Starlit Heroics: Network of Carnage

"Ugh, yeah, lemme get you set up." Serpentine said to Prya.

He pressed a few buttons and a holographic sheet appeared.

"Y'know, just fill that sheet out like you would any normal one." he continued, procuring a special pen for use specifically for the hologram. "Fill out all the spaces. Neglect to read the Terms and Conditions because who reads that honestly."

He chuckled.

"Just a little joke." 

Meanwhile, Rebecca and her gang of misfits finally made it to Mission Control.

"Oh goodie, it's the fricking DMV." Evan said sarcastically, "Hope I don't look like shit in my license photo."

"That is if you appeared at all, bloodboy." Cameron said, rolling her eyes, 

"You know that whole vampires-can't-be-caught-on-camera thing is an urban legend, right?"

--------

In a room set up with multiple monitors, a man sat at an impressively nice wooden table. On the monitors were multiple views of what was happening in the virtual world. He seemed focused on one in particular. The view of the Mission Control Center.

"Hmph, expected them to keel over right away." he muttered to himself, even though he honestly didn't believe that. "Just gotta wait it out..."

The door creaked open and the draconic man swiveled to see the person who entered. 

"Ah, Icarus, nice to see you." he drawled.

"I've successfully eradicated Mr. and Mrs. Ikane. Their bodies are in freezer number 24." Icarus said nervously, their voice struggling to keep a deep sound. "Yet, I have no info on where their children might be. My apologies, Mr. Jacred, sir."

"No need for apologies or formalities, Mr. Matsumoto, you've achieved your mission." Jacred said, opening a drawer on his desk.

"And here's your 50 pieces of silver." Jacred smirked, throwing the pouch of money to Icarus.

"Th-thank you, sir." Icarus' voice hit a high spot, which he noticeably was peeved at. "Thank you...for everything."

As Icarus left the room, Jacred turned back to the monitors.

Oh, how he couldn't wait for this game of cat and mouse to actually begin.

Prya gulped. Who knew what sort of nonsense Terms and Conditions lay hiding in the paperwork? Probably a line about how she volunteered for this mess and how whoever was responsible wouldn't be held accountable for her death. Could she get away with not signing? Would they kick her out if she threatened legal action?

Of course not. Who cares about legality when you're running a virtual war game?

Someone behind her tapped their foot impatiently. Well, no time to care about the specifics. Prya signed her name on the required spaces and filled out some basic information. She also signed for Ven, he'd be annoyed if she came back with nothing but solo missions. Though annoying him was her favorite past time.

After turning in the paperwork and making the missions official, Prya walked out of the missions office, but she loitered around the entrance to see if she could catch Iris on her way out.

"I can't believe we had to wait that long..." A woman with silver hair and a lavender color dress walked out behind her.

"Pretty sure we died and went to hell. Hell is paperwork, after all..." A man with brown skin and black hair tied back was right behind her.

"... You're free to take on missions now." - The receptionist remarks as she looks over Iris and Canopy's sign-up sheet.

"Nice. So is there a place where we have to take missions or...?" - Iris asks.

"It's a function that you can bring up at any time thanks to the item that comes with signing-up. You already have it hanging around your waist." - The receptionist states.

"... Huh?" - Iris remarks with a puzzled face.

She grabs the item from her waist and holds it up. It is a black and red rectangular device with a red gem resembling an eye with a slit pupil. It displays a list of requests upon touching the screen.

"Ooh. Neat."

"If you ever lose that, you're free to come back here and get a replacement - but it will cost over 300,000 Vari. Taking missions pinned on the walls there would also be the only way to do them without that Link Gear, so be mindful of it." - The receptionist states.

"Yeesh. It's like buying a new phone... But alright. I got it." - Iris nods as she leaves the line.

Canopy follows her outside where they meet up with Prya. Meanwhile, the receptionist crosses her arms and puts on a concerned frown.

"That smaller girl is going to bother me. She listed herself as a demon, but I swear she resembles the commander of madam Rhodonite's army. I wish I could investigate more, but... oh well." - She ponders in her head.

"Yo, you guys just gonna chat or what?" Serpentine called to Evan and the gang. "Being in this little game is stupid if you don't take missions."

Evan glared and headed up to Serpentine's podium.

"You didn't have to say it like that." Evan griped.

"Oh relax, McBitey." Serpentine chuckled. "Learn to lighten up."

"Are you telling me to lighten up just because I didn't want to be rushed like that? What if I just wanted to look around?" Evan raised his voice and rolled his eyes.

"Listen...just get us the sign-up sheet." Rebecca butted in.

"Can do, she-wolf." Serpentine said with a wink.

"Please don't flirt with my wife." Peppermint deadpanned.

"...Wow, thought they were just girlfriends. Congrats." Chamomile said, somewhat surprised.

"Well, now what?" Prya asked. "I have a friend doing... gods know what right now, that I have to give this mission control thingy to. I guess you could come along if you want. Or not. You know. Whatever."

Still embarrassed about talking with a celebrity, Prya looked around. Where did Ven run off to? She meandered over to the edge of the city where they had split up. Off in the distance, Ven was attacking... what, a bat? Something small and buzzing around his head. Prya sighed and walked over.

"Here." She handed the Link Gear to Ven. "Take this?"

"Huh?" He looked it over. "Well whatever. If this means I can get rewarded then good."

"I assume this means we can actually do something now instead of just sitting around to watch paint dry. Maybe we can get some good loot for this." - Iris remarks.

Canopy takes the Link Gear and pulls up a list of requests. She scans through them and drags her finger across the monitor.

"Plant collecting... no. Tending to animals... nah. Oooh, what about this one? We'd have to make it to the end of some cave to fight an army of slime monsters. The recommended amount of members for a team is... six, and the rewards are money and better equipment." - Canopy says as she reads off the monitor.

"Interesting... but we seem to be a few heads short. I'd ask Prya and her friend to help us, but I'm not quite sure I want to endanger them. Maybe we should look around for some more candidates." - Iris nods.

As Iris turns around, a fair-skinned man with short purple hair and red armor with a white cravat walks up to her. He has a pointed nose and has a hand on his chin.

"Hey there. I heard you were doing a mission? Perhaps I could come along and help... My skills could totally benefit your team." - He remarks.

"... Uh, okay. What's your name?" - Iris asks.

"Ian's my name and fighting's my game. You seem like you're in need of some muscle, milady. Perhaps after this we can... get to know each other?" - The man states as he holds a hand out to Iris.

Canopy makes a gagging motion with her finger while Iris stares at him with a disgusted face.

"... Oh my god, you're one of those guys. Listen, whatever. Help us and I might give you a cut of our rewards. Just don't push it." - Iris remarks.

"Alright then, madame. You seem pretty cold but just you watch. Nobody's been able to resist my charms yet." - The man says as he pulls out a rose from his pocket.

Canopy pulls up her sleeves and rolls her hands into fists.

"Someone stop me or I'll punch his face in." - She growls.

"... Really? I don't exactly see a crowd of fangirls." - Iris chuckles under her breath.

"Excuse me?" - Ian asks.

"Oh, nothing. Let's just go." - Iris snickers as she brings up the map.

"Oop, sorry." Serpentine actually sounded apologetic. "Didn't realize you two were an item. You two are lucky ladies.'

Turning back to Evan, he shook off all the apologetics.

"Okay, Dracula, you're in." he said with a smirk. "Along with your ragtag, but frankly quite attractive crew."

"What did I just say?" Peppermint gritted her teeth.

"Relax, I'm not gonna ball you guys or anything. Can't a guy compliment without being seen as a creep." Serpentine said, leaning on his desk.

Serpentine subtly pointed over to Iris's group. More specifically, to Ian.

"Now, that guy is a total poncey asshole." Serpentine laughed. "All swagger, no substance, probably has a small diddler..."

"Can we leave now?" Shiva asked.

"Just lemme get you your Link Gears." Serpentine said, procuring the Gears. "And done."

"We're back," Prya said, returning to the group with Ven in tow. "Did you find a good mission?"

Ven took a quick glance at Canopy's Link Gear. "Six person cave raid huh? Shouldn't be too difficult, and it better give good items."

"Six people...?" Prya looked around. There was her and Ven, then Iris and Canopy, and... this other guy who wasn't there before. Uh... was he with them? He lingered like he was a part of the group.

"I... guess we need one more then."

"Nah, we'll be fine just the five of us."

"What? You can't be serious! This isn't just a game Ven!"

"Actually it is."

Prya fumed and looked around. In the crowd, she spotted an Aves with white plumage flipping through his Link Gear and looking discontent.

"Hey! You!"

Calling out in such a manner was way outside of Prya's normal social range. But her fear of dying horribly because Ven refused to properly prepare outweighed her fear of social interactions. Even if it meant her heart was racing anyway.

The Aves looked up, then looked behind him. Then back to Prya and pointed at himself.

"Yeah! You! You uh... you want to join our team?"

The Aves hesitated, but eventually walked on over.

"Um... sure. I guess."

"Great! Now we have a full six."

Iris notices the Aves come into the group next to Ian. She nods with a calm smile.

"Alright then, if we're all ready... Let's see what's up ahead. The map says the cave's in a cliff to the west. It doesn't look too far from where we are now... so you guys better make sure we're ready to do this. We need someone to get items in case we get inj--"

Ian jumps in the middle of her speech.

"No need, milady. I always have a few spare salves and mana herbs on my person in case I get picked on a mission. Surprised I still have some, if I could be frank with you..." - He states with a confident smile.

"... Whatever, I'll take it. Canopy, you can serve as our medic in case he's not fast enough." - Iris scoffs.

"Gotcha." - Canopy remarks with a thumbs up.

They move to a path to the west while passing by other adventurers. The air gradually becomes humid with a rotten smell and dead trees. Iris's ears perk up while tears well up in her eyes.

"Yeeeesh! That's rancid. God, are we going into a sceptic tank?" - She remarks as she covers her nose.

"Oh that's right, you have an advanced sense of smell. Honestly it doesn't bother me too much." - Canopy states as she sniffs the air.

As they make their way into the swamp, the red translucent figure of a woman materializes into thin air. Bits of data float away from her as she illuminates the increasingly clouded area.

"HELLO. THIS IS THE SWAMP OF DREAD. IF YOU WANT TO FAST TRAVEL FOR FUTURE ENDEAVORS YOU MUST COMPLETE A MISSION HERE." - The figure says with a robotic voice.

"... Swamp of Dread, huh?" - Iris mutters as she squints her eyes.

Rebecca flipped through her Link Gear.

"Hmm, this one sounds easyish." she muttered. "Just have to take out a couple Slate Caps. And it's pretty close too. Just a bit South."

"Yeah, seems easy enough." Evan said.

"I wanted to fight the earthquake creature." Chamomile grunted, also flipping through missions on her Link Gear.

"Most of us don't wanna die so soon." Shiva said. "Don't you think you need to grind?"

"Nope."

"Well, too bad we're doing this Slate Cap mission."

"That sounds... unpleasant." Prya gulped.

"Fast travel sounds good though. Let's squash this little mission and get ahead of the crowd, yeah?" Ven seemed eager.

"Ugh a cave," Elior complained.

"Is it the smell?"

"No. I specialize in Light magic and, well, there's barely any light in a cave, is there?"

"Which is why you'll be all the more useful," Ven said. "Don't let us down."

"No, it's not that kind of... He's not even listening is he?"

---

Meanwhile, Kaj and Luna were a bit further south, taking on a much easier mission. Luna yawned as Kaj ran his sword through a small goblin monster.

"Well, there's one down," Kaj muttered. "I guess these are the uncommon enemies."

"They don't seem that difficult," Luna replied. "I would have thought more players would be out here, but I guess they're all tackling the more difficult quests."

"Fine with me I suppose. Let them do all the hard work, it's not like we're in need of the prize."

"I hope I didn't leave the stove on at home..."

"I'm curious as to what you mean if you need light to use light magic..." - Canopy says with a side glance.

"Fancy hologram. I wonder if this is what the person who runs the game looks like." - Iris states.

"So what is this mission that you've assigned us, milady?" - Ian remarks with a sly grin.

"Don't call me that. Anyway... The mission says that this is the kingdom of the Gels, some form of slime monster that takes on different elemental properties. They're planning on advancing into the center where the players are and at least six people have to be here to stop them... apparently, they're in the cave right there." - Iris remarks as she reads off the description in her Link Gear.

"Oh wow, they actually give an explanation for why we have to go kill the monsters. I didn't expect that." - Canopy chuckles.

"We have to defeat at least twenty Gels and their Queen... That shouldn't be hard, especially with all of us here." - Iris nods.

"Their queen, you say? Oh ho... this could be interesting." - Ian remarks with a hand to his chin.

"... No, seriously, what's wrong with you?" - Canopy sighs.

"Everyone's said that to me once or twice. I just ignore it because I know I'm great." - Ian laughs with a beaming smile.

The crew arrived at a bunch of scattered ruins, where they could see a bunch of goblin-esque creatures zipping around.

"...These are the slate caps?" Evan asked. "I was expecting...you know, mushroom things?"

"It doesn't matter. Let's go to town on them." Shiva muttered. "There seem to be only five so this'll be easy."

"Why do I think we're gonna be proven wrong?" Rebecca muttered.

"Oh, I HOPE we're proven wrong." Cam said giddily.

"Not everyone gets high on adventure like you." Evan said.

"Whatever." Cam said, and the group prepared to fight the slate caps.

"Well I mean, I can do just plain light magic too. But, if I'm around colors I can change the magic's properties. It's pretty neat if I do say so myself."

"I mean, I'd do a slime lady too," Ven mumbled. Prya shot him an exasperated look, which prompted further explanation. "...If she was hot. Just because she's a queen doesn't mean she's hot. Might just be a larger blob of slime."

"Well at least between all of us, the varying elements shouldn't be a problem. Right?" Elior asked. "We're not like, all Light element?"

"Nah, I'm troll element and Prya's useless element."

"It's called Null, and it's a legit element!"

----

"Mm, looks like someone else is fighting these slate caps too," Luna said, watching another group walk into the area.

"Do you think these quests can only be completed by one group? Or is everyone allowed to defeat their own slate caps?" Kaj asked.

"Hm, good question. Let's watch them and find out."

"Oooh. That does sound kind of fun." - Canopy says in response to Elior.

She snorts at Ven's remark while Iris makes a small chuckle.

"Shouldn't be much of a problem. I'm Dark and Earth. Iris is Light and Flame... She's also like a master of martial arts so even if she were alone she'd probably ace this. We had a Luna partner but I think she's stuck in her own game... so not much we can do there."

"Canopy, it's good for duels against people, not a horde of monsters." - Iris sighs.

"Whatever. My point is that you kick ass." - Canopy nods.

"I'm Frost element, actually." - Ian states.

"Huh. You might be useful then. Anyway, let's get moving..." - Iris says as she puts the Link Gear back around her waist.

They walk a dirt path through the swamp and enter a dimly lit cave with multi-colored ooze flowing through cracks in the floor. A sweet smell permeates the air as the team walks by.

"... It went from smelling like death to scented candles. Now that's how you know they're gonna get you." - Iris scoffs.

"To be fair, my mother did tell me that some animals use sweet smells to lure in prey. This might be that but with people." - Canopy states with a bemused look on her face.

"... Fair point."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Charlotte, Max and Solana arrive at the snow-colored foot of a mountain that stretches past their vision. A frozen church sits near the dirt path upwards.

"We've arrived. All we have to do is follow the path and we shouldn't have much of an issue... though granted, that's if we don't run into the Permafrost bandits." - Solana states.

"Oh boy, here we go." - Charlotte says as she nods her head down.

"... Fun. What's up with them?" - Max asks.

"The Permafrost Bandits is a group of rogue adventurers that harass people that invade their territory. If you don't pay their toll, they'll chuck you right off of the mountain... on a good day." - Solana states as she crosses her arms.

"Great. Though I can't say I didn't see something like this coming..." - Max states with a nervous smile.

"We'll meet with you up ahead, Charlotte. Tell us when you're ready." - Solana says.

"... Alright." - Charlotte nods.

Max and Solana walk towards the path ahead and stop at a large, floating blue crystal. Charlotte puts a hand to her chin and stares at them from a distance.

"... I swear I don't remember most of this. Is the person in charge of this whole deal editing my game the more we go on or... is it really the space magic bringing them to life? It could be both. Still, this is nothing like the game I started years ago - it's way too developed to be from baby Charlotte."