PUPS IN DIGITOPIA
I DON'T OWN PAW PATROL ONLY MY OC'S
It was a sunny & warm Monday afternoon. School had let out for the day & everyone had gone off to do their own thing. A pair of 10 year old siblings named Brock & Brooklyn Freeman headed to the Lookout. They were hoping Ryder could help fix a portable handheld game console of theirs that was malfunctioning.
"If anyone can fix this it's Ryder. That boy is a genius" said Brock with a confident smile.
"You bet. I have no doubt he'll have the game fixed & working as it should in no time" said Brooklyn as Brock & she continued walking. As they walked towards the Lookout they came across a strange disc shaped object.
"What's that?" asked Brock in a curious voice.
"I don't know. Maybe we should take it to Ryder so that he can help figure out what it is" said Brooklyn as she picked up the object. It was red in color & had a screen in the centre with left & right arrow buttons on it. Brock & Brooklyn continued walking to the Lookout arriving a short time later. Angel, Colby, Constance, Elias & Kelly were there playing with the pups. Brock & Brooklyn walked over to them.
"Hey guys. Is Ryder here?" asked Brock.
"He's inside. What do you need?" asked Colby in an uncertain tone.
"We need his help fixing our handheld game. We also found this strange disc which we don't know the function of" said Brooklyn as she held up the disc.
"Where did you find it?" asked Constance in a confused manner.
"It was just lying in the path. We don't know how it got there" said Brock with a shrug.
"That's strange. I can't say I recognize it" said Elias.
"Me either. Check with Ryder. He might know what it is" said Kelly.
"It's worth a shot" said Brooklyn as Brock & she went inside the Lookout. They found Ryder upstairs sorting out updates for the control panel.
"Hello Ryder. Can you fix our game?" asked Brock in hopefulness.
"What's wrong with it?" asked Ryder.
"It's been freezing up at random points when we play games on it. We're hoping you can fix it" said Brooklyn.
"Let me check it out. It's probably a screen issue" said Ryder as Brock & Brooklyn handed him the game. Ryder went to get some tools to help inspect the game & figure out what the issue was.
"Do you think this disc is some kind of computer?" asked Brock as he pressed the buttons on it.
"It might be. Just be careful. We don't want to break it" said Brooklyn as Brock fiddled with the disc. The screen displayed various images on it with words placed in the centre leading Brock & Brooklyn to think it was some type of game engine. The image & title that caught their eye was an image of a green grassy open space with bushes, flowers & trees that had the word DIGITOPIA across it.
"This looks awesome. Want to give it a try?" asked Brock in an excited voice.
"OK. Let's play" said Brooklyn as she pressed the Enter button. Suddenly a portal appeared through which Brock & Brooklyn went through. To their astonishment it took them into a digital style location. The portal closed after they stepped through it.
"This is awesome. That disc is a virtual reality simulator. I've always wanted to try 1 of those" said Brock as he looked around in awe.
"Let's get through this quick. Ryder might grow concerned if he sees we're gone" said Brooklyn as Brock & she walked around the area. At 1ST all they could see were bushes, flowers & trees but shortly thereafter they came across a village with houses, shops & other buildings scattered around.
"What do you think the objective of this game is?" asked Brock.
"1 of the villagers here might be able to tell us" said Brooklyn as she saw a villager standing near a water fountain. Brock & she walked over to inquire about any tasks that needed performing.
"Hello. Welcome to Digitopia. How can I help you today?" asked the villager with a cheerful smile.
"We were wondering what the objective of this game is. Do we need to defeat some boss type character or are there other objectives that require collecting items & earning rewards?" asked Brock in an eager tone.
"I don't understand what you're talking about. There's no game here. Who are you?" asked the villager as he tilted his head in confusion.
"He's Brock & I'm Brooklyn. We're the players of the game" said Brooklyn.
"I still don't know what you're talking about. You 2 are confusing me" said the villager with a raised eyebrow. Brock then spotted a castle in the distance.
"There's a castle over there. That might be where we need to go" said Brock as he pointed to the castle.
"Maybe we'll be able to get home from there" said Brooklyn as Brock & she headed towards the castle.
"NO WAIT. DON'T GO UP THERE. IT'S DANGEROUS" cried the villager hoping to dissuade Brock & Brooklyn from going to the castle. They ignored him thinking it was part of the game. When they got to the castle they saw numerous signs that had the words DANGER, STAY OUT, DO NOT ENTER & other warnings on them.
"This game really knows how to add a sense of danger in it" said Brock with a chuckle.
"Let's see if there's anything inside that'll help us get home" said Brooklyn as Brock & she entered the castle. It was dimly lit & appeared to be abandoned since there wasn't any sign of anyone else being inside.
"Should we split up? It might help cover more ground" said Brock.
"Good point. You check the left side of the castle & I'll check the right" said Brooklyn as Brock & she split up. They each took a lit torch with them to help see where they were going. Brock found lots of cobwebs, spiders, cockroaches & other insects crawling around.
"This is what I call authentic. Whoever developed this game is awesome. I have to make sure I recommend it to everyone at school" said Brock as he continued walking the halls. All the rooms looked the same with very little inside them. It appeared that the castle had remained uninhabited for a long time.
"If I had to guess the villain of this game must've killed the royal family here & stripped the entire castle of its possessions. That must be the back story. I & Brooklyn probably have to find the villain & defeat him to avenge the murders he or she committed. I bet the villain is lurking around here somewhere" said Brock as he looked into every room hoping to find something. On the other side of the castle Brooklyn walked the halls finding that the castle was almost entirely barren.
"I think it's unlikely we're going to find much of anything here. This castle is almost completely empty in every hall & room. Maybe this is a decoy place meant to throw us off" said Brooklyn as she walked onward. Eventually she found a book titled EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DIGITOPIA in a room at the end of 1 hall.
"This could be important. I better read this to see what needs to be done" said Brooklyn as she opened the book & began reading from it. The further she read into the book the more increasingly concerned she became about what was really happening. Before she could react she heard loud stomping footsteps echo through the castle.
"What was that?" asked Brooklyn as she went to investigate the stomps. Upon reaching the foyer she found herself face to face with a red metal humanoid type being.
"Who are you & where is my brother?" asked Brooklyn with a nervous gulp. The figure said nothing & raised its sword. Brooklyn screamed & tried to run away but the figure caught her & stabbed her with the sword. Brooklyn dropped to the ground & saw that she was starting to disintegrate.
"Brock… I'm sorry… You have to… Go on… Without me" said Brooklyn as she disintegrated into nothing. The figure then left the castle & headed down to the village. Back in Adventure Bay Ryder had finished fixing the game. He went to give it back to Brock & Brooklyn only to find that they were nowhere to be seen.
"That's weird. Where did Brock & Brooklyn go? I better ask if the others have seen them" said Ryder as he went outside. Angel, Colby, Constance, Elias, Kelly & the pups were still playing together. Brock & Brooklyn weren't with them.
"Hey guys have you seen Brock & Brooklyn anywhere?" asked Ryder in a curious manner.
"I thought they were inside with you" said Angel in confusion.
"Did they come outside or leave?" asked Ryder.
"No. We last saw them go inside to find you so that they could get their game fixed" said Angel as she shook her head.
"The disc they found is still here. I don't understand why they'd leave it lying around" said Ryder with a shrug.
"Maybe we should examine it & see what it actually does" said Angel as everyone went inside. When they found the disc they saw that the screen displayed the DIGITOPIA image & title.
"I wonder what happens when you press Enter" said Ryder as he pressed the Enter button. The portal reappeared.
"I think they might have gone through the portal" said Colby.
"Where do you think it leads?" asked Constance.
"My guess is that it goes to Digitopia" said Elias.
"There's only 1 way to find out" said Kelly as everyone went through the portal. They ended up in Digitopia at the same spot Brock & Brooklyn arrived at.
"I think this might be a VR type game" said Chase as he looked around.
"It seems that way. Can you guys see Brock & Brooklyn?" asked Marshall.
"Not yet. They could be anywhere" said Rocky in a concerned voice.
"I hope they're OK wherever they are" said Rubble with a nervous gulp.
"Maybe someone else here saw them" said Skye.
"If anyone has seen them it'll help us get them back home" said Zuma as everyone went to look for Brock & Brooklyn. As they got close to the village they heard screams & saw that villagers were running around frantically.
"That doesn't look good" said Chase with a gasp of shock.
"What's going on?" asked Marshall in a confused tone.
"It sounds like there's some kind of panic" said Rocky.
"Brock & Brooklyn might be involved somehow" said Rubble as he felt a chill down his spine.
"I think we should probably ask what's going on & if anyone has seen Brock & Brooklyn around here" said Skye.
"Soon we'll all be safely back at home" said Zuma as everyone walked to the village. Everyone there was screaming in horror as if they were trying to escape from some kind of danger. The villager who encountered Brock & Brooklyn earlier sat on the edge of the water fountain looking upset. Everyone walked over to him.
"Excuse me have you seen 2 kids our size? 1's a boy with short dark hair, blue eyes & tan skin who wears a white shirt, black shorts & brown shoes & the other's a girl with longer dark hair & the same colored eyes & skin who wears a lavender colored dress & matching shoes" said Colby.
"Yes I saw them. They seemed to think this is all some kind of game where you defeat a boss or collect items. They went up to that castle despite me warning them not to" said the villager in a shaky manner.
"What's in the castle?" asked Constance in uncertainty.
"It's mostly empty apart from 2 items. 1 item is a book that describes everything anyone would ever need to know about Digitopia. The other is a cursed suit of armor that messes with the minds of anyone who wears it. I fear that 1 of those 2 or someone else may have found the suit of armor & has put it on. Now the suit of armor is going around attacking everyone" said the villager.
"Could you bring us the book? It might help figure out what to do to put a stop to all this" said Elias.
"I'll be right back" said the villager as he ran to the castle. He eventually returned to the others a short time later with the book. 1 of the pages described how disintegration was a permanent form of death in Digitopia & that nobody could be resurrected in any way once they died in this manner. The sword equipped with the cursed armor suit was the only weapon capable of such destruction & that the curse stemmed from a bitter scientist who was angry at the inhabitants of the castle for treating him like a scapegoat. He enacted his revenge by creating the suit of armor & concocted a virus that corrupted the suit & anyone who ever wore it. The scientist then poisoned everyone in the castle killing them all including him leaving the cursed suit in an empty room. When the villagers discovered what had happened they put the book about Digitopia in the other end room of the castle before removing everything minus the book & suit & putting up warning signs around the castle to prevent anyone from ever going inside it again. This discovery shocked everyone.
"I have a bad feeling Brock & Brooklyn may have been killed for trespassing in the castle" said Kelly in a horrified voice.
"Before we go check we need to deal with whoever it is in the cursed armor suit" said Ryder as everyone went to find the suit. They spotted it near the edge of the village facing the castle. Using their superpowers they attacked the suit & were able to destroy it. When the cursed suit of armor shattered into pieces everyone was shocked to see that Brock was the person wearing it.
"Damn it. I lost the game. Now I have to restart" said Brock with a sigh.
"Brock this isn't a game. That armor suit was cursed" said Chase.
"What are you talking about?" asked Brock in a confused voice.
"Digitopia isn't a game. It's a world of its own. There's no objective that needs completing" said Marshall.
"Are you guys trying to trick me? How is this not a game?" asked Brock as he raised an eyebrow.
"Read this book. That'll fill you in" said Rocky as he gave the book to Brock. Upon doing so Brock gasped in horror having realized the horrible things he'd done without knowing it.
"When I put the armor on a voice told me to attack Brooklyn because only 1 of us could continue on in the game. I attacked her with the sword & she disappeared. She returned to Adventure Bay after that didn't she?" asked Brock in a shocked tone.
"No. You actually killed her Brock. That sword killed her in a way that made her death permanent. There's nothing we can do to bring her back. I'm sorry" said Rubble as he began to tear up. Brock gasped in horror before screaming.
"THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING. WHAT HAVE I DONE? I KILLED MY OWN SISTER. HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SUCH A FOOL? IT'S MY FAULT SHE'S GONE" cried Brock as he dropped to his knees with tears running down his face. He then saw that the sword was still intact. He grabbed it & held it to his stomach.
"NO BROCK DON'T" cried Skye as everyone watched in horror.
"How am I supposed to go on with life knowing I killed my own sister? Whether or not I even realized it at the time it's not going to bring her back. There are no words to describe the guilt & shame that I now feel for what I've done. This is the only way to atone for my crimes. Goodbye everyone. I'm sorry it had to end this way" said Brock as he impaled himself with the sword. Everyone gasped in horror as Brock fell to the ground & disintegrated into nothing. Tears ran down everyone's faces devastated at the tragic events that had unfolded.
"I've never felt more helpless. This is the 1ST time I truly feel like we failed to save those in trouble. Never before could I have imagined this kind of outcome. I want to go home. The longer we stay here the worse we're all going to feel" said Zuma in a sad manner.
"Follow me. I can help get you home" said the villager as he took everyone to a grassy field. Another disc similar to the 1 Brock & Brooklyn found was located there. Everyone used the disc to return to Adventure Bay. After they got back Ryder took the disc Brock & Brooklyn found & buried it in an isolated location. Once it was buried Ryder returned to the Lookout.
"This has to be 1 of the most tragic events we've ever witnessed. My heart breaks for Brock & Brooklyn" said Angel with a whimper.
"The saddest thing is that Brock didn't even realize what he'd actually done until it was too late. If only we'd gotten there sooner. Maybe then tragedy would've been avoided" said Colby with a sad sigh.
"I think it's safe to say from now on we're all going to be extra careful in dealing with stuff we have little to no information about" said Constance in caution.
"To think it all started with an innocent request to fix a broken game. None of us could've ever predicted this outcome" said Elias.
"Are any of you guys feeling too down in the dumps to do anything this afternoon?" asked Kelly.
"I do for sure. See you guys later. I'm going to lie down & try to figure out how to cope with this" said Ryder as he headed to his room. Angel, Colby, Constance, Elias & Kelly headed home where they spent the afternoon & evening reflecting on what had happened. It was all they could think about right up until they went to bed that night. Brock & Brooklyn's fate was a tragedy that none of them would ever forget.
THE END