Load Custom Character

by Tyler R Lee

  This provided even more laughs for the group. After a bit, Streak spoke up. "It must've been nice to have someone to game with."

  "It was," Val said as she smiled at Tony.

  "Sometimes," Tony offered, then raised his hands in defense as Val looked like she would strike him. She decided against it, however.

  "Yeah, I remember I tried to talk my boyfriend into giving the game a try all the time. He never would go for it. Funny, now I'm glad he didn't." Streak's statement was sobering to the group, and the smiles faded into contemplative stares at the deck of the ship or into the starry sky.

  "My girlfriend was actually going to give the game a try," NoScope said after a few minutes. "Thankfully, she had to work the day Yoshitsune made the announcement."

  "Same with my younger twin brothers," Gunner added. "Jesus, I can't imagine if they had got trapped in here. I never would've forgiven myself."

  Moments of silent contemplation passed. "Scott,” Lysander offered, suddenly. “My real name is Scott Huntsman. I want you all to know that. I trust you all with my life, so I certainly trust you with my name."

  The group nodded to one another. "Peter Robinson. Nice to meet you all."

  "Ariel Lavine.

  Streak was next, without even hesitating. "Walter Lucas. 'Sup?"

  "Christopher Stillbrim. Or Chris. Hey, all," Gunner added.

  "Manahil Shakoor. It's an honor," NoScope said as she nodded to the group.

  "Valery Sorenz. Val for short, in case you couldn't tell," ValCary winked.

  "Rachel Wilby!" Glitch shouted, per usual.

  "I'm Tony Sorenz," Tony said. "Though, I still prefer my full gamer name, 4TonyBlazeIt." Peter was the first to fall over laughing. The others soon joined in, including Tony.

  More silence followed. However, Peter broke it this time. "I know this may sound selfish, and I swear I don't mean it like that."

  Everyone looked up from their contemplation to the martial artist sitting against the raised platform that led up the front of the airship's deck. His head was low, not making eye contact with anyone. He didn't immediately continue. Then, he felt a hand take his and squeeze. When he looked up, it was Ariel. "Go on," she gently urged.

  "I know we all wish we hadn't been caught up in this shitstorm. And, yeah, I wish we could have all dodged this bullet. But, if we had to be imprisoned in here, then I'm...well...I'm really glad you all are stuck in here with me." A few grins appeared throughout the group, and a few more nods of understanding. "I've already told Ariel and Lysander as much. But, I wanted all of you to know that I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without you. Without all of you. Thank you."

  The silence that followed was softened by the knowing smiles on every member of the party. However, never one to let silence grow for too long, Streak broke it with a sarcastic, “Awwww, come here," which was followed by the speedster dashing over to Peter and tackling him in a hug.

  "Get the hell off of me," Peter yelled, but couldn't contain his laughter.

  "No!" Streak replied. "You let me love you, friend," he added as he attempted to squeeze Peter in a tighter embrace as the martial artist tried to free himself from the hug.

  Laughter erupted once again as the rest of the group, one by one, piled onto the growing hug, laughing, yelling, and enjoying this brief respite from the hell they had endured up to this point. It was welcome, as short lived as they all knew it would be.

  Chapter 16

  The next few days were quiet aboard the airship as it made its way across the Vast Sea. After the first night out on the deck, the party had split the rooms up amongst themselves, sharing them in pairs for Peter and Lysander, NoScope and Ariel, Gunner and Streak, and Val, Tony, and Glitch in a room of their own. The moods stayed high thanks to that first night of sharing and laughter. However, there was still not much chatter as the days ticked by. They may have been more at ease with each other, but the future was still uncertain aside from its obvious danger. That quiet was shattered by a welcome site on the horizon on the morning of the sixth day in the air.

  Gunner had decided to spend his morning at the front of the deck of the ship looking out at the unending ocean below and before him. However, he had only just arrived when he saw that it was not endless at all.

  "Is that..." he questioned as he let the last bit hang in the air. He was leaning over the railing, attempting to get a better look despite it not being possible at this distance. "That is...a mountain!" He bolted towards the staircase that led below deck, and stopped at the door. With all the might he had in his lungs, he called out, "LAAAAAAAAND, HOOOOOOOO!"

  He heard some small shuffling, but didn't see anyone. After waiting a full minute, he pulled a screamer--a bomb that emits a sharp shriek upon breaking--from his inventory and tossed it down the stairs. The screech was deafening, and he knew anyone still in their room would certainly be informed that something was amiss.

  Almost immediately, Gunner heard the shuffling intensify several fold, interspersed with cursing and questions about the noise. He took this opportunity to step back from the door and look back in the direction of the land he had spotted.

  "What in the actual hell!?" Streak's voice yelled from the stairs.

  "Mountain!" Gunner said with a wide eyed expression as he pointed. The angry look on Streak's face melted into confusion, then into an excited grin as he zipped over the front of the ship and looked. He too saw the mountain in the distance, steadily growing, albeit very slowly.

  "Who wants to explain the screamer?" Lysander asked as he came up the steps, followed by Peter, Ariel, and NoScope.

  "Should have known," NoScope said with a smile and raised eyebrow when she saw Streak and Gunner.

  "Land! Mountain!" Streak and Gunner said, simultaneously.

  "What?" Lysander asked as he rushed to the front of the ship, followed by the others. "Holy shit...that's Mount Apex."

  "What? Are you sure?" Peter asked, now leaning over the railing himself.

  "He's right," Ariel confirmed. "I've been at the summit of it with one of my other characters. I'll bet Lysander has as well."

  "You can recognize it from this distance?" Peter asked, squinting to get a better look, but to no avail.

  "Map data is transferred over for each character. I checked my map."

  "Same," Lysander agreed. "It checks out."

  "What the hell is going on? Tony's voice called out as he and Val topped the stairs onto the deck.

  "Mount Apex!" Gunner cried, pointing in the mountain's direction.

  "For real?" Val asked, an excited expression running over her face as she and her brother rushed the front of the deck.

  "Where is Glitch?" NoScope inquired.

  "Another bout of motion sickness," Val said with a sour expression, which carried over to the rest of the group.

  "Even in virtual reality," Streak lamented. "That's just unfair."

  "'’cause the rest of this game has been so fair," Peter joked.

  "Yeah," Ariel added. "Ten outta ten. Would recommend."

  "We'll probably make it by afternoon sometime," Lysander said as he checked the clock in his HUD.

  The group stood at the railing for a good few minutes and gazed at the slowly approaching mountain. However, this silent enjoyment of their journey nearing a conclusion was short lived, as Gunner's question pulled everyone back to their immediate virtual reality. "Uh...y'all...what is that?"

  Everyone turned to look northward in the direction Gunner was looking. What they saw were several tiny figures moving swiftly through the air, heading right for them. However, they were still too far away to make out.

  "Birds?" Streak asked.

  "That's a lot of birds," Peter said.

  "Let me zoom my eyes in real quick," Gunner said as he used his mechanical ability to zoom in on objects like binoculars.

  "If you could do that, then why the hell did you ask us what was out there?" Streak asked, giving Gunner an incredulous look that the cyborg missed do to his
concentration on the northward horizon.

  "Let's see," Gunner said, more to himself as he adjusted his eyesight. "Looks like...uh...oh damn." He leaned back quickly and looked around at that last statement. "I think we got company. And they don't look friendly." The group shot each other wary looks, then back to Gunner.

  "Elaborate?" Peter asked.

  "It's a bunch of guys and gals in yellow armor, each riding their own yellow...airplane looking motorcycle? Airbike?"

  “Airbike?” Peter asked. “I get we’re on an airship, but an airbike seems a bit...technologically advanced.”

  “Outside of the island New Beginnings is on,” Lysander explained, “the rest of the game world has a heavier mixture of fantasy and sci-fi. They definitely went strictly more high fantasy with the new area.”

  "What makes you think they aren't friendly?" Tony asked, not really believing otherwise, but hoping for some good news from this situation. As if on cue, though, they heard a loud bang from the direction of the approaching mob.

  "They fired a cannon!" Gunner said, still looking their way. He then produced his arm cannon, charged up a shot, and aimed for the approaching cannon ball. What he released was not his normal blast of blue energy. Instead, it was a missile that perfectly tracked the cannonball and blew it up before it reached the ship.

  "Was that a homing missile? Streak asked, clearly surprised.

  "That ain't the only upgrade I got from the last boss fight."

  Several more explosions were heard in the distance, followed by several cannon balls appearing in the air. "Crap!" Gunner exclaimed as he started releasing missile after missile. "I don't think I can get them all--" he was cut off as several blasts of energy accompanied his missiles, striking cannonballs and blasting them from the air. Gunner turned and saw Peter, hands extended, a slight glow to them.

  "What?" Peter asked.

  "Oh yeah," Gunner smiled. "You Dragonballed up!"

  "Yeah, that's great," Lysander said," but how long can we keep that up while they approach. There are a lot of them, and I doubt we can stop every cannonball like that every time. They'll blow us outta the sky soon enough. Especially with just you two, Tony, and myself able to use projectiles. And you, Gunner, the only one who can use them at long range."

  This gave them all pause. Then, a wide grin on his face, Gunner looked to Peter, who did not like the cyborg's grin. "Well, guess it's time I showed you guys my other big upgrade." He then gently walked up to Peter and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Pete...do you trust me?"

  "No," Peter said instantly, which caught Gunner off guard and drew chuckles from the rest of the group.

  "Would you be serious!?" Gunner yelled.

  "Fine," Peter said, stifling more laughter. "Yes. Why?"

  "Because we're going for a ride." Without giving anyone time to argue, Gunner grabbed Peter in a bear hug and tackled him over the railing and off the ship.

  Amid a torrent of confused cries, including Peter's, Gunner extended two green wings from his back, and a thruster like extension grew from the bottom of the wings and extended to his feet. Blue energy burst forth from the thruster like a jet pack and from both of the wings. Then, the same happened from the bottom of his feet, and from the palms of both hands. In mid-air, the cyborg turned, and Peter took this cue to grab onto Gunner's back. Then, the now winged player turned again, allowing Peter to somewhat comfortable ride upright.

  "What in the FUCK were you thinking!" Peter yelled as he gripped Gunner's wings for dear life, a look of sheer panic on his face.

  "Come on, Pete. Let's go kick some sky pirate ass! I can shoot a little bit, but you can blast the hell out of 'em while I fly us around. Whaddaya say?"

  "I say I don't have much of a goddamn choice since you tackled me off the airship!" Peter yelled.

  “Great!” Gunner activated his thrusters and bolted towards the pirates, with Peter holding on for dear life as he cried out in fear.

  “I think they...I think they got it?” Lysander said, more questioning his friends actions than reassuring the others. Everyone else was just speechless and looked on. “Anyway, everyone get ready, Tony and I can hit them with magic if they get quite a bit closer. If they get to the airship, we will all need to fight them off, and do it quickly. Be ready for battle.”

  “Cannonballs ahead! Let’s light ‘em up,” Gunner called to his passenger as the right hand of the cyborg transformed into his favorite weapon. He began firing blue energy bolts at the loosed projectiles.

  “Uhh...yeah. Here we go,” Peter muttered as he wrapped his legs around Gunners waist and sat up. Twice he lost his balance and fell back down.

  “Ya back there, Pete?”

  “Shut up! Gimme a second, damn!” Finally, Peter sat up and kept his balance. It was then that Peter noticed the number of airbikes getting closer. “That’s...that’s a lot of pirates, Gunner.”

  “Yeah,” Gunner responded, a hint of hesitation in his voice. “What, ya think about twenty? Thirty?”

  “I was thinking more like fifty.”

  “Well...guess we better get to work.”

  “Jesus christ.” Peter extended both hands and began firing white beams of energy at the cannonballs coming at them. Each time he pumped his arm and let another fly, then another, then another, alternating each arm. Soon, he and Gunner were launching a plethora of energy at the pirates and their missiles.

  Explosions rocked the air all around the two airborn warriors, and their companions from the airship watched as puffs of smoke and the crackling of exploding bullets peppered the air in the distance. At first, Gunner simply flew back and forth, parallel to the oncoming pirates, allowing Peter and himself an easy spot for taking out the approaching missiles. As the enemy moved in, it became clear that this tactic would become more and more of a danger.

  “Ready to cause some trouble?” Gunner called out.

  “What?” Peter asked, not liking Gunner’s tone or the question.

  “Good!” With that, Gunner rocketed closer to the pirates--much to the audible chagrin of his passenger. The winged cyborg bobbed and weaved in-between oncoming bullets as he and Peter shot them out of the air. As they neared the actual aggressors, Gunner asked, “how about we take out some pirates?”

  “Why not?” Peter answered, and he began blasting his energy beams at the pirates and their airbikes, as did Gunner.

  When enough distance was closed between Gunner, Peter, and their opponents, the pirates began aiming directly for their attackers. “Hold on,” Gunner called to Peter, who immediately obliged. Bullets from the pirates sidearms shot their way, as did a few of the cannonballs the two had been targeting. Gunner, clearly having practiced beforehand, moved with grace that Peter had not thought possible from his friend. The cyborg dove, rose up suddenly, lurched left and right, and even corkscrewed through the air. Missiles whizzed by their heads, barely missing them most of the time, all the while Gunner was blasting pirates and their bikes out of the sky.

  Bodies of pirates and pieces of airbikes alike fell from the air in heaps of broken metal and smoke as the two ripped their way through their ranks. However, several passes through the enemy ranks, Gunner noticed his energy was running low. He began to slow, and he knew this would mean he and Peter risked being hit while in midair. He also noted that the pirates were getting very close to their friends’ position. “We need to get back to the airship so I can recharge,” he called out to Peter. “But, we have to make it back through their ranks and I don’t think I can dodge as well.”

  “I have an idea,” Peter offered. Can you give us a big burst of speed?”

  “Sure, but where do I go?”

  “Do you trust me, Gunner?”

  “No.” The two shared a laugh before Gunner responded, “Obviously, I do.”

  “Then go right through the middle.”

  On cue, Gunner gave his thrusters a huge burst of energy and aimed his body straight for the cluster of enemies heading towards the airship. As they approache
d, Peter pressed himself as close as he could to Gunner’s body and activated his shield technique. Just as he had hoped, the translucent, orange shield of energy wrapped around him and his companion. “Yes!” Peter cried out. “Burn a hole through ‘em!”

  “Gladly!”

  Like a rocket set aflame, Gunner and Peter ripped through the ranks of the pirates, sending them and their vehicles flying off in multiple directions as bikes exploded and bodies were catapulted into the air. From the airship, the party watched as the group of pirates, now nearly upon them, broke apart from the center as explosions tore through their formation.