Modern Age Online

Kaleb sat in the white void of his pod's start up area. Normally, the area would be filled with furniture and other amenities. But he hadn't really gotten around to customizing the space or his menu area body. Right now, he was just a small white orb with no features. He debated with himself about customizing himself an avatar real quick. But his thoughts were still focused on the game. So instead he opened a window to what his in-game body was doing.

A bright orange skyline filled the window's screen before it turned down slightly. Below, Kaleb saw a green arm sticking out of a brown box. The lid to the box shuddered, the green arm shook violently before it was thrust outside the box. Kaleb's plastic lizard body fell from the large toy chest and into the sand below. It was followed by Abby's small form as she shoved open the chest lid with a massive shadowy arm.

The small woman leapt from the box and joined Kaleb's plastic body on the ground, kicking him as she landed. Kaleb winced and opened an in-game chat window as he watched Abby stand his plastic body back up.

"Geez, Abs, careful with the merchandise, huh?"

He watched as Abby's head tilted to the side as she received the message. She jabbed his plastic avatar into the sand and looked around for a bit before giving up and staring into space. The chat window in Kaleb's menu area let him know she was typing.

"What happened?" Abby asked.

"The transformation completed. Karick Tore has control of my body. At least, that's what the notification said."

Abby, in the game, took a large step back away from his plastic body and raised her shadow blades. "Then why aren't you moving?"

Kaleb sent a shrug emoji and typed. "I don't know. Maybe he's not aware when he gets a new toy? But I don't think he is going to miss me for long. Having a Player as a toy has to be a big win for him."

"Calm down. You're a gifted Mundane with some high-tech gadgets. It's not like he got a super-powered alien."

"Uh-huh, and how would you feel about fighting me and all my gadgets?" Kaleb snarked back.

He had the pleasure of watching Abby freeze for a second in-game before she nodded at his words. Kaleb was feeling so smug that he almost missed the toy chest lid shaking again. For a moment, Kaleb started to get worried and then he remembered the three toys still trapped inside. He started typing a warning to Abby just as her response to his last message came in.

"Fair point."

"You've got company, Abs."

Abby, in the sandy desert below, spun around and readied her weapons again. She was looking for the threat when a fluffy pink arm exploded out of the box and gripped the side of the chest. The pink arm was joined by an area of tentacles and a human-looking hand. The bear, the octopus and the soldier pulled themselves out of the toy box with such force that they practically threw themselves onto the desert floor.

Abby clocked who they were and then went back to examining Kaleb's body. The chat window lit up again, and Kaleb turned to see what she had written.

"How do we change you back?"

"I have an idea. But it'll depend on if my gear is still working."

He watched as gave his in-game avatar a thorough look over. She even managed to move his shiny lab coat out of the way and found his Cybar, Sun Gun, and Magic Gun. Behind her, the three captured toys were staring at the desert like it was their salvation. The octopus was slamming his bulbous head into the sand, kissing the ground in gratitude. The teddy bear still somehow looked surly as he sat in the sand, looking around.

"Well, I'll say this: you come with a lot of accessories." Abby typed.

"Like any good toy. Are they active? I think I can see my arm still glowing blue."

"Just full of features, aren't you?"

"Abs, if my gear still works, you can overload Karick's spell like we did with the lock."

Abby, in the game, examined his plastic-looking Cybar pistol for a few seconds. Raising an eyebrow dubiously, she waved the weapon at Kaleb's shoulder. A plastic Milly was still sitting on his avatar's shoulder. Just as frozen as him.

"How can I do that without your little ferret thing?"

"She's a marmot. You know that. But I think a strong enough blast or some concentrated fire will break the spell. Remember the cowboys? When we hit them, my weapons left a glow, like in the toy box."

"What if it kills you?"

"Then we'll know that was a bad idea and Karick will lose his newest toy."

"That will also mean I have to fight him off myself."

Kaleb was about to point out that the toy trio would probably help her. But when he looked up, he saw a dust storm forming on the horizon. Swirling twisters of sand were spinning closer as the toys celebrated their freedom and Abby contemplated shooting him. Kaleb studied the storm for a few minutes before using the screens zoom feature to pull himself closer to the oncoming dust storm. A sinking feeling had appeared in his gut and it got worse when he spotted Karick Tore ripping across the desert on his cane.

The mad Mage's power left a furrow in the desert as he rode along on his cane. That spun the nearby sand into whirling dervishes that raced off in various directions. Kaleb could see the mad grin on the Player's face as he raced toward his toy box. Snapping his vision back toward Abby, Kaleb started typing.

"He's coming! If you're going to shoot me, do it now!"

Abby wasted no time, raising his Cybar and unleashing a large blast point blank into Kaleb's plastic chest. The bright blue shot got the attention of the toy trio, making them run over to see what was happening. He saw Abby shout something at the toys as she watched Kaleb's body for any changes. A brief blue film appeared around his body, but nothing changed. Meanwhile, the toys were freaking out.

The octopus was flailing his tentacles around like mad as the Soldier was running for the box again. The teddy bear, however, rubbed its fluffy paws together and squared up in the direction of the oncoming storm. Bear shouted something now, getting the octopus' attention. Meanwhile, Abby was raising the Cybar again, the blue film around Kaleb's body almost gone now.

"Rapid fire, Abby! Overload the spell!"

Abby's eyes flicked to the side, probably reading his message, before she pointed the gun back at Kaleb's midsection and started blasting. Kaleb zoomed out his view again and watched as Karick was racing closer. The octopus was burying itself in the sand as the teddy bear stood ready with his fluffy fist held up. The soldier was ignoring everything else and scrambling to get back to into the toy box. When Karick crested over the final dune and spotted everything that was going on, his smile seemed to stretch his face to its limits.

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Ignoring the toys, he made a beeline for Abby. She was still firing shots into Kaleb's plastic form. She was venting the pistol now, but the bright blue glow around Kaleb's plastic body showed that they were on the right track. Karick zipped low on his magic cane and was raising his hands to cast a spell. Suddenly, five purple tentacles exploded out of the sand and grabbed Karick off his cane. When the Octopus sprung his trap, the bear went into a rage and rushed the mage.

Caught without his cane, Karick was left helpless as the bear's fuzzy fist landed on his face. Any thoughts Kaleb had about the teddy bear being hindered by his fuzzy form went away as Karick was ripped from the octopus' tentacles and tossed back over the dune. Kaleb saw the sand shiver as the octopus moved elsewhere under the sand. The teddy bear chased down the mage as Abby vented his pistol.

"It's too slow, Doc!"

"More guns!" Kaleb typed back.

Abby drew her own pistol and added to the rain of fire on Kaleb's body. Nearby, Karick dashed up the dune, his hands holding orbs of magic. When the teddy bear got close, Karick thrust his hands out and let both chromatic orbs exploded into a shower of colors. The teddy covered his eyes with one fluffy paw as he swiped with the other. Karick rolled down the short dune and raced to where his cane was laying amongst the sand.

More tentacles stopped the mage as he passed by the Octopus' hiding space. The mage's arms and torso were gripped by the octopus as the teddy bear got his sight back. Karick tried to fight the toy's grasp, but he was too weak. The octopus got more tentacles on the Player and started lifting the man in the air. Each tentacle grabbed a limb and started pulled as Karick's mouth opened in a scream that Kaleb couldn't hear. Abby did, however, as she turned from her work to see what was happening.

The teddy was blindly running down the hill toward the noise as the octopus tried to rip Karick apart. Just behind Abby, Karick's cane shuddered in the sand and Kaleb gritted his nonexistent teeth. He started typing just as the cane started to slide through the sand.

"Abby! The cane!"

He watched as Abby spun around and looked for what he was talking about. She spotted the slim black cane as it inched its way closer to its master. Abandoning both guns, Abby leapt for the cane and grabbed its head. It dragged her a few feet before she stalled its movements. Kaleb watched as Karick screamed again, this time looking more annoyed than in pain. Teddy managed to find his way down the dune and was now charging at the held Mage a roar contorting his fluffy pink features.

Kaleb winced as he watched the teddy bear hit Karick's back with a full shoulder charge. The blow pulled the octopus out of its hiding place as it tried to maintain its hold. Unfortunately, the hit also pushed Karick that much closer to his cane. Abby was still holding on to the thing as it struggled against her. She was dragging it back toward Kaleb's body even as the cane pulled against her. She managed to reach down with one hand and grab Kaleb's Cybar. Abby fired off a few rounds into Kaleb's still glowing form, but it still wasn't enough. He felt that he just needed an added push. But with Abby otherwise engaged, it was going to have to come from somewhere else.

Kaleb tried to smack himself when it came to him. "Milly! Abby, aim for Milly!"

He spotted the moment when Abby saw his message. A weird look passed over her face before she adjusted her aim and started shooting. Milly was glowing just as brightly as Kaleb. But he hoped the game would recognize her as a separate entity all the same. His wishes were granted, as Milly's small blue form went bright white and began to shake. After a full round of Kaleb's Cybar, Milly's plastic shell cracked and then exploded off her with massive force.

Kaleb cheered in his bland white space as he watched the fight continued to unfold. The octopus and the bear had found an equilibrium now and were teaming up to punch and smash Karick into the nearby sand dunes. The Mage tried to get his hands free or to voice some spell, but he was being smashed by his former captives. Abby still struggled with the cane, but she was back to firing into Kaleb's plastic body.

Milly leapt away from the shots and seemed to hiss at Abby. Then the small creature noticed Kaleb's body.

"Come on, you smart little bit of code. Get the idea." Kaleb mumbled to himself as he typed another message to Abby.

"Tell her to help!"

He watched Abby shout something and Milly perked up immediately. Kaleb expected the marmot to slip into Abby's gun and start firing. But instead, the marmot sank into Kaleb's plastic robotic arm and moved it around. To Kaleb's shock and alarm, Milly pointed the repulsor in his arm straight into his chest and pulled the metaphorical trigger. Kaleb's already bright blue body went completely white as the energy from his arm sank into his digital chest. The white light around his body began to crack, and Kaleb felt his consciousness sinking back into the game.

With the force of a jackhammer, Kaleb slammed into his digital body and went flying backwards. He felt his scales scrape against the coarse sand as a heavy weight landed on his chest. His body was extremely sore, and it hurt to move. Checking his HP, Kaleb noted he was at 75 hit points. His armor was smoking from the shots and Milly's huge gambit. It had worked, but he was hurting badly. Thankfully, Karick was seemingly being handled right now. Kaleb put his head back in the sand as Milly snuffled his face. She was sitting on his chest and looking him over like a concerned parent.

Kaleb sighed as he petted her. But his silent contemplation was broken as Abby screamed.

"Anytime you want to help, Professor!"

Kaleb moved his stiff body and sat up in the sand. Abby was still struggling with the cane as Karick was getting pummeled. He didn't know what he could help with. But he hurried over and put a hand on the cane. His robotic arm whirred with power as it fought against the cane. For a moment, he was jerked off-balance by the strength of it, then he readjusted his grip and stared at Abby.

"Damn, Abs. You're stronger than you look."

Abby got to her feet and brushed sand off her legs. "No shit! What do we do now?"

Kaleb shrugged as he watched the Teddy Bear slam a fist into Karick's face. The Player screamed in outrage as the Octopus used the momentum from the hit to slam Karick into the sand. The two NPC toys seemed to have the situation handled. But the cane was still trying to return to its master. So that was a variable that needed dealing with. So Kaleb gripped both ends of the cane in his hands and smashed the thing over his knee.

It only mildly surprised Kaleb that the cane withstood the blow. The thing was obviously filled with its own magic and seemed to have a mind of its own. It tried to pull itself closer to its master as Kaleb cracked the thing over his knee again. He did it two more times before his knee popped loudly and Abby shook her head at him.

"Give it here." Abby said, reaching out with a shadow.

The dark limb took the cane at both ends and bent it. Kaleb used that moment to scritch Milly behind the ears and check over his equipment. His armor was in rough shape and his weapons were full of sand, but everything seemed in good shape. A bright rainbow of light started to leak out of the cracking cane as Abby's shadows bent it more and more. The light washed over Kaleb and he felt the magic in the air increase heavily. He made sure Abby took a step back as the prism of colors grew and grew. It was like there was a rainbow of powerful magic held within the cane.

A brief thought went through Kaleb's mind and he voiced it as the cane was bent nearly in half. "Should we have saved the cane for the others to study?"

Abby shrugged. "Too late now."

With her words, the cane bent fully in half, and the rainbow of magic inside exploded. Kaleb thought they were safe, being ten feet away. But the force of the magical explosion tossed them even further away. Kaleb caught a glimpse of a ball of rainbow colors floating in the air where the cane was. It seemed to hover in the air for a moment before it shot toward Karick. The explosion had slightly freed the mage from the Octopus' grasp and he now had a hand up facing the ball of magic. The teddy bear's pink feet were sticking out of a dune now. Having been thrown there in the explosion.

Kaleb rolled to his feet and raced after the ball of magic. But he was too late. Karick's fingers tapped the ball and another wave of magic exploded from the meeting. Kaleb squinted against the blowing sand as he tried to stay standing. Karick was glowing with magic now. Probably all that magic that had been in the cane. With a gesture, the Player floated into the sky, an angry look on his face.

"You bastards! Do you know what I had to do to get that magical Artifact!?"

Kaleb tried to express his apathy about the Villain's weaponry. But the sand made it difficult. Thankfully, Karick didn't appear to want an answer as he raised a hand. The hand was wreathed in colorful magic, and Kaleb could feel the magic in the air. The Octopus was yanked off the ground and spun rapidly as Karick twirled his fingers. Then, with a snap, each of the octopus' plastic limbs was yanked off and thrown into the desert.

Kaleb grimaced as the octopus was dropped screaming into the sand below. Abby appeared at his side, brushing herself off and glaring daggers up at the revitalized Villain. He felt Milly dipped into his arm and his cybernetics pulsed with power. Grinning up at the angry Player, Kaleb shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess we're having that boss battle, after all."

"Good." Abby growled. "I've wanted to punch this dick in the face for a while."