Game 36: The Day Before

Takeshi woke up inside a giant box, one of one thousand players inside. There was a single door leading out of the box, and a giant tower looming over everyone.

Before he could even get a grasp on what was happening, a loud voice shouted, “Good morning, sleepyheads!”

A screen then appeared inside the box revealing Lazlo Cardona, The Game's boss, and Mr. Set, Lazlo's one time colleague and now greatest rival.

“Ah, the sweet taste of victory,” Lazlo began his monologue. “Alas, only one of you will be able to taste it. This is the Tower of Power. The rules are pretty simple: I have personally selected one thousand players to face this challenge, consisting of thirteen levels. The first person to reach the 13th level of the Tower will fight a very special champion I have selected. The other nine hundred and ninety-nine of you will most likely be defeated along the way. However, I am a generous man. You may forfeit this challenge at any time, in which case, you will immediately be sent home.”

Mr. Set gave Lazlo an awful glare upon hearing that last bit.

“What's in there?!” a random player asked, referring to the Tower itself.

“The greatest challenge any of you will have ever faced in your time inside The Game,” Lazlo explained. “I hope you like it. I designed this level myself.”

“I didn't know you were a coder,” Mr. Set told Lazlo.

“I dabble,” Lazlo answered.

The screen then changed to show a timer, starting at ten seconds. Takeshi correctly assumed this was the countdown to the start of the challenge. He was having trouble finding his friends, who were also invited to take part in this challenge, among the crowd.

Three. Two. One. Zero!

•

Everyone tried to run into the Tower at the same time, which created quite a traffic jam. Takeshi, being closer to the door, was one of the first inside the Tower. But he wasn't going to go anywhere without his friends. That was their plan, after all, to finish the Tower of Power together.

He then heard a voice call out, “Hang on tight! Magic Art: Phase Field!” Running through the crowd was Rita and Makoto, having literally phased through dozens of people like they were ghosts.

“Rita! Makoto!” Takeshi said excitedly.

“We got a pretty good head start, but there's still quite a few people we need to beat if we want to get to the top,” Rita explained.

“Where are the others?” Takeshi asked.

“I saw a rat dart through the door as soon as the timer hit zero,” Makoto answered.

“That must have been Proteus.”

“Aisha was just sitting in the corner with her sketchbook,” Rita answered.

“That just leaves Sora…”

“Henshin! Erica, come to me!” The trio heard Sora say from inside the box.

“That's him,” Takeshi noted. The trio then heard an explosion and saw someone jump out of the top of the box, leaping to the next floor carrying someone else. “Alright, let's move!”

•

It didn't take long for the gang to be reunited as they made their way up the Tower. Sora and Aisha were waiting for the others on the second floor. They found Proteus waiting for them on the fourth floor. At first, it seemed like a very simple challenge: a race to the top of a tower. Even Takeshi had played games like this before.

•

The gang were among the first to reach the thirteenth floor. As opposed to earlier floors, this one occupied a larger space with a very high ceiling.

“Alright, Lazlo…” Takeshi said with raspy breath. “We completed your 13th Level… Where's our wish?”

“Oh, you've made it to Level 2,” Lazlo told them. “Congratulations! Only several more Levels to go!”

“Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!” Takeshi complained.

“Hey, this challenge isn't supposed to be easy,” Lazlo laughed. “If you want to win, you have to want it badly enough!”

The gang saw that this floor was the first one with an obstacle: wasps. Lots and lots of wasps. A couple of other players had already been defeated by the swarm while Lazlo had been giving them exposition.

“Okay, anyone got any ideas on how we can get past the giant stinging horde?” Makoto asked.

“Ive got an idea,” Rita said as she revealed her green orb. With a gust of wind, Rita was given her Mossy Sylvan cloak, which granted her increased speed and the power of flight. She then flew close to the nest floating in the center of the level.

“Rita! What are you doing?!” Takeshi asked her.

“Shock Arrows!” Rita called out as she sent three arrows right at the nest, sending a shock wave through it. Without the nest and without the queen, the other wasps would have no idea what to do. Her plan worked, but not quite as well as she expected it to. Attacking the nest put a massive green target on her back. Now, thousands of wasps were trying to attack her.

“Proteus, with me!” Takeshi shouted.

“What's the plan?” Proteus asked.

“Ragbunny Leap!”

In a matter of seconds, Proteus had stuffed his ragbunny self into Takeshi's pocket, and they were both several dozen feet in the air. Takeshi began to swat the wasps away with his sword, only to partial success. He then saw a button high up on the side of the room.

“Rita! Hit that button!” Takeshi called out to her.

“Are you sure?!”

“Positive!”

Rita shot a single arrow at the button. Pressing it opened a door and released a ladder for people stuck on the ground to climb up.

“Let's get out of here!” Rita told the others.

Makoto was the first to reach the ladder, casting a Holy Barrier to protect himself and the others as they climbed. It took a while, but they had made it to safety. They had made it to Level 3.

Similarly to Level 2, Level 3 was a single room that took up a lot of the Tower's vertical space. Unlike Level 2, Level 3 was a magnetic tube and rhythm course, with a rather shocking surprise coming to anyone who would dare misstep.

“Really? Dancing tesla coils?” Makoto complained.

“You've seen them before?” Takeshi asked.

“I saw them in a video game once,” Makoto explained. “You have to dodge them while you make your way to the end of the course. But they're timed to music, so you have to be extra careful.”

Thanks to Makoto's expertise, they were able to get through this Level without much issue. However, a problem was quickly becoming apparent. This tower would take forever to climb with all of these obstacles.

Level 4 was a water room… somehow… The gang needed to swim up and through the Level in order to get to the other side. Swimming between them and their goal were all sorts of aquatic obstacles: electric eels, sharks, lionfish, stingrays, and the risk of drowning, among others things. This time, it was Aisha with the plan to get through this Level. She sealed the group inside a magic bubble which got rid of the need to swim.

•

Back at the first floor of the Tower, the Desert Rose had been quietly and patiently waiting for the initial chaos of the challenge to subside before she would attempt her climb. When the coast was clear, she made her move.

“Diamond Punch!” A giant fist made of diamonds punched a hole in the wall of the Tower, giving her access to the outside. She whistled for her vehicle of choice, a broom. Her plan was very simple: cheat. However, even with her cheating, the top of the Tower was still several thousand feet up. She needed to get a move on if she wanted to beat everyone to the top.

•

Level 5 was much like Level 1 except this time the hallways and stairways were full of monsters.

“Alright,” Takeshi said. “My turn.” He revealed his white orb. “Let's rocket!” With a gust of wind, Takeshi was given his Brilliant Angel armor. These monsters were no match for the gang's teamwork. They ran, dodged, and slashed their way through to Level 6, a ninja obstacle course, and Level 7, a room where they had to find a key to get through the door.

Finally, they had made their way to Level 8, a completely empty room. Here, they decided to rest up for the night, considering how much they had to fight through just to get to this Level. The sun was going down for the night, anyways.

After a well-deserved night of rest, the gang decided to make their way up to Level 9. They were interrupted by Aisha saying, “Guys… I don't feel so good…”