Doctor Demon

AUTHOR'S NOTE: For the Twinnies and Baes' part in this arc, I will be breaking it down to two parts. One will be in the real world and the other one will be set in the game through the POV of the game avatars. When the POV will shift to the game, I will be using their avatar names to make it easier for readers (Cookie, Pink Thunder, Ofelia, Hamlet and Doggy)

Hope it won't be confusing^^

....

"Everyone's avatar has been set?" Baekha asked.

"Yes!" Soobin exclaimed. "I'm the tracker and my name is Ofelia! Special abilities include knife fights and expert mapping techniques."

"I'm the Squad Captain, Hamlet," Yoonmin groaned. "Literature? Seriously? Can't we use better names?"

"No," Baekha stated. "And you? Hwang Minyoon?"

"Oh I didn't like my name so I made up something else," Minyoon said.

"What did you do?"

"My spy's name is Pink Thunder!" Minyoon claimed. "Goes with me image too! I'm a bright and pink person-"

"Oi!" Maggie yelled. "Why is my character so useless?"

He pointed at a cute and fluffy Pomeranian dog on screen. Everyone stifled their laughter at his state. The poor demon was not only stuffed into an Alpaca doll but even his online avatar was the cutesy and cuddly type. They could not help it because the demon was too darn cute when he was angry.

"Because we need a cute character," Baekha nodded. "It's fun."

Maggie cursed them all. He scowled at his avatar which was wagging its tail and yelping. 

"Listen up!" Baekha began. "We're in level one which means we're at the bottom of the food chain. Other players will gang up on us but we're smarter. We'll be defending our lands but at the same time, we'll start to scout lands and attack as well. Pink Thunder, you'll be spying on everyone. Enter every gang you can to gain their trust and give us info on them."

"Okay!" Minyoon chirped. 

"Captain and Doggy! You two will be defending the underground tunnel."

"How is this dog gonna defend anything?" Maggie protested. "It's just a cute fluffy-"

Baekha clicked a button on his controller and the on-screen dog suddenly transformed into a large demon-like dog with fire coming out of its eyes and mouth. Maggie yelped in fear as the dog roared, bursting flames into the air.

"I tweaked it," Baekha stated. "But you can use this state only thrice per two hours. You gotta let your avatar's body recharge."

"Wait a minute!" Soobin said. "Beaky, what's your avatar's name?"

Everyone turned to Baekha wh sighed. "It's…Cookie," she muttered.

Minyoon snorted. "That's so cute!" he snickered. "Just like you!"

To Baekha's chagrin, he pinched her cheek in an affectionate manner. Soobin was surprised and curious while Baekha was blushing hard out of embarrassment. 

"Don't touch me!" she exclaimed, slapping his hand away. 

"You have surprisingly soft cheeks, Beaky!" Minyoon noted. Beside him, his twin brother facepalmed himself while Maggie was clueless. What the hell were these human doing?

"Can we start?" Yoonmin asked, feeling annoyed. "It's nearly 3 AM!"

"Okay!"

Baekha clicked on the screen and a catchy tune began to play. They were all now prepared to play through their avatars. The screen popped up and a very realistic looking war game appeared which made Soobin and Maggie gape in awe.

"Woah!" They gasped in unison. "So cool!"

Their characters appeared to be defending a barricade which was nearly empty. There were sounds of bomb blasts and gunshots coming from a distance which made everyone uneasy. The barricade they were defending was empty except for them and they had a collection of ammunition a few feet away from them.

"Here goes nothing," Baekha muttered.

….

*In the Game*

The loud explosions were coming somewhere from the East. Pink Thunder looked up at the sky above which was filled with black smog. The stench of carbon and soot lingered in the air, amplifying the sense of dread they were all feeling.

His short blonde hair was matted to his forehead, damp and sweaty. The usually handsome skin was darkened by the smoke and soot. He wore no uniform but a bulletproof vest underneath his white t-shirt and khaki pants. 

Cookie was next to him, holding her position. She was pointing her gun at the distance, adjusting it to make sure it hits the enemies. Her pale face was filled with dread and her long dark hair was tied into a bun, hidden beneath her soldier's helmet. She was wearing full army gear with heavy vests and padded foam to protect herself. The sun was scorching hot and the presence of gunpowder in the air only made things worse. There were no enemies in sight but they could attack anytime. 

"Aerial view is clear, Cookie!" Ofelia reported. Her short hair was also hidden beneath an army cap and her uniform was light green with her badge shining on her chest. There was a scar on her face which indicated that she was injured early on in a battle. She had been trying to track down the enemies and even checked the aerial space to see if anyone was approaching. So far, no one was coming for them.

"Where's Hamlet?" Cookie asked. 

"He's underground with Doggy," Ofelia stated. "How are we gonna find SJS66 in this state? It can take hours for us to reach the next level and we have to reach 70!"

"Do you remember the cheat codes?" Cookie asked. "They'll come in handy when the enemies attack."

"I'll go and try to infiltrate another gang," Pink said. "Sitting here won't do anything-"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A shower of bullets came raining down from the sky and all of them ducked to take cover behind the pillars of their barricade.

"Enemies!" Cookie yelled. "Pink, go and escape through the barriers at the back! We'll cover you!"

"But-"

"Just go!"

Pink dodged the bullets while Cookie and Ofelia covered him. They shot at the helicopter which was flying in the air with a bunch of snipers who were shooting at them. Their levels were written over their heads.

"Level 10?" Ofelia yelled. "I thought only matching levels can attack each other!"

"Those must be rogues and are using cheat codes!" Cookie yelled back. "They're now after all lands! We must get to level seventy and find SJS at all costs!"

The snipers shot at them but Cookie was an expert. She shot them down one by one, letting them fall to the ground. Ofelia aimed at the helicopter's pilot and shot him through the head. The helicopter came crashing to the ground and exploded, causing thick smoke to emit from the ensuing fire.

"Pink managed to flee!" Ofelia panted. 

"Let's go and check out the helicopter for clues!" Cookie suggested. "It might have resources for us to advance to the next level."

Ofelia nodded and they picked up a bunch of fire extinguishers from their storage before heading for the helicopter.