Lloyd, Kai, Jay, Cole, Nya, Geoff and Gewuji continue following Okino along the forest before Okino stopped and held his arms out wide to make the Ninja stop. "What is it?" Geoff asked.

"Those vines, I think they are Strangler Vines." Okino replied, pointing out to some vines in front of them.

"I don't like the sound of that." Jay said.

"Strangler Vines?" Lloyd asked before groaning out of annoyance. "Great."

"Lloyd, you should check it out." Kai replied, coming up to him. Lloyd turned to him, unamused. "It's your turn."

"Kai's right." Geoff said. "He already lost three lives, I'm down to two, Cole got his ass pricked by thorns, and Nya fell into a pit of quicksand with teeth."

"Come on, Lloyd. Or, would you rather-"

"Okay, okay." Lloyd said, reassuring them while summoning his sword, turns around and started to walk on ahead. Lloyd moves towards the vines before raising his sword and strikes one, causing it to disappear. He starts to wait for a next move with others watching him before he turned back to them, lightly scoffing. "They're just normal-" Something suddenly pushes Lloyd down, making everyone poise as the creature that was now holding Lloyd down, looking like a rat, was trying to bite at him, and Lloyd was trying his best to keep it away. He manages to push it before raising a leg to kick it back.

The creature hits his back against a tree before it started to scratch it before scratching its chin and sides, groaning from some obvious itching he was having as Kai, Jay, Geoff and Gewuji came up behind Lloyd, who was curious at what it was doing before he, Kai, Cole, Nya and Geoff summon their hoods, and then their weapons to march toward the still scratching creature, unaware that there were more in the trees before one threw what appeared to be a molotov cocktail at them. Gewuji was the first to notice it. "Look out!" She yelled, grabbing hold of it before it soon explodes, knocking the boys down and engulfing Gewuji in the process. Pretty soon, the creatures drop down to restrain them as the first creature came at Lloyd just as Gewuji respawns behind it. The creature forces Lloyd down, only for Gewuji to come up behind it, grabs its shoulder tightly, somersaults over it, and throws it near Cole, who immediately dispersed his scythe and grabs a vine to tie it up with Nya, who had just kicked a creature coming towards her, coming over to assist him. Jay struggles to get the creature that he was holding back off of him before Okino grabbed hold of it, spins around, and throws it away. Geoff struggles against the creature, who had its right hand on his left wrist while he had his right hand on its left wrist until he moved his head up at it to headbutt it into letting him go before moving his legs back to kick it away. And Kai was trying his best to get a creature off him before he managed to get his legs free to kick it in its jaw, sending it in the air and spinning while he got up and kicks it in its back.

Four of the five creatures immediately scream and ran away while Lloyd, Kai, Cole, Nya and Geoff disperse their hoods. "What the hell were those things?" Cole asked.

They turn Nya, who was lifting the tied up creature over a branch and pulled on the vine to raise it higher before tying it to a rock. "Lloyd!" She said before coming up to him as Gewuji helped him up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He replied, holding a reassuring hand to Nya before heading over to the tied up creature. "Who are you?"

The creature sarcastically chuckles. "I am of the Brotherhood of Rats!" It said. "And I am sworn to silence! Do your worst, you'll get nothing out of me. Nothing!"

"So you're working for Unagami."

"You're trying to trick me into giving away that Unagami ordered us to ambush you. Well it won't work."

"You just did." Gewuji said.

"What?"

"Yeah, he's not the brightest, is he?" Cole asked Jay.

"So Unagami's cheating." He replied. "To make sure we don't win the game."

"Oh, that pisses me off!" Nya said, angered at the reason.

"Uh, 'game'?" Okino asked, confused at the word.

"Yeah, Prime Empire." Geoff replied. "Oh, wait. You're an NPC. You're part of the game. Never mind."

"What game?"

Everyone looks at each other, wondering what to say next before Lloyd stood forward. "Okino, I know it's hard to believe, but this world, the forest, the traps, all of it... it's, it's just... It's only a game, Okino. It's not real. We're all stuck inside a game." Okino was surprised to hear it. "And Unagami is the guy calling the shots. He's the one who made this whole place." He holds his hand out wide to show Okino the surroundings.

Okino glares at Lloyd briefly before laughing. "Game! You are testing Okino. You think I am so easily fooled?" He laughs again.

"No, Okino, we're telling the truth." Kai said.

"He's not programmed to understand that kind of stuff, Kai." Jay replied. "He's part of the game."

Okino laughs again. "Game." He said.

"So what do we do?" Nya asked.

Lloyd turns around to walk away. "This doesn't change anything." He replied. "We already knew Unagami was trying to stop us. Now we know he's playing dirty. Let's keep moving."

The rat started to whimper, making everyone turn to him to see him swing as he wriggled about. "Oh, no!" It yelled. "No, no, no. I got a- I got an itch! Oh, you gotta help me! You gotta do something!" Lloyd comes up to him. "You gotta... You gotta scratch it!"

"Give me one reason I should?"

The rat whimpers. "Okay, okay! I can help! I know a glitch!"

"A what?" Gewuji asked, confused.

"A glitch! A glitch in the game! A shortcut..." He wriggles his shoulders a little. "Oh, jeez, it itches... to get past the forest! Oh, come on, you gotta help! You gotta cut me down!" He groans as he looked for the itch.

"Huh, what do you think?" Cole asked.

"Well, he could be telling the truth." Lloyd replied. "Games have glitches sometimes."

"Oh, yeah, like Fist to Face!" Jay said. "Remember that game? Where you can step right through the wall?"

"If he's telling the truth, this could save us a lot of time." Kai replied.

"What means this word?" Okino asked. "'Glitch'?"

Everyone turned toward him. "Um, it's hard to explain." Jay replied.

The rat tried to break free as Lloyd turned back to him. "If we let you down, you have to promise to lead us to the glitch." He said.

"Ooh, yes!" The rat replied with glee. "Yes, I promise!" He whimpers a little. "Just get me down!" He turns to the others to see them glaring at the rat before turning back. "Come on, let me down, let me down!"

"Geoff."

Geoff moves forward while summoning his naginata. "Let me down, dammit!" Geoff swings his weapon to give off an energy wave to strike the vine, breaking it and dropping the rat to the ground. The rat soon started to scratch himself in random places, even turning around, with his buttocks hung high like he was twerking, becoming relieved at the same time. "That's it right there!"

"Eugh, I did not want to see that." Geoff muttered as the rat sighed out of relief and slides down.


Later on, the Ninja were following the rat while Okino lagged behind, depressed upon hearing what he was told. The rat then climbed up a tree to look before climbing down and moved onwards. "Come on, this way! Hurry!" He moves on ahead before Lloyd stopped.

Gewuji soon came up next to him. "You sure this is a good idea?" She asked.

"What do we have to lose?" Lloyd asked.

"There, see it?" The rat asked, pointing to little distortion by some rocks. They start to head for it before Okino stopped to look at the glitch entrance in shock. "That's it. Jump in, like this." He soon jumped into the glitch, which gave off a wave of light before fading.

"What devilry?" Okino asked.

Lloyd puts a hand on him. "It's okay, Okino, you don't have to follow us. This is the glitch. We can go it alone from here." They rush toward the glitch before entering it.


They were soon a light purple room with Lloyd, Cole, Nya and Geoff having covered their eyes from the entrance's light before lowering them, to see many blocks in random places and start to move ahead. Suddenly, Red Visors appear, with the rat behind a block. "Look out, it's a trap!" They immediately summon their weapons with Lloyd, Kai, Cole, Nya and Geoff summoning their hoods as Red Visors appear in a circle around them.

The Red Visors start to fire their blasters, which the Ninja try their best to deflect, some ricocheting to some Red Visors that disappear upon impact. The rat laughs as he saw the surrounded Ninja. "Suckers!" He yelled before taking off to another glitch portal. "Long live Atta the Ratta!" He immediately dove through the portal.

"You lousy rat bastard!" Cole yelled as they keep trying to deflect blaster fire before he is soon hit and disappears, but immediately respawned. Lloyd notices a blaster shot coming for Kai before he quickly moves into its range and gets hit, immediately disappearing, but respawns as Jay was hit and disappears.

Jay respawns as Gewuji ducked to avoid a few shots. "There's too many of them!" She yelled as Jay and Geoff were soon hit and disappear, but respawn.

"What do we do?" Nya asked Lloyd before they were both hit and disappear, but respawn as Cole was hit and disappears, but respawns.

Suddenly, Okino charges in and kicks a Red Visor down as another turned to shoot him, but he strikes its blaster and punches another with an uppercut. "Okino!"

"Go, I will hold them off!" He said before he elbows a Red Visor, and two more appear behind him.

Lloyd turns to the glitch portal. "After the rat!" He said, pointing towards it. He jumps to kick a Red Visor down, landing with a roll while surrounded by some before spinning to kick a Red Visor into the air and punches it. He then backflips to disarm another before punching it as the others pass by, and he moves to catch up with them.

Gewuji pushes a Red Visor down before Geoff jumps to mule kick two down as they kept running with the others. The Red Visor that Gewuji kicked puts its hand to its comlink. "Patch the glitch!" It yelled.

The glitch portal started to fizzle, scaring them. "Oh, no!" Jay said.

"Run!" Kai yelled.

Lloyd skids to a halt at the portal before Jay dives through it, followed by Kai, then. Gewuji, then Geoff, then Nya and Cole, and turned back to Okino with complete concern, watching him backflip to avoid some of the Red Visors' blaster fire before spinning to swing his sword for it to deflect the shots, which hit some Red Visors and causing them to disappear. Lloyd disperses his hood as he watched him. "Okino, come on!" He yelled.

"Go!" Okino replied as he and a Red Visor clash their weapons before he pushed it back. "Save yourselves!"

"Okino, I'm not leaving without you! Now, run!" Okino just stared at Lloyd as a Red Visor came at him from behind, but Okino simply raised his arm and punched it before smirking and runs for the glitch portal. Lloyd smiles at his decision before hearing beeps and turned to see the glitch portal about to close. Okino sheathes his sword as he ran towards Lloyd before grabbing hold of him and they jump through the portal together before it fully closed.


In a clearing outside the jungle, a glitch portal opens up, and the Ninja and Okino fall out of it, onto the ground before the portal closed. Geoff groaned as he got up to look around. "We made it." He said. The others sit up as Geoff immediately stood up to see that there was a cliff up ahead. "We actually made it!"

Everyone cheers a little as they look at the cliff. "Yes!" Jay said.

"Looks like it'll be smooth sailing for now." Kai said as Lloyd turned to Okino, who was on his knees, followed by Kai, Cole and Gewuji.

"Okino, thank you." Lloyd said, but Okino was frowning as Jay, Nya and Geoff turned to face him as well. "You saved our lives back there."

"Uh, most of our lives." Cole replied.

Lloyd started to walk over to him. "Are you okay, Okino?"

"You told me the truth." He simply said. "This world, my world... is a glitch."

"A game." Lloyd corrects him. "Yes."

"And I am part of it. A pawn."

"No. If you were just a pawn, you wouldn't have helped us. You decided to save our lives. You made that decision. Not Unagami. Okino, we wouldn't have made it without you."

"If I cannot trust in what I see, in what I believe..." He turns to Lloyd. "...what should I trust?"

"You're a good person, Okino. How about you trust in yourself? And in your friends?"

"My...friends?"

"Yeah." Jay said as he and the others came up to him. "Us." He holds his hand out to Okino, who looks at it, curiously before taking it. "Because we're gonna need all the help we can get." Jay helps Okino up before touching his chest to show his health board, which shows that he now only has two lives left. Out of curiosity, the others touch their chests to display their health boards. Lloyd and Nya also had two lives left, Kai was still on his last life while Cole and Geoff were also on their last lives, but Gewuji, surprisingly, still had all three lives, all of them becoming increasingly concerned.


(A/N: When I first saw the Whack Rats around the time Prime Empire was being teased, including the short 'The Meaning of Victory', it looked like it was twerking against its vehicle. I know it was an itch, but still looked like twerking)