Shaggy blinked as the black and white world came into focus around him. He sighed audibly when he remembered he was in Deathville. Which, beyond the equipment and skills penalties he would get, meant that he couldn’t leave until he discovered and passed some kind of test. Usually it was just a simple ‘go here’ or ‘defeat X’ type of tests. But sometimes they could be needlessly convoluted.
He took in the squat round room he was in. It was almost a replica of the room he had died in. Domed ceiling with metal covering every wall. All the horribly robot making machines were gone, though. It was just an empty room with two tunnels leading out of it. One would lead him back toward the command center and the other was where the half-constructed bodies were being taken.
Shaggy tried to gaze down both tunnels, but they were shrouded in an unnatural darkness. He wondered briefly if this choice was part of the test, but he quickly shook it off. Better to just pick and deal with the consequences. He couldn’t die twice. Least as far as he knew. Sighing loudly, which was muted in this monochromatic world, Shaggy headed down the unknown tunnel.
He figured that whatever kind of test the system had for him would be down that way. He hadn’t seen what was down there in the actual game. Shaggy was halfway down the tunnel, glancing at the metal walls of the tunnel when the black and white colors in the environment switched to grey. Shaggy quickly shifted his hands and raised his claws, ready for anything.
“That’s never happened before.” Shaggy thought as he continued forward.
The grey color increased until he stepped out of the tunnel and into another room. It was almost identical to the room he had just left. Circular metal walls, domed ceiling. Except there was a wall of hanging grey omega droids. They were on some kind of unmoving mechanized rack, hanging like laundry on a line. Their chests were open, revealing the mutilated corpses inside.
Shaggy grimaced at the grim scene. The grey color of everything took some of the ugliness from the tableau, but it still made Shaggy’s stomach turn. Men and woman stared out of the machines, eyes wide, jaws slack. They look like they were stuck in their last moments of horror. Shaggy shuddered and was thrilled he had dropped a damn ceiling on the fucker, Cog. He hoped he killed the bastard.
After he had logged out and switched places with his wife, Shaggy had gone onto the games forums and looked for everything about Cog. But with A.G.E corporation’s stringent media blackout before the games release, all the information players had come from in-game. So the forums were rife with inaccuracies. Although he could confirm a few theories for people. Such as the dead bodies Cog used in his machines.
Apparently, Cog was part of the Launch-Day South Austin Tutorial Event. Shaggy had been closer to downtown when he logged in, so he had to deal with a riot. Well, not so much deal with. He was trying to be a villain, so he had joined in with the riot and caused a little mayhem. There had been one or two NPC major Villains as part of the riot, but Shaggy was too busy trying to get his transformation to work to notice them.
According to the limited information on the forums, Cog was an old man with either Super Intelligence or some Technopathy abilities. He usually used his robots to do his bidding and would kill any players who were seeking to join him. That had made Shaggy curious. Why had he spared Shaggy and the others if he had been killing other players? Had he wanted something from Shaggy? Or maybe Ephemara. Although, given the way he had treated her, Shaggy doubted it. The old man probably would’ve just ordered her to do something and expected it to be done.
Shaggy grimaced as he moved toward the only exit in the room. He ignored the hanging corpses and their death stares. The room had two tunnels leading out of it. The eastern one he had walked in through and a southern one. As he walked out of the room, the colors shifted back toward the more normal black and white of Deathville. As walked on, Shaggy realized he still couldn’t see the path ahead. It was nothing but pitch blackness.
He sighed and continued on, thinking about the bomb he had dropped on the forum. He had transferred his pod’s memory over to his console and uploaded the video of his interaction with Cog. A few streamers had gotten footage of various big Villains and Supers, but even fewer had gotten into their Lairs or Hideouts. After heavily editing the video, taking out most of the trip to Cog’s Lair and anything that could identify himself, Shaggy had dropped it into the forums.
The forums went nuts with what they were seeing. Some of the more brainy players were discussing what the various machines did. But most were trying to figure out where the place was. Shaggy remained evasive and said that it was somewhere underground. When asked why he had survived, Shaggy had told the truth: he didn’t know. Which lead to a long conversation about his build and what he had been doing. Shaggy did his best to evade those questions, too.
However, it was the end of the video that got the most attention. Whether it was his Pyrrhic defeat of Cog or the corpse robots, people were talking up a storm. Some wondered about the ramifications of killing such a big Villain, others wondered if he had truly died, and many more were disgusted with how the old man built his bots. It had sparked a debate that was still going on when Shaggy went to work that morning. When he had gotten home, it had died down somewhat. But, in truth, Shaggy was too busy logging in to read too in depth.
The consensus was that Cog was an overall asshat who deserved what he got. There were plenty of players who were readying parties to go down and look for the old bastard. If he wasn’t dead, then they were going to make sure that he was. The woman players were almost adamant about going down and breaking everything, Supers and Villains. Some even demanded that Shaggy give up the location. He told them that if he and his group went after the lair, he would tell them. He had no problem blowing the sexist asshole’s base to hell and back, but he kinda wanted to search the place first. Hell, they could turn it into a full on raid.
Shaggy stopped as his vision went grey again and he finally saw the end of his tunnel. He could hear a low muted voice coming from ahead. No one could talk in Deathville. Instead, all you would get was a muted murmuring. Like someone had a hand over your mouth while you were trying to talk. Shaggy could hear it from ahead of him as he stepped into the next room.
He was back in the command center again. The machinery and the vertical memory banks were gone. But the raised platform was still there and standing on top of it was Cog, shouting at an empty room. The old man’s eyes were glazed over and he was gesticulating wildly as he spoke. But his robot arm and legs were replaced with shriveled and decaying human limbs. They didn’t seem to slow him down though, as he marched up and down the platform shouting wildly.
Shaggy grimaced both at the sight of the limbs and at what he guessed Cog was spouting. He had more than enough of the old man’s rhetoric and he didn’t need anymore. Shaggy turned away from the shouting man and started walking toward another tunnel. He was sure his exit was around her somewhere. He knew that attacking the ghost Cog would do nothing. Enemies in Deathville were easy to spot because they were the only things with color. His claws would pass right through the old grey fuck.
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He quickly found a westward tunnel and headed in. But before he had even made it to the door, a cold mechanical voice spoke up from behind him, clear as day.
“Where do you think you’re going, little doggy?”
Shaggy turned to see the ghost of Cog glaring at him. Decaying limbs replaced with shiny new robotic parts. Shaggy could feel the shock on his face as he stared at what had to be the first speaking ghost in Deathville. Cog grinned as he walked down off the platform, still glaring at Shaggy.
“Did you think I was dead? Oh, I assure you, my boy, I am very much alive and I will come for you. I will find everything you love and twist it and break it. Then, when the clay is ready, the master shall begin his work. I shall reshape those you love into the beautiful form of metal and wires.”
Shaggy watched as Cog got closer and closer, but he realized the old man wasn’t gaining any color. He was merely yammering on about how doomed Shaggy was. Shaggy shook his head and ignored the old coot. He turned back toward the tunnel and started walking as Cog ranted and raved and how amazing circuitry and brass were compared to sinew and flesh. He was a few steps in when Cog shouted again and he felt a something heavy slam into him.
“DO NOT IGNORE ME!”
Shaggy was lifted off his feet and went sailing into the dark tunnel. He could feel the wind whip by his face as he flew forward, chest first down the tunnel. Soon his orientation shifted, and he was no longer moving forward, but falling downward. Shaggy flailed his arms as he tumbled through the dark. It was like a dream. His arms and legs grew heavy, and he felt like he was swimming through pudding. Hot air hit his face and the smell of decay made his nostrils burn.
Shaggy gagged as he fell. Everything was so overbearing and he could still make out Cog's shouting. The old Villain was back to explaining how his robot army would march across the world, removing race and poverty from the world. Shaggy tumbled through the air, Cog’s rhetoric in his ears and the heat and smell overpowering him. He almost logged-out when he saw a red spot below him, growing bigger and bigger.
“That’s the end of the tunnel!” Shaggy thought happily.
He ignored the ranting Cog and streamlined his body. Pointing like an arrow, straight down. He could feel himself pick up speed as Cog’s voice and the smell seemed to dissipate. But the heat just grew as he shot downward. Soon he passed through the end of the dark tunnel he was in into a large open room. The heat was almost unbearable, but he ignored it and aimed his body at a bit of red ground. He slammed into the ground and took the impact with his shoulder and rolled.
Thankfully, he couldn’t take damage in Deathville, but as he rolled up to his feet, he almost tripped on the springing ground. The red spongy ground seemed to rub off on his pants and shirt and that’s when Shaggy realized he was standing on a circular red mass of flesh and blood was all over him. Looking around, he realized he was in an enormous cavern of flesh and bone. The room seemed to pulsate as veins crossed everywhere.
Shaggy shivered in disgust as the smell assaulted his nose. Shaggy moved to the edge of the circular platform and looked down. Below was a river of blood that bubbled and frothed. Shaggy was sure he saw a few skeletons floating in the blood before he looked away. Shaggy shook his head and took a deep breath to calm himself. The hot air made everything uncomfortable, even breathing. But soon Shaggy was ready to look for an exit. That’s when he heard the cackling.
Shaggy couldn’t believe that such a joyous laugh could come from such a creepy place. It didn’t sound like Cog. The old man could barely breathe, let alone laugh so heartily. Shaggy followed the laughter as it lead him toward the center of the platform. As he walked, the fleshy red dunes turned into ashen mountains and trees of bones arose from the ground. Shaggy ignored it as the dark clouds filled the red sky and the laughter increased in volume.
As Shaggy got closer, a new structure rose in the distance. It was a dark black pyramid towering over the fleshy ground. Shaggy could barely make out some kind of white writing all along the pyramid. But as he got closer and closer and the cackling laughter seemed to echo more and more, Shaggy ignored the writing. Instead, he turned his attention to the top of the pyramid, which was flattened out and a white throne sat atop it. On that throne was a young man, maybe mid-twenties, with a thick head of brown hair. The man was the source of the laughter as he stood, head thrown back, in front of the throne.
Shaggy came to the base of the pyramid and glared up at the man. The laughter was dying slowly as the man threw himself on the throne and kicked his legs into the air joyfully. Shaggy could now see that the white throne was made of bones and all around the base of the throne were mutilated corpses. All torn in half and the bones ripped from their bodies. Sudden movement caught Shaggy’s eyes, and he saw the man raising a crown of bone above his head. He didn’t know why, but Shaggy started running up the pyramid.
But it was too late. The second the crown of bone touch the man’s head, a loud angry scream echoed through the room and a blast of purple energy came from the top of the pyramid. Shaggy struggled to keep his feet as the energy washed over him and the cackling laughter started again. Shaggy stared wide eyed as the man stood from his throne and raise his hands in the air triumphantly. It was then that Shaggy noticed the man’s right arm and both his legs weren’t human. They were jet black, like the pyramid, and looked mechanical. A shiver went down Shaggy’s spine as he realized who the young man was.
“Ho ho ho ho. Did you get it yet, little doggy?”
Shaggy stared up at a familiar face that was no longer old and wrinkled. The young Cog looked liked he could be Slink’s age. Shaggy shook his head incredulously.
“How?” Shaggy asked.
Cog cackled louder. “BHAHAHAHAHAHA! That old bitch was actually telling the truth! I am young again!”
Cog held his stomach with mirth as Shaggy stepped closer and closer. Watching the old man for any signs of attack. But Cog was mostly reveling in his new form.
Cog finally took a long breath and gazed down at the approaching Shaggy. “And it is all thanks to you. The damn spell wouldn’t work unless I died in an actual fight. But now, I AM YOUNG and my plans can be put into motion. Thank you, my boy, truly. I can’t wait for our next meeting.”
Shaggy saw a purple cloud form around Cog’s feet and he started running again. But suddenly the entire world seemed to shake and for the first time Cog looked a little worried. But soon the purple cloud grew and Cog smirked at his surroundings. Shaggy had to catch his footing again as a voice roared in the distance.
“NOOOOOO!”
Cog chuckled. “Hehehehehe. You’re too late, you puny God. Pah! I shall show you want a true deity looks like.”
The derision in Cog’s voice almost had physical weight as the purple cloud around him finally reach his head. Then with a puff of air the smoke was gone and Cog along with it. Shaggy spun around, looking at the red world of flesh and bones as the unseen voice screamed in anger. Shaggy put his hands over his ears as the sound shook his brain. Suddenly, the shaking stopped and a palpable quiet anger filled the room. An oppressive feeling hit Shaggy in the chest and he knelt on the stairs of the pyramid.
Shaggy was lifted into the air by some unseen force, and he felt the world shake around him again. The pyramid below him broke apart into millions of tiny pieces as a snort of derision filled the air. The black pieces of the pyramid fell into the blood river below and hissed as they disappeared. Shaggy’s body spun in the air and he twisted this way and that as he felt like he was being examined. Suddenly, a booming voice resounded through the cavern.
“HE MUST BE STOPPED.”
The voice echoed in Shaggy’s ears. It wasn’t a command, but it was said with such finality that Shaggy could only nod his head. Although he couldn’t imagine a way to kill young Cog, he had done it was already though. Sure, it had all been a part of Cog’s plan, but that wasn’t important. The booming voice came back again and Shaggy braced himself.
“GO!”
Shaggy felt himself flung upward, and he shot toward the ceiling, but before he could hit everything went black and his vision was filled with another notification window.
Deathville Complete
Transferring to Spawn Point
Error: Combat at Spawn Point
Finding a new Spawn location
Located
Spawning…
Shaggy felt his body fall and his feet hit cement as he landed in a dark alleyway. The color in his vision told him he was back in the actual game and the stars above told him he was above ground. As he looked around, he realized he was back to where they had appeared topside. Right outside the tunnel to Under-Town. He was a little worried about the ‘combat at Spawn point’ notification, but he was sure the others could handle it. Right now, he had a choice.
He could either find Ephemara and complete what they had set out to do in the first place or he could return to Under-Town and tell them what happened. It barely took him a few seconds to decide. They were going to need all the help they could get with a young Cog on the loose, and a Rakgu Captain in their pocket was a good start. He gathered himself before he searched around the area. But there was no sign of the young woman. He hoped she wasn’t dead somewhere. Shaggy sighed and walked out of the alley. He could think of one other place to search.
As he walked down the quiet night streets of Austin, Shaggy couldn’t help but think about what had happened. He wasn’t completely sure it was all real or a trick of Deathville. But that hadn’t been like anything he’d ever heard of. If it had been real, then Cog was back in a younger body and with some new toys. Shaggy grinned as he picked up the pace.
“This game is fucking awesome!”