Flame's Light
Author's note: The Flashback scene has music. See "Flame's Light" here in my SoFurry music section. :)
Aboard the fine airship Hidden Bird, quite a party was developing as contestants of varying species boarded the craft. Each had a unique tale to tell about how they had vanquished their opponent for the round. There was a mixed sense of relief and anxiety in the air, as the assembled basked in the glow of their full tummies while at the same time keeping an eye out for who might be their next opponent to face.
One such competitor was just stepping on board with a delighted smile and a spring in his step. A pokemon of the Smeargle variety, in fact. Masters of knowing every move they see, and being able to use it to their own purposes. Greeted by another cheerful pokemon, this one a Houndoom, they paused for a moment as the airship lifted back into the skies and an announcement from a familiar voice came over the PA system.
"Good afternoon, competitors! This is your captain. We're just about done picking up the winners here, so it's time to get a move on to our next fantastic location. You'll have about say, two hours from now to rest up before you all need to assemble in the briefing room for a look at the next area. Enjoy your flight!"
The Smeargle and Houndoom looked at each other, hearing that they had a chance for some time to themselves, passing a big shire horse that was dozing in a chair off to the side of the room. The big equine looked troubled in his sleep, ears flicked down submissively as if he was trying to hide from something in a room that was otherwise filled with mirth and happiness...
Elsewhere in the game world, Sefra clicked off the window showing the airship with a sigh, turning his head down to look at the tool he had picked up at the site of Rolf's victory. Things were going from bad to worse in short order, and even now it was getting difficult to maintain a sense of order and fun companionship that the VOCT users had enjoyed up until now.
"Where are you?..." Sefra muttered under his breath, reviewing the computer feeds for the Peaks as the aircraft finished its rounds. Disappearing people was definitely a stage worse than people just being unable to log out. What happened when you disappeared? Sefra didn't want to think about it. "More like -what- are you..." Sefra thought back to the strange monster he had encountered when he picked up the tool. It had shocked whatever it was, driven it away. But the small tool in his hands wasn't going to solve things by itself. He needed some help for that....
"Sir, you called for me?" A thoroughbred equine was standing in the door of the now blocked off room. "What can I do for you?"
A somewhat more ragged looking arcanine looked over to see who was addressing him. It had been a sombering evening for him, for sure. "Ah, Kelly. Come over here, and didn't I tell you to call me Cinder?" The heavyset pokemon chuckled quietly, secretly happy for some company.
"Ah, yes sir... er, Cinder. Sorry." Kelly trotted over and pulled up a seat next to the big dog who was himself placed in front of the large control panel for the silver pod currently holding Flare captive to the online world of VOCT. "Is he....really stuck in there, Cinder?" Kelly said with concern in his voice. "When I delivered this thing... this isn't what I had in mind..."
Cinder only grunted in reply, shaking his head. "Yeah... it's our job to help get him back out of there, but damned if I can't figure out how without hurting him. This thing is easily more complex than any of the lab equipment we have here. Can't unplug it or force it open without risking killing him, or getting a soul-less body back. Can't use a logout command because it's blocked from the network side...." Cinder slammed his fist into the control keyboard in frustration, drawing a heavy breath. "All fun and games until someone you care about takes the fall for it...."
Kelly grimaced, ears falling back against his head. The initial party had been nice, seeing the shire up on the screen and all. Once people realized the truth of the situation though, the stablehands weren't so excited any more. The unspoken truth was upon their minds, every single one: Flare was trapped, and presumably would slowly die of starvation in a pod that was a game about eating other people. "I agree... but where can we start?"
Cinder turned to face the lithe horse. "I need you to find out who sent this thing here, first. A name, a company, something we can trace. There has to be something bigger at play, these things don't just show up on the doorstep for no reason you know?"
Kelly nodded his head in agreement, moving to get up. "You can count on me. I'll head back to the Pony Express home office and have them pull up all the details on the assignment. With any luck, it'll give us something to go on." The horse turned to leave, then hesitated for a moment. "Would you like me to get you some coffee first? You look pretty worn out."
The arcanine sighed for a moment, thinking to himself before shaking his head. "No, that's alright. I'm still trying to dig some answers out of this data base for Flare, but not having much luck. Haven't been able to sleep since..... well, you know." He cast a glance over at the silver pod, now looking more like a coffin than a gaming device to the canine.
Kelly nodded once to his boss, voice cracking a bit as the look of worry returned to his muzzle. "I know..... we all know. I'll be back as soon as I can." With that, the thoroughbred was gone, his legs taking him as fast as they could carry him, knowing the stakes were already high.
Back in the lab, Cinder turned back to the monitor and keys in front of him. Some things weren't adding up, and he had a feeling whoever actually sent the device in front of him had everything to do with it. Worry turned to frustration and anger deep in the fire pokemon's belly. "You don't know what you have till it's gone....and yet, you're right in front of me, shire." Cinder spoke to the pod, the silent whirr of the processors the only reply. "I won't let you go.... not this time." The big fire dog threw himself back into his work, letting his vigor renew his spirit.
Flare found himself in a boardroom, surrounded by shadowy figures, all casting condemning gazes at him. They did not speak, and yet the shire felt pierced by their unspoken words. "I did not mean to hurt anyone! Please, you must believe me!" The shire whuffled in desperation, hanging his head as he spoke to the tormenting shadows. "Why are you doing this to me? I sought help, I did as I was told! Nothing actually happened! Please don't make me...."
The shadowed figure at the other end of the table stood up, pointing at the helpless equine. Chains blacker than night sprung up around the horse, binding him in place. The door opened behind the stallion, and another figure walked in holding a syringe, holding it menacingly. The leader of the shadows seemed to grin wide with many rows of teeth, a sadistic predatory smile. "You sought help.... and now we will 'help' you. It is not our fault you do not like the methods we use..." The shadow motioned to the other standing behind the shire. "Do it."
"No! Please, stop this!" Flare cried out for mercy, and the assembled figures just started to laugh as the helpless horse struggled with the ethereal chains before howling at the top of his lungs in a long, painful scream of terror.
"Flare? You there? Wake up! Flare?"
Flare bolted awake to see a screen pulled up on his personal display, gasping for breath, his body coated in nervous sweat. His black hide had taken on a sheen, and his belly was more than back to normal sized. "Oh gods..." he whimpered to himself before turning his attention to who had roused him from his restless slumber.
"I've got some information for you, stud. Are you alright?" Cinder had pulled up the window only to find the shire writhing in his sleep.
The heavy horse shook his head, the shock wearing off, happy to see his partners golden gaze once more even if it was just a digital display. "Not quite... it looks like that thing managed to capture my nightmare along with everything else. Have we learned anything?
Cinder grunted in dismay. He knew exactly what the horse was talking about. Always the same nightmare tormenting the horse's sleep. No doubt stemming back to an event in the equine's earlier days, now returned to haunt him. It had been a while since it'd happened though, Cinder thought to himself. Why was it back now? He filed it away mentally and turned his attention back to the shire.
"Well for starters I was hoping you could take a look at your stats screen for me just to confirm something."
Flare looked perplexed, and called up his profile. "I'm listening, what did you need to see? You should be able to see all of this from the controls out there. It just shows my class and abilities, like White Mage, Shield, Reflect, Cure..."
Cinder nodded softly. "Yes, but there's a catch. Searching the data base, there is nobody showing that has that class, or those specific abilities in the game. I've triple checked it. You're the only one."
A look of shock and confusion passed through the shire's muzzle briefly before a look of concern replaced them. "That can't be... but at the same time, I think you're right. I haven't seen anyone in here using abilities that heal or shield others. The computer takes care of all that automatically every time you win a match, supposedly."
"Can you talk to an admin about it? I'm sure they'd have something to say about it, although your strange ability set and class is probably nothing compared to the whole logout issue. I can't imagine they're related further than being a result of the glitch proliferating itself." Cinder held a hand to his muzzle in thought, racking his brain for connections.
"It looks like it'll have to wait a bit Cinder. I see people moving off down the hall towards the briefing room. Break time must be over, so I'll try and see if I can catch up to one of the mods after my match. Unfortunately... that means somehow I have to win my match again. " Flare chuckled nervously. He knew that more and more combat heavy players would be making it through, and he was no fighter to be sure. A lot of questions still needed answering though, and he would have them, one way or another.
The image of Cinder nodded slightly, the fire pokemon managing a smile. "I sent Kelly back to the Express to find out what data they have on who sent this thing to us, and if possible, why. He should be back hopefully by the time you finish up. And shire.... it's all virtual, technically, but please be careful alright?" Seeing the horse nod in assent, Cinder pressed the button to end his transmission as he spoke once more to the silver machine. "I love you...."
Flare sighed wistfully as his partner's visage disappeared once more. He moved to get up from his seat, starting to follow the crowd to the briefing room. Idle thoughts played through his mind as his hooves clopped steadily through the corridors, like how fighter pilots often took a picture of a loved one in the plane with them. He had never understood things like that until now, when he found himself wishing he had a picture of a certain pokemon to take with him.
The crowd moving through the halls was enough to perk Smeargle's ears as he put his robe back on, having rather enjoyed his lengthy break with the Houndoom. "Looks like it's time to go.... hope to see you back here in a little bit!" Smeargle gave a knowing wink to the Houndoom before exiting the room, shutting the door behind him. It was time to get to work.
Smeargle had come here on a mission of sorts. Good friends, for sure, but also just as valuable were the battle tactics that he learned through these competitions. He had gone beyond just "Sketching" other Pokemon moves. Now he had become able to mimic and ultimately learn -any- opponents move. So coming to the tournament had ensured him at the very least, one or the other. He hadn't had a chance to scope out the competitors in the first round, but this time would be quite different. As he sauntered casually into the briefing room, the crowd of 32 competitors had gathered and one of the admins was handing out walking sticks. "Heh, I'll look like quite the wizard between a cane and these robes.." Smeargle's tail had taken on a silvery grey color as he concentrated on one of the most simple and yet infinitely helpful moves he had learned as a pokemon: Odor Sleuth.
As the move completed, Smeargle's tail flashed lightly before turning back to its customary brown color, and the pokemon's sense of smell heightened greatly, allowing him to pick up the scent trail of everyone in the room at once. "Mmmm.... some of these guys smell delicious..... is that... chocolate?...." Smeargle seemed confused at the chocolate smell coming from a person. "Maybe they want to help themselves get eaten with a perfume like that..." Smeargle snickered as the tournament organizers finished handing out their "present" and started explaining the area.
"Ah, here we are." Jacqueline, an arctic fox, was speaking into what appeared to be a wand, making her voice loud enough for everyone to hear, drawing the assembled crowds attention. "Below us is the Pepsin swamps- a lush, wet area where you will find your movement hindered. Do be careful not to let your opponent win by falling into the quicksand!" The fox giggled a bit as the relevant data displayed to all the competitors, being downloaded into the HUD for each player. "Or do, if that's your sort of thing. But can't say we didn't warn you."
Smeargle frowned. Out of the frying pan and into the soup, by the looks of it. How were they supposed to get down? There was no cable car here that he knew of. He looked around hesitantly, sensing something might be up. Meanwhile, a heavy equine was across the room, looking for a particular rabbit....
Flare wasn't paying too much attention to the crowd. He was scanning the room, looking for a fur that matched the image of the Administrator, Sefra. He was nowhere to be seen though, and the horse decided to ask one of the moderators about it afterwards. Seeing the floor vanish made the horse jump in fright, drawing a couple of snickers from the other competitors near him as he blushed profusely in embarassment. "F-fear... of heights... sorry. At least the floor is still there!"
Jacqueline grinned knowingly, overhearing the horse and snickering under her breath as she pressed the button. Suddenly, the floor was indeed -not- there, and startled yells and screams were quite normal as everyone was dumped out of the airship unceremoniously and warped to parts unknown.
The heavy horse whinnied loudly in fright as the ground started to rush up towards him, and then suddenly the game adjusted his position so that he was on the ground, collapsing into the mud with a loud grunt. His walking stick got stuck in the mire right next to him as he laid there for a few, gathering his senses. "Alright, remind me to complain to the mods for horse abuse." Flare muttered as he slowly got to his hooves, the mushy earth giving way easily under his weight. "Ugh, movement is not going to be pleasant here." He poked at the earth with the stick, sighing heavily as he turned his gaze skyward. There wasn't much to see- it looked like quite the miserable place, and you couldn't see very far ahead at all without the mist turning everything to shadows.
Meanwhile, Smeargle had been warped a short distance away from the stallion, equally upset that he'd been dumped face first into the muck. "That was a mean trick. Now, to see if my own trick worked." Smeargle scented the air with his nose as the passing breeze brought him many scents, most of them unpleasant, but none of them familiar. "Eyugh... this place stinks. I think I preferred the Peaks..." Being a lighter weight the pokemon was able to move about a bit easier, but decided to take the stick with him. He moved towards what appeared to be a break in the trees, perhaps indicating the presence of a path. Already the pokemon felt the damp chill of the mists soaking through his robe, attaching to his hide. This round would certainly be an excercise of endurance.
Flare grunted quietly, looking around for a path. He had an uneasy feeling that he couldn't shake. He knew his opponent wouldn't be warped right on top of him, but he felt like he was being watched all the same. It made the hairs on his hide stand up as he made his way down what he thought to be a path, not really knowing where he was going other than somewhere else. Anywhere had to be better than here where he could barely move, after all! Unfortunately, with nothing around but swamp moss and murk, the cold dreary environment lent itself very well for the shire's mind to wander to other subjects.
"Wish I had something warm...." Flare thought to himself as he trudged through a somewhat dry path through the foliage. The feathering on his hooves was quickly becoming damp and matted, his hooves getting caked with swamp mud. "Wish I had you...." he corrected himself, thinking of the arcanine waiting for him on the outside, and to events before any of this had ever happened....
(Three days prior to log-on)
Cinder relaxed in his large bed, idly reading a couple of reports on the latest capacity training results as well as the news that they'd have a new feral to study soon enough. It was certainly exciting enough by itself, but that seemed all a bit smaller compared to what was happening now. He had spent the day with Flare, moving things back and forth from the shire's room to his own. Flare had told him that he only had a couple things left to bring over, things that were very important. The arcanine had smiled and gave the equine a snug before coming to relax. When asked what they were, the shire had only cheerfully replied with a grin, "You'll see!" before bounding off again. He never got tired of that smile, that's for sure.
Flare was in seventh heaven as he trotted to his old room. He'd be giving his old room to Kelly, the new Pony Express thoroughbred, so he could take up residence on the property while he fulfilled his duties as a delivery horse. Being able to help a friend was certainly nice, but the shire was more happy because of the way his relationship with Cinder was growing lately. Hearing the heavyset canine offer to have him move into his room had been divine music to his ears. His music had all been moved over, the video games too. But there remained a couple of things left, his most personal things, that would make his new room perfect.
"Ah, here we are. Thanks again, Kelly!" Flare nickered cheerfully as he entered his old room and saw a very happy thoroughbred sporting a "Pony Express" uniform cap. The pony was holding out a bundle for the shire, made from a blue snowflake patterned blanket. "I hope you enjoy my old room, and thanks for helping me move in with Cinder. It means a lot to us." Flare smiled and gave the pony an affectionate nuzzle as he took the bundle. "We of course appreciate the work you do for us on behalf of Pony Express, too."
"But of course! It's really wonderful that I was able to be assigned to Wild Fire Labs on a permanent basis. Remind me to thank Cinder for that later." Kelly licked his muzzle, remembering his "interview" with the big canine that had led to that particular suggestion being sent back up the chain. "Say hello to him for me, would you?"
The heavy shire nodded lightly to the delivery pony. "Of course! I'll catch up with you later, Kelly." Flare whuffled before exiting his old room for the last time, a spring in his step as his heart skipped a few beats as he walked down the hallway, back towards Cinder's- no, he corrected himself mentally, -their- room.
Cinder looked up as his stallion partner returned, shutting the door behind him. The shire's blue eyes shined brightly as he carried in his prize. "Ah, so what have we here? Bringing in a snowflake blanket to cool down a fire dog?" He snickered, teasing the equine playfully, making Flare laugh as he snugged up in bed next to the arcanine with his bundle.
"Mmm, I don't think it's going to be very effective if that's what it's for, since it's a nice warm blanket." The shire deftly untied the bundle, and two objects were revealed to be inside. One, a nice soft pillow to rest his head on, which he placed behind himself closer to the wall. The second, a nice equine styled plushy, brown and white in color, looking very well loved, and well kept. "A blanket, a pillow, and a plushy. The three things that I need to be able to sleep. That's everything from my old room... Kelly says hello, and I think he wants a follow up interview." Flare grinned.
The heavyset fire dog let out a good laugh at that, picking up the horse plushy and setting it on the pillow behind the shire. His shire now, he thought to himself. The big shire needed someone to protect him while he was out trying to protect everyone else, and who better for the job than a big lovable fluffy dog like himself? He had to count himself blessed to have had this equine trot into his life, and he was sure Flare felt much the same toward him. "I'll have to see what I can do about that for tomorrow, but it's getting late." Cinder glanced at the clock on the bedside table.
Flare blushed softly and nodded. He couldn't help but feel a bit shy around Cinder- the pokemon just had a way about him that the shire just couldn't place. The way his fur exuded such natural gentle warmth, or the strong arms to hold him with. Or perhaps, the arcanine's best talent- the ability to take the shire into himself completely. That was indeed perhaps the best thing for the equine- warmth, safety, and love all at once.
Neither of them were strangers to each others bodies, having had many tests involving the various properties of both of them. Cinder's tauric patching device, Flare's chocolate tasting hide and substitution techiques, and many other things were under testing at Wild Fire Labs. They both understood all too well the trust it took to be able to surrender oneself to the other completely, knowing that they would not be harmed in the process. In that sense, it made the growing love the two shared for each other seem all but inevitable.
"Cinder.... thank you for letting me move in with you, neighs." Flare nickered bashfully to his partner, nuzzling up under the arcanine's muzzle affectionately as he gave the big guy a soft belly rub with one hand before snuggling his entire body up close, hurring contentedly.
"Of course, Flare. I wouldn't have it any other way." Cinder smiled, reaching up to turn out the nearby bedside light switch, then using his firey nature to light a small oil lamp he kept nearby for night-time ambience. "Sleepy horse?" the pokemon chuckled as the shire curled up against him, rubbing his hands slowly over his horse's back. "Guess so." He leaned down and placed a kiss on top of the shire's muzzle, causing the equine to stir a bit.
"Mmm....hrrrf. Cinder?...." The shire's voice was muffled through the canine's own fur, equine tail flicking playfully over his rump.
"Yeah shire?" Cinder's golden eyes opened once more, glancing down at the shire snugged so cutely to him.
Flare lifted his eyes up so he could meet the pokemon's gaze, the mischivous glint of an idea forming showing in the lamplight. "You're very kind sharing everything with me like this, neighs...."
The arcanine would grin knowingly down at the equine. "Mmm.... well, I think with all the things we have to share, the best thing will be sharing each other; After all, as the saying goes, objects can be replaced..." Cinder ran a hand down the shire's stomach, snugging himself closer. "But a shire like you? No, definitely one of a kind."
The shire would blush heavily at that, ears splaying meekly. "Awf, Cinder... you should send that one to a greeting card company, you'd make millions!" Both the shire and arcanine had to laugh at that, but the mood had certainly been set in motion. "Hurrf, I think I'd like that very much, big guy... not everything we do has to be for science, right?"
Cinder nodded and smiled, caressing the equine's shoulders. "No.... some things you just do for yourself, Flare. Nothing wrong with helping the ones you care for feel good."
Flare shifted a bit, nudging his way a bit forward, letting his hands explore the familiar territory of his beloved friend. Even though he had done so many times before, it seemed different now. "I think I understand, Cinder. I'd do anything for you, you know that."
With that, Cinder would use his strength to help the shire sit up. The scent of maleness started to fill the room as cool moonlight spilled into the room from the skylight above as the moon rose. The moonbeams played with the soft lamplight as the pair began to explore each other on a more personal basis for the first time. The coolness of the moonlight muted the warm lamplight in harmony with the arcanine and shire pressing against each other on the bed as the sheet started to drop away while warm hands moved over the shire's entire body as the arcanine leaned forward to whisper something to his equine friend.
Flare arched his head back, ears splayed submissively as he heard what the heavy dog said, feeling Cinder's hands pressing into his hide, making him moan softly at the thought. "Yes, please...." the heavy equine whimpered softly, surrendering himself to the arcanine's embrace...
Smeargle managed to trudge his way to the break in the trees, and his hunch was rewarded. "Wonderful, somewhat dry land!" he mused to himself, shaking the muck from his pawpads as he began to follow the path to wherever it led. Moving at his normal stride felt wonderful by comparison, not having to stop and poke the ground every couple of seconds. He kept his nose to the breeze, his Oder Sleuth still in effect. A small gust brought a new scent to him, one that he knew all too well. "What's this? Smells like..." He took a couple more whiffs just to make sure. "It is! It's that chocolate scented guy from earlier!"
The pokemon took up a more cautious defensive stance and started to make his way in the direction the wind had come from. The smell became stronger in short order, and he soon found what appeared to be a shadow moving in the mists that was grunting and complaining about the weather. Silently, Smeargle grinned to himself. A very large opponent meant he needed to wear them down some. Whipping his tail around, the paintbrush tip would turn a vivid navy blue as the illusionist cast his first spell.
Flare wasn't having much luck, his hooves continuing to get stuck even on the more dry parts of what he thought was a path, keeping his pace to a snails crawl. "Ugh, this is never going to work. How am I supposed to find anyone in this mess?" As if to answer him, the weather took a turn for the worse. Clouds rumbled with potent thunder, and it began to rain. The misty fog roiled at the intrusion, and the shire's ears fell back in dismay. "Come on. Seriously guys?..." He looked up at the clouds, his hide quickly feeling soaked to the bone as the downpour commenced. The shire did the best he could to hasten himself on, his spirits dampened by the turn of events.
Smeargle was quite pleased with himself. He could tail his opponent and cast without much trouble and turn the odds in his favor. "Hmm, what spell next... need to start racking up some damage..." Another idea formed in the pokemon's head, and his tail whipped around once more, the paint turning emerald green as it lashed around and generated a breeze of its own, growing stronger as it became a targeted spell.
The heavy stallion whimpered as he felt the wind picking up. Something seemed out of place, a storm like this developing so fast to what seemed hurricane force. Grunting a bit, Flare winced as the air itself seemed to dance around him, stinging his hide at times. "Ugh... at least the fog is retreating from all the wind. Being able to see is good!" Flare nickered, trying to cheer himself up. With the increased visibility, the equine could see through the brush and dense trees to what appeared to be a decent clearing and started to head for it. Little did he realize that it made it easier for two people to see where he was going...
The pokemon tailed sufficiently behind, and as his Gust spell cleared away the fog, he got a chance to see who he was facing. "Oh my... he's huge!" Smeargle didn't know whether to feel lucky or cursed at the sight of the shire. He stood around 8' by the looks of it, and had a white marking around his muzzle like he'd dipped his nose into a paintbucket. Something about him made parts of the Smeargle react that he thought he had taken care of on the airship! "Mmmph... sorry big fella. Nothing personal, you know." Smeargle apologize under his breath and moved to follow the horse into the clearing, adjusting his slightly tented robes.
Elsewhere in the swamp, silence filled the air as a strange abomination walked through, unhindered by the terrain. Even the beasts had long since vacated the area in terror. They knew that to come near him was to vanish. The computer running the VR system had no data to supply for the creature, instead just using the default blank black structures. Wherever his feet landed, the land seemed to shudder and recoil, deforming at his touch. As he moved, eerily he made no sound at all. He had been watching a pair of players through the trees until he felt they were suitably distracted to make his move. They would be his, just like the others. What would almost appear to be a malicious grin spread over the creatures muzzle as he prepared himself...
Flare grimaced as he entered the clearing, seeing no signs of shelter from the vicious storm tearing at his body. Thoroughly bedraggled, he whimpered and knelt down on the far side of the area, the grass feeling like a flexible sponge underneath his knee. "Well... I can't heal myself through a rainstorm. My opponent is nowhere to be found. What have I gotten myself into?" Despair started to set in for the equine, his will to continue on faltering a bit. "I'm totally lost, and I can't reach out to Cinder in the middle of a battle instance either. My opponent has to find me too, so I better just stay put where at least I can walk ok." The shire grunted to himself.
Smeargle was ready to make his move, seeing the shire kneeling down and vulnerable in the clearing. "Now's my chance.... Rain Dance, Gust, and now...." The pokemon's tail turned a bright, almost glowing electric yellow, and cast the spell. "Thunder!" The pokemon charged forward as fast as the terrain would let him as the shire let out a shriek of terror, jumping backwards as in his mind it looked like lightning had just touched down not 10 yards from him. The pokemon's tail quickly shifted colors once more, from yellow to a crimson red as the aura of true fire surrounded his fist, flames dancing as he augmented himself for a Fire Punch. But as he closed in on the horse, he felt something emenating from the horse- sheer terror, fright, confusion.
Flare had no time to react as he fell backwards from the frightening lightning strike. Things were definitely going bad to worse from the looks of it, and he barely turned in time to see the onrushing pokemon about to clobber him, throwing his arms up in defense. "Light protect me...!" the horse hoarsely whispered as hexagonal discs of light materialized in front of him. "Wall!" he cried out as the pokemon struck his hastily erected shield and bounced off, the force pushing the shire back onto his rump while Smeargle recovered himself smoothly some distance away.
"Wall?! What is 'Wall'?" Smeargle asked, genuinely confused to see his attack simply bounce off, his tail returning to its brown coloring as his Fire aura faded. He wasn't sure if he was more upset he didn't get to sketch it for his own, or the idea that a basic attack didn't seem to do anything.
The shire grunted as he got to his hooves slowly as his opponent addressed him, giving a look over the pokemon. "Wall is my defense... it looked like you were going to hurt me!" he replied, his ears flicking from the rain spell's imagined raindrops, still all too real to the horse. He did his best to put on a smile for the Smeargle, happy to have at least company for a bit. "My name's Flare, by the way. It's nice to meet you....?"
"I, uh... Smeargle. My name's StarvingSmeargle." Smeargle shook his head, the situation becoming rapidly more strange. Was this an NPC? Or his opponent? He'd never seen a defensive move like that, and the horse certainly didn't seem to be out for blood. What was going on here? Why did his other spells land if this guy was an NPC? "Look, Flare. If you're not part of the tournament, what are you doing here? If you entered a fighting tournament, people are going to want to hurt you." The pokemon relaxed his posture a bit, genuinely curious, guard dropping a little.
Flare nodded softly, listening to the pokemon. "I am part of the tournament, Smeargle. I'm your opponent, I think. I joined... I joined because I wanted to help. I'm stuck here just like everyone else. I just want to get out of this game... I don't think I belong here." The shire whinnied quietly, his eyes catching a glimpse of something behind the pokemon. But wasn't that supposed to be impossible?
Meanwhile, at the edge of the clearing, the creature lying in wait found his opening. Both of their guards were down, and they would be his! "Feed me!" yelled a raspy voice seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once as the malevolent black monster bolted towards the smaller of the prey, the pokemon. He reached out what appeared to be his hand as he attempted to grasp Smeargle. "You.... are mine....!"
Smeargle was on edge as soon as he heard the strange voice- the horse -was- an NPC after all, and he'd fallen for it! "Not so fast!" he yelled as he turned, his tail turning a glacial light blue as he drew upon his icy illusions, snow and ice crystals surrounding both of his clenched fists. "Take this! Ice Punch!!" He launched himself directly into the oncoming creature who seemed to take a direct hit as the pokemon's fist slammed home.
"Foolish..." the disembodied voice seemed almost amused as the pokemon's hand seemed to travel into the black cloud of pixels, and then became firmly stuck. "You cannot attack a god. You will feed me!" The malicious almost-grin returned to the creature's would-be face as the darkness started to leech onto the pokemon.
Smeargle felt what like his body being dissolved, causing him to cry out in pain as the graphics engine rendering him distorted and flexed. "Wh-what is this!? Stop! Stop it! Flare, help me! Please!" The feeling was so intense, he almost couldn't bear it. Strangely, his damage counter stayed at zero. It was almost like he was being taken apart from the inside. What strange ability was this?
Flare was rooted to the spot in horror as the black monstrosity rushed the pokemon, his mind reeling. Wasn't there only supposed to be him and the pokemon here? His illusion-filled mind saw what could not be possible- the very object of his nightmares here in front of him, attacking his opponent! The stallions ears pricked forward, hearing him calling for help. Something was very wrong, indeed! Was the game rendering even his inner thoughts into reality? He had to act, and fast!
"This cannot be... this cannot be happening! You aren't real.... " the shire whimpered as courage started to swell within him, gathering his wits. "You can't be real! I won't let you hurt anyone any more!!" Flare yelled loudly at the abomination, drawing its attention as he readied his own ability, his body taking on an aura of light. "Holy light, grant me your strength that I might save the weak! Light, pierce the darkness! SHIELD!"
As the stallion roared, a thin beam of light shot forth, breaking through the creature's hand. The creature cursed in pain, writhing as the light within surrounded the pokemon in a prismatic sphere of protection, slowly pulsing and growing larger, obliterating the darkness feeding on the pokemon's graphical flesh. Unable to break the shield, the creature's sourceleses voice yelled in frustration as his body took on a smoke like form instead. "Insolent wretch! Fine, I shall feast on YOU first!" the beast cried as the smokey wisp headed straight for the channeling shire.
Smeargle didn't know what to think anymore, but his controls were returning to him, no longer distorted, and Flare had enveloped him in a shield of sorts. But that shield was going to go away if whatever that creature was got to Flare instead! Smeargle drew on his physical powers once more, his tail lashing around with a burnt orange color this time, and the pokemon began to rapidly grow in size, the shield growing with him as it had more and more to protect, a shimmering cascade of rainbow light. "Flare! Hang on, I'm coming!"
Flare didn't have any choice but to accept his fate as the smokey creature flew towards him. He shut his eyes, and awaited the pain he knew was coming, ears splayed back as he continued to channel the shield to keep Smeargle safe. "I'm sorry..." he whispered lightly. But the only thing that he heard was a screech of agony from the strange monster, and a pair of warm paws picking him up. "What?..." Opening his eyes, he was in his own shield, and the smeargle was at least three times the horse's size, robe rent to shreds from the size shift, collar having snapped off. The smoke creature hissed angrily, but it could not break the shield, nor come anywhere near it.
"You cannot hide forever in a gilded cage, mortals... you will feed me, sooner or later!" The creature's voice sounded quite angry, and then as suddenly as the creature had appeared, it simply faded away as if it had never been, leaving the gigantic smeargle and the heavy horse to themselves once more.
Smeargle shook his head slowly. Something absolutely crazy was afoot here. He could use his position to just gobble the horse down right here and now, but he felt that there needed to be some explaining first. Perhaps that thing, whatever it was, had something to do with the PM system glitch. Maybe even the missing players. If this horse had anything to do with it, or that creature, he needed answers.
Setting the shire back down, he let his Bulk Up spell fade and returned to his normal size, sitting down a short distance away from the horse, letting the equine catch his breath and restore his energy before speaking. "What.... what just happened, Flare?" he asked as he picked his collar back up, saddened to see it in such a state despite that he knew the computer would restore it to whole as part of his clothing once the battle was "over".
Flare shook his head quietly, blue eyes gazing at the now naked smeargle, no hint of malice or aggression present in the cobalt orbs. "I'm not sure, Smeargle. At least it's stopped raining, right?" The shire joked, trying to lighten the mood. "I think whatever that was is probably generating our problem... it certainly wasn't part of the program, and it seemed to want players to feed it. What better way to ensure it gets to its prey than making the entire game a cage by not letting anyone log out?"
The pokemon raised an eyebrow, momentarily confused at the shire saying it stopped raining, then grunted a bit in dismay mentally. The shield had removed his illusions from the horse when he picked the stallion up. That was secondary priority to current events, though. "That does make sense. But then, wouldn't it be another player like us? They would be subject to all the same rules as we are, but his meter just read ??? on my display. And those aren't any player abilities I've ever seen. For that matter, neither are yours." Smeargle gave the shire a stern look.
The stallion lowered his head bashfully. "I know. Cinder told me while I was on the airship. My class and abilities don't register with the computer. It's probably why whatever that cloud thing was couldn't break through it. At least, not yet. I have not yet ruled myself out as a potential source of the problems here." Flare knew all too well that the computer may have had problems pulling the data from that part of his mind scan. You couldn't scan what wasn't there.
Smeargle looked down at the collar he was holding, running his finger over the tags. One tag simply stated, "Redtail". The seriousness of the situation was settling in all too hard for the pokemon. No PMs was a nuisance. But now, there was something out there actively trying to "devour" players. He felt what was happening to him, and didn't want to know where he would've ended up if Flare had stepped in. He severely doubted it would've been the spawn point in the base city. "Fair enough, stud. I think we both want out of here, you know. I can't even contact Redtail to say I'm alright."
Flare nodded once more. "I do want out. I have someone waiting for me, too. He's watching over my body right now in that accursed silver pod. I should never have set foot in the thing to begin with..." The shire trailed off, feeling a bit sick to his stomach to think about his true predicament.
The pokemon nodded quietly. "I think I'm in agreement with you there, but we're still here. We still have to finish our match, but... it's almost like my heart's not in it. " Smeargle chuckled softly. "We need to get this information back to the mod team somehow, but the only way to get back on the airship and communicate is to resume our battle. Quite the predicament since my illusions are broken and you've got abilities the computer doesn't apparantly know about."
Flare shook his head, thinking. "Is Redtail your Master, Smeargle? I'm an owned horse, too. I know how it is, being away from your master for a long time." The equine paused, blushing a bit. "You know, I have an idea how we can still resolve this fairly and have a bit of fun at the same time!" Flare grinned down at the pokemon, looking a bit mischivous.
Smeargle tilted his head, looking a bit uncomfortable, tail flicking back and forth nervously. "Oh yeah? Well, lay it on me, I'm listening."
"We're both pets, right? We're used to serving the whims and wishes of our masters. So, I challenge you to a match of pets endurance. First to lose their load is willing food for the other. Whoever wins has to carry on the mission by informing the mods on the airship and whoever loses needs to warn the people back at the city about that weird beast we drove off. We don't want people disappearing from the respawn point. Whatcha think?" The shire blushed quietly, knowing he might be at quite the disadvantadge, but he would rather overcome a challenge than abuse a hopeless situation.
Blushing a bit, Smeargle would think about it for a few moments, looking the shire over. Absolutely handsome, and he was a very skilled pet for Redtail for sure. Being a horse, the stud was probably packing plenty to work with, and it beat the option of trying to slap the horse silly to devour him. "Alright, I accept. I'm ready when you are, but you gotta ditch the shorts first since my clothes got trashed when I bulked up." Smeargle grinned at the horse, holding out his hand to shake on it.
Flare murred softly in anticipation, taking the offered handshake, then shuffling his shorts off. Using his body, he was certainly in more familiar territory. But then again, so was the pokemon in front of him. He started to get hard almost immediately, scenting musk in the air already. "Mmmmph..... I'll take the bottom so I don't squish ya...." Flare whickered softly as he grunted, the soft mud not making the best surface for this, but the growing need in his loins did a great job in helping him ignore the mud seeping into his hide.
Smeargle was one step ahead of the larger male, using one more move to tilt the scales in his direction: Sweet Scent. Musk poured forth from the pokemon's sheath as it swelled in kind, the pink shaft swiftly finding the evening air. Combined with the stallions tantric ability, both males found themselves quickly intoxicated with their own desires. Each maleness was presented, and at an unseen signal, the battle was on again in a much different direction.
Flare took the musky scented shaft into his maw rather easily, his equine muzzle well suited to length, working his broad tongue over the Smeargle's cock even as he pressed his hips upwards as he felt the graceful touch of the pokemon's lips around the tip of his flare. A low lustful grumble was all he could manage as he tried his best to ignore his own loins while focusing on pleasuring the Smeargle, reaching a hand up to run slowly over the art pokemon's tail, unsure of how sensitive it might be.
Laid on top of the equine, Smeargle had plenty of room to wiggle around, and the shire's stallion heritage did not disappoint in the slightest, giving him lots of area to work with. The sounds of light suckling and licking could be heard coming from the pokemon's handiwork, unable to resist humping into the equine's touch even as the horse showed his eagerness. "Nnnngh.... easy, Flare..."
The stallion splayed his ears submissivly, having to remember that you couldn't just shove a member like that anywhere and hope to have it fit without injuring. "Errrf... sorry, Smeargle.." He did his best to continue, feeling his shaft tip swelling out as pre started to surge forth from it. His hide would be taking on a chocolate tinge in flavor any time now, if that property had carried over into the game as well.
Smeargle found himself troubled even as the hefty maleness in his grasp was fun to play with, and as the scent of chocolate mingled with the musk of the horse he kept finding himself thinking back to what had happened. He started to pull the shaft into his throat, letting his tight muscles do the work for him, and the horse underneath him squirmed in delight by way of response.
"Hrrrf....oh gods..." Flare felt himself starting to surge, knowing he was going to lose if he didn't work quickly and cursing his persistant lack of stamina. All the rejuvenation from his cure spells wouldn't mean a thing since the first shot would mean he'd lost, not that he'd mind being belly food for an opponent kind enough to save him from the beast. He had to give his all though, and he ran his hand up the pokemon's tail, starting to play with the pokemon's tailring and sheath base teasingly.
Panting hotly now, Smeargle was breaking into a sexual sweat. Blushing profusely, he swallowed down past the horse's medial ring as his body began to betray him. His time with the Houndoom had left him more riled up than he antipated, and his body was going to take it's release whether the pokemon was ready or not! "Mmmmph..... hnnnnng!" The pokemon's cries were muffled as he tried to pull his shaft out of the shire's muzzle, but it only caused the equine to suckle harder, he himself whimpering as his shaft crown was swelling out in the pokemon's throat, a telltale sign that the horse was going to blow as well.
Flare knew the signs all too well, including his own. He shoved his hips up slightly, tail lashing out at his legs, the tips stinging his own hide, the temporary flinch enough to stave his own orgasm off just long enough to feel his impromptu partner groan loudly and relinquish his thick milky seed, straight down to the shire's stomach. Holding Smeargle's rump tightly and pressing his muzzle as far down on that shaft as he could get, the stallion enjoyed his drink, whinnying deeply in exertion as he gulped.
"Argh!.....Damnit, it feels too good!!" Smeargle whined as he lifted his body up, horse cock dropping from his maw. Humping the victorious horse's muzzle, the Smeargle would groan in release, filling the shire's belly with his potent load. "Mmmph.... a deal's a deal...." Smeargle blushed heavily. "There's some ice cream in it for me, anyways." he sighed, remembering his deal with Tathalus. Things were far from over, though. They both had work to do. Smeargle's tail lashed, casting one more physical spell as the color faded to a stately grey, and to the shire's eyes, the Pokemon would begin to shrink down, using his Minimize skill. "I'll make it a little easier for you, and a little more fun for me!" the pokemon squeaked as he padded around the horse's tummy, no more than a few inches tall and looking decidedly cute.
Flare groaned deeply, whimpering as he felt the weight on top of him getting lighter and lighter until the pokemon was about the size of his hand. Realizing just where the pokemon wanted to go, he gulped nervously as his shaft was leaking a veritable river of pre from being so close to orgasm. His urethra was swollen out and Smeargle headed right for it, pressing himself in head first. "Hrrrrrng...!" The stallion felt his muscles reversing, beginning to pull the tiny pokemon in, causing Smeargle to elicit a tiny squeak of pleasure. As Smeargle became a living sounding rod, it took all of the shire's willpower to hold himself back from releasing on the spot. "Oh Epona.... Smeargle....!
Smeargle snickered, happy to be pleasuring the stallion a bit teasingly, wriggling his rump and legs, paintbrush tail leaving a trail of liquid behind it as it traced up the fat tip of the hungry maleness before being slurped up much like a spaghetti noodle. As the pokemon's footpads disappeared, Flare started to help by stroking himself carefully, not wanting to squash his newfound friend as he traveled down the length of the horse's flesh.
Meanwhile, Smeargle was groaning softly as the walls of his fleshy transit tube pressed against him, undulating rhythmically. It was dark, hot and musky in the confines of the stallions cock, and feeling the shire pressing against him from all around with his hands as well just augmented the sensation for the tiny pokemon. Smeargle's own shaft was out and hard again, rubbing tanalizingly against the horse's cock from the inside.
The shire sat up a bit as he felt Smeargle continuing to descend, assisted somewhat by gravity as he lifted his cock straight up and down. Flare groaned as he felt his sheath drawing up, holding himself off as best he could while he doubled himself over and started to suckle on his own length. "Mmmmph...." The drafter's lustful moans were muffled into his flesh as he teased his himself with one hand. The whole experience of having a micro in him was his first, and he couldn't believe how good it felt!
The pokemon's bulge seemed to move agonizingly slowly past the stud's medial ring, sinking deeper into the base of Flare's shaft and before finally spilling into his awaiting sheath, still full of his sticky sweet seed. Smeargle drank what pressed into his muzzle, finding the taste much like chocolate milk. Surrounded in musk and maleness, he felt quite comfortable here wriggling about in the stud's sheath. However, wriggling about so deep in the horse sent him over his edge, and the tiny pokemon found himself suddenly propelled upwards from his seed filled room into the stallions awaiting muzzle! "H-hey!" Smeargle cried as his body tumbled back the way he came in a torrent of semen.
Flare whinnied loudly around his expanding shaft tip, emptying his load right down his own throat, happening to catch Smeargle with his tongue. "Mmmmrrr? Mmmm...." The shire closed his eyes, savoring the taste of his friend as he was pressed up against that broad appendage. "Never had chocolate seed covered smeargle before, Smeargle.... you taste good!"
Smeargle blushed at that. Comparitively, the stallions muzzle was dripping with saliva, the studs throat undulating as he tried to gulp down what he could in tasting his chocolate treat. The shire tilted his head back, and Smeargle would not find any footing to hold onto, the horse's flat teeth granting no holds to speak of. To the outside world, Smeargle would make a small bulge traveling down the noble equine's neck, hardly noticeable.
Flare could feel the miniaturized pokemon squirming about on the way down to his protective belly, the pokemon's small size making it easier for the horse. He wasn't used to being predatory, even if the game's engine made it possible and he was grateful for the assistance. He would definitely have to catch up with Smeargle when this was over with. "Smeargle.... protect the city..." Flare spoke to his tummy, holding his belly as he looked down. "We can't let any more innocent people suffer. Too many have been hurt by this already. Get ready neighs, I'm going to send you back." Flare whuffled kindly to the pokemon, feeling the squirming in his gut settle down. For now, it was time to get out of the swamp. He couldn't feel Smeargle moving any more, and so he wanted to be on the safe side to make sure he didn't hurt the pokemon unknowingly. Flare triggered his ability to send his friend back to the safe spawn point in Hypopharynx, leaving him with a small amount of chocolate in his belly.
Exhaustion began to set in as the overworld computer program cleared the instance, and the shire kept watch for the Hidden Bird to appear. His job was far from over. Indeed, it seemed it was just beginning. But how to go about warning the staff without causing a panic? They might think he was part of the problem, too! He didn't have much time to think about it as like clockwork, the Hidden Bird sailed into view over head, and it was time for another rope ladder experience. As the door opened and the ladder was thrown out, the shire yelled up at the ship this time. "Hey! You're not going to drop me through the floor again, are you!?" The door attendant just laughed knowingly as the shire awkwardly ascended the ladder for a second time.
Smeargle awoke at the spawn point, somewhat dazed from the teleport. Looking around, he saw that his collar and robes had been restored so he wasn't naked in public. "Now....how to go about this. I should find Taluthus first. I'm going to need some help. Maybe start looking for Sefra..." Smeargle thought to himself as he noticed that a crowd had gathered at the point, potentially to see who had been knocked out of the next round. As luck would have it, a familiar kitsune stood nearby watching the proceedings.
"Help I can give, but I do believe I owe you a popsicle, yes?" Taluthus held up a frozen treat for the pokemon, tails swaying behind him. "Now, you look a lot less concerned that you lost, and more like you're on a mission still. What's the story?"
The artist pokemon motioned the kitsune over to a table away from the crowd, and began to relate his tail of the glitched monster, and the unusual shire with abilities that seemed to be beyond the programming of the game. "If it shows up here, it would be like shooting the proverbial fish in the barrel. I don't even want to think about it. We need to get word to the right people that this thing isn't fightable- it seems to want to be attacked, if anything."
Taluthus's brow furrowed in concern. "A beast that absorbs data? Eats players, and they don't respawn? I think I'm going to need another popsicle or five." The kitsune shook his head in disbelief. "Alright, I'll help. But we're going to have to do this the old fashioned way if the PM system doesn't come back up."
Smeargle nodded in agreement. "He seemed to be able to contact the guy running his pod. He didn't say he'd been able to contact anyone else. He has my ID since we did face off against each other. We might be able to circumvent the system that way."
The kitsune's tails swayed, agitated at the situation. "A good start, if nothing else. Let's get moving. All of us are short on time until this gets resolved." Standing up, Taluthus motioned for his friend to follow, the pair depositing their now emptied popsicle sticks in the trash bin. The defense of Hypopharynx had begun.
Several hours had passed since Kelly left to get the documents Cinder needed, and the fire type was getting rather worried that the thoroughbred had come up empty handed. His ears perked every time one of the stable hands would walk past the door, but each time he was disappointed that they weren't the Pony Express delivery boy. Something else was about to perk him up though. A ringing tone came from the console to mark that someone was trying to contact him. Hitting the accept button, the arcanine smiled a bit in relief to see the shire's muzzle appear on screen.
"Cinder... I made it past the round." the shire blurted out quietly, embarassed. "It was rather unorthodox, but we have much bigger problems now. I think we encountered the cause of the glitches plaguing the game. It attacked us while we were fighting, and I think it tried to delete StarvingSmeargle. He's back in Hypopharynx now. I'm sending you his contact ID so we can coordinate efforts. It appears that in-game communications can't be trusted. Only direct contact. Somehow, whatever this being is has access to the source code, or is capable of manipulating it from within. I really don't know."
Cinder's expression changed from happiness to confusion to stunned dismay as the shire related his story of what had happened while he was off the ship. The big dog was certainly used to playing with fire, but this had a dangerous feel to it. "Alright shire. Contact the mods as soon as you can. I won't keep you." Before he could finish the call though, Kelly burst into the room, panting for breath.
"Cinder! I got it!" The Pony Express courier waved a plain manilla envelope stuffed with papers. "Let's see what we've got here. Hey Flare!" Kelly waved cheerfully to the horse on the screen, and the shire couldn't help but smile weakly.
Cinder pulled out the top couple of pages with the To and From information about the package that had been delivered. "To Wild Fire Labs, care of Flare Starfire. Hmm... what's this? From VOCT, Inc. Authorized by Sefra Moonblossom? Who is Sefra Moonblossom?"
It was the shire's turn to frown. He knew that name. "Sefra Moonblossom, head administrator to this tournament and currently missing in action as far as the general population is concerned. Only the moderators know where he is, and they aren't telling. He's been running his own personal investigation, which means I'm thinking his problem just found us. Lucky us, right?"
Cinder and Kelly looked at each other, then the pokemon sighed deeply. Setting the papers onto the console, he shook his head. One answer had just turned into many more questions. "Be careful, shire. Report back when you can. This looks like it's going to run a lot deeper than we could've imagined."
"Alright neighs. I'll get right on it. The clocks ticking." Flare turned to leave, but the arcanine stopped him.
"Flare? We'll get through this. I love you..." Cinder's voice trailed off, the usually strong pokemon physically exhausted, trying to protect and aid a shire that was right next to him, and yet a world completely removed.
Flare smiled, feeling the warmth returning to his body even after being doused in the frozen swamp. "I love you too, Cinder. I'll be home soon. I promise." He nodded softly to the image of his beloved arcanine staring back at him. "You should get some rest, big guy. Kelly can watch the controls for a bit. Won't you Kelly?"
Kelly whinnied and nodded. "Of course sir. I'll be right here if you need me, and I can go wake up Cinder if something big develops." Turning to Cinder, he smiled and gave the pokemon a soft belly rub. "Flare's right though sir. You need some rest. I'll hold the fort down. I need to sit and catch my breath anyways." Kelly grinned.
Cinder grunted softly and patted the courier equine on the shoulder. "Keep an eye on things. I'll be in my room." Padding quietly out the door, walking to his room seemed the hardest thing for the arcanine yet. Sleep came easily to the exhausted canine, and yet in his dreams he still searched for a way to free his shire from the prison he had so unknowingly stepped into.
Aboard the Hidden Bird, Flare had retreated to one of the private rooms to clean the swamp muck from his hide and feathering that the computer system had managed to leave behind. He could expect things to be getting more and more bugged, most likely. He had some time by the looks of how full the ship was, and sat on the bed, laying back to rest. No sooner than he had shut his eyes, his body's exhaustion took hold and once more he fell into a deep slumber. This time however, he would not be troubled by nightmares. He was too worn out. Things would only be getting worse from here, and he knew it.
Sefra frowned. He'd just missed again, by the looks of it. This area of the Pepsin Swamps was now vacated, and the computer was having trouble rendering terrain in the area. Trees looked pixelated in places, fractured entirely in others. Sometimes he ran across a hole in the ground, while not big enough to drop anything of significance into, seemed to go on forever. Very odd behavior for the game engine. His quarry had certainly been here. Pulling up the admin console, he isloated the area so that other combatants would not unwittingly wander into the area. "Damn you.... always one step ahead. Why are you doing this?..." The rabbit slowly shook his head, and as the game locked down the area, he was gone in a flash, warping to another instance. Where there were players, this "glitch monster" was sure to be found...