Ever since I started playing tabletop roleplaying games, it's been a thought of mine that the perfect medium for the genre's evolution is virtual reality. Sure, we haven't exactly reached that level yet, the level we see in fiction. Specifically, this fiction. The three-episode filler arc after Duelist Kingdom is probably the perfect little addition to the franchise, because really, it doesn't mean anything. All it does is open up the possibility for the Noa storyline in the middle of Battle City. Another filler arc.

All this is to say that I've been waiting to do something like this. I've had the idea of writing a virtual D&D game (or some facsimile thereof) for years. I've finally figured out how to do it. The previous chapter set the stage, and this one moves everything forward.

So, here we go.


1.


"I've also invited Mister Townsend," Seto said.

"Foxfire's coming?" Megan's eyes lit up. "Oh, no."

"Yes."

Jonah "Foxfire" Townsend, as Seto understood it, was an amateur musician, and spent a lot of his time composing theme music for his fellow internet personalities. Although Megan claimed that her handle had come from her incessant curiosity, Foxfire was quite candid about admitting he'd named himself after something much more mundane: his favorite internet browser.

Mokuba had apparently come up with "Wonderboy" not long after he'd gotten into reading Batman comics. The thought brought an unconscious smile to Seto's lips; despite all evidence to the contrary—that was, the fact that Seto was never caught reading anything less complicated than a dissertation—the comparison was not lost on him.

"We'll be working with a party of five players," Seto said. "The two of you, my brother, and two of his other friends. You'll be compensated at the same rate as our entry-level interns. Ten dollars per hour." Seto lifted up a few sheets of paper. "I've your contract here. It outlines everything about the project."

"You're paying us to play a game with Wonder." Megan quirked an eyebrow.

Seto shrugged. "If you elect to take on this project, there will be work involved. But fundamentally, yes; I suppose if you wanted to be sentimental about it, I'm paying you to play a game. I assume you're used to that by now."

Megan chuckled. "Fair enough. You said alpha testers. So I'm guessing there's going to be some kind of NDA involved, right? Keep everything hush-hush, no videos or previews or anything?"

"As I said, the specifics of the project are outlined in full here." Seto lifted up the contract. "But yes. For now. Once things progress sufficiently, we'll discuss whether or not you'd like to cover this platform on your channels. It's . . . not exactly a videogame. Not in the way most people think of them."

"If I know you half as well as I think I do, given what Wonder's told me about you, I think you must have some kind of ulterior motive here. I can't simply be so lucky as to get first dibs at KC's newest project just because I've rubbed virtual elbows with the VP."

Seto didn't answer immediately. He said, eventually, "I need a diverse group for the purposes of this test. Different age groups." He waited a moment. "I'm quite sure that people would tell you many times over: gaining my brother's favor is one of the fastest ways to 'get ahead,' as it were, in this city. Common theory has it that I'm a soft touch where he's concerned."

Megan smiled. "But obviously, they're mistaken."

"Obviously." Seto set the small stack of papers on his desk again. "This test will take some time to complete. I've arranged for accommodations for you and Mister Townsend. Will you need to head back home on any particular timeframe?"

"No, not really. I cleared my schedule for this." Megan shrugged. "Besides, Foxfire and I both do YouTube fulltime, so it's not like we're out of work right now, anyway. Assuming these 'accommodations' you're talking about have Wi-Fi, we can do our thang pretty much anywhere."

"I see." Seto nodded. "Good, good. Very well, then."

There was a gleam in his eye, a sparkle, which Megan didn't expect to see; she realized that, more than just setting up a surprise for his little brother, Seto Kaiba was getting ready to start something that excited him, personally.

Something that made his blood sing.

Megan didn't know whether to be excited right along with him, or concerned for her safety.


2.


"All I'm saying is, nobody ever gives Jason Todd enough credit. And nobody even remembers Stephanie Brown."

Connor gave Rebecca an odd look. "Who?"

"Exactly. She was the fourth Robin. Not that that means much. She got killed off too quick to matter, I guess. She never even got a monument in the Batcave. This is the problem with you boys. You just can't handle us."

Connor had yet to truly initiate himself into his best friend's extended social circle, as indicated by the fact that he shied away from Rebecca in spite of the fact that she was grinning. Mokuba, standing back and letting the discussion go by without much input, smirked to himself. He wondered when his two blond-headed compatriots would realize they liked each other.

Rebecca eventually realized that Mokuba hadn't spoken in a while, and turned an accusatory glance on him. "What say you? You're the designated Batfan, aren't you? Who do you think is the best Robin?"

"Robin was, is, and always will be Dick Grayson," Mokuba said definitively. "Jason, Tim, and Stephanie? Posers. All of 'em. Sorry, guys. That's just how it is."

They entered into the front parlor of Kaiba Manor, and Mokuba was struck dumb when an older boy strode in from the opposite side of the room, followed closely by a woman. The woman spoke first: "For shame, Wonder. No consideration whatsoever for Carrie Kelley?"

"I give her the win just for her sunglasses," said the boy, chuckling. He bowed with a flourish. "Foxfire Townsend, humbly at your service."

"And I," said the woman grandly, "am Madam Why."

"You guys!" Mokuba cried happily, and rushed across the parlor to greet them. Madam Why knelt down to hug him, while Foxfire ruffled the boy's hair. He glanced over at Connor and Rebecca.

"Aha," Foxfire said. "The inner circle. Lookie here, Madam. It's our competition."

Why stood up straight and raised an eyebrow. "Watch it, Fox. We might end up getting into a 'do online friends count?' debate, and realize that we aren't even real."

"What's your guys's story?" Rebecca asked brightly. "Do you work with Mister Kaiba?"

"Technically," Foxfire said, "I think we do. For now, anyway. But no, not really. I guess if you asked my parents, I don't work for anyone. Why and I, we're 'YouTube personalities.' Unlike Wonder, here, we don't have real careers to back us up."

"Oh, that's right. I think I've heard about that."

"Niisama said I should do it to give myself something to do that wasn't connected to Kaiba-Corp," Mokuba mused. "I think he just wanted me to stop bugging him about playing Street Fighter with me." He looked oddly at his friends. "Do you guys even know what 'Let's Plays' are? I keep having to ask that question."

"I've heard of them," Rebecca admitted. "Grandpa doesn't let me spend much time online. Old-fashioned, and all that."

"I think so?" Connor said.

"I'll show you later." Mokuba turned back to the older pair. "So what are you guys doing here? What did you mean about working for Niisama? Did he—did he call you here?"

Foxfire grinned. "A'yup! Says he's doing some alpha testing, invited both of us down here to try our hands. Guess he heard about our expertise."

"Alpha testing . . . ?" Mokuba mused thoughtfully.

"That's right," came Seto Kaiba's voice as he entered the room. "It's high time the pods become more than just a pet project. You five will be taking part in our first full, intensive test campaign."

At first glance, he looked the same as always. On closer inspection, however, it became obvious that the elder Kaiba hadn't just dressed in his usual suit and coat. He was dressed like a Victorian gentleman; he had a cane, a pocket-watch. The only thing missing was the top hat.

Mokuba's eyes went wide. "Niisama . . . you . . ."

"Connor Brinkley, Rebecca Hawkins, Megan Howell, Jonah Townsend, Mokuba Kaiba," Seto announced, in a tone of voice that felt at once wholly alien, and precisely right: he sounded like a narrator on stage in a theater. "On behalf of Her Imperial Majesty, Queen Meyari sin Lau, I welcome you to the Royal Court. Follow me, if you will, and I will elaborate on the reason that you have been called here today."

Connor and Rebecca exchanged confused glances. Madam Why and Foxfire—Megan and Jonah—smirked at each other.

Mokuba looked rapturous, and he was the first to catch on. He said, "By your leave, my good man. Whatever service I may offer the crown is my duty and honor."

Seto grinned, and it transformed his face. Suddenly, the two Kaibas looked like family.

He swept out of the room, leaving the other five to follow.


3.


They sat like escape pods on a space ship, centered about a rounded structure that could only be their power source. As the six of them walked inside, the lights flared on. The glass covering each pod's seat slid upward, and Mokuba wasted no time hopping into one, settling in like it was an old, familiar easy chair. It was this, more than anything else, which helped the others get over a creeping sense of trepidation as they eyed the devices in front of them.

"A tutorial scenario has been set up for you," Seto said, trailing the others. "It will take you through character creation, and explain pertinent information about how this campaign will proceed." He stepped behind a wide computer terminal set into one corner of the room. "The five of you will act as the players. I will serve as the game master." Seto's hands flipped switches, ticked off various touch-screen options, and entered commands, independent of his attention, which was focused on the others. "I trust you're all familiar with traditional role-playing games?"

Megan and Jonah nodded.

Rebecca said, "Yup-yup!"

Mokuba didn't bother to answer.

Connor scratched his head. "Um . . . kinda."

"You'll be fine," Seto said. "Now, then. Each of you select a pod, set things up so that you're comfortable, and we'll get started."


4.


When the mist cleared, and the party realized that they actually felt like they were somewhere else, standing out in a field instead of sitting in a garage, they all shared looks with each other, and the gravity of what they were doing finally hit them.

Connor had elected to look like himself; the only difference was that he looked slightly, so slightly, older. Instead of the t-shirt and khaki pants he'd been wearing, he was dressed in white-washed, boiled leather armor and a white hood, with knives strapped like a bandolier across his chest. A quiver of arrows sat at one hip, a short-sword on the other. A compact bow was strapped, unstrung, to his back. He stared around at his surroundings like a blind man given sight for the first time.

Rebecca looked like a twenty-something young woman, dressed in furs and leathers; her ears had a tapered point to them, and she walked with an elaborate wooden staff. Her face was only vaguely familiar, framed with curly, green-tinged hair. Surely an elf of some kind.

Jonah was a mammoth, easily seven feet tall and sheathed in solid muscle. His jutting jaw and oversized teeth—they were almost tusks—marked him as an orc, and his gigantic two-bladed axe marked him as a warrior. His hair, dark and matted with some sort of mud, was pulled into a number of rough braids. He wore beaten, battered plate armor, and a sneering grin.

The others almost didn't see Megan at first. It was only when she hopped up on Jonah's massive shoulder, all three feet of her, that they took notice of her. She was positively tiny, perhaps a gnome or a Halfling, dressed in the sweeping robes of a spellcaster.

"This," Megan declared, in a childish timbre, "might be the greatest thing that's ever happened to me."

Jonah grunted affirmatively. "I'll have to agree with you," he said, in a quiet rumble. "This is incredible."

"Stay in this city long enough," Rebecca said, "and you'll start realizing that there's basically nothing the Kaiba Corporation can't pull off. Speaking of, where's the VIP?"

"Someone's coming over that way," Connor pointed out, with a gesture. Two figures had crested a hill and were headed for them. As they came closer, their features came into focus: one was dressed in the same outfit, to the stitch, that Seto had been wearing. The other was in a gleaming, glinting, gold-etched suit of armor. They were of a height with each other.

The armored warrior had long black hair pulled back in a tail, and he joined the other four as they approached. The other man, who still looked like Seto, smirked at them all. "Well, then," he said, "we're all here."

Megan quirked an eyebrow at Mokuba's avatar. "Overcompensation much, Wonder?"

One plated shoulder shrugged. "I've used this character for years," he said, and nobody missed the fact that his voice was remarkably similar to Seto's; it was smoother, without the gravelly weight that the elder Kaiba's had, but it was close enough. He bowed with a flourish. "Althor Pendraeg, servant of Bahamut, at your service."

"You have been called," Seto said, "because your names have been scattered to the Pillars of the World as the best of the best. The Four Saints smile upon you. This world needs people like you." He gestured around him, at the rolling hills, and specifically at the great walled city behind him. The five adventurers' eyes were drawn to the great spiraling tower in the center, which looked like a giant needle poking a hole into the floor of Heaven. "Come, my friends, and I will guide you to Lorat, the City of the Moon. All will be explained."

And with that, Seto began walking, with Mokuba's shining paladin right behind him. The others glanced at each other, grinned, and followed.

Megan was still perched on Jonah's shoulder.


Connor's costume and class (rogue/thief) may or may not be a reference to the Assassin's Creed series, which I've recently come back to, after years of basically ignoring it. In the third main installment of the franchise (the 5th game overall), the main protagonist is named Ratonhnhaké:ton. At least, that's his real name. He is renamed in the course of the game to, wait for it, Connor. Possibly because it's easier to spell.

As to the others, I'm pretty sure I've used the name Althor before. Mokuba's character name is a not-so-subtle nod to King Arthur. This character is the same paladin he plays in his weekly D&D sessions with Yugi and the others. Remember Dragonbrother? Yeah. That guy.

We'll find out more about the others as the series continues.

A note about the Batman discussion in Scene 2. It has been pointed out that I neglected to mention the most recent Robin in the Batman franchise, Damian Wayne (if we, like Foxfire, count Carry Kelley, from Frank Miller's seminal "The Dark Knight Returns," he would be the sixth). The reason for this is simple: this series is set right around 2006-2007. Damian became Robin in 2009. He isn't in the running for best Robin because he isn't Robin yet.

For the record . . . he's my favorite of the bunch. So I do feel bad for leaving him out. But I feel I must hold myself to realism. Mostly.

I'm neurotic like that.