"Inferno Gust!" Bladez shouted, swinging his sword towards Crawsectus, summoning a blast of burning wind that launched the crustacean back with a cry of pain.

"What's the matter, can't stand the heat?" the Underworlder growled.

"I'll be fine" came the nasally reply. "But YOU need to cool off. Hail Storm!"

Crawsectus raised a claw revealing a bracer strapped to the appendge. A gemstone set in the Torrent Krinth shone brightly as a flurry of jagged ice shards burst forth from the claw, sending Bladez flying backwards with a yell.

The warrior rolled with the impact and jumped to his feet just in time to hear his opponent shout "Sludge Gush!"

"Sunuva-" the curse was cut short, a wave of mud washing over the now wet and filthy Underworlder, pushing him up against the stadium wall and causing him to drop his sword.

Crawsectus scuttled forward, snapping his pincers menacingly. "Tough luck, AirRazor. Looks like I've-what's that?" the Overworlder asked, tilting it's head as Bladez pulled something out of a compartment in his shield.

"A Mugician's Lyre" he replied conversationally, strumming a quick tune in the instrument. "Song of Fury!"

Crawsectus froze in shock as a spirit, deep red and bearing a vaguely humanoid form, left Bladez' body and was drawn into a crystal, little more than a flat heptagon with a hollow center, hovering just above the warrior. A series of harsh, ominous notes sounded out through the area and jets of flame burst forth from the Mugic, enveloping the two. Crawsectustus grunted in pain as the power of the crystal damaged him, and simultaniously caused Bladez' body to burst into flame. The blue-skinned gladiator thrust his callused hand out with a roar of "Torrent of Flame!" The fires of the Mugic mixed with the blast pouring from his hands and, with a final, defiant shout, Crawsectus exploded in a shower of bright white numbers and letters.

Bladez instinctivly closed his eyes against the light and found himself back in the Hotek Drome, staring down a human teen from across the room.

"The winner is, AirRazor" the voice of the Drome announced.

"That was close" Jacob Collins said, as the swirling code of Chaotic wrapped around the warrior, restoring him to his normal form: a teen boy with dark, messy hair and brown eyes, wearing a simple black t-shirt with boots and cargo pants. "Good game." He held out a hand to shake, and his opponent grabbed it.

"Next time" came the reply.

The sky was perpetually bright and clear outside and Jacob had to blink several times to adjust from the low light of the Battledrome. All around him, other Chaotic players were entering or leaving the building, or just socializing on the grass by the walkway. From either side of the building was a raised monorail platform that shuttled players between the seven other Dromes, but Jacob stuck to the moving sidewalk that led to the Port Court, central hub of the location known as Chaotic.

He couldn't help but smile at the scenery as he passed, with it's lush grasses and sparkling fountains. "Better than a crappy apartment in the city" he mumbled aloud.

The Port Court itself was a different story. Dozens of people at any given time using Transport Pads to travel to and from Earth and Perim, while a hundred others sat around tables watching matches on massive floating screens. Jacob grinned at a replay of muscular creature in spiked armor spraying fire at a giant lobster.

Dropping into a seat, he waved down one of the passing waiters, small floating robots with bulbous bodies and ordered a soda. The server confirmed this and flew off while Jacob pulled a thick, green, tablet-like device from his pocket and tapped a few buttons on his Code Scanner.

The image of a stocky teen boy with a short blonde buzz-cut, wearing a sports jersey and track pants quickly filled the screen. "Hey, I thought you had a match?" he asked in leui of a greeting.

"I'm fine, Hank, thanks for asking. Jacob replied dryly. "Just got out. He was a newbie, I think. Got thrown off by a Mugic. How's Castle Mommark?"

"Pretty good. Staluk was about to code me until I said I was there to trade. Did you know Mommark doesn't have any Human DNA on file? Traded a couple fingernail clippings and some saliva for the mugic scan."

"Gross. See you soon then?"

"Not just yet. Gonna see if I can get Staluk to let me get a scan of him, too. Later"

"Peace." Jacob ended the call with a sigh. With his scheduled match over, and Hank haggling with Mommark's creatures for the next who-knows-how-long, Jacob got his drink and let his mind wander. He could head to Perim or play a pickup match, but none of those sounded particularly interesting right now.

Glancing around, he saw a kid, probably no more than 12 or 13, a mop of brown hair wearing a navy polo and khakis, with a telltale look of fascination in his eyes. With a grin, he drained his cup and walked over.

"New here?" he asked.

"I was-and then I-" the kid stammered.

"Let me guess: you were at home playing Chaotic online, won a couple matches, then got an email with a card code for the game. You punched the code into your scanner, and now you're here?"

"Yeah!" The kids head whipped back and forth taking in the scene. "Is that what happened to everyone here, too?"

"Sure is" Jacob confirmed. "What's your name? I'm Jacob. But my screen name is AirRazor."

"Will. Um, I'm WillPower, online"

"Nice to meet you, Will. But before you do anything else, you see this button?" he held up his Scanner and pointed at a button near the top of the screen. Will nodded.

"Press this button on your Scanner to go home. When you get there, you can press the button again to come back. I suggest you do it now, and I'll explain more when you get back."

This statement got him a curious look, but the command was followed. Will vanished with "whoosh", his body dissolving into motes of light.

A few minutes later, the boy was rushing back over to Jacob from the direction of the Transport Center.

"That was soo cool! It's like I was here, but I was home at the same time, and when I went from here to there, it was like our memories got smooshed together and now I'm waiting for myself to see what's happening!"

"Sounds about right" Jacob said with a smile. "When you put in that code, it made a digital copy of yourself and sent it here, where you can play the game for real. When you do that, your online deck gets locked so you can use your cards in the Battledromes." He pointed to one of the buildings outside.

"Then, when you Port back home, your deck unlocks and your Chaotic self gets kinda downloaded into your Earth self so you remember what happens here and back at home. Any cards you get here are added to your online deck, too. I figured you should Port back so your Earth self wasn't wondering why his scanner stopped working"

"Whoa..." the poor kid seemed to be suffering an information overload. "Wait. You said 'play for real'. What do you mean?"

He motioned for the youth to follow. "You'll get scheduled for a match in one of the seven Battledromes. You can do pickup or challenge matches whenever you want, but you can count on one scheduled match a day." Jacob explained, leading Will to one of the floating screens. "Check the boards so you can find the time and place"

Will scanned the monitor and quickly found his name in the Imthor Drome schedule, set for a match in about 20 minutes.

"Got lucky today" Jacob said. "It's pretty busy. They normally set you up as soon as you port in for the first time."

"So it's just like the online game?" Will asked. "With our own cards and everything? Whats the catch?"

"The 'catch' is, when you play in the Dromes, you don't just play your attacks and move onto the next round." Jacob paused for dramatic effect. "You transform INTO the creatures, and fight for real." He motioned to one of the floating screens playing a battle as Will's eyes grew wide. "Every one of those fights? They're people like you and me, borrowing the creatures bodies and powers. Your cards determine their base abilities, but the Dromes let you fight in more creative ways, so even a weaker creature can win with a good strategy."

Will stood transfixed and watched a feline humanoid with tiger stripes fire jets of high-pressure water from her palms at a creature seemingly made of lava. The entire battlefield around them was like the inside of a volcano, and angry gouts of steam billowed forth where the water struck. When the steam cleared, the cat-woman, Intress, was gone, leaving her opponent, Magmon, looking around for his foe. Others seated nearby were shouting advice for either player at the screen as Intress jumped out from behind a rock holding a long golden weapon. "Flash Freeze!" she cried, the Cyclance summoning a blast of freezing wind that kicked up shards of the cooled lava to strike Magmon.

"Where's this Imthor Drome?" Will asked, awestruck.

"Follow me"

..."and getting 7 wins in a row means you get to challenge the Codemaster of that Drome and if you win, you get a super rare card." Will summarized

"Yup, a Location. And sometimes the Codemaster sends you the challenge. The Beta Drome is super casual so it doesn't have a Codemaster, but you got it. More or less" Jacob confirmed as the walkway moved them closer to a white and gold building.

"This is so cool!" He was bouncing on the balls of his feet." And the only people allowed to know are other players!"

"I mean, you could tell other people, but good luck proving it. A few others have tried, and they tend to get...reputations" Jacob said with a grimace. "At best you get 'An Overactive Imagination'; at worst, straight-up 'Crazy'." He neglected to mention that he was one of those players, having an awkward meeting with a councillor about the difference between fantasy and reality before he took the hint and stopped talking about it.

"Well, that's enough exposition from me." Jacob joked as the sidewalk dropped them off at the entrance to the Imthor Drome. "I'm gonna head back to the Port Court and cheer you on"

"You're not coming with me?" Will was looking apprehensive at the idea of entering the drome alone.

"Not allowed. You'll be fine, though. Just keep your strategy to yourself." Will got an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Some guys like to get the newbies talking about their cards. Don't let them get into your head and do your best. I'll meet you at the Port Court when you're done, if you like."

Will nodded and slowly walked into the Drome, a little pale as Jacob gave him a thumbs up and the door automatically shut behind him.

"Not gonna hold his hand?" an Australian-accented voice spoke up from behind, causing Jacob to close his eyes and sigh.

"What do you want, Klay?" he asked turning to face the new arrival.

Around 20 years old, with blonde, swept back hair, goatee, and pink shades, "Klayotic" was the type of player Jacob was warning Will about. Well known for dirty fighting and underhanded moves in his matches, Klay was easily one of the most disliked people in Chaotic, a fact he seemed to revel in.

"Just here to break in one of the new players" he said with a toothy grin "I mean, someone's got to do it."

"You're his-?" Jacob suppressed his comments and simply walked away, leaving Klay alone at the entrance.

His bad mood carried him back to the Port Court where he found an empty table and settled in to watch. On screen, Klay was standing confidently with his arms folded over his chest, battle team apparently set up, while Will seemed to be agonizing over his choices.

After a few minutes of Klay huffing, he made his selections and the disembodied announcer asked them to lock their decks.

A holographic battle board appeared in front of each player, showing Klay's choice: a gaunt Underworlder with leathery skin, feathered wings and a glistening ruby in place of one eye. On Will's side was an Underworlder as well; a green hunched over creature in a labcoat, the top of its skull removed, exposing it's brain.

"WillPower, since this is your first time in Chaotic, you will be the attacker. Please spin the Location Randomizer." the drome announcer, a giant spinning logo for the game, said in it's synthetic monotone.

Will reached out with a somewhat trembling hand and brushed his fingers over the dial. The locations he selected for the game whipped past, slowly settling on an image of a waterfall violently spraying out into an underground cavern.

"Cordac Falls Plungepool. Choose your attacking and target Creature."

"Um, before I do, can I use a Mugic?"

Klay scoffed at this, while the Drome announcer confirmed that, yes, he could.

"Okay. I'll use a Cannon of Casualty to deal 20 damage to Lord van Bloot." He paused for a moment to gauge Klay's response, who just rolled his eyes. "Then I'll use Ulmar's remaining Mugic counter to activate his special ability, dealing another 10 damage to Lord van Bloot."

On the display, two red shapes moved from Ulmar to the board; one to Klay's card, the other to a red outline of an heptagon near Will's, causing a bar next to the Lord van Bloot to drop from 65 to 35.

Apparently emboldened, Will declared "Now, Ulmar attacks Lord van Bloot!".

Will touched his hand against the goblin on his card, as though to drag it over to Klay's. He jumped with a start as tiny letters and numbers wrapped around his body, shrinking it down to no more than a couple of feet high, while Klay was changed into the gangly form that quickly flapped his wings to hover a few inches above the floor.

"What the what?" the younger boy exclaimed in Ulmar's high-pitched voice, staring at the metal claws that passed for his hands.

"Ulmar versus Lord van Bloot at Cordac Falls Plungepool. Let the battle begin"

There was a flash as they appeared on rocks near the base of the waterfall and both creatures hissed in pain at the forceful spray that stung their bodies.

Jacob let out an impressed whistle. Cordac Falls Plungepool dealt 5 damage to each creature that battled there. The match had barely begun and Van Bloot was already down to 30 Energy, Ulmar with only 20.

"Sup nerd?" someone asked, pulling up a seat next to Jacob.

"Hey loser" he shot back, recognizing the voice of his friend, Hank. "Got a newbie. Only been here half an hour, and he's gotta fight Klay."

"Oof. He know what he's in for?"

"Kinda. I gave him a crash course, probably said too much, too fast. Looks a little shook by the transformation. We'll see what happens"

Lord van Bloot flew over the pool, scanning the area for Ulmar. As soon as the battle began, the mad scientist slipped into a crack, no doubt to launch a sneak attack. So focused he was on his search, and with the roar of the falls drowning out sound, he didn't notice the small glass vial flung at him from an outcropping until it smashed against his wings, igniting them.

The force of the blast drove van Bloot to the ground with a shout. While the spray of the waterfall quickly put out the fire, his wings were still smoking. "Where are you, you dirty little gremlin?" van Bloot shouted over the din.

He summoned his battlegear, a device strapped to his arm with metal serpentine dragons that spun rapidly to create a flaming shield, and used it to swat away a second thrown vial. He then brought both hands together in a fist, slamming them into the ground with a shout of "Terraport!".

The ground started to tremble and the caverns around them dissolved, forming into a dark and old fashioned grand hall that wouldn't be out of place in a vampire's castle.

"He used that attack to change the battlefield to Gothos Tower!" Hank blurt out in recognition. "Lord van Bloot's home turf"

Out of the corner of his eye, the winged Underworlder caught a flash of green and white. He summoned a handful of flames and hurled them after the quickly retreating form, but it vanished into the shadows.

"You like hide-and-seek? Two can play that game" van Bloot smirked.

Will was worried. The match had started off great, until he got shoved into the body of a messed-up goblin. He thought the battle would be holograms or something, not...this. Jacob said the battles were real, but he didn't think they were really real. After hiding and finding some bottles in his stained coat, a lucky shot brought van Bloot down. But now? There were no more chemicals to throw and he had no clue how to use any attacks, let alone get to his Battlegear.

No sooner had that particular thought crossed his mind, he felt a weight in his hand. Looking down with a grin of realization, Will concentrated on the item disappearing, smiling wider when it did so. "Well, that's one problem solved" he said drawing and stowing his last weapon experimentally. Knowing his gear would only be around when he needed it to be was a plus.

"Why's he playing with his Battlegear?!" Hank shouted "van Bloot's coming any second!"

"Dude, chill. Let him figure it out."

A shadow passed overhead causing Will-as-Ulmar to look up, but nothing was there. He was making different motions with his hands, mumbling "Power Pulse, Toxic Gust, c'mon-" when a fireball struck the ground at his feet. With a yelp, Ulmar jumped back and spun, trying to find his attacker. The chamber was empty, except for himself.

"H-how did you do that? Come on!" he shouted, shaky voice echoing off the walls. The only response was a stream of sharp stones striking the ground with the speed of a machine gun. Again, too close for comfort, and with van Bloot nowhere in sight.

'In sight...' With a rush of inspiration, Ulmar ran off again.

Within van Bloot's form, Klay was grinning like a cheshire cat. Gothos Tower could leave even the bravest creatures unsettled. No surprise the little creep was running again. Idly wondering what attack to use next, he soared after Ulmar.

"Quit running and hit him with something!" Jacob screamed at the monitor.

"Let him figure it out, remember?" Hank snarked.

It was like a brainwave. Jacob said the players borrowed the creatures bodies, their skills. Even their memories, apparently. And Ulmar knew some things Will didn't, like why he couldn't see van Bloot. Wedging himself behind a suit of armor, he closed his eyes and focused. Memories that weren't his own flashed by until he found what he was looking for. He had a plan.

Lord van Bloot flew noislessly into the Trophy Room, eyes peeled. This was the only room in this section of the tower he could've run to. He spied the tail of a white coat behind an old display and, with a cry of "Lightning Burst!", fired a bolt of electricity at the armor stand, destroying it. The dust settled and amongst the smoking bits of metal was a charred scrap of white cloth.

"Unsanity!" van Bloot saw stars when the attack struck him from behind, causing his vision to go double. It took all his focus to remain airborne, though he could still see Ulmar, sans lab coat, stepping out from behind a large skull. "Wha-?"

"Ulmar's not one of the big brains in the Underworld for nothing. He knew Lord van Bloot can turn invisible in Gothos Tower, even if I didn't." Will cackled with Ulmar's voice, looking up at him with a wicked sharp-toothed grin. "Just like he knew van Bloot needs to concentrate to use it. Hard to do that when you're too busy staying in the air. Telekinetic Bolt!"

Ulmar's exposed brain pulsed, a rattling noise making van Bloot to look up. A chain on the wall snapped from the force of Ulmar's attack, causing a chandelier just above the Underworlder to plummet, pinning van Bloot to the floor.

"No!" He yelled, straining to lift the heavy decoration. "Geo Flourish!" There was an awkward silence, the two creatures looking at each other when nothing happened.

"Oookay" Ulmar reached behind his back and pulled out his battlegear, a small metallic orb.

"What's that? van Bloot sneered, still fighting with the weight of the fixture. "A wind-up toy?"

"Kinda" Ulmar replied, twisting the pieces of the device.. "It's a Nexus Fuse. Normally gives creatures a small energy boost, but when you overload it..." van Bloot's eyes widened in realization, and he struggled harder, helpless to stop the bomb as it left Ulmar's grasp and landed somewhere on the chandelier.

The explosion from the blast filled the screen and when it cleared, Ulmar was back in the Imthor Drome, watching an indignant Klay stamping his foot in a tantrum.

"Haha!" Jacob pumped his fist and high-fived Hank while other cheered around them. "I love seeing that smarmy jerk get knocked down a peg!"

"I would've won if my Geo Flourish worked!" Klay was shouting at the spinning Chaotic emblem in the center of the Drome. "What happened?'

"The fault was your own" the robotic voice of the drome declared. "When you used Terraport to change the location, you exhausted the ability to use Earth attacks. Without the Earth element, Lord van Bloot was no longer a valid target for the Mugic"

Klay grumbled at this chose to direct his anger at Will. "And you! Wipe that smirk off your face. This isn't over. I will NOT lose to a newbie."

"Didn't you just, though?" Will asked, leaving Klay to stomp out of the Drome.

"...and then I hid my-Ulmar's-whoevers coat behind the armor where van Bloot would see it. I figured Klay was trying to scare me, so I let him think it was working when I was really setting a trap." Will explained, gesturing wildly with a tortilla chip, flinging cheese to the floor. "It was so wild! Is it like like all the time?"

"Pretty much" Jacob said between bites of a slice of pizza. "Did better than I did in my first match, though"

"Oh, you mean when you slipped in the mud in Gloommuck Swamp?" Hank poked his friend with a french fry. "The match literally just started, and Biondu here" he jabbed a thumb at Jacob "got a maw full of gunk before the 10-second mark"

"You're one to talk, Mr. Maglax-Attacks-Frafdo" he snapped back. "He spent half his first match getting knocked around the Storm Tunnel before he got coded against some rocks" The two friends shared a hearty laugh at the memory.

"Wait, you saw each others first match?" Will asked.

"Yup. Got our codes at the same time" Hank said "We go to the same school back on Earth, had some mutual friends, but never really talked until" He paused to take a drink, so Jacob picked up the story.

"A friend introduced us to the game, and we picked up on it quick. A few weeks later, we were playing online at the library when we got our codes. Put them in, and here we were" he finished, holding his arms out to gesture to the Port Court. "That was, what? Two months ago?"

"Closer to three" Hank offered. "Ever since, its been like one of those Japanese cartoons where people go to school and pretend everything is fine, but then they travel to a secret world full of monsters no one else knows about"

"Yeah, but instead of saving the world, we play card games" Will chipped in, garnering a chuckle from the two older boys.

"That's not all we do" Jacob pushed away from the table. "There's one more part of the Essential Chaotic Experience you have to, well...experience." He pulled out his Code Scanner and motioned for the other two to do the same.

"Imma hold off." Hank said, leaning back to put his feet up in Jacob's abandoned seat. "Go through my scans from Mommark's. Gonna chill here a bit, then catch up"

"Wait, where are we going?" Will was looking between them in confusion.

Jacob brought up his list of Location cards and flipped through them until he found one he was looking for: a town with tall buildings and a massive castle surrounded by sturdy walls, set against a bright sky.

"Kiru City"