Chronicles of Metal: Chapter 2 - The Guardians

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Information. That's what Beard needed: information. NCP's where walking around and talking of their own volition, the entire guild building was now in a new, very perplexing place, and no matter how many times he tried he couldn’t bring up the Hud to log out. He'd spent the better part of the last ten minutes waiting in the atrium, trying in vain to find some sort of clue as to what was going on. But, being Isekai'd into a videogame? That kind of thing only happened in anime and... well, videogames. But like, as part of the story, not an actual occurrence. Of course with no other explanation, as outlandish as it may have been, it appeared that was indeed the case.

"Master?" Turning towards the voice he found Tao approaching from the west passageway, her tail swinging from side to side with each step. "I'm back, Master!"

Following behind her was another NCP. He resembled a zombified Cowboy; greyish yellow skin stretched over bones and a skeletal face. Hollow eyes stared out from beneath a rim of a cowboy hat, but the most prominent thing about him was a set of extra arms dangled beneath a tattered black Poncho. "Hexis Jones." Beard muttered aloud, having to think to remember the name. "Have you found anything?"

"Naw, boss." The corpse croaked in a slow, crusty voice. "Nothing like this bridge I've 'eard tell about."

Beard nodded. If memory served, Hexis was the floor guardian of the second floor, the Ivory Dessert, as well as the keeper of the armory on the main floor. "Hey... I'm here too." Tao interjected, waving her arm to draw attention to herself. "I didn't find anything either, Master. The Jade Gardens are A-Okay."

The Jade Gardens, the fifth floor. Tao's domain. Considering it was the second to last floor, it was good to know there was at least no threat of flooding. Given how precariously they were perched over the waterfall, it came as a small comfort.

Heavy, metallic footfalls drew their attention to the east wing, to a massive, armored figure approaching. Solomon Steelbane, the guardian of the first floor. The Crimson Warfield. Beard remembered this one instantly. He was the first obstacle that players challenging the guild came across, and more often than not was more than they could handle.

"Solomon." He muttered as the hulking being approached, stopping just short of the others. "Find anything weird?"

"Unchaaaaanged." The voice slowly echoed from inside his helm.

The room fell silent as they waited for him to elaborate, but the hulking figure just stared back at them. "Uh..." Beard muttered, at a loss for words. "That's good to hear."

"It appears nothing has changed." Isabella interjected, entering from the east passageway with the guild's two last NCP's.

The first to approach was the tiny Vespa Chibisting, the guardian of the 3rd floor, the golden forest. She stood a little under two feet tall, with tiny pincer like horns and paper white skin. She wore pair of black shorts, sports top, and thigh high boots and gloves consoled beneath a semi-transparent red raincoat. A tiny spear like weapon, no longer than a carving knife slung across her back. She started as an insect monster when first conceptualized by her creator, Teen-Spirit. But now the only vestige of that where her insect like feet. Something that Beard still couldn't believe she pulled off.

Vespa arrived sitting on the solder of Synth. Synth Timeless, guardian of the Ebony Labyrinth on the forth floor. Of all the NCP's, he had what Beard thought was the coolest appearance.  Standing almost as toll as Soloman, Synth was an automaton. Basically, a robot, but with a somewhat more mythic air to him and a skeletal look that invoked images of that old movie about a killer robot sent back in time to terminate people. He was swathed in a long green cloak, and clutched a staff in his hand that, at first glance, could've easily been mistaken for some sort of halberd or scythe.

Then, lastly, there was Isabella. The guardian of the sixth and final floor, the Azure palace. Despite her human appearance and maid attire, she was every bit as powerful the others.

"What do you wish of us?" Synth's autotuned voice echoed through the atrium.

"I-I dunno..." Beard was at a loss. The totality of the guild had been transported to some other world, and he along with it. Now the NCP's where up, walking and talking all on their own. It very quickly brought him back to the thought he'd been having before the others arrived. He needed information.

"Hey, Master?" Tao crept closer, gesturing to the bridge through a window. "What about that?" Her question did nothing to resolve his thoughts, only adding to what was already an out-of-control situation. "I can just knock it down, if you want?"

"What? No!" He answered out of reflex, but his disbelief vanished abnormally quick. Just as it had when he felt overwhelmed being sent to another world. Tao glanced at the ground dejectedly, stopping Beard from thinking on it for too long. He felt bad for snapping at her, but an idea came to mind almost immediately. "We... Could us this." He spoke again, thinking off the top of his head. "It's a clear path to both banks of the river. We couldn't ask for a better way ashore." That was right, what better way to gather information than to go out scouting?

Tao looked up at her, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "Oh... That's a great idea!"

"Lizard brain..." Isaballa scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Tao spun around her cheeks puffed in anger, but withheld her outburst just long enough for Beard to formulate a plan. "First, I think we should do a bit of remolding. Relocating the library should be our first priority, and turn the space around the bridge into an entrance hall. That should make it easier for us to come and go."

"I can manage that." Vespa said, jumping from her perch. "My workers and I can have that done by the end of the day."

That was a... Surprising admission. As far as he could remember, Vespa was purely a combat NCP. Though... in fairness they all were. But having some sort of building potential couldn't be a bad thing. "Next we should make sure we aren't washed away by the river." He thought a moment longer, feeling the eyes of all six NCP's on him. He couldn't tell why, but he felt something akin to admiration emanating from them. "Synth, can you use your magic to reshape the earth beneath the water? Make it more... permanent?"

"A delicate matter, but a simple one." The automaton bowed his head slightly. "It will be done."

This felt... off. Even with his friends back in the game, he'd never really been a squad leader. That roll usually fell to Mick, Stricken, or Ozbourne. Giving orders like this didn't feel at all natural. More so when Synth and Vespa followed them so readily.

"Master?" Again, Beard's thoughts were interrupted by Tao calling to him. "What should I do?" She pointed to herself delightedly, her tail wagging like an excited dog.

Again, it felt weird being at the head of things. Thinking quickly though, he figured out exactly how she could help. "You and Hexis head up to the roof and get a lay of the land. See how much you can see." Tao nodded excitedly, and Hexis gave a small tip of the hat. Just as she turned to dash off, another thought came to mind. "But for the love of god, don't go flying anywhere! Someone built that bridge, and they probably won't be too happy to find us sitting in the middle of it!"

"'Kay!" Tao called back, already a good way up the stairs with Hexis following behind.

Her jovial tone didn't exactly fill Beard with confidence. He'd known her for exactly half an hour, but could tell that she was more free-spirited than any of them. "Solomon, can you go keep an eye on her?" He asked the hulking knight. "If someone does show up, I want you to scare'em off."

The hug man made no sound. Slowly he turned and began trudging off after Tao. "Scaaaaare..." His voice came out barely louder than a whisper, but echoed through the room like thunder.

This left him alone with Isabella. She had watched the others depart with her arms crossed, filling some silent judgment that Beard couldn't discern. "What?" Beard realized he'd been staring at her, which apparently drew her ire. "Master...?"

"N-nothing, I'm just..." He had no excuse. He was still getting used to her talking at all, where had this confrontational personality of hers come from? "Just thinking, is all."

She let out a slow breath, practically deflating on the spot. "Troubled?"

Beard actually let out a chuckle. He didn't know why; it wasn't like she'd cracked a joke. Something about having her, who until today was just an NCP he and his guild had dreamed up, ask what was wrong tickled his funny bone in a way he didn't expect. "Yeah... I'm not sure what to do."

"Why not consult the guild's records?" She offered; her eyes half open like the conversation was boring her. "This isn't the first time the guild has moved, after all."

A lightbulb instantly went off in Beards head. She wasn't exactly wrong. When the guild first started, the building was much smaller. They'd relocate maybe four times as the guild grew, before ultimately arriving at the dark cathedral where they now stood. What's more though, it confirmed something else. The NCP's had memories from the game. Moreso, the library had a record of each and every one of them. Should one of the floor guardians be killed during a raid, Hetfield had written down a build guide of each of them. Stats, items, skills, combat algorithms. And likely, a lore blurb for each and every one of them. If their personalities came from anywhere, it'd have to be there. Hetfield was just a nerd like that.

"Thank you, Isabella." Beard blurted. Knowing each of the six floor guardians would definitely come in handy. They where the closest things he had to friends right now, so he wanted to take care of them all as best he could.

"Whatever you need, Master." Isabella gave a short bow as Beard turned to leave. Just before he was about to activate his wraith form however, she spoke up once more. "What would you have me do?"

This gave Beard pause. Again, knowing her all of thirty minutes told him that she didn't seem to take orders well. Yet she asked to be given a task just like Tao had. As soon as he found those NCP records, hers would be the first he read. "You've... Done more than enough already. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

Isabelle raised an eyebrow a fraction of an inch. Clearly she hadn't anticipated being given some time off, but it was only fair. If the floor guardians where their own people now, it only made sense that they'd need breaks every so often. Food too, now that he thought about it. Likely not a problem for some of them, but he had to at least make sure their basic needs were met now. Whatever those may be.

"Yes, master..." Isabella bowed again. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course." Beard answered without even thinking. "Do whatever ya want."

With that, Beard morphed into a shadow and rushed through the guild. Something was different this time though. Usually, he'd have to scroll through a skill list to use just about any of his powers.  Yet he didn't just then. He didn't even notice it at first, he just thought about it and it happened. Just as easily as walking up a flight of stares. It wasn't just the NCP's, he himself had changed. He wasn't just playing a game anymore; he'd actually became Rob-Zombie's-Beard. At any other point in life, he'd have thought the idea sounded awesome. But now...

The calming wave crashed over him before that thought could expand any further. All of a sudden, he just didn't care. = That was something he'd have to figure out as well. Was he losing his emotions or something? Was this an effect from a skill he'd forgotten about? Or was this just how things where now? So many questions rushed through his mind that he hadn't even noticed he'd stopped dead in the hallway.

Shaking his head, he morphed back into a tangible form and decided to walk the rest of the way. Until he had a better grasp on things, he'd hold off on using any skills or magic. Not until he knew more about what was happening.

Again, he needed more information.

Now alone, Isabella slowly began to pace around the room. She admired the shear white marble floor, the great pillars that reached to the ceiling, the statues of various monsters or figures from god-only-knew where. Where her eyes lingered the longest however, was the door. The massive double doors that led outside, once obscured by a thick forest, now sat bare.

With a slight tilt of the head, Isabella strolled forth and pushed the doors open. Instantly the sound of crashing water rushed over her, quickly followed by the cool breath of the wind against her face. Ahead of her sat... well, everything. Down a short staircase sat a clearing. Or what would have been a clearing. Right now it was just a slab of earth flanked by waterfalls on either side. She counted all of four trees rooted in the earth, but beyond that... Fields, rivers, forests, mountains Open plains as far as the eye could see. She'd never seen anything like this before.

Her icy eyes glistened in the sun, the almost perpetual scowl on her face morphing into a small smile full of wonder. "Beautiful..." She gasped, unable to think of better words to describe the sight.

Suddenly the earth shook under her feet, breaking her from her trance. Synth must’ve been manipulating the ground under the guild. Her expression soured when she looked back at the guild, crossing her arms under her chest again. "Do... Whatever I want." She muttered to herself, turning towards the vast landscape again. "As you wish, Master Beard."

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