FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"I don't know about you, but I'm excited," Havok said as the four waited at the coordinates that Ailsa had given them, the sun in perpetual setting mode since this area wasn't really developed for anything other than for people to hang out and talk. "We're going to be the first players outside of the developers to see the new expansion for DREAM!"

"I admit that this alone makes the journey somewhat worth it," Vyrnen responded as he looked out over the waves. "Not completely, since we still could have had our accounts deleted and possible charges brought against us in the real world, but definitely getting there. Of course I'll be happier once we have the other half of this master key."

"At least we know that the rumors are true that it was going to be a water level," Vosh chimed in. "Magus should fit right in."

The demonic alligator just chuckled and then looked at his watch. Ailsa had told them that they would be able to breach into the new level once she had gotten Mai to run their permissions through the system so they didn't set off any alarms, which was a few hours ago. Though they were in a completely legitimate section of the game hanging around what they assumed would be the entry point to this new world probably was more than a little suspicious, especially if any alarms were going off to new intrusions. Unfortunately since the update wasn't connected to the rest of the game yet they had no way of contacting the third member of their group until they breached the other side.

Just as they started to wonder if they should try and get in contact with someone else from the group the waters of the beach began to uncharacteristically recede. The four stood up and began to walk towards the shore as the wet sand continued to be revealed until they were looking at a steep incline about fifty meters into the ocean with a wall of water. Though everyone was in awe Magus ushered everyone to move forward quickly in case someone else decided they wanted to be there. They quickly ran as fast as they could, trying not to sink in the waterlogged sand beneath them as the path narrowed to a single spot deep down on the edge of a small sea bed ravine.

It was a singular cave, the four growing cautious after running up to the edge of it. For all they knew this could be some elaborate trap put forth by Frost Arc to capture them... but as they looked at one another they knew if they backed out now there was no way they could come back to this point. With the legion causing noise and their own involvement the company was going to put two and two together that someone was after something, which meant if they didn't extract the master key this time they would likely not have another chance to exploit the system. That was enough for Magus as he created a ball of fire in his hands before walking in with the others right behind him.

The second they all crossed the threshold into the cave they heard the ocean crash around them, water spilling into the cave and pushing them downwards. The magical fire in the alligator's hand went out as they slipped and slid down the smooth rock until they finally hit the pool below as the tunnel they just went down filled up behind them. As the four regained their bearings they did see a light at the end of the pool where they could go up and when they did they gasped as they broke the surface of the pool. Once they had a chance to catch their breath they looked around to find themselves in a large cavern filled with ancient glyphs and a number of other pools that led elsewhere, along with a stringray waiting for them while smoking.

"It's about time you four got here," Ailsa said as shi finished one last drag before flicking it into a puddle where it disappeared. "Welcome to the waypoint."

"About time we got here?" Vyrnen stated as he crawled out of the pool with the others, robes dripping as they hung soggily on him. "we were the ones waiting for you!"

"Well... turns out when you're trying to find the start point when you're at some random adventure spawn for whatever the developer was working on it's hard to trace your steps back," Ailsa replied with a shrug. "But in any case we're going to need to get changed before we can get going to the master key, part of the rules of the house with this being underwater and all. It's hard to see on me since I've already got an aquatic themed character but there have been a few modifications to my avatar, and if you want to survive for more than three minutes you're going to have to grab a pearl over from the clam."

The four looked over at a large clam that was in one corner of the room and saw a massive stack of small pearls on them, each of them with the same identifier tag on them. From Magus' identification they were a transformative so that they could be underwater indefinitely with the magic designed to wear off once they surfaced. The idea was to make whatever avatar consumed them to look as aquatic as possible without losing the aesthetics of their character, which for someone like Ailsa meant very little alteration. For two two dragons, an alligator, and a plant bat it was likely going to be more drastic in nature.

"Looks like they're going to have multiple options for when the mod actually opens," Havok said as he looked at the other closed clams. "Mermaids and seahorses and such, for now it looks like anthro aquatic is the only way in."

"That's fine with me," Magus replied as he picked up one of the pearls and swallowed it. "Considering this world isn't supposed to be available for another six months I'm just glad there is a way to get in." The others took a pearl and watched their leader for any significant changes, and when they didn't happen they all looked at Ailsa. "I thought I was supposed to be some sort of fish creature right now?"

"Transformation happens when you hit the water," Ailsa explained. "Now hurry up, we're waiting time here and the others and I are currently in the basement of some dude's house with them possessing two of the security guards."

"You certainly know what that's like," Vyrnen replied with a grin before swallowing one of the pearls. The others quickly did the same and once everyone was ready they walked over to one of the pools with Ailsa. It was currently the only one that was lit and as the glyphs translated themselves before their eyes they saw that it led to the main city. "Looks like this is the only area that we can go to, is that where the master key is being hidden?"

"I certainly hope so," Ailsa replied. "It's the only area I can find access too."

The stringray fell back into the pool of water with a splash and the others quickly followed suit, and the second that they were completely enveloped by the water they could feel the transformation begin to wash over them. For Magus, already being a somewhat aquatic creature in nature, the changes were rather subtle. As he continued to swim downwards he could feel his feet growing longer while webbing appeared between his hands and his toes. His biggest change was when the two ridges of his back merged together and expanded, forming into a fin that extended all the way down his tail as he continued to swim deeper while a pair of gills appeared on his neck.

For Havok and Vyrnen their changes went along different routes despite both being dragons, though for Vyrnen he had to pause his descent for a bit when his wings fused to his arms. With his altering physique he found himself able to wave them up and down with much more control while still retaining his normal arm movements. He could also feel more of the same membrane that was now on his arms stretching around his legs as well, giving him a strange sensation of having a wingsuit. When his transformation completed he felt like he was slicing through the water rather than swimming through it, feeling the currents cascading along every inch of his new sleek body.

For the other dragon Havok felt his physique going the other way, swelling with muscles as his fingers and toes grew the same webbing that Magus head. With each second his body swam more powerfully through the water and as his tail grew a small set of fins midway down and flared out into a big one at the end he began to dolphin kick to go even fasther. Soon most of his power was coming from his lower body as his spine stretched slightly, a stream of bubbles escaping from the sea dragon's mouth as a dorsal fin stretched from his back.

But it was Vosh by far that had the most dramatic transformation of all, the bat's entire body becoming wavy and rippling as it maintained its plant-like constitution. Though he still clearly had arms his legs had fused together and his body had grown wide like a ribbon. It took him a bit to get used to moving his entire body like a wave in order to move but when he did he found himself slithering through the water effortlessly. He did have to stop for a few seconds when he felt a similar stretching sensation happen not only in the flesh of his neck to give him a cobra-like hood but also feeling his muzzle getting squished into a more serpentine snout.

By the time they got to the underwater city the five had become aquatic versions of themselves, all of them ready to explore the ancient temple and the wares inside. When they got there however they didn't see the usual NPC shop keepers or other filler sprites, which made sense since it appeared they were still in the middle of doing the concept. It was an extremely ambitious expansion that the DREAM team was cooking up and the players were still a bit awestruck that they got to see it first before anyone else. But Magus quickly put them on task, reminding them that the sole purpose for them being there in the first place is to find the other half of the master key.

"So what do we do now?" Havok asked after they realized they could all speak to one another underwater. "Split up and search? I know it's not as big as the capital city but there are a lot of hiding spots for an asset like that."

"I would prefer us to stick together for the time being," Magus replied. "Just because we're in a place no one is supposed to be doesn't mean that there won't be something here to stop us. Plus considering we aren't connected to the main game anymore we probably don't have a spawn point that we can just come back to if we die."

"Wait a second..." Vosh said nervously as he swam over to the aquatic alligator. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"If what you think I'm saying is that if we die here we probably won't reset our characters then yeah," Magus replied. "It's possible we could reappear back in the game but it's going to throw up the red flags on the servers too I'm sure. So... just don't die."

The look of anxiety on others could clearly be seen as they started to move forward once more, trying to look for some clue of where this master key asset should be. Though none of them were talking they all knew what was on the minds of the others; even when fully fleshed out and released there was often a lot of balance issues that need to be addressed when it comes to new worlds. The programmers probably haven't even balanced out the battles yet so there was a real chance they could come across something that they can't win no matter what. It made everyone nervous to the point of paranoia as they swam out of the ruined city and into the temple.

It got worse when they got into the next zone and found that it was populated, this time with a number of creatures that looked like monster encounters. Vyrnen quickly put down a repel spell that kept most of them at bay while others they either had to run or hide in order to avoid being drawn into a battle. Unfortunately the rules that they were used to in the realm of the game were not quite the same as they were here. With the inclusion of being underwater and their bodies transformed there were spells that didn't work at all or worked super effectively. When they did finally get caught in the battle they had to learn how to battle in their new forms while fighting for the lives of their characters.

Luckily their high levels were able to help them get through some of the harder battles and mistakes that they made were still cushioned by their high-level equipment and abilities. It emboldened them enough to continue to move forward until they got to the castle of the witch king, a palace carved from the black stone of the sea floor with a problem that they quickly figured out. "There's no door!" Vosh practically shouted as they all swam up and down to try and find something out. "They probably didn't even create anything inside yet, how are we supposed to find this key if the most likely place is completely inaccessible?"

"Calm yourself Vosh," Magus said, holding his hand up in order to think for a few moments. Though it was enough to calm down their warrior he could tell the contents of the outburst were felt by all those that were swimming around them. They could only go to places where the code would take them and it was possible that the developers were smart enough to have formed an impenetrable wall to keep anyone who might wonder in from getting the keys to the kingdom...

"This doesn't make any sense," Vyrnen said after making another swim circuit around the castle. "There's no way that we have come all this way and searched all these places in order to be stopped now, I mean how do they update the game if they hid some place that the game can't even access? How is it possible that we're unable to get inside a place they have clearly made because of a few lines of missing code are-"

"Wait..." Magus said, looking up from his thoughts at the sea dragon. "What did you just say?"

"I said it doesn't make any sense-" Vyrnen started to say before the demonic alligator cut him off.

"No, at the end," Magus urged.

"...you mean that it's missing code?" Vyrnen asked, the others starting to gather around as they heard the two going back and forth.

"Exactly," Magus exclaimed. "How do you know that it's missing code?"

"Well computers are kind of my thing and you develop a sense of what's wrong when you work on a project from the inside," Vyrnen explained as he gestured back towards the area that was supposed to be the entrance. "The reason that we're not going to be getting in here isn't because they put on some sort of lock that we could potentially manipulate, it's because there is no doorway there at all. Whatever code is supposed to link this place to where we are is completely missing and unless we want to try and write it ourselves it'll be impossible to get into, which doesn't make sense because they would have to rewrite the code every time to get access to the key."

"Unless... the code was all ready part of the process..." Magus hypothesized as he looked over at Ailsa. "You're still in contact with Mai, right?"

"Yeah," Ailsa responded quickly. "Why?"

"Because I think the only way we're going to get into this place is if we activate the part of the key that Mai already has," Magus stated, the others looking at him with slight shock. "The second that half of the key connects with the game world I bet it's going to automatically insert the key we need to open this lock, and when that happens we can swim in and copy the other half. Do you think that could work?"

The others looked at one another, mainly at Vyrnen who just shrugged, then back to Ailsa as shi said that she would make the call. The remaining four waited anxiously as they saw her avatar go limp, meaning that shi was interacting with the real world while still connected to the game. They all began to wonder if this was a long shot, if Frost Arc had somehow found a fool-proof way to protect themselves from intruders such as themselves. The other anxiety-inducing fact was that every second they stayed in the game there was the remote possibility that someone who had access to this part of the game would log in and notice that there were people playing that shouldn't be there.

About ten mintues went by before Ailsa came back to them with a concerned look on hir face. "Mai says that Magus might be right and there is possibly a self-executing program that will happen whenever the half of the key senses its connected with DREAM," she reiterated. "The problem is that the second she activates the key the already thin margin of error on this mission goes down to a razor's edge. She says that if we don't copy the code at the exact moment that it makes contact with our half of the master key it's going to attempt to contact the secure server and blow everything sky high."

"So we have to be quick about it," Magus said. "How long after she activates the key do we have to find and copy the other half?"

"She can stall the upload and give us about twenty minutes at most," Ailsa replied, the others looking at one another with concern. "The good news is that the other half of the key is going to be powering up at the same time so it should be at least easy to spot."

"Are we sure about this?" Havok stated. "If the game runs a sweep while we're here then it's game over, in twenty minutes if we don't succeed all our characters are exposed."

"I agree," Vosh chimed in nervously. "This plan is insane, we'll never make it through this level in time to find the key even if it's shining like a beacon. I think it might be time to call it a day."

"You can't possibly be serious about that!" Vyrnen nearly shouted. "How many times have we had to fight the clock in the game, only to come out on top with the best loot? This is no different than any other game we've played before."

"A most dangerous game..." Magus said to himself, though it was loud enough to stop the others from escalating at one another as they all looked up to him. "But it's one that I intend to finish. While I can't force you to follow me all I can ask is that you give me fifteen minutes, if in that time we can't find what we're looking for than you guys can fast travel and get out of here in time before the keys connect and ping the server."

The others looked at one another and for the first time in a while they were all silent. Eventually the other four nodded to their leader and Magus responded in kind, then told Ailsa to tell Mai to start the connection sequence. As the information was relayed through the real world the other four waited for their chance to storm the castle... though they didn't have to wait long.

Suddenly a beam of golden light came down from above, shining down from the surface right onto the area that they believed to be the door of the castle. It was the manifestation of the code connecting to the world and as they watched the black stone glistened with a golden light before dissolving away and revealing the passage within. Magus shouted for the rest of them to swim as fast as they can, moving through the revealed threshold and into the castle. What they found on the other side was darkness, save for the advancing wall of golden light that was the program loading into the game to connect with its mate somewhere in the castle.

Yet despite it being sealed off the underwater castle still operated like a game; the other four had to watch the light growing closer to them as Havok had to pick the lock or Vosh using his blades in order to slice through the enemies that stood in their way while Magus blasted the rest with his magic. All five felt their adrenaline pumping as they continued to stay only a few feet ahead of the advancing brightness that served as their impromptu clock. As time ticked down they saw something that caused them all hope, something bright shining up in the distance that had to be the other half of the master key. They took a chance with their presumption and swam as fast as they could down the tunnel that emptied into a large cavern where a shiny pearl crown floated in the otherwise pitch darkness.

Just as they started to advance forward however they were all knocked backwards into the cavern wall from a wave of bubbles, all of them taking damage as they looked to see what they thought was darkness unfurl into a massive creature that was a set of glowing white eyes and shadow tentacles. The following was a bit of exposition on how they were foolish to attempt to take on the witch king and that this place would be their underwater tomb. The five took the time they got in order to regroup, Magus asking if anyone had how much time was left before the master key would connect and getting a response that caused him to shake his head.

"Six minutes..." the demonic alligator said with a sigh, looking up at the huge boss battle. "Not a lot of time to beat a boss we never faced before in a section of the game that isn't even fleshed out yet. If you guys want to fast travel out of here now is the time to go, the second that I engage with it you won't be able to leave."

"I think that's just fine with me," Vyrnen stated as he readied a spell.

"Same here," Ailsa interjected.

The other dragon and the plant bat looked at one another, then sighed and got their weapons ready as well. "Well I don't know what we would do if we have to wait for you guys to create another character... after getting out of prison. Maybe they'll let us play together if we're lucky enough."

The five looked at one another and gave one another a stern nod before looking back at the creature that they were about to fight. Normally they would have at least a few days of prep work before they would do a boss battle like this, but this time they were going in completely unprepared on what this thing could do. For all they knew this battle didn't even have a win condition, but they weren't there to beat the boss. They all initialized their moves and got ready, the witch king doing its intro battle animation before they were able to start the fight.

As the fight commenced all of them immediately began to swirl through the water, using their new bodies and the bonuses that they brought in order to stay mobile. They blasted the creature with everything they had, all the spells and items that they had stored up were used in order to merely keep the tentacles at bay. Even though they were going all out it was clear that their lack of preparation was costing them dearly as more than once one of them got slammed into the wall or slashed with various attacks. But as four of them continued to use spells and attacks to distract the creature their thief was going to do the thing that he did best.

Havok used every skill he had to boost his speed, then used his steal ability and aimed it straight for the crown. It was glowing brightly at this point any doubt that this was the item in question was banished. All the others were adding to its distraction which racked up his bonus to his special ability, though with how bloody the others looked they weren't going to last long. All he could do now was keep focused and hope that the witch king didn't see him as he stretched out his hand. Just as it turned its head towards him he used one last ability, the sea dragon going invisible at the last second.

Unfortunately invisibility didn't seem to work underwater and almost immediately the witch king sent the bony spur of one of its tentacles to interrupt the attempt, Havok's mind racing as he tried to think of what power to do in order to counter. He had put everything into speed though and even if he managed to dodge, which seemed unlikely, it would still interrupt his attempt. With the golden light starting to spill into the cavern the rest of the party watched as everything they had done up to this point was going to be for nothing. Havok braced himself...

Only to see Magus suddenly teleport in front of him, the demonic alligator taking the blow and deflecting it away from the thief. "Magus!" Havok shouted as the character flashed red, a clear sign that he had been hit into an incapacitated state. "No!"

"Keep going!" Ailsa shouted as shi tried to swim over to where their sorcerer had landed. With the fatal attack blocked Havok reached forward and made his steal, his fingers clutching onto the asset that contained the code. Almost immediately the second he pulled it away the fight finished and all of them were able to freely move about once more.

Just as the golden light spilled into the cavern the witch king let out a screeching cry, the others in its grasp looking up to see the crown darting off of its head as the rogue that snatched it continued to swim away. It caused the witch king to quickly dissolve away as the other four quickly backed away from the creature while its in its death animation. As Havok tossed the crown to Vyrnen in order to utilize and copy the coding in the asset the others tried to use their healing items, especially Magus as he floated against the rock with his dying animation going on. He could feel everything starting to go black as he attempted to try and get his potion off, only to find that potions weren't working underneath the water.

As everything faded to final black Magus realized that while he was going to lose his character it was going to all be worth it in the end. They were going to get the key and they were going to rule this place, something that he couldn't wait to see even if its after making someone new. Just as the timeout window elapsed however he found himself not getting kicked out of the game, instead as he opened his eyes again he found himself and the rest of his party back to full health. As they looked to see the others talking to one another they saw that the crown that had been stolen from the witch king now looked to be made out of pure gold.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Havok said with a grin as he put the crown on Magus' head. "Turns out when you control the source code to the game you can make it so you don't die, especially in an area that's still having the rules hammered out."

"Well I'm glad to hear it," Magus replied as he took the crown off of his head and looked at it. "So this is it, the keys to the kingdom... a rather fitting asset to contain it in. Did the guys on the other side get it as well?"

"Yeah, Mai just contacted us and told Ailsa that they got a copy of the key on their end as well," Vyrnen stated with a grin as they started to swim out of the castle and back into the ocean. "So... what do we do from here, fearless leader?"

"Whatever we want guys," Magus said with a chuckle, waving the crown at them. "Whatever we want..."