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Prepare yourself for Chapter 031 :O

031​

Misty held her gun at Libre, her arm shaking in shock.
“Drop it, Libre. Please.”
But he didn’t move. He didn’t go for his PKM, he didn’t look at the stolen phone - he just stared at her, motionless.
“Why, Libre?” she asked him. “Why?”
The others were waking up and coming to, and they started to surround them. She saw the horror on their faces when they saw what was going on.
“This is a joke, right?” Mish asked, trembling.
“Is that mine!?” Cin cried, realizing his phone wasn't next to him. “Why would you do this to us?”
“You can’t blame me!” Libre shouted, his face red. “This tracker thing’s ****ed - broken! What are we gonna do, huh? Let Cin win? What do you think will happen if he has it? We should throw it over the cliff! No one should have it! No one!”
Misty waited for him to calm down a bit.
“We had a plan, Libre. There’s something on that tracker that’s more than just our avatars. More than this game itself. We want to use it - all of us - to figure this game out for real.”
“W-w… what?” Libre stammered. For the first time, he looked at Cin’s phone. Misty watched him and wondered if he’d see what she was talking about. On that phone was Roxas’s avatar. And if he noticed it, he’d know what they were up to. That was the real prize. That’s why Cin had gathered them here.
“Wait,” Libre whispered. “I do see something - yes! Right here!”
“It’s him, isn’t it?” Misty asked. She was sure he’d calm down now.
“Well, not just him. Three of them,” Libre said. “And they’re almost here.”
Cin gasped.
“Three of him…?” Misty was confused.
“Give me that,” Cin said. “Give me it!”
“Oh, no, Cin,” Libre grinned, pivoting and pointing his PKM at Cin. “You’re going to have to tear it off me!”
Misty cocked her gun. “Drop it, Libre!”
“It’s too late,” he said. “They’re here.”
A gunshot went off, and the hair on Misty’s arms prickled as the bullet sizzled past. She wasn’t sure who was being aimed at, but it seemed like no one had been hit.
Thud.
Until she heard the noise. Misty turned to see Inasuma on his knees, a stream of crimson running down his face and chin from a hole in his forehead. His lifeless body fell forward and collapsed in the moonlit grass. She could have watched as the puddle of blood formed beneath him, but her grievances were cut short by the sound of a manic battle cry.
“Brown dogs! Attaaack!”
Misty turned to see three men run out from the abandoned pharmacy that was several meters away. She fired a shot in their direction but the bullet went wildly out of range. Still, they ducked, and she used the opportunity to launch herself into the nearby tall grass.
When she finally stopped rolling, she looked for Libre. ****, she realized. He’s ****ing gone. Perhaps Cin was chasing him. Either way, he wasn’t her problem now. They’d been caught off guard by the brown team - and no less, if she’d had Cin’s tracker she would have seen them before they arrived!
But there was no time to learn from tactical mistakes now. She crouched and looked out to see Cia firing off her uzi as Amaury and Risk charged, taking cover behind the various debris left in the city ruins. Bullets bounced off car doors and light poles, leaving holes in the brick buildings that lined the road. Kitty was behind Cia, firing with Boris’s rifle while they transported Boris backward to a safer location.
“Untie me!” he was screaming, but the girls weren’t intent on listening. They dragged him along as they provided themselves cover. Misty fired a shot at Risk, who ducked behind an old newspaper stand before he was hit. The extra time allowed them to round the corner behind the last building where the old vending machine was and throw Boris onto the bench.
Misty saw someone running out of the corner of her eye. Sara had taken off from behind the crate and was running toward Boris in the wide open. Amaury popped up and fired a shot, but Misty returned one herself and the brown dog ducked back down.
What are you thinking? Misty groaned to herself. Yet Sara had covered most of the ground needed to reach her husband. She was going to make it.
But wait - where was the third man? Misty glanced around. She swore three men had attacked from the pharmacy, yet only Risk and Amaury appeared to be firing off shots. So where was this other person - and what was their weapon?
“Sara! Nooooooo!”
Boris’s scream echoed through the ruins and Misty turned to see him try to run for her, stumbling on the rope around his ankles. Darkandroid rose from the tall grass in Sara’s path with something strapped around his back. She ran on, completely unaware of him as he pulled the trigger of the flamethrower he’d stolen from No Reality. The hose in his hands roared as the fire was pushed from it like a jet, and Misty closed her eyes as Sara’s body went up in flames. Her final scream vanished in the frenzy of the fire as she turned to ash.
Gunshots went off in all directions, but Darkandroid had already disappeared into the grass. Misty knew he was in the brush somewhere - and if he found her, she was toast.
“Misty! Get over here!”
She looked left. C and Cin were hiding behind the red team's crate. She could probably make it if she was lucky. There’s no way Risk and Amaury wouldn’t unleash hell on her when she appeared in the open. But Darkandroid was nearby, and if he found her, she was a goner then, too.
Oh, **** this. I’ll die either way, so might as well die trying.
“Cover me!” she screamed at C and Cin; she had no clue if they even had weapons. She fired a shot just to be safe and tore out of the tall grass, running toward them.
Pop! Pow!
She could feel the bullets whizz by, hoping none had grazed her. A glance to the right revealed that Risk and Amaury were both firing away. Her pistol in her left hand, she held up the gun and took a hail mary shot. Amaury popped up at exactly the wrong time and the bullet went right into his open mouth and out the back of his head. Vomit and blood gargled out of the hole as his body disappeared behind the cover he’d taken.
A bit of luck, a bit of skill. An equal share of both, maybe.
Risk must have been in shock, because that was the last of the gunshots from the brown dogs. But Misty knew Darkandroid was still out there - and what would he do now? Come for them at the crate, or go for someone else?
Mish! Kitty! Cia! Misty realized. She turned to see the girls with Boris, pointing their weapons frantically.
“Leave Boris and run!” she screamed. The place they’d dragged him was right next to the tall grass. “RUN!”
The girls turned to see where all the noise was coming from, and as they did, Darkandroid popped up from the grass and unleashed the flamethrower.

17 players remaining

Chapter 030 is HOT off the presses!!!

030​

There were five green monkeys when they’d first met, but now only one guarded their home base beneath the open sky. Green smoke bubbled toward the stars until it dissipated in the wind, leaving green traces across the moon. Orion’s Belt was almost gone, and Tamale figured the sun would soon be rising. He hadn’t looked at his phone in a few hours, for he knew Sara wouldn’t be coming back for a while.
What was he even doing here, anyway? After he’d returned with the yellow giraffes’ flag, he’d collapsed in anguish. If only there was some way he could erase what he’d just seen - both Rosey and Hissora’s deaths.
The one on his hands stung the most. What would his friends at home be thinking? His family? He was a murderer, no doubt, and the whole world had seen him do it. No amount of money could ever change that.
A mansion on a plain, miles from civilization. Or a cabin in the wilderness where no one can find me. A place like that’s my only chance at happiness now…
Even though he’d walked out of the woods, past the abandoned shops and down to the ocean’s water to wash Hissora’s blood off him, he still saw red patches of her stuck to his skin. She'd never wash off - not truly.
He turned the shotgun toward his face and wondered if this moment was being broadcast right now. What would chat say if he did it? Tamale didn’t care. There was nothing worth fighting for anymore. Not after the things he’d seen and done.
It was difficult to hold the gaudy shotgun in place as he tried to wrap his mouth around the end and put his finger on the trigger at the same time. How did Cobain manage? His hands were sweaty and he fumbled the shotgun. Dammit. He was only making it more intense for the viewers at home, he imagined. But it wasn’t going to stop him. Not now. He’d done his part and brought a flag home, but his time was done. Sara and the rest of the green monkeys could carry on knowing they’d won the game because of he and Rosey’s sacrifices.
Tamale picked the shotgun up and placed it in his mouth. This time, he kicked off his shoe and put his toe on the trigger. He thumbed the safety latch, ready to open it.
There was someone back home he thought of as he readied his toe. She was probably watching now, wondering if he’d do it. Tamale looked up at the branches and trunks and hoped his eyes would sweep a camera and look directly into hers one last time. I love you, he thought, imagining her. He wanted it to be the last thing he ever saw. His thumb flicked the latch and he closed his eyes.
“Tale, no!”
Startled, he dropped the shotgun. Lauriam and Trigger ran out of the shadows, screaming his name. He scrabbled to grab the shotgun and pointed it at them as they entered the clearing where the crate had fallen.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Relax, dude. It’s me,” Lauriam said. Her switchblade was open regardless. They eyed each others’ weapons.
“Put that down for me, Trigger,” Tamale said, pointing at the man’s gun. He needed to be in control of the situation if they were at his team’s crate, after all.
“There’s two of us and only one of you,” Trigger answered. “I think you should be the one putting that down.”
“No can do, kiddo. If you want to talk at my crate, then you need to follow my rules.”
Trigger looked at Lauriam. She just shrugged.
“Fine,” Trigger said. “I’m dropping it slowly.” He bent down and put the gun on the ground.
I could blow them both to pieces, Tamale realized. Two less players. I’m a killer already, right!? Why not spare another couple victims from this cruel game before I move on myself?
Tamale cackled.
“A-are you okay?” Lauriam asked.
“What happened to you, Tama?” Trigger followed. “We saw you, you know? You were about to…”
“I know!” Tamale said. He wanted to cry. “I… I deserve it... I’m a murderer!”
There was an uncomfortable silence.
“We’ve all done things we regret during the game,” Lauriam said softly. “We all have things that haunt us.”
“I didn’t have to kill her, but… it was the only way I could guarantee that flag.” Tamale looked at the dried blood that still stuck to his skin. Lauriam and Trigger saw it too, but when he noticed, they tried to pretend they were looking at something else. “It’s fine. I deserve to be reminded.”
“You were just defending yourself,” Trigger said. “If it hasn’t happened to us yet, it will. And if we don't defend ourselves when it does, well - we'll die. So… don’t think about it.”
It was true. If he hadn’t taken out Hissora, it might be her who was fighting this inner battle over him. When two players meet, someone lives and someone dies. That was the way of the game.
“And what if I kill you both now?” Tamale asked. “You came for a flag each, didn’t you? You're here to make me do this, no?”
“W-well,” Lauriam stammered. She glanced at Trigger. “Yeah. No point in lying. Why else would we be here?”
“You can take this one,” Tamale said. He pulled the yellow giraffes’ flag out of his pocket and threw it on the ground in front of them.
“So the explosions at the volcano were you?” Trigger asked.
Tamale nodded. “Leave us green monkeys alone,” he told them. “Take that brown flag. It should guarantee you’ll make it to the next round, if you still have all your flags back home.”
“We do, or, we should,” Trigger corrected. “So the yellow flag would make six.”
“And that would leave me with five,” Tamale said. “And the yellow giraffes with four. We should all be safe.”
They all stood in silence as they pondered the idea.
“Okay,” Lauriam said. “I’m okay with this, but on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“Come with us, Tale. We’re heading north.”
“North?” Tamale asked, confused.
“To the city ruins,” explained Trigger. “That’s where the rest of our team went.”
“That’s where the rest of my team went!” Tamale shouted. “Then why are we all standing here?”
“Good point,” Lauriam said. “So are you coming with? It’s our one condition, or we’re gonna have to take a flag from your crate, too.”
“Oh, shut up,” Tamale grinned. He was glad to be around company - his mind was distracted again. "I'm coming. Trigger, pick up your weapon. Just put that switchblade away for me, Lauriam."
Lauriam laughed and put her blade away.
“It’s almost five in the morning,” Trigger said. “If we move now, we can get there before sunrise. It's safest now, right?"
"Yeah," Tamale said, renewed. "Let's make our move."
“Then follow me, you two,” Lauriam said, map in hand. “I know the way.”

20 players remaining

• Bloody hell, thank god there are subtitles when Jaq talks.
• Now that the Disney storylines are ending, this is getting awesome. End of Castle of Dreams really felt right.
• I’m gonna try to get through these worlds as fast as I can, I really want to get EXP Walker out of the way.
• Bruisers are death as Aqua. Slow is the only way around them when you’re this weak (level 2).
• The more I play as Aqua, the more I hear the awkwardness in her vocal performance. Half the words seem confused.
• I love the axe in Prince Phillip’s cell. Like are they gonna chop his head off in a Disney game or something?
• Aqua has a really complicated relationship with mirrors.
• There’s a lot of romance in Aqua’s story for someone who doesn’t seem to be romantically into either of her friends.
• Finally at Radiant Garden. Where my Mandrakes at?
• On Crit there’s a breaking point where you go from utterly useless to completely broken. I melded Second Chance, Once More and Leaf Bracer at the same time and it was a small boost to say the least.
• So Aqua met Mickey 15 minutes ago yet doesn’t mention it to Minnie? Why?
• Then she’s surprised that Ven and Terra were there, even though Ven just gave them all the passes at the same time? Someone was sleeping when they wrote this.
• Wait, it seems like she might have some kind of feelings for Terra. I must have been blind as **** to not have keyed into this before.
  
• I’m right before the Vanitas fight in Neverland. Have a couple Mine Squares ready to make this fight cake.

BOOM! Chapter 029 just dropped and that's the noise it made

029​

Libre’s eyes blinked open. He’d been dreaming of home, his wife, and his kids. They weren’t too far away if he looked east… well, he hoped, at least. It’s like they’d all collectively assumed they were off the coast of California somewhere because that’s where Roxas had gathered them all. The scary reality of the situation was that none of them knew where they were. Who knows how long they’d been gassed? He could have flown them halfway around the world - some sick, remote island where rich people hunt poor people or something. He only hoped his kids weren’t watching. His wife wouldn’t be able to resist.
It was early in the morning, before sunrise. This was when he'd planned to make his move.
Libre watched Misty nervously circling the crate. He hoped she wouldn’t notice him; he’d take her out if he had to.
But first, he had someone else he needed to take care of. Everyone was asleep - except Deathspank, whose hands and feet had been tied. He was sitting up against the wall, mumbling to himself.
Libre walked softly over to him.
“Hey, buddy. You up?”
“Yeah,” Deathspank answered. “I can’t fall back to sleep like this.”
“I noticed. Here, let me help you get more comfortable.”
“Really? Thanks, man.”
Deathspank shuffled himself away from the wall.
“This will all be sorted in the morning,” Libre told him. “Once they figure out what they’re going to do with Boris, they’ll let you go. This has nothing to do with you.”
“I figured,” Deathspank sighed. “I was kind of hoping you guys would capture me, anyway. I didn’t want to hang out with Boris anymore.”
“Don’t blame you,” Libre chuckled. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out half of the duffel bag his weapon and food had come in. He’d cut the thing in half after the others had passed out. “He seems like a total dick.”
“I guess. He’s not that bad a guy, but I’d rather be with the people I enjoy talking to.”
“Like me, Deathspank?” Libre put his hands on the rope on Deathspank’s wrists.
“Yeah,” Deathspank laughed. “Exac-”
His courteous speech was cut short as Libre pulled the duffel bag over Deathspank’s head. He heard him screaming out from beneath the fabric but it came out as muffled howling. No one woke, even as Deathspank’s body twisted and turned, his feet thrashing inside the rope. Libre’s biceps flexed as he held down Deathspank’s giant frame. But with his hands and feet tied, the forum’s creator stood no chance. Eventually the kicking ceased and his body fell limp onto the grass. Libre pulled the bag off and saw Deathspank’s face had turned purple and his eyes bulged in their sockets.
He turned from the frightful scene and glanced around one more time. Other than Misty, no one else seemed to threaten his plan. He could ignore them for now.
There was a patch of tall grass next to the crate that Libre began to crawl for. He knew he might alert Misty if he moved too fast, so it was best to stay low. She couldn’t hear or notice him, or she’d start asking questions - and he didn’t have answers.
The PKM was thrown over his back as a last resort. Pulling that trigger meant waking everyone in the area. It would be a bloodbath.
You just need one thing. One little device.
He crawled through the tall grass and peeked through the last blades between him and the band of friends Cin had thrown together. A small campfire had burned out between them. Inasuma was sleeping nearest to him, arms crossed under his t-shirt, his head resting on top. Mish, C and Sara were sleeping on their duffel bags on the other side of the fire pit. Between them was Cin, which meant he’d have to crawl past Inasuma if he wanted his prize.
And that’s assuming Cin has the tracker, he thought. I ****ing pray he does.
There wasn’t any time to waste. He had no idea when they’d wake.
Go!
He shuffled out of the grass. Misty faced the other way, looking at her phone while walking around. Libre crouched and ran to where the others were sleeping.
When he arrived, he heard Inasuma’s head moving on top of his shirt. Libre stopped moving so fast the PKM swung round and jabbed him in the chest.
“Ah-” He slammed his hand down on his mouth. Inasuma let out a loud snore, but that was it. Libre held his breath for a moment, waiting for something to happen. When nothing did he decided to crawl toward Cin.
This is going well. He thought of his wife. She was probably watching now. What was she thinking? What was he thinking? Ignore the cameras, everything!
He passed Inasuma without occurrence and had reached his prey. Cin was curled up on the grass with his duffel bag laid on top of him as a makeshift blanket. His breaths were steady and he seemed to be amidst a deep, peaceful sleep. Libre glanced about the campfire to check Cin’s proximity to the others. Was the duffel bag over the head too risky? And Cin wasn’t tied up and defenseless like Deathspank had been. No… he just needed to take the tracker and run.
It was on the ground next to Cin’s head. Libre stepped closer and bent over him. The PKM swung back and forth and its shadow crossed Cin’s face. He reached out to grab the phone and picked it up. Cin let out a small breath, but otherwise showed no acknowledgement of Libre’s presence.
Holy **** - I have it!
Libre pulled back swiftly. He glanced at Mish, C, Sara, Inasuma, and then back to the team member he’d just betrayed. I’m sorry, red birds. It’s time for me to fly away.
The tall grass wasn’t far. As soon as he was there, he would disappear to the other side of the island and never be seen again. With this tracker he could hide until the last players were left for him to pick off with his PKM.
Doo-doo-dah!
Libre stumbled when the trumpets played. Cin and the others around the campfire began to open their eyes and stir.
“Player number four - Deathspank - has left the game.”
“Deathspank?” It was Inasuma, the first to fully awaken. “Did she say Deathspank!?”
Libre cocked his PKM and pointed it at Inasuma.
“Stay back!” he screamed. “Don’t move, or I’ll ****ing kill you!”
Inasuma screamed and put his hands up. “Libre!? What’s going on?”
Libre turned to run. This was his chance - make it through the grass, back into the jungle, and he was free!
But when he turned, a gun was pointed at his face.
“Drop the phone, Libre,” Misty said. “And the gun, too.”
Libre gulped.

20 players remaining

LMFAOOOO

You've waited patiently, but it's finally ready - chapter 028 is here!

028​

Trigger lay on his back on the top of a sand dune, staring at the stars. He wished the sky would part and Mufasa would walk out with some decent advice on getting out of this situation. An air of doom had been suffocating him since the game had begun. On an island where you could hear every gunshot and a chibi voice actor announced every death, a depressive panic seemed allowed.
Lauriam was sleeping on the left, her pink hair listing in the breeze that came in off the water. When the wind picked up, sand would lift from the dunes and scatter in its direction, eventually settling somewhere else. Trigger had watched this happen again and again, and was now intimate with the process of the dunes’ creation.
It would be silent if not for the hiss of the canister that blew blue smoke into the air hours after the crate had dropped. The sun was still up when Misty, Kitty and Inasuma had set off to meet Mish. That’s when Misty and Trigger had exchanged location data, and he and Lauriam had begun to take shifts guarding the crate.
He wasn’t ticked off, but it was a shame their teammates had abandoned them so quickly. Misty had a plan, and it wasn’t his prerogative to start an argument in such a delicate situation. As far as he was concerned, he’d made the right decision; it wasn’t long after his team had left that he’d heard the first gunshots. All the action seemed to be going on to the north and the east, at the volcano. Thankfully - at least so far - no one had shown up on the blue team’s turf to try and steal a flag. That made things a little easier.
A scorpion skittered across the sand, and Trigger watched its tail disappear over the edge of the dune. It felt wrong to see something so innocent and unaware in a situation so dire. If only he could scuttle away himself. His mind wandered back to his childhood, as if rejecting the entire scenario unfolding before him. All those video games he’d played. The friends he’d made. Things were so lighthearted then - so peaceful. Growing up was more than just leaving that behind. It was processing the dark world you were incapable of understanding when you were young.
People all over the world are watching this ****. He put his hands behind his head. What the **** is wrong with them? Put yourself in our shoes, idiots…
But, what would he be doing if he wasn’t here? If he’d never opened that letter and gotten on that plane? Would he be watching the game, too? Watching his friends get massacred? Adding to the viewer count, the ad revenue, the hysteria?
I guess it would be easy to get caught up in this, he smirked.
He glanced at his phone screen. It was nearly four in the morning. Misty’s avatar had yet to move, and thus, the signal had yet to be given.
“I must meet Mish,” Misty had explained the night before. “I need two of you to come with me. The others will watch the crate.”
“I don’t like this,” Trigger had argued. “We shouldn’t split up.”
“Share your location with me, and watch my every move,” Misty rebutted. “When I start walking in circles and you see my avatar moving around like that, it’ll be my signal.”
“A signal for what?” Lauriam had asked.
“To move on the green team’s crate.”
So when are we going to get that signal?
Nothing had happened yet. Misty was probably sleeping. At four-fifteen, he’d wake Lauriam so she could take over watch. In the distance, he saw green smoke illuminated in the moon’s light. There hadn’t been gunshots or explosions in hours now. Maybe everyone had realized how ****ed they were and escaped into their dreams. Maybe they were all awake and advancing on the blue crate right now. Trigger had no clue, but if they were anything like him, they'd be resting, too. Each crate emitted a colorful plume of smoke and he imagined others were nestled in to defend, dozing at the bases of those smoke pillars.
His eyes started to close. He’d been up for four hours now, and he’d hardly slept when it was Lauriam’s turn to watch, anyway. He wondered how she’d passed out so easily with everything going on. He’d stirred and woken in a sweat more than once, and eventually decided to only rest his eyes by the end of it. It felt like he hadn't had a proper night's sleep in days.
Things went black. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but when he opened his eyes, Lauriam was up.
“You drifted off, Trigger,” she said.
“I-I’m sorry. What time is it?”
“4:10.”
“Thank goodness. It’s only been a few minutes.”
“I’m glad I woke up, then,” Lauriam said. “You might have missed this.”
Trigger grabbed his phone. Misty’s avatar was moving.
“A circle?” he asked.
“She hasn’t completed a full one yet, but it looks like that’s the shape she’s making,” Lauriam said. They both sat and watched as Misty’s avatar finished its first rotation. She kept walking as if to make another circle.
“This is good enough for me,” Trigger said. “So we head there?” The two of them looked at the green smoke to the southeast.
Lauriam already had her switchblade in hand. “I’m not sure why we’re abandoning our crate, but I trust Misty.”
“Come on, then,” Trigger beckoned. He stood and held his hand out. “We’ll go together.”
Lauriam nodded and let Trigger pull her up.
“You loaded?” she asked.
Trigger pulled out his Colt Magnum. The chamber was full.
“Yeah,” he said. “Locked and loaded.” He pulled back the gun and an empty shell dropped into the sand. Trigger looked back toward the crate. It would be left defenseless for a moment, but it’s a moment they had waited a long time for. Whatever information Misty had, they had to trust her. Back on the phone’s GPS, Misty completed another circle.
“That’s our cue,” he said, and began to walk down the dune.
“With haste, Trigger,” Lauriam laughed, running ahead. “It’ll be an hour before we get there otherwise!”

21 players remaining

• I spent a bit of time grinding back in Terra's file to get a taste of the endgame. But now I’m back playing Ven and just got Exp Walker. Always makes this game a breeze, even on Critical.
• Tbh I did die to Master Eraqus with Terra, so I must not be the KH master I think I am. I forgot to equip Cure because I was grinding commands (this happened a lot to be fair) and couldn’t take him out before I died lol.
• I wish we knew this trio a bit more before the game kicked off. I would have accomplished this in two ways. We see Ventus’s room, so we should also be able to go there. By extension we’d see more of the LoD this way and connect with their home more. I’d also have each Journal actually have writings from the individual characters in it. We should get inside their heads a bit more. Also for the love of god make things in the environment interactable lol.
  
• I love how different Ven and Terra’s storylines are and that they each see different parts of each world.
• Ven’s story is super tragic and satisfying. I mean so was Terra’s. I’m starting Aqua now.
• You're so weak at the beginning of Crit, it's almost a joke. I can see why people never play this difficulty. But tbh, once you get to around level 4 it starts turning in your favor.

Chapter 027 just dropped y'all

027​

Sara stepped back from Boris. Her husband’s request was insane. Cin was surrounded by his teammates and best friends from the forum. This ragtag group was armed to the nines. Aelin had a Springfield XD, but Sara couldn’t just ask her for it. She had her katana strapped to her back, but what use was that? It’s a suicide mission right now.
“I think Cin wanted to talk to you,” Kitty reminded her. Sara nodded. She glanced at Boris once more as if to say ‘I’ll try.’
“Wait,” called C. “There’s something I need to tell Cin.”
“Really?” asked Sara. She looked at Kitty for approval.
“You’re good, C. Follow Sara.”
They left Boris and Aelin behind and made their way toward the crate at the end of the city ruins. The enormous red spotlight disappeared into the night sky as it got too high for its light to pierce any longer. Beyond that were a million stars. She listened to the waves crash against rocks at the bottom of the cliff. There, Cin, Mish, Misty and Inasuma were talking hurriedly.
“Hey, all,” Sara said, waving. They turned her way.
“She’s here,” Misty smiled. “Finally.”
“This looks like a staff reunion,” Sara grinned. “Is that why you invited me?”
“I wish,” Cin chuckled, but his face revealed something grave. “I really do wish.”
“Well?” asked Sara. “You didn't invite Boris?”
“Your husband attacked us,” Mish explained. “I won’t blame him. It’s all part of the game. But, no. He won’t be joining us.”
“You aren’t going to kill him, are you?”
“We don’t plan on it,” Mish replied. “For now.”
“There are bigger things that concern us,” Cin told her. “First, I should give you some context. I received a tracker as my random weapon. Obviously, you’ve shared location data with Boris and you know how it works. Now imagine having everyone’s location data. That’s basically what I got from my duffel bag.”
Cin held up his phone, and Sara saw what he was talking about. Gathered at the top of the island were their avatars. She could see Tamale’s avatar moving back toward their base in the south, and on the western coast, Lauriam and Trigger were hanging out by their team’s crate.
“Aren’t you lucky,” she muttered. This is what Boris wants, she realized. And I see why.
Yes, the two of them could surely take the game down if they had this on them.
“Do you notice anything odd?”
“Odd?”
“Yes, Sara. Look near your team. And tell me what you see there.”
Sara looked at the bottom of the map where the beach and abandoned town were. So distracted by her own team’s avatars in the woods a short ways up, she’d failed to notice the avatar on the southern part of the island. It stared back at her from the place the underground dormitory where they stayed was. It wasn’t moving. It was Roxas.
“Roxas?” she gasped.
“Yeah, it’s him. We think,” Cin gestured.
“You think? As in, this could be some ruse?”
“I mean, we don’t know,” Misty said. “We’ve been deliberating this whole time. But we want you with us, Sara. You knew Roxas so well. And if we’re going to track him down and find him, then we need your help.”
“You were the only one who seemed to keep the man in line,” Inasuma said. “The only one he cared to listen to.”
“But most importantly, we’re all his friends,” Cin said. “When he sees us together, what’s he going to do? Continue the game? Kill us all?”
“Wait,” Sara said, astonished. “You want me to help you? I… I didn’t think that’s what this was about.”
Well, ****, she grimaced internally.
“We do,” Cin replied. “I’ve been tracking Roxas, too.”
“Tracking? He moves?”
“Indeed. I watched him traverse the island during the first challenge; from F-10 where we began, to F-6 and then to G-4.”
Sara glanced at her own map to figure out where she was herself. “He wasn’t far from here, then,” she noted. “But… then what happened?”
“After I completed the challenge, we woke up underground. As soon as I got back into the game, I turned my tracker on. But…” Cin rubbed the back of his head. “He hasn’t left the dormitory this time. I don’t know. I still don’t know what this means. Is it fake? Real? Why would Roxas be on this in the first place?”
“Hmm,” Sara mumbled. “Right..."
“Everybody?”
Sara turned. It was C.
“I found this when I… killed Evil,” he said, holding up a phone. “I don’t know what he did, or how, but check it out.”
He passed Sara the phone. It only had one avatar on it - Roxas.
“It was like this when I found it,” C explained. “I know Evil was a hacker and all, so, he must have done it to his own GPS.”
“Damn. He would have been a real asset if he hadn’t gone crazy,” Cin sighed. “But this helps to confirm something, C. This is probably real. And Roxas, for whatever reason, can be tracked on our phones.”
“And how is he getting around?” Sara asked. “You don’t think he was just traipsing through the woods while we all picked each other off, do you?”
“No,” Cin answered. “But I have my theories. Something underground is my best bet. A tunnel.”
“I like this idea,” Misty continued. “Something about that dormitory felt hollow and off… like it was a part of something bigger, something larger, and we were just placed in that one random room because it was convenient.”
“Exactly,” Cin nodded. “And why would there be just one, single underground bunker? Now a network of tunnels under the island - that seems more likely.”
Sara was gobsmacked.
“I’ll help you,” she said. “I want to see Roxas, too. And whether we convince him to stop this all, or we kill him… or he all kills us… it’ll be a better ending to all of this than a pointless death.”
“You can’t tell Boris,” Mish said. “Promise?”
“I… well…” Sara paused. “Sure. Promise.” This felt wrong.
“Regardless,” Cin said. “We need to rest up. We’ve only just figured all this out. Let’s rest, then revisit the plan later. Forget capture the flag. We’re a new team, now. A team with a different mission.”
Sara looked back at Boris. He was being circled by Kitty and Aelin. I’m not sure I can kill Cin babe. This is too big. Bigger than the game.
“Cin, you need sleep,” Misty said. “Let us take the first watch.”
Sara wondered how late it was - probably nearing eleven at night.
“Sara?” It was Inasuma. He pushed his glasses up his nose. “We need to watch Boris, but you can sleep near him if you’d like.”
She looked back. Boris was laying on the ground now.
“I’ll sleep with you all tonight,” she said. “Tell Boris… you need to keep me away from him. Make it up for me.”
“Will do,” Inasuma said, walking off.
I’m not turning my back on you, Boris. Just… waiting until you can be convinced to join me.
She wasn’t sure how to get his mind off the money, but she’d find a way. She had a reason to keep playing now - not just for the survival of her family, but to help save her friends - and, if they were lucky - find a way off the island.

21 players remaining

I remember that. I'll admit there's something kind of off about her as well, but there's more emotion to her delivery and her lines aren't as cringey. My biggest issue with Terra was how monotone and unaffected he was. And whenever there was emotion in his voice, it didn't match what was on screen. I also think localization could have trimmed a few lines to give him a more "human" read. His script is robotic, which puts the VA in a hard place. I still enjoyed his story overall but the quality and depth of the acting between Terra and Ventus is insane.

• I’ve been rolling through worlds - just reached Deep Space. Doing as much as I can toward the plat as I go, too, mainly getting everything at the Arena done.
• Second Chance + Once More achieved thanks to a lucky Chaos Crystal.
• This game could really do with more interactables. There are hardly any NPCs, and none of the cool things they put on the maps have any lore or backstory attached to them, either.
• 5 Lucky Strikes apparently means every enemy drops an item.
• The crocodile that scares Hook’s tail swings with the ticking of the clock.
• Wtf is this Chaos Ripper Keyblade? It’s got 10 Strength LOL…
• I’m close to having all abilities for Terra now. Always nice to get that out of the way.
• At the end of the Keyblade Graveyard. I’m gonna finish grinding out the abilities, then do a bunch of Arena stuff before the final boss. I figure I’ll have to do it anyway, so let’s enjoy this for a bit more before it’s Ten time.
• Get Bonuses being tied to the Arena is awesome. You never know what you’re gonna get.
• Can’t seem to unlock anything more to do in the Arena, so it’s time to finish off the first of the three stories in Birth by Sleep.
• I’m glad to be done with Terra now, he’s my least favorite of the three to play as.
• First storyline is predictable, but okay. I think BbS as a whole starts to get going more with Ventus and Aqua. Terra’s story almost serves as a prologue to the real action to come.
• This whole bit reminded me I never went back and beat KH2 for the extended secret vid after doing everything. Going to do that before Ven.
• There are so many more NPC’s in Ven’s story, wow. I’m really coming around on the world design, too. Still wish there was more to interact with but the maps are really good.

The plot thickens with Chapter 026, out now

026​

Boris was pinned between a bunch of people who seemed pissed off to see him. Yeah, this really sucks. How’d I get into this situation…
An explosion rocked the ground and Misty pivoted to the east. Boris gulped. That was where his team’s crate was located, and that’s where he’d also buried the landmines.
His tactics seemed airtight - but no, his partner had been bludgeoned and he had six guns pointed at him by players from two different teams. This was more than a strategic misstep. It was a complete **** up.
The tense air was broken by an announcement on the island's loudspeakers.
“Player number fourteen - Rosey - has left the game.”
That’s a good sign. The landmines must have worked.
“Player number twenty - Hissora - has left the game.”
Boris felt his heart drop, but he didn’t show it on his face. The people surrounding him had no idea who was on his team beside Deathspank. If he played it cool, he’d keep them guessing. His captors didn’t intend to shoot him and he assumed they were also okay to wait for Sara’s arrival. Was this all some kind of trap? Or something else he’d yet to see?
Don’t even think about it. It’s not like you can ****ing do anything, anyway.
No - he’d have to wait for Sara to arrive. It was his best shot.
“The green team is taking their sweet ass time,” Cin said, watching his tracker. “Let’s take better cover. Mish, Inasuma, Misty; follow me toward the crate. Libre, Cia, Kitty; take Boris and Deathspank behind that building and keep an eye on them. I know no one else is coming, but it’s still foolish to stand in the middle of the road like this.”
They all nodded and did what Cin said. Boris was led by Cia and Libre behind the building where they’d jumped out and ambushed Deathspank. There was a small patch of grass for them to sit on and farther north a cliff gave way to the ocean. The moon’s reflection rippled in the waves so many miles away. A wooden bench sat at the base of the building, set next to an old vending machine overgrown with vines. They lay Deathspank there, propping his head on one of their duffel bags. Boris glanced at the vending machine. The Cokes only cost 5 cents. Where the hell are we? The thought shook him - he was so caught up in the game, he hadn’t stopped to take in his surroundings.
“Keep moving.”
He turned and saw Kitty, holding his own rifle in her hands. A massive axe was slung across her back. Better not mess with her. Better not mess with anyone.
He’d have to be smarter. Abandoning his teammates had gotten Hissora killed and himself captured. And now here he was, surrounded and useless.
“Sit right there.”
Boris sat quickly, not trying to engage. Kitty and Libre had him under the gun while Cia tended to Deathspank. He saw Cin and the others gathered behind the building on the other side of the road, discussing something. That damn tracker. It’s ridiculous. Boris spat. He’d thought the rifle was insane, but how good were other peoples’ weapons? Even now he stared down the barrel of a PKM, and an uzi was being casually wielded a few meters away. He was utterly ****ed.
“That tracker’s ridiculous, isn’t it?” he asked. “And all I got was a rifle.”
“Shut up,” Kitty said. “You can’t talk right now.”
It was silent, but only for a moment.
“He’s right though, isn’t he? It is kind of dumb,” Libre chuckled. “Have you ever read the original Battle Royale? The guy who had the tracker in that one made it pretty close to the end, and he didn’t even have a weapon. That's all you need to get through the Royale while the rest of us pick each other off.”
“Would be nice to have, wouldn’t it?” Boris muttered. “Lucky git.”
Kitty rocked the rifle. “Shut it. We all got our random weapons, and that’s the game. Deal with it.”
“Funny,” Boris laughed mockingly. “That you’d say that while holding my weapon. If ‘that’s the game,’ then give it back to me.”
Kitty stared at Boris, then set his rifle on the ground. She pulled the axe off her back, its blade gleaming in the waxing gibbous. With intimidating ease, she placed it a centimeter from Boris’s neck. He said nothing.
“I have no problem using my own weapon, too,” she said. “I just don’t think I can guarantee a clean kill with this one.”
“W-what’s going on?”
Over on the bench, Deathspank was stirring. Cia stood and grabbed the uzi with both hands, pointing it at him. He lifted his head and looked about, confused.
“You’re under arrest!” Cia said. “Just kidding. You are technically a prisoner-of-war, though.”
“A POW?” Deathspank asked no one in particular. It looked like he couldn’t see straight. “Mommy?”
Boris sighed. The man was about as useless as he was.
“I’m just saying,” Libre continued. “What do we do once this game is over and Cin’s back on his own? We can never win without that tracker.”
“Stop talking about the damn tracker,” Kitty said. “What are you saying - you’re gonna go over there and take it from him?”
Libre didn’t respond.
There was a whistle from the other side of the road. Mish had her weapon ready.
“I’ll be back,” Kitty told them. She walked to the edge of the building.
Sara and the others, he realized. They must be close.
“This is terrible,” Boris began. “We can never beat that tracker.”
“Right,” Libre nodded. “How do we win against someone who can track our every move?”
“If we could get rid of it, this game would be a lot more fun,” Boris suggested. “But what do I know? I’m just a prisoner…”
“Fun? Like, easier?”
“Well, think about it,” Boris whispered. “What do you think he’s gonna do when this challenge is over, huh? When we go back to flying solo? You think Cin’s gonna meet back up with his old friends from the capture the flag days and help them out?”
“N-no, I guess not.”
“And do you think he’s interested in using that thing for the greater good, when there’s so much money on the line? Yeah, right…”
“I’ve been thinking that this whole time, thinking I’m crazy. But I need that tracker.” Libre looked toward Cin.
Boris grinned, but only for a moment. Kitty was walking back to ruin the fun.
“Boris,” she called. “Get up. You’ve got a visitor.”
He stood with his hands behind his head. She beckoned him with the end of the gun.
Are they here?
He was led around the building and brought out to the street. There, underneath the traffic lights, stood his wife, Sara. She was with C and Aelin, both of them armed.
Cin approached him. “Boris,” he said. “Thank you for leading Sara to me. I need to speak with her about something. Of course, I won’t get in the way of you two, so go ahead and chat first, or whatever.” He looked at Sara. “Sara, come see me by the crate when you’re done.”
Cin and his posse of Mish, Misty and Inasuma walked back to the crate. Boris was sick of getting bossed around by the guy with all the power in his hands. This was his chance to do something about it.
He turned, and felt something press against his face. It was Sara’s lips. He embraced her and then pulled back to whisper in her ear:
“Sara,” he said. “I need you to do something for me. I don’t know how, and I don’t know when exactly, but it has to be soon if you want me to live.”
“W-what is it?” Sara’s voice trembled. "I'll do anything, babe. Anything."
“Kill Cin, Sara. And rip that phone off his dead corpse.”

21 players remaining

I feel like I said so many good things about this game in my notes that I'm not going to wax and wane. It was truly a masterpiece in many ways. There were faults, but I can hardly hold them against it when so much was done right. I'll talk more about what I disliked at the end of this plat run when I rank all the games. Regardless, I'm sure this will be #1 on that list unless I have a life-changing experience during BbS, DDD or KH3.

This game's worlds were so much more expansive and detailed than KH1, and the gameplay was an all-around improvement. The world choices themselves are the most varied and interesting in any of the KH games. It'll be interesting to compare this to KH3 from a combat perspective when I've played the games so close to each other, but I think the genius of the Forms and tying movement abilities and other bonuses to them isn't really surpassed by any in-game mechanics from KH3 off the top of my head.

The music is probably the best in the series with it introducing so many classic themes.

The cutscenes are pretty top notch as well. I mean, they did kind of carry this site when it first got created.

This game was so anticipated by the fanbase and it really lived up to its name. And thank god it did, because look how close it brought together communities like KH-Vids. Thank you Nomura and Square for this incredible experience. I don't think there are many JRPGs that can tussle with this one in terms of how satisfying it is to play and master.