Game Breaker

by Cheree Alsop

  The guards bowed when Breccan passed. He gave an awkward half-bow in return, then hurried after the boy.

  “That was weird,” he muttered.

  “What was?” the boy asked with interest.

  Breccan shook his head. “Nothing. I’m just not used to stuff like that.”

  The boy nodded. “I understand. Our world outside doesn’t exactly have those kinds of situations, but in here, look, I’m with Lord Game Breaker.”

  Breccan grimaced. “Just call me Game Breaker.”

  The boy gave him a surprised look. “Why not Lord?”

  Breccan indicated his hand. “It’s just Game Breaker. That’s what my friends call me, anyway.”

  The boy nodded and continued down the hall for a few steps. Breccan heard him whisper, “Lord Game Breaker called me his friend!”

  Breccan let out a silent breath, but didn’t correct the boy.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “You’re here!” Black Jack said the moment Breccan stepped into the round, jellybean-walled room.

  Talking rushed through the crowd that surrounded the pirate’s gummy bear platform.

  “It’s Lord Game Breaker!” Breccan heard several say.

  “Look at his tattoo!”

  “See his horns?”

  He felt like a creature on display instead of the leader of an avatar army. They gave way when the raccoon boy led him to the front of the room. Sneedle grinned at him from where he stood beside the platform armed with one of the pretzel tasers.

  “Good to see you again,” Breccan said. “I’m glad you got out safely.”

  “Me, too,” Sneedle replied. “And I’m ready for battle.”

  “Yeah, about time you showed up,” Black Jack said. “Sneedle’s been here for over an hour. I thought you might have been killed.”

  “It was a near thing,” Breccan replied. He knew she meant in the Edge, but the body in the Catlan apartment hinted at something far more sinister that he didn’t want to go into with everyone watching them. “I got here as quickly as I could,” he told the pirate. “How are things going?”

  Black Jack indicated the taser-topped pretzels most of the avatars held. “We found the blueprints for the Techsecs, but you’re not going to like the results.”

  “Why not?” Breccan asked.

  “Because their only weakness is power overload, but we’ve only been able to stun them. It gives us time to get away, but at the rate they’re taking avatars out, we’re already severely outnumbered,” Black Jack reported. “They’re onto each defense we’ve mustered before we can stop them. Somebody has to be controlling the Techsecs from inside the Edge, but I need to figure out who before we can act.”

  “We’ve got to stop them at the source,” Breccan said. “I need you to go to Horizon and use the Mainframe to find out who is controlling the Techsecs.”

  Black Jack’s eyes widened and Minx forgot her pirate accent when she said, “But their system’s complicated. It will take me a half hour at the least to break in, if I can at all. Are you sure you can last that long?”

  Breccan nodded. “We’ll do what we have to in order to save the Edge.” He looked around at the avatars watching them. “Right?”

  “Right!” came the overwhelming shout in reply.

  Breccan grinned and turned back to Black Jack. He couldn’t refrain from saying, “I’ve got an army,” just to hear the words aloud.

  “I know,” Black Jack replied with a roll of his eyes. “I created it for you. Try not to get everyone killed.”

  “Have a little faith in Lord Game Breaker,” Breccan replied wryly. He tipped his chin toward the door. “You’d better get going. How do we stay in touch when you’re at the Mainframe?”

  “I’ll plug in as soon as I get there,” she replied. “Keep your channel open. I’ll contact you as soon as I find out who you’re looking for.”

  “What channel?” Breccan asked, confused.

  Black Jack sighed. “I forgot you’re still a newb.” She grabbed his left arm and touched the glowing blue panel. “Look. You have a box here for upgrades. What you need to do is—” She paused and stared at him. “Bre—I mean Game Breaker, haven’t you been using your upgrades?”

  “I don’t know what upgrades are,” Breccan admitted. He felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment.

  Black Jack shot him a level look. “Remind me to give Bullshark a piece of my mind about his orientation process. This should have been the first lesson after you beat Avit Torpedo.”

  “We ran out of time, remember?” Breccan said. The thought that his fight with the Battle Boss had only been a few short days ago felt ridiculous. So much had happened between then and the present. What had mattered so greatly at that time now felt like such a trivial thing.

  “Right,” Black Jack replied. “Well, here’s your crash course. When you level up, you also get the ability to equip upgrades. Communication is one of those. We can worry about the rest later. Upgrading your communication allows you to save a channel where your friends can contact you if you let them.” She made several selections on his arm so quickly he could barely follow. “There. Now you’ll hear a beep in your head when I contact you. Just say ‘accept’ out loud and we’ll be able to talk. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Breccan replied.

  He couldn’t help feeling as though the expectations of the avatars below would shift to judgement at his lack of knowledge, but when he turned to face them, they appeared just as eager to be in his army. It was a little daunting.

  “By the way, where is Bullshark?” Black Jack asked.

  “Asleep,” Breccan replied. “Yesterday was his seventh.”

  Sneedle shook his head. “Terrible timing.”

  “Yeah,” Black Jack agreed. “Rage Machine went down in the first wave, among many others. It was a hard one.” She shook her head. “We’ll have to make it work without them.” She let go of Breccan’s arm, then glanced at her hand. “Is this blood? Did you fight someone before getting here?”

  Breccan looked down at the bandana around his hand. The blood had seeped through the white cloth and was trickling down his arm. He closed his hand.

  “I took Bullshark home but was attacked.”

  “In real life?” Black Jack asked in alarm.

  Breccan nodded. “We fought, I killed him, and I was shot. Bullshark’s safe in the chair next to me. I can fill you in more later.”

  “Deal,” Black Jack replied, but her gaze kept straying to his hand. “That looks bad.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Breccan told her. “We have more important things to do.” He looked at his army. “Like save the Edge. Who’s with me?”

  A roar of agreement filled to room.

  “Good luck,” Black Jack said.

  “I’ll go with you to help,” Sneedle told the avatar as his hand lifted toward the back of his head.

  Black Jack’s gaze flickered to Breccan. “You’re already outnumbered.”

  Breccan agreed. “I need as many able avatars as we can gather. You’ll be much more help at my side.”

  “But what if you’re stopped?” Sneedle asked Black Jack worriedly.

  “I can handle myself. Trust me,” the pirate replied. His hand reached for the back of his head, then he disappeared.

  Breccan stared at the space where Minx’s avatar had been. “I thought we couldn’t unplug that way.”

  “Why not?” Sneedle asked. “It’s the same as the Zone.”

  “I guess I just thought….” Breccan thought back to when he had been desperate to leave the Edge. Minx had talked him into staying by saying that he had to wait until time was up. It was because of her he had gotten involved in the fight and had a chance to save Jorie’s life. He made a mental note to thank her.

  “So what’s the plan?” the raccoon boy asked eagerly. “Do we have a plan?”

  Breccan grabbed two of the tasers from a pile on the platform. “Our plan is to stun every Techsec we can, rescue the avatars, and survive
until Black Jack gets me the name of our target. Can you handle it?”

  “I can handle it, Game Breaker,” the boy replied.

  “That’s Lord Game Breaker to you, Jinx,” Sneedle said.

  The boy shook his head. “We’re friends. He said so himself, right Game Breaker?”

  “Right,” Breccan replied. He caught a glimpse of something in Sneedle’s gaze that vanished as quickly as it appeared. He wondered if the avatar was jealous. “You don’t need to call me lord, either,” he told him. “In fact,” he lifted his voice, “We don’t need any of this ‘Lord Game Breaker’ stuff. We’re all on the same level. We care about the Edge, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure this is a safe place for everyone. So let’s get out there and kick some Techsec slag!”

  Voices called out in agreement and tasers were raised as Breccan led the way to the front of the jellybean cave. He reached the turn in the tunnel, and then paused at the sight of tasers lying on the ground.

  “Where are the guards?” he asked.

  The squish of a boot on the spongy surface outside made his heart slow. He glanced behind him.

  “Get ready. I have a feeling this is going to be rough,” he told the others. “If you want to back out, now’s the time.”

  Hands tightened on tasers and jaws clenched, but the gazes that met his were full of determination instead of fear. Breccan gave a nod of respect and turned back to the front. He lifted his bleeding hand into the air, then brought it down and ran forward. The avatars charged with him.

  Breccan’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of at least twenty Techsecs circling the jellybean cave. He didn’t slow down and instead bull-rushed at the closest pair.

  Taken by surprise, he was able to bowl over both Techsecs and slam the tasers into them before the other Techsecs realized what was happening. By that time, the rest of the avatars had followed Breccan’s lead. A glance up showed avatars battling the Techsecs with astonishing fury. Some bit, others clawed, and several were in the process of using their tentacles, wings, talons, or whatever else they had to fight the security administrators. Breccan watched as a Techsec managed to work his weapon free and vaporize two avatars.

  “Use your tasers!” he shouted. “Stun them and get away!”

  “No rebels are allowed to survive,” the Techsec in front of him said. “You will be eliminated.” He lifted his scanner.

  Breccan knocked it aside and pressed one of his tasers to the Techsec’s throat. “No, you’ll be eliminated,” he said. He pressed the button and the Techsec fell to the ground.

  Other Techsecs fell around them as avatars used their weapons. Breccan nearly let out a triumphant shout when a rushing sound met his ears. He looked up to see Techsecs topping the rise of spongy cake ahead of them. At first, it was one row, then two, then three, followed by at least a dozen more.

  “A Techsec army,” Sneedle said at his side. “We’re doomed.”

  Breccan fought back the same feeling. There was no doubt they all carried weapons. The avatars had no chance against so many when the Techsecs didn’t even need to get close to fight them. All around him, avatars were vaporizing. They would be destroyed without taking any of the Techsecs with them.

  “We’ve got to get away,” Breccan said. “Where can we go?”

  He scanned the level quickly. His gaze fell on the elevator. “The elevator. We can use it to get out of here before the Techsecs catch us!”

  Sneedle followed his gaze. “How are we going to make it?” he asked with doubt in his tone.

  “We’ll make it,” Breccan said grimly. “We’ve got to.” He lifted his voice and yelled, “Game Breaker’s Army, follow me!”

  The flight to the elevator was full of heartbreak, pain, and the deaths of avatars Breccan knew he would never see again. Several gave their lives to save his, which made him that much more determined to see an end to whoever caused the Techsecs to attack. He wanted to marvel at the monstrous food around them, not see towering glass dishes of chocolate and vanilla pudding disappear at the flash of a Techsec’s scanner, or columns of intricately carved white chocolate vaporize because he and the other avatars hid behind them. It didn’t seem fair for the level to be destroyed, just as it wasn’t fair that the Edge was under the same kind of attack.

  He and Sneedle slid into the elevator just as two Techsecs fell into the trap of whipped cream the pair had jumped to get there. A handful of other avatars collapsed inside the elevator as well.

  “Is that the last of them?” Sneedle asked with his hand on the button.

  “I-I think we should wait,” Breccan gasped out. He was crouched with his hand on the floor to steady himself and make a smaller target. The flashes of tasers and Techsec weapons could be seen all over the level.

  “We should go,” Sneedle urged. He stared out the door. “No one else could make it. The faster we get you out of here, the safer for the Edge.” When Breccan continued to search the mountain-like rolls and ice cream visible from the door, the avatar said, “If Minx finds out who’s at fault and can’t tell you, none of this will be of any worth. We need somewhere defensible.” He glanced at Breccan’s horns. “Maybe we can get to the Topton castle?”

  Breccan couldn’t deny the truth of the avatar’s statement. He was about to give the order when he spotted Jinx, the raccoon boy, hiding behind a stack of colorful marshmallows. Two Techsecs stalked around the far side. They would have him in seconds.

  Breccan surged to his feet, leaving a red print on the floor where his hand had rested. “Wait for me,” he called over his shoulder as he leaped out the door.

  “Where are you going?” Sneedle shouted.

  “We need to go!” another avatar said.

  Breccan rounded the corner of the marshmallows at a dead run. The Techsecs had spotted Jinx and were lifting their weapons. Breccan grabbed two fist-sized gumballs from the ground, spun on one knee, and chucked them with all of his might at the Techsecs. The first gumball hit the one closest to Jinx in the back of the head, and the second nailed the other one directly in the back. Both Techsecs stumbled, giving Breccan enough time to reach them and use his tasers. He fought back the urge to grin like a wild banshee when he looked up into Jinx’s wide, masked eyes.

  “Come on,” he said.

  He and the boy ran toward the elevator. Techsecs appeared from behind a mound of mashed potatoes and gravy and from a thicket of strawberries big enough to be houses. Breccan and Jinx ran faster.

  “Now, Sneedle!” Breccan shouted.

  “What?” Sneedle asked.

  “Push the button now!” Breccan commanded.

  Sneedle’s mouth fell open, but he pushed the button. The door started to close.

  “I can’t make it!” Jinx said.

  “You’ve got to!” Breccan replied.

  Three Techsecs were closing on the boy. Breccan surged forward and picked Jinx up like a sack of potatoes far smaller than those that would fit on Shrinkersize Me. He sidestepped one Techsec, spun around a second, and then dove through the elevator door just before the third’s scanner could vaporize them both. The door shut as Breccan and Jinx slammed into the back wall.

  “That was a little too close,” Sneedle commented dryly. His face was pale and the worry lines on his forehead looked far out of place on the avatar’s usually cheerful countenance.

  “I agree,” Breccan said as two avatars helped him to his feet. He held out a hand to Jinx. “But I don’t regret it.”

  Jinx stood with Breccan’s help, then lowered his gaze. “Thank you for your help, Lord Game Breaker.”

  “No lord, remember?” Breccan said.

  Jinx shook his head. “You risked your life for me. You’ll forever be Lord Game Breaker, the greatest warrior in the Edge and beyond.”

  That brought a small smile to Breccan’s face. “And beyond?”

  Jinx nodded and looked up at him. “You’ll be my hero forever.”

  Breccan’s heart warmed at the expression of awe and gr
atitude on the boy’s face. He was about to reply when a beep sounded in his head.

  “Minx is trying to communicate,” he said.

  “Say ‘accept’,” Sneedle reminded him.

  “Accept,” Breccan said.

  “Hey, Breccan, can you hear me?”

  “I hear you,” Breccan replied. “What’s going on?”

  “I’ve made it into the Mainframe. I just need time to hack into the system. How are things there?”

  She sounded far more exhausted than her words implied. Breccan knew he probably came across the same way.

  “It’s not good,” he said. It wouldn’t help her any if he tried to lighten the blow. “We’re in serious trouble if we don’t find out who the enemy is. The Techsecs outnumber us and they catch on to strategy quickly.” His voice fell as he concluded with, “We’ve lost a lot of good avatars, Minx.”

  “Yeah, well, don’t get all morose on me. We have a lot left to do if we’re going to have anywhere left for them to come back to. What’s your plan?”

  Breccan appreciated how she helped him refocus. “We’re going to the castle in Topton. I’m hoping we can use it as a last defense.”

  Sneedle nodded in agreement.

  The avatars around Breccan exchanged wide-eyed glances.

  “That’s a good idea,” Minx replied. “Be careful.”

  “You, too,” Breccan said. “If we can survive tonight, things might look up tomorrow.”

  “I sure hope so,” she said with emotion. “I’m tired of seeing my friends die.”

  “Me, too,” Breccan said quietly.

  The tone beeped again and her voice silenced.

  “We’re going to the castle?” Jinx said with awe in his voice. “I’ve never been there!”

  Breccan gave the boy a small smile. “If the Techsecs have gotten up there, it’s won’t be as neat as it could be. But with the Contessa in on the rebellion, it’s the safest place I can think of.”

  “And we’ll make it even safer,” the racoon boy said.

  Breccan nodded. “That’s right. If we can keep the avatars safe long enough, maybe we can end this.”

  “It’s worth a fight,” Sneedle said.