Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Capricious Infection ❯ Act 6: Oz ( Chapter 6 )

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Capricious Infection
Act 6: Oz
By: Melissa Norvell
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Lannad turned from her position in Dante’s arms. She heard him question from beside of her. “Oz Castor? You created Twisted Land?” He could hardly believe this dorky-looking alien was the mastermind behind the game he spent money and hours of his life on.

“Yes, I did,” Oz responded simply.

“He has…horns…and his skin is pale white…You’re…Oz?” David was shaken up by this. Never did he expect Oz to be foreign, not this foreign. It wasn’t like he was ugly or anything. He was actually pretty attractive, in a cool guy kind of way. This was definitely an experience that he would not forget and one of the few things that made him lose his cool.

“We’ve spoken before, David,” reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a device that looked similar to a phone and flipped it open, revealing their series of text messages.

Blue eyes widened in disbelief. “Wait a minute…you’re NexusJuncture?” This could not be happening! The very man that he had revealed his bro crush for heard him admit it on the phone, oh and no one would mention that he wasn’t human on top of everything else. Right now, quitting life was a strong possibility to him. David wanted to just die from embarrassment.

“I am many things-“Oz didn’t seem affected.

“Who cares about that?” Mae asked obnoxiously loud and cut him off. “What happened to our school, and our friends? Did you do this?”

“Hardly, this is the world of a much more prominent source,” the alien noted.

“Who did it? Do they have anything to do with this bullshit?” Dante walked past Lannad, anger marring his face once more. It was bad enough that some alien douche bag was fucking with them the whole time they were playing but now it seemed that the warning really was a precursor to events in real life. The only question was what in the hell did this have to do with anything, and why did everyone in school have to die?

“This is the work of death himself,” his words were ominous, as always. Oz continued to be dead serious about everything. He was rather cryptic.

“What does that mean?” Mae asked. Clearly she was not grasping it either.

“This is the Grand High Messiah,” Tarvos spoke up after being so silent this whole time.

“Are you for real?” David nearly refused to believe it. Was everyone just insane? No way. Just, no way.

“Apparently, you missed the point of the game,” Oz frowned. It seemed typical of their species to completely just ignore a clear warning. The ending of their last session was important. It wasn’t his fault that David blew him off.

Tony blinked. “You mean to tell me that whatever happened in the game is going to happen here?” He had that feeling before, but hearing it from the lips of the main man himself was much more frightening.

“This game was a warning to you all,” the alien emphasized on their current situation. The warning served a purpose, and so did his chat in the message board. This was what they deserved for thinking that he was crazy. One way or the other, they would see his point whether they liked it or not.

“So…the Grand High Messiah was real?” Dante slowly turned his head, gazing at the bloodied form of their class president who looked back at him and nodded sadly.

“Today is the day of reckoning. It’s been prophesized by my family since the day I was born. My sixteenth birthday marked the day that the Grand High Messiah would come and end the world,” Lannad explained to everyone the significance of their prophecies and why they were not words to be turned a blind eye to. Her family was actually very powerful mediums and priestesses with strong powers. Their predictions were hardly ever wrong.

“The Grand High Messiah is a very real thing. I think you guys should listen to Lannad,” Tarvos agreed as Dante shot him a suspicious glance. What did he mean by that? Did he believe in this Messiah or was he this Messiah? There was no telling with this guy, and now there were two of these horned bastards.

“Isn’t there a way to stop the Grand High Messiah from destroying this world?” He inquired. Surely if they were trying to tell them to find the Messiah, then they weren’t a part of the destruction. Maybe they were helping them? Dante would try his hand in believing their bullshit for just a moment.

“That is why you were all chosen,” Oz explained as he levitated to the ground. “When I released Twisted Land into the masses, it was distributed as a playable game to those willing to make their own choices. When you started the game up, you chose the position and element that best represented you.“ He looked to the blind girl, “Rezzi, you were a blind prophet who harbored the aspect of vast knowledge. That’s why you became The Seeker.” His glance went to the black-haired boy in shades, “David, you were a time traveler who represented the flow of time. You became a Time Guardian.“ His gaze followed to the blonde, who still had a look of angry determination etched on her face, “Mae, you were the Maiden of Sword, who represents humanity and the struggle of mankind.” He then glanced to the Mohawk-clad boy, dressed in his typical leather attire, “Tony, you were the warrior, a symbol of tenacity and strength.” Oz then turned to the angry boy beside of him, “Dante, you are the demon, represented by chaos, and Lannad, even though you did not play the game, your title is the all the same. You are the Apocalyptic Priestess. The object of this phase is no different. Achieve your represented ranks and stop the Grand High Messiah.”

“Are you aware of what you just said?” Tony threw his arms out. Was this alien delusional or something? There was no way that they could even think about trying to stop some guy who was committing genocide and tearing structures up with inhuman strength.

“Yeah, you do know those powers don’t even exist in this world, right? We’re just a bunch of normal kids,” David agreed. If they tried to stop the Messiah now, they would definitely just die.

“Yes, we’re not sure how to obtain the powers you gave us in the game,” Rezzi added. Whatever he thought they were, it was purely not true. She had to admit that she was flattered, but if they dared to try and stop a death god, then they would only end up more casualties to his cause.

“Before I go into that subject, tell me where a place is that I can stay safely hidden from the eyes of humans.” Standing here, freezing time was hard on his magical ability and the discussion was far too long to keep it like that for the remainder and carry out his task.

“We can all go to my house. I live alone with Tarvos. Is that fine with you guys?” She turned to the group, who all agreed. After all, she had no parents to explain anything to, and it got rid of a lot of hassle and burden to the others. As they agreed, a light of red energy expanded from Oz’s hands and consumed them. For a moment, those who could see were completely blinded by a red, neon light and when the light dimmed, they stood in the middle of Rezzi’s living room.

Tarvos glanced down to his feet with a strange expression. He still had his shoes on. “Isn’t this rude?”

“Who cares about that now? Just tell us how we’re supposed to get these ‘real powers?’“ Mae snapped and made finger quotes at the mention of such a ridiculous thing.

“I’m glad that you asked,” Oz held his hand out. Before everyone but the other demon, were large, yellow pillars of light that morphed into weapons that levitated before each human. “Each of these weapons represents the one your character wields respectively. You will have to learn to harness your powers by channeling your energy through them in various ways.” The alien explained the techniques used in which they could let their real powers show. The more each of them thought about it, the more it truly was like Twisted Land.

Dante held his weapon, which looked like a scythe blade connected to a long chain that was wound in circles around his hand. “Just like the game. I bet the methods are the same, right?”

“Of course,” Oz nodded.

“Is this like starting from square one?” David asked as he peered into the blade of the Time Sword he had so desperately tried to obtain in the game. He could hardly believe that it was a real weapon in his hands.

“When we traveled here, I opened up your abilities to be able to channel these powers. All you have to do is practice using them. Do not use them in here, unless you plan on being homeless,” Oz crossed his bony arms over his chest.

“Are we going to use these to defeat the Grand High Messiah?” Tony questioned with his axe handle over his shoulder. He had managed to attach it to the chain and his body with ease. It was pretty cool to be able to wield such a thing in real life. It was almost like cosplaying…only different.

“Your objective will be to find the Grand High Messiah in this world. When you find him, the next test will begin.” That was all they needed to know for now. The rest would come in due time.

“So, what the fuck is our objective? To beat some demon-ass Messiah? Is it going to end like it did in the game?” Dante asked. If it did, then fuck Oz’s shit, because he was not about to die a meaningless death again. In the real world, there was no restart button and no extra lives.

“No, this time it’s real.”

“So, you’re depending on us to go and kill some demon? Let me guess, the genocide in the school was his fault.” It sounded sarcastic, but Dante was actually pretty serious.

“Well, I didn’t see the killer to know,” Lannad stared at her giant, golden staff’s designs. It was a tall, golden piece with jewels and a large heart on top of it carved out of a white crystal.

“When you find him, you’ll know,” Oz would help them no further. They would have to obtain the information on their own.

“So, we’re going after the killer, and we don’t know who he is but…we believe he’s the Grand High Messiah?” The blue-haired girl put a finger to her lips in bewilderment. This was getting confusing and his instructions were so vague. How could they be successful at this?

Tarvos cracked a toothy smile, “sort of just goes against your religion, doesn’t it?”

“Huh?” The priestess glanced towards the curly-haired man.

“Because of that one, simple thing, you’re fighting against your own religion. It’s all about the apocalypse and the Grand High Messiah but you’re now in the position to go after the one thing you hold fast to. In short, you will be trying to stop the very apocalypse that your shrine maidens have been prophesying for eons.” That was certainly ironic. He wondered if the girl could even get the gumption to handle such a task on her own. It would break everything she stood for- all that made her.

Lannad glanced down at her weapon with a conflicted expression, “I don’t know how to feel about that.” Her voice was low as she let his words sink in. It was true; this was defiling all she held sacred. As a priestess, she was not allowed to alter the end of the world but now, she was given the task of doing that very deed.

“It doesn’t seem like you have a choice,” Tarvos added. This only made it worse.

“If you don’t find the Grand High Messiah, then this world will perish,” Oz commented as he straightened his glasses. It was imperative that Lannad be part of their team. Now was not the time to think about her religion.

“The Grand High Messiah in the game…He went around killing everyone. So, is he like, some homicidal being out to commit mass genocide until he’s stopped or what?” David inquired. Even in the game, his character was largely a mystery to all of the players. No one knew anything about him, even at the information stands.

“You still don’t get it?” Tarvos cast a glance to David, the smile was still plastered onto his features.

“Well, that he’s death? I mean, this seems kind of stupid. How can you stop death?” David placed a finger to his chin in thought. Death was just that- death. You could not stop something that has always existed and would always exist no matter how hard you try to abolish it. What kind of mission was this, anyway?

“You can’t,” Oz confirmed it. What in the hell was their mission?

“Wait! What!?” Dante was outraged after hearing that nonchalant answer poured from the alien’s mouth. “So, you’re sending us on some back breakingly impossible mission for your own selfish benefit, or do you like watching us fail miserably and die? Is this some sick kick for you?” The more he thought about how screwed up it was, the more his form shook with anger and the tighter he clutched the short handle on his throwing blade.

Oz frowned and furrowed his eye brows, looking peeved at the boy’s words. “I never said you had to kill him. You have to stop him from destroying everything in your world.” They were certainly jumping to conclusions and acting on their own brash emotions. His mission was actually the opposite of killing the Messiah. He needed the Messiah for the next phase in his plan. Not to mention, even he knew that they stood no chance in beating the grim reaper even if they were at their maximum skill level.

“If he kills everything, then your world is screwed,” Tarvos sounded as amused and composed as ever. Dante still knew there was something up with this wolf in sheep’s clothing.

He glanced at the blade, “this is the Posonic Blade.”

“Yep, these are all our weapons alright. The Time Sword…” David continued listing the weapons that belonged to Rezzi, Tony and Mae. “The Dimension Shatterer, the Nordic Axe, the Sword of Achilles…” His expression went blank when he glanced to Lannad’s staff, “I couldn’t tell you what that is.”

Lannad glanced at her weapon. That’s right. She was not in the game to have an understanding of the weapon and there was no real name to it apparently. If these had all been specially modified weapons for each of them, then no one but the person who wielded it and the one who created it would even know what it was, it’s powers or its title.

“It’s the Scepter of Diorus, a powerful spell-casting wand,” Oz explained.

Dante glanced to the other demon and arched an eyebrow. Tarvos’ hands were at his sides, void of any weapon at all. ‘Why in the hell doesn’t he have a weapon? Lannad even has one and she never played Twisted Land. I’m suspicious. I already know that this guy is a demon, or some kind of freakish alien.’ He turned his head to Oz, a wary gaze still etched on his face. ‘That guy is obviously a fucking alien. Apparently aliens created Twisted Land in order to warn us of our own forthcoming. This Grand High Messiah thing…that I’m still not fucking sure even what the hell it is or looks like is going to destroy our world but we have to someone stop him. What in the everfuck are we supposed to do? Why is Tarvos here? He looks just like this other guy: paper white skin with black markings, horns, pointy teeth…this is so fucking frustrating. What the actual shit?’

“Whoa! Whoa, fucking whoa!” Dante shouted as everyone’s gaze shot to him. “It’s Q and A time, assholes. This shit is getting confusing.”

“I’ll say. I can’t make heads or tails of things. Seriously, mind equals blown, like hold the fucking presses and let this shit sink in blown,” David agreed wholeheartedly. There was too much information at one time to even gather. Not to mention there was a whole nest of unanswered information beyond the scope of that.

“I am confused,” Lannad said in defeat as Rezzi simply remained silent.

“I’m pretty sure we’ve all got questions,” Tony knew he certainly did.

“Yeah, lots of them,” Mae added.

Dante pointed in accusation to the alien who had appeared from god knows where. “First off, who the hell are you and why should I care about you?”

“He’s Oz, the creator of Twisted-“ Tarvos tried to explain it again, but was cut off.

“For fuck’s sake! We know that. That’s not what I was asking,” the boy fumed. He wasn’t a dumb shit. That much was apparent.

“I’m here to help you avoid a cataclysm. The Twisted Land game was designed to ready you for this.” Or did they not heed the warning well enough?

“So, it’s like an omen?” Lannad wanted to make sure she shot this right.

“If you’re sending it here to warn us, then does that mean that something happened to your world?” Rezzi asked. Usually, when warnings like this were sent from individuals, it involved them losing something that ran in the veins of their message. Like a race that nearly went extinct from war, warning a populated planet to keep the peace between their many ethnicities to avoid creating the same mistake.

“There are a few of us left from my world. You could say that we are a dying race.” It was a true. The game was sent as a warning resulting from something that happened in his home world.

“What exactly are you?” Lannad was curious now. It would also help her understand a little more about his race and what exactly happened to them.

“Yeah, are you aliens or demons…or what?” David was inquisitive as well.

“You could call us either or. We come from another planet called the Planet of Scales and Balance. To be more specific, our race is known as the Dius race. We are a type of thing you humans would typically call a demon. We all possess horns, white and black skin, claws, sharp teeth and most of us have black hair. There are a few mutations,” Oz explained. He at least owed them that much, since he was enlisting their help to do something so grand for him.

“That sounds fascinating. I was wondering, though, did the Grand High Messiah destroy your world as well? Is that why you warned us?” The blind girl went along the same set of questions that her theory applied to.

“Yes, the Grand High Messiah killed most of our people off. I believe that if you all had a warning that you would not let the same fate befall you.” It had a purpose, after all and Oz did not intend to let that purpose die. This planet was very important to him and it was dire that they save it.

“This is all so sudden. Man, I never thought I’d be living a fantasy. This doesn’t even feel real.” It was as if they were all in some type of dream, acting out their character’s roles in Twisted Land, but Tony knew that this was no true dream. Everything was so real, and it flew by so quickly that they didn’t even have time to mourn their fallen class mates and teachers.

Who knew who else the Messiah killed?

“The one in the game is only a composite. The real Messiah can change his appearance and adapt to his surroundings,” Oz noted.

Again, Dante looked to Tarvos. ‘If that’s true then…Okay, now I’m really suspicious.’

“Will you be staying here?” Rezzi’s question drew his attention away from the demon and to her. Oh god, was that guy going to actually stay with her as well? What was this? The boarding hotel for weird aliens from other worlds?

“For now, I’m stuck here.”

“So, what do we do?” Tony was still unsure about everything,

“Train with these weapons and get the hang of them. Then we find the Grand High Messiah, I guess.” That was Lannad’s best bet on what the plan was.

“Won’t he be killing people in the mean time?” That thought just hit David. This was a race against time itself. Death consumed all, and even now he was probably on his rampage of slaughter.

“That’s why it will be putting your skills to the test. This will be a rage against time,” Oz only confirmed his fear. Why did it have to be true? Why couldn’t he have just said that it was all hog wash or something?

“You mean us learning how to fight someone who destroys places for a living is going to cost us lives? You tell me how this is fair,” Tony was stressed and raised his voice as he threw out an arm. The Grand High Messiah clearly had the advantage. This sucked in many different ways.

Oz’s expression hardened. “Life isn’t fair. If you’d like, you can go and find him now, but what odds do you have? You have more odds knowing your skills than not. Sacrifices must be made. Even standing here talking is costing you lives.”

“We can’t just not know what’s going on.” That was worse than anything else. If he went in there blindly, he would die and that would not do anyone any favors.

This was the ultimate greater of two evils challenge.

“This is worrisome.” Rezzi turned her head towards Tarvos.

“Heh, if you know what’s good for you, then you’d fill in the blanks as you went along. You can train and talk at the same time.” Humans were truly creatures of marvel at times. Tarvos couldn’t help but remark on how many lives they were already wasting as they stood around as if they were engaged in casual conversation. As much as he was sure they were interesting, he also knew that this was pointless and got them nowhere.

David walked up to Oz, staring the alien right in the face as he pointed the Time Sword at him, the tip pricked his skin through his black shirt. “I want to train with you.”

The alien arched an eyebrow. “Why would you want to do that?”

“Alien or not, I wasted the whole game just to get to you. Guess what? I’m here. Teach me how to be a Time Guardian.” Game or not, he knew that there was far more to Oz than met the eye, even now, he was certain that if he were to gain an advantage then it would be with him.

“Are you sure that you want the position? It harbors a big responsibility.” More so than he could have ever imagined. The burdens that rested on the shoulders of the Time Guardian were grave, and for one to achieve the position they had to have a keen logic and a great sense of strength and psychic ability.

David smirked in response, “I want it so bad I can taste the blood and sweat involved. I will train hard and work with dedication.”

Oz sighed, “humans are strange.”

“Likewise, bro.”

“Well, let’s go and find a place to train,” Rezzi told the group, who agreed and walked off in separate directions. Some of them had an idea of the place they wanted to train in and others were simply going to wander until they found a place that looked suitable to them.

Tarvos turned to lurk off in his own direction but as his body pivoted, his arm was grabbed by someone with a forceful grip. He glanced over his shoulder to stare into the dull eyes of a scruffy-looking boy, clad in a leather jacket with a white fur neckline, red wife beater underneath, black pants with two belts the crossed over his hips in an x-like fashion and commando boots.

It was Dante.

“What is it?” He chose his words wisely. This kid was on to him, and he had to play it cool.

“I’m on to you. I know you’re not a human,” Dante made it crystal clear.

“So you do,” the demon was nonchalant as ever.

“Tell me; are you one of those demons?” He certainly looked like one, with a few extra appendages. In fact, the extra add ons were the only things he questioned the validity of.

“Too bad I don’t remember enough to tell you anything.” It was an excuse the demon would use well to cover himself up and play according to his alibi. Tarvos was no fool. If Dante wanted something, then he would have to verbally pry him out of it.

“I think you do remember,” Dante pressed, “I think you know about everything that’s going on.”

That was a pretty bold statement. Could he back it up?

“I woke up one day, and I was on this strange planet. I don’t know how I got there or what my purpose is. That’s what I’ve been trying to find out for the past year. If Oz knew who I was then he would have said something to me directly. He didn’t even react to me. Think about it. His race is nearly extinct. That means he knows the remaining few who are still alive.” Honestly, this kid had some nerve not to think about such simple things.

Brown eyes narrowed, “I think you know more than you’re saying.”

“Presumptuous aren’t you? You’d point me out just because you think I’m a demon. The Grand High Messiah can always change forms. You don’t even know if he’s truly a demon,” he had a point. Oz did not tell them if the Messiah was of his own race or another, not as if it mattered if he was a shape shifter.

“You weren’t given a weapon. Explain that.” It was more than strange. Dante could not ignore the little details. It wasn’t over thinking it, he was being logical.

“I’m not from this world. It’s the human race that needs help, not mine.” Since Dante could see him plain as day, he would at least play into the part. Besides, all would be unveiled soon enough and everyone would learn of his true form.

“No matter what you say, I think you’re a suspect. Besides, you were at the school before we were.” That was also odd. What was his cover story this time?

“So was Ringo, your suspicion is irrelevant,” another claim shot down and disproven. How long were they going to play this game?

“I’ll prove there’s something up with you. Then you’ll be forced to tell me what you know. You’re not just here for any reason, and I don’t buy your excuses. You have more to do with this than meets the eye,” Dante wasn’t about to change his objective until the demon outted himself in front of everyone. He would finally be proven right when that fake-ass mask fell off of his clown-looking face and he was exposed like the two-timing asshole he was.

If Dante had anything to do with it, that time would be all too soon.




…To Be Continued