Part 1 of Chapter 1
In a dark room, lit by a single desk lamp, there was the silhouette of a person. A person of about average height, with rugged hair. He sat at the desk, writing on a single sheet of paper. The paper was filled with thousands upon thousands of words, completely blocking out the paper. The working man, seeing his paper lacking any free space left, put his pencil away, and placed his paper on the top of the stack. The paper rested on a pile that towered over him, it’s shadow blocking out the rest of the room behind him. The man got up from the desk and headed over to the door, but not before putting away his strange half mask that he worse and placing it on a mannequin.
“You can’t be freakin’ serious.”
“Nope, I’m serious.”
Bishop was having an argument with his older, more responsible brother. But, before we can understand what is going on, allow me to head back a few hours ago, where all this starts.
Bishop was playing on his guitar, Dragon Red, playing some of the most classic rock songs he could from bands such as AC/DC and The Who. Bishop wasn’t your average highschooler. By that, I mean he wasn’t willing to work hard for anything. Due to his parents being rich, he allowed himself to mooch off their money and not have to work a single bit in his life. He just played guitar, watched the latest action movie, or hung out with his two friends, Rollen. AKA Roll, and Thomas. AKA Tiny Tom. However, something would change for him today.
Roll sat in his room, watching the latest episode of Cyborg Ninja, a story of a man nearly killed by a cruel dictator and seeks revenge as a ninja with the powers of a robot. Roll was known to many as a nerd, a loser, a virgin, or a weeaboo. However, Roll never cared. He wasn’t one to go outside and have a conversation with just anyone. He only knew Bishop because he was there to help him during an incident in elementary school that we’ll get to later for subtlety reasons. Roll was always informed of the latest anime, had the best anime merchandise, and would always take karate lessons in order to fight like all of his favorite characters, and is still holding out for the day when he can do those inhuman special powers. Though he was always satisfied with what he got, something would happen that would drive him to a need for money
Tiny Tom was in the garage, cleaning off dirt from his chopper motorcycle that he has named Fireball. Tiny Tom wasn’t the kind of person you’d expect to drive a motorcycle. He got the nickname Tiny Tom due to his short size. He looked as though he was barely out of fifth grade, despite being sixteen. Even though he was incredibly shorter than everyone else in school, he still had much confidence in attracting girls. He met Bishop and Roll after crashing his friend's car into a mugger that threatened Bishop and Roll, and Tiny Tom happened to crash the car into him to save their lives. He has been working on his motorcycle since he got it, and has been adding different tech to it in order to make it look cooler for the girls. He was never strapped for cash, and unlike the others, he would never need to worry about it… But he would still like to have money
Now, with character introductions out of the way, I say we get back to where we left off.
“You can’t be freakin’ serious.”
“Nope, I’m serious”
Bishop was arguing with his older and more responsible brother, Knight. Knight grinned and said, “Come now, Bishop. Surely you saw this coming for years.”
Bishop, furious over this, said, “So mom and dad would prefer you having the fortune?”
Knight shrugged, keeping that grin on his face, and said, “Well, that’s what they said when I overheard them. I mean, I am the more responsible one. You’ll just spend your money on albums of old guys and action movies online. That is why I am the responsible one and you’re nothing but a slacker. You don’t even have a driver’s license. If I were you, I’d get an application for the burger joint MeatSpin and file for work, because you’re not gonna be slacking off anymore, dear brother.”
Bishop, in a rage, got up and said, “I’ll show you. I’ll prove to you that I am not just some slacker. I’ll gladly get a job. Prove that I can be more successful than you”.
With that, Bishop stormed out of the room and slammed the door, only to walk back in. “I need bus fare.” he said.
Roll was sitting with his parents, his face dumfounded at what they told them, “What are you talking about?”
His father looked at Roll, dead in the eyes, and said, “What we’re talking about is that we can’t continue to support your love for these… shows.”
“They’re anime, dad. You wouldn’t understand”
“Maybe not. But what I do understand is that it costs too much to keep buying them.”
“But I always buy those things cheap. They don’t cost that much.”
“Maybe by themselves, but when you look at the total for how much you buy, it costs way too much. So, here’s what you can do. You can continue to buy them, but only if you get a job.”
Roll’s eyes suddenly widened at the thought of work. He said, “But dad, you know that my social skills aren’t good enough to interact with people.”
His father sighed and said, “Well, there’s nothing else I can say. You’ll just have to get a job.”
Roll didn’t know what to do. He got up and headed out, frustrated with his parents decision.
Bishop sat in the employer’s office of the local MeatSpin, drumming his fingers against his knees quietly. The place looked as bland as one would expect from a place like this. The walls were grey, and there were no windows at all. The employer walked in and said, “So, what’s your name?”
“Bishop.”
“Bishop, would you mind sitting in the chair right?”
Bishop was slouched in his chair, looking as bored as possible. “What’s wrong with how I sit?” He said
The employer looked at him and said, “.... Right. Anyway, what are some of your skills?”
Bishop sat up a little and spoke. “Well, I’m good with guitar, and I’m good at watching action movies.”
“Watching movies is… a skill?”
Bishop nodded. “Yep. That’s all I got really. I don’t try hard at all and barely do any work. In fact, I don’t do any work at all”.
“....... Good to know”
“What, you screwed up getting the job so easily?” Tiny Tom said as he tried not to spit his drink out from laughter.
The group had stopped at a small corner store to get drinks. Bishop wasn’t in the mood to eat at a MeatSpin right now. Bishop, looking annoyed, said, “I was just being honest. I thought people would be happy if you were honest.”
Roll, drinking from his can, said, “At least you had the guts to ask for a job. I tried asking for work at the clothing store Columbian Necktie, and I couldn’t even speak to the guy.”
Tiny Tom fell back, laughing at the thought
Roll, annoyed, said, “Shut up, Tiny Tom. I’d like to see you get a job.”
Tiny Tom, getting up, grinning, said, “Well, I have an idea. Have you tried doing any of those things people are doing on the internet?”
Roll asked, “Like a video on iView?”
Tiny Tom, “Nah, that’s filled with too much people”
Bishop, thinking it over, suddenly had the idea come to his mind, “Perhaps we could make a video game.”
Tiny Tom, smiling at the idea, said, “Yeah, a video game would be an awesome idea.”
Roll, smiling, said, “And it’s perfect for all of us. Not much interactions with people, Barely any work at all, and getting paid lots of money by people”.
Bishop, suddenly thinking about it, said, “Do any of you guys have any experience with video game making?”
Once he brought this up, everything went quiet. None of them had any idea how to make games. They know how to play video games, as they all have at one point, but none of them know a single thing about making one. Bishop sighed, and said, “Maybe we can get a lesson from one of them. I’m sure that they can tell us how to make a game.”
Roll, a bit nervous, said, “But how do you know they’ll want to talk with us?”
Bishop said, “I don’t know. But it’s worth a try, right?”
Tiny Tom sighed and said, “I guess we’ve got nothing to lose. But we should try something small, like making an indie game.”
Bishop said, “Good thinking. What’s the most popular indie game out right now?”
Roll got onto his phone and started looking through the most popular indie games. When he got to the top, his eyes widened. He shouted, “Here it is!”
He showed the gameplay to Bishop and Tiny Tom. As soon as they saw it, their eyes widened. The game was known as Time Rip, a game where different time periods fight in an online battle for territory across an open world. Bishop said, “Is it possible for a game like this to be indie?”
Roll said, “Says here that it is an indie game. But the thing is……”
As he read, his hands started to shake and his eyes widened in shock. Tiny Tom said, “Roll, are you okay?”
Roll, looked up at them, and instead of speaking, showed it to them. On the phone, it said that the entire game was made by just one person. Upon seeing this, the group started to lose their minds. They couldn’t believe that one person made this game. Bishop said, “Who was the guy that made it?”
Roll looked at his phone and said, “Some developer by the name of… Max 1.Million. Says the Point part is necessary for the name.”
Bishop said immediately, “Well, give him a call! Send him a message! Anything! We need to get a hold of him!”
Roll said, “Okay, I’ll try to find some sort of way to contact him.”
Roll looked through his phone. As he did, his eyes turned from excitement to confusion. He looked up and said, “There’s no way to contact him.”
Tiny Tom looked at the phone and said, “What do you mean there’s no way to contact him?”
Roll said, “There’s no way to contact him. His profile has no e-mail or phone. He hasn’t even posted anything on his social media site. It’s strange. I’ll just PM him and see if I can get him.”
Roll sent the developer a message, hoping that he would get it.
As the working man was continuing to work on the game, his computer suddenly made a ding as a message popped up on his computer. The man turned to the computer and opened the message from Roll. The message read, “Hello, Max 1.Million. Me and my friends love Time Rip. We wish to create games as good as you. Perhaps we can meet up sometime. Maybe at the small coffee shop in the town of Summerton. Hope you get this message. Thanks for taking the time to read it.” The working man got up from his chair and made his way to the door.
Bishop, Roll, and Tiny Tom sat at the coffee shop, looking bored. Tiny Tom sat back and said, “Oh god, is he ever gonna get here?”
Roll said, “I’m sure he is. At least… I think.”
Tiny Tom gave a bored sigh. “I hope he got it.”
As they talked, a black car pulled up to the coffee shop. They all looked at it, hoping it would be Max. The door suddenly opened, and a man in a black suid with hair combed to the side stepped out, looking at the group. The man said, “Are you Roll and his friends?”
Roll said, nervously, “Uh… Y-yes, I’m R-Roll. These are my friends, Bishop, and Tiny Tom.”
Bishop said, “And are you Max 1.Million?”
The man looked at them and said, “No, I’m not Mr. Million. I’m just one of his assistant. I’ve been sent by him to meet you three. He told me to see if you were worth his time… And looking at you, you already failed.”
“What!?” Said Bishop, Roll, and Tiny Tom in unison. The man in the suit said, “Sorry, but Mr. Million won’t waste his time for people like you.” With that, he turned and walked back to his car. As he did, Tiny Tom got up out of his chair and shouted, “Hang on! If you think we’re just gonna let some guy in a suit tell us to piss off, you’ve got another thing coming! We didn’t sit here for three hours to meet this developer so you can tell us to not come! You aren’t gonna tell us to beat it because you want us to, you prick!”
The man in the suit turned, and looked at Tiny Tom dead in the face. As he did, he said, “You passed the test.”
Bishop, Roll, and Tiny Tom all looked confused as he said this. Bishop said, “Uh… I don’t exactly get what you mean.”
The man in the suit said, “Mr. Million only wants someone who is willing to stand up for what they want to do, and you three have it. Alright, I’ll take you to Mr. Million.”
The man in the suit opened the car door for them. They hesitated for a moment, but eventually stepped into the car. The man in the suit got into the driver’s seat and drove down the road.
Bishop looked out the window. The city was moving past them in a blur as the car continued to move. They noticed that the cracked road began to turn into a road that looked brand new. The grey clouds of Summerton was starting to fade into sunlight. The air even seemed to become more clean and breathable. They soon came to a small town. The buildings were colorful and seemed to be well kept. The most strange thing about this place was the sky above them all. The sky appeared to be odd in it’s own way. It looked as though it was made out of glass. It was hard to describe, but it just appeared to be made of glass. The car finally stopped in front of a small building lined with bricks. The man in the suit said, “Alright, this is it. Mr. Millions studio.”
The group looked at the place. They were happy to see that this was the workplace of a well known indie game developer. As they looked at it, the door suddenly opened, and there, they could see a man, wearing a white mechanical opera mask covering half of his face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part 2 of Chapter 1
Bishop, Roll, and Tiny Tom all looked at the man in the mechanical opera mask, confused as to what he was doing. The man looked at them and said, “Who the hell are you? Don’t tell me that the people who sent me a message were a couple of high school kids.”
Bishop, confused, said, “Well… we did send you the message.”
The man in the mask groaned and said, “Great. Just great. Just what I needed.”
Bishop, feeling a bit nervous, said, “Um… I’m Bishop. This is Roll, and Tiny Tom.”
The man in the mask, annoyed, said, “Great. I don’t care. My alias is Max One.Million. My friends call me by my name Maxamillion. So, since you are not my friends, you can just call me Maxwell.”
Roll said nervously, “Oh… okay. So… are you gonna teach us how to-”
Maxwell looked at them and said, “Hold on. I’m not just gonna teach you how to make games just because I brought you to Glass Sky Hills.”
The three looked at each other, all of them confused. Tiny Tom said, “What is a Glass Sky Hills?”
Maxwell groaned and said, “This whole town. Didn’t you notice the sky change into a glassy look when you got out of that dump Summerton. This is Glass Sky Hills, a paradise for those who can handle the insanity.”
Bishop turned his head and said, “Oh… okay.”
Maxwell walked inside his studio and said, “Well, come in. We won’t get anywhere if you all just stand there.”
The group walked into the studio, seeing that the entire place was completely empty, except for a single desk at the end of the room with thousands of papers surrounding it and a desk lamp. The walls were all filled with vibrant colors, despite there being no windows. Maxwell said, “This is my studio. I know, it looks nothing like someone’s usual studio, but all I need is my pen, my paper, and my creativity to have a studio.”
Roll, looking at the colors on the wall, said, “How do you eat?”
Maxwell said, “I get my assistant out there to buy food for me while I work.”
Tiny Tom said, “What about windows?”
Maxwell said, “Sunlight disturbs me. I get enough vitamin C from my orange juice.”
Bishop, looking at his desk, said, “And what’s with all these papers?”
Maxwell said, “Those are all my ideas. I write all my ideas for my next game down so I don’t forget them.”
The group was amazed. All of those pages were ideas from a single person, and most of these ideas were very creative to them. As they looked through the pages, Maxwell said, “So, what can you two offer to a game that I can’t?”
The group looked at each other. They weren’t expecting a question like that. Bishop, being one to think fast, said, “Well, I’m a guitarist, so I could offer some good music to your games.”
The expression in Maxwell’s eyes (The only thing they could see past that half mask) did not change a bit. He looked at Roll and said, “What about you? What can you offer?”
Roll began to sweat a little, as he wasn’t one to talk much. He looked at Maxwell and said, “Well… I’ve seen plenty of anime to learn how to draw the style of them. I think it’s pretty good.”
Maxwell’s eyes refused to change as he looked at them. He looked at Tiny Tom next and said, “And what about you?”
Tiny Tom looked at him and said, “Well, you’ll need a voice actor right? I think I’m a pretty good voice actor.”
Maxwell seemed to change his expression, but only to a one of annoyance, and he said, “My games don’t have voices. Their all in text.”
Tiny Tom suddenly got nervous and he said, “Well…. I….. I’ve been working on a motorcycle for a long time. How different can working on motorcycles be from working on video games?”
Maxwell’s eye changed back to what they were before and he got up from his chair. He looked at them and said, “Well… You all may have nothing that I want to deal with… But you’ve definitely got determination, and that’s good enough for me. I’ll teach you what I know. Under the condition that you follow what I say. Understand?”
The group nodded to show that they understood what he meant. Maxwell grinned, in a manner that the others found rather creepy, and he said, “Splendid. But first, we’ll need to move the studio somewhere else. This studio is too small for four men. Thankfully, I have a place up at the tip of Glass Sky Hills. You all go wait in the car for me.”
Bishop, Roll, and Tiny Tom didn’t bother to question it. They walked to the car and waited in the back. Once they were in the car, Maxwell shouted, “Benedict!”
The man in the suit walked in and said, “Yes Maxamillion?”
Maxwell picked up a can of gasoline and started spreading it around the studio. As he did this, he spoke, “I need you to pack up all my note and ideas at the desk. After you drop us off at my manor, you need to pick up dinner. I’m in the mood for something from Germany tonight.”
Benedict nodded and immediately packed all the notes into a small suitcase. He walked to the door and said, “Will that be all, Sir?”
Maxwell spun around in the gasoline like a ballerina as he emptied the can across the studio. He said, “Make sure to look out for the call for when I can get my insurance money on this place.”
Benedict nodded and made his way out. Maxwell went to the door, lighting a match, and throwing it into the studio before turning and stepping into the car. Maxwell said, “Alright. To the Glass Sky Peak Manor.”
As the car pulled off, Bishop noticed smoke coming from the cracks of the door of the studio in the reflection of the mirror.
The drive felt as though it were only a few short minutes before it stopped. The group looked out the window to see a large white house, with large windows surrounding it, a brown door near the bottom, a single crooked tree outside the house, and it all rested at the very edge of a cliff known as Glass Sky Peak. Bishop looked at the house and said, “Wow, did you make all this from your games?”
Maxwell stepped out and said, “Please. Working on a game doesn’t give you that much money. A movie, maybe, but not a game. It just gives you enough to live off of. I got this house after my parents died.”
Tiny Tom smacked his forehead and said, “Movies, that’s how people made a lot of money. Not video games.”
Bishop and Roll looked at Tiny Tom, annoyed, and stepped out of the car. They all followed Maxwell as he opened the door. Once he did, the entire sight made their eyes widen. The living room alone was impressive. There was a large leather couch facing a flat screen TV as big as the wall, with a small but fancy kitchen on the opposite side. There were spiral stairs following up to the second floor. The group was shocked at the sight of the house that one man lived in. Maxwell said, “It’s amazing what you can inherit from your dead parents. You know, as long as you're the only living sibling.”
Bishop said, thinking of his obnoxious brother, “Yeah, tell me about it.”
As they spoke, there was a clacking sound against the marble floor. They all turned to see a small boston terrier dog, with one brown eye and one blue eye looking at them. Tiny Tom looked at it and said, “What is that?”
Maxwell got onto his knees and brushed the dog's head with his head as he spoke to Tiny Tom, “Are you blind. It’s a dog. Her name is Beach Boy.”
Roll questioned, “Her?”
Maxwell, still petting the dog, said, “My mom named her after the band. She wasn’t good with guessing genders. She always thought I was a girl just because of how I sounded as a child. Also, Beach Boy does not like dog food. Don’t feed her any of that. She’ll bite you if you do.”
The thought of a dog that small doing any damage to them made Tiny Tom scoff. As they talked, there was a voice- a feminine voice- speaking from atop the stairs. A young girl, the same age as all of them, looked at them and said, “Maxxy, who are these guys?”
The group couldn’t take their eyes of the girl. She had short dirty blonde hair, wore a purple shirt and black pants, and gave off a mischievous but glowing smile. Maxwell said, “Psycho Sis, I told you to not call me Maxxy in front of people.”
Bishop, being the first to take his eyes off her, said, “So, is she a friend of yours?”
Maxwell said, “No, not at all. She’s my sister, and she’s annoying.”
The girl extended her hand to Tiny Tom and said, “Hi, I’m Ruby.”
Bishop said to Maxwell, “But I thought you were an only child.”
Maxwell said, “No, I said I was the only living sibling.”
Bishop, confused, said, “What do you mean?”
As they spoke, Tiny Tom suddenly screamed as he noticed, Ruby’s hand pass through his. Ruby said, “Oh, sorry. I always forget that.”
Maxwell said, as Bishop looked in shock, “Yeah, I forgot to mention. Ruby isn’t really… Alive.”
Bishop turned back to Maxwell and said, “Are you telling me that she’s dead?”
Maxwell said, “Yep. She’s a ghost. I told you that Glass Sky Hills was a place that was paradise as long as you can handle the insanity. Ruby is just one of them. She’s crazy, I should add. That’s why I call her Psycho Sis.”
As he said this, Ruby started to look at the size of Tiny Tom, giggling at how short he was. Maxwell said, “Well, if we’re done with introductions, I’d say it’s time we eat. I believe food is ready.”
With that, Benedict walked in, carrying a large bag of German food. Maxwell said, “And you're right on time. Good work Benedict.”
Benedict placed the food on the table and said, “Thank you, Sir. Will Madam Ruby be eating with us?”
Ruby sat at the chair and said, “Of course I am.”
Benedict said, “Very well.” He then snapped his fingers and the entire table was instantly set with food. At the end of the table was a small bowl of vanilla ice cream. Once it was in Beach Boy’s sight, she rushed to the table and jumped onto her seat and began devouring the ice cream. Maxwell sat at the table and looked at the group and said, “Well, don’t just sit there. Come and join us.”
The group sat at the table, a little nervous about the whole thing. Maxwell said, as he held his wine glass up and said, “I’d like to welcome the new group. May you not annoy me too much.” With that, he placed his wine glass on the table and began drinking from the bottle.
Above the town of Glass Sky Hills, a man by the name of Blake Plague was crawling across the small mirror in the sky. He was thankful that his other self on the other side of the mirror had finally died, granting him freedom from just being a reflection of the other Blake Plague. He now had freedom to do what he pleased. And the first thing he wanted to do was find a crack in the mirror that separated him and the other Reflections from the other world, so that they may be able to no longer be reflections of the others on the other side and be free to do what they want. But before that could happen, Blake Plague needed to find a crack in the sky, his only chance making his dreams a reality.
To Be Continued
In a dark room, lit by a single desk lamp, there was the silhouette of a person. A person of about average height, with rugged hair. He sat at the desk, writing on a single sheet of paper. The paper was filled with thousands upon thousands of words, completely blocking out the paper. The working man, seeing his paper lacking any free space left, put his pencil away, and placed his paper on the top of the stack. The paper rested on a pile that towered over him, it’s shadow blocking out the rest of the room behind him. The man got up from the desk and headed over to the door, but not before putting away his strange half mask that he worse and placing it on a mannequin.
“You can’t be freakin’ serious.”
“Nope, I’m serious.”
Bishop was having an argument with his older, more responsible brother. But, before we can understand what is going on, allow me to head back a few hours ago, where all this starts.
Bishop was playing on his guitar, Dragon Red, playing some of the most classic rock songs he could from bands such as AC/DC and The Who. Bishop wasn’t your average highschooler. By that, I mean he wasn’t willing to work hard for anything. Due to his parents being rich, he allowed himself to mooch off their money and not have to work a single bit in his life. He just played guitar, watched the latest action movie, or hung out with his two friends, Rollen. AKA Roll, and Thomas. AKA Tiny Tom. However, something would change for him today.
Roll sat in his room, watching the latest episode of Cyborg Ninja, a story of a man nearly killed by a cruel dictator and seeks revenge as a ninja with the powers of a robot. Roll was known to many as a nerd, a loser, a virgin, or a weeaboo. However, Roll never cared. He wasn’t one to go outside and have a conversation with just anyone. He only knew Bishop because he was there to help him during an incident in elementary school that we’ll get to later for subtlety reasons. Roll was always informed of the latest anime, had the best anime merchandise, and would always take karate lessons in order to fight like all of his favorite characters, and is still holding out for the day when he can do those inhuman special powers. Though he was always satisfied with what he got, something would happen that would drive him to a need for money
Tiny Tom was in the garage, cleaning off dirt from his chopper motorcycle that he has named Fireball. Tiny Tom wasn’t the kind of person you’d expect to drive a motorcycle. He got the nickname Tiny Tom due to his short size. He looked as though he was barely out of fifth grade, despite being sixteen. Even though he was incredibly shorter than everyone else in school, he still had much confidence in attracting girls. He met Bishop and Roll after crashing his friend's car into a mugger that threatened Bishop and Roll, and Tiny Tom happened to crash the car into him to save their lives. He has been working on his motorcycle since he got it, and has been adding different tech to it in order to make it look cooler for the girls. He was never strapped for cash, and unlike the others, he would never need to worry about it… But he would still like to have money
Now, with character introductions out of the way, I say we get back to where we left off.
“You can’t be freakin’ serious.”
“Nope, I’m serious”
Bishop was arguing with his older and more responsible brother, Knight. Knight grinned and said, “Come now, Bishop. Surely you saw this coming for years.”
Bishop, furious over this, said, “So mom and dad would prefer you having the fortune?”
Knight shrugged, keeping that grin on his face, and said, “Well, that’s what they said when I overheard them. I mean, I am the more responsible one. You’ll just spend your money on albums of old guys and action movies online. That is why I am the responsible one and you’re nothing but a slacker. You don’t even have a driver’s license. If I were you, I’d get an application for the burger joint MeatSpin and file for work, because you’re not gonna be slacking off anymore, dear brother.”
Bishop, in a rage, got up and said, “I’ll show you. I’ll prove to you that I am not just some slacker. I’ll gladly get a job. Prove that I can be more successful than you”.
With that, Bishop stormed out of the room and slammed the door, only to walk back in. “I need bus fare.” he said.
Roll was sitting with his parents, his face dumfounded at what they told them, “What are you talking about?”
His father looked at Roll, dead in the eyes, and said, “What we’re talking about is that we can’t continue to support your love for these… shows.”
“They’re anime, dad. You wouldn’t understand”
“Maybe not. But what I do understand is that it costs too much to keep buying them.”
“But I always buy those things cheap. They don’t cost that much.”
“Maybe by themselves, but when you look at the total for how much you buy, it costs way too much. So, here’s what you can do. You can continue to buy them, but only if you get a job.”
Roll’s eyes suddenly widened at the thought of work. He said, “But dad, you know that my social skills aren’t good enough to interact with people.”
His father sighed and said, “Well, there’s nothing else I can say. You’ll just have to get a job.”
Roll didn’t know what to do. He got up and headed out, frustrated with his parents decision.
Bishop sat in the employer’s office of the local MeatSpin, drumming his fingers against his knees quietly. The place looked as bland as one would expect from a place like this. The walls were grey, and there were no windows at all. The employer walked in and said, “So, what’s your name?”
“Bishop.”
“Bishop, would you mind sitting in the chair right?”
Bishop was slouched in his chair, looking as bored as possible. “What’s wrong with how I sit?” He said
The employer looked at him and said, “.... Right. Anyway, what are some of your skills?”
Bishop sat up a little and spoke. “Well, I’m good with guitar, and I’m good at watching action movies.”
“Watching movies is… a skill?”
Bishop nodded. “Yep. That’s all I got really. I don’t try hard at all and barely do any work. In fact, I don’t do any work at all”.
“....... Good to know”
“What, you screwed up getting the job so easily?” Tiny Tom said as he tried not to spit his drink out from laughter.
The group had stopped at a small corner store to get drinks. Bishop wasn’t in the mood to eat at a MeatSpin right now. Bishop, looking annoyed, said, “I was just being honest. I thought people would be happy if you were honest.”
Roll, drinking from his can, said, “At least you had the guts to ask for a job. I tried asking for work at the clothing store Columbian Necktie, and I couldn’t even speak to the guy.”
Tiny Tom fell back, laughing at the thought
Roll, annoyed, said, “Shut up, Tiny Tom. I’d like to see you get a job.”
Tiny Tom, getting up, grinning, said, “Well, I have an idea. Have you tried doing any of those things people are doing on the internet?”
Roll asked, “Like a video on iView?”
Tiny Tom, “Nah, that’s filled with too much people”
Bishop, thinking it over, suddenly had the idea come to his mind, “Perhaps we could make a video game.”
Tiny Tom, smiling at the idea, said, “Yeah, a video game would be an awesome idea.”
Roll, smiling, said, “And it’s perfect for all of us. Not much interactions with people, Barely any work at all, and getting paid lots of money by people”.
Bishop, suddenly thinking about it, said, “Do any of you guys have any experience with video game making?”
Once he brought this up, everything went quiet. None of them had any idea how to make games. They know how to play video games, as they all have at one point, but none of them know a single thing about making one. Bishop sighed, and said, “Maybe we can get a lesson from one of them. I’m sure that they can tell us how to make a game.”
Roll, a bit nervous, said, “But how do you know they’ll want to talk with us?”
Bishop said, “I don’t know. But it’s worth a try, right?”
Tiny Tom sighed and said, “I guess we’ve got nothing to lose. But we should try something small, like making an indie game.”
Bishop said, “Good thinking. What’s the most popular indie game out right now?”
Roll got onto his phone and started looking through the most popular indie games. When he got to the top, his eyes widened. He shouted, “Here it is!”
He showed the gameplay to Bishop and Tiny Tom. As soon as they saw it, their eyes widened. The game was known as Time Rip, a game where different time periods fight in an online battle for territory across an open world. Bishop said, “Is it possible for a game like this to be indie?”
Roll said, “Says here that it is an indie game. But the thing is……”
As he read, his hands started to shake and his eyes widened in shock. Tiny Tom said, “Roll, are you okay?”
Roll, looked up at them, and instead of speaking, showed it to them. On the phone, it said that the entire game was made by just one person. Upon seeing this, the group started to lose their minds. They couldn’t believe that one person made this game. Bishop said, “Who was the guy that made it?”
Roll looked at his phone and said, “Some developer by the name of… Max 1.Million. Says the Point part is necessary for the name.”
Bishop said immediately, “Well, give him a call! Send him a message! Anything! We need to get a hold of him!”
Roll said, “Okay, I’ll try to find some sort of way to contact him.”
Roll looked through his phone. As he did, his eyes turned from excitement to confusion. He looked up and said, “There’s no way to contact him.”
Tiny Tom looked at the phone and said, “What do you mean there’s no way to contact him?”
Roll said, “There’s no way to contact him. His profile has no e-mail or phone. He hasn’t even posted anything on his social media site. It’s strange. I’ll just PM him and see if I can get him.”
Roll sent the developer a message, hoping that he would get it.
As the working man was continuing to work on the game, his computer suddenly made a ding as a message popped up on his computer. The man turned to the computer and opened the message from Roll. The message read, “Hello, Max 1.Million. Me and my friends love Time Rip. We wish to create games as good as you. Perhaps we can meet up sometime. Maybe at the small coffee shop in the town of Summerton. Hope you get this message. Thanks for taking the time to read it.” The working man got up from his chair and made his way to the door.
Bishop, Roll, and Tiny Tom sat at the coffee shop, looking bored. Tiny Tom sat back and said, “Oh god, is he ever gonna get here?”
Roll said, “I’m sure he is. At least… I think.”
Tiny Tom gave a bored sigh. “I hope he got it.”
As they talked, a black car pulled up to the coffee shop. They all looked at it, hoping it would be Max. The door suddenly opened, and a man in a black suid with hair combed to the side stepped out, looking at the group. The man said, “Are you Roll and his friends?”
Roll said, nervously, “Uh… Y-yes, I’m R-Roll. These are my friends, Bishop, and Tiny Tom.”
Bishop said, “And are you Max 1.Million?”
The man looked at them and said, “No, I’m not Mr. Million. I’m just one of his assistant. I’ve been sent by him to meet you three. He told me to see if you were worth his time… And looking at you, you already failed.”
“What!?” Said Bishop, Roll, and Tiny Tom in unison. The man in the suit said, “Sorry, but Mr. Million won’t waste his time for people like you.” With that, he turned and walked back to his car. As he did, Tiny Tom got up out of his chair and shouted, “Hang on! If you think we’re just gonna let some guy in a suit tell us to piss off, you’ve got another thing coming! We didn’t sit here for three hours to meet this developer so you can tell us to not come! You aren’t gonna tell us to beat it because you want us to, you prick!”
The man in the suit turned, and looked at Tiny Tom dead in the face. As he did, he said, “You passed the test.”
Bishop, Roll, and Tiny Tom all looked confused as he said this. Bishop said, “Uh… I don’t exactly get what you mean.”
The man in the suit said, “Mr. Million only wants someone who is willing to stand up for what they want to do, and you three have it. Alright, I’ll take you to Mr. Million.”
The man in the suit opened the car door for them. They hesitated for a moment, but eventually stepped into the car. The man in the suit got into the driver’s seat and drove down the road.
Bishop looked out the window. The city was moving past them in a blur as the car continued to move. They noticed that the cracked road began to turn into a road that looked brand new. The grey clouds of Summerton was starting to fade into sunlight. The air even seemed to become more clean and breathable. They soon came to a small town. The buildings were colorful and seemed to be well kept. The most strange thing about this place was the sky above them all. The sky appeared to be odd in it’s own way. It looked as though it was made out of glass. It was hard to describe, but it just appeared to be made of glass. The car finally stopped in front of a small building lined with bricks. The man in the suit said, “Alright, this is it. Mr. Millions studio.”
The group looked at the place. They were happy to see that this was the workplace of a well known indie game developer. As they looked at it, the door suddenly opened, and there, they could see a man, wearing a white mechanical opera mask covering half of his face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part 2 of Chapter 1
Bishop, Roll, and Tiny Tom all looked at the man in the mechanical opera mask, confused as to what he was doing. The man looked at them and said, “Who the hell are you? Don’t tell me that the people who sent me a message were a couple of high school kids.”
Bishop, confused, said, “Well… we did send you the message.”
The man in the mask groaned and said, “Great. Just great. Just what I needed.”
Bishop, feeling a bit nervous, said, “Um… I’m Bishop. This is Roll, and Tiny Tom.”
The man in the mask, annoyed, said, “Great. I don’t care. My alias is Max One.Million. My friends call me by my name Maxamillion. So, since you are not my friends, you can just call me Maxwell.”
Roll said nervously, “Oh… okay. So… are you gonna teach us how to-”
Maxwell looked at them and said, “Hold on. I’m not just gonna teach you how to make games just because I brought you to Glass Sky Hills.”
The three looked at each other, all of them confused. Tiny Tom said, “What is a Glass Sky Hills?”
Maxwell groaned and said, “This whole town. Didn’t you notice the sky change into a glassy look when you got out of that dump Summerton. This is Glass Sky Hills, a paradise for those who can handle the insanity.”
Bishop turned his head and said, “Oh… okay.”
Maxwell walked inside his studio and said, “Well, come in. We won’t get anywhere if you all just stand there.”
The group walked into the studio, seeing that the entire place was completely empty, except for a single desk at the end of the room with thousands of papers surrounding it and a desk lamp. The walls were all filled with vibrant colors, despite there being no windows. Maxwell said, “This is my studio. I know, it looks nothing like someone’s usual studio, but all I need is my pen, my paper, and my creativity to have a studio.”
Roll, looking at the colors on the wall, said, “How do you eat?”
Maxwell said, “I get my assistant out there to buy food for me while I work.”
Tiny Tom said, “What about windows?”
Maxwell said, “Sunlight disturbs me. I get enough vitamin C from my orange juice.”
Bishop, looking at his desk, said, “And what’s with all these papers?”
Maxwell said, “Those are all my ideas. I write all my ideas for my next game down so I don’t forget them.”
The group was amazed. All of those pages were ideas from a single person, and most of these ideas were very creative to them. As they looked through the pages, Maxwell said, “So, what can you two offer to a game that I can’t?”
The group looked at each other. They weren’t expecting a question like that. Bishop, being one to think fast, said, “Well, I’m a guitarist, so I could offer some good music to your games.”
The expression in Maxwell’s eyes (The only thing they could see past that half mask) did not change a bit. He looked at Roll and said, “What about you? What can you offer?”
Roll began to sweat a little, as he wasn’t one to talk much. He looked at Maxwell and said, “Well… I’ve seen plenty of anime to learn how to draw the style of them. I think it’s pretty good.”
Maxwell’s eyes refused to change as he looked at them. He looked at Tiny Tom next and said, “And what about you?”
Tiny Tom looked at him and said, “Well, you’ll need a voice actor right? I think I’m a pretty good voice actor.”
Maxwell seemed to change his expression, but only to a one of annoyance, and he said, “My games don’t have voices. Their all in text.”
Tiny Tom suddenly got nervous and he said, “Well…. I….. I’ve been working on a motorcycle for a long time. How different can working on motorcycles be from working on video games?”
Maxwell’s eye changed back to what they were before and he got up from his chair. He looked at them and said, “Well… You all may have nothing that I want to deal with… But you’ve definitely got determination, and that’s good enough for me. I’ll teach you what I know. Under the condition that you follow what I say. Understand?”
The group nodded to show that they understood what he meant. Maxwell grinned, in a manner that the others found rather creepy, and he said, “Splendid. But first, we’ll need to move the studio somewhere else. This studio is too small for four men. Thankfully, I have a place up at the tip of Glass Sky Hills. You all go wait in the car for me.”
Bishop, Roll, and Tiny Tom didn’t bother to question it. They walked to the car and waited in the back. Once they were in the car, Maxwell shouted, “Benedict!”
The man in the suit walked in and said, “Yes Maxamillion?”
Maxwell picked up a can of gasoline and started spreading it around the studio. As he did this, he spoke, “I need you to pack up all my note and ideas at the desk. After you drop us off at my manor, you need to pick up dinner. I’m in the mood for something from Germany tonight.”
Benedict nodded and immediately packed all the notes into a small suitcase. He walked to the door and said, “Will that be all, Sir?”
Maxwell spun around in the gasoline like a ballerina as he emptied the can across the studio. He said, “Make sure to look out for the call for when I can get my insurance money on this place.”
Benedict nodded and made his way out. Maxwell went to the door, lighting a match, and throwing it into the studio before turning and stepping into the car. Maxwell said, “Alright. To the Glass Sky Peak Manor.”
As the car pulled off, Bishop noticed smoke coming from the cracks of the door of the studio in the reflection of the mirror.
The drive felt as though it were only a few short minutes before it stopped. The group looked out the window to see a large white house, with large windows surrounding it, a brown door near the bottom, a single crooked tree outside the house, and it all rested at the very edge of a cliff known as Glass Sky Peak. Bishop looked at the house and said, “Wow, did you make all this from your games?”
Maxwell stepped out and said, “Please. Working on a game doesn’t give you that much money. A movie, maybe, but not a game. It just gives you enough to live off of. I got this house after my parents died.”
Tiny Tom smacked his forehead and said, “Movies, that’s how people made a lot of money. Not video games.”
Bishop and Roll looked at Tiny Tom, annoyed, and stepped out of the car. They all followed Maxwell as he opened the door. Once he did, the entire sight made their eyes widen. The living room alone was impressive. There was a large leather couch facing a flat screen TV as big as the wall, with a small but fancy kitchen on the opposite side. There were spiral stairs following up to the second floor. The group was shocked at the sight of the house that one man lived in. Maxwell said, “It’s amazing what you can inherit from your dead parents. You know, as long as you're the only living sibling.”
Bishop said, thinking of his obnoxious brother, “Yeah, tell me about it.”
As they spoke, there was a clacking sound against the marble floor. They all turned to see a small boston terrier dog, with one brown eye and one blue eye looking at them. Tiny Tom looked at it and said, “What is that?”
Maxwell got onto his knees and brushed the dog's head with his head as he spoke to Tiny Tom, “Are you blind. It’s a dog. Her name is Beach Boy.”
Roll questioned, “Her?”
Maxwell, still petting the dog, said, “My mom named her after the band. She wasn’t good with guessing genders. She always thought I was a girl just because of how I sounded as a child. Also, Beach Boy does not like dog food. Don’t feed her any of that. She’ll bite you if you do.”
The thought of a dog that small doing any damage to them made Tiny Tom scoff. As they talked, there was a voice- a feminine voice- speaking from atop the stairs. A young girl, the same age as all of them, looked at them and said, “Maxxy, who are these guys?”
The group couldn’t take their eyes of the girl. She had short dirty blonde hair, wore a purple shirt and black pants, and gave off a mischievous but glowing smile. Maxwell said, “Psycho Sis, I told you to not call me Maxxy in front of people.”
Bishop, being the first to take his eyes off her, said, “So, is she a friend of yours?”
Maxwell said, “No, not at all. She’s my sister, and she’s annoying.”
The girl extended her hand to Tiny Tom and said, “Hi, I’m Ruby.”
Bishop said to Maxwell, “But I thought you were an only child.”
Maxwell said, “No, I said I was the only living sibling.”
Bishop, confused, said, “What do you mean?”
As they spoke, Tiny Tom suddenly screamed as he noticed, Ruby’s hand pass through his. Ruby said, “Oh, sorry. I always forget that.”
Maxwell said, as Bishop looked in shock, “Yeah, I forgot to mention. Ruby isn’t really… Alive.”
Bishop turned back to Maxwell and said, “Are you telling me that she’s dead?”
Maxwell said, “Yep. She’s a ghost. I told you that Glass Sky Hills was a place that was paradise as long as you can handle the insanity. Ruby is just one of them. She’s crazy, I should add. That’s why I call her Psycho Sis.”
As he said this, Ruby started to look at the size of Tiny Tom, giggling at how short he was. Maxwell said, “Well, if we’re done with introductions, I’d say it’s time we eat. I believe food is ready.”
With that, Benedict walked in, carrying a large bag of German food. Maxwell said, “And you're right on time. Good work Benedict.”
Benedict placed the food on the table and said, “Thank you, Sir. Will Madam Ruby be eating with us?”
Ruby sat at the chair and said, “Of course I am.”
Benedict said, “Very well.” He then snapped his fingers and the entire table was instantly set with food. At the end of the table was a small bowl of vanilla ice cream. Once it was in Beach Boy’s sight, she rushed to the table and jumped onto her seat and began devouring the ice cream. Maxwell sat at the table and looked at the group and said, “Well, don’t just sit there. Come and join us.”
The group sat at the table, a little nervous about the whole thing. Maxwell said, as he held his wine glass up and said, “I’d like to welcome the new group. May you not annoy me too much.” With that, he placed his wine glass on the table and began drinking from the bottle.
Above the town of Glass Sky Hills, a man by the name of Blake Plague was crawling across the small mirror in the sky. He was thankful that his other self on the other side of the mirror had finally died, granting him freedom from just being a reflection of the other Blake Plague. He now had freedom to do what he pleased. And the first thing he wanted to do was find a crack in the mirror that separated him and the other Reflections from the other world, so that they may be able to no longer be reflections of the others on the other side and be free to do what they want. But before that could happen, Blake Plague needed to find a crack in the sky, his only chance making his dreams a reality.
To Be Continued