Super Mod - Chapter 3

“Aw…how cute!”

Arkillian sighed. Aislin was fawning over a small, big-eared creature that was wielding a wooden spoon. It growled and stomped its out-of-proportion feet.

“I am not cute! I'm evil! EVIL!”

Aislin was aglow. She pinched the little monster's cheek.

“Lookit you! You're so adorable!”

Arkillian sighed again, louder and more irritably this time. Aislin had been at this for almost an hour, and she was at the end of her rope.

“Aislin…?”

Aislin, ignoring the beta attached to her belt, continued crooning.

The monster was also sick of her nonsense. It smacked away Aislin's hand and squawked, “I am not cute! I'm an evil, disgusting troll who strikes fear into the hearts of humans! Not a cute little…gr…human girl toy thing!”

Aislin yipped and caressed the hand the troll had smacked. She glowered at the little squawking fellow, “Fine. Since you're so evil…” She jabbed the troll in its forehead with her index finger, “Then you can go have a word with BogusRed.”

The troll's large eyes became even larger. A beige wing appeared behind Aislin's finger, but it soon faded to white. Aislin withdrew her hand and the tiny troll disappeared.

Arkillian clapped unenthusiastically, “Well done. You're really improving.”

Aislin glared at her ModCom. Regardless of her beta's sarcasm, Aislin really had improved her fighting skills. She didn't know just how long she had been inside PaperDemon, but she did know that in that span of time, she had fought and “banned” three trolls (including the cute one), one flame troll, and a villain she had recently been introduced to - a flame. As its name suggests, a flame was basically a giant fireball with a temper as hot as its explosive attacks. Arkillian mentioned that flames were monsters that usually used a pawn to fight, and seeing it in its true form was very rare.

Aislin had also been fortunate enough to discover the power, and identity, of the Jr. Mod she had freed. It was Lilimayhem, a usually peaceful woman who, though a wonderful healer could and would fight if she had to - and she fought well.

Aislin continued wandering through the site, admiring the occasional html code that would carelessly float past her. She grabbed her ModCom from her belt and struck up a conversation with Arkillian.

“You know…I never got a chance to meet the other Senior Mods. What are they like?”

Arkillian smiled. “Those three? They were major troublemakers. Always causing a ruckus, but not in a bad way. They made this place fun. Minimaid was their ringleader. Karana Kaou had endless amounts of energy, and could run through this entire site in a second, and EvilBunnySlippers, she was cute, but hopelessly clumsy.”

Aislin noticed Arkillian's use of past tense and frowned. “You talk as if they're gone forever. It's like you don't believe they're around anymore.”

“Yeah, I guess I'm starting to lose hope. They've been gone for so long, you know?”

“How long have they been gone?”

“About two months.”

The ModCom slipped from Aislin's hands. She struggled to catch it, and fumbled with it a minute before looking wide-eyed at Arkillian.

“Two months! But…but I just…what took you so long to get me here?”

Arkillian rubbed the back of her head, grinning sheepishly, “Well, BogusRed didn't think it was that big a deal in the beginning. Those three disappeared all the time, and we all thought they'd come back in a few hours. Then the Coms got cut off, and we started to worry. We sent the Jr. Mods out for a search party, but then they disappeared. So BR began scanning through the site herself, and then all these monsters showed up…and then you came along…”

“So, I'm just a last resort?” Aislin frowned. “Is that it?”

“No! Nonononono! Don't think of it like that! Think of it from BR's point of view!”

Aislin felt hurt, but quickly brushed off the feeling as something up ahead caught her eye. She looked up from her ModCom and squinted at the figure in the distance, but still couldn't tell what it was.

“Hm? What's that?”

As Arkillian began to ask what she was talking about, Aislin clipped the Com back to her belt and took off after the figure, suspecting another troll.

Upon getting closer, however, Aislin saw that it was not a troll, but instead a person - a girl, of about her age.

“Arkillian…” Aislin whispered, “Who's that?”

Arkillian studied the strange girl, “I…I don't know. I've never seen her before.”

“Is she a regular member?”

“That can't be. We don't bring regs into this dimension…what's she doing?”

Aislin watched the girl carefully. “I dunno. Looks like she's got something, though. Let's go see what.” Arkillian began to protest, but of to no avail. Aislin was off.

She approached the stranger carefully, and waved. “Hello.” Her voice came out sounding weaker than she had planned.

The girl ignored Aislin, and continued on her way. Her long, black hair flowed behind her.

Aislin glared at her. “Hey!” She called, “I don't want to be mean, but it's rude to ignore people!”

The girl stopped and turned back to face Aislin. Her dark, brown eyes were vacant, and she didn't really look alive.

Aislin watched her. “Uhm…so, who are you? My name's Aislin.”

The girl didn't move, or even blink. “Vin. I'm Vin.” Her voice was empty sounding as well. Was this girl even human?

Aislin stepped back a bit, and smiled. This…Vin girl was creeping her out, but she still wanted to be nice. She didn't seem evil or anything. Just strange.

“Well…what are you doing?”

“Adding some art.”

Aislin's brow furrowed in confusion. “Oh. Can I see?”

Vin nodded. She raised her hand and out of nowhere a gorgeous drawing of Vincent Valentine appeared. It was colored in colored pencils, and Vincent was standing. His red cape billowed fiercely behind him, and his clawed arm was outstretched toward the camera, giving it dynamics.

Aislin gazed at the drawing in awe. “Wow…you're an amazing artist!” She bounced on her toes. “This is beautiful!”

Vin's vacant eyes widened slightly. “I didn't draw this.”

“You didn't? Then…that's stealing, isn't it?”

Vin shook her head. “No, I'm putting this in Hikaru's gallery. This drawing is Hikaru's.” The drawing disappeared. “I have to go now. Goodbye, Aislin.” And with that, she continued on her way.

Aislin didn't move. “Hikaru? Wh…What just happened?”

Arkillian peered up at Aislin, to the best of her ability, “You okay?”

“Something's fishy here. Arkillian, could you do a search on those two? Vin and…Hikaru.”

Arkillian nodded, and set off to work. “You got it.”

Aislin sat down and waited patiently. Five minutes passed then ten. Aislin grew tired. She yawned and leaned back on her arms.

“I got it!”

Aislin snorted loudly, snapping out of a daze, and sat bolt upright. She grabbed the ModCom and gazed sleepily at Arkillian.

“Well, what's up?”

Arkillian wasn't looking at her. She was typing something. “Well, Vin checks out. But Hikaru's account was a pain in the butt to get in. And…” She squinted, “Something's not right.”

“Not right?”

“No. All of her artwork seems strange. None of it looks like a constant style.”

Aislin pondered this. Her eyebrows knitted, “Well…I'm not much of an artist, but people try new styles all the time, right?"

Arkillian nodded at Aislin. “Yeah…but usually you can tell who drew it if you look at their other stuff. There's just something that each drawing contains so you know who drew what. It's kind of hard to explain, but it's sort of like…” Arkillian's face screwed up as she tried to think of a good example, “You can tell a kid's parents, because the kids look like the parents, at least a little bit. Art works the same way. You know what I mean? Even if Hikaru were experimenting, you'd still be able to notice something constant. The coloring style, the way she draws eyes. Something.”

Aislin nodded uneasily, “I think I get it. So, what? Do you think it's plagiarism?” Aislin mused.

“I do think so. Hmm… Something else, too. Hold on.” She clacked away again. Her eyes widened. “Huh. Get this. Vin and Hikaru? Same IP address. But according to their profiles, they don't even live together. At all.”

Aislin gasped, “No way! …What does that mean?” She frowned in confusion.

Arkillian sighed and rubbed her temples. “Honestly…you're a Mod for goodness - It means they use the same computer to log in. And they're never both on at once.”

“…Okay…”

“One of them is a puppet account!” Arkillian shouted. Aislin jumped back, but said nothing, still lost. Arkillian sighed again, “A puppet account is a second account created by someone. PaperDemon forbids them.”

“Oh. OH! And we let her get away!” Aislin sprang to her feet. “We have to go after Vin!”

“Now, wait, Aislin. Before you go rushing in - remember that this is just an educated guess. We should probably tell BogusRed first.”

Aislin sighed, “Yeah, you're right. Where is she?”

“Give me two seconds, and I can get her on your screen. “

“Huh. Cool.”

Arkillian began on her keyboard again. Aislin tapped her foot, and glanced around the site casually, waiting.

“Hm…that's funny.” Arkillian squinted. “I can't get ahold of her.”

Aislin grew unsettled. She didn't like the sound of that. “Is there another way I can get to her?”

Arkillian heard the anxiousness in Aislin's voice. She felt the same. “Listen carefully.”

Aislin ran as fast as she could to where Arkillian instructed. Something didn't feel right. She hadn't seen any trolls, flames, or anything. The site had fallen into an eerie silence since Vin showed up, and that frightened Aislin deeply.

“Am I almost there, Arkillian?” She shouted to the Com on her belt.

“Close! You'll see it soon!”

Aislin stopped in her tracks. She found it. What it was happened to be a large, stone, Roman-style building. Vertically indented columns lined the front, holding a tapering roof. A large number of stairs crept out before it. Aislin gawked in open-mouthed awe.

“Aislin!” Arkillian shouted. “Get moving! She might be in trouble!”

Aislin shook her head and kept on, running toward the magnificent home to the administrator.

The building's inside was even more fantastic than it's outside. Black marble diamonds upon ivory squares lined the floor, giving it a demented chessboard feel. The walls were white, polished marble. About ten feet away from Aislin was a long, stone staircase that wound slightly to her right as it got higher to the top. On either side of Aislin, against the wall beside the door were two statues. One was of Susie, and the other was of a person Aislin had never seen before. He was far taller than Susie, and had messy hair, and angry-looking eyes. Aislin stepped away from the statue. She didn't like him very much.

Aislin returned her attention to the building she was in, and walked about, still in awe. She listened to the dull clunking noise her boots made against the floor. Just as she reached the center of the room, she heard an appalling scream. Aislin jumped, and gazed in fear at the top of the stairs. The scream came from up there. A woman…

“BogusRed!” shouted Aislin as the sick realization of whom shrieked came heavily crashing upon her. She took off up the stairs, grabbing at her ModCom. Breathlessly, as she continued her climb, she called to Arkillian for help. She looked at the Com screen and saw static. Interference? Aislin didn't know, but she knew Arkillian wasn't with her. She couldn't get ahold of the beta. She was alone for this battle.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, she braced herself against the banister and tried to catch her breath when she heard another shriek.

Aislin looked down the long hall, horrified. The corridor surrounded her in dozens of stained oak doors, one just like the next. Which was the correct door?

“BogusRed?” Aislin called out. Her desperate cry echoed through the empty void of polished marble and oak. Was she okay? What if something happened?

Aislin began to open doors, hoping she would find the correct one before it was too late. She ran about, flinging open doors. A bathroom, guestroom, no, no, not that one, either. Aislin reached wits end. She sank to the floor, defeated. She was tired. She couldn't save BogusRed, or the Senior Mods. She began to cry.

“I'm sorry, Bogus…” She choked as she wiped away her tears.

Just as she was giving in to her emotions, she heard an eruption from behind. Turning her head, she saw the door on the far-left fly off of its hinges in a flurry of fire and HTML code. Pulling herself to her feet, she followed the blast to its origin, hoping Bogus was okay.

After the flames died, Aislin entered the room. The remnants of it were torn apart, and in the center was a ball of fire, wildly shooting small fireballs about the room. Aislin scanned the room, trying to find the flame's target, and screamed when she caught a brief glimpse of white and gold fabric.

“BogusRed!” she shrieked. She glared at the flame, her fists shaking at her sides. She stomped her foot, “Stop that! You leave her alone!”

The flame stopped. It turned to face Aislin, which froze her. This flame wasn't like the one she had met before - this one was shaped like a woman. Fireballs were in the palms of her hands, and her long hair danced wildly behind her, making the sickening crackling noise fire makes. The woman shrieked, and began shooting fireballs at Aislin.

“SLANDER! LIES! DECEPTION! YOU ARE ALL SLANDEROUS LIARS! CENSORS!”

Aislin dove out of the way, feeling the heat scorch the bottom of her boots as she crashed to the floor. Groaning, she lifted herself onto her hands and knees and spotted BogusRed on the ground before her. She looked disheveled, and greatly shaken, but otherwise okay.

“BogusRed!” Cried Aislin. She crawled over to BogusRed and lightly shook her shoulder. Her eyes were closed, but slowly opened.

“Huh?” She turned her head to Aislin. “Aislin…how did you find me?”

Aislin smiled, and sniffled. She was crying again. Bogus was okay. “Arkillian led me here…when you didn't answer her.”

The flame woman screeched again when she saw her targets alive. Howling more derogatory terms, she fired even more bombs at the two. Aislin hauled BogusRed to her feet and shoved her out of the way, leaving herself open for punishment. Bogus was knocked a few good feet away from the flame's line of fire, and fell to the floor again.

“Aislin!” shrieked BogusRed.

Aislin closed her eyes. Time seemed to slow as she began to meet her end. She wasn't ready after all. She wasn't ready…

Seconds passed, and Aislin cracked open one eye. Why wasn't she hit? Looking in front of her, she saw Lilimayhem blocking the fireballs.

“Leave them alone!”

Aislin looked around the room as the words echoed. That wasn't Lili. Who was it?

The flame was subdued from shock. She looked around as well, searching for whoever spoke.

“Yeah! You tell `er, Keen! Leave Bogus alone! Go take your cranky business elsewhere!” Another voice. Keen?

Bogus lit up. “The regular members!” She exclaimed. “They're here with us!”

Aislin gaped at Bogus when she said this, and smiled. That first speaker was Keenarnor, a buddy of hers. Who was the other one, though?

“Libel's published falsity, not slander! Get it right.”

The other members were defending Bogus. Aislin watched as the flame began to weaken.

“Don't give Aislin and BR a hard time, just because your daughter likes to break rules.”

Aislin could feel the other members with her. Keenarnor, Greed, Jill V. S.T.A.R.S., everyone. The flames began to die, and Lili rushed to BogusRed to heal her.

“What the heck are you waiting for, Aislin? Ban her!” That voice also sounded familiar. Aislin snatched up her ModCom and saw Arkillian grinning at her.

“Arkillian! You're back!” Cried Aislin. Tears of joy streamed down her face.

“Oh, pshaw. What's a little interference to me?” She winked at Aislin. “Save the mushy stuff, and get to work, girlie.”

Aislin nodded, and returned the ModCom. She turned her attention back to the considerably weaker flame. The regular members had really helped a ton. They had more power than she realized.

Aislin glared at the flame, “How dare you come to this place and try to hurt BogusRed! I hope this has taught you something important, but just in case…” She put her hands out in front of her, “PREMIUM SPIRAL!”

The brown swirl came lashing out at the flame woman, hitting her hard, and knocking her through the wall.

Aislin chased after her and put her hand over the remaining embers.

“Get out of our site.”

The flame's wing appeared, and shattered. The flame died completely, and disappeared.

Aislin sighed and fell back to her knees. She heard clapping from behind her. Turning, she saw BogusRed clapping her hands and she approached her with Lilimayhem.

“You did very well, Aislin.” Said Bogus.

Aislin gazed sadly at the floor. “No, I didn't. I almost gave up when I couldn't find you. If the flame hadn't blown the door, I probably wouldn't have made it in time.”

Bogus kneeled beside Aislin, “But you did find me. And you defeated the flame.”

“Not alone, though. I wouldn't have been able to do it without Lili and the regular members.”

Bogus smiled. “I never said you were alone. You're never alone here. You have Arkillian, Lili, and the other members, as well as myself. This is an art and writing community. We must defend it together. And we will. I wouldn't ever have forced you into this on your own. I'd be a very poor administrator if I did.”

Aislin smiled wearily, “True. Very true.”

Bogus patted her on the shoulder.

“You did very well.”

Aislin sat in silence for a moment. Then she remembered Vin and Hikaru.

“Oh! BogusRed, I almost forgot! I came here to tell you about Vin. Arkillian thinks-“

“It's alright, Aislin.” Bogus raised her hand to silence her. “I've already checked out Vin's puppet account. She is to be banned alongside her mother, Lark.”

“Her mother? Why? What'd she do?”

Bogus smiled again, “You should have asked her while she was here.”

Aislin sat back and puzzled this a moment. “She was here…?” Her eyes widened, “The flame! That was her mother?”

Bogus nodded. “When Vin was accused of a puppet account, she was also charged with plagiarism, because she was stealing art to put in Hikaru's gallery. Lark found out that we were banning her, and got furious about it. How she got into the site, though, I don't know…”

“Vin was here, too! She was adding art to Hikaru's gallery. Arkillian told me regular members can't come through here, right?”

Bogus stared in disbelief at Aislin, “Vin was here, too? But how…?”