The Butter Lair

[Omac]

Level 1C - Outside the Window

I stood outside the window of the house that had previously ended my life. I couldn’t wrap my head around what had happened. I just kept watching the chandler swing back and forth through the open window. Somehow, even though I lost, the umbrella I obtained was given to the lady without me directly doing so. Almost like the second I obtained it the mission was over and that’s all I had to do. I didn’t know what had happened, but I needed to move forward in order to find the great dragon.
That’s when I saw something inside the house. The skinless woman, who was simply a skeleton, arrived in the house with her holeless umbrella. “Honeybear I’m home and I brought you something I found,” she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small blue crystal, “I think it’ll be very beneficial for your magical abilities,”
From the direction of the kitchen came a man in a black hoodie with the hood up so his face was to appear a mystery. He yanked the crystal from her hands, forcing her to step back. “Thank you sweetheart, this will allow me to restore my powers at long last. Come, I made dinner,”
She smiled like she was still alive. That’s when I noticed a newspaper leaning against the window, the date from over twenty years ago. I was witnessing something that shouldn’t be possible, this window wasn’t just a window to the house, it was a window into time itself. I wondered if I could somehow change it to show me what happened to the crystal, but instead I watched the couple have dinner.
“How many crystals do you need? How many is there?” the woman asked.
“It’s unknown how many there is. Possibly hundreds, but the more you have the more powerful one becomes. There is a legend of a king that will collect all the crystals in many years and will become a Gem Master. This hero isn’t even born yet… So I can use these crystals before he arrives in any way I wish,”
I wondered if I was possibly that king. I mean why else would I be shown this? I’m a king, apparently, and these crystals might be powerful enough to restore my memories or make me strong enough to defeat the witch. If only I could get my hands on one, then I could find out. My thoughts were interrupted when the woman steps back running back to her umbrella. I didn’t understand what was going on until it was over.
Her lover pulls out a gun and aims it at her with a smirk planted on his face. “I love you I really do, but I cannot have you getting my way,”
The woman uses her umbrella as a shield as the bullets fly at her, putting small holes into her umbrella. Sadly, the bullets don’t stop at the cloth shield and she is struck multiple times. She tumbles backwards, her head bashing against the floor, her blood splattered all over the walls. She tries to crawl her way to the other umbrella in the back by the stairs, but she doesn’t make it as he holds her up by her hair and blows her brains out. For some reason the color of her remains turn green, sliding down the wall.
Now everything makes sense. She wanted me to get her an umbrella without holes because she thought it would keep her safe. The walls were oozing green because of her blood. But, why would her husband pull the trigger in the first place. That’s when he turned towards the window and my eyes met his. Nothing. Just an empty blackness where his eyes should be like he didn’t have a soul. I looked to the crystal in his hands turning a dark red color before exploding blasting himself all over the walls like his wife’s. It seems the crystal drove him to kill her and then self-destructed. But, why? Maybe the power was too much to take and it drove him mad?
I I couldn’t take looking at the disaster anymore and turned around ready to puke. I need to move on. JJ came to my side, but I pulled him away before he could look at the window. He asked why I wouldn’t let him see so I released him and he looked at the window. He didn’t see anything, but empty house. I looked it back to see the room like it was when it started. Like, it never happened. I couldn’t take it anymore so I started moving forward.
At the end of the road before the house was a path leading into another part of the forest. I was hesitant to enter another dark part of the woods, but I moved forward to get away from that window and that house. I had so many questions, but I was afraid to ask JJ any of them, as I didn’t truly trust him.
“Omac, sir?” JJ asked, “What’s wrong sire?”
“Nothing. I just need to keep moving forward, are we almost to the great dragon?”
“Somewhat. We’re almost to a dungeon, so we’ll have to be careful to avoid it. It’s very dangerous inside of them and there are bosses ready to kill any trespassers. But, they hold very powerful weapons and items that can be useful our journey. Maybe, after we visit the great dragon we’ll make a trip to one of them,”
I had more questions about what he said, but I didn’t want to dwell on them. Obviously these things called “dungeons,” were something that was best avoided. I’m not powerful enough to take on any powerful monsters just yet. I think once I meet the great dragon, it’ll let me know what I need to do in order to defeat the great witch. A question did come to my mind though that needed an answer, “Who exactly is this witch?”
“We don’t know. We’re not even sure of the gender of the witch, all we know is they use magic. I don’t know anyone in the kingdom who has magical abilities,”
It was then that we took a turn and someone came out from behind a tree with a gun pointed directly at JJ. At least if I was the one hit it there was a chance I would be alive, just rebooted back to the start of this road, but I didn’t know what would happen if JJ got hurt. Would he come back? I didn’t know and I didn’t have time to waste… I was running out of time!

[Omac]

Level 1D - Give Me Your Money!

There I was staring at the gun only a few inches away from my new lizard friend’s face. I reached into my pocket to see if I could unleash power from my starfish gem, but it wasn’t working. I thought it was supposed to work when I was in danger? I looked to JJ in an attempt to see if he was going to do anything or not, but he just stood still like he was frozen in fear. I didn’t know what I could do that wouldn’t get my only known ally in this world killed.
“Give me your money!” the crook demanded.
JJ then laughed. Of all the things I thought he could of done this wasn’t one of them. JJ spun around, whacking the gun out of the enemies hand with his tail. “Aha!” He said as he twisted back into position, “Looks like you won’t be robbing anyone anytime soon. You better scram off before I have to use force,”
At first the villain was in complete shock unable to comprehend what had happened. But, then he took the whistle tied around his throat and blew into it. The ground below us shook and I could hear the footsteps of hundreds of animals. In a matter of seconds we were surrounded by many different types of dogs. “Now, like I said… Give me your money!”
“Whoa wait,” I said feeling a little braver than before, “We don’t even have anything worth taking. I mean I’m apparently the king of this nation, but I-” I was cut off by JJ slapping my face telling me to be quiet, “What, did I say something?”
The crook laughed, “So, ye the king then? I bet my master, the wicked witch, will be very pleased when I take you in. Or I could serve you as a hostage and get tons of molla. It’s perfection!”
JJ tried to smooth things over, “No, this man is delusional,” he pointed to me, “He doesn’t have a single clue what he’s talking about,”
“Yeah, yeah,” I agreed, “I’m just a lost soul. Why would I say I’m a king? Would the king really be stupid enough to announce he’s the king?” But then I realized how very stupid I was… I just couldn’t keep it a secret. I felt like telling this man, like he had some sort of power over me.
That’s when I noticed a yellow dog within the crowd staring directly at me. I could feel a strong connection to it. It’s fur looked very soft like it was well taken care of. Around it’s neck was a chain that said “BB,” and it’s skin kept making air bubbles like the entire being was made of some sort of material. I looked more closely to see it barely up to stay standing up as it slid back and forth. It was then that I realized this creature was made of butter!
I pointed to it, “What’s that dog’s name?”
“Seriously?” Asked the thief, “That’s Butterball, a gift from the witch that used to belong to the king. I think you pointing it out just proves that you’re the king. Now give me all your belongings before I sick my pets on you,”
I patted my knees, “Come here boy!” And with that the little dog-made-of-butter came running through the crowd of dogs, sliding through them at rapid speed, until he was by side. “Who’s a good Butterball?” I said scratching it behind the ear to find my hand sticky and covered in butter.
“Dogs, fetch!”
I grabbed ahold of my gem, but it was over too fast for me to react. Butterball morphed into it had a small cannon on it’s backside, also made of butter. Butterball started spinning around, once more sliding at super fast speed, firing huge balls of butter at the dogs, knocking them out like bowling pins. Most of the dogs retreated through the trees leaving just me, my new dog, JJ, and the nameless crook.
“What the hell!” Said the thief, “How is this possible? Butterball is my dog!”
Butterball rubbed up against my leg, letting it’s cannon slide back into its backside to remain hidden for a later adventure. He went over to the crook, leap up really high and using his teeth, bit the whistle from his neck. Butterball then brought it to me and I could feel a exchange of power to me. I retied the string around my neck and then Butterball simply faded away, leaving only a puddle of butter in its place. I apparently just made a new ally that I could summon at any time I needed.
The crook tried to run, but JJ caught him with his tail, flipping him upside down, holding him from his left leg. JJ demanded his name. “I’m just someone who works for the witch, I promise I’m only looking for riches under their command. If you let me go I’ll leave this region and never look back. Now that Butterball is in his hands I lost control of all my other dogs too, I knew I shouldn’t have connected their souls to the same whistle,” with that JJ let him go making him fall face first into the dirt telling him to run, “You won’t hear from me again, promise,” and with that he ran into the forest in a direction west to where we’re heading.
JJ looked to me, “You got guts kid. How did you know the dog was yours? Could you feel it?”
I nodded, “He was calling out to me and I just knew he would listen to me. Why didn’t you tell me I had a dog?”
“You also have a Cyclops maid named Nancy, but I didn’t see how it was relevant to the mission. I figured when the witch took over the castle they would have killed or captured anyone loyal to you. I was lucky to escape with my life,” he pointed north, “We have to keep moving, I’m sure that we’re close to the great dragon. A couple more miles and we should be able to arrive with plenty of time to spare,”
“You act like we’re running out of time?”
“That’s because we are. The great dragon is dying and could go any day now. If we don’t make it before that happens our quest will be a complete failure,”

[Omac]

Level 1E - Caught Red Handed

We continued our quest to find the great dragon until we came to a huge boulder in the middle of the road. I looked to JJ for advice, but he had his finger at his chin, deep in thought. I wondered if I could tap into my white energy using my gem if I would be able to break the the rock, that was triple my size, but it seemed impossible. I clenched my whistle about to call forth my new dog, Butterball, and see if he could blow it away with his butter cannon.
Then JJ spoke, “Great dragon, we have come in need of advice on a quest to take down the wicked witch. We need your guidance. With me is the king, Omac,”
It took a minute and I was started to doubt JJ, but then a door opened up and with it a series of stairs leading into a dark cave. We descended. Despite my fear of what could be hidden underneath this mysterious rock, I continued without speaking so I could appear as brave as possible when near such a respected creature.
We were welcomed by a puff of black smoke in our faces. I couldn’t help, but to gag as it slipped down my throat. I couldn’t see anything in front of me until a large tail swept through the shadows, smacking me to the ground. I thought we were being attacked so I reached for my boomerang, but then the tail pulled me by my leg through the smoke and into clear view. It then flipped me upside down. JJ ran to my rescue, but he was too late. I was already staring deep in the gigantic green set of eyes in front of me.
I saw the rest of its body. It was a big dragon with multi-colored scales throughout causing it to shine in all this darkness. It was it’s sharp teeth that frightened me the most. Or perhaps it was the scent of fire on it’s breath as it spoke. “I caught you red handed! Liar, pretending to be the king,”
JJ spoke right away, “Mrs. Great Dragon, this is the king. He has lost his memories in the battle against the evil witch. We ask that you send us on a quest to find a way to defeat the witch and her loyal subjects forever,” he waited for a moment before continuing, “Give us a chance. I can prove it’s him, Omac show her your gem,”
I attempted to slip out my starfish rock, but it slipped out of my hands and fell to the ground. I wanted to speak with all my might, but I was feeling too ill after being held upside down for so long. I only successfully made out a few grunts. I reached for my whistle, surely the king’s dog or well my dog would prove it was me. I didn’t know why, but after my attempts I was released to come crashing down to the ground.
The great dragon apologized, “I’m sorry my dear. The last time someone pretended to be king they took out my two sisters. We used to be a trinity and we used to help guide travelers from all around. What is it exactly you're looking for? Is this about those damned crystals?”
I stood up only to find myself releasing my lunch. The dragon wasn’t very happy that I just puked all over it’s home, but I could tell she was trying to be nice. I then picked up my gem. “Crystals? I saw this weird vision at this house back on the road where someone had the crystal and it drove him to kill his wife… I’m not sure I can handle those,”
JJ looked absolutely shocked, “You can see visions into the past? I mean that was prophesied many eons ago that a great king would have special abilities. I knew of your power to change personalities, that’s what your rock helps you do, but I wasn’t aware the other abilities were real. That means there is a chance you can control the elements and wield magic. Perhaps the witch is somebody related to you and shares your gifts?”
I didn’t know I could use magic nor did I expect to have a direct connection to the witch. That would explain why they took away my memories, so I wouldn’t be able to learn the truth of their identity. I was completely shocked. So much so that I threw up once more, making the dragon breath out a small out of fire in frustration. I looked to the dragon, “Tell me more about this crystals, please?”
“Crystals have power,” she repeated twice, “The one you’re talking about was corrupted and used to corrupt other people. That’s why that man killed his wife, but that was twenty or so years ago. If you can find a crystal, even if it’s been turned dark, I or any other dragon, can restore it to it’s proper power and then you can absorb its power to make yourself stronger. It’s a thing we can, leveling up,”
I was suddenly excited, “Where can I get one?”
“The witch has hidden all of them,” JJ said.
The dragon shook her head, “No, I know where they all are. I can feel it as can you, young hero,” she added thinking of me, “Each one is hidden by a powerful boss. There is one not far from here,” she lifted up one of her legs to reveal a second hidden door bolted to the floor, “You can escape here through the tunnels and it should take you to where you can get to the tower. Climb the tower and defeat the boss at the top and then you’ll be granted a crystal, plus some other goodies,”
I ran over to the door fast, “I’m guessing this is a one way trip, no turning back…” and then I pulled open the door about to slide down, “Thank you. I hope to see you again, best of wishes,” and with that I slide into darkness. JJ followed behind him. I could here his footsteps and the door slamming behind him, but I couldn’t see a thing. We were on a quest to the most challenging thing yet and I wasn’t just scared, I was terrified.

[Omac]

Level 1F - Easy As Pie

I emerged from the underground tunnel to a bright, luscious forest. I was blinded by a burning light that soon revealed itself as the sun. I looked back into the darkness for JJ to follow behind me. His scaled arm pushed itself out, I grabbed ahold of it and pulled him forward. We both went ahead before tumbling to the ground with him on top of me. I quickly pushed him off of me, I don’t really like being touched. He stood up before I did, offering his hand to help me. It was nice of him to return the favor.
I stood up looking behind me to find a large tower that didn’t seem to have an end and kept going up for miles. I walked over to it to knock on it’s door, but something came from the sky. It was a snowflake shaped ninja star that buried itself deep into my arm. I quickly fell to my knees in pain. I pulled it out and started flashing red.
I looked up to see a small penguin shaped figure falling until it was directly in front of me. I was right, it was a small, little penguin that looked sort of cute. That was until it pulled out a second ninja star, aiming at my head. I ducked. I looked back to it, but this time it had a sword and was running towards me. It’s flippers clacking like a pair of squeaky boots.
It stopped directly in front of me, “I’m Fudge. Nice to meet you, last chance to leave this building before I have to end you here and now,” it said it’s voice sounding much like a small child.
“Uh.. Hello? I’m just trying to get the crystal and be on my way. No need to fight…” I reached for my gem to see if it could allow me to use any of it’s power, but it was cold and not working. I looked to see if JJ could sneak up on this Fudge character, but he was nowhere to be seen. “How about we just talk this out?”
Fudge shook his head, “I’m afraid I can’t let you live now that I know you’re after my crystal,” with that he ran toward me with his sword in his flippers ready to go in for the kill. I tried to open the door in an attempt to get away, but he was too close so I turned to face him. I pulled out my boomerang in an attempt to defend myself. He thrust his sword in the air, but I blocked it with my boomerang by sheer luck. His second attack wasn’t as lucky for me as he pulled back and slide his weapon into my leg. I started flashing red as he pulled it away making me fall backwards.
I noticed there wasn’t a cut where I was stabbed like I never got hurt. The pain only lasted for a few seconds. Still, I screamed out in terror to appear as if I was hurt. I’m not sure letting the enemies know that I couldn’t be damaged. So I faked it, holding my leg where I was previously cut. “Please no!”
He simply laughed, “Beg all you want, but I’m still going to have to end you,”
I wasn’t scared. I had confidence that I wouldn’t die on this day. But, I knew for one thing I wasn’t going to let this penguin beat me up. Plus, if he did kill me my secret would be ruined. At least I thought so… I pulled out my starfish gem begging it from within my head for it to give me some sort of power. And, with that it started to glow a bright white color, burning so much I had to push it back into my pocket. My grey hoodie turned white and Fudge’s face lit up with horror.
I stood up as he swung his sword, the blade shattered against my skin of steel. He stepped back as I kicked him high up into the sky only for him to come back down face first. I slid my boomerang back into its sling and then stepped on his fallen body. For a moment I thought I had won. I thought this was easy as pie. I thought this was over. It was not. I was wrong.
Fudge stood back up looking unharmed, “Fine. Meet me at the top of the tower and fight me for real. The real battle is like something you’d never imagine. I have never been defeated in battle when at my full power. Something not even your magic rock could do in a million years,” and with that he vanished in a cloud of smoke.
JJ ran over to me, “Are you okay?”
I was a little mad as my white jacket died back down to a solid grey, “Where were you? I was getting my butt handed to me and you were doing what exactly?”
“I was looking for a way for you to win against the boss. I think I found a way you’ll be able to beat him. His weapon suit is not something you can take on as easily as you just did. You’ll just have to move on to the next route and come back here later,”
“No, I can handle this. Don’t bother coming with me I can do this on my own,” I moved towards the door.
“Sire, I am supposed to protect you from danger at every cost. You cannot possibly take on this boss with a boomerang, Butterball, and a magical stone that only works when it wants to. If I helped you, or better yet we go on a side-quest to get more powerful weapons. You haven’t even fought a monster before and the dungeon will be filled with them… Please, come with me,”
I thought about it for a second, but I was so angry at him that I didn't want to listen. I moved closer to the door, “I have to do this,
JJ pulled out something from his backpack which looked like a white-bladed sword with a dragon symbol carved into its handle. “This sword cannot be destroyed and always comes back to it’s master. It’s a weapon you used to use in your earlier days and is your destiny weapon. But, it has some flaws… Please, take it with you as a gesture of good faith,”
I stepped closer to him only long enough to snag the sword. It fit perfectly in my two hands. I slid it into a sling on my back that I didn’t notice before now. I then moved closer to the door and opened it up wide. I looked back to JJ, “I’ll be out in fifteen minutes tops. Be careful out here. No idea if that penguin with come back,” and then I entered into the place JJ was afraid for me to go to. It couldn’t be that dangerous, right?!

[Omac]

Dungeon 1A - Opaque

Darkness. I couldn’t see through the shadows, it was Opaque, or maybe just a black wall. I kept moving through what felt like black sheets until I came to the end of what felt like a brick wall. It was then I realized I was closing my eyes out of fear and upon opening them up could see the room clearly. It was a maze of blank walls and dead ends. I had to go back to where I started in order to figure this puzzle yet.
I tried to find the door where I came in from, but it couldn’t be found. I suppose it could be like that little house I found back on the road where the door vanishes once I enter. I wasn’t really looking to know. I decided to go to the left instead of the right in an attempt to find a exit. After a while I began to wonder if there really was an exit at all? Perhaps, I was going to be lost in here forever all because I didn’t listen to JJ and.. WAIT! I found it.
There it was a big open path with a wooden door at the end. I started to walk towards it, but the ground shifted as it slide in many directions revealing burning lava underneath. I’d have to find a way to pull the pieces of the path together somehow. I thought I heard someone saying my name so I turned around, but nobody was there. Weird. I turned back to the direction of the moving ground pieces trying to think of a way to bring them together.
An idea popped into my head. It was possible that if used correctly it could keep the pieces together. I blew on my whistle waiting for my pet dog to arrive. After a minute of waiting a puddle of butter surfaced before transforming into it’s dog form. Butterball looked hungry, but I wasn’t sure if you could actually feel a dog made of butter nor did I have any food. Instead I petted it head allowing my hand to become sticky again.
“Okay, Butterball, do you think you can make the pieces stick together?” I asked hoping that Butterball could help me.
Butterball barked back, “Roof!” Before leaping itself into the lava. He easily swam through the lava like it was a swimming pool. His paws splashing the hot material around as it burnt the pieces. He bite down on one of the pieces to pull it back to where I was then licked the edges so they were sticky. Now the piece wasn’t moving and I was able to step onto it. Butterball did the same with the next three pieces until they all formed a line. After I thanked him, Butterball licked my foot before evaporating into a puddle.
After I moved forward and stepped back onto safe ground I thought about my next actions. It made me wonder if this place has a theme? What if the reason I couldn’t find the exit to those walls, was because they were moving much like the broken pieces of the path. It was a possibility and I needed to keep that in mind. My theory was proved correct when I saw the next puzzle. It was a rock climbing set, that went really high up, possibly all the way to the top, but the pieces were moving.
I couldn’t summon Butterball again so soon, and even I could this wasn’t something I think he would be able to help with. I needed to be smart. And, the best way to get smart was to use my mystical powers. I pulled out my starfish gem and asked it to give me the power of my brain. At first it did nothing, but then it began to glow green much like my hoodie. I instantly had an idea, pulling out a bunch of tools and wires and parts to create something truly marvalous. It was a helmet with a small fan on top that could fly me as high as I needed to, so I put it on my head. With that the green lights went back to normal.
It was then this big green jello looking monster fell from the sky, following by two more. I didn’t know if they were threats, at first, but when they started spitting acid that melted through the ground I realized I had to take them out. I’d need something that couldn’t be destroyed by cutting through their possibly destructive insides. So it was time to use JJ’s gift and pull out my sword. I aimed it at the monsters who squealed as they moved closer to me at a snail's pace. I started to run towards them, but missed completely. Man, I’m bad at this.
“Imbecile,” said a voice I didn’t recognize.
I knew it wasn’t any of the creatures as they didn’t have any mouths so I spinned a few times around to see if I could place the voice. I then looked to my sword that seemed to be glowing a gold color. I wasn’t sure if swords can talk or not, but JJ did say that this weapon had flaws. I didn’t pay attention at the time or I would have asked more questions.
“Idiot. I’ve been screaming at you this entire dungeon. ‘Open your eyes fool,’ or ‘obviously you can use the dog’ and you think that was your own thoughts? I repeat, idiot,” said the sword.
“Wait, what? You can talk? Are you.. Alive?”
“Not quite. I have hundreds of souls bound to my very being, I’m a mixture of all those beings at once. I only exist because many others have died. But, your mind isn't big boy enough to comprehend that yet,”
I shook my head as the monsters started to get closer, “Do you think you could help me?” The sword forced me to move with it as it turned me around and thrust itself deep within one of the creatures. The monster faded into a puddle upon death so these things are easy to beat. The sword moved quick, forcing me to follow behind it, holding on for dear life as it cut the other two in half. “We won!”
“If you seriously think we’ve won then you really are as stupid as they say,”
“Who says…? And.. HEY! I’m not stupid. I just built this heli-helmet,” I said pointed to my totally in-style fan hat.
I slid the sword back in it’s slot behind my back hoping it would be quiet. I then pressed the big red button and the fan started moving me higher and higher until I reached the top. I then saw it. The thing that I would very likely be the last thing I see. It was a robotic penguin, three times the size of me with it’s bloody-red glass eyes staring deep into my soul. It’s flippers looked as sharp as swords. My helmet gave over forcing me to the ground not far from the robotic freak. It then came running towards me with it’s flipper pointed at my throat. I was doomed. I would not be Opaque for much longer…

[Omac]

Dungeon 1B - Jagged Eyes

It’s jagged, ruby eyes stared back at me as it ran towards me. It’s big metal flippers clanging against its sides. I had to think fast if I wasn’t going to be slaughtered, but I wasn’t fast enough. He tackled me to the ground, cutting through my pocket to get my starfish gem before sliding it across the floor to the other side of the room, doing the same with my whistle. Due to being on my back I couldn’t reach my sword. I was surly screwed.
“I’m glad that you could make it,” he screeched, his words being muffled through the metal, “You’ll be my first victim of the week. I have been itching to get a kill in. Folks don’t come around here very often,” he aimed his flipper close to my throat, “How does it feel knowing you went through all this for nothing?”
“H-how did you know about my gem and Butterball?”
“I’ve been watching you, waiting for you to arrive. You were going to use magic to harm me and that’s cheating,” he pulled away before standing up, “Draw your sword, we’re going to fight for real. Like, men,”
I nodded pulling out my blade. I needed to get my starfish stone back if I had any hope of defeating him. I was certainly not a swordsmen. I wouldn’t even know how to hit a tree with a stick. I have seriously bad aim. I remember playing basketball with my friend back at his house which felt like a lifetime ago. I had made a single shot out of sheer luck. That was one thing I could say about myself, I was very, very lucky.
“So uh.. Sword, think we got this?”
The sword replied, “Just try not to bleed on me…”
“How reassuring of you,” I said sarcastically.
I didn’t have time to mess around, I needed to buy myself some time so I could get to my missing belongings. I held my sword the best I could and ran forward. I dove the blade into the penguin's chest, but it simply stopped me dead in my tracks without causing any damage. Fudge moved his flipper fast, so fast I couldn’t comprehend what happened, but somehow I ended up halfway across the room. I was flashing red and felt a pain in my belly, but it faded away.
“Silly child, you’re not ready for this. You don’t a clue of what you’re doing,” Fudge said as he slowly made his way over to me.
I had an idea, but it was crazy. I ran and slid underneath of the metal penguin suit. He laughed and held his left flipper up high ready to strike. That’s when I did something completely random and dove my sword into the crease in between his flipper and his side and sliced off his flipper. Out of anger he attempted to stab with me his other flipper, but I did the same and made him armless.
I felt like I had one as I picked myself back walking over to my starfish gem. I would use my gem in white mode and break apart his armor to get to Fudge inside. At least that’s what I thought. It was that moment where I looked over to see a red beam coming from his jagged eyes. It hit me sending me out the window, falling towards my death. I quickly pressed the button my helmet and flew back inside. I had lived! I then saw that my sword was no longer in my hands and must have fallen when I was outside. Uh, oh.
I ran for my gem, but a second laser beam shot me into the wall. He started to get closer to me and I didn’t know what I could do. I pulled out my boomerang and leap forward as he grew near. I started to climb onto him until I reached the top where I took my boomerang and bashed in his glass eyes. He stepped back and did a complete u turn and switched sides with where I previously was. I tried to push him out the window, but he was too big.
I then remembered that JJ said my sword would always return to me. “Sword!” I called out to it. It came up through the window, threw the metal penguin suit and back into my arms. I then thrust the sword through the bird’s beak. When I pulled it back out the suit started to spark up and then fell backwards and out the window. I had won. Right away I retrieved my whistle and gem before turning my attention to a glowing treasure chest in the middle of the room.
I slowly grew closer to it afraid that it could be some sort of trick. When I close enough I noticed it was unlocked so I slid it open to be blinded by a bright light. When my eyes adjusted I could see multiple items that could be useful. I should take everything that I can with me. The first thing I noticed was a thick back pack with six sections dived through it, each zipped up to keep whatever could be locked inside safe. This would be very useful to carry more items on me. Almost like it was left here for that exact reason.
I then came across a small bird cage. I wasn’t sure if it would be of any use, but I stuffed it into the biggest compartment in the backpack. The next thing I saw among the hundreds of gold coins were three very special looking ones. One was green with a leaf on it, one was red with a fire symbol with it, and was on blue with a raindrop figure on it. I stuffed those into the small front section of the backpack. I then came across a series of parts that looked like it could be built into something useful, so I stuffed it away too. I saw a weird looking purple amulet and a long chain. It went in the bag as well.
I dug through the gold coins, taking some of those too, until I came upon a yellow rubber ducky. I wasn’t sure how that would be of any use, but I put it away anyway. The only other thing I saw that might have been useful was a notebook full of information. I didn’t have time to read right now, but I could like I’ve seen it before. I closed the chest and moved my attention to finding the crystal that I came here for. And, then suddenly it started to float from above down to me and into my hands.
The next thing I knew I was back outside the tower back staring at JJ with the backpack on my back and the blue colored crystal in my hands. I had won and nothing had gone terribly wrong. I stepped towards JJ, but felt a strong pain burn up my arm and throughout my body. I fell to my knees. I looked to the crystal that was now glowing red and I could feel the intense feeling of anger. My hoodie began to glow a dark black color. Something was terribly wrong. I stood up drawing my sword, but could feel my eyes slowly dropping until I fell into a deep sleep. I couldn’t see anything, but I could the next thing I did and said.
Swoosh!
JJ screamed out as the clash of metal rang through my ears. He started to beg for forgiveness, but I couldn’t fight back the urge. “W-who are you?” He asked trying to uncover what was truly going on.
The next thing I said chilled me to the bone and I didn’t have any control. After I said it I heard the thrust of a sword and JJ’s yelling continued for many minutes after. Then it was over. A completely silence. I could keep hearing those words over and over in my head like I was being taunted with me. “I’m the.. Pied Piper!”

End of Chapter 1

[Omac]

Level 2A - Abyss

Was I dead?
I couldn’t feel anything, and upon opening my eyes I couldn’t see anything. I was floating in the mists of darkness with nothing around me for what felt like miles. I checked for my gem, my whistle, and my weapons, but all were missing. I noticed I was wearing some sort of red cape that flew in the wind. Wind? How was there wind here? I tried to move forward, but I couldn’t move.
Suddenly a bright light came and a long, skinny arm grabbed ahold of me pulling me out. It appears I was in some sort of magical closet. I landed safely on the ground of what seemed like a little girl's room with a bunch of princess I don’t recognize painted on her walls. I then looked to the girl in front of me. She appeared around six to eight years old and her blond hair was up in a ponytail.
“Piper! Did it work? Were you able to connect with Omac?” She asked.
“What? I am Omac!” I said without really thinking.
She stepped back, “Piper did it. He actually was able to use the power of the crystals to switch places with Omac… or well.. you! I wonder how long it’ll take PIper to switch back. He’ll have to collect a crystal and use it’s power to switch back. Unless Omac was able to get one around the same time as well... “
“Wait, wait, wait? Why would this ‘Piper,’ want to switch places with me?”
“Silly head, don’t you remember? You switched places with Piper a few months back in an attempt to gather help from outside the castle,”
“Do you know who the witch is?”
“Nope. Big brother knows, but shouldn’t you know? You both came from the same place all at once,”
“Where did we come from?”
“Well, from what I’ve heard, the sky,”
I shook my head. As if my current lifestyle wasn’t enough, but now I could switch places with people? I made my way to the window to see my reflection and found I looked exactly the same as I did before. Me, Omac, looked the same even when I was Piper. It was like were the same person or even worse; complete opposites. I had a baby brother and he had a baby sister. If I was the good, heroic king then that would mean that this Pied Piper had to be the villain.
I shook the girl, “How do I switch back?”
She pushed me away, “I already told you that he used the power of the crystals. So I suppose you could just use that. Except… brother absorbed that and likely the one on your end as well. Unless it was corrupted then you would need a dragon to turn it back. Both sides need to have a crystal in order to switch,”
“The one I had was corrupted so all I have to do is get a crystal here, as Piper, and I should be able to switch us back? Sounds all good and dandy, but I seriously need my weapons and things…”
“I wonder if you could use that backpack brother found on his quest to get the first crystal?” She pointed a backpack on the bed, “You could at least take a look,”
I quickly snatched it up opening it up wide to find all my items. Like, Piper and me this backpack is connected to the one on my side and anything I put inside will be on both ends unless he takes it out. Sadly, my starish gem, sword, boomerang, and whistle isn’t in here… So I didn’t have everything I needed. Without JJ I wouldn’t even know how to find a new crystal. I was worried about JJ. I couldn’t be sure if Piper had killed him or not. I didn’t even know if I could truly switch back. I was taking the word of six year old.
I slid the backpack on my back, “Where can I go to find a crystal? Is there anywhere near here?”
“There is Pip’s lair which is about a day’s walk from here. You’ll need some help if you’re going to venture that far on foot,” she walked over to a bell connected to the wall and rung it, “Nancy! Come here please,”
Bursting through the door was a hairless, one-eyed creature that seemed to be staring deep into my soul… and was carrying a plate of fresh baked cookies. I so badly wanted to snatch all of them and stuff them down my throat. I resisted the urge. She smiled at me with a creepy, non-human face reaction.
The little girl continued, “Nancy , Piper completed his mission and has switched places with the king. This now, is Omac. I’ll need you to travel with him to the evil fire elementals lair and help him retrieve the crystal so he can switch back. That should give my brother plenty of time to complete his assignment on his end,”
“Of course sweetheart,” Nancy replied, “I will be happy to escort the king to his destination. Especially if it means getting your brother back,”
“What exactly is Piper doing on my side?” I asked feeling even more worried about JJ. Both Nancy and the little girl remained quiet for a few minutes until I broke the silence, “Seriously? Why can’t you tell me?”
“It’s the same reason why you switched with him all that time ago. To build an army or well to get more powerful. In his case he’s trying to enlist the power of crystals. You two are connected. When you absorb a crystal you go up level. Both of you are level two right now. He couldn’t beat Pip so he switched with you in an attempt to get the rest of the crystals on your side,” Nancy explained, “The more you have the more powerful both of you get,”
The little girl nodded going over to a box under her bed before bringing it to me. She opened it to reveal a five-sided starfish gem much like my own. “Where you have the white and green unlocked, Piper has blue and red. You two are definitely made for each other. You’ll need this once you absorb a crystal to switch places with him. Plus, it should help you on your travels…”
I quickly snatched it up, stuffing it into my left pocket. I was a little excited about this whole thing, but also worried about JJ and nervous about this threat that not even my doppleganger could defeat.
Nancy put her stubby hand on my shoulder, “We should get going sweetie, we have a lot of road to cover if we’re going to get you back home in time,”
“In time for what I asked?”
“You don’t know? The evil witch has summoned a storm from the seas. It’s sweeping over the nation. It could arrive any day now and it is thought to be the destruction of our world. That’s why Piper had to switch places with you. If you don’t find enough crystals soon enough the entire kingdom will become like Atlantis. An underwater hell,”

[Omac]

Level 2B - Spark

Her big, maddening single eye stared at me with full intention of doing her worst. I had already eaten sixteen chocolate chip cookies, but Nancy, the maid cyclops, was almost forcing them down my throat. She wanted me to be fully fed and treated before we set out on our quest to find a crystal and be able to send me back into my true body. As currently I was trapped in one of someone who looks exactly like me.
“Just one more bite?” She asked.
I shook my head trying to take my attention to the notebook in my hands. It’s the book I found in the treasure chest after battling with Fudge. I couldn’t read it very well. Most of it was in another language, or at least appeared to be, and the rest was a mixture of chicken scratch and eraser marks. The one word I kept finding though was the name, Shane, but I wasn’t sure what it meant. I felt like I’ve heard before…
“These cookies are going to go bad if you don’t eat a few more,” Nancy threatened.
I looked directly into her eye, “Look, I’m busy trying to sort through this and I couldn’t stuff in anymore if I wanted to,” she looked sad so I took one more cookies, “Fine, but after this we’re heading out. I need to get back as soon as possible,”
I could hardly hear her over my loud chewing, but I understood when she pulled out a small box, setting it on my lap. “Please use this. It got Piper through a lot of dangerous situations that I think would come useful. You said you didn’t have your weapons anyway so you’ll something to keep up to speed,”
Rolling my eyes I opened the box to find a small little red flute that was filled with cracks. “I’ll take it, but no promises on me using it,” I stood up sliding the notebook back into my backpack and putting the flute in the opposite pocket as my starfish gem.
Then the front door blasted open, forcing me to get off the sofa, as a beautiful young lady with long blonde hair. In her blue dress, with emeralds sown into the bottom layer of her dress, she looked like a princess. She made her way over to me, pulled me in close, and into a big, soggy kiss. After she did that she pushed me back down into the couch. She grabbed her tongue and rubbed it down to get off any germs. “You, are not my Piper. There wasn’t any sparks,”
“What? You’re the one who comes up and randomly kisses me and you’re mad at me?” I asked standing up again feeling myself full of rage.
“I expected my boyfriend to be here, but it appears the transformation has worked,” she held out her hand, “I’m Nat. I heard from Nancy that you’re going to take on Pip? I have to tell you if you really think you can take someone that powerful you’re in for a rude surprise.”
I shook my head, “I took down Fudge, what makes you think I can’t take on this fire elemental?”
She took a cookie from Nancy and talked with her mouth open, “Look. You battled an ice creature,” she stuffed another bite in her mouth, “This one is fire and is possibly the most powerful boss in the entire kingdom. Have you taken a look outside? All of that is caused by Pip,”
She made a decent point. I haven’t looked outside since I arrived here in the Pied Piper’s house. I also wondered where their parents were? Was Piper raising his sister and going on quests at the same time? If he was like me he wasn’t even officially an adult yet. I didn’t have time to think about it. I put on my backpack and insured that my shoes were tied. I looked to Nancy gesturing that we should leave, but she looked to Nat about to ask her a question.
“No!” I blurted out taking the attention to me, “I don’t want Nat to go with us. Plus, someone has to stay here to watch the kid,”
Nat turned to me, “You could use my skills. I’m very helpful when it comes to climbing. Let me guess? You took on the last all by yourself. With me by your side you wouldn’t have to do that. Piper never let me go on any of his adventures and every time he’d come back hurt,”
“He could get hurt?”
“You can’t?” She asked suspiciously.
“Well.. I..” I had to keep my business a secret, “Of course I can die.. I’m not invincible where I start over an area where I died or anything,”
“Wait, what?”
“Nothing,” I sighed, “You can’t come. I personally don’t like you and don’t want you getting in the way. If I’m being completely honest here,”
Nat was so angry she smacked down onto the plate of cookies Nancy was holding and it came crashing down to the ground. She came over to me, knocking me down once more and slipped in for a kiss. This time she didn’t pull away for an entire minute. I, on the other hand, was trying to get her off me. Nat whispered into my ear, “This is so hot,”
At that moment I pushed her down wiping my mouth, “Gross. You were right there isn’t any sparks. Not that I would know. That was my second kiss ever as long as I remember,”
She stood back up looking over to Nancy to apologize then to me, “I don’t know what’s come over me. I like it when Piper talks to me that way and you’re in his body so.. I got carried away,” she put out her hand to help me up, “How about we get on the road?”
“How about you stay here while Nancy and I go to fight this Pip character?”
“I’m coming with you!”
“No,” I stood up and went to the door, “Nancy, we’re leaving. Just the two of us… Let’s get going,”
“Fine” Nat replied before tossing a thick wooden stick at my feet, “This is something I made for you. Piper never got to use it, but it’s crafted out of a special type of rock that makes it nearly impossible to break. Even fire would have trouble burning it. If you press the button on top a small blade with come out of it’s end. I made it so you, or better yet Piper, could beat Pip with it. You can thank me later,”
I picked it up, putting it a sling in my back like how my sword’s sling was, “Uh.. I didn’t even notice you carrying it, but yeah.. Thanks..” I looked to Nancy, “Let’s go,” I then moved to open the door and then I saw it. I opened it wide to see an entire forest of burnt, dead trees. Some of them were still on fire. “Holy, hell,”
“Yes,” Nancy said coming over to me, “Pip has made many attempts to burn down this forest and destroy its magical properties. This place used to be a place of beauty. Now it’s like you have said.. A holy,hell,”

[Omac]

Level 2C - Playing With Fire

Everything around the small house was burnt or still on fire, it all looked so dead. I looked to my left, to Nancy who looked at like I was out of place. Which I was. Just a few hours earlier I was in a luscious forest battling against a robotic penguin, but now I was in a burned down woods without sign of life. Except there was these pitch black birds with wings made out of fire flying around, breathing flames that just doomed this habitat even more.
I had my backpack on my back, but I made sure my staff was safely in my hands. I had to be ready to fight as Nancy explained that this area was filled with monsters all serving their master, the fire elemental, Pip. I wasn’t prepared to take on such a powerful enemy, but then again I wasn’t much ready for Fudge either and I prevailed there. Still, I think I need to learn to use my new body’s abilities.
“Are you ready, Omac?” Nancy asked though I could tell she found me awkward. It must be hard serving a master for so long only to have him switch bodies with the king of the kingdom. I wondered if JJ was having the same problem. “This place is dangerous, so we need to tread carefully,”
“Honestly? I’m a little scared,” I gripped my staff, “I don’t have much experience with monsters. I can’t help, but wonder if my self-aware sword was the only reason I was able to beat Fudge? I don’t really know how to fight…”
“Then we shall teach you. Let’s find a monster to show you how to defeat it. You should ready your staff and be warned, this won’t be easy,” Nancy explained pointing to a small pig with a speck of fire on it’s tail, “That is a creature that is perfect for starting out with. Be warned though, playing with fire is dangerous,”
I slowly made my way over to it, pressing the button at the top of my staff to extract the blade at the end of it. I moved fast trying to jab it deep into it’s chest, but I missed and then it ran. I could feel my pocket like it was on fire. Before I could look down I noticed my grey tee-shirt turning a dark red color.
Suddenly, I had the feeling to run and upon doing so I was moving at lightning speed. Everything around me was like a blur as I ran trying to catch up to the creature. I jumped mid-run and laughed my blade into the creature's backside. I couldn’t stop running so I simply ran around it until I felt an increasing amount of pain as I increased speed. All at once I came to a sudden stop, noticing my shoes looking more burnt than before. The color in my shirt went back to grey. I might have to be careful with this ability.
I took my staff out of the creature and slowly made my way back to Nancy. That’s when I tripped making my backpack fly over me and letting its materials slide out. I must not have zipped it up. I quickly put everything back inside, making sure I didn’t leave anything out. That’s when one of those birds with the burning flames landed in front of me. I slowly pulled out the bird cage and moved slowly towards the bird. It seemed to have a hurt wing, unable to fly away, so it was easy to capture it in the cage. I zipped up my backpack, slid it back in my back, then carried the cage with my free hand.
Nancy shook her head as I brought back the bird, “I asked you to take out a pig and you come back with a bird. This may be a good thing though, we might be able to trade it in for some rare items. There is a shop not far from here,” she took it from me, “It seems that you know how to fight better than you thought, at least with creatures that can’t fight back. We’ll need to find a better target so-” but she was cut off by something truly, terrible.
A bird like the one in my cage landed in front of us except it was double our size. It’s beak plucked itself down before us, digging into the ground, before coming up to breath fire into our faces. Nancy jumped in front of me taking the majority of the burns, but everyone knows that cyclops are immune to fire. The bird was angry that it couldn’t hurt me and get to what I figured was it’s child we captured.
“Let it go!” I announced, “Nancy, release the bird,”
“No, I’m sure we could sell it for something pretty high up. This is your chance to take to take on something power. Use your staff, Nat said it was fireproof,”
I didn’t have time to object so I slid into view and dove my staff into the bird’s left wing. It screamed out in agony as it dove it’s beak towards me. I moved to the left only in the nick of time. In that moment I got cocky and danced back and forth before attempting to shove my weapon into it’s neck. Things didn’t go according to plan. It caught my staff in it’s mouth then spit it out to the left of it and flung it’s beak down into my chest. I started flashing bright red and fell to my knees.
Nancy jumped over me and punched the beast in it’s face. She saved me! But, then the bird flapped it’s wings and bounced Nancy into a burning tree. It turned to face her before borrowing its beak into her leg. I couldn’t bare to watch so I got up, grabbed my staff, and ran up towards it hoping to take it by surprise. But, then it turned towards me and I didn’t have much of a chance to take it down. I threw my staff out of fear hoping that it would at least not hurt Nancy. Then the staff flew through the air and into the bird’s throat. It shook its head until my staff fell out then flew away.
Nancy came over to me, unable to walk quickly with a chunk of her leg missing. “I can’t take you in this condition. We’ll have to head back to the house and switch me out with Nat. It’s not your fault honey, don’t think that, but now I’m too hurt to walk you all the way to Pip and back. Even if I could get you there I wouldn’t be much help,” she put her hand on my shoulder, “What’s on your mind?”
Nothing much, just that I’m to blame. If I can’t save JJ.. or Nancy.. How am I supposed to save an entire kingdom?

[Omac]

Spoiler: Read this 

October 30th, 2012

I never imagined a world so different from my own. As the dark room started to light up as lights from above started flashing on. I moved forward down the long hallway, hundreds of doors on both sides. It appeared to be endless, and while I was terrified, I knew I needed to get through this or I would have to revert to writing with my friends. My skill level wasn’t the best, but I had a knack for creativity that put me on top. I wanted to be with more people of my kind. So today was the day I signed up onto Roleplaying Adventures.
From above an angel came down wearing only a happy face… and clothes. Lots of clothes. Like, two sweaters and a couple pairs of pants. She waved to me handing me an envelope labeled “Rules,”. I scanned it over for a quick second; something about following the game masters rule, not posting bad images or links, something about stealing your soul, etc. I know exactly what I’m doing so I decided to tear it up.
She sighed for a moment, but went back to her smile, “Welcome to RPA! I’m Kris, one of the website's main admins. If you have questions you can ask me or anyone else who is wearing purple?” I then noticed she had a purple necklace tucked into her purple sweater, “As long as you follow the rules you won’t have to talk me in my office. So, do you need anything?”
“I may be a newbie, but I know exactly what I’m doing because I’m awesome!”
Kris laughs, “Of course. Now in order to become a full member you’ll need to complete enough posts around the forums in order to become a full member. You can join an RP or two, or you could mess around in Downtown a little. But, the first thing most members do is introduce themselves,” she started then her voice turned dark, almost sinister, “Go ahead,”
Suddenly the walls came down and I was standing in a the middle of a dome with hundreds of people in seats sitting around me. Watching my every move. Kris was next to me giving me a thumbs up like I was supposed to say something. So many things I could say, so many ways I could screw it up. And, there was a microphone in my hands. I was meant to speak my mind, but that wasn’t always a good idea.
“H-hello, people of RPA… I’m.. Omac12, and I uh.. I’m not actually twelve… I’m a.. Thirteen.. No idea why I went with the twelve.. uh..”
One of the people in the stands started cheering followed by more and more people around them. I had never had so much attention for messing up so bad. It was sort of nice for having this many members being so kind for no apparent reason. Someone started to wave their hands in the air and the rest followed. Then someone yawned.. And so did everyone else. It made me wonder, and I threw a stone from my pocket at one of the people in the front row and to my surprise everyone else fell silent and the person I hit jumped out from the stands coming towards me.
I dropped the microphone and started to run, but ran directly into Kris. We both came down in a clash and the member I hit picked me up by my polo shirt. I was forcibly turned around… the man holding me was actually the dillary dough boy. I couldn’t, but help to laugh in his face despite how terrified I was. He set me down and I went in for a punch only for my hit to bounce back. What now?
Kris stood herself up, “This is Doughyguy. Don’t worry he’s harmless… mostly,”
Doughyguy gave me a big smile before patting me on my head, “Don’t worry, buddy I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. You’re just nervous that’s all…” he exalted throwing a wad of spit towards me by accident, “Man, I could use a nap,” and with that he turned to leave. I could still hear him laughing with every wobble of his gigantic doughy feet.
I smiled, “That was fun, what’s next?”
Kris wiggled her wings and with a snap of her fingers we were somewhere else. Now we were in a circular halfway with a few doors spaced equally apart. Each one had a different name tag on it. I noticed one that said “Girls VS Guys,” so I decided to make my way through it. I was tugged back by my shirt and pulled back. Kris smiled at me, before explaining the rules. The number starts at fifty and for every guy who posts it goes up and for every girl it goes down… and the point for the guys is to get it to a hundred.
I stepped through the door, but Kris didn’t follow. I could see boys fighting girls and then girls fighting back. There was one girl with long red hair on a horse that was trampling through an army of guys. Little numbers above them being less and less with each hit starting at thirty and coming all the way down to twenty two. Who was this girl? I needed to know, so I went up to her and tapped her on the shoulder.
She fell from her horse and the number above her head went up to a twenty three. I looked up and saw the same number above me. It seems I had won my team some points. I couldn’t quite get to the bottom of how I was able to reach her from below her horse, like I had some sort of magic, but it didn’t matter. I went to go help her up, but accidently stepped on her hands and watched my points raise even more.
She stood up with one false leap and pushed me to the ground, “What’s the big idea?!” she asked as her number above her increased.
I smiled, “Wow, you’re kind of cool. I like you. What’s your name?”
She rolled her eyes, “I’m GoldenMyth,” she said before getting back on her horse and riding away into the distance.
I was astounded, completely paralyzed in shock of the events that occurred. I looked around as the battlefield continued to roar with madness. Then, I could hear something coming up from behind me. At first, it was just footsteps, but then I heard it. Crunch. Crunch. Cruuuuuunch. That’s when I could smell it.. It smelt like.. Bacon! I did my best to stand up with enough time to be able to see it… it was.. A young man eating bacon.
“Sup, I’m DistortedReality,” he offered up the piece of bacon in his hand that was already bitten out of “Want a piece?” Someone in a ponytail came up behind him about to stab him in the back when he turned around and shoved his bacon in her mouth. She fell backwards as the number over both of their heads was one more than previously. He turned back around to me before pulling another piece out of his pocket, “Hum?”
I stepped backwards, “This isn’t real, this isn’t real…”
I bumped into someone who wrapped there intensely long arms around me. The number above Distorted and mine went down as they tightened their grip. Distorted threw a piece of bacon their way and they released themselves. I was able to turn around to face my enemy to find something that wasn’t human. I remembered it from pictures of creepypasta… it was.. Slenderman!
I couldn’t take this anymore. Too many people that I didn’t know and it was starting to make me scared. I wanted to get out of this world as fast as possible, but I couldn’t find the door I came through. DistortedReality was running after me trying to help, but I didn’t trust him. I didn’t trust anyone. What if they found my real name? What if they came and murdered me? I let out a scream as I fell to the ground.
Kris appeared next to me with a worried expression, “It’s okay, Omac. It’s hard when you’re a newbie. It’ll get better once you become a full member. Why don’t you take a little break from the games in blog section? Some easy reading will surely help you relax before you set back out,” she snapped her fingers and I was in a room covered in books that appeared like a library, “Check out any book that you want,”
“Books, I need books…” I said as I looked around at books that I could read.
Kris sat down at one of the desks as she moderated the library while I looked for books. This man playing a guitar as smoke arose from under him started to mechanically laugh. He looked dead in his eyes. I wanted to run, but before I knew it he was directly behind me. Kris looked to me, “That’s just Lucifer. He goes by many names. You’ll never recognize him,”
“Yeah, right,” I said rolling my eyes before looking back to the man to find him as a man in a cat suit. “What th-” but then I let it go and made my way over to the first book I found and started reading it. I then sat down and let myself relax.

Later I decided to check out another of the forum games. I thought the “Who Can Post Last?” thread. It was much like the “Girls VS Guys,” thread where it was a battlefield. Kris told me not all threads are like this, but that I would see that eventually. The other main difference between this one and the past game I was part of, is instead of boys vs girls it’s everyone for themselves. The last one standing is victor.
At first I was scared and hid under a rock while watching the other members slash it out. I wondered if there was some sort of way to win this game? It seemed to go on forever as people kept taking out each other, of course when a member was killed they were just sent out of the game until they entered it again, but that didn’t stop me from trembling in fear.
That’s when the boulder was moved and I saw Doughyguy staring down at me again. “You look like you need a friend,” he helped me up and patted me on the back, “Think you can become king of downtown? That’s the only reason someone comes in here,”
“Actually, I’m looking for a specific member… Her name is GoldenMyth?”
“Ah,” he smiled, “If you want to find someone, you’ll need to talk to the owl queen. She knows everything about everything when it comes to finding people. I can take you to her if you want?”
Were people here at RPA always so nice? Despite the ruthless battles that went on Downtown, it seemed like everyone was having fun and enjoying themselves. I liked it. It was a feeling I never felt before. I couldn’t quite place it, but I think it made me happy. With that my fear was starting to melt away. That shows how much a friendly smile can change a person’s entire perspective.
Then we were on our way. Anyone who tried to attack me was taken down by my new friend, Doughyguy. No one could even hurt him, but his punches took his enemies down easily. He led the way to a cave deep in the forest that seemed to shine with magic. He stopped at the entrance. “You can head in yourself, I need to find something to give it a friend of mine, Good luck on your travels,”
As he walked away I entered the cave to find a throne with hundreds of bird cages around it. Owls flying around delivering mail to each other. There she was, at the top of a ledge watching her birds do their work. When she saw me she reached out her arms allowing two birds to fly pick her up and move her to my area. She reached out her hand, “Naraness, nice to meet you,”
I returned the gesture, “Hello, I’m Omac. I’m looking for a member by the name of GoldenMyth. Do you know where I can find her? Is she in this game?”
Nara shook her head, “I don’t know much about GoldenMyth, but I can find her for you if you would like?” she gestured for a bird to come near her and she whispered into it’s ear before it flew off, “It’ll be just a moment,”.
I watched as the owl flew through the air, tossing the letter in the air only for another owl to catch it with it’s feet and flying off deeper into the cave. I looked around in the meantime, it was awfully dark so I wondered how Nara was able to see it all? Perhaps, she had night vision? Before I could question it anymore one of the bird dropped a letter into her grasp.
She opened before looking to me, “It’s not good news. She’s here in the last member thread, but she’s attempting a move against the king of downtown. It’s too dangerous to go after her now,”
“I don’t care. There is something about her and I need to know what it means,” I looked at Nara one more time, “It’s almost the same feeling I have with you.. And that Distorted guy... I feel like it’s destiny. Like, we’re all important in some sort of big event, but I can’t put my finger on it,”
She nodded, “It’s good that you feel a connection to those around you. I never leave my cave, but if you need me all you have to do is look for the birds and I will hear you,”
I turned to leave, “I’m going to find this king of downtown and save GoldenMyth before she gets herself taken out of the game,” I turned back to take the envelope from her hand to help me with finding Gold. She made a gesture of pain as she fell backwards. I thought she was going to curse, but she didn’t. I smiled at her, “I wish there was a word that you could use instead of cursing. Like… Toast.. That would be cool,”
She has her owls help her up, “That’s funny. You’re like RPA’s own, Toastman,” with that she had her birds fly her back to her throne.
I exited the cave hoping to find Doughyguy, but he wasn’t there any more. I kept thinking about what Nara said as I walked in the direction the letter told me to go in. I could see that you could be anyone you wanted to be here; an angel, the dillary dough boy, or the queen of the owls. I wanted to be someone too… what if I became Toastman? I could be anything and all I wanted is to be special. I wanted to the king of something.
I eventually came to the middle of the battlefield, staying hidden as best I could so I wasn’t in the way. Then I saw him. With a sword slashing tens of people as they attacked… each one fallen with one swipe. I hid behind a rock while I watched him destroy everything in sight. This must have been the king of downtown. There wasn’t anyway that I could take him down with the lack of resources I had.
“That’s SikstaSlathalin. He’s basically Deadpool,” said a familiar voice. I looked to find DistortedReality laying down next to me with a piece of bacon in each hand.
“Who’s Deadpool?” I shook my head, “Nevermind, how do we take him down?”
Distorted let out a sort of snort as a laugh before making a serious face, “We don’t,”
I looked back up to the warzone to find that the girl on the horse was riding towards SikstaSlathalin tossing little knives his way. He detected each with his armor and used his boot to push down on the horse’s legs as it came charging and made GoldenMyth fly off of it. She came down right into his arms where he started to squeeze tight and suffocate her. I needed to do something…
I stood up with a solid, “NO!” before he dropped her cold body to the ground, “Golden!”
SikstaSlathalin started to come towards us with a grin on his face as Golden’s body evaporated. I wanted to run, but I was so furious that I simply screamed at him. DistortedReality grabbed me by my arms and tried to pull me away. I wouldn’t move and because of that a rock came flying that took off Distorted’s head. He completely vanished in that moment, erased from the game.
SikstaSlathalin was now directly in front of me ready to take me down. He picked me up my neck and started to squeeze. “How did you find me?”
“Uh..” I didn’t say anything, but the letter fell from my hands, “N-no.”
He let me fall to the ground, my back hitting directly on the hard rock. I didn’t feel any pain though, as this game was simply that, a game. He picked up the letter and begin to read it and with that he smiled. He knew exactly where it came from… and now I was doomed. I needed to think fast, but I was frozen in fear. I started to think of an idea, but it was too late as he brought his sword down upon me.

October 31st, 2012

I woke up in a hospital bed outside of the forum game. A few people stood beside my bed waiting for me to wake. They seemed concerned for my safety, even though I wasn’t sure what had happened. Kris took my hand as she sat in the chair next to my bed with a face of worry. She seemed truly concerned for me that something bad had happened. All I remembered was SikstaSlathalin taking me out of the Last Post thread… but that wouldn’t cause me any actual damage.
Kris tightened her grip, “I’m sorry, Omac. Siks didn’t know what would happen, it was a harmless game. No one ever got hurt from it before…”
I shook my head, “I don’t understand… what happened?”
Doughyguy stepped forward, “Normally when you’re defeated in a forum game you’re sent back to the home page like nothing happened. Except you were found unconscious… You must have passed out from all the stress,”
I looked to Kris, “Am I okay now?”
She smiled, “It appear so, but we think you should hang out here for a little while to make sure we know everything is okay,”
“No, I need to find GoldenMyth,” I tried to move, but Kris and Doughyguy pushed me back down, “I’ll be fine,”
“Somebody’s in love,” joked Doughyguy.
I shook my head, “No, that isn’t it. I can feel some sort of energy coming from her. Like, she is special. I got the same feeling from DistortedReality and Naraness… I need to find all of them and do something with them. I think they’re important,”
Kris released her grip on me, “Fine, if you feel this is something you need to do then I’m not going to stop you,”
Doughyguy raised his doughy hand to object, but Kris glared at him and he also let me go. He looked to me, “Last I heard, GoldenMyth is back trying to kill SikstaSlathalin. I would go with you, but I have a couch that is calling my name. Doughy! Doughy! I can hear it,”
I gave him a look before getting out of bed and making my way out of the infirmary and down the hall. I still didn’t know my way around so it would take me a while to find the forum games again. I should have asked Kris for help, but I can’t rely on her forever. I needed to find my own way if I was going to make a home out of this website.
“Hey!” I heard a voice as DistortedReality came up behind me. He caught up to me as quickly as he could. “Where you heading?”
I smiled, “So you don’t hate me for getting you kicked out of the game?”
He shook his head, “Of course not. I am a little mad though, that you still haven’t eaten any of my bacon,” he said while not taking away his smile.
“I need to go back into the Last Post thread if I’m going to apologize to Naraness and find GoldenMyth. I have a plan to take down SikstaSlathalin, you in?”
“Sure, I’m always up for an adventure,”.
In almost no time, we made our way to the forum games section. It was a lot harder finding my own way, then having Kris leaving links for me to follow, but that doesn’t mean that I couldn’t do it. I knew I was a newbie, but I was started to trust the members around me more and starting to have some fun around here. I haven’t even tried RPing yet, wonder what that will be like?
As we entered the Last Post thread once more I knew I needed to find Nara first and she would lead me to GoldenMyth. If we worked together, we might be able to take down SikstaSlathalin. It wouldn’t be easy, but I think we can do it. Someone had to stop his reign of terror… and I kind of wanted to become king of downtown.
I looked down to a puddle to see my reflection. It looked just like me, except I was playing some sort of wooden flute. Weird. I shook it off to stress and moved forward until we came back to Nara’s cave. The two of us entered the cave to find most of the owls injured and unable to fly. I could hear someone breathing heavily from behind the throne and I knew it had to be Naraness.
She came out into view once she realized that SikstaSlathalin was gone. She had two remaining owls help her down to us. Nara looked distressed from all the pain she had to endure, but she was still standing. “Why did you come back? Didn’t you do enough damage?”
“This isn’t my fault. I mean.. It kind of is.. But I know if we work together we can take him down. I need to find GoldenMyth first,”
Nara shook her head, “No, I’m not helping you again. It’s too big of a risk and I have a good thing going here,”
Distorted stepped forward, “It’s for justice,”
“Come on, Naraness. We can’t let him continue to rule this thread for the rest of our days. Don’t you want revenge?” I asked.
She pulled out a dagger, “Something has to be done…” she looked me in the eyes, “Are you sure you’re up for this newbie?”
I nodded, “I know I can, we just need one more member added to our little club, GoldenMyth,”
Nara nodded, “It’s a good thing I know where to find her. She should be trying to build a plan against Siks, like always, but she can’t do it on her own. What’s your infatuation with her anyway?”
“He’s got a little crush,” replied DR.
“Why does everyone think that?” I asked questionably, “I don’t know why I want to find her… I just know I need to,”
Nara grabbed my arm, “That’s a little weird. I mean, sure you can have a crush on her and want to help stop her enemy, but I feel like there’s more to it. I heard you passed out earlier, maybe things aren’t as they seem…”
I pulled back, “Nothing is wrong,”
She put her hand on my forehead, “You don’t have a fever, so I’d blame it on pure insanity or the fact you’re truly fallen for her,”
The next time I looked at DistortedReality he had a bow and arrow, “Cupid’s got you in love,”
I shook my head, “It’s not like that.. It’s like I can feel the power radiating off of her. I don’t care for someone based much on looks and that’s all I saw so far. It’s like when I’m around I feel weak and I want to know why,”
“So he knows then,” I heard a voice from behind.
I tried to turn around, but I felt myself becoming tired and wanting to lay down for a little while. Naraness and Distorted collapsed to the ground completely asleep. I felt my legs collapse unable to fight back from whatever spell was being used. That’s when the words that Naraness spoke early popped into my head, “Toastman,” and then suddenly I felt an urge of power flow through me as I lept up in a blast to face the magic user. It was GoldenMyth.
She looked at me with a face of surprise, “I-It didn’t work on you? It worked last time I used it on you…”
I started to walk towards her, “It’s nice for us to finally meet like this. I didn’t know I could fight it and I’m not sure how, but it’s time we have a little chat,”
Golden started walking closer, “I’ll explain it. I absorb the souls of those around me, that’s my ability, but only little by little so I insure that I don’t kill someone. Only the one and true bearer of the portal sword can fight my powers. It works better on unsuspecting members,”
“And, that’s why I been interested in you? Because I could feel the power coming off of me and into you? Like, a battery?”
She nodded, “Seems like it… now you said something about taking down SikstaSlathalin once and for all?” she smiled at my reply, “Then we take him on in the morning!”

November 1st, 2012

The next day the four of us gathered around the same place that SikstaSlathalin was seen two days earlier. Naraness had an army of owls coming down from above, DistortedReality had a sword made of bacon ready to slice and dine, and GoldenMyth was ready to ride in on her sword. Then there was me, hiding behind the rock, because I was the secret weapon. The thing nobody would expect to take down the ruler of downtown. That and I was meant to stay out of the way.
First GoldenMyth came riding in trying to smash the Deadpool copycat with the hooves of her horse. SikstaSlathalin was ready for her to redo his move from earlier, but then came in an aerial attack. He was surrounded by owls as they flew around him trying to scratch out his eyes, temporarily blinding him. Then came Distorted as he slid in and stabbed the blade into SikstaSlathalin’s croch area. As he led out a pain of agony I knew this was my chance.
As I started running I realized that I truly didn’t have any way of attacking. I didn’t have any weapons or any known powers. It was too late to turn back yet I was going to screw up the entire plan. The thing started going sideways as all the owls fell dead as SikstaSlathalin has his leg on Distorted’s neck, and his hands clenching both Nara’s and Golden’s throats. I didn’t have a plan, but I couldn’t stop.
He began to laugh like he thought that he had won. For a moment I nearly stopped because it looked like he had. I just couldn’t. He glared out with his red, dead eyes like I was next once he murdered all my friends. That’s when I could feel the power boiling up inside me and then it happened. A gigantic piece of toast came from the sky crushing SikstaSlathalin and everything in his path.
It was over. There wasn’t anything left. No enemy, no friend. No other players in sight. Just me. I had done it. I screamed out in complete joy, “I’M THE KING OF DOW-” and at that point someone slid a sword into my back. I was started to vanish like everyone else, but they turned me in just enough time for me to see who it was. It was Kris… she had been waiting, watching for us to take down SikstaSlathalin until she had to chance. She was the true queen of downtown.

November 5th, 2012

I was sitting at the end of a desk in a cushioned chair as I waited for the results. Kris sat across from me with a stern look on her face. She folded her hands as she chewed gum extra loudly to see if I would croak. But, then she dropped the act and handed me a letter. I was afraid to open it up, but I didn’t have much choice. The second I ripped opened the crease the room began to glow.
I couldn’t see anything except my shirt becoming a more brownish color as the entire world changed around me. I didn’t know what had happened at first, but after a moment in came to me. I looked to Kris with a super cheesy smile, “I’m a member?”
She nodded, “Omac, the Toastman, is a member,”.
I ran out of Kris’s office to find my friends; GoldenMyth, Naraness, DistortedReality, Doughyguy, and even SikstaSlathalin. “What’s all this?”
“We just wanted to congratulate you on becoming a member of RPA,” said Doughyguy.
SikstaSlathalin stepped forward taking my hand, “Good game, kid,”
I felt like I was touching a hero, a legend, but then I realized all the germs and pulled myself away. It was so nice to have made new friends along my fun and exciting journey. To discover my myself as Toastman. I couldn’t wait to see where the journey would take me… I had a long road to travel up ahead, but I was ready for it.

April 2nd, 2015

“OMAC, OMAC, OMAC!” they were chanting my name.
I had lived on this website for so long and now everyone I knew was there waiting for me. I had created a team of superheroes on more than one occasion and many more stories that I felt told very fun and creative tales. I had went and reinvented myself through many versions trying to figure out who I am, and this place has been supportive enough through all of it.
Kris stood beside me as she planted a crown on top of my head, “Today, we honor the member of the month!”
Honeyheart sat all the way in back with a huge smile on her face. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her be more proud. She let off a few fireworks that shined up the night sky. I could imagine my friend Chip standing beside her, even though he wasn’t truly there. Both of them watching over me as I evolved into the member I was always meant to be.
Arcus was being my security, standing close to me in her ninja uniform to insure I wouldn’t be hurt. Of course, having a gigantic dragon named P.K. didn’t hurt my protective either. Of course, they’re both so sweet that I don’t think they would hurt anyone that came near me. Still, it felt nice to have two wonderful souls watch over me throughout the years.
I looked to Kris, “I did it,” before turning to the crowd, “You’re never getting me of me RPA! I’m here forever!”

December 23rd, 2018

I stood with my hands bound as they spoke about my fate. Kris looked saddened as she watched her fellow Admins help make the choice, waiting for her turn to decide. I looked to Vee, who didn’t have much of an expression being a cactus and all, but I could tell he was heartbroken. Looking into each of the admin’s eyes I could tell how much they didn’t want to make this decision. But, like my own their hands were rhetorically tied.
Merry Gentry shed a tear as she spoke, “Omac, the Toastman, is…” her voice cracked, “Banned,”
Vee shook his head, which was his entire body, “He will be banished to RPA Prime where he will reside for the rest of his days,”
Kris stood up, “I’m sorry, but this has to be done,” as she waved her hand which caused me to collapse to the ground, “Do you have anything to say for yourself, Omac?”
I closed my eyes for a moment as I remembered the journey that brought me here. I shook my head for a moment before attempting to stand, finding Kris’s powers keeping me from doing much movement except for facial features. I let the tears fall at last as I could feel myself sinking into the ground. I just whispered to myself, “This isn’t real, this isn’t real…”
As I opened my eyes I could see the world around me getting darker and darker until nothing was left. The only light in the room was a distant fire. I didn’t know where else to go so I decided to walk towards it.
“Anyone here?!” I screamed as loud as I knew I could.
As I grew close to the fire I could see someone standing beside it trying to get warm. I couldn’t make out their face in the darkness. Still, I could feel the power emerging from them like they were some sort of battery and I was taking their energy. Nearer and nearer made me made me wonder more and more of who this person could be. So I ran faster and faster until I couldn’t run anymore. Until I was inch away from the fire.
They spoke like they haven’t said much in a long time, “When I built this place I thought it would be the home to hundreds. I made it so that everyone could enjoy it. When it was shut down I was heartbroken. I tried to make it on the new world, but I didn’t belong there. I’m nothing, but a zero,” with that I could make out a wink through the fire.
That’s when my mouth dropped and I was able to make out two single words, “Gabriel Zero!”