Fantasy Predicament (invite only)

[TheAdept]

Was I dreaming?


I had to be, this was all so surreal. And on top of that, these were all things I was somewhat familiar with. Not that I had ever been attacked by gian spiders in real life, of course, but they were common in movies and video games. Then there was Maniacles. Now...I was actually looking and talking with Joe and Tam. I didn't recognize Tam, as I never saw him before, but it really was Joe.


I paused, unsure how to respond to all this, especially being that this probably wasn't really happening anyway.


"You didn't recognize them, did you?" I asked Joe. Of course he didn't, I had never described their white power armor or their symbol.


"Those guys were Maniacles. Ring a bell now?"


I didn't want to continue with my explanation that Maniacles was probably a real mercenary company that didn't like what I had done with their name, petty as that was, and probably took these guys also for simple association.


"And yes, I am the one you know as App. We should probably put as much space between ourselves and those spiders and mercs as possible, and look for some fucking water." I said

 

[mmarage]

"...Say... what now...?" I blinked a few times and looked between the three... "That's... impossible. The Maniacles are fake, they bleed ink, their skin's paper... or well, I guess in our case, data... They're not flesh and blood... and... this is impossible too, I mean... this can't be a coincidence that we know each other. I bet the silent broody type with the fox and a bloody knife is... uh... Actually, not going to touch that one. Not with a fifty foot pole. Because I'm afraid he might actually stab me." I got up, turned around, and began walking. "Time's wasting, let's move it along, far, far away from the spiders and the fictional characters!" I took a quick glance at the guy with the fox. "And the possible homicidal maniac, everyone!"





If it were another person that I knew, it was probably someone that we talk to often... it couldn't have been Marc, they were completely different races, after all, plus, Marcus Moo always struck me to be the very outgoing type, not the... 'I'm going to slit your throats while you sleep' type. So... it had to be Jack, right? Possibly? Maybe... honestly, I just wanted to get going, the further away we were from those spiders and those lunatics that App claims to be Maniacles, the better... though, we probably won't last long, we don't know where the nearest form of civilization was, and we were out in the middle of the desert. It was likely we were all going to die. But... there was still some hope of rescue or just stumbling upon civilization.

 

[TheAdept]

I looked at the knife one guy was carrying. It reminded me of the hunting knife I had back at home. If only I had it with me right now.


Why couldn't I have a weapon if he gets one. Granted, he had it because he had the balls to stab the merc in the eye with it and take it.


It had just now occurred to me to look at what I was wearing, in case I looked suspicious.


I had on my Denver Broncos shirt, and the same jeans I was wearing last I remembered. I quickly checked my pockets, not really thinking much about it. My hands sunk into the denim pockets, and one pulled out my wallet, and the other one, my cell phone. The dumb asses didn't even take our stuff. From now on, I was going to carry my hunting knife with me at all times, in case these same people were to kidnap me again.


"Guys...I still got my cell phone. Maybe I can make a call and see about getting us help."


I checked. There was no call signal. 4G network was out also.


Thinking that maybe it was worth a shot, or perhaps falling to my internet addiction, even in this of all situations, I checked for wifi networks.


Only one came up, but it was full signal, and didn't look protected by a password. The name was "NGHMR Network." Strange.


I went onto Google, and looked on the maps to see where we were. The map was zoomed to show my exact location...


Only a bit away from


Paradiso. Paradiso, Nevada.


I dropped my phone and began to puke.

 

[Xeno Otter]

I glanced up at the sound of vomit spilling from a throat and glanced behind me.


"Dude, you okay?"


I knelt next to him, and picked up his cell, frowning.


"Nevada. We're in fucking Nevada."


Placing it back down, I moved to the side to kick the sand into the air in a rage.


"FUCKING Nevada."


My hand wound up between my teeth as I bit hard.

 

[TheAdept]

But Tam didn't truly understand just how bad this was.


Years ago, when I first got into RP I wanted to create a city where all were welcome (as in, all supernatural monsters) and violent, unusual crimes (such as unexplained brain explosions) were commonplace. Gang violence was big in most parts of this mega city, and it sort of covered up any unusual fighting (vampires vs mages vs zombies being one example).


And even if that wasn't the hellish city we were probably going to head to, just what had I done? Created a city based on something real, just like with those mercenaries?


I stopped vomiting, and snatched my cell phone from Tam. I tried to zoom out, or move the map so that I could see what else was around, but to no avail. The map would zoom in, but wouldn't zoom past the point I could see Paradiso. And it wouldn't move at all.


"Alright, guys...I know, uh, where we are headed." I said with no confidence, real or faked.


Suddenly a jeep drove up, and a hippie looking dude leaned out the window.


"You guys need a ride?"

 

[mmarage]

I didn't know why he was puking, nor why they were both afraid, or angry, or whatever negative emotion that they were feeling toward Nevada. Frankly, I couldn't care less once some hippy drove up. "...Uh... this seems like a bad idea, but it's either this or die of dehydration sooo... yeah, we definitely need a ride, to the nearest town there is."

 

[Zetsuko]

I picked up my knife and stood up. holding the fox with one arm as it looked at the others curiously. I walked up next to Joe, intending to go with him if he was taking a ride, though i just couldn't bring myself to say anything...

 

[TheAdept]

I shrugged


"Sounds great." I said, trying to sound happy and grateful. I found myself feeling nervous, suddenly, about the guy holding the knife and the fox. Was he going to stab one of us at some point?


"Were headed to Paradise Park in Paradiso up here. Its on the outskirts of the city. That cool with you guys? Can I drop you off there?" He said, as we all climbed into the jeep.


"Sure. Works for me." I knew the place. I had, after all, made it up. Despite the city being in a desert, there were some nice parks with lush trees and green grass in and around the city. Not to mention, little violence happened in such places in the RPs I made and the ideas I had, so it would likely be a safe place to plan our next move. And surely there were some water fountains there.

 

[mmarage]

I looked at the mute and looked at the bloody knife. "Shotgun!" I quickly got into the passenger seat, I honestly did not want to sit next to him. No matter how cute that little fox was... "Paradiso... I've never heard of that, but of course, my geographic knowledge isn't the best..."

 

[TheAdept]

Despite my denial, and lying to myself that everything would be okay and work out, everything was coming together. We truly were headed for a city I made up in my head. A city full of gangsters and monsters not to mention corruption. I made it as ridiculously dangerous as possible to make any RP I did in this city interesting.


And Joe here had no idea, let alone Tam or this knife wielding psycho, which, considering his love of foxes, I was assuming was who we knew as Jackel.


"Guys.." I started, as some buildings came into view very far off "When we get to the park, you need to do what I tell you and trust only who I tell you. I know this city better than any of you." Maybe I sounded crazy. Maybe this Paradiso, and the one I RPd in, were entirely different. They might laugh if I told them all the details. They would tell me there are no vampires, there is no magic, and corporate corruption didn't lead to a zombie virus in the real world. We all saw giant spiders, though. And everything I was seeing was exactly how I envisioned it, except for the spiders. Not sure what was up with that.

 

[Zetsuko]

I heard app from where i was in the back of the jeep, and after what he said i felt like I should've mentioned what me having this fox meant, that he might not be the only one whos mind is affecting the world, but still talking to them online was one thing, suddenly meeting them like this was another. i still couldn't really bring myself to talk to them, instead i stayed quiet in the back and hugged the fox for comfort.

 

[TheAdept]

I quickly thanked the guys as we were let off at the park. There were benches, water fountains, some bathrooms, a sidewalk leading around the park in a circle and some thick trees between the park and the city.


It was exactly how I envisioned it. I was ready to wake up any time.


"Alright, guys. I don't know what the fucks going on, but I've been here before. I mean, its familiar." I just now noticed I was beginning to sweat from all the heat.


"So, this is a dangerous place. Best place to ask to use a phone is...well...just don't go to the police. And we shouldn't venture much into the city."

 

[Xeno Otter]

"We need food, water, and other supplies," I pointed out, arms folded. "And a place to stay. Unless this park has a campground, we're gonna have to go to a hotel or a shelter. And if it does have a campground, we're probably gonna need a tent."


I glanced around the park, noting the various odds and ends.


"And this doesn't look like that kind of park."

 

[mmarage]

I sighed quietly as we got out of the vehicle and then listened to App. "...App, just because you don't trust the police does not mean that they're all a bunch of assholes. Excuse me while I go contact the police and try and get us back to our respective homes before the nutjobs in the power armor or giant spiders come and find us." I crossed my arms. "Besides, I thought you lived in some shithole place full of tweakers or whatever other bullshit you complain about, I don't see how you'd know this place that well." I turned around and began looking around for a nearby police station, I didn't have my phone on me, I never really did unless I was going out.

 

[TheAdept]

I stood there silent, contemplating for a moment if I wanted to tell Joe what I was thinking. He would think I was crazy if I did.


I could let him walk off and find a phone. He would need luck. There was nobody else but us at the park, so no borrowing anyone's cell phone.


I took out my phone to try again, but this time it was off, and wouldn't turn on. I got frustrated.


"Joe! Goddamnit! Can you trust me on this one?" I said, running up to him "Tell me, how would you explain Maniacles capturing us like that? They weren't just some terrorist group either. They had power armor. The US military doesn't even have it. I don't know what the fucks going on, but telling the cops, even if we could trust them, is a bad idea."

 

[mmarage]

"I don't know... a crazy group that stumbled on one of your roleplays? A crazy doomsday apocalypse cult that played too much Fallout? A crazy bunch of cosplayers? We don't know if that stuff was actually real and functioning." I looked to the side, it was hard to deny, especially when one adds the spiders into the equation. There were only a handful of explanations that I could come up with at the moment that might just manage to barely explain what was going on. "How would it be a bad idea if we talk to the cops? They contact our respective hometown's police departments, run joint investigations into what the hell happened and who that group was, and then 'boom', we're all on our way home." I crossed my arms.

 

[TheAdept]

"Joe, you don't know..." I started, afraid of looking crazy, but ignoring it and going ahead "Do you really think a cult of Fallout cosplayers stumbled upon our tiny roleplay, barely noticeable on the vast internet and captured us? Would those kinds of crazy fuckers have access to those military rifles? And you heard the footsteps and saw the shine on that armor, it seemed pretty damn real to me. Something it going on..."


I paused, not planning to stop my explanation, but thinking of how to word it "I thought up Maniacles, even that symbol. I only mentioned it like once or twice. They got everything perfect. The armor, the symbol, all exactly as I envisioned it in my head. Tell me how thats possible? And then I look on my phone and see the nearest city is Paradiso, Nevada. Joe, I even looked 'Paradiso, Nevada' up on Google Maps once. This place doesn't exist, apparently. I looked it up because I created it. I made it up when I wanted to do a roleplay about a city full of corporate corruption. Order breaks down at one point." I backed away. I must have sounded like I was losing it. "I know how it sounds, but this cant all be coincidence. Maniacles in that bunker, Paradiso, Nevada. By the way, this city is where the Maniacles HQ is, or would be. I just...dont just run right in. We should at least be more careful than just walking up to the nearest place that could have a phone."

 

[mmarage]

I stayed silent for a little while. "...Alright, either your crazy, full of it, you won the lottery, tracked us all down, and went through with this whole ruse in order to fuck with us, or you're actually telling the truth." I sighed deeply and in resignation. "I can't believe I'm entertaining this but... fine, App, what do we do? It is your world after all." I crossed my arms.

 

[TheAdept]

I looked at Joe with his arms crossed "Man, whats with you and crossing your arms. Every time you get annoyed, or your character in an rp gets annoyed, is" I crossed my arms, but made a feminine stance with my legs and leaning back.


"First, we got to see what state the city is in." I gestured them to follow and began walking through the woods, not wanting to make too much noise. I even stopped a couple times to listen if there was danger nearby, but it wasn't a long walk, and we made it out the other side onto a neighborhood street. Peaceful enough, but nobody around.


But then, gunshot noises, and smoke rising from somewhere nearby. I backed up back into the woods and crouched behind a tree.


"Just wait" I said in a hushed voice to Joe.

 

[mmarage]

I shot him an icy glare, squeezing my arms hard enough to dig what little nails I had into them. For a few moments, I imagined punching him in the face, or smashing his face in with something, then kicking him in the balls and then simply walking away as he was doubled over in pain. Buuuuuuut, I knew it wouldn't be a wise idea, nor would it be worth it. "Asshole." I muttered.


I followed him in silence, still silently steaming over what he had said, and then stopped. I was tempted to shout at him to be a prick, but with gunshots and smoke nearby, it wouldn't be wise to draw potential assailants.

 

[TheAdept]

I shot Joe an evil glare when he called me an asshole. I decided I was being a bit ridiculous, though, and decided to start walking, with my head down, in the direction of the smoke. These were tallish apartment buildings and town houses, so not everything in the neighborhood was visible from where we came out of the woods. When we got to the area the smoke was coming from, we found no burning house, but an armored vehicle which was smoking.


My first thought would have been to get away as quick as possible because of the possibility the car would blow, but thats not was I was afraid of. I was afraid of the fact that the vehicle had the Maniacles symbol on it...and what looked like two suits of armor, most likely holding the corpses of mercs, laying around near it.


"See that, Joe? See why we gotta be careful?" I asked, shaking at the unfamiliarity and potential danger of the situation. "Lets get the fuck out of here. Go somewhere else." I said, as I began walking with my head still down away from the scene and around the corner. I couldn't shake the eerie feeling we were being watched, however. More terrifying was I knew who probably was.