• Fables of the Future: MMO

    Chapter 1: The Beginning

    “Hmm...what race do I want...I’ll go with....” “What body type....? Wow. This is really innovated....” “Username...something good. Not retarded like NarutoRocks4546576...I hate people who use those...”

    “Character Creation Conclusion”

    Username: Nero Bladier Age: 16
    Character Suffix: .EXE Height: 5’10”
    Class: Elite Rogue Race: Adept

    Do You Wish To Continue?

    “Heh...yes...I’m already liking this...” The appearance of the figure was strange. Jet black hair combed to the side covered one eye and continued to cover much of the side of his face. His eyes were a bright purple and his body was skinny, average height, and rather muscular. His chosen apparel was forming on him, a black shirt with no sleeves, baggy black pants that went from his hips to an inch below his knees, where the were tightened to fit. Chains hung from the belt area on his left and right side, connected to a belt with white studs all around it. “Punk...Scene...it’s amazing...” Silver shoulder guards formed around his shoulders with black skulls painted on each of them, looking to his left and right. Steel knee guards formed around his knees, tight black fabric connected to the steel plates that wrapped around his knee area. Fingerless black gloves with steel plates on the back of his hands formed themselves onto him. Small boots that looked like black Converse with steel plates grew over his feet and ankles. A red face mask hung from his neck like a bandana, and could be put over his nose at any time. “Badass...I have to admit.”

    “Stat Modifier”

    Strength: 17 Intelligence: 13
    Speed: 25 Luck: 30
    Dexterity: 30 Points Left:0

    Do You Wish To Continue?

    “Yes! Let me play already!”

    Welcome To.... 1100001000110000011100000100001100001011000

    “What the hell? Is this some sort of bug...?”

    Welcome To...
    Fables of the Future

    Nero opened his eyes. “Woah...this is cool! It’s finally the first Virtual Reality Game, and I’m the 110 to log on!” He was in a stone building, he could see a door, and behind him was a door but through it was a different place. “Huh..?” He approached the gate and stuck his hand through it. He leaned forward to see behind the door, and nothing was there.

    “That’s the Arch of Space. You can go anywhere in the game. It’s a new feature that the moderators just found.” A voice rang from behind him. Nero turned around and saw a girl. Her blue eyes looked up at his. Her hair was snow white, and her outfit had dark blue slim fit long sleeve shirt that covered her whole upper body under her neck and above her belly button. She wore dark blue baggy pants identical to Nero’s and boots then ran from her feet to under her knees. Her gloves were also identical to Nero’s, as well as her belt and her face mask, although Nero noticed her mask was a fully fledged scarf.
    “Uh...found...? Don’t you mean ‘created’?” Nero asked in confusion.
    “No, found. You see, there is no known creator of this game. It just...showed up.” She answered. Nero shook his head.
    “That’s impossible. Nothing this great could just miraculously appear...” The girl smiled.
    “Well it did. Some people were given random codes after character creation. Binary Segment 110101111001100 granted some players Moderator status. Most of them put it to good use and keep things under control, but some use it to try and own the game.”
    “Own the game?! How is that possible?” Nero was growing more interested every minute. The girl smiled at him.
    “You’re new here, aren’t you? Yes. Own the game. The strongest player in the game becomes king until someone else becomes stronger. The current king is....Dex Halber....my name is Rev Kyte. What’s yours?”
    “Oh...uhh...Nero Bladier....” Nero answered, almost making the mistake of giving her his real name.
    “Pleasure to meet you, Nero Bladier,” Rev said, handing Nero a card.
    “..What’s this?” He asked as he examined the card carefully. It had Rev’s character’s face on it and her name, along with other information about her character.
    “It’s my character code. I’m now on your friends list, and you can contact me at any moment and join me on quests and such. I’ve got to go now. I’ll see you later,” Rev said as she turned and dashed through the Arch of Space.
    Nero put the card into his inventory and walked out the stone doors. In front of him was a monstrous golden city, and a sidebar appeared next to an on-screen compass that read “Havenarch City.” Nero walked down the four steps in front of him onto a stone bridge surrounded by water. In front of him he saw two players arguing, weapons drawn. One was short and fat with two daggers in his hands, and the other was tall and skinny with a scythe. Nero searched his inventory and saw a standard short sword. He approached the two and asked what was going on.
    “Move along, noob!” spouted the fat one. The skinny one swung his scythe, slicing the fat one across the chest.
    “Hey! Guys! Settle this in a pvp zone!” Yelled Nero. He didn’t know much about this game, but there’s always a pvp zone in every MMO.
    “Hehehehe...” chuckled the short fat one. “Hey, Dak...want to settle our differences for five minutes to get rid of one stupid noob?” He said.
    “Heh...sure...” The tall one said with a smile. Nero took his short sword out of his inventory and held in with his left hand, his right arm out to keep balance. He took dueling lessons, so in virtual reality he knew what he was doing.
    The fat one spun in a circle and ran at him. Nero ducked, but it did no good. The skinny one casted a skill that froze him, making him vulnerable. As the fat one’s daggers collided against Nero’s armor, his armor was sliced in half and fell off of his character.
    “What the...?!” He found himself able to move his character again, and he went straight past the fat one to attack the skinny one. He leaped and slashed straight down, but the skinny player was quicker than he was. He swung his scythe like a bat, knocking Nero to the side before his blade reached him.
    Nero rolled into a stand position, sliding backwards. As soon as he stopped he ran towards him again. Unfortunately, the fat one was able to step in font of him. He clashed weapons with Nero, and even though a sword beats a dagger any day in the real world, his short sword was a flimsy non-level weapon whereas the fat player’s dagger was a level five, so naturally he had the upper hand.
    As Nero was forced back, the fat player dashed forward. Nero had no time to dodge and couldn’t move fast enough to block. His character was about to be defeated, and he hasn’t even gained level one yet.
    A flash of dark blue collided with the fat player and blocked the blow a few feet before he reached Nero. It was Rev, she had come back to help him. Nero saw her holding a giant blade, shaped like a huge sword but with a chainsaw belt riddled with knife-like teeth around it and a trigger to start it under her finger. She pulled the trigger and the blades whirred and spun around her sword. She pulled it to the side and the fat player’s daggers were launched from his hands. As she swung it diagonally upwards with her finger still holding down the trigger it hit the fat player and he was launched upwards as his armor tore off his character. He slammed down against the ground and bounced and slid as Nero saw his character fade away. He figured he would respawn at the nearest town or something, thing like that always happened in other MMO games he’s played previously.
    The skinny player leaped at Rev and swung down with his scythe. As he did his scythe radiated red and Nero could tell it was some skill. Rev stuck her hand out and caught the scythe by the handle beneath the blade and the impact from the skill flew around her and hit the ground. She threw the scythe to the side out of the player’s hands and side kicked him in the stomach. He immediately flew back and landed on his bottom as his back slammed against a wall. Apparently the kick was strong enough that his character started fading too.
    “Wow...very impressive,” Nero said as Rev put her sword back into her inventory, “What class are you?”
    “I’m a level ten Juggernaut. Fairly new, but I can already tank in three Raid Areas,” Rev said chuckling. She looked down and seemed to be concentrating on something, and suddenly a flashing panel appeared on Nero’s screen.
    “Crew Request from Rev Kyte” it read. He said “yes” to accept. In virtual Reality, you couldn’t click anything. Rev was surprised he knew what to do without asking any questions.
    “Great, now we’ll go hunting. I’ll grab a quest and a few potions, you grab some higher level equipment, I’d say anywhere from level two to five so that you have something when you level up. Meet me back at the gate when you’re done.” She gave him a bag of one thousand Data Coins, and he opened up the map. He pointed out his destination, the Equipment Shop, and headed there straight away.
    He started walking, and a window opened up on his screen. A tutorial about the mounts in the game, and a free no level requirement hover bike. He clicked to put it in his inventory and equipped it.
    “Woah...” He was immediately on a big hover bike, and he used what he knew to do on a normal motorcycle. He saw that it was already started, so he twisted the handle. He was immediately going faster than he wanted to, but he soon enjoyed it and kept the pace. He went over a set of four stairs while turning into a drift, and he flew over a couple of players. He laughed in amusement as he took a right through an alley that lead to his destination. Slowing to a stop, he stood and put the hover bike back in his inventory. He approached the store clerk and asked to buy equipment.
    “What’s yer ordah?!” demanded the clerk. He was a small round man, a grungy beard on his chin and a completely bald head. Nero wondered why anyone would want to create a virtual character like his. Realizing he hadn’t answered the clerk, he took a second to think how the shopping system worked.
    “...Uhh....I guess I want some weapons and armor, level two to five...?” He asked in confusion. The store clerk sighed and gave him everything that he needed. Nero pulled the bag of coins out of his inventory and set it on the store clerk’s table.
    “Nah, noobs get what ‘ey need for free th’ first time.” The clerk said as he pushed the bag of coins back towards Nero.
    “Oh...uhh...alright...thank you very much!” Nero said as he smiled kindly at the clerk, who was butch and fat and had the looks of a person whom you would rather spit on than smile at, but Nero was new and a nicer person, so he smiled and put the bag back in his inventory.
    “Ya know how to equip ‘em? Th’ items I mean.” The clerk asked before Nero left. He turned back around and smiled at him again.
    “Yeah, I think I got it. Thank you.” He turned and took the hover bike out again, and took off in a speedy start.
    He managed to get back to the bridge over the water before something was being hurled at him. It was the skinny player’s scythe from before. He didn’t have time to dodge and it hit him straight in the face. He fell back off his bike and landed face up hard on the ground. His bike went to a skidding halt and collapsed, and Nero could not get it back into his inventory because it was too far away. Instantly he pulled out his non level short sword, ready to defend himself.
    “You just don’t give up, do you?” He said with cockiness in his tone. The skinny player merely smiled, and leaped towards him. Nero knew his opponent’s weaknesses from facing him before, and he rolled to the side as his opponent swung down. He kicked him in the knee from the side and his leg bent and his knee slammed against the ground. Standing up, Nero slashed at the skinny player’s head. He managed to duck, dodging the blow, and turned towards Nero, swinging his scythe diagonally upwards while standing up.
    Nero hopped to the side, facing sideways, his blade in the outer hand, and leaped while turning for a stab. His stab was timed almost perfectly, and he nailed his opponent straight in his character’s chest where a heart would be if he was in the real world.
    The skinny player collapsed on his knees and faded away as Nero pulled his blade out. Flashing letters appeared in front of Nero’s eyes that read “level up!” and Nero had actually gone from no level to level two just by defeating a level five player.
    “Heh...better than I thought I was. Great, now I can equip something.” He checked his inventory and equipped his level two short sword and his level two rogue armor. His character did not change, and Nero was glad. He didn’t want his character to. He was perfectly awesome as it was.
    He walked to his hover bike and put it safely back in his inventory and pushed himself through the doors to see Rev waiting for him by the Arch, tapping her foot with folded arms as if she had been waiting there for hours.
    “Where the hell have you been?” She asked, unfolding her arms outwards and leaning forward slightly.
    “Sorry...I fought the skinny player just now...I won. Level two.” Nero replied. Rev’s face suddenly changed from an annoyed fixture to an excited child’s.
    “That’s great! Our quest is to go to the Farmlands and kill ten level three Coyotes. They keep eating the farmers’ cattle. Come on, I’ll show you how the Arch works.”






    Chapter 2: A Darkness Emerges

    In a dark hall of massive pillars lies a throne at the end. Upon this throne sits a great evil, intent to scourge the lands and siege control. There is not a sound, as darkness is all that remains in this hall. Only two torches burns dim on either side of the throne, allowing the silhouettes of two characters to be seen.
    “Raven...bring me the status on this new user...” demanded a dark, booming voice.
    “Yes, right away sir,” said the one named Raven. He was dressed with a black robe and a hood that hid the most of his white hair, though it came from the sides of his head and went down to his shoulders. His bright red eyes shone against his dark grey skin. He pulled a file from what looked like a computer tower and read it aloud. “Username Nero Bladier. Level eleven. Three simple skills, one friend.” The leader breathed loudly.
    “What is the status of his single friend?” he asked. Vendetta pulled another file from the tower.
    “Username Rev Kyte, Level fifteen. Five simple skills, twelve friends, one faction. Master Dark Blade, she’s in the Resistance Faction lead by the notorious Z-Bandit. She’s part of the group that has been giving us trouble.”
    “YES I know, Raven....” Dark answered with a booming yell, then turned his head to look in another direction where footsteps could be heard. “Raven....grab your blade...we have company...” Dark took his sword out of his inventory. A one of a kind long curved blade with a long handle that had its own spear tip at the end. The blade was black, with a purple outline and was shrouded in dark flames. He stood from his throne, revealing his appearance. His face was mostly covered in dark hair, only his mouth and below could be seen. His skin was pale, and his lips were black. His dark hair ran all the way past his shoulder blades, and it was perfectly straight. He wore a top that appeared to be made entirely out of black belts that cut off at his shoulders, revealing muscular pale arms. His legs were covered by a black torn cloth that ran from his lower waist to just past his knees, and black chain mail covered the rest of his legs.
    Raven smiled, and pulled out two short swords similar to Dark’s long blade. He turned and dashed into the darkness. Dark looked around, searching for his intruders, and stalked quietly the other way with a grin on his face. He saw every move that the intruders were making. They thought they were tricky; a frontal attack in the dark couldn’t be countered by any normal user.
    But Dark however, was no normal user. He saw in the dark almost as well as he could see in the light. He held his sword with the blade sticking backwards, and it made it easy to counter the attack of a foolish intruder who saw fit to leap at Dark from behind. Dark lifted his blade higher and pushed it back a little bit, and the assassin fell right into it. He turned around, shifting his grip to hold the blade correctly, and faced his attacker. He grinned as he pulled his blade out of the character’s chest and watched as he fell back, disintegrating into nothing.
    He turned around to see Raven slashing another across the chest, and he disintegrated the same way. Dark turned slowly around to face two of the attackers.
    “...So they hired some from the Assassin’s Guild....how insulting. None of you put up the least of an attack...” He said. The two dashed towards him, both slashing at him with their swords. Dark swung his blade horizontally and deflected the blows. As the assassins fell back, he rushed and stabbed one straight through the stomach, then pulled his blade out as the enemy disintegrated and dashed sideways, running through the other one with his blade.
    An assassin ran towards him at full speed with a dagger readily held in between his fingers on his right hand. In a flash, Dark spun around and grabbed the assailant by the throat and lifted him, slamming him into a wall.
    “I have a request...I’d like to speak with Z-Bandit, the leader of these liberation failures...” The assassin struggled and Dark tightened his grip. “Do not play with me...get me a ScreenCam,” he said, his voice calm yet angry. The assassin was shaking with fear, as he knew what happened when you suffer a blow from Dark’s blade.
    Your character is erased forever, and since your consciousness is in the game, you become comatose. Out of fear, he obeyed the demand. With a few twitches of his fingers, a small screen appeared in front of Dark’s face.
    On the screen was a tall, thin man with messy black hair and a pair of dark horns protruding from it.. His chest and shoulders were barely visible, and they were covered with a sleeveless black shirt and dark shoulder guards that almost looked like turtle skulls.
    “Z...why must I force a ScreenCam out of your pawn just so you can be seen....? When will you come out of hiding and strike me down yourself?” Dark said with a slight smile on his face.
    “Damn you Dark! Show your face outside of your hole in the ground and we can finish this!” Z-Bandit said, his voice deep and raspy.
    “Now, now, Z, calm yourself,” Dark said with a smile. “It will do you no good to pop a blood vessel.” His deep voice ended with a slight chuckle. “Now, let’s get to the point. I want to know how it is that you found my location.” Dark demanded.
    Z-Bandit gritted his teeth. “I’m not going to tell you that!” He said.
    “Fine,” Dark said, directing his gaze towards the assassin he held against the wall. “Tell me now or he’s comatose...” Dark said softly, his voice trailing off.
    Z-Bandit grew angry as his face became a snarl. “No!” He said, standing up.
    Dark smiled. “Heh.....fine.” He stabbed his blade into his captor’s forearm and pulled his blade out. From the whole in the character’s arm, it began to vanish, disintegrating into nothing little by little. He screamed in agony and Dark laughed, his booming voice echoing through the hall. “If you tell me what I wish to know, then he will suffer a quick and painless demise. If you do not, then his consciousness will be eaten away little by little until he is completely gone....” The assassin’s arm was nearly gone now, just an inch of shoulder left of it.
    Z-Bandit managed to remain calm, as this was his nature, although his hands became fists at his sides. “...b*****d!” He said through gritted teeth.
    Dark merely laughed again. “It’s your choice.” The assassin’s arm was completely lost, and he was struggling against Dark’s grip as well as he could.
    “Alright!” Z-Bandit said, his head bent low, looking towards the floor. “I’ll tell you.”
    “I’m waiting...” Dark said with a small laugh.
    “We have an inside man. We’ve been watching you for some time now.” Z-Bandit said, his voice remaining calm even still.
    “An inside man? Who? How? Tell me now, Z. He’s losing his feet.” Dark said hastily.
    “His name is-” started Z-Bandit, but the screen darkened and closed before could finish.
    Dark looked at the assassin who was now nothing bit a torso and a head. “Hmm...” he said while dropping him to the floor. “His ScreenCam blacked out. His inventory must have been damaged in the disintegration period.” He turned around and walked off, leaving the assassin to suffer, while Raven closely followed behind him.
    “Master...the assassins are all taken care of. Not a single one of them survives,” he said almost silently, but his voice echoed through the still halls, “I’m tracking a new location now.”
    “No!” Dark said loudly, turning around to face his minion. “We will stay here. They will send more men, better characters. We may have to recruit a team of our own. Raven, it’s time we go topside....” Dark looked up, and Vendetta smiled. Whenever they go to the surface, they always slaughter a multitude of players, and nothing brings Raven joy like hunting down weaker players and killing them, watching the horror on their faces as their consciousness is torn apart and their characters are lost for forever.