The trio soon found themselves in the middle of the colosseum once things had loaded for them. For a moment, Vlad nearly freaked out when he realized he was dead set in the middle of sunlight and not wearing a suit or anything, but suddenly finding that he didn't feel any different. "That's odd...", Vlad said to himself.
Dusk looks at him in surprise, seeing no burns appearing on him before realizing that it's artificial sunlight, and replies, "I think since we're in the game, you don't have to worry about your sun allergy since this is artificial sunlight, only programmed to reflect and act like the sun, but it's not really the sun, like lamps and torches.".
Vlad exhaled in relief, "Good to know...", and Luna replied, "Okay, we gotta find the Scooby Snax.", before seeing something sparkle in the light, and she walked closer, gasping softly as she picked up Thorn's bat necklace, "Guys, Thorn certainly got through here too.", showing it to the others.
"Oh, thank goodness.", Dusk exhaled in relief as Vlad took the bat necklace, holding it reverently as he sniffed, faintly making out Thorn's scent in the air and dust, and listened hard, and the sound of Thorn's heartbeat, along with their child's heartbeat sounds a bit stronger, a bit clearer now.
Luna then replied, "I knew my homework, and there's definitely not any chalk used in the Coliseum, not that I know of, and definitely not looking like a diamond.", noticing the chalk and the shape.
"So?", Dusk asked. "Could one of you get up into the stands for a minute, look at the lines better from up there?", Luna pointed as Vlad nodded and quickly moved his way up fast into the stands.
Vlad then looked, and blinked in surprise, "It's literally a baseball diamond with ground bases!", having watched baseball with Andy one time.
Luna nodded, "Yep, that's strange, alright.", before all of a sudden, the stands filled up with fuzzy-looking people in Roman clothes, cheering and clapping, and Vlad gasped in surprise before hearing the horns blare out, and then the familiar cackle of the virus as he called out, "Well, well, looks like things are going to be even harder. Well, say hello to the home team and the mascot!", firing electric balls to open the doors, revealing the horde of the skeleton gladiators and the roaring, snarling lion, holding the Scooby Snax box.
"Mathias, would you be so kind to actually shut this idiot up? His little baseball metaphors are starting to get on my nerves!", Dusk shouted out as Luna rolled her eyes, "Uh, Dusk, I think we've got bigger problems such as the armed skeletons and the damn lion that looks hungry!".
Vlad looked around the place he was at, and then grabbed a banner stave as he jumped over the edge of the stands, and called out, "You two handle the lion! I'll handle the skeletons!", glad that he practiced fencing as a hobby almost every day until he met Thorn. He hopes that he isn't rusty after a few months of silence on that.
Dusk called out, "Okay! Come on, Luna, we gotta distract him from the Scooby Snax!", seeing the lion standing, hovering over the box, and Luna muttered, "How do we do that? It's a lion!".
"I don't know... find some meat that isn't us!", Dusk argued as the girls moved fast while Vlad moved fast into the skeletons and began to tangle with them; steel clashing upon steel.
Luna frowned, "But we don't have any food on us, literally!", as her earrings glinted off the fake sunlight, and it caught the lion's attention, springing out to grab the evading light that has escaped him last time. He will not fail again!
"Wha-what's he doing?", Dusk said in confusion, and Luna blinked, watching the lion's actions as she watched him, the lights off her earrings moving, then gasped, "Of course! The lion is a cat, and cats go crazy over moving lights!", taking her earrings off, kept distracting the lion as she moved the earrings in different angles, replying, "Go, Dusk, grab the box!".
Dusk nodded and ran fast as Luna ran in the other direction, luring the lion further and further away from the spot where the box is, while Vlad quickly destroyed the skeletons, proud that his muscle memory was still intact for fencing and all, hearing the cackle of the virus, "No, no cheating!", acting like a kid on a tantrum, about to throw a electric ball at Dusk when Vlad shouted as he threw the spear and the banner stave, "Take this, virus!".
The virus saw the weapons coming, and shouted as he diverted his ball to the weapons, being distracted while Dusk finally reached the Scooby Snax box, grabbing it and touching it, and then everything went transparent green once more, the environment changing as Luna shouted, "Yeah!", and for the trio, everything went black once again as they went to the next level.
The trio hit the ground fairly hard as their world became recognizable to their eyes rather than the vast unknown that was cyberspace. A few moments of relaxing and catching their breaths, they looked up to see the world they had found themselves in now. "What exactly is this level?", Dusk asked.
Luna blinked, "I don't know, but it's sure humid...Eric sure programmed his game really well, I'll give you that. No wonder that you like the guy, Dusk.", and Dusk blushed for a moment, glancing at Vlad, "Mathias?", keeping the lowdown of Vlad's true name and all.
Vlad exhaled, "Better seek some shelter at least to cool off.", as he sniffed for Thorn's scent, and it was faintly fresh, but like a few hours ago, and he listened to her heartbeat and their child's heartbeat, a bit stronger than before, and clearer too, before hearing loud thumping and a roar.
They looked over to see a T-Rex, and the phantom virus's riding it! Dusk shouted, "Crap, it's the Prehistoric world, and that's a T-Rex! Let's get out of here, and head for the trees!".
The group moved fast, quick to avoid the virus and his pet. "I hate that he's not playing fair! At least give us something to ride if you're gonna be on the T-Rex!", Luna argued as Vlad rolled his eyes.
"I could easily deal with him if you girls want me to go 'fangs out'.", Vlad reminded as the group dived out of the way from the dinosaur's charge.
Dusk replied, "Not the best idea right now, Mathias. This is a video game, and this is different than normal, and I think, no, know that Eric, the professor, and that asshole is watching.", and Vlad was confused as the girls has been calling him Dracula since he became part of the band and involved with Thorn, only being 'Vlad' with her before he widened his eyes, realizing that a video game is like a TV show, and exhaled with a nod, "Right.".
They heard the frustration of the T-Rex as he was blocked by the thick trees, unable to get through, and the virus shouted like a angry kid, throwing the spear in an attempt to get one of the trio, but was too far away from successfully doing so, only to be stuck in a tree.
The trio slowed down as they saw that they were safe, with Luna panting, "How do we ever find the Scooby Snax in this place?", and Vlad replied, "I don't know, Luna, but there's shelter.", pointing to the caverns in the distance, sniffing that Thorn has gone this way, and went into the caverns.
Dusk sighed, "We can catch a bit of a break, and rest our feet...", nodding as they headed into the caverns, and they looked around, with Luna replying, "Not bad...We're safe here from anything dangerous, that's good.", before seeing a message on one of the walls, "Look!".
Vlad looked, and gasped as he saw the message, getting closer, and sobbed in relief, "Thorn wrote it!", reading it out loud, " 'Been here for a few hours...The baby is being rowdy...Hope I get out of here. Gonna try out the volcano as somebody drew it here, think it's a clue to the Scooby Snax. If somebody sees this message, I'm alive. -Thorn, a determined, pregnant woman.' ".
"How long ago do you think that was?", Vlad asked as Luna shook her head, "Could be just recent, hard to tell, unless...?". She looked at him and nodded before catching a whiff of it. "Very recent... we might only be a level or two behind her.", Vlad said.
Dusk then replied, "And she went to the volcano...Where is that?", and Luna replied, "That way.", pointing as she walked to the edge of the highest platform of the caverns. The others followed, and stood by her, seeing the smoking volcano.
Vlad exhaled, "That's a long way from here, but we can find a ride...After all, there must be other dinosaurs or such, right?", and Dusk said, "Yes, since this is the prehistoric world, we can find a way to get there.".
Luna said, "Then what are we waiting for, then? We can't waste any more time!", and Vlad smiles, "Let's go.", planning to take some time reuniting with Thorn, hoping that whatever level she is in, there gotta be food as he is determined to hold into his slowly coming hunger for now, not wanting to reveal his secret of being a vampire as if Dusk's right, the people in the real world is watching them.
"Any luck?", Bill asked as he walked back in with some snacks and drinks, Eric was hard at work on the computer. "We sure that the virus went in there too with them?".
Eric nodded, "No, I can't get them out. They have to finish the levels properly to get out of the game at the finish line which is the final level. And the virus is inside the game too. He threatened the group with electric balls, spears, anything he could think of. He's not fair either, but the others are not being fair as well. And we got evidence that Thorn is inside too, somewhere in a further level...She's still pregnant, thank God, but from the sound of the note she wrote in the caverns, it's getting a bit stressful for the baby, and Thorn is trying to be calm and such.", as Eric inwardly was worried and anxious for Abby aka Dusk, not wanting to see her get hurt or worse...
"Hard to believe in a way... we've inadvertently created our own version of The Matrix.", Bill quite enjoyed that movie that came out recently.
"Yeah... and we might end up getting four innocent people killed because of it.", Eric slammed his fist. "I wish I had never come up with that blasted beam with you...".
Professor Kaufman sighed deeply, "But you two have worked hard on it...", and Eric looked at him, "I know, sir, but I can't go along with showing this beam in the science fair competition...Especially when they can be stuck in this game forever...I haven't beaten my own game for damn sake!".
Bill had never seen Eric this angry before, yet he was relieved on the inside...If they are stuck in the game forever, or even dead, they wouldn't come back to reveal the truth if they hadn't interrogated the virus. Eric would be guilty forever for it.
Kaufman replied, "We must pray that they will get through the levels to the finish line, Eric. After all, they have passed two levels already.", and Eric sighed deeply, nodding, and kept watching the monitor.
Meanwhile, Vlad and the girls had tamed a mammoth, which was a bit shocking to find out, but either way, they went along with it, and made it to the volcano.
"Okay... now that we've gotten here... any sign of those snacks?", Luna asked as the trio looked around. "I hate that my vision has weakened... if it was like before, I could find them so quick.", Vlad sighed in defeat.
Dusk replied, "Well, maybe it's not around the volcano, it's actually on the volcano.", and Luna stared at her in shock, "What?! That volcano looks ready to erupt anytime!".
"I don't have any other ideas, do you?", Dusk raised an eyebrow, and Luna sighed, "No.", before they heard a screeching sound, and looked up to see a pterodactyl flying above a nest, seeming frantically worried, screeching as the volcano suddenly rumbled.
"Look, there's a baby pterodactyl in the nest!", Dusk replied, pointing, and Vlad gasped, "There's a rock pinning its wing down, it must be trapped!", before they suddenly heard a rumbling roar.
"Is the volcano erupting?!", Luna shouted, and Vlad shook his head, "No, it's the T-Rex!", looking to see the T-Rex charging at them, with the virus on top, with a spear, cackling.
"Climb!", Dusk shouted, and they quickly climbed up, getting clear of the T-Rex, dodging the spear that was thrown at them, and they panted as they paused for a moment, with Dusk replying, "T-Rex can't climb, it's a matter of fact.", before hearing the screeching sound again, seeing the increasingly frantic motions of the mama pterodactyl.
Vlad replied, narrowing his eyes, "I will go help the little one. Stay on high ground, you two!", and then climbed up, making it to the nest, blinking softly as the baby pterodactyl cried in fear and fright, screeching as it tried to get out from under the rock.
"Easy, little one, I got you.", Vlad reassured the baby pterodactyl, and it cooed, chirping nervously, and Vlad went to push the rock, using his strength to shove it, slightly using a bit of vampire power to it, grunting and then succeeded as the baby pterodactyl screeched happily, opening its wings, revealing the Scooby Snax box.
Vlad laughed, "Dusk was right!", picking up the box as the baby pterodactyl screeched in surprise, taking Vlad by the shoulders, flying up from the erupting lava, and a moment later, Vlad heard the girls' cheers, "You got it!".
Then the familiar green transparent pixels came and went, taking the trio from the level to the next level, where they quickly managed to avoid sharks while grabbing the Scooby Snax underwater, with Vlad enjoying the sensation of seeing an underwater world for a moment as he had never experienced it before.
And now, they arrived in the backyard level, being miniaturized, finding themselves in very tall grass blades. Vlad now hears Thorn and their child's heartbeats as clearly as glass, smelling Thorn on the air.
"She's here...", Vlad whispered as the girls looked to him. "Are you sure?", Luna asked; the group keeping their voices down for the moment when they realized they were shrunken and could be in grave danger at any moment if they made a loud sound.
Vlad nods, "I trust my heart, and my heart never fails me.", and the girls smiled happily yet cautiously, with Dusk saying lowly, "There's a boulder over there, through it would be a pebble for normal-sized people. Let's go there and see what we got.".
"I hope she's still alright... God only knows what's waiting for us in this place.", Luna said as the group moved over to the pebble, hopeful to run into Thorn very soon.
Dusk muttered, "And Eric too...He designed the levels.", unknowing of Eric's blush as he watched her on the monitor.
The trio made it up top of the pebble, and barely managed to glance over the tips of the grass blades, with Vlad replying, "That's clearly a house, and we're in the backyard...".
"Eric must have seen the movie, 'Honey, I've shrunk the kids' for inspiration...", Dusk replied, and Luna snorted, "That means spiders, ants, you name it.".
"If worse comes to worse...", Vlad admitted. "I may have to let the secret out in order to make sure none of you get hurt.".
"We know. Just try to keep it on the down low still unless we're really about to die...", Luna said. Vlad nodded, "Yep.", before taking a deep breath, pinpointing the sound of Thorn's heartbeat, and glanced at the girls, "Best chance is finding a path to the porch of the house.".
"Great... where do we even start with this place then? How far of a hike is it to the porch from here?", Luna grumbled.
Dusk snorted, "Apparently a long way...From the looks of it, probably 2, 3 miles.", and Vlad nodded, "Okay, we gotta keep our voices low, our eyes open, and keep our distance from any bugs.".
"And for any sign of Thorn. God, please let her be alright... if she's still here, how long has she been trying to get through this alone?", Luna asked rhetorically as the group moved quickly but quietly as not to attract any bugs that would clearly be predators to them.
They got halfway through the tall grass when a hungry leafhopper found them, and clicked its mandibles, and Dusk screamed, "Run!", and the trio ran as the leafhopper chased them, trying to catch them when Vlad pushed the girls to hide under a ledge of a flagstone, narrowing his eyes as he took a deep breath, ready to do his magic when suddenly, a blast of fire-magic in a spearhead twig came out of nowhere, and slammed into the leafhopper who screeched in pain, hopping away.
Luna blinked in shock and relief, "What was that?", as Vlad stared at the centipede crawling around the ledge, with Thorn atop it, smiling at Vlad with joy and happiness, "Vlad!", carefully sliding down the side of the centipede.
Vlad ran to her, "Sally!", before stopping short as a gasp escaped from his throat, seeing her seven-month-old baby bump as she smiled softly at him, "I knew you'd come for us...", gently rubbing her belly.