“So you’re RX? Some of the Staff Members were wondering where you might’ve gone,” said the Simple Machine Sentry. He, RX and his fellow troopers were now on a truck on the way to the refugee campsite.
“One has a tendency to forget that Pokecharms isn’t the only city around here,” RX replied with his usual cheerful tone. “Although I can feel the pain everyone might’ve felt after losing this much. Me and a couple of regulars were hanging out over at Chat. Safest haven in ‘Charms, though making the effort to get there can be apparently daunting for a lot of ‘em.”
“Oh, that’s right.” One of the troopers shuffled through his supply pack and soon produced a small, circular device from its contents. It resembled a compact mirror, but had the classic Pokecharms Shamrock logo on it. “We’re giving this out to all the refugees we can find. It allows you to connect to the network and keep track of one another. Just enter your pass code and it should register you in no time.” He then handed the device over to RX, who hastily opened it and began typing a string of code into it. A short tune played out marking his successful integration into the network.
“Oh, good. Got my Staff status back. This should make things a little easier now.” RX said. With a brief hand gesture, RX discovered he now had access to the holographic interface. Using it, he browsed through his inbox, then the message boards for any announcements. He started scrolling down through the messages, trying to find any bit of information that could get him up to speed.
“Let’s see here. Reports are pretty chaotic, just flooding in here like crazy; but I think I can get the gist of this mess.” Taking a pair of earphones from the Comm device, he placed them in his ear and then played an audio report. The voice was oh too familiar, and RX smiled knowing that Sem was alright. Before he could thank the soldiers, the vehicle’s dashboard started beeping incessantly. A radio device was flashing violently, signalling one of the soldiers to take it and listen to its transmissions. A brief moment later, he turned to the sentry speaking to RX.
“Sir, we’ve just got word that several monsters are now attacking the camp sites. Some of the citizens have engaged combat with them,” reported one of the troopers.
“What?! But that’s-“
“Crazy?” RX finished the trooper’s sentence. He then raised his left arm, covered in a cast from his earlier encounter with the same monstrosities. “Yeah, we get that a lot. Although you might want to get whatever squad you have stationed at the camps to rally the Charmsians together. Based on experience, some of those critters are pretty tough.” The Moderator was worried for the forum members. Many of them were a super-powered lot. But he knew based on how he himself acted that they were all eager to show their power, to prove themselves, and probably to avenge the grave losses they had suffered only recently. If a single monster nearly cost him his arm, then a whole slew of them attacking wasn’t going to be pretty.
“Speaking of which,” RX turned to the back of the vehicle. It was sealed off for good reason, and from within it, a low rumbling could be heard. “Denzel seems to be awfully quiet back there.” He was referring to the strange creature he had encountered subsequently and captured earlier that day. Ignoring the same bit of logic that usually prevents people from naming dangerous beasts ‘Denzel,’ RX also decided to take it back with him to ‘Charms. The report of these strange monstrosities apparently being remnants of the forums’ last provider only served to provide him with a somewhat logical, if not convenient reason for keeping it.
“It’s a good thing I decided to bring it with us after all. If we can figure out what exactly it is, it might provide us with a more efficient way of fighting them,” RX concluded happily. The troopers, however remained skeptical.
“Sir, I don’t think a live specimen is necessary if you’re looking to find a weakness. Besides, we already know what it is; it’s some kind of bioweapon from the previous server,” a sentry responded. The squad looked at one another, and then at RX, who remained ecstatic about his decision. He looked back at the soldier as though to say ‘it isn’t that simple;’ and for RX, it usually never is.
“Don’t you think this whole affair is kind of...odd?” RX asked him. The soldier wasn’t sure what he meant, and could not respond. The other squad members started turning their heads over to RX, somehow interested in what he had to say.
“Well, first rumors pop up that someone tried decimating Charms with a missile;” as he noted this, he brought up the reports. “Soon after, the apparent Remnants of the last server start appearing, and they seem to be targeting Pokecharms users,” he continued, now playing Sem’s audio file regarding his first encounter with the beasts.
“As you are well aware, there was a brief time of peace between these two events. You managed to take this time to supply us with resources, gather the survivors and gradually rebuild our former home. What I wonder is why that happened,” RX continued to explain. The entire vehicle seemed to be hanging on his every word, and he greatly enjoyed building up all this suspense.
“If I wanted to take Pokecharms off the map, I wouldn’t use sloppy contingencies like releasing a horde of monsters on its users. I had the power to take them out, I could very well use the same power a second time if they decided to crawl back. But instead, we get...this.” the Charmsian then tapped on the back of the truck, but Denzel only continued to growl and grumble quietly.
“So, what are you saying exactly? That there’s another reason why Pokecharms is still around and being attacked right now?” asked one of RX’s audience.
“That...or that these beasts are coming from a different source.” RX concluded with a mischievous grin. The troopers looked at one another silently, unable to respond to that.
“Weelll, that’s my guess anyway,” the Charmsian quickly added. “And that’s why Denzel being alive is so convenient. His behaviour should help us determine just what exactly is going on with these monsters.”
“Sir, I don’t suppose you’d care to get yourself another live specimen, would you?” the driver suddenly asked. RX looked at him, then noticed that he was pointing at something in front of them. That was when he saw it. A huge herd of the creatures were parading down the road. There were several variations of the creatures, each bigger, and tougher-looking than the last. Much like his first encounter with them, RX could notice a sort of dust cloud forming as they were marching forward; marching towards Pokecharms. The radio device on the truck’s dashboard suddenly began beeping violently, but the squad of troopers seemed too awestruck to respond to it. Meanwhile, RX quickly brought up the keyboard from his interface, and started typing a message as swiftly as he could.
EMERGENCY!
A LARGE HERD OF MONSTERS HEADING FOR POKECHARMS VIA THE MAIN ROAD.
“Darn it, how long ‘till those things get to the campsite?”
“A-about 30 minutes at the rate they’re moving.”
ESTIMATED TO ARRIVE MAIN CAMPSITE IN 30 MINUTES.
Listing all the names he could find that were online, RX quickly pressed the ‘Send’ button. He briefly considered that his message might be mistaken for an invitation to a throwdown with the beasts. Please, whatever they decide to do, he thought to himself. Please don’t let them get hurt.
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