Carnival - A LitRPG Apocalypse

“So nothing like this happened on Grehnuk?” John asked as he paced back and forth in Vic’s apartment at the Academy. Vic and Ryn were out at classes so they had the space to themselves. Bar a floating Bob drone and probably a bunch of Greg’s dead friends.

“No John. The first we knew of the invasion was the black ships falling from the skies.” Jintak cocked his head to one side, making John think of magpies rather than ravens, and let out a quiet squawk, his equivalent of a sigh. “I cannot rule out that we were subjected to advanced elements as well. It was hundreds of years before my birth and the chaos that followed the Advent and the Cataclysm... You must understand John, there are very few accurate records of the early years of the invasion. Our society collapsed before and after the void arrived.”

“Ok. So this could be something new or it might have been how it happened on your world as well.” John stopped pacing and spun to the drone. “We need to wake Raoul up and get him to activate his power then we’re going to deal with the South American line. If the void is already here we need to stop pissing about.”

“Agreed. The council will be split but it should break out in our favour if we can land a decisive win. Easier to get forgiveness than permission. Waking Raoul up though is… tricky.”

“Forgive me gentleman. I will excuse myself if there is nothing further?” asked Jintak. John shook his head. “Then I will return to my classes. Feel free to call on me should you wish me to assist in your plans.”

“Thanks Jintak. Sorry to drag you away from work.”

“Not a problem John. This is a worrying development. I will be upping the pace of my training.” The birdman nodded to them and marched smartly out of the room.

“Does he seem weirdly happy about this?” asked John.

“He only got to fight the leftovers from the invasion on Grehnuk. He’s a battle junky so… yeah. He’s weirdly happy at the chance to face the early phases,” buzzed the drone. “I don’t want to risk waking up Raoul. If he doesn’t trigger his ability it could be dangerous.”

“If I was a betting man -which I’m not- but if I was I’d put good Essence on you having a remote control on the gizmo you made for him.”

The drone bobbed up and down for a moment. “Like I did with your prosthetics and implants? Calm down! I’m kidding!” said the drone as John bristled. “I didn’t, in either case. He absorbed the gear anyway with his class one thingimajig. It’s out of my hands. We can force him awake but it will stress his body. His currently very much normal human body, I feel the need to point out.” John grimaced and flung himself into a chair.

“Sam would need to sign off. Or his brother. Ask Sam. Lay it out clearly. We could really use him but it’s her call as next of kin. Meanwhile, we need to get the band back together.”

“Are we on a mission from god?” asked the drone.

“Yeah. The old testament one, not the nice cuddly one. I’ll get the gang together. Meet in Raoul’s hangar in five minutes?”

“Sure John. I’m already there. There’s a Sam here as well and she is not happy about the idea of jump starting the titan.”

John appeared next to his comatose friend and was immediately jabbed in the chest with a very angry finger attached to an even more angry woman.

“I’m happy to join this merry band on yet another stupid adventure but let the big guy rest!” Sam snapped. John backed away and raised his hands. A distraction was required. Zeeg, Sam the Younger, Vic and Reg appeared around them.

“Fecking Sassenach wanker! How are you all?” said Reg as he began shaking hands and pulling Sam into a fierce hug. As Sam attempted to politely extricate herself from Reg’s foul mouthed affection John brought in Evie. He turned to John and scowled. “Ye finally got bored bootlicking for the council, boy?” he demanded before stepping forward to shake John’s hand. “Been a while, lad. Are ye keeping well?”

“I’m fine thanks Reg. How’s the fishing?”

“Pah. Too many younglings now who can keep the big fishies off us. Idiots keep trying to kill the damn things which just causes a feeding frenzy and then who has to step in and sort it out? I fecking do. Young people! No bloody offence.” Reg had somewhat mellowed over the years.

“So you’ve finally decided to take the gloves off?” asked Evie with a raised eyebrow.

“I can’t do it alone. It’ll take all of us. Probably some of the other Sigs as well,” said John. “The first thing is Raoul.” He raised both hands as Sam bristled. “We won’t need him for what I’ve got in mind but we will for what comes after. The Caliphate and the Raj are clearly preparing for war. So are the Imperium and the Reich.”

“So what?” demanded Flash. “The other Sigs will all come together if they do.”

“Bob?” asked John.

“Not this time kid,” said the B-1000 to Flash. “The way they’re moving troops and materiel… it’s pretty clear what’s coming. The council is in deadlock. All the ‘independent’ Sigs are taking their old factions' sides, which is surprising no one. If something doesn’t happen the Accords will fracture.”

“Is that such a bad thing?” asked a basso voice from the door to Raoul's treatment room. Greg walked in and nodded to his former team mates. “Wayfaire has been stung. Hardly a mortal wound but the damage is not insignificant. Thus far nothing has been done to rectify the situation.”

“What can the council do? Don’t get me wrong, I can’t stand the pricks at the best of times -present company excepted-” Evie nodded to her dad who was a council member, “But those pricks just want tomorrow to be like today. They’re not really the hopey-changey types,” she concluded with a shrug.

“They could have dedicated resources to investigating this Goodman character. They could have pushed back when the factions started gearing up for war. They could have offered more than thoughts and prayers to Wayfaire,” Greg growled. “We are in a precarious position. We are the gateway to the world and no one is currently willing to risk the portals but the Inheritors are moving on Ascension and the Beastfolk. Something must be done or the delicate threads tying us together will snap and plunge the whole globe into chaos. If the Wall or the Lines fall we won’t be first on the chopping block but we will suffer eventually.”

“We should begin clearing North Africa,” said Zeeg decisively.

“Is that because there’s cat monsters there?” asked Flash.

“Your fathers ilk is part of the consideration but geography is the major factor. Should Egypt and the near East fall into chaos all non portal trade and movement will vanish across much of Eurasia.” Zeeg sat down and leaned back against Evie who obligingly rubbed behind her ears.

“The portals aren’t going anywhere yet. Look, aside from Gemini’s team we’re the strongest people we know of,” John began only to be interrupted.

“Uh, we’re stronger than them now,” Raoul said groggily from behind them. “I’m somehow level forty two now? We were bowling right?”

Sam rushed over to him and whispered fiercely for a moment then rushed away, shooing the rest of them in front of her by extending her arms with hard light batons held to each side.

A moment later there was a rumble and a grunt as the bed Raoul had been lying in collapsed beneath his body as it grew out to his full size. For a few seconds he was a hundred metres long from top to toes before he shrank down to a more manageable three metres tall. He pulled himself from the pancake that had been some rather expensive medical equipment and smiled down at them.

“So who do I need to punch to put this right?” he asked as his armour coalesced around him.

“I’m thinking we need to punch lots of ants. And break the whole ‘no weapons of mass destruction’ rule a couple of times. I’m thinking we nuke the ants from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure,” said John, grinning up at his friend.

“Fucking A,” said Evie. “You all better now, big dude?”

“My ability has fixed most of it.” Within the shadows cast by his helm a scarred visage of bubbled flesh could still be seen. “I’m not pretty anymore but I’m well enough to stomp some ants at any rate.”

“Zeeg, I want you on the Doom Egg problem. You have their scent now. You should be able to cover most of the UK in a couple of days. Any more of those things we find get the big rocks, right?” asked John.

“If they’re only level ten it might be worth taking one captive for study if we can. I’ve sent samples to Pete from the parasites and he’s eager to get a piece of the original creature. The Egg was just the physical manifestation of a pocket dimension. If it had time to grow to fruition the parasites would have been a lot stronger and we’d have had to destroy a much bigger chunk of the highlands to contain them,” said Bob.

“So finding any of those in the UK is your top job pooper. None of us have the skills needed to hunt them down. You find them and we’ll kill them.”

“Very well, father. But if you need me to scout a nest don’t hesitate to call on me. Please keep me apprised of any further developments.” Zeeg leapt straight up and vanished into the roof of the cavern.

“I was going to say the plan wasn’t to go into any nests. We’re just going to pour lava down them and create really interesting statues if anyone can be bothered to clear out the dirt around them. We aren’t going to play fair and we aren’t going to leave monsters for the lowbies to grind. There’s always going to be monsters for the kids to level up against but if we can secure the threats and wipe out the tribulations causing them… I think we should. Thoughts?” John asked, sounding almost nervous at the end.

“The ants are a good choice to start. The SA factions are only hanging on due to aid from the Sigs and other players. Same goes for North Africa. The US Lines and the Wall are going to be big problems. The Yanks don’t like anyone interfering on their turf and the Wall is basically the only thing keeping the Raj, Khanate and Caliphate from going for each other,” offered Vic.

“The Africa and South America Lines are your best options,” said Greg. “Once you demonstrate that those monsters can be dealt with there will be a natural pressure on the US and East Asian factions from the ground up. Why should they not live free from such infestations, the common people will ask.”

“Starfall will be with us. Belisarius probably won’t but he’s one tinker. Breaker will be with us as well. The rest will probably do whatever their factions want them to, I'm afraid,” said Vic sadly. “None of us really gave up our loyalties when we Signed.”

“Does that mean Wayfaire can count on you in the event the Accords fall apart?” asked Greg solemnly.

“It won’t come to that,” said Raoul. “Momentum. The Accords have a lot of momentum. John can abuse his power if he has to.”

“What do you mean?” asked John with narrowed eyes.

“Well, anyone who pisses off the ghost botherer-” Raoul waved at the emaciated and skeletal form of Greg, “-Can have their portals closed and new portals setup for their enemies. It’s like arm wrestling-”

“You’ve only been awake two minutes and already you’re talking about arm wrestling? Cough up guys! I had the shortest time!” said Evie happily. She began accepting the Essence she had won in bets from Flash and Reg.

“I mean it’s all about leverage, kid,” laughed Raoul. “Whatever else is going on we’ve got the strongest force and the biggest lever.”

“Is that why Sam stayed with you all these years?” smirked Evie in reply. “I agree you’re a giant tool but Ryan was higher level than us. Someone out there has a lot of Essence they can give away.”

“Not a chance whoever he is has that much again,” said Bob. “He’d need to… I can’t even think! Maybe have stopped levelling at twenty and then spent the last fifteen years constantly fighting just outside an ant nest or something? And not dying in the process! There’s nowhere on Earth I can think of where someone could wrack up that much Essence on their own. He must have an organisation. And when there’s more than one person keeping a secret it doesn’t stay a secret for long.”

“Maybe. They can’t be using the bob-net though or you’d already know, right?” asked John.

“There’s not much online that I’m not privy to but someone has been screwing with my drones. They might be messing with me in other ways.”