As it is known worldwide, video games are one of the most successful industries to enter. Many have ventured into this business, but none have achieved a global monopoly like Hinobi. Perhaps due to their addictive platformers or puzzlers, Hinobi has created numerous games that have garnered critical acclaim across the globe. However, as with all games, they come with glitches. But Hinobi's glitches are quite different from the occasional lag or crash.
These glitches break free from their console restraints and wreak havoc in the real world, taking the form of protagonists and antagonists alike from various games. They cause chaos unintentionally as they follow their programmed code. This presented a problem for Hinobi: how could they continue making money if they were constantly facing potential lawsuits? That's how the Glitch Techs division was born—the skilled janitors tasked with cleaning up the glitchy messes their games created.
The Techs were armed with gauntlets equipped with numerous weapons to neutralize glitches: Memory Interface Emitters to erase the memories of any witnesses, Restoration Emitters to repair any damage caused by the glitches, and De-Rez Emitters to capture the dangerous creatures. However, no matter how many gadgets and tricks a Tech had, experience was what Hinobi truly valued. It might be surprising to learn that many of these Techs were teenagers, but repeated encounters with video game monsters made them quite knowledgeable in such endeavors. Being gamers, they could recognize the patterns needed to defeat these monsters. Soon, these once-invincible threats would fall to the Techs, who, armed with the necessary tools and skills, would trap and defeat the glitches. Worldwide, these branches operated in secrecy to clean up the accidents.
However, for two Techs, it was just another sunny day in the town of Bailey. Despite nearing autumn, the weather was still warm, with no chill in the air. The citizens enjoyed brisk strolls in the park and on the sidewalks, savoring the final days of summer.
It was a peaceful day.
VROOM!
A Hinobi van sped through the streets, carrying a pair of rookie teenage Techs. One was a tall, tanned Hispanic teenager with a puffy hairstyle of galaxy blueish-purple/indigo hues, with slim arms and legs and a concentrated look on his face. The other was a rowdy Asian girl, short in height, with blue-violet hair tinged with magenta. She frantically pointed out the window as they pursued the glitch.
"Come on, Five, keep up! It's nearly getting away!" the girl yelled eagerly, a huge toothy grin on her face. She wore the Hinobi-sanctioned Glitch Techs suit: a white suit with a black chest plate bearing a white H, black sleeves, knee padding, a Glitch Tech glove, clear glasses, and her classic white and pink sneakers.
Five, also known as Hector Nieves, chuckled nervously as he drove quickly toward the glitch's location. "Calm down, Miko, we'll get there in time."
Miko huffed, tapping the dashboard impatiently as she watched them get closer to the glitch's signal on the screen. The girl knew the Hinobi van was full of buttons and other tempting gadgets, but she resisted the urge to press them—mostly because they had almost crashed once before.
Miko spotted the location out of her window, and to her shock and excitement, she saw a car-sized, dragon-like creature. Lava poured from its mouth as it roared, screeching angrily as it rampaged.
"Aww yeah!" Miko cheered, jumping out of the window and summoning her gauntlet. Five rolled his eyes as he swerved to park the van, summoning his gauntlet as well. He quickly used the memory emitter to wipe the memories of all the bystanders, the device slowly loading above each citizen's head.
The gauntlet, though a fragile weapon, was indeed a useful tool. Beneath its metal cover, it held multiple plixel weapons that could be summoned at a moment's notice. Miko summoned her trusty hammer, ready to deal with such a big monster.
"Alright, let's give this dragon a game over!" declared Miko as she leaped up and slammed her hammer down, knocking the dragon onto its back. She laughed eagerly, only to see the dragon quickly get back up and shoot flames with an enraged expression before sending a blast of fire straight at her.
Five, seeing this, quickly ran forward, summoning his shield. "Ahhh, ooh nerds!"
Miko was about to run when Five used his shield to block the flames.
"Heh, thanks, Five," Miko said, loading her gauntlet to shoot a blast.
"No problem, troublemaker," Five replied with a friendly snark.
Miko, shielded, shot a blast that damaged the creature straight in the eye, forcing it to stop firing as it howled in pain and rage. Five took the chance to shoot at its underbelly, its weak spot. Rather amusingly, it even had an X-shaped cartoon bandage—clearly, Fantasy Run was a goofy game, even by his standards.
The dragon roared angrily as it lost half its health, rearing up on its hind legs, ready to unleash its coup de grâce attack: the Magma Meteor. The charge was slow, but the final attack would do critical damage. Having played this game, Miko got a crazy idea.
"Five, can you do crazy?" Miko asked, a manic and eager glint in her eyes.
Five sighed. "Do I have a choice?"
Miko giggled, smirking.
Five understood and summoned his shield, tossing Miko high into the air. Miko then launched her hammer into the boss's fiery mouth. The dragon swallowed and choked as the hammer lodged in its throat, trapping all the magma it was planning to shoot. Its eyes widened as it realized its explosive fate.
BOOM!
The explosion reduced the dragon to its light green base glitch form. Its glitched plixels sputtered and glitched around as it squirmed, trying to flee, but Miko and Five quickly sucked it up, earning 50 XP each from the glitch. They used their gauntlets to repair any remaining damage caused by the glitch and their antics.
"Phew, that was fun and easy," Miko said, noticing her hair was on fire. She squeaked and quickly put it out. "Yup, totally easy."
"Easy for you to say," Five shrugged, wiping sweat from his brow. "That was a close call, Meeks. You're gonna have to play it a bit safer."
Miko paused for a moment. "Five, trust me. As long as you've got my back, we can do anything."
Five chuckled, rolling his eyes. "That was so corny, Meeks."
Miko laughed as she climbed back into the van. "But I'm serious, Five. You're the thinker, I'm the doer—we're a perfect team."
Five blushed, straightening up as he agreed. "Yeah, yeah, we sure are!"
The two dorks goofed off, chattering as they drove back onto patrol. The van sparked to life and drove off. The citizens would eventually wake from their memory-wiped stupor and return to playing their games, blissfully unaware of the fiery trouble they had caused.
As the duo drove down the street, neither noticed something—or rather, someone—watching.
Its yellow eye scanned the van and the Techs, observing the plethora of plixel technology within. Its yellow body glitched and stuttered as it watched from an alleyway, very interested in what it had seen from those two Techs. It glowed with a yellow tint, its serrated, jagged mouth leaking empty blackness from its smirking grin. Had they seen it, they would have reacted with shock and horror. It slipped into its shabby humanoid vessel to blend in with the populace, stepping out of the alleyway. Its yellow hair ruffled in the wind as it chuckled darkly, amused.
"This place, these people… they seem quite interesting and useful."