Chapter 7: Platform Tag Part 1: Game Start

Platform Tag is a somewhat popular minigame in V-Net Apokalypse, it is a game which can be activated by anyone to play. It is one of the few original minigames made by the original company that created the base game. It's not a hard game as the rules are simple; Firstly, there is one Tagger and a minimum of 4 Tagged and the goal of the Tagger is to touch all the Tagged players within 5 minutes. And the Secondly, Items were not allowed, but skills, that do not harm other players directly, are. Thirdly, you cannot, at all circumstances harm your teammates.

But why am I explaining such a game you may ask... Well currently I am wearing the special gear used for such a game. Both Her0 and Me surrounded by 2 of the other Tagged players filled with the intent to kill us. Well it's a long story but it started like this...

•

When we arrived at Gamertown I asked around for directions to the next location I should go to to reach the V-01D but it was to no avail as I was still stuck as to where to go next, only to be led by a single cursor that pointed to the direction of the place I wanted to go towards.

"Auugghhh~ what do I do~" I moaned as I sat down on a park bench. Compared to the 2nd town we were just from a few days ago, Gamertown had some nice scenery with aesthetics from the multiple games that V-net has crossed over with over the years. But plastered all over the buildings and billboards were nothing but competitions or news about the leaked updates the game would recieve in the next month.

Suddenly from the distance I heard someone call out to me "MARLAA~!!! I found something!" Her0 enthusiastically said while running towards me and behind them was a young girl with an appearance I could only describe as Doll-like; From the style of her gothic lolita clothes to the color of her pale skin in the natural light of the park, she looked like an animated doll through and through. She introduced herself as Veronica and she spoke to us in a calm and royal way but described herself as being only a servant of a man of a high status in V-net itself, of course I was extremely excited to meet them and ask for directions to which she can guarantee they will give us, but there was a catch which they will explain in private at their home.

We got into a car and drove off to the private location, moving quickly past the trees and buildings of Gamertown and onto the outlands of it where the sun shone even brighter due to the clear skies and wide grassy fields. We soon reached the location which turned out to be a huge mansion with gold statues of treasures around the outside of the building, but inside was more impressive because the halls were decked in Rare, 5 star, gold weapons. Veronica explained that these weapons belonged to the master of the mansion all of which he won in games and competitions. After a long tour around the mansion, Veronica finally brought us to a dimly lit room which smelled of Coffee and Liquor and in the middle of it was a man with black, curly, hair wearing a golden coat above their purple undershirt. He welcomed us into his Parlor room, his voice sounded distorted as if he had a voice filter, I could barely hear his words much less read his lips, Her0 seems to be doing well though because they can hear him clearly.

The man Introduced himself as William Ashton and he offered to help us reach V-01D on one condition only, we merely had to play a simple game of Platform Tag and win a single game, Her0 explained to me the game and how it works but I still don't think I can win with the information given to me. William said that we had only one chance to win or lose and if we do lose he wasn't gonna direct us to the next city over so I agreed, his hands burned a bright Yellow on his purple gloves and he reached it out to me urging me to shake it to which I did.

•

We met our teammates later that night, each of them endearing to both me and Her0. First there was Jaden, she was here because Mr. Ashton promised that he'd point her to the direction of a store that sold Rare Dice Monsters for a minigame called "Dice Dungeons" in Neonyan City south of Gamertown. The second one was an eager boy about the same age as me named Diego but he pronounces it as "DaiGo" oddly enough, he was energetic and excited for the game tomorrow not much too different from Her0 also having scruffy hair, only he had scruffy bright Yellow hair. And finally there was Übel, she was introduced to us by Jaden who told us she was an old friend from when she started the game. Übel greeted us, her halfway shut eyes seemed to stare into our soul creeped me out, what unsettled me about her even more was her voice; It was deep, maternal, and somehow seething with malice that I couldn't shake the feeling of something being off about her but Her0 and Jaden trust Übel completely. Jaden told us of the stories of when her and Übel used to travel V-net in search of games but after a difference in path preferences they seperated, hoping to one day meet again and play, and it seems they'd have a good day tomorrow since the games will finally start. That night we slept like babies in warm, cozy, beds. I would have had a pleasant nighttime sleep if Her0 wasn't snoring as loudly, alas I have to sleep with them on the same bed.

I, after growing tired of looking at the cieling was finally falling asleep, I was looking forward to tomorrow so I checked the time before I do "11:43, I might wake up late but there's 4 other people here who'll wake me up." About 2 minutes after I turned off my User Interface I heard footsteps and a creaking noise following each other; from the corner of my eye I saw the hand touching the door, soft and delicate but had sharp nails, I couldn't recognize it since everyone else were wearing gloves when we met each other so I went to the door and as I was about to open it, from behind the door I heard two people with distorted voices talking

"Good evening Mister Sasser, I'd like to report my findings for today" the first voice said

"Proceed." The other person replied

The first voice then reported her findings but most importantly they weren't reporting normal stuff, the things they're saying sounded familiar and as I listened in some more I found out why; The voice was reporting about us, the participants in tomorrow's game of Platform Tag. Their report was detailed, first reporting about Übel, then Jaden, Diego, Her0, and I but most importantly it focused on our belongings and abilities. Someone spied on us and as much as I wanted to take a peek, I know that if whoever's behind this door, as soon as they see me, will subdue me; Thus I went back to our bed and forced myself to sleep as I heard another creak of the door.

•

The next day arrived and I couldn't shake the feeling off my back that someone was watching us from the beginning, as I looked over the mansion my focus turned more towards the weapons in the hallways these all looked so luxurious and powerful all hanging on a bright, golden, frames with dark purple bakground it draws your eyes to the shape of each weapon. There were names beside them but before I could read a single one Veronica stepped in to call me up

"Master Marla, I must inform you that the Platform Tag match is about to begin so I urge you to hurry with me to the preparation room and suit up immediately" She said in a voice that sounded cold and what seemed to be in a hurry. I still feel suspicious about everyone in this place but there is nothing I can do about it, I need that information from Mr. Ashton and what stands between Me and that, is a 5 minute long game.

We gathered inside the Parlor, all other attendants were already wearing the proper gear and mine was laying down on the table. I wore them and in came Mr. Ashton which reinstated the game's rules and regulations, He properly explained that there are other rules that he added in to spice up the game a bit and that we should find ourselves; With that fully explained, Mr. Ashton snapped his fingers and he faded into pixels just as we did and the next thing we knew we were teleported into the game field with Neon lights that illuminated the platforms and outlines of walls. It looked like a proper Tron-like setting. From the skies we all heard an announcer who stated the count down.

"3... 2... 1... BEGIN!" The announcer yelled and we each said our goodbyes, wishing each other good luck in the following game, Übel however seemed uninterested and was instead looking at her Interface. Diego, wanting to say good luck to all players, went and approached Übel to shake her hand. It was then that Übel smirked and activated 2 skills at the same time Bubble Barrier and Radiant Light. It trapped all of us in one space and indicated our Location, And then Übel spoke her first words of the game.

"Well would you look at the time, It's Death o' clock for you four" She said in a condescending tone

"Wha- Übel what is the meaning of this?!" Jaden yelled

"Oh please, don't tell me you people really didn't see a single strange thing throughout your time in Mr. Ahton's mansion?" Übel replied "The 5 star weapons in the hallways, ridiculously convenient promises, the Golden... Well everything, really? None of you?! Well at the very least I know one of you knows what's up"

She said so looking at me with her eyes that seemed to pierce my very being. Her eyes looked lifeless as if she was not a living being, almost like an animated puppet. She sat by and surprised us by suddenly opening her inventory where she pulled out her special weapon, a scythe called Apocalypse a 4 star purple weapon, it was taller than any of the other players in the game and for some reason it was emitting an ominous aura that made me want to barf at the sight alone.

The four of us were all startled because the rules prohibited the use of any items in Platform Tag, no matter if it's harmful or not and now this girl, Übel, stood in front of us with an ominous aura surrounding her and her massive scythe. The Bubble Barrier had a timer and in just about 30 seconds, it will dissipate and as soon as it drops we all knew that we would need to run away as quickly as possible since the Tagger is coming.

•

Übel making a saddened face said "Hey I know what you guys're thinking so I'll just say it now, It won't work. The Tagger is faster than any of you." none of us knew what she meant but in just about the same time she finished saying her sentence, from behind us the ground went BOOM soon a figure emerged from the fog, a familiar golden glow and a familiar voice accompanying it which scared us to our core.

"Hello players, I assume you know what's about to happen here soon enough" Mr. Ashton said as he emerged from the fog "Well done Übel, you may take a weapon from my abode after the game finishes"

"Thank you Mister Ashton" Übel replied but just as quickly Mr. Ashton said "Hmmm... No just call me by my preffered name. After all, none of them will be alive after I'm done with this experiment."

"Very well... Mister Sasser"

I wasn't as surprised, after all as soon I learned that Übel was the traitor, it's not hard to see that they are correlating with each other now that I know who this Sasser guy is; What did surprise me however, was the reaction of both Jaden and Diego to the name Sasser as their faces turned pale at the just mention of it. I look back at Her0 asking if he knew who Sasser was, they shrugged their shoulders and again looked on ahead as the Bubble Barrier slowly dissipated. As it fully dropped, I could just barely follow the events that unfolded before me; First Sasser went for Diego who readied his sword as Sasser approached, He grabbed him by his neck and opened up his skill window and activating a particularly odd skill which was highlighted in Golden letters.

"V-01DED VEERUS" He exclaimed as his hand become engulfed with the same glitchy ominous aura as Übel's Scythe. Diego's eyes filled with red which spread all over his face and slowly became consumed with the skill's aura which infected his body. Sasser dropped him to the ground and looked on as the poor boy coughed and puked on the ground, screaming from the pain in his stomach.

"AAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!" Diego screamed for the last time, gasping for air to continue to voice out the pain but unable to. His gasps grew shorter and his body grew weaker and he crawled towards me asking for help but before he touches me suddenly both of his eyes turned a from a bright, scarlet to a glitchy black void. 

"Hmmm... that was a bit loud wouldn't you say Diego, now... Rise" as he finished his sentence, Diego's limp, lifeless, body arose from the ground awkwardly, his bones cracked and his body's motions were irregular until it affixed itself and now Diego once more stood up. Sasser's sly smirk turned into a wide grin as he claims another successful experiment is completed, the V-01D abilities he'd been working on had worked, abilities that would kill a player just as well as the V-01D itself.

Her0, holding the disturbed Jaden yelled out to Sasser asking him what in the world he did to Diego. Sasser replied by saying

"Fret not young lads and lasses, because your time will soon come. All of you will become my most prized experiments in no time." and he continued "Übel. Infect Jaden and that white haired kid if you will"

Übel obliged and rushed in to attack Her0 and Jaden, Her0 thankfully was fast enough to dodge most of her attacks but Her0's reaction time fell short of Übel's speed. I planned to rush towards Her0's fight and help them but before I could stand up Diego's body had moved and drop kicked me towards a wall before dashing and kicking me into the air, slamming me upwards onto a platform. As I fell down I got a glimpse at Her0's fight.

Her0 was barely managing with dodging Übel's attacks because they were carrying Jaden. It didn't take long Before Her0 fell down and got cornered- BLAM from behind, Diego jumped and kicked me towards Her0's direction.

"*SIGH* at least I can finish it in one slash" Übel said as she approached the 3 of us. 

"Don't be so sure of that you traitor" Jaden said with a weak voice

"It's useless, stop resisting Mister Sasser's will and just fall over Jaden"

"NO! What happened to you Übel!? Just a few months ago you were as cheerful as Her0, and now you're standing before me, willing to chop me up to become a lifeless husk" Jaden snapped at Übel

"NO! YOU don't get it Jaden, you think this world is magical and wonderful because you can play live action board games! WELL IT'S NOT!!!" Übel retaliated "This world is terrifying, cruel, and just as hopeless as the world you wanted to escape from" Übel yelled in between tears "It will be easier to just follow the highest ranked people, at least that way your survival is guaranteed! Don't you see?! I'm living my best life with the protection of one of the SEVEN DEADLY VIRUSES"

"YOU'RE A FOOL ÜBEL! Surviving is not the same as Living!!!" Jaden screamed as loud as she could with all the breath she had left, but it was to no avail

Übel clutched her weapon and raised it up "SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!! GRRRRRRRAAAHH~!!!" She screamed as she, in a split of a second, slashed open Jaden's chest. The Red aura splattered all over the ground as Jaden's now lifeless body fell. Übel looked down at her once friend's face lying limp on the ground beside her feet; She fell to her knees as she held her friend's dead, cold, corpse in despair and to the skies she screamed her name

"JAAADEEENN!!!"