Chapter 14: The Organizations
By Lord Bob
Bob stood alone on a hill overlooking the wounded camp. "It's time I
leave. There is something I need to look into." he thought, as he
surveyed the camp. He walked down the hill, and found Greg.
"Hey, Greg!" he yelled, "I've got to split. I'm needed somewhere
else."
"What? Really? But no messages have shown up..."
"Yea. Let's just say that a little pixy told me." Bob said, which
wasn't far from the truth.
"A pixy?"
Bob didn't answer, he just grinned and... disappeared. Far above, a red
mini-dragon, a firelizard, circled and chirped happily that its message
was understood, then winked out of sight.
======
Bob had invoked an amulet he wore beneath his shirt, and was now in a
large great hall that looked like it had come out of some medieval
movie. He was currently kneeling on the floor.
"Yes, my Lord?" he asked.
"You've been doing good, Bob. But, there is a rival organization
invading your area of Usenet." a man on a throne answered. None of
him could be seen, though, because of a red robe.
"I know, sir. I was planning on kicking them out of AGFF, sir."
"Oh, they're much bigger than that. They have infested nearly all of
Usenet, and are nearly set to rival our hold over that universe. Your
territory has been expanded, Bob. Now, you are responsible for all of
the alt. domain, where the rivals are mainly oriented. You must purge
them from the alt. hierarchy. However, you must give up your RL
holdings, and all but one non-alt area in the rest of Usenet."
"I'll keep my castle in RGRN, sir. Thank you, Bob." Lord Bob said.
"I hope my trust in you is not misplaced." Bob, the Emporer of the
IAGNB, replied.
"It isn't, milord."
======
A lone castle stood upon a mountain. The realm this castle was in
was called RGRN by some, officially rec.games.rouglike.nethack. But
that has nothing to do with the castle, it was just a convenient, small
village with a nearby mountain. Some said the castle was haunted, some
bewitched. All knew a dark figure would come and go at times, and other-
wise the castle seemed deserted. This was not so. Up in a castle tower,
if there was anyone to observe it, they'd see a man sitting on the floor,
cross-legged, covered in a black cloak. The room was simple, with a small
window in the stone that composed it. There was also a door. The man had
been there for hours, days, or weeks - no one, not even the man himself,
could be sure. What had he been doing? Meditating, questing for information.
The man suddenly stood up, as though he had reached a conclusion. He strode
through the door, and onto a ramp that had replaced the stairs. As he stepped
on it, he began to slide and pick up speed.
At the bottom, the man walked along a hallway and into another door, this
one letting him out into a large hangar. At one of the docks was his
Omnigear - the Akuma (AKU-2X). Akuma was 12 meters tall, and built in
normal human proportions. Looking like a tall-but-well-muscled person,
Akuma also sported armor, in the fashion of a chest/back plate coming
halfway down the chest and shoulder guards. The hands/part way up the wrist also looked to be in gauntlets, and the legs in boots. Of course, the whole thing was armored, but the extra stuff made it look good. The head was the only non-human part about it: Shaped like an ovoid laying on the shoulders, with long, pointed 'ears' housing communication gear and a face made with the cockpit split into two rectangular 'eyes' and a large 'grin' built into the head. It also had large, dragon-like wings on its back. The most visible weapon was a gear-sized nodachi on the left hip, within reach of the right hand.
The man entered Akuma, and took off. Citizens of the village at the foot
of the mountain shrunk back in fear, as though thinking Akuma a lord of
demons who had yet to notice the mortals near his home. The man, Lord Bob,
failed to notice this. He had work to do.
======
"Are we there yet?" Darlon whined.
"Shut up!" Fulgore snarled in reply.
Kuibob looked behind him, and orderd the two to knock it off.
"It'll still be an hour or two." he said.
This was MRF Beta. They were on a road leading to alt.evil, where they
hoped to find Lord Falconer. Murgorath had sent them into AGFF, and from
there they immediately headed out, wanting to get back to fighting the
Microwave as soon as possible. The roadside vegetation was already
beginning to thin and blacken, a sign that alt.flame was not too far
away, and, on the other side, alt.evil.
======
"My, that place is sure in an uproar." Lord Bob thought to himself, looking
at the Organization's alt.flame base. Marines were running all over the
place like chickens with their heads cut off, and a few were engaged in a
frag-fest with their rocket launchers. Bob slowly approached one Marine
standing alone, seemingly in a sentry posting.
"H3y d3\/\/d3, \/\/h4+'Z 901n9 0n h3r3?" he said.
"+h3 8055 90+ fr4993d!!!! +h3 pr150n3rZ 35(@p3d!!! \/\/3r3 d3\/\//\
/\3d!!" the marine replied.
"Pr150n3rZ?"
The marine appeared to be in a chatting mood, and they went back and
forth.
"Y3@, +\/\/0 0f +h3/\/\. 0n3 fu(|<3r \/\/1+h @ 9un, @nd h1Z 81+(h."
"R3@lly?"
"Y34, d3\/\/d!! +h@+ 8l0nd3 \/\/4Z h0+, 1 \/\/15h 1 h@d 50/\/\3 pr0n
0f h3r!"
"@nd \/\/h4+ @80u+ +h3 8055 93++1n9 fr4993d?"
"+h4+ d0u8l3-|<r0553r |<1+4n d1d h1/\/\ 1n, +h3n d155@p3@rd. 1 \/\/@n+
+0 fun(|<1n9 fr49 +h4+ /\/\0+h3rfu(|<3r. L3\/\/|< \/\/h4+ h3'Z
d0n3!1!!!!1!!11!!"
"\/\/0\/\/. H3y, +h1Z 1Z 4 p3rf3(+ |<h@n(3 +0 93+ fr49Z. H0\/\/ 480u+
\/\/3 |<h4r93 +h053 819 r080+Z 0\/3r +h3r3?" Bob replied, pointing at a
pair of gears as he did so.
"5ur3, d3\ / \ /d3!" and the dumb marine rushed off, rockets blazing, to
get stomped on.
Bob simply stared.
"How dumb. Well, now I just need to sneak into that base. If only I had
a diversion..."
He trailed off as he realized he did. A group of marines were escorting
three warriors, and, after a bit of thinking, Bob recognized them as
Fulgore, Kuibob, and Darlon, a group of posters that had unexpectedly
disappeared a few months ago.
As Bob pondered whether to take advantage of this, or to help out his
fellow AGFFers, a loudspeaker blared from a hidden location.
"@++3n+10n dOOd3Z! +h1Z 1Z 53(0nd, /\/\@n. \/\/3 n0\/\/ h@\/3 pr150n3rZ.
+h3 p3r50n +0 fr@9 '3/\/\ +h3 /\/\05+ 93+Z +0 83 /\/\y 53(0nd!!"
Bob muttered several expletives before pulling out his Doomblade and
getting ready to charge. And then he got a better idea...
======
"Damn." Kuibob muttered.
"We're going to die!" Darlon wailed.
"Shut up, Bobdamnit." Fulgore hissed at him.
The MRF Beta had been caught just outside alt.flame and totally disarmed
and drained of MP. Now, they were about to become numbers on a Quake
Marine's kills counter.
"Try not to wet yourself, Darlon." Fulgore said.
======
Bob watched as his friends were lined up against a wall. Quickly, his
hand darted into his pouch, and he teleported onto a hill overlooking
the field.
"I hope this works." he said to himself.
======
"+h3 h3ll?" one of the marines, near the MRF, said.
"\/\/h4+ 1Z +h4+?" he asked, pointing.
Everyone turned and looked, and there, on a hill, was a man in a black
cloak. In his gloved hand was a strange ball, half red and half white,
which he threw toward them. It split open, and a blue bolt of elec-
tricity shot from it and hit the ground. Where it struck, an odd
rippling began, and quickly descended onto the marines.
"Fr@9 '1/\/\, dOOd3Z!" a marine yelled.
Bob calmly walked down the hill. Several rockets were fired, but they
hit the still-moving shimmering wall and slowed to a crawl, allowing Bob
to step by them. Where the blur hit a marine, he also slowed down, bega
yelling garble, and randomly teleporting around.
"Wow." Darlon said, in awe, "That's one good spell!"
Bob reached the MRF, who were unaffected by the 'spell'. He released
them, and pointed out the marine with their stuff. After they got
them, he broke out a mega elixir.
"Fulgore." Bob said, nodding at him, "And you're Kuibob?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Alright. You might not know me. I'm Lord Bob from AGFF."
Darlon spoke up. "Wow. Bob. Hey, could you teach me that
spell?"
"Spell? Oh, that. Well, that wasn't a spell. It was a Lag Demon
I caught online with my PokeBall. It eats modem speed, and so the
marines are basically immobilized. Let's leave before it does."
======
The small group was outside alt.flame, and were comparing facts.
"You've met Murgorath?" Bob asked.
"Yes. Seemed powerful, and kinda arrogant." Kuibob replied.
"Well, he thinks he's the God of Fate, and he enjoys messing with
peoples' lives. That's why he sent you down to alt.flame. I don't
know what he's planning, but it involves you guys and me."
"Hm... You don't think this could-" Kuibob started, but Bob cut him
off with a raised hand.
Bob motioned the MRF to go on, but he stopped and held out his arm. A
red firelizard appeared out of nowhere to land on it, and then it stood
on its hind legs, putting its forelegs on Bob's chest and staring at him.
The MRF noticed, and slowed to a stop.
Bob quietly began scratching the firelizard's neck, but he slowed down
and stopped after a little, his eyes growing wide. "Kuibob, I think Murg
is trying to control something way beyond him."
The MRF came back, and Bob related the firelizard's message. The little
dragon-ette had gone to Bob's shoulder, and had its tail wrapped around
his neck to help keep it in place.
"The Armageddon is coming. You guys are needed in AGFF."
The firelizard had brought news of the tidal wave, and of Ragnarok
appearing.
"Damn. And if we're needed in AGFF, how will we get there in time?
Damn!" Kuibob said vehemently.
"Yes, damn that Murg. I don't know what he hopes to gain, but it can't
be good for us. I can teleport you guys back most of the way, but I
can't return. You'll be on your own. We need you guys." Bob said.
"We'll help!" Fulgore said, nodding.
Bob waved goodbye to them, then closed his eyes and concentrated. A
moment later, the MRF was gone.
Bob turned his head to look at the firelizard. "Well, we should be off,
little friend. We need to get to alt.config."
======
Dave stretched, walking along the hallway into the dining car. He and
Celes had shared the same sleeping car, and Dave knew it wouldn't be
much longer until she was his. Coming into the dining room, he ordered a
large breakfast, and thoroughly failed to notice a man standing in the
corner.
He, the Celes clone, and the Citan clone were on a train, heading to
alt.config to take down T.H.E.M. Dave didn't know it then, but the other
man had the same agenda.
"Dave." Bob said, stepping out of the shadows. "Lord Bob?" Dave asked,
incredulous, "How'd you get here?" Bob replied, "Long story. Mind if
I join you?"
"Go ahead. Whatcha doing here?" Dave asked. Bob sat down, and ordered
some bacon, hashbrowns, and... raw steak. "Eww..." Dave said, "You're
not going to eat that RAW, are you?" Bob replied, "No." He then whistled
for his firelizard. The creature appeared, hovering over the table, then
dived on the steak. Bob began petting it as he talked to Dave.
"Dave, things are going on way bigger than AGFF or T.H.E.M. We're
reaching a vital point in the flow of Fate."
"Ehm?" Dave asked.
Bob told him to get the others. When they were all there, he told them of
the recent happenings in AGFF. "And I'm here to help with T.H.E.M." Bob
said, summing up. "Interesting." Citan said.
"T.H.E.M. is nearly as vital a threat as the end of Usenet, if left alone.
I'm not clairvoyant, so I don't know what's going to happen, but I have the
feeling that there are many different menaces we need to be careful of." Dave
started to say something, but suddenly the car tipped over and the sounds of
metal screeching sounded from further ahead on the train. It was derailing.
