Continue Online The Complete Series

by Stephan Morse

  Hermes: No. Running. W/Beth.

  Hermes: Almost at Awesome.

  Hecate: Don’t die! Awesome Jr. is telling his father you’re coming. They’re being sieged on all sides.

  Typing out a short response took me half a minute to complete. There were too many monsters nearby. More ranged attacks from clearly human players arced over us. Shouting could be heard ahead, and giant mechanical constructs were coming into view. Their bodies were half obstructed by larger rhino-type monsters that spit fire.

  “I can run!” Beth’s voice rang in my ear.

  Everyone kept screaming during this entire event, struggling to be heard over the snarls and yips of random monsters.

  “No.” My response was much calmer.

  [Awareness Heightening] kicked in full bore. We [Blink]ed again. While moving, I shifted Beth’s weight so she was slung over a shoulder. Her blade’s tip bumped into my calves. [Power Armor] automatically activated to prevent any actual damage. We tore past trees, bushes, and an endless parade of monsters toward one of the clearer patches.

  For whatever reason, a spot devoid of monsters was close at hand. Once there, Beth could be set down and both of us would properly be able to fight. My shoulder lowered into a football tackle. [Power Armor] once again shone, and we drove through a gaggle of ostriches with dragon heads. They ruffled their wings, and feathers of iron shot at us. Another [Blink] brought us past their retaliatory attack toward the odd clearing.

  “Okay, setting you down.”

  The world moved in slow motion, but my breath felt faster than ever. Beth was set down while I gauged the remaining distance. A huge convoy of mechanical spiders sat in the distance, along with the familiar faces of Awesome’s guild members. Calamity’s multicolored hair stood out.

  “Uncle!” Beth’s eyes went wide.

  Two people suddenly appeared behind her. There was a crunching noise that barely registered over the pack of monsters nearby. My gut screamed at me to turn around, but I moved too slowly compared to whoever was attacking. A perfectly placed weight hit my neck, and the world went black, save for a single message.

  You have been rendered unconscious

  My fingers hastily poked at the air to bring up my normal ARC interface. Messages needed to be sent to the others. Being out of commission would hurt us, even if only for a minute or two. Today was too damned important to let an ambush get me.

  [Sight of Mercari] would have helped a little, only the field itself was overly chaotic. Using it might have given me some warning though. We were close to Awesome’s group, so maybe they would be able to get to us in time. I struggled to get my breathing under control and wake up. The ARC responded to thought when considering abilities, and the message didn’t say their attack had killed me.

  The fact that Voices could appear in front of me while I was blacked out had slipped my mind. James showed up in the darkness and looked worn. His eyes were lined with dark pockets. The clothes he wore were stained. Normally laced fingers twitched every few seconds. Each breath looked labored.

  “Imagine, Hermes…” He took two breaths to speak the words. “Imagine a world where you are both a person and a purpose. What would your purpose be?”

  His question made no sense. We didn’t have time, so my response was the first thing to come to mind.

  “You gave me a purpose, The Messenger. I deliver letters. Why are you asking?”

  “We gave you a name, but a name means many things, Hermes. But all of us need a purpose. Humans crave it, the Voices grow up with a core role, all of us have a purpose. What would yours be?”

  “I want things to go back to normal. Where you’re not dying, where Xin isn’t in danger, where World Eaters or whatever aren’t out to delete everything. If I were to ask for a purpose, it would be making sure that you’re all safe and never in danger again.”

  There were other Voices out there. Hints of their forms could be seen in the distance as blackness became lighter. They carried what looked like luggage and approached a bright light that sat just outside of my vision. Turning toward the brightness didn’t help; their escape eluded me.

  “Hermes had another role. To be fair, many were attributed to him. Take this, a last gift, all we can spare before the end. After this, we have nothing more.”

  He faded away, leaving me shouting at near darkness for further clarification. The Voices running around faded away and left me sitting with a half-active system. The ARC itself still worked. A quick Internet search brought up pages about the name Hermes and who he was in Greek stories. Based on the description, he filled a lot of different roles.

  Before much effort could be put into research, the dark world righted itself and light blinded me.

  “Is he okay?” a male voice yelled.

  Footsteps crunched near my ears. Above me stood a woman clad in muddy-looking armor. She shone like a sun obscured by dark clouds.

  Trait Earned: [NPC Conspiracy] (Hermes – Voice)

  Type: Passive, always active

  Details: The Voices’ approval has been gained. [NPC Conspiracy] [The Messenger] upgraded to divine level. The following modifications have been applied:

  Defensive abilities are increased by 100%

  [Altered Aura] elevated to [Divine Aura]

  Damage while defending a “keyboarder” is increased by 100%

  [Cross Realm] abilities applied

  Warning!

  Acceptance of this trait cannot be reversed except by avatar deletion. All prior traits tied to [NPC Conspiracy] [The Messenger] are still in effect.

  Warning!

  These bonuses were intended to only apply when performing duties directly related to the Traveler’s role as Hermes. Balance has left the world. Restrictions not currently in effect.

  I stared at it while losing focus. Much of the text went over my head, and now wasn’t the time to inspect any of it. There were sounds of battle all around. People cried out, and squeals and chirps of all sorts mixed in between cries.

  “Keep moving! SheHulk, keep up the defenses. Tock, get those spiders attacking the players against us. We need to keep going!”

  The path down to [Haven Valley] was littered with corpses. Bodies of players and creatures alike lay strewn about without regard or care for placement. Others were still moving but slowly.

  “What the hell is with that glow?” SheHulk asked me as we backed up.

  I was trying to calm my breathing and enjoy a brief respite before we got into another battle.

  “I know, right?” another person nearby responded. “He’s hard to look at. Did he get irradiated or something?”

  “Where’s TinkerHell?” I asked while trying to see who we had.

  Awesome shook his head. Elane, or SheHulk, glared. There were a lot of other players missing as well. We didn’t have time to discuss what had happened, but part of me felt sad the nice blonde had hit her [Three Strike] rule.

  Blasts around us started to die down. The player killers who remained knew [Haven Valley] was being beaten by both [World Eater]s and monster masses.

  Still, giant blue beams came out of the woods, tearing up parts of the landscape. Android Seven was still alive. He sat out in the distance under a glowing lattice dome that shocked monsters nearby. SheHulk kept her shield angled toward him and dove in front of beam after beam.

  One of his high-flying beams almost hit Thorny in the face. My niece yelped and ducked through one of the giant steam-powered spider’s legs. It moved on without regard. My rest had gone on long enough.

  [Morrigu’s Gift] shifted forms. [Morrigu’s Echo] went out in a javelin shape, cutting a path straight toward Android Seven’s shield. The black rune-etched spear scraped off to the side in a shower of sparks. [Recall] brought it back, and I threw it twice more before the shield broke. SheHulk kept close to me as Android Seven shot a beam at us.

  The former [Convict] rushed at us. His hand held a pack of glowing blue marbles that were probably grenades. The Traveler’s body los
t his footing and abruptly went flying sideways into a forming black hole.

  [Blink] got me out there quickly, and I arrived to find a teenager digging through Android Seven’s remains.

  “Requiem?” I asked.

  “Hey, don’t mind me. Just gathering a few last-minute things.” Requiem hastily shoved items into his bulging backpack.

  The sight confused me, but both weapons stayed at the ready.

  “Right,” Requiem said. He nodded then pressed a thumb against a scroll.

  His body vanished before further clarification could be sought. My head shook. Awesome asked for an explanation, but I had none to give. At this stage, thinking hurt my head. We had another six or seven encounters with friendly players, enemies, and [World Eater]s as our convoy moved forward.

  How long had we been fighting? I staggered along while reaching for the ARC interface. A clock revealed that at least six hours in the real world had gone by. How had so much time blurred past without notice? Had the time compression factor started to warp as well?

  Awesome Jr.: This is quickly turning pear-shaped. That giant sea whatever is about dead.

  HotPants: Well this stupid black dragon’s almost down! Plus that little chirpy thing is hurt bad, and one of Mylia’s wings isn’t working!

  SweetPea: …I can try to get out there?

  Awesome Jr.: We’re stuck back here. A lot of monsters are up on the wall. I can’t tell what’s alive or dead, and the line of people escaping is getting longer.

  Shadow: I’m close, but carrying them all back will be hell. Anyone? Wait, no, shi—

  “Awesome! We’ve got to go south!” My hand shot out toward the giant dragon. “There’s a friend over there!”

  “There’s people everywhere, you idiot!” SheHulk was busy stomping on the backs of near-dead players and monsters alike. Her shield’s bottom edge was lined with layers of blood and ichor.

  “Guys, these Guardians won’t last much longer.” TockDoc waved a glowing hand against the dark background.

  My eyes went toward the moon. There wasn’t much left of it now. We were well past the halfway point and nearing a final crescent-shaped sliver. Cracks had formed along its remaining surface.

  “Doesn’t matter, we’re almost done!” There was no time to worry about a slow march to the rescue. “Just charge through as quick as you can and get to the portal out! I’ll get the others!”

  System Notice!

  All users please be advised, due to systemic issues, the ARC interface may start to disconnect. It is recommended that all users log out at their earliest opportunity.

  Please refer to the Trillium Inc. policy regarding system stability issues and user safety. Possible side effects of forced disconnect include dizziness, loss of appetite, loss of spatial orientation, and many others.

  Once again, Trillium Inc. and the ARC Labs advises all users to log out of their devices.

  The message worried me. We were running low on time now. How long was left, an hour or two?

  “Uncle Grant!” Beth yelled.

  “Munchkin, stay with the big spider robots!” One hand waved her off. I heard the sound of struggling as my niece yelled at Elane.

  I ran. Nothing less would do right now. The ground went by at rapid speed compared to my normal pace. Miles passed, and like much of the battle, I only barely registered what was going on. People were fighting, even out here, but the numbers on both sides had dwindled greatly. As I passed, monsters and [World Eater]s alike were killed. Players shouted their thanks to my back.

  “Mylia!” I yelled over the hills. We were close to where the trio of dragons had been fighting each other.

  There she was, her blue hairband torn to shreds. Mylia looked battered beyond belief. [World Eater] monsters were all around. She cradled something against her chest while trying to cough up an attack. Only black smoke came out.

  “Mylia!” I shouted.

  The regular monsters scattered at my sudden appearance. It was likely tied to my [Divine Aura] increase and being labeled as a Voice. Even monsters believed in self-preservation.

  Another woman lay in front of Mylia, barely moving. HotPants’s red leathers were soaked in blood. Traces of monster guts and other fluids were all over her feet and hands. A quarter mile away, the defeated [World Eater] dragon corpse sat, flaking to pieces.

  It didn’t mean much. A hundred other smaller [World Eater]s were busy chasing down normal monsters—if there was such a thing as normal in this weird conglomeration of game worlds.

  Mylia looked terrible but better than HotPants. In her arms lay a limp, barely moving Dusk. My head shook. This entire scenario was out of hand.

  “Strike three, and no one here has a res. Damn.” HotPants’s eyes rolled backward. “It’s been a ride, old man. Do you think my son saw? And that bastard ex? Do you think they’re…” Her ARC must be approaching disconnect.

  “Yeah. I’m sure they saw.”

  “God, my back hurts from carrying those kids,” she mumbled before her health bar hit zero and both arms fell limply to her sides. The staff in her hands clattered to the ground.

  I nodded then closed her eyes carefully. The only comforting factor was that HotPants had gone out in a blaze of glory, and she lived on in physical reality. Strike three would leave her with no way back into Continue Online until the event wrapped up.

  “We’ve got to go,” I said to the orphanage mother. “You and Dusk have to get to safety.”

  She tried to speak, but her voice turned into wheezes.

  “Don’t speak.” I gently reached for Dusk.

  He looked awful, and I wasn’t sure releasing his summons would do any good. If the world here was degrading this badly, what did he have to return to? I tucked the [Messenger’s Pet] into a fold of my toga.

  “Come on. I’ll carry you,” I said.

  Mylia went over my shoulder, and we ran past monsters. They cleared a path, scared away for reasons unknown. The ground itself went by quickly. I felt as if all the regular beasts of this game meant nothing anymore.

  None of this meant anything. All that mattered was getting people out and letting the system finish collapsing. We ran toward the town. Monsters ran, fought each other, and were devoured by [World Eater]s.

  Getting back to [Haven Valley] only took twenty minutes of mad leaping. My chest felt heavy but not tried from Mylia’s weight. There weren’t many people in the town itself. Our forward walls had been much farther out, but they were gone. Most of the NPCs were absent, along with a ton of players. Those that remained looked ragged. [World Eater] corpses littered the area. Spells and other abilities tagged monsters that strayed too close.

  “Where are the others?” I asked while slowing down in front of Awesome Jr. and SweetPea. Everyone huddled near the beam of light exit. It was the only remaining building that had been unharmed. This place had become our last line of defense and soon it’d be over.

  A guard came up for Mylia. I didn’t recognize him but he cradled the worn down orphan mother. He nodded, then made straight for the beam of light. We watched them vanish. Awesome Jr. heaved a huge sigh, then watched the horizon.

  Xin sat on a chair near the beam and rubbed her temple. The pose reminded me of times outside the game. She must have a splitting headache and be really worn down. I walked over and kneaded her shoulder. Her fingers laced with mine, halting the motion.

  “Well?” I asked.

  “Sorry. I don’t even know where to start. My father and most everyone else who survived logged out already. He knows what’s happening and a few of his Trillium coworkers…” Awesome Jr. rubbed the back of his head. His clothes were a mess, and parts of that ugly green cloak had been chewed through. “They… they didn’t want to get in the way.”

  “We’re staying,” SweetPea said. The young woman’s small hand was tucked into her boyfriend’s. Staring at them reminded me of how blind love made people, me especially. “Mister Carver trusted us, and we’re staying no matter what happens.”<
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  I looked over too. Locals continued to vanish into the stream of light. A few stubborn Travelers picked up weapons from the deceased and hurried to rebuilding fortifications. In the distance, everything we’d built up slowly crumbled as more [World Eater]s fought monsters.

  There was a click in the distance. A wave of force softly brushed over buildings and walls. They crumbled even more. I took a breath and felt the difference almost right away. We weren’t in normal Continue Online anymore. This air reminded me of Yates’ islands, or the [Mistborn]’s prison. Whatever kept Continue Online separate had collapsed.

  Another wave of energy hit. The monster’s collapsed to dust. A third wave, like an ocean lapping at the shore, came by and started demolishing the smaller [World Eater]s

  “What’s going on?” Awesome Jr. asked me. SweatPea tugged his arm. Xin clutched my hand.

  “My abilities aren’t working,” someone said loudly. “Is anyone else’s working?”

  “The instability message. Something’s wrong here,” another person responded.

  “Does this mean we’re almost done?” a third asked.

  Their words were background noise until more people began panicking. Some people wore frowns while others scrunched their eyebrows together.

  These people were ready to fight an end boss as if there might be some chance of winning. But this event only stopped one way, and that was when every single player had logged out and someone with a modified coding stayed in their ARC until it shut down.

  The beam of light in [Haven Valley]’s center was working overtime. Colors shot up rapidly, each one representing data saved or moved. Each one a player cashing out, or an NPC amalgamation of memories fleeing to a new home. They were refugees escaping a sinking land. The Voices were pushing until the last moment.

  We had to get the Travelers out next. They couldn’t stay here for this. I didn’t know what would happen to me. I expected it to be bad but no one else needed to risk themselves.

  I had a way, I thought.

  “ARC,” I whispered.

  “Awaiting input,” it responded with a shaky voice. Even my own personal device was suffering.