Hardcore showed up looking a bit freaked out, but looked more at ease.

"Oh, Theo, Laura hi.", he said pleasantly.

Laura looked a bit uneasy.

"Have you seen Sol?", Laura asked as she put her brownies on the counter.

Hardcore paused, but seemed to be interested in the brownies and took one.

"Mmm.", he said after taking a bite, "Delicious."

He hurried off, but Theo leaned close to Laura.

"Well, that was odd.", Theo commented.

Laura nodded.

"I hope Sol's okay."

They soon parted and Theo noticed that Hardcore had one of his PDA systems set up. He was about to go over when Bug came by.

"Oh Theo, nice to see you."

Theo was a little surprised. Bug was talking out more openly with less shyness than he usually was.

"Oh hey Bug, any idea about Sol today?"

Bug paused for a moment, but looked eager.

"Well, I'm sure he's around. I've made some phrases for the game if you'd like to hear."

Theo decided it would be okay so he followed Bug into the kitchen area where Bug had set up his equipment and pressed a key on an electronic keyboard.

"Ready to die?", a creepy voice asked.

"Wow, you really know your programming.", Theo commented.

Bug looked away blushing, but recovered.

"So Theo, you think Laura would…give me a shot?"

"As in ask her out on a date?", Theo guessed, "I'm sure she would if you ask."

Bug looked more at ease when a crash came from a nearby room.

"What was that?", Theo asked.

He darted off in the direction of the sound with Bug following.

/

Ted and Junior had settled in and Junior seemed to have grown a bit since last night. He looked bigger and his pod was now a darker green and his lips were darker red, but that was about it.

"Thanks for the huge meat back there.", he said chuckling, "When will the next meal be?"

Ted rolled his eyes as he dressed himself.

"You ate about five hundred dollars' worth of meat from the butchers."

Junior looked a bit insulted.

"Hey, you wouldn't let me eat any people so I had to settle for that.", he answered before looking thoughtful, "Though it does have a taste I've grown accustomed to."

Ted smiled.

"Hey, if people start disappearing, they're going to freak out."

Junior used a few of his vines to make sure the house was secure.

"So what did you do to make those dogs and bats mad at you in the first place?"

Ted sighed.

"I hound a traveler for the past few weeks, I almost had him, but then some alien shows up out of the blue and ruins everything. Now I almost have him again, but then I get thwarted again so now I'm being hunted like the animal I turn into every night."

Junior looked thoughtful.

"So this Theo character is looking for some magic dice huh? If we could find him, he might do something about it."

Ted looked just as thoughtful.

"Well, I can track him yes, but I still have those dogs and bats that come after me."

"And that's where I come in.", Junior stated looking Ted's way, "If those things come around, I'll have them all bashed and scattered as they run home to their mommy."

Ted felt better for a moment.

"And if I shift?"

Junior brought Ted close with another vine.

"Then I'll restrain you until dawn."

Junior let go as to allow Ted to feel more at ease. Then Junior looked thoughtful again.

"Speaking of which, did you know about a guy named Peter Drummond?"

Ted turned and raised an eyebrow.

"What about him?"

"While I was dragging my pot around, I overheard about some guy who passes himself off as a loyal worker, but shortly before a project is finished, the crew he works with gets mysteriously murdered and he takes all the credit. Works at Clayton Software last I heard of him.", Junior reported.

/

Theo and Bug returned to the main workroom with Laura and Peter soon following to find Hardcore wielding a couple weapon props and looking more on edge.

"What on Earth?!", Theo asked in shock.

"What's going on in here?", Peter asked.

"Hardcore killed Sol!", Bug piped up.

Laura looked shocked.

"Sol is-"

"It wasn't me!", Hardcore insisted, "It was the-"

That was when the telemetry suit the team had used for game designing standing on its own with Sol's head and the metal meditation balls he once used now in place of eyes.

"Suit!", Hardcore finished as he and the suit began to tussle.

The rest of the group hurried out still overwhelmed by the experience.

"What is going on around here?!", Peter asked again only more scared.

Bug sighed to try and contain his fear before explaining.

"You know how the telemetry suit works? It's connected to the model in the game but with Hardcore rewiring the system and Heaven knows what Sol did with the AI chip, the lightning strike from before somehow made everything reversed."

"So, the computer is controlling the suit?", Peter asked.

"And the computer's playing the game.", Laura put in.

"As in our game?", Theo put in, "Doubt the game will let us pull its plug."

Laura looked more afraid.

"Can't we get out and call for help?"

Then the sounds of an inhuman roar came from down the hall.

"You guys see if you can find a way out.", Theo said, "I'll see if I can find a phone."

When the party split, Theo made his way back to see Hardcore's body gone and most of his weapon props along with a set of metal jaws lined with fangs missing. As he was about to leave, a glimmer from under a nearby table caught his eye. As he investigated, he found Hardcore's PDA system and once he looked at the security footage, he saw Peter stealing the back-up disc and rolling a dice before pocketing it.

"That big fibber.", Theo sneered before an idea came to mind and pulled out his dice box, "Peter wants to kill us? Not on my watch. Plus that overlord avatar will make a good addition to my forces if properly conditioned."

/

By the time Theo had gotten out the trio, Quinten looked a bit freaked out.

"Whoa, what happened here?", he asked.

"We're being hunted by an evil program that has taken root in a telemetry suit that wants us dead.", Theo stated.

Princess looked thoughtful.

"What about the dice?", she asked.

Visitor then slumped down as if in pain as he shimmered again greater this time to the point he almost disappeared grabbing the other three's attention.

"Visitor, you okay?", Theo asked.

Quinten then looked unsure even under his mask.

"Theo, if Visitor was made out of Ben's mind, won't he disappear if Ben is no longer angry or scared?"

Visitor looked Theo's way looking scared as he started vanishing again. Theo got out his four-sided dice and rolled it quickly. This time, it landed on a 1 and a nearby computer screen flickered on before it shifted into a ray gun. Theo got it and fired it at Visitor which seemed to make the alien freeze and grew more solid for a moment.

"What are you doing?", Quinten asked.

"Praying that this matter stabilizer works.", Theo answered, "But with a seventy-five percent chance of failing, cross your fingers if you got them."

Quinten and Princess tensed as they observed Visitor fall to the floor where it stayed until the ray dissolved itself and returned to being a computer while Visitor looked more solid and realistic.

"Visitor, you there?", Theo asked cautiously.

Visitor didn't move, but an explosion sounded off not far off.

"That can't be good.", Quinten stated.

"Let's find out.", Princess stated.

"Be careful out there.", Theo told them as they left.

As Theo was soon about to leave, something came to his mind.

"Theo?"

Theo turned to see Visitor rising as if he was recovering from a near fatal injury. Still, Visitor looked Theo in the eye and gave a small smile.

"Thanks."

Theo held out Visitor's card and the alien returned to it so it could get some rest.

/

Theo followed the sounds of fighting and soon came to find Quinten and Princess both looking pretty battered in a room in ruins.

"Didn't think that a suit could do so much damage.", Quinten strained to say.

Princess placed a clawed hand on her damaged side where a cloth was used to pressure a wound there while giving a vengeful look.

"We were ill prepared, but if I had my element, I'd have him down and-"

She paused and looked thoughtful.

"Hey, don't we have a fish tank in this place?"

The sound of roaring came from not far off.

"Get some rest guys.", Theo said as the two returned to their cards before heading out.

As he got to the kitchen area, the thick smell of smoke and debris filled his nostrils. Through the dust, he noticed the stove was seriously burned as if an explosion took place. Not wanting to stay around, Theo hurried to see Laura with some kind of visor over her head and some gloves clearly straining while Peter was nowhere to be seen.

"Laura?", he asked as he came over.

Laura removed the headwear and looked surprised.

"Theo?", she asked a bit surprised, "You find help?"

Theo thought fast.

"No, but I think I have an idea on how to stop this thing."

"We beat the game.", he and Laura said in perfect unification.

As the two of them set out to find Peter, Theo suddenly remembered what Hardcore's PDA system showed him.

"Laura, the back-up disc that's missing?"

"What about it?", Laura asked.

"Peter took it.", Theo stated causing Laura to gasp, "He's been playing us the whole time this thing started."

Laura then looked thoughtful.

"That would explain why our competition is so close to releasing a game similar to ours."

Eventually, Theo and Laura found Peter looking like he was recovering from a fall, but Theo held on to Visitor's card as he turned to face them.

"Where is it Peter?"

Peter paused and turned around looking plain.

"Where is it?", Laura repeated as now she held up a gun she somehow had obtained.

Peter reached into his shirt pocket and revealed the back-up disc. Theo's expression darkened.

"How long have you known?"

/

Peter was about to answer, but then the monster had shown up again and used its sword to make Peter fall over. Laura and Theo turned as Theo retrieved Laura's headset and then rolled his four-sided dice again to form another set from the scraps nearby when it landed on a 4. Laura helped Theo get his gloves on before they both turned to the monster fiercely.

"Hey you!", Laura called getting the monster's attention, "Game on!"

Theo and Laura pulled their visors down and their vision went to game design as Theo got out a digital mace. As the fight went on, Laura got a little surprised.

"Co-op mode.", Theo stated.

Soon, the two got the upper hand as they maneuvered the monster near the tank.

"You'll learn intern.", the monster said in a voice like Peter.

Theo then used his sword to cut some wires from the ceiling which electrocuted the monster to the point where it fell down to the ground seemingly weakened. Theo got out a card and flipped it. Once it touched the monster, it vanished into the card and the card vibrated several times before it settled and the monster appeared on the card. Laura and Theo removed their headwear after the gamer screen they were viewing showed the monster vanish away and "Level One Completed" flashed on the screen.

"Game over.", Theo stated plainly as he retrieved the card.

Laura then looked sad.

"Too bad we lost our team."

Theo looked thoughtful and headed off. Laura followed him looking interested as he came to a set of clothes that were Peter's and rummaged through to pick out a dark green ten-sided dice with orange numerals. After Theo put it among his other four dice, he noticed that the eight-sided one was glimmering. Theo took it out thinking of Hardcore, Bug and Sol before he tossed it. After it rolled a bit, it landed on an 8 before ghostly whisps of air formed three columns before it vanished to reveal Hardcore, Sol, and Bug all standing unharmed and turned to them looking confused.

"Theo? Laura?", Sol asked in awe.

"I thought we were-", Bug started.

Hardcore however brought everything to a halt when he looked down at himself as well as Sol and Bug.

"Why are we standing in a ruined room in our underwear?!"

Theo ignored the comment as Laura spoke up.

"Don't give us lip Hardcore, we just saved your lives."

That shut Hardcore up, but the burly guy looked interested.

"Wow, for an intern, you're pretty tough."

Theo took up his new dice and looked interested.

"What would I call this thing?"

Bug looked over.

"A dice of Restoration?", he suggested.

Theo smiled as he put the dice back in the box.

"Thanks Bug.", he said pleasantly.