The W2RLD

Written by: Leon the Man

Edited by: The Masked Eidolon

Enjoy 🙂

Chapter 13 - The Ultimate Ace in the Hole

"There's enough. It is time to start the next phase of the plan."

"The powder?"

Jarvis nodded.

"Yes, the powder. With 20 people, we should be able to succeed in one night."

"Good," Lucas agreed. "Shall I go inform them? We need to start soon, it is already getting dark and tomorrow is going to be a busy day. We need to carry out the plan today."

"Indeed. Yes, let's go announce the plan."

Lucas unzipped the tent that they were inside of, and he and Jarvis stepped out of it. They walked toward the clearing where the twenty people who had already consumed the Maho drink were waiting for them.

"I'll speak," Lucas whispered to Jarvis. Jarvis agreed silently.

Lucas cleared his throat, catching the people's attention.

"Everyone," he called out, "each and every one of you has consumed Maho in its true, optimal form. You now realize how beautiful it is - how much you miss this feeling of being high...how much you miss the feeling of being happy. It is our mission to convert the whole empire to Maho, but there is a problem. You all now understand the wonders of Maho, but that is not true for everyone."

"Yes!" someone from the group of 20 called out. "My friend, for example, will refuse to drink anything we offer him, claiming that it is some dangerous drug. How do we convince everyone to consume Maho?"

"That is an excellent question that I was about to answer without your insignificant self asking it," Lucas replied. "If we simply try to force Maho into people, they will reject us. However, there is something else we can do."

Lucas motioned to Jarvis, who put down his backpack and took something out of it.

It was a 1-liter metallic capsule in the shape of a bottle.

Lucas took the bottle and showed it to the people.

"Inside this bottle is also Maho - but in gas form. Unfortunately, it isn't nearly as strong. It isn't powerful enough to give you the power to bend the laws of physics like me and Jarvis have promised to teach you, but it is strong enough for people to notice it and feel more relaxed - and more willing to try Maho. The plan for tonight is that we each take as many of these bottles as we can and rush through the whole empire, dropping the bottles everywhere. Holes in the wall, chimneys, sewers, anywhere and everywhere. And so, when Jarvis activates them in the morning, everyone will immediately breathe in this watered down version of Maho. Think of it like a vaccine, except that Maho itself is not a disease but rather an enhancement."

"TLDR!" one of the people from the group called out.

Lucas sighed.

"We're gonna cover the whole empire in Maho by morning. Then, they will be able to experience a watered down version of Maho and be significantly more willing to try the true Maho in liquid form."

Lucas turned to Jarvis.

"I assume the reason for this is because unless people at least breathe in Maho, they will be unable to see the hallucinations caused by Maho?" Lucas whispered.

"Yes," Jarvis confirmed. "Unless Maho enters their body, they won't see hallucinations and we'll be unable to force the real Maho into them."

"I almost feel bad deceiving everyone, but I realize that this is for their own good, so I am willing to help you, Mr. Jarvis."

Jarvis nodded.

"Yes, this is for the good of the human race. Thank you, Lucas. Let's begin."

Obviously, this was not for the good of the human race at all, but Lucas was unfortunately too brainwashed to realize that.

.

The following morning:

The knock on the door made Neon look up.

"Hey, are you ready?" Leon, who was standing at the door of the office, asked. "The exchange takes place in an hour. We need to leave now."

He had a solemn expression on his face. Both of them were upset, but both of them also realized that this was the only way to preserve peace and save the human race.

Except, it wasn't (for reasons Ethan had explained).

Neon nodded as she continued gathering her supplies on the desk.

"I am. I just...I've been thinking it over, and I feel so guilty about it."

"I know. We've known Mox for so long, and now we are, in a sense, killing him."

"Mox deserves this. I was talking about Jenny," Neon replied quietly.

"Simp lmao."

Neon looked up with a confused expression.

"What?? I'm literally a straight girl."

"Says who lol"

"Says me."

An evil smirk appeared on Leon's face.

"Oh, I didn't know you were the writer of this story."

"Leon," Neon pointed her finger at him. "Shut up. And, yes, I feel bad about Mox too. But you haven't been here for five years. People change, Leon. He isn't the person you remember him to be. The truth is, we may be killing Mox right now, but our friend died a long time ago."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean the person who Mox was...he's been gone for a long time. This person is someone new, and as much as I hate to say it, he deserves to die for the massacre he led."

"Interesting..." Leon stepped closer to Neon. "But if you could save him, would you?"

"If it had no other consequences, yes, I would."

"Why?"

Neon looked down.

"I don't know. I guess, I just don't want to be the one responsible for anyone's death."

"Okay, then," Leon stepped away from her. "Let's go. It really is time to leave."

Neon nodded and the two of them left the room, Neon closing the room behind them. They entered the elevator, and Leon clicked the "ground level" button.

The elevator jolted and began moving. Leon and Neon stayed silent throughout the entire ride. When they stepped out of the elevator, they were greeted by Gus and Frank. Due to the fact that the war might still happen, the Dark Knights involved in the Mox attack were pardoned, hence the reason Gus is not in captivity.

"We have bad news," Gus announced. "Ethan Clarke has still not been found."

"Really?!" Neon exclaimed. "You literally had over twenty hours."

"I warned you he'd be hard to find," Leon scoffed. "Anyway, I suggest you two, as well as Jared, stay behind. Someone needs to stay here and look after the PENIS, as well as try to look for Ethan."

The guards looked at Neon for confirmation.

Neon nodded.

"Yes. Leon is right."

"Okay, will do," Frank replied. "Additionally, Jared reports we are experiencing problems with the defense systems."

"Jared is a shitty technician," Leon announced.

"Cut him some slack," Neon sighed. "He hacked your laptop, after all."

"My laptop didn't even have any defense mechanisms. Anyone with some basic computer knowledge could unlock it. However, I have now installed a significantly higher level of protection."

"You wrapped the laptop in an extra-large condom, didn't you?"

"Indeed I did. Now, no STDs will get to it. :)"

Neon sighed and turned back to Gus and Frank.

"Any more news?"

"Yes," Gus replied. "When will we finally play a bigger role in the story?"

All three people looked at Leon.

Leon raised his hands in acknowledgment.

"Yes, yes. I know. I'm working on it. Assuming the sequel goes as planned, you will have larger roles there."

"Okay, we'll take that," Frank replied. "In that case, we're done with our announcements."

"Good," Neon confirmed. "Tell Jared to start up Train #2. Leon, is Mox already on the train?"

"He is."

"Is there a problem with Mox?" Gus inquired.

"Huh? Oh," Neon smiled. "No, everything is completely fine, don't worry."

"Alright I guess," Gus replied. Then, he motioned to Frank and the two of them went off to find Jared, who was currently tinkering with the Dark Knights' defense system.

Once Neon and Leon were once again alone, they realized it was time to address the ugly truth.

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" Leon inquired.

"What the fuck?!"

"Sorry, bad joke. What do we do with Mox?"

"You mean, when do we tell him that he's about to die?" Neon asked.

"Yeah. Maybe erasing his memory about the problem wasn't the brightest idea."

Neon sighed.

"Well, we can't do anything at the moment anyway, so let's just arrive at the palace and explain things to him there. By the way, are you taking the laptop with you?"

"No," Leon shook his head. "I left it in your office. Like I said, I installed defenses. Jared won't be able to hack it - no one will. It's basically impossible."

"Alright, then," Neon squeezed her eyes shut. "Let's board the train. The rest of the Dark Knights are on it already. This isn't gonna be a fun ride..."

They exited the PENIS, went down two flights of stairs, and reached the train. The doors were still open, and they walked in without resistance, the other Dark Knights made room for them.

STD ran up to Leon, climbed up his leg and jumped onto his shoulder. The guinea pig whispered something into Leon's ear, and Leon frowned.

Leon turned to Neon.

"Neon, which compartment are Daniel and Jenny in?"

"The last one. Mox is there too, although he thinks it is because he is monitoring them rather than being a prisoner. About that, when are you planning on telling him that he's about to die?"

Leon bit his lip.

"I'll tell him now, I guess. Give me a couple of Dark Knights so that he is restrained the moment he finds out the news."

Neon nodded and motioned to five Dark Knights standing next to them. They obliged and followed Leon.

As the train departed, Leon walked through it until he reached the final compartment. He paused in front of the door, STD still perched on his shoulder. Leon took a deep breath, then pushed the door open.

Inside, there were five people. Daniel and Jenny, both restrained, Mox, and two guards, just in case.

"Leon stepped into the compartment.

"Daniel, STD told me you wanted to talk to me."

"STD?" one of the guards inquired. "We have a talking sexually transmitted disease?"

Leon sighed.

"It's a guinea pig. His name is Strong and Tough Dinosaur, or, shortened, STD. I've explained it so many times it has become very far from funny. Anyway, Daniel, step out of the compartment so that I can talk to you in private. Guards, tell Mox the news and restrain him."

"Wait, what?" Mox asked.

"Wait, what?" one of the guards asked. "How would we know the news you're talking about?"

"Why would you not know?" Leon asked, confused.

"Well, for starters, no one told us. Yeah, that's about it."

Leon rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Ok. Mox, I'm sorry, but you're going to die. I'll talk to you about it in more detail later, though. Guards, tie him up and untie Daniel."

Once the orders were carried out (with lots of confused yelling by Mox), Leon and Daniel left the compartment, and Leon closed the door behind them. STD remained on Leon's shoulder, nibbling away at a nut (the type of food, not the part of the body).

"Daniel, what did you want?"

"What do you think I want?!" Daniel exclaimed. "For Jenny not to die, of course!"

Leon sighed as he leaned back against a wall.

"Daniel, there's no choice. If this exchange doesn't go smoothly, then the army of 100 Dark Knights that is inside this suspiciously large train will be forced to take on half a thousand Virgilian soldiers. No one knows how that will turn out, but the losses will far exceed the rewards."

"I understand that," Daniel responded, "but there has to be a third option, because the Jenny deal won't bring us eternal peace - only a temporary break from war. Ethan Clarke himself said that."

"Wait, you talked with the Inspector?"

"Yes, I did. He died from cringe at the end of the last chapter."

"Wait, the Inspector is dead?"

"Nah, he's fine. Anyway, this deal won't give us peace. The only way for peace, according to Ethan, is to unite the two nations. The Dark Knights and the Virgil Empire have to combine. The people have to intertwine with each other. That solves both the problem of continuing the reproduction of the human race AND the problem of the upcoming war. It is the only way, Leon."

"No," Leon replied, putting his hands into his pockets. "You're wrong."

"Actually, I'm right. You know why? Because Jenny is not a key to peace - she is leverage and a hostage. And once Virgil gets her back and kills her to ensure the continuation of our species, he will launch an attack on the Dark Knights and the war will still happen. Yes, uniting the two sides of the war is very hard and complicated, but making this deal is simply not going to work! Can you PLEASE understand that, Leon?!"

Daniel looked down, and he continued talking as his voice shook.

"Those who see war never stop seeing it, Leon. We need to risk everything to unite the two sides of this conflict, because if the war happens after the trade - which it will - so many people will die. And the rest of us - we will live remembering those losses. The collapse of civilization. We are all that is left of the human race, and we are, by sealing this deal, sealing our fate as a species."

Daniel finished his speech and looked up at Leon with tears in his eyes. Leon sighed and avoided Daniel's gaze.

"Daniel, you're wrong. I know it hurts you, but this is the only way. You forgot a crucial detail, Oliver. Once we exchange Jenny and Mox for him...we will kill him, too."

Leon glanced up at Daniel and made eye contact.

"Once we kill him, we can kill Virgil. Or we can control him. With Oliver gone, we will have control over everything. We will finally have peace. It is the only way."

Daniel was left at a loss for words.

So was Neon, who was hiding behind a wall this whole time. She had overheard the whole conversation, and was near tears too.

"L...Leon. I don't want Jenny to die," Daniel whispered.

"I know." Leon walked over to Daniel and put his hand on Daniel's shoulder. "I am sorry for your loss. I really am. If there was any other way, I would take it. But, as much as I hate to say it, this is the only way we can win this war."

Leon looked up at Daniel, whose eyes were still full of tears.

"I'm sorry, Daniel. It's a shame that our friendship has come to this. It's a shame your friendship with her has come to this. It's a shame that... everything has come to this. It really is. I, like you, hoped for a happy ending. But it seems that this... won't be getting a happily ever after."

.

Half an hour after the train with the Dark Knights left

The two guards continued walking down the corridor.

"So, how does it feel, with the story coming to an end and all?" Frank asked.

"I'm pretty disappointed that there was no toe sucking scene, to be honest," Gus admitted.

"Hmmm. Maybe it'll happen in the sequel?"

"Who says we'll even survive till the sequel?" Gus asked.

"Well," Frank mused, "there's only two enemies nearby - Ethan and Kira, and Kira is restrained. I think we can take out Ethan together."

Suddenly, they heard something rattling nearby. They drew their weapons and spun around, but there was no one there.

"You heard that too, right?" Frank asked.

"Yup," Gus replied.

Suddenly, they heard the rattling again. However, it was really hard to tell where it was coming from, and Gus and Frank turned their backs to each other and pointed their guns in opposite directions, waiting for someone to jump out of the shadows.

No one jumped out of the shadows.

However, someone did jump out of the ceiling.

For a split second, Gus and Frank realized that the rattling was coming from above them. However, before they could respond, the ceiling broke and Ethan jumped out toward them.

Both guards fired.

But...

But...

But......................

Slash.

Ethan's energy saber sliced through both guns at the same time, instantly leaving Frank and Gus completely weaponless.

They quickly regained their senses and punched Ethan at the same time, but the Inspector dove out of the way and the two guards ended up hitting each other in the face.

Both of them fell down, dazed.

Ethan sighed as he looked at the two confused guards sitting on the ground.

"Nice attempt, you two."

"Hey!" someone yelled, causing Ethan to spin around, energy saber still drawn.

It was Jared, and he was standing thirty feet away, aiming a shotgun at Ethan's face.

"Ugh," Ethan spat. "Shotguns are the natural enemy of energy swords."

"Jared, we can work this out peacefully," Ethan said, slowly stepping toward Jared.

Thankfully, they didn't need to work it out "peacefully."

The next thing Jared felt was a wire - swinging over his head and around his neck.

Kira pulled the wire back, choking Jared, and he dropped his gun, allowing Ethan to close the distance between the two of them.

Jared wrestled his way out of the wire, but by the time he could even try swinging at Kira, Ethan was already right behind him. And so, with one quick swing, Ethan punched Jared and he fell to the floor.

Ethan looked up at Kira.

"I could have figured it out myself."

"Sure you could."

"Yes, I could. Congrats on finally deciding to help me, by the way."

"You're welcome. Anyway, let's get these three tied up, shall we?"

Ethan nodded. "Yes."

.

From now on, all scenes take place at approximately the same time.

"So, what is the difference between the Gas Maho and the Liquid Maho?" Lucas asked when he was in private with Jarvis.

It was eight-thirty a.m. and the two of them were perched on a tall tower.

The gas had been deployed by the followers of Maho, and Jarvis was getting ready to push the button that would let the gas out of the cylinders.

However, there has been a small change of plans.

Why?

Well, the reason was that the Virgil Army was clearly getting ready for something. Jarvis could see a lot of commotion at the palace. There was some weird machine, and Virgil's brother Oliver was tied up, if Jarvis's binoculars weren't deceiving him. Something important was happening, and he didn't want to interfere just yet. So, he was waiting.

"There is a big difference between Maho in gas/powder form and Maho in liquid form. The liquid form that we gave our group of followers makes them true believers in Maho. Once you drink the liquid and are under the influence of Maho, me and you will have complete control over their brains and bodies. With the gas disposed throughout the whole kingdom, it's a bit different. As you know, I can create hallucinations. However, unlike with the people who consume the true density of Maho, people who have simply breathed in Maho cannot feel the hallucinations."

"Can you please clarify?" Lucas inquired.

"If I create a hallucination such as a sword and swing it at your head, your brain is tricked into believing it is real to such an extent that it will really feel the blow - and if it is powerful enough, your brain will be tricked into...dying from the hallucination. Our group of 20 are like this. They can feel and be pleasured, hurt, or even killed by the hallucinations. The rest of the kingdom - once they breathe in Maho - can see the hallucinations...but they cannot feel the hallucinations. This raises a problem."

"Huh? Why? Isn't Maho about helping people, not killing them?"

"Right. However, although the gas makes people want to try the liquid form, this does not hold for all people. People like the leaders of the Dark Knights are not as easily swayed. They will not consume the true form of Maho - and they will therefore withstand transcending until they die. So, we will probably have to kill them by hand."

"I see," Lucas sighed. "That's a shame, but if they oppose Maho, I suppose there is no other choice."

"Yes," Jarvis agreed. "Also, tell our followers to join us here and watch what is happening with the Virgilian army. If it becomes boring, then we'll release the gas."

"Sounds good," Lucas replied, scrambling down the building.

"Finally," Lucas thought, "We're sharing Maho with the rest of the world."

Suddenly, something flashed in the corner of Lucas's eye. He spun around and squinted his eyes to look at the action more closely.

As soon as he realized what was happening, his face turned pale.

"M-Mr. Jarvis...I think...the Dark Knights are here!"

.

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch

The underground train pulled up to a stop.

"I hope you can understand, Mox," Leon stood up, signaling the end of the conversation.

For the past fifteen minutes, they had been discussing Mox's upcoming death.

Mox nodded.

"I do."

The door of the train opened and the Dark Knights began pouring out. Mox, Jenny, and Daniel (for security purposes) had their hands tied behind their backs as they were forced out of the train.

Before leaving the underground station, Neon climbed to the top of the stairs and faced the Dark Knights.

"Everyone, you know why we are here. As much as it pains me to say it, we are trading Jenny and Mox for Oliver. This is not an act of war. It is a peace treaty. So, if someone attempts to attack and disrupt the peace, they will be killed without hesitation. Is that clear?"

There was a murmur of agreement among the crowd of 100 warriors.

"Good. In that case, Leon, please bring the three prisoners to the front of the line with me. We are marching to Virgil with our side of the deal clearly visible. We need to make sure this deal goes smoothly, because this is our first and only chance for peace.

.

"Twenty five minutes left until the agreed upon time," Curtis announced.

"Thanks, Curtis."

"Onii-chan (Japanese for older brother), please don't do this," Oliver pleaded. "I didn't do anything to deserve dying!"

"I'm sorry, Oliver. This is the only way. Curtis, don't let him out of your sight. Derek, how many soldiers do we have, again?"

"A bit over half a thousand," Derek replied.

Virgil, Oliver, Bonnie, Virgil's government officials, and 500 soldiers were standing on one side of a bridge.

Like they had agreed, the Dark Knights would stay on one side of the bridge, and the Virgil army would stay on the other. The exchange of people would happen over the bridge.

"Nyaaaaa" Bonnie purred.

"Pierce, is everything fine with Project Iris?"

"Yes," the scientist replied, patting the large glass box, inside of which was the machine that would suck Jenny's blood out. "Everything is good, my king."

"Good," Virgil replied. "Make sure it stays that way. They'll be here shortly, and I want the trade to go smoothly."

Virgil glanced at Oliver, then looked away in shame.

"Bonnie, monitor everything here. I need to go take a walk alone. This is a very important moment in all of our lives, and I want to take a quick breather before that."

Bonnie nodded.

"You too, Curtis. Monitor Bonnie."

"Yes sir. Also, the people are waiting for you."

Virgil sighed as he turned around and looked to his right. Indeed, a big portion of the Virgilian citizens - about a thousand total - were waiting.

They were waiting for Mox to be killed.

"No pressure, though," Curtis quipped.

Virgil nodded.

"No pressure at all."

Now, while Virgil departed for a short walk, a relatively familiar character was observing the whole scene from a cliff.

This character had his vodka, and he had his binoculars. Oh, and of course, he had his tank.

"This is quite interesting scenario isn't it I find it kinda cool how everything is cLiMaXiNg!" Dane announced.

"Dane, please, use proper grammar," Kodak begged.

"Dane likes three things eating his family and using commas," Proto imitated their leader.

"Shut it, both of you," Dane replied. Dane and his gang Anime Thighs were watching the scene below them with great curiosity.

"It seems the Dark Knights are approaching from the West," Dane continued. "Interesting. The whole army is there. Will there be a war, or a declaration of peace? Kodak, hand me the telescope."

Kodak sighed and handed Dane the telescope.

"Why am I even in the story? I barely get any screen time," Kodak complained.

"Be quiet, I get less dialogue than you," Proto replied.

"I said, shut up, both of you," Dane snapped at them as he finished setting up the telescope.

"Honestly, you have a good point," Kodak agreed with Proto. "There's other characters who want more dialogue, and you take up space while contributing nothing,"

"Yeah, but I'm freaking awesome-"

Shove.

Proto flew off the cliff and into the abyss below.

Dane and Kodak looked up in confusion at the person who had pushed Proto off the cliff: Ebony.

"Sorry," Ebony apologized. "I'm also a member of your gang, and I think that I deserve significantly more screen time than Proto, since I was one of the two gangsters who chased down Oliver and lived."

"Bro," Kodak sighed, "You haven't even had any dialogue."

"Shit. My bad."

"Hey, you two," Dane whispered as he continued looking through his telescope, "I just noticed something interesting. Mox is... tied up. I think they aren't heading to war. I think the Virgil Empire and the Dark Knights are... signing some kind of truce..."

"Interesting," Kodak replied. "But how does it concern us?"

Dane gritted his teeth.

"Virgil is very lenient in terms of law. If Neon takes control, she'll significantly tighten the safety of the citizens and increase the punishments of the criminals."

Dane looked up.

"We don't want that. So, we need to stop this truce. Load up the rocket launchers and get the tanks, Ebony."

.

Once Ethan and Kira finished tying the two guards and Jared together, they started deciding on their next course of action.

"These three are the only Dark Knights in the lair," Ethan told Kira. "Now, we have the whole compound to ourselves. Look, Kira, I need you to stay here and guard them, just in case. I'm going to go get Leon's laptop."

"Leon's laptop?"

"It has magic powers. I'll explain later. Right now, I need to get to the laptop and stop an upcoming war."

"You mean the deal?" Kira inquired. "From what I've heard, the arrangement is supposed to bring peace."

"Yeah, well, not exactly," Ethan replied. "I told you, I'll explain later. I need to go right now."

Kira nodded.

"Ok, go ahead. Don't do anything dumb, Inspector."

"Don't worry, I won't."

They waved to each other and Ethan walked off toward the elevator. As is generally done with elevators, he pressed the button to call the elevator, got into the elevator, pressed the "Level -6" button, and once he was there, got out of the elevator.

Because and only because he was the Inspector, he was able to complete the whole ordeal without a single scratch.

True skills.

Anyway,

Ethan speed-walked until he reached Neon's office. Once inside, he began searching for the laptop.

He searched for approximately five minutes until he finally found it, tucked away inside a box of cereal.

However, when he took it out, his expression changed from delight to annoyance.

Leon really had put the laptop inside a condom for protection.

Ethan cursed and ripped apart the condom. Now, the laptop was finally in his hands.

Ethan opened the laptop and clicked the power button.

No response.

"It's out of battery," Ethan realized.

"Damn it."

Powering it back on took another five minutes, and when he could finally turn it on, Ethan himself was turned on from relief.

Jk, we all know Ethan doesn't have any sex hormones.

Unfortunately, Ethan was suddenly presented with another problem.

Leon hadn't lied about the internal defenses. Ethan started trying to hack the laptop, but he had no success. During the fifteen minutes that he was busy with it, Kira even walked in once.

"Ethan, are you done saving the world?"

"Almost."

"Hmmm ok then."

Unfortunately, no matter what Ethan tried, the laptop was unhackable. Ethan was relatively experienced with computers, but this laptop was different. It was like an AI. When Ethan tried to hack through, the laptop responded with personal defenses. Whenever Ethan finally made small progress, the laptop would just patch it back up.

Someone knocked on the door again, but Ethan didn't even bother looking up.

"You need help?"

"Go away, Kira."

"What?"

Ethan froze. That wasn't Kira's voice.

Had one of the captives escaped? Shit.

With the flick of a wrist, Ethan grabbed his energy saber, turned it on, and spun around to face the intruder.

Ethan's eyes instantly narrowed in confusion.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The unknown man smiled.

"My name is Ezra. And I am a very horny Russian."

"Another Russian?!" Ethan exclaimed, gripping his energy saber tighter.

"Yes, lol. Anyway, my comrade, it seems there is a problem with your laptop?"

Ethan gritted his teeth.

"It's none of your business, Ezra."

"Yes it is lol, I am the sequel."

"You're the what?"

"The sequel. I am the writer of the sequel."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I am sure. Anyway, here, can I see the laptop?"

"Fine," the Inspector replied, stepping to the side, his energy saber still turned on and pointed at Ezra.

Ezra walked over to the laptop and started typing something into it. In a few seconds, the screen flashed and turned blue with white text.

"Ohhhh," Ezra realized, "this is Leon's laptop - the one he uses for writing the story. Supposedly, it controls our world or something, right?"

Ethan nodded.

"It does."

"Cool!" Ezra replied. He reached into his pocket and took out a bottle of vodka. Then, to Ethan's absolute horror, Ezra turned the bottle over and spilled it on the laptop.

In the span of a millisecond, the world around Ethan flashed, and everything went dark.

He woke up on the floor of a strange room with solid white furniture a couple of minutes later. It did not take Ethan long to process his surroundings, and he jumped to his feet and grabbed Ezra, who was working on the laptop, by the shirt.

"Ezra, what the hell did you just do??"

"Sorry man, I was aiming for a cup. I must be a bit tipsy, because I missed it and accidentally destroyed our whole universe, stopping the passage of time for us two in its tracks. Don't worry, though, I backed up the file and we're all good again, probably. Anyway, Ethan, while you were asleep, I made you a little something."

Ethan glanced at the laptop. It was a document with the title of "Prequel."

"Ezra...what is this?"

"I've created a new file for you. It's called the prequel, and it will function as the prequel to the story. And I've assigned you, Ethan Clarke, as the author of this story."

.

"What the hell are you doing?"

It was ten minutes before 9, and the whole Dark Knights army was currently having a final recap before advancing into the deal.

However, halfway through Neon's extremely repetitive speech, she noticed that Leon had wandered off.

And now, she had found him hidden on the ground behind some rock, get this -

Listening to music.

Leon took out one of his Phantom Beats (the best wireless earbuds on the market) with a clearly annoyed expression on his face.

"I'm calming myself down before this important event."

"You're listening to dubstep."

"Stop kinkshaming."

Neon sighed.

"Seriously? Now is not the time for fooling around, Leon."

"I'm not fooling around. I'm trying to think. I've thought about everything that Daniel has said, and I just genuinely feel bad for him."

Leon looked up at Neon with a grim expression.

"Mox too. Mox and Daniel have been my friends for many, many years. Neither is close to perfect, and both have made mistakes, but I still feel terrible doing this."

Neon pushed her hair out of her face.

"I know, Leon. I feel terrible too."

Leon sighed. Then, he clicked a button on his Phantom Beats and took the other one out of his ear. He put them in their case and stood up, dusting himself off.

"Well, since there's nothing we can do, no use delaying it. It's nearly time anyway. Let's go, Neon. Time to end this."

.

"The people are growing restless," Curtis observed.

"Give me the microphone," Virgil demanded in response.

Curtis obliged and handed him the microphone.

Virgil cleared his throat and tested the microphone.

"My people," Virgil called out. "Have patience. The man for whom you want revenge will be killed shortly. He is almost here."

"Damn, that was the shittiest speech I have ever seen," Curtis commented.

"Shut it, Curtis."

Virgil looked to his left, at Oliver, whose hands were still handcuffed. He was, as commanded, being held secure by two large guards. Oliver was looking at the ground, too terrified to say anything or even cry.

"Nya, onii-chan," Bonnie crawled up to Virgil on all fours.

"What is it, Bonnie?"

"Are you sure about this?" Bonnie asked.

"There is no choice. I'm sorry. I know you care about your younger brother too - and so do I - and it pains me to do this very much... but there is no choice here."

Bonnie growled.

"Onii-chan, there is always a choice..."

Virgil sighed.

"No. Not here there isn't."

Virgil looked away in shame.

"Hey Virgil," Curtis interrupted, "I think they're here."

Indeed, they were.

.

The Dark Knights army quickly surrounded the other side of the bridge. Leon, Neon, Mox, Jenny, and Daniel stood in front of the others. Mox, Jenny, and Daniel were in chains, Neon was clearly not handling the pressure well, and Leon was smoking a cigarette with STD perched on his shoulder and Ryan the Rock in his pocket.

Neon took a deep breath.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She turned around, and it was Leon.

"Hey, you got this. We're counting on you, so don't screw it up," Leon winked.

She nodded nervously. Then, she turned back around and took a few steps forward.

Virgil glanced at Curtis, who nodded. Virgil sighed and took a few steps forward as well.

The two leaders locked eyes across the bridge, but neither said a word.

Eventually, Virgil broke the ice.

"Neon, do you have what I need?"

Neon didn't reply for a few seconds. Then, she slowly nodded.

"I do," she replied, her voice quivering. "Do you have what I need?"

Virgil closed his eyes to calm himself down.

"I do."

Both armies watched with heightened tension as the two leaders exchanged phrases that sounded like they were written by a second grader wanting to be a superhero.

Virgil cleared his throat.

"Please show them to me."

Neon turned around and motioned to Jenny and Mox, who swallowed nervously.

Virgil nodded and looked at Oliver and Project Iris.

"Well, in that case, Neon, are you ready to trade?"

Neon looked down. Her breathing quickened and her pupils began to dilate. She felt a headache starting, and she grasped her head with her hands.

"She isn't handling this well," Mox whispered to Leon. Leon frowned and nodded in response.

Eventually, Neon looked up.

"I'm ready. However..."

"What is it?" Virgil inquired.

"I... I'd like to change the terms of the deal."

Leon's eyes widened.

"No," he thought. "No, Neon. Not now. Not when we're finally so close."

"I..." Neon continued, her voice shaking. "I would like to replace Mox and Jenny."

There was an audible gasp from both sides of the bridge.

"W-what?!" Virgil exclaimed.

"Well," Neon took a deep breath to steady herself. "I fit both of their roles. You need Jenny because she's the last female in the Virgilian Kingdom, but there are other females in the Dark Knights - and I am one of them. Therefore, I will work for Project Iris. Additionally,"

Neon paused.

"I am the leader of the Dark Knights. I ordered the attack that Mox carried out, and they should blame me, not him."

"She's lying," Mox whispered in horror.

Leon nodded in grim agreement.

"So," Neon's voice was still shaky, but it was getting sturdier. "I would like to replace both of them. Put me into Project Iris. It will complete your goal, and satisfy your people."

Virgil turned around to face his citizens. There was a murmur of agreement between them.

They were willing to have Neon killed instead of Mox.

Virgil turned back to Neon.

"B-but... Neon, why?"

"Because," Neon replied with tears in her eyes, "I care about them. I don't want them to die. And so, I'm willing to give my life for them."

There was complete silence for a few seconds, during which Virgil made eye contact with Oliver.

Finally, Virgil turned back around to Neon.

"Fine. I accept the new terms. But, to make sure that there isn't some trick here, I want Neon to come over to our side of the bridge first, before we send over Oliver."

Neon nodded. "That's fine with me."

She turned around to face her friends, who were reacting with mixed emotions.

Jenny and Daniel were near tears, Mox was mad, and Leon was frowning.

Oh, and Chandler, who hasn't been mentioned so far in this chapter, was also somewhere off to the side and crying or smth idk simp

Neon nodded, and Leon nodded back (the others were too focused on steadying their emotions to reply).

Neon turned back to Virgil and began crossing the bridge. Virgil watched her with a sad expression (she was his step-sister, after all). When she reached the other side, the citizens of the Virgil Empire began cheering.

"Dang, they're pretty happy to see me die, aren't they?" Neon laughed nervously.

"Yeah," Virgil replied with a frown. "Pierce, is Project Iris ready?"

Pierce nodded and clicked a button on the glass container, which unlocked it and allowed for Neon to step inside and get attached to the different tubes and wires.

The sight of the machine made Neon bite her lip in fear.

Leon cleared his throat and stepped onto the bridge.

"Virgil. I don't mean to rush you, but can you please hand over Oliver already?"

Virgil turned around to face his brother. Leon could see that Virgil really didn't want to do it.

Virgil glanced at Bonnie, who didn't respond. Virgil glanced at Curtis, and he nodded.

Then, Virgil glanced at Neon.

Suddenly, Virgil's eyes sparkled.

Looking at Neon...

Thinking about what she had just done...

It had inspired him.

He remembered Bonnie's words: There is always a choice.

Virgil turned back to Leon.

"Leon."

"Yes, Virgil?"

"I'm sorry, but I have decided that I am not giving you my brother, Leon."

.

"Ok, Ezra, what is this?"

"I told you," Ezra sighed. "It's the official prequel to the story, and you're in charge of writing it."

"But, why is a prequel important right now?" We have a problem in the present that we need to solve!"

"Don't worry," Ezra replied. "As long as you're in this room, time won't flow. I'll go help your friends figure out the ending to the current story. But, they aren't ready for the sequel just yet. You need to write the prequel... your prequel, first."

Ethan nodded.

"Okay, that makes sense. Alright, Ezra, go stop the war, and I'll write the prequel."

"Stop the war? I never said anything about stopping a war. I just said I'd save our friends!" Ezra laughed. "I'm afraid that from what I know - and I know a lot, being the sequel and all - a war is unavoidable. But some characters can be saved!"

"Ah," Ethan replied.

"Hehe," Ezra smiled. "So, anyway, no use beating around the bush. Begin writing, Inspector!"

.

"I'm sorry, but I have decided that I am not giving you my brother, Leon."

There was a loud gasp from the Dark Knights.

"Virgil, don't do this."

"I told you, I'm sorry. The deal ends here. I am taking Neon, and I promise not to attack the Dark Knights. We will have peace."

Leon turned around to look at his friends. Daniel and Jenny were frozen in horror, Mox was furious, and Chandler was busting a nut cuz stress y'know y'know

Suddenly, the Dark Knights (all one hundred) began edging toward the bridge.

The Virgilian soldiers raised their weapons.

"Halt!" Mox called out to the Dark Knights. Then, he turned to Leon.

"Leon," he whispered, "What do we do? Do I give the command to attack?"

Leon shook his head.

"No. If we attack, many, many Dark Knights will die. I won't have that."

Leon turned back toward Virgil.

"Don't worry, Mox. I'll take care of this one myself."

Leon began crossing the long bridge, causing the Virgilian soldiers to aim their weapons at him.

"Leon, stop or you'll be killed," Virgil warned.

Needless to say, Leon did not stop. In fact, he sped up and started jogging across the bridge.

"I'm sorry," Virgil whispered. "Soldiers, fire."

Instantly, a hundred or so bullets were fired toward Leon. Mox turned pale and Daniel clasped his now freed hands over his mouth in horror.

Unfortunately for Virgil, when the smoke cleared, Leon was...unharmed.

He was on the ground, crouching down, protecting STD and Ryan.

"I've said it before," Leon announced, standing back up, "but I'll say it again. I'm bulletproof."

Virgil's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Shit," Virgil cursed, stepping back.

"But wait," Leon smiled, "It doesn't end here. As a writer, I call this foreshadowing."

Leon squeezed his fist.

"STD, show yourself."

As soon as Leon said it, an enormous lightning bolt screeched through the air and hit the guinea pig.

Hint: think AOT transformations.

The force of the strike sent a shockwave of air and dust toward everyone, and all the people nearby were pushed a few feet backwards.

When the smoke once again cleared, the reactions were mixed.

"Damn."

"What the hell."

"Oh shit."

"Holy..."

"What the f-"

"Pu. Pu. PU." The thirty foot tall T-Rex announced.

"I told you," Leon grinned, "STD stands for Strong and Tough Dinosaur."

STD roared and charged toward the Virgil army. All the soldiers began firing machine guns at the dinosaur, but the "tough" part of STD's name was certainly accurate as all their bullets merely bounced off the dinosaur.

As soon as he reached Virgil, STD roared and swung his tail at him. Virgil barely dove out of the way, but the tail slammed into...Project Iris.

Causing the machine to blow up.

"No!!!!" Pierce yelled, dropping to his knees. STD roared again and bent down over Pierce.

Chomp lmao

Rip Pierce Middleton Chapter 11 - Chapter 13.

"Kill the dinosaur!!!" Derek yelled, and the archers began raining arrows down on the dinosaur.

The front line soldiers attacked STD with swords and spears.

The back lines loaded cannons and fired them at the dinosaur.

Unfortunately, our favorite guinea pig didn't appear to feel these inconveniences.

STD went swish swish with his tail, and Virgilian warriors were sent flying in all directions.

.

Somewhere, on top of a cliff, Dane grinned.

"Seems we won't need to use the tanks yet after all," he announced to his gangmates.

On a different cliff, Jarvis had the opposite reaction.

"Shit. Lucas, things are getting out of hand. It's time to release the powder."

Leon took advantage of the confusion and dived for Oliver, who had finally escaped the ropes binding him. He tackled him and the two of them fell to the ground. Leon grabbed Ry the Rock and raised his hand in order to swing it down into Oliver's head and kill him.

Unfortunately, before he could, someone grabbed his wrist.

Leon looked up, and it was Virgil.

"Fuck you, Leon," Virgil spat, judo flipping Leon over himself and off of Oliver.

Leon landed hard on the floor and cursed from the pain.

Virgil drew a sword.

"Leon, you may be bullet-proof, but I would like to inform you that I am in fact the best swordsman in the kingdom."

Virgil swung his sword faster than Leon could react, and it hit Leon between the legs.

"Juan!!!" Leon cried out in pain.

"Juan?!" Virgil exclaimed, confused.

"Oh, I have two penises: Jimmy and Juan. It's a long story, though."

"Ah," Virgil nodded in understanding. Then, he swung his sword again, except this time, it was aimed at Leon's chest.

Clang

Virgil looked up in disgust at the person who had blocked the blow.

"Mox."

Mox sneered.

"Hello, old friend."

"Gah!" Virgil swung again, this time at Mox. Mox blocked the blow, but the sheer force of it forced Mox to back off.

"You're strong," Mox commented.

"Thanks," Virgil replied.

"I'll just uh, get up here," Leon replied, innocently scrambling to his feet and squeezing his hand around Ry to make him extra hard.

Virgil laughed.

"You two are no match for me," he announced.

"Three REEEEEEE" Daniel yelled, pouncing on Virgil with a stick, which broke as soon as it hit Virgil's head.

"Nice one, Daniel," Leon commented, "I think Virgil almost felt the blow."

Virgil twirled his sword in his hands and launched himself at Leon. Leon dived out of the way, and Mox counter attacked, slicing Virgil's shoulder.

Virgil quickly recovered, however, and swung at Mox. The latter defended, and Leon tossed Ry to Daniel, who slammed it down into Virgil's back, making the king collapse to the floor.

When he fell down, Virgil's sword was knocked out of his hands, and Ryan pounced on it and snapped it into two pieces.

The three Dark Knights (four if you count Ry) circled Virgil, who was now defenseless on the ground. A quick glance to the right told Virgil that his army was currently in the process of being destroyed by a large dinosaur. The Dark Knights, too, had joined in the fight (mostly because no one cared about Mox's orders lol) and were absolutely destroying the fleeing military of Virgil.

"Well, shit," Virgil sighed, looking up at the three people circling him. "Kill me already."

The three of them exchanged glances and nodded in mutual understanding.

"I'll offer you a deal," Leon began.

"Surrender to the Dark Knights, and we won't kill you or anyone else," Mox continued.

"Fail to surrender, and I will bite your toes off," Daniel finished.

Virgil scrambled to his knees.

After a moment of consideration, he nodded.

"I surrender," he whispered.

Mox grinned and raised his sword into the air.

"Dark Knights, we win!!!"

The fighting quickly slowed to a stop as the soldiers realized that Virgil had been defeated. The Dark Knights slowed their attacks and STD stopped swinging his tail.

"Get to your feet, my former king," Leon commanded, shoving Virgil. "Tell them."

Virgil obliged and stood up, facing the battlefield.

He sighed.

"We...we surrender."

A huge cheer went up from the Dark Knights. Mox and Leon high fived, then embraced Daniel and the three of them hugged - no homo ofc

STD looked up at the sky and roared happily, which caused lots of terrified groaning and moaning from the Virgilian soldiers.

Curtis dropped to his knees in sadness and Oliver decided to lose consciousness on the spot.

"Don't worry, Virgil," Leon whispered. "This really is better for your people. Trust me."

Virgil nodded with tears in his eyes.

"Screw you, Leon."

Leon laughed and picked up Ry, who was busy breaking Virgil's poor sword.

"Hey!!" a familiar voice called out.

The three boys turned to see Jenny carrying a half-unconscious Neon toward them.

"Jenny!!" Daniel yelled with tears in his eyes.

"Neon!!" Mox exclaimed happily.

"I tried so hard and she's still alive, damn it," Leon frowned at his ex.

"Uh, what the hell happened here?"

Everyone (like a thousand people) spun around to look at the source of the voice.

"I was uh, uhm, busy behind a rock," Chandler whispered, "and uh the next thing I see is a uh war... that is over?"

Daniel turned to Leon.

"At least we know he'll probably last a long time in bed."

"That is indeed very useful information," Leon replied.

Mox puckered his face in response to Chandler and turned back around to everyone.

"Well then, I guess this is where the story ends?"

Daniel nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, it's been a tough road, but it's finally over now, isn't it?"

"Ha!" Leon smiled, shaking his head. "I was sure there'd be a sequel, but I somehow managed to be such a good writer that I wrapped up the whole plot in the final chapter!"

"Congrats man," Daniel patted Leon on the back. "Although, it feels like we're missing something..."

"Yeah," Mox agreed. "Like, a subplot or something. Something we're forgetting."

"What?" Leon inquired. "No, I think we're all good, right?"

So, as it turned out, they weren't exactly all good.

"About good things," Virgil turned to his new friends, "why do I smell something really good?"

Daniel sniffed the air.

"Hmm. Yeah, it does smell pretty good. Like, a familiar, nostalgic scent."

"You guys are right, yeah," Mox laughed. "Reminds me of my childhood. I wonder what it is!"

Leon sniffed the air, and his eyes widened.

"Guys, I figured it out."

"Figured out what?"

"What subplot we forgot about."

As soon as he said that, the ground exploded about a hundred feet in front of them. The rocks flew into all directions, and a huge monster rose from the Earth.

A gigantic dragon, at least 500 feet long.

And on top of it, standing erect, were two people.

Clothed in only robes and leaves, Lucas and Jarvis's smiles could be seen from miles away.

The ground around them began shaking and rainbows burst from the ground everywhere. The rainbows quickly morphed into 10-feet tall humans, all clearly ready to kill.

"Today begins a new age!" Jarvis's voice boomed in everyone's ears.

"Shit." All the main characters unanimously announced. "We are so fucked."

Even STD, dwarfed by the huge monster, pu-pu-pu'd in fear and transformed back into a guinea pig.

"How the hell do we escape?!" Virgil looked at Leon for advice.

"There is no escape. I just got a notification that the underground trains have been destroyed," Mox replied, the terror painted on his face.

"We are so screwed ._." Daniel announced quietly.

Thankfully, that wasn't exactly the case.

"Suka blyattttttttttttttttttttttttttt!!!" Ezra yelled, causing everyone to once again spin around.

Ezra pulled up to all the main characters in a huge truck. White and black and 50 feet long with 18 wheels, the truck was huge. And if that wasn't enough, there were numerous carts attached to the back end of the truck, enough to fit around 500 people. 

Ezra jumped out with a grin. "Comrades, get in!!" he exclaimed.

Daniel's eyes lit up, but Mox realized something.

"We'll never fit in there. There's thousands of us."

"Oh," Ezra realized. "Good point."

"Mox!" Chandler called out, "Don't worry. Escape. I'll lead the Dark Knights into battle."

"C-Chandler, no...you'll die..."

"My king," Curtis stood back up. "Go on. Me and Derek will hold off these freaks."

"Curtis, Derek, you'll be defeated..."

"Don't worry about us," Chandler flashed a smile as he turned toward the monsters on the field. "Dark Knights, raise your weapons!!!"

"Yes," Derek yelled. "Warriors and citizens of the Virgil Empire-"

"Attack!!!" Curtis cried out, grabbing his sword and charging into battle.

And so, the force of thousands of humans cried out a battle cry and, for the first time in... our planet's history, united to fight a common foe. Citizens, soldiers, and Dark Knights alike charged into the battle to defend their leaders, while others who could fit inside the truck stormed into the vehicle, crowding it until it was nearly full.

"Wow," Leon smiled. "Maybe there really is hope for humanity."

Leon turned around to face the remaining main characters of the story.

"It's time to go while we can, guys," he announced.

"Yes," Ezra grinned. "Off to the sequel we go."

.

Ethan paced back and forth in front of the laptop.

A prequel.

A prequel!

Ha! That was much easier said than done.

He hadn't even written a single thing, and he was already experiencing writer's block.

"What should I write..." he wondered.

Then he realized it.

He should begin where his story began.

The story of how he became who he was today. The story of familiar and new people. The story of the history of the Virgil Empire.

Ethan smiled.

In that case, he knew exactly where to start.

And so, the Inspector closed the door to the office, poured himself some coffee, and sat down to write.

Ethan chuckled.

"My dear readers, you guys are in for another very fun ride."