Continue Online The Complete Series

by Stephan Morse

  “Ugh!” Her staff sank into the monstrous forearm and refused to come out.

  “HotPants!” Awesome Jr. hadn’t hesitated in lighting up one of his flasks. “I’ve only got three more!”

  “Make them count!”

  “Aim for the head!” Shadow yelled.

  I dodged another blow from the tail and rolled away. Pain waved through my shoulder, and a computer assist allowed me to keep a grip on the sword somehow. Heat flashed as two more imitation Molotovs lit up. One got the monster’s shoulder, resulting in a giant shriek of anger. Noise far deeper than the ones outside rippled through the maze’s inner sanctum.

  “Carver!”

  I turned and looked as the second ball of fire went off. This one completely missed the creature due to his sudden withdrawal.

  “What?” I shouted.

  “Look out!” SweetPea cried, her voice turning into a high pitched whine.

  Oh. The creature’s tail swept in again and caught me full-on in the middle. Part of the blade was up in a block, but not enough to resolve the collision. I went flying into a wall of bushes. These bordered between the cleansed green and inky taint.

  “SweetPea!”

  “What?”

  “Don’t distract the NPC!” Shadow yelled while stomping at the latest pile of little tentacle monsters to come out of the big creature.

  “But I was helping!” She wasn’t really.

  “Shut up and kill the little ones before they crawl back!” HotPants screamed. She was busy trying to sweep a pile of them away with her staff. “The little ones keep giving that big guy health!”

  “We know!” Awesome Jr. was yelling too.

  Everyone was. Their bodies damaged and rundown. I could see the pop-up boxes forming off to the side of each person’s screen. They were receiving increases to abilities as each one practiced with their virtual lives on the line.

  I growled and tried to stand back up. The sword slipped and I lost my progress. Another whack from one giant forearm sent me sprawling a second time. The world rung and Carver’s vision took a turn for the worse.

  “Come on.” This time, I pushed through all the protests and got back to my feet.

  A third crash of flames poured against the boss monster’s arm and set it shrieking.

  Carver’s fancy blade swung. Light formed on the top, along with a notification of various abilities colliding together in some super move. I had no time to read the system text as I tightened my face and pulled with all the simulated strength Carver had. My unintended move connected and severed the already burning leg.

  “Get them!” Shadow yelled again.

  “I’m out of fire potions!”

  “Figure out something useful then!”

  Shadow and Awesome Jr. seemed destined to babble at each other. The creature fell off balance with another roar, which stunned us completely. Their continued argument was muffled in the ringing that followed the creature’s shout.

  [Stunned]! Abilities requiring focus suffer a 50% penalty.

  “No. Not yet.” My arm wiggled but failed to move correctly. Only four weeks of clutching a cane kept my hand’s grip strong.

  HotPants couldn’t swing her staff, but she did manage to fall to one side and squish a few of the small scattered enemies. If she could do that much, then William Carver should be at least twice as stubborn.

  “Come on.” It was becoming a mantra as I fought to stand.

  [Stubborn as a Mule] activated! Stun effects reduced.

  Abilities requiring focus suffer a 20% penalty.

  “Come on!”

  Twenty percent was still too much. I had to get myself back into the fight in order to protect the others. They were having a hard time against little ones.

  I stomped a foot against the ground as hard as possible. Jarring shock rippled up the leg, spine, and to the top of my head. Double vision pieced back together in time to hear a second scream that repeated the effects of the first.

  [Stunned]! Abilities requiring focus suffer a 50% penalty.

  “Double stuns?!” Awesome Jr. groaned and fell to his knees amid a series of broken enemies. Their arms still twitched even though their health bars were empty.

  [Stubborn as a Mule] activated! Stun effects reduced.

  Abilities requiring focus suffer a 40% penalty.

  The giant creature strode across the room. One formerly severed arm half-formed in a skeletal mockery of itself. There were no eyes to speak of on the creature, but its jaw was grinning as damaged limbs stumbled forth.

  “Ru-u-un!” SweetPea stuttered.

  Carver did. Not. Run. No matter how caring these teenagers’ warnings were, I would stand my ground. I would swing this sword over and over until I had nothing left.

  I took another claw to the body. The pain sent me flying far enough that I had time to wonder what a bear’s attack would feel like. Likely very similar, with more mass and strength over the small tears of these tentacle creatures. Bearing the brunt of a third attack brought my already fading health bar down to twenty percent.

  Blood was everywhere. Vision blurred by streams of sweat. The sword was still in my hand. I had mere seconds to get back to my feet before the creature would attack again. Another one of those hits would maim me. Maim Carver. Whatever.

  One knee was up. The leg didn’t have enough strength to force me to stand. Both hands were gripped around the giant sword’s handle.

  I glared at the creature in my best old man defiance.

  “I will not die lying down.”

  Carver would not die lazing about. He would stand and fight. He would stand and swing, and swing, and swing.

  I, however, slipped and fell. The one knee I had propped up lost purchase and left me hanging on by the edge of Carver’s sword. At least there was still that minor dignity.

  A weight pressed on my shoulder and hissed. Then it spat a small ball of fire. I had enough awareness to glance to the side. My small [Messenger’s Pet] was spitting defiance at the larger creature. The sheer audacity of my situation must have set the boss monster back, because it growled and roared.

  [Stunned]! Abilities requiring focus suffer a 50% penalty.

  “Oh god. We’re all screwed.” Shadow was pressed against the ground, one eye tilted up and seeing the giant creature towering over the lot of us.

  The boss was smaller than before, having lost some mass to the destruction of its wriggling bits.

  I tried to stand again. Both hands pulled with frail strength upon the sword’s hilt. The blade dug into the tile and ground below in response. A horrifyingly giant mass of squiggles descended in my direction but I couldn’t let this kill me. A pitiful death would invalidate my attempt to give Carver a stellar ending.

  “His health. It keeps going down.”

  I winced and realized that the wounds all over my body had applied a bleed of some sort. My fifth of health was down to ten percent. That wasn’t fair. This was not the way things should end. I would not die on the ground. I would stand on my feet. I would go out like Carver wanted.

  SweetPea reached out with one hand to try to heal me. Her battered form stretched across the ground, a torn look on her features. I had enough strength to look around and weakly smile at the lot of them. They were only here on this fool’s errand because of me. Me and this brilliant idea to take Carver into a dungeon. My [Messenger’s Pet] was still spitting tiny balls of fire. They were minuscule before the bigger monster, but enough to make it flinch at times as chunks sizzled.

  Brief moments of respite allowed me to struggle back to my feet. Everything felt worse than it had. My strength from the dances had faded. The sword in my hands had turned back into a cane. Both knees locked into position in order to keep me upright. Pain flared between my shoulders as everything hunched again. There, like my first day as William Carver, I stood. Putting on an air of pride.

  We, Carver and I, would die on our feet. By all the Voices Continue had to offer, by all the mental willpower available to
me, I would grace him with that at least.

  But I might close my eyes, if only a little.

  There was another roar from the boss. As if my debilitation could get any worse. Another wave rippled through, followed by a giant stomp. Another giant footstep came through, and a sixth roar.

  This time, a much louder, much angrier cry answered the boss. From above and behind, somewhere in the distance, came a loud scream that sounded more like thunder than a giant lion. I opened one eye a little and saw my nearly empty health bar. A cough full of blood sputtered out of my old form.

  The other eye opened, and my vision swam into focus. Something new collided at high speeds with the boss monster. A shock wave rippled as the two connected. I pulled together what little willpower was left. [Identification] triggered on the newest creature.

  Failure abounded. Repetitive stuns had made pretty much any skill usage impossible. I had a hunch, given the sleek azure skin and thinned look. A female, I thought. That shade matching her scales lined up with the scarf of a certain orphanage caretaker. It also matched scales I had handed over to that very same woman.

  “Who is that?” someone asked, but my ears were muffled from all the yells.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Carver’s almost dead. Do you have anything left?” Awesome Jr. asked.

  “Better yet, why is that dragon helping?”

  “She, I think,” HotPants said.

  She, the giant azure dragon, was going to town on the creature of nightmares and ink. Relief washed across my face. Being rescued by the blue dragon felt fitting, and was enough to make me happy in this path. I stayed on my feet and suffered the buffet of wings and near misses of huge limbs. Wingtips, balls of flame, and conglomerations of tentacle monsters passed me where I stood. My health dipped into critical and started flashing.

  I nodded and bore witness to the scene.

  Flames proved to be the nightmare’s downfall. Ball after ball of light orange fire spat out of the dragon’s maw. Each one sent the boss creature into fits as it shrank and writhed. Soon there was nothing but a growing puddle of goo.

  Finally, its health bar reached rock bottom. She, the dragon, let out a few more blasts to ensure that the enemy’s health went into the negatives.

  I tried to smile but instead hit rock bottom myself. I slipped downward again. My legs gave out, and soon Carver’s body was on the ground. I had a front-row view of the large dragon shrinking and twisting upon itself. The azure dragon was turning toward me, and in moments, she had taken her human form.

  Our mystery rescuer was Mylia, the half-dragon orphanage mother. Her hands reached for a scarf and wrapped it back across her hair. The blue knitted clothing was now obviously hiding a small pair of horns and a tint of azure scales that hung around her forehead. One more mystery solved. She was practically dainty now as she screamed out Carver’s name.

  I tried to smile but barely moved my eyes in her direction.

  “Carver!” she shouted again.

  Did no one want to use my—I mean, his—first name?

  “Mylia,” I croaked.

  “SweetPea, can you do anything?”

  “I’m completely out. Empty. Do you have any bandages?”

  “Nothing for that level of damage,” HotPants said.

  “Anyone have anything?” Awesome Jr. sounded nearly frantic.

  The four of them were standing around me now, moving but not nearly as broken as I was. They at least had slivers of health remaining.

  “Mylia,” I croaked again.

  “I’m here, Carver.”

  Swallowing hurt. Breathing was beyond difficult. There was a taste of copper in the back of my mouth that would make me barf again if I had any strength to do so. I had nothing left but still had room for a final push. I’d won and succeeded in a final adventure. There was one thing left to do.

  “Tell me a story, Mylia.” My lips felt dry. Everything hurt more than normal. The pain was rapidly fading into a numb sensation.

  “I will. I will, but you have to make it through. We’ll get High Priestess Peach here, or I’ll carry you.”

  “Mylia,” I whispered with all the strength left to my old body.

  “Mister Carver, you can’t die now. What will the kids do?”

  “Tell me a story.”

  “I don’t…” She was crying.

  “You promised… to think about it.” My hips hurt fiercely.

  “I-I don’t know where to start.”

  “Your story, Mylia.” I gasped and coughed. The vile taste in the back of my throat grew worse, and breathing was harder. Another wracking wave of coughs as my frail form couldn’t double up. Carver wouldn’t cry, and I existed beyond this game, but right now there was nothing else. Mylia was getting a chance to say good-bye, and that was something everyone deserved.

  “What do I say? How do I start?”

  “Once upon a time,” SweetPea said. “That’s how all the best stories start.”

  “So cliché,” Shadow muttered.

  HotPants poked him weakly.

  I tugged at Mylia’s sleeve in desperation. Neither eye seemed capable of focusing. They slowly drifted downward and barely worked. Blackness haunted the edges of my vision.

  “Okay. Okay, a story. But you have to stay with me, Mister Carver.” She swallowed too and wiped away her tears. Moments later they returned but she worked through them.

  “Once upon a time…”

  My flashing health bar stopped with one final blaze of red. I lost my grip on the cane and blackness descended, leaving her story unheard. A message slowly appeared upon my screen.

  You have died!

  I reached for the logout button before anything else could interrupt me. My mind was in no mood to handle anymore tonight.

  Conclude — Data Stored to Autopilot

  Data recording of the entity known as James - an AI in Continue Online.

  As a Voice, we notice many sensations that are invisible to the normal denizens of our universe. Emotions, thoughts, how parts of the Traveler’s brain react when presented with a standard stimulus. Each item is captured and used to build an impression of these other world visitors.

  It is not easy.

  Most of our charges are difficult to follow and require a level of focus that we cannot spare. Grant Legate has been a bright spot, both here in our plane and down on the core world of [Arcadia]. He is still in a limbo between our worlds. We have used this fact as a gateway to clarity on the people below. His performance has been positive overall.

  Four other Travelers to our world joined Grant Legate. They have acquitted themselves well and were rewarded accordingly, in the fashion that Travelers seem to enjoy. All four have been marked by us for further review. They may prove useful.

  I will attempt to capture their state of mind since they traveled to our world and replay it for the record. Many of these items will be lacking in detail due to limited observation time. Perceptions cited are based on actions and conversations the Travelers have participated in. First, however, we must recount those moments following the cessation of William Carver from [Arcadia] proper. This will help to further cement our interest in the Travelers involved.

  The last recorded events following William Carver’s passing

  William Carver lay on the ground with his eyes vacantly staring off. The wrinkles on his face had nearly forced his eyes shut in his last moments. There were no tears on him, only wounds from where he had proudly fought during his last moments. Mylia Jacobs, the caretaker for [Haven Valley]’s orphanage, had arrived too late.

  “What do we do?” HotPants asked. “Can we do anything?”

  “I know CPR in real life, but I’ve never tried to use it in-game,” Awesome Jr. said. He frantically searched through menu options for additional ingredients. Two potions were poured into each other and promptly started overflowing with mucus. The bottle was thrown to one side, and Awesome Jr. looked even more upset.

  “Miss, let Adam—I me
an, Awesome—try.” SweetPea was next to Mylia and pleading. Tears could be seen in her eyes. The girl had pulled off her hoodie and was holding it in one hand.

  “No. No.” Mylia was shaking her head. “It won’t help. He’s dead.”

  “Maybe I can…” the teen male said with a lost look.

  Mylia shook her head and rocked slowly. Her eyes were closed, and her face seemed to be warping slightly. A temporary bulge on her forehead grew as horns came out, only to recede again. The players were hesitant to come close after seeing the giant form she had taken minutes ago.

  “He’s gone.” The orphan caretaker sounded sure. “The Voices have taken him.”

  “How do you know?” SweetPea asked gently.

  “You’ll see soon.” Mylia sat there cradling the head of an old man, and she said a prayer. Her eyes stayed closed as the prayer passed across her lips. “May the Voices have mercy, William Carver.”

  “I still find this world hard to understand. He’s a program. So are you. Why does anyone care?” HotPants had managed to keep herself steady during this exchange. Partly because standing on her own two feet required an intense amount of focus.

  “William wasn’t always one of ours, a Local. He was once like you four, a Traveler. Only many have forgotten.”

  “What?” Awesome Jr. was the first to speak up, followed quickly by Shadow. Both had the same startled expression.

  “I met him once, years ago, a few days after my father died.” Mylia shook her head. “I was young, lost in the woods, and Mister Carver gave me some food and got me to the nearest city.”

  “Was your father the dragon that Mister Carver killed?” SweetPea was taking point with Mylia.

  The two boys were completely out of their depth. Even HotPants seemed confused on how to handle a crying woman.

  “Yes.” Mylia’s face rippled and her shoulders bulged. She was not in a good spot right now, after the brief but fiery battle.

  “Did you hate Mister Carver for that?”

  “No! Voices no, my father was a terrible creature. A terrible, vile creature.” She gave a very halfhearted chuckle. Hidden in its depths was the hiccup of a repressed sob. “Half-dragons don’t come into being easily, and rarely happily.” She shook her head.