"Hmmm, something about this seems familiar?" Ambc thought. Running for their lives from a evil shadowy user trying to destroy them. Although, this time the Glitch had full strength and was pursuing them quickly. The puddle MasterOshawott had froze got them a head start, but the Glitch only had to return to his natural form to escape. As they came to an intersection in the street Jb yelled
"Hurry this way!" Ambc saw a sub form link that read City Roleplay.
"We need to pick up speed or he'll catch up to us as we're changing screens!" Ambc yelled as he accelerated. He pulled ahead of the others and jumped through the air, passing the invisible barrier to the sub forum. As he flew through the air, time slowed down around him. The screen turned white and started to load the new forum. He landed in the sub forum, MasterO and Jb flying through the barrier right behind him.
We need to hide! Come on!" MasterOshawott yelled as she ran towards the Zoo HQ. Ambc and Jb followed hearing the Glitch beginning to switch forums behind them. As they ran through the gates they sprinted toward the nearest building, which of course had to be the reptile center. "Oh brick." Ambc thought, just my luck. He started slowing down as he asked the others,
"Hey..um, why don't we hide somewhere safer, like say...the lion exhibit?"
"No time man, he coming after us." Jb replied.
"Well, is being eternally trapped in a glitched account still an option?"
"Uggh, come on!" Said Jb grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the hiding spot. As soon as they entered the building they ducked behind the front desk. They could hear the Glitch coming through the front gates and running towards them.
"What's wrong with him?" MasterOshawott asked as she gestured to Ambc. He hadn't stopped looking at the floor since they had gotten there.
"He's afraid of snakes." Jb replied. MasterOshawott grabbed a giant key ring that obviously had all the keys to the
exhibits hanging on it.
"Well we've got no time to lose so let's go!" She said as she started running towards an exhibit and unlocking the door. Ambc looked up, slightly green and mouth handing wide open at her idea.
"What! Are you crazy! Going in there is like asking for your account to get deleted! There is NO way you are getting me in that exhibit!"
About thirty seconds later Ambc was laying on the ground, behind a large bush in the exhibit.
"....Owww...."
"That's gonna hurt tomorrow. You know if we survive until tomorrow..." Jb replied trying not to laugh.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to hurt but it's for your own good. I believe that's twice I've saved both of you." Said MasterO.
"Actually if you count the ice that would be three." Jb added. Normally Ambc would have had a comeback, but he was currently trying to get his mind off of the python a few feet away from him. As he was thrown into the exhibit he closed his eyes, not wanting to see what he was next to. As a result he only saw the exhibit briefly, but it was tall enough to stand in and could barely fit all three of them and the giant snake. Luckily there was a large bush they could all hide behind. Ambc could hear the Glitches footsteps coming closer and then slowly fade as he got farther away.
"He passed us. Let's hurry we don't have much time." Said MasterOshawott. Ambc was the first to the door, waiting for MasterO with the key. As they sneaked out of the exhibit they headed out of the building and towards the front gate. They walked out of the Zoo HQ looking at a tired Glitch sitting near the entrance.
"Surprise." said the Glitch between his heavy breathing.
"h-hhh-how are you sitting there we saw you pass us." MasterOshawott stuttered.
"Ohh that wasn't me, that was a part of my...army. You thought each user I infected just sat there, doing nothing? No, I..I was just waiting for the right time to attack." Ambc looked around at the Glitched users, they looked just like him, except they didn't Glitch you if you made eye contact. They were quickly approaching from all directions, except one.
"The woods." He whispered to the two other users. "Hurry!" All three sprinted towards the woods the army quickly pursuing
Ambc knocked a few of the soldiers down with his ban-hammer as he escaped towards the woods. The three users ran towards the forest, with a group of glitches pursuing. As they entered the forest Ambc heard a blaster shot form behind them. The shot hit a tree a few feet away from him, completely glitching it.
"Oh BRICK!" He yelled as he accelerated. As they ran the sounds of the glitches slowly faded, until he could no longer hear them. He couldn't see them anywhere and they seemed to be out of range of the weapons.
"I..I think we lost them," Said Jb between his heavy breathing. "We should..stop and rest for a minute." The three users stopped in a small clearing surrounded by trees. They collapsed in the grass trying to catch their breath. After a few moments MasterOshawott broke the silence.
"Something doesn't feel right...as if we're being watched..."
"Yeah I feel it too." Ambc replied. In the distance they heard the crack of a stick breaking. Three three users jumped up of the grass and glanced around the forest. They started slowly backing up as Ambc backed into something.
"Owww, this is really not my week..." he thought as he looked up a whatever had knocked him down. He was surprised to see.....another user. She looked a little younger than him, had light brown hair, and light freckles across her face. She seemed surprised at the fact that he existed and was holding a ban-hammer inches from his face.
"Another survier..." she whispered.
"Yes, I am alive and I've been tackled three times in the past two days so I'd really appreciate it if you could remove the ban-hammer from my face."
"Ohhh sorry I..I thought you were the Glitch."
"No it's alright, I was trying to do the same thing to you, you're just a lot faster than I am. I'm Ambc and this is MasterOshawott and Jbwim."
"I'm NinjagoGirl. It's getting dark I should take you back to camp, the others will be happy to see you."
"Wait there's more users!?" MasterOshawott asked.
"Yeah, it's not to far, I'll show you." said NinjagoGirl as she lead them to the camp.
They didn't have to walk far but by the time they had arrived the sun was already sinking below the tree-line. Ambc could tell they were getting close to the Lone Ranger forums because the trees were thinning and the terrain was becoming rocky. NinjagoGirl was leading the way in front followed by Ambc, Jb, and MasterOshawott. As they walked Ambc began to hear voices! He glanced ahead to see a large pile of boulders and what seemed to be the beginning of a canyon. As they approached a user came running out calling to NinjagoGirl.
"Hey NinjagoGirl what took you so long? Wait! Are those....other users!?"
"Yeah! Scorpio this is Ambc, MasterOshawott, and Jbswim. Guys, this is Scorpio." Ninjago replied.
"Cool. You guys should hurry and get back to camp, Trident will want to see this."
Scorpio ran ahead to alert the others while the other four walked towards the camp. When theey arrived they found a small group of users waiting for them. The group consited of Scorpio, NinjagoGirl, CJNFL1, NiaraGarmadon, LonghornFanIAm, and the leader Trident Legend. After introductions TL walked over to Ambc, MO, and Jb saying,
"Well it's dark out so we should be getting inside. There you can tell us everything you know about the Glitch."
"Wait, inside?" Ambc asked. TL motioned to a large bush and hidden behind it was a secret cave entrance.
Ambc followed the others into the cave. They walked down a steep entrance to a large "room" filled with supplies. Food, water, banhammers, flashlights, etc. Trident Legend was talking about their hideout as Ambc glanced at his surroundings.
"Yeah we've mainly been living here for the past few days or so. It's nice and big down here so we have plenty of space, and it's almost impossible to find. The combination of the bush in front, the cave entrance being so low, and the shadow caused by the canyon wall, makes it nearly invisible. The only reason we found it is because Scorpio fell in."
"Hey! It's not funny when it's you who takes the fall!" replied Scorpio.
"Well it was pretty funny in the moment. Even CJ smiled." TL replied as he took a seat in the room. "Ok, we need to make a plan...or at least a general idea on what we're up against. Can you three tell me everything you know about the Glitch?" Ambc and all the other users sat down and conversed about the different Glitch sightings. They talked about the "no eye contact rule", the army, his need for revenge, etc.
"What I can't figure out is how he could get ahead of us so quickly, it's like he was always one step ahead." Ambc questioned. The users tried to think of answers when a post appeared. They all stood in silence and looked at the jammered post. Jb stood up and walked over to it. When he clicked the jammer he was thrown back while a sentence flashed onto it reading "Jammers on! Trident Legend ONLY!"
"Uggh stupid jammer security!" Jb mumbled as he got up. TL looked stunned and opened the jammers reading it to himself before sharing the information with the group.
"We're not alone! There is a hidden base with the other remaining survivors! Cocodeville sent us the coordinates! Tomorrow we should pack up the supplies and head out. I think we should wait and get a good nights rest first."
While TL studied the post the others continued the conversation on the Glitch.
"At least there are other survivors. I'm still wondering about the Glitch though. If he's always one step ahead, that's bad news for us." Ambc stated
"Well I agree that he seems to always know our next move but what also worries me is the actual distance he traveled. To get that far ahead us he'd need to run at top speed throughout the entire night! Judging from the condition he was in when we escaped the Ninjago forum, he was is no shape to do that." MasterOshawott replied
CJNFL1 spoke up next. "Well what if he has more power than we know about? I mean, judging from the amount of physical capability's he already has, who know what else he could do."
"Are you suggesting that he just appeared?" Ambc asked, looking interested yet confused. I guess anything is possible but a portal possible of transporting people is purely theoretical. It's a good idea but it's kinda hard to believe he could just transport somewhere through a portal."
Trident Legend had been trying to tune out the conversation as he re-read the post, but his head shot up after Ambc finished his sentence.
"Forum Jumping." Trident Legend whispered as the others stopped their debate and looked towards him. "Grab the supplies! We're leaving NOW!"
The Glitch sat in his throne overlooking the Welcome to the Community forum, which his army had now turned into a full battle fortress. His throne room was small but it would have to do until he finished taking over the Message Boards. One side of the room had a large window, his throne faced this window so he could proudly look at all the destruction he had caused. Besides his throne and his guards the room was empty. As he sat there he heard a door directly behind him open. Natetheman7740 walked in and kneeled before the throne.
"You summoned me General?" Nate asked,
"Yes Commander, I need a status report."
Nate stood up, and began his report. "We have lone scouts surveying the entire MB's trying to find any remaining users. The army is preparing for an attack and is currently engineering and building more weapons."
"How long until you'll be ready for a full scale attack?"
"A week at the earliest sir"
"Not pleased with the time limit, but I do need it ASAP. Anything else?"
"Yes General. A report just came in that one of our scouts has located a group of users, we couldn't identify them all but we have confirmed that Ambc and MasterOshawott were present."
"These are the results I want to hear Commander! Since the army is not ready we'll need to make...special arrangements for this group. The Glitch paused and looked straight into the Commanders eyes as he said,
The group packed quickly, taking a single backpack which Longhorn offered to carry. Scorpio wanted to bring more supplies but Trident insisted that they carry a light load, saying that a heavy load would only slow them down. They bolted out of the cave, most of the group confused about what was going on. They had been traveling through the forest for miles non-stop, discussing the Glitch's assumed ability to "Forum Jump". According to Trident's coordinates they had about a mile left to go.
"I know this is random but did anyone else find it strange that the jammers just appeared? I mean, how would it get past moderation, the Glitch is probably patrolling it like a hawk?" asked NiaraGarmadon.
"That is pretty strange." replied CJ "It was sent by a mod, so maybe they can automatically bypass it?"
"I guess you're right, I just can't get over the thought that we could be walking right into a trap." said Niara
"Look guys, we need to have faith that we're not alone. Besides if the Glitch new where to send the post wouldn't he have already attacked." reasoned Trident. "It's just a little farther guys, we'll be there soo-"
His sentence was cut off by the sound of a distant howl. All the users stopped, chills running down their spines. As they listened they heard the sounds of bushes rustling and faint growling. As the sounds got louder and closer Trident yelled
MasterOshawott sprinted to the left followed by Longhorn and Niara. As she glanced behind her she saw the others running in various directions. She could hear something following them, but didn't see it anywhere. After a few seconds she heard the sounds coming from the bushes beside her. The foliage was to thick to see through, but whatever was chasing them was now getting closer. Suddenly two large hairy creatures leaped out in front of them. One ran towards Longhorn and Niara, the other heading straight towards her.
MasterOshawott screeched to a halt in front of the creature nearly running into it. In that few seconds she glanced at the beast. It looked like a huge wolf, bigger than any canine she had ever seen. It had dark shaggy fur, and worst of all, glowing blue eyes. The beast snarled and leaped forward, attempting to knock her down.
"Ninja Go!" She yelled, forming a spinjitzu tornado. Her spinjitzu threw the beast into a nearby tree, knocking it out cold. Seeing to beast unconscious, she looked back to see Longhorn and Niara fighting of the second creature with their banhammers. She watched the beast knock aside Longhorn and leap forward, tackling Niara.
"Ninja GO!!!" She yelled once again. Her icy tornado slammed into the beast, throwing it aside. Longhorn was now back on his feet. He ran towards the hound yelling
"Help Niara! I'll cover you!"
MasterOshawott sprinted towards Niara, who was lying on the ground clutching her left arm.
"Are you ok!?" MasterOshawott asked, kneeling down beside her.
"No, Oww. It bit my arm." Niara replied. MasterO looked at her arm, the cut itself wasn't bad, what scared her was the pixels spreading up the side of her arm. Her arm was now completely pixelated, the infection was spreading down her legs.
"It...it's alright. We're gonna get you out of this." Stuttered MasterO.
"No, there's no time. It's spreading, I can't move my legs." Niara said, the pixels now moving up her chest and back. She handed MO her banhammer and said "You....you have to ban me, before it's too late."
MasterO looked shocked "No! I..I can't do that to you!"
The infection now rising up her neck, she yelled "Ban me! Ban me NOW!"
MasterOshawott swung the hammer, tears in her eyes. She watched Niara become completely glitched, her eyes turning electric blue. At the last moment Niara's hand went up, stopping the hammer inches from her face.
The glitched Niara growled and hissed at MasterOshaowtt. MasterO tried ban her once again, but Niara had grown stronger. She ripped the banhammer out of MO's hands and kicked her, sending her flying backwards. MasterOshawott flew about 15 feet before hitting the ground. As she lay on the ground gasping for air, Longhorn ran over. He helped her up saying
"Brick, this is not good! We need a plan, fast!"
"Umm the foliage is so thick it's hard to see through, I could distract her while you sneak around?" Replied MasterOshawott
"If only it were that easy. Well we've got to hurry. So let's do it."
The two users split, MO running straight towards Niara, Longhorn fleeing. The glitched Niara swung with her banhammer, but MasterO easily dodged the attack. She continued to dodge the hammer, while attempting to keep Niara's back turned to the direction Longhorn would approach from. She watched Longhorn sneak out from behind a patch of trees, banhammer ready. As he swung the hammer Niara turned around, only to be knocked out by the Longhorn.
"It worked! If she's banned then shouldn't she disappear?" asked Longhorn
"I..I don't know, I've never banned someone before. We should go, the others might be in trouble." MasterOshwott replied. They grabbed the hammer Niara dropped and headed towards the Trident's coordinates.
They only had to walk about a quarter mile before arriving in the Classic Forum. Trident and most of the other users were waiting with them.
"Where are the others?" Longhorn asked.
"We thought they were with you. I hope they're OK-" his sentence was cut of by Ambc running towards them, carrying an unconscious Jb. There was a long, ugly cut running down the side of Ambc's face. Ambc set Jb down and collapsed on the ground.
"I know I don't look that good, but I'm still fashionably late." said Ambc "It looks like we're all here except...where's Niara?"
MasterOshawott attempted to avoid eye contact while Longhorn spoke up.
"She um, was glitched...and I had to ban her..."
There were a few moments of silence before Trident finally spoke.
"We lost a great user, but we need to move on. The base shouldn't be far." They all started walking past the Bionicle and LU sub-forums, no one said a word. MasterOshawott didn't know if the silence was caused by the depression or pure fear of what they were up against. After a few minutes they arrived in the back of the Classics Forum, a place few people went. It was mainly used as a giant juckyard for deleted forums. MasterOshawott watched the screen turn white and the new page load as she entered the subforum. They all stood there, having no clue at what they were looking for.
"I..I don't understand. It should be here..." Said Trident.
"Maybe Niara was right, what if it's a trap?" Asked CJ. As he spoke the sentence something moved in the piles of trash. The group looking around, ban hammers ready. They heard more movement until the door of a half buried fridge opened. When a user walked out, Ambc gasped. Ambc dropped Jb, smiling ear to ear.
"NGM!?" yelled Ambc as he ran forward. "You survived! Ummm, why are you in a..Refrigerator?" NinjagoGeekMan looked stunned to see his friend.
"Ambc! I never knew you were one of the other survivors! What the brick happened to your face!?"
"Oh uhhhh, it's kind of a long story. You still haven't answered me about the fridge..."
"Oh this is a disguised entrance to the bunker, why else would I just be standing in a fridge? Here you guys need to come in quickly, Cocodeville will want to see you."
The rest of the group was currently walking towards the two friends. Jb had finally come to and was limping along with the group. NinjagoGeekMan walked into the fridge, followed by Ambc. Ambc was surprised at how large it was inside. The shelves were replaced with a set of stairs leading to a hallway. The group walked down the stairs and through the hallway taking note of their surroundings. There were multiple exits back to the juskyard along with "windows" where guards could see through the trash, the halway had multiple guards in each area. As they walked NGM gave them a tour of the bunker.
"This bunker was built by the Mods in case something ever happened to the Boards, although it was always kept a secret. This is the main hallway throughout the base, you can get to almost every room from here. Each point in this hallway is heavily guarded so that nothing sneaks up on us."
They continued viewing the base as they began to pass multiple sets of doors. NGM continued with his tour.
"This first set of doors leads to the dorms. The one farther down is the Mess Hall, this is where all the meals are served. If you continue down you'll find the Tech Lab, the security Center, and of course the Command Center. You guys are probably exhausted, if you head down to the dorms there are some empty bunks. Breakfast is at 8:00, you can meet Coco there."
The group thanked NGM for the tour and headed to bed.
