Modern Age Online

Kaleb kept his gun aimed at the floating Karick Tore. The Player was still grinning down at them as he sat astride his cane. Kaleb had seen his Cybar's energy be absorbed one too many times to try another shot. He was debating using one of his other weapons when Abby gave a shout of annoyance and dashed forward.

The short woman ran until she was directly under the other Player and slammed both her hands into the shadows there. Almost immediately afterward, a large black spike made of the surrounding shadows sprung up from the ground. Karick watched the oncoming spike with interest until it was about to hit him high in the sky. With another wave of his hand, the shadowy spike transformed into a massive spring that gently nudged his slim cane, pushing him upward a few feet.

Kaleb heard Abby growl as Karick's eyes were firmly on her now. Using the moment of distraction, Kaleb switched to his Sun Gun and took aim again. Pulling the trigger to yellow balls of energy zoomed upward at the Mage, hitting him squarely in the chest. Again, the hits were accompanied by a bright flash of white and then Karick's form was suffused with a yellow light. The man sat up straighter on his cane as he closed his eyes and sighed loudly.

"Ooooooh! Now that's not as good as the first one. But it'll do the job just as well."

"Shit!" Kaleb swore, holstering the pistol.

He was debating the use of his magic gun when the grass under his feet bulged weirdly. Kaleb started to move just as a large green hand sprung up and tried to grab him. He spotted a similar one near Abby as he dashed backwards. Away from the floating mage.

Karick's giggling echoed across the fields as the hands gave chase. Kaleb dashed around the nearby trees, hoping to escape. But the magical hand merely passed through Karick's other creations like it was a part of them. As Kaleb evaded the giant green hand as best he could, he could hear Abby off in the distance, doing the same. Although it sounded more to him like she was trying to fight the damn thing.

Up above, Karick was listlessly floating around as he watched the pair of them. Kaleb could feel the Player's eyes on him as he rolled away from the grassy hand's next lunge. As he came up, he reached into his pocket and tossed a plastic egg at the creation. The egg burst open and multiple wires went spiraling, momentarily constricting the giant hand until an electric snap echoed in the field. The grassy hand caught fire, and now Kaleb was being chased by an on-fire hand.

"Fucking great." Kaleb swore again.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

Karick's voice seemed to echo through the sparse trees. But Kaleb didn't pay the nut job any mind. A lot of players liked to RP their characters. But Karick Tore was taking it a bit too far, in Kaleb's opinion. Then again, he was thinking that as he was fighting for his digital life in a cartoon world. So maybe he was still having fun.

Kaleb tried hard to keep the grin from his face as he ran from a fiery hand. The forest was set ablaze as Kaleb zigzagged his way around trees and through fields of flowers. Nearby, he could still hear Abby grunting with the effort of fighting her own hand. A plan formed in Kaleb's mind as he veered toward the noises until he spotted the short woman.

Abby was slashing, ducking, and stabbing the green hand as it continually tried to grab her. The hand was planted in the grassy field at Abby's feet as its fingers reached out to grab the shorter woman. Abby used her shadows to defend herself against the assault. But Kaleb could see it was taking a lot out of her. With a burst of speed, Kaleb rushed toward the pair. His own magical hand still chasing him.

"Incoming!"

Kaleb's shout came just as he got within grabbing distance of Abby's hand. Thankfully, Abby was quick enough to leap away as Kaleb rolled past her attacker. His own magical hand, still on fire from his attack, collided with Abby's and the two hands seemed to merge slightly. Kaleb's hand set Abby's on fire, like he suspected, but then something strange happened.

The two hands. One was green and grassy and the other red and on fire seemed to meld together for a split second. Then, in the next, both hands expanded rapidly. Their fingers bulged and the dirt that made up their flesh seemed to explode outward all at once. Kaleb felt a hand grab the back of his coat and he was dragged behind a tree as a loud explosion rocked the nearby forest. Bits of grass and fire rained down upon the surroundings and Kaleb and Abby backed away as Karick continued to laugh from on high.

"He-He-Ho-Ho-Ha-Ha!" The Player laughed, intentionally switching up how he was laughing. "That was delightfully entertaining. What shall I have you face next?"

Kaleb looked up to see Karick place a finger on his lips in thought. Next to Kaleb, Abby growled under her breath as shadows gathered at her feet. Sensing that his short friend was going to make another run at the Mage, Kaleb tried to think of a way to help. The thought came to him just as Abby launched herself into the air on a pillar of shadows. The angry woman shouted in triumph as she transformed both of her arms into spikes of shadowy death.

Abby's spikes reminded Kaleb of his own oft-forgotten weapon concealed in his robotic arm. The New Spike Launcher hadn't been tested extensively. But he was sure the new arm and power supply would make the thing a powerhouse. Milly within his arm, chittered happily as a spark of electricity surged down his arm. Above him, Abby's shadowy spikes got within inches of Karick's face before a golden shell appeared around the man.

The shield flickered for a second after Abby's attack, and Kaleb struck. Aiming his left arm at the other Player, he mentally pulled the trigger on his Spike Launcher. A slim rail spike shot out from under his robotic wrist with the force of a bullet. The recoil made Kaleb's arm snap back, and he had to engage more of the synth-muscle to compensate. There was a flash of blue in the as the black spike whizzed up to its target.

Karick was still grinning like a madman at the falling Abby. He missed the blue-black missile until it stabbed him through the arm. The force of the spike spun Karick around and then off his floating cane entirely. The mage shouted in surprise and pain as he fell to the ground. Kaleb gave himself enough time to fist-pump in triumph before he rushed to where the mage would land.

Just to the side, Abby was using her shadows to cushion her own fall. She stepped on a springing shadow and turned around before landing on the soft ground again. Her eyes shot up to where she thought Karick still ways. But when she saw him falling, her face turned into a feral grin and she launched herself across the field.

Karick screamed, but it sounded more like he was annoyed as he plummeted toward the ground. The three of them were going to meet at the same location, and Kaleb raised his arm to fire another spike. But another swelling of the surrounding ground made him slide to a stop. Four bright green walls sprung up from the grass and blew up like a balloon. Abby continued toward the structure as Karick fell in the space between all four walls. Abby's shadowy arms slashed at the walls as a loud boing rose in the air.

Karick bounced and cackled as the grass fully popped out into a green, bouncy castle. Abby's attack bounced off its rubbery side and then set the small woman sailing away. Kaleb aimed his spike launcher at the bouncing Player. But Karick's cane came swooping down and picked the Villain up. Kaleb fired as Karick pulled himself on top of his cane again. But the Mage was ready this time and a wave of his hand made the spike turn into a shower of roses.

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Blood seeped down his chest from the wound in his shoulder. But Karick still smiled as he raised a hand.

"That's enough of that little gadget." Karick said, snapping his fingers.

Kaleb felt a wave of magic hit his robotic arm and watched in horror as his brand new arm transformed itself before his eyes. The sleek black metal bent and shifted into a more blocky shape. The cabling that fed the Weikacol solution to his arm bent and wrapped around the new shape in four distinct places. Once the transformation was complete, Kaleb gawped at once, had been his arm.

"This is…" Kaleb tried to say.

"Micro Machines, baby!" Karick cackled, snapping his finger again.

The miniature car attached to Kaleb's elbow spun its bright blue wheels and jerked him off his feet. The tiny thing had a lot of horsepower as it drug Kaleb through the grass and over every rock in the vicinity. He could still hear Karick cackling as the loud roar of his new arm's engine echoed in his ears. Kaleb covered his face as best he could and tried to think of a way out of this. That's when Milly whistled loudly in his mind.

The tiny marmot's presence centered Kaleb slightly as he realized she was still in his arm. The little creature was attempting to invade the car portion of his arm. But Karick's magic was making things tricky for her. Focusing on their connection, Kaleb did his best to will his little pet into the new section, even as he was dragged through the fields. With another loud whistle, Milly slammed into the car portion of his arm again and finally phased into the magically transformed section. But instead of breaking the spell, the marmot simple took on the car's shape like she had with the train.

Kaleb's left arm now included a blue furry car at the end of it. Milly stopped dragging him, and Kaleb got to his feet. Looking around, he could still hear Abby trying to fight Karick. So he couldn't have gone far. Judging by the drag marks on the ground, his possessed arm had taken a winding route to get him to where he was. Lugging his car arm back to the fight, Kaleb tried to summon his own magic to dispel what had been done to his arm. But nothing was happening.

He was going to have Milly get out and try it when Abby sailed in his direction like a tiny black missile. Her hooded was shredded, and she was bleeding from a cut on her forehead. But the angry woman rolled to her feet and charged back in. Ahead, Kaleb could hear Karick Cackling as he floated closer. Making a quick decision, Kaleb ducked behind a tree and held his car-arm to his chest.

He could hear Abby launch herself at Karick again as she shouted and screamed with each miss. Karick was laughing so loud that it seemed to echo off every tree and rock in their surroundings. Kaleb chanced a glance around the tree he was hiding behind and smiled. Abby had spun the mage, so he was facing away from Kaleb. She had apparently spotted him and predicated what he was attempting.

"I need to up my game," Kaleb thought. "I'm getting predictable."

Shaking off the thought, Kaleb aimed his new car-arm at his target and ordered Milly to sic'em. The space marmot whistled quietly in his mind and spun her new tires. With a lurch, Kaleb was yanked off his feet and to the ground again. But this time, the ride was somewhat less painful. That is until Milly ramped off a nearby rock and sailed upward to Karick.

As the air was forcefully removed from his lungs and his side ached, Kaleb thought. "Maybe this was a bad idea?"

Then Milly's hood smashed into Karick's spine, and Kaleb's pain lightened significantly. He was sure he heard a crack as Karick's laughing stopped. In fact, all the sounds in the surrounding forest seemed to switch off as the mage was run down by Kaleb's car-arm. Milly did her best to dig her fender into Karick's back, but a sudden wave of magic echoed out from the Mage and Kaleb's arm was suddenly back to normal.

With dual grunts, Kaleb and Karick hit the ground with meaty thwacks. Thankfully, Kaleb had no more air to give as he hit the ground stomach first. Karick landed on his side a short distance away. The mage was no screaming in pain as Abby charged him, both spiky arms raised to strike. Kaleb breathed out a sigh of relief as he watched his friend move in for the coup de grâce. They had done it.

"ENOUGH!"

Karick's voice echoed across everything and seemed to shake Kaleb's very skull. Abby's attack was thwarted as the force of his shout knocked her off balance. The mage was still lying on the ground, unmoving, but his body seemed to surge with power.

"Your not fun to play with anymore! Off to the toy box with you!"

Kaleb pulled himself to his knees as Abby charged at the Player again. But before either of them knew what was going on, the entire world went dark. Kaleb tried to blink away the darkness as he called for Abby. But the oppressive dark seemed to be magical in nature. It was like Karick had switched off the lights in the entire world. Not only that, but Kaleb's cries produced nothing. No sound came from his mouth and he couldn't even move. He wasn't floating or falling. It was more like he was stuck in space. Like being suspended in a mold somehow, with no way to move or cry out.

Then, just as quickly as it came, the darkness turned to light. Kaleb blinked his eyes against the sudden brightness and screamed. At first it was just in relief, but when he heard his own voice, it was to reaffirm that he could speak. He heard another voice joining his, and he blinked rapidly. Getting the tears from his eyes.

"Abby?!" He shouted.

"Here! You good?"

"Fuck no! What was that?"

"That was the void." Said a new, deeper voice.

Kaleb spun, drawing his pistol and searching for the source of the voice. By his side, Abby summoned her shadow blades. Both of them found the source of the voice and blinked in confusion. A massive pink teddy bear was sitting at a nearby table playing cards. With him was an old soldier doll, a gingerbread man, and what looked like an octopus.

"It's where Tore sends the more disobedient of us. Before sending us here, that is," said the pink teddy bear, his deep voice rumbling in the space.

Kaleb tried to ascertain their surroundings. But the bright light near the card table and the sensation of getting his senses back was taking a minute. In the meantime, Abby had her own questions.

"Where is here?"

The octopus snorted, sending a jet of ink across the card table. "He didn't announce it? That pompous ass usually does. Oh, shut up! The cards are fine."

"They're the only set we got, Chandler… I mean, Chancy? Charles?"

The pink bear, the soldier doll, and the octopus all looked at the gingerbread man with pity. The flat brown man with gum drops for eyes sighed loudly. Placing his cards on the table, he stood up from his chair and looked around at his three compatriots.

"Gentlemen, it's been a pleasure."

The soldier and octopus nodded sadly as the pink bear sighed. "Goodbye Gordon."

"Who?" the gingerbread man asked before his body broke apart into multiple pieces and then scattered on an unseen wind.

The three remaining card players all sighed as one before they went back to their card game. The pink bear looked up at Abby and rumbled in his deep voice.

"You're in the toy box and there ain't no way out."