Story (Short version)

Originally created by lloyd13z

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Prologue: Ibrahim and the End of the World
'''

In 1999, a man named Sir Robert founded a secret organization named A.E.G.I.S. The goal of this group was to locate people with supernatural abilities and document them, and if they proved hostile, remove their threat from society. Two members of A.E.G.I.S. were crucial to this goal: Sam, who could sense and locate supernatural abilities when they were used, and Jenny, who could seal these abilities in gemstones without killing the user. Jenny had an innate fear of her ability, however; She had once removed an innocent man's personality along with his ability, and once she sealed a teleporter named Hillary Thompson who disappeared immediately after. Although no one could locate Thompson, Jenny knew both were alive, as the sealing crystals with their abilities flashed with their heartbeats.

On January 1st, 2000, a Syrian boy named Ibrahim is born. Ibrahim was like any youthful child, but occasionally through his youth, he would have vivid dreams of things he had learned. Although they felt real, Ibrahim thought nothing of them but silly thoughts, like changing the Statue of Liberty or imagining a pteranodon flying over Loch Ness. As it turns out, all of these things happened in places far away from Ibrahim, and A.E.G.I.S. eventually caught on. In 2011, after a soccer field instantly appeared among the Nazca Lines (a series of geoglyphs in the Nazca Desert), Lord Robert agreed to investigate the random events, and sent Sam and Jenny to find Ibrahim. However, Sam could not locate him until his ability was used, which wouldn't happen again until five years later.

To celebrate his 16th birthday, his coming of age ceremony, and the New Year, Ibrahim was given many gifts just before New Years in 2016. His favorite of these was a model ark, depicting the biblical story of Noah, complete with two of every animal. That night, Ibrahim dreamed of an enormous flood that wiped out the entire Earth. In his dream, he sent seven arks out to collect people and bring them to a dream island - a large resource-filled continent that would be a safe haven for humanity. As Ibrahim awoke, full of tears, a helicopter descended on him. In a few short minutes, he realized what had happened: His dreams became reality, he was sitting on the island he created, and the rest of Earth was being flooded. A.E.G.I.S. had finally locked onto his skill's signal and found him, and Sam sent warnings to the rest of the planet while Jenny sealed his ability immediately. She locked his powers inside a sky blue crystal called the Froyd, which he kept with him at all times.

What remained of humanity named the new continent Ararat, after the place where Noah landed. As people fought to survive on this new continent, Ibrahim fell into a depression, and for four years he locked himself away with books and knowledge, searching for a way he could help restore what he broke. When he turned 20, he found new resolve, and entered the new world as a leader and a revolutionary. He surrounded himself with a group of advisers: a politician named Elijah, an unnamed priest, an intelligent young German girl named Herman, and an African-American scientist who went by Denver. Discarding the name Ibrahim for the biblical "Joshua," and together with his new council, the 20-year old started rebuilding the world using the knowledge of the year 2016. Society advanced rapidly, as they only lost the creations, not the skills or technology. Clothes, schools, coal energy, and a city were created over the following 13 years. The city was named Metro, and the world continued to advance. Electricity was soon rediscovered, and eventually the city was back to the modernized state of the old world.

At this point, Joshua's council could not agree on humanity's next steps. Old Elijah had died, but his son Elijah Jr was now an adult, and wanted to keep advancing technology under his rule. Herman shared this ideal, but felt it should be under her rule, and the old priest wanted a city where religion was restored. Unwilling to take part in the debate, Joshua stayed silent, and eventually gave up his rule over the city. In his final act, Joshua discarded his false name and left the city, allowing the persona of Joshua to fade into myth. Without his rule, the city was split into thirds: Elijah ruling Metro, Herman ruling Alexandria, and the priest ruling Babylon. Ibrahim left Ararat on a boat built by Denver in search of new islands and survivors, but was overtaken by a storm and plunged into the depths. In his last breaths, he released the Froyd, wishing for the world to return to the one he had destroyed.

But Ibrahim did not leave the future untouched. Herman had been attracted to Ibrahim for over 20 years, but fearing that his sealed abilities were hereditary, he refused her at every turn. Just before he took to the waters, he could not bear to leave her so broken, so he gave into her desires, and fathered a child he would never meet. Thus began his lineage, which would remain unaffected for over 400 years...

'''

Prologue: Maya, the Dream-Walker
'''

In the year 514 of the New Age, a girl named Maya turns 16. She is a sickly girl without many friends, instead turning to her many dolls for comfort.and support. Three in particular are Nosey, Cry Baby, and Slanty Eyes, named for features on the dolls. [Lloyd's note: Nosey is likely Pinocchio, not sure about the other two.] Her best friend Nipples (a nickname) comes to visit her and deliver a birthday gift: a beautiful sky blue necklace Nipples found while walking on the beach. It seems to glow briefly, which Maya assumes is a trick of the light. Upon donning it, Maya grew feverish and fainted, transported into a vision of a vast sea and man aboard a small boat.

"Herman" a voice said. "Forgive me." The boat sank, and the man fell into the ocean, trapped beneath the water. "You're not Herman. You are one of my children." the voice says, to Maya's confusion. Just before the dream ends, a sky blue light shines up from the man's hands. Maya awakes abruptly, met by the worried faces of her mother and best friend.

A few nights later, Maya has a strange dream. Three of her dolls come to life, and walk through the door to her attic. She follows them and falls into space! After falling a while, she finds herself in the Milky Way galaxy, where she plays with the stars and befriends a meteor named Supernova. She doesn't find her dolls and eventually falls back into reality, but her curiosity brings her back to the dream several days later. Her second dream picks up where the first left off, and she travels to the planet Earth. Here she finds her dolls at last, who have seemingly become human, along with many strange and wondrous things [Lloyd's note: Think Alice in Wonderland fused with Wizard of Oz.] She also finds that a fourth doll has come to this place: her favorite one named Coco. He is very young, so Maya views him as the younger brother she always wanted. Just when she was starting to have fun with him, she realizes she overslept, and her mother calls her back to reality. Promising to come back, Maya jumps out of her dream.

Maya begins to write novels about her dreams, and they become instant bestsellers. Nipples wants to turn them into a career, with herself as the star. At the same time, Maya's other dolls are also disappearing, but she hasn't been able to dream again. Until one day many weeks later, when she receives the news that a fellow classmate named Rose has passed away. That night she dreams, although the atmosphere is much darker than before. Maya finds a forlorn Rose in her new Earth. Coco has now grown to about Maya's age, and is thrilled that Maya has finally returned after all the time he waited. Maya enjoys spending time with him, but is unnerved by a mirror that shows her reflection, but does not move with her. Coco says to not look into the mirror or think negative thoughts, and instead gives her a wooden horse to take with her. Again Maya's time is cut short, and Coco asks her to return soon. Maya suggests that if he gets lonely he should befriend Rose. Lastly, Coco compliments Maya's necklace, noting that it flashes occasionally.

''[Lloyd's note: On the same day that Rose died, a young girl named Boni is nearly hit by a car, She is saved by a man who is not confirmed dead, but Nipples says he was not breathing. Later in the game, we meet Boni and Clyde, who are described as "two entities in one." Clyde is an ice mage but is definitely a dead spirit. These could be connected.]''

It is half a year before Maya dreams again, but things seem to be thriving when she next visits. Somehow Tom Tom, her loving pitbull, follows her into the dream. She finds Slanty Eyes and another mirror, with the same unnerving reflection. Slanty Eyes once again says "You mustn't think of bad things in your dreams." She moves on and finds Coco and Rose, now adult-aged and seemingly in a relationship. They all go on a boat ride where Coco and Rose take a particular interest in Maya's necklace, but otherwise have a relaxing conversation, although Rose seems to enter a foul mood by the end. Finally Maya must return, and Coco attempts to find her a parting gift, but Rose pushes Maya off the boat before he can. They start and argument while Maya wakes up, wishing for them to get along.

A year passes quickly. All of Maya's dolls have migrated to the new world, but Maya believes them happier there. She actively tries to avoid the dream, fearing Rose's cold demeanor and the fight she last recalled. But to her dismay, one night she finds herself in that world, again with Tom Tom. She follows a rainbow bridge to a tower where she finds Coco and Rose, both with negative expressions. They seemed to be fighting, and Rose snaps at Maya for coming back, then leaves the room. Coco shows Maya an overview of the land, but there's no warmth in their conversation like before. Coco asks Maya if she likes him, which she confirms, but when he tries to hug her Maya backs away. In envious anger, Coco steals the necklace, refusing to give it back since Rose told him that's how Maya visits and leaves. Tom Tom bites Coco which draws blood, and Coco drops the necklace, where it shatters. A fragment enters the bite wound, and one falls over the balcony into Rose, where both fragments enter their hearts. They both become Special Fragmenters, with Coco the embodiment of loss and depression, and Rose the embodiment of jealousy and scorn. Rose sets off for a faraway land, gathering followers as she goes. [Lloyd's note: Rose ends up living in Fable Town, Coco in Witch Town.]

Due to the necklace shattering, Maya falls into a second slumber, dreaming a dream she cannot wake up from. In her nightmare she would shake and writhe, each time causing a calamity on Earth. She brought forth new continents from her nightmare and altered reality as she combined them. She called out to several gods to help her awaken, but none heeded her call. The world is plunged into fear that once again an apocalyptic disaster will come from this, much like Ibrahim's Flood, and the secret organization known as Historic Service leaps into action to stop it.

''[Lloyd's note: I don't believe Maya's power to be "identical" to Ibrahim's. She only got her power through the Froyd, and her ability was more of a "dream-walking" and "dream-summoning" kind, whereas Ibrahim literally warped reality. Fable Town and Witch Town now exist on Earth, but they don't exist because Maya dreamed them - they exist because she combined them with Ibrahim's new Earth. Similarly, Coco and Rose are characters in the game, but they were not imagined by the dream - they walked through Maya's dream to a new land and were brought back by her nightmare. Where Ibrahim conjured up new realities, Maya simply connects worlds together. This is an important fact when discussing the Third World, which is likely the "space area" that Maya used to reach her Dream World.]''

Main Story: Players, Headhunters, and Inner Turmoil
Maya's curse hits in the year 515. There are two crucial problems that this entails: The Froyd has shattered into Fragments, which can be placed in items or in people to turn their desires into reality. These must be gathered and kept from evil's hands. The second is Maya, who remains locked inside her nightmare. The longer she stays asleep, the more likely she'll dream the end of the world. In order to address this crisis, the Historic Service lead by Tony Cruz works with the God of Fortune, Galliano, and the God of Messengers, Hermes, to gather the strongest fighters across all the worlds that Maya has connected. Using the Third World passageways unlocked by Hermes, Galliano selects about 200 people he calls Players to join the fight by registering with the Historic Service. It is here our game begins, in the year 518.

Players are each given a Siren and a Medusa for audio and visual recording respectively. All the data goes back to Gwen at HQ, who coordinates missions. These missions are solely for the purpose of obtaining Fragments, or converting Fragmenters (people with Fragments) to Historic Service's side. During the first mission for the Players, Tony Cruz's bad attitude manages to split the group into two sides: the full-timers under his command and the part-timers under Father Hector and Koscheck. Each side views the other with disdain, but Cruz continues to oppress the part-timers despite not compensating them with money. In the Grand Market, they find and release Max from a mirror, who turns out to be Maya's dark side.

During the second mission in the Serengeti, a prophet speaks of seven evils that will befall the players, claiming that they are already here. Cruz dismisses the prophet as making wild, unprovable claims, but over the next few missions, the first evil appears and Players indeed begin to die. Now knowing that the evils are actually fighters, they are renamed as Headhunters, and the hunt for them begins. Due to the target specifically on players, it is assumed there is an inside source. Everyone immediately begins to suspect Cruz, especially the part-timers, and eventually a leading part-timer is killed by a bullet that's a perfect match to Cruz's gun. Father Hector is also slain, leading to Cruz disappearing completely.

''[Lloyd's Note: The Headhunters are labeled Hatred, Death, Cruelty, Machine, Delusion, Malice, Clone. I've included a list of who they are at the bottom - most are just minor characters and only act in small parts of the story, so they don't fit in this summary.]''

To fill Cruz's spot, Elijah steps up as a candidate for President of the Historic Service. Although he tries to sway people with his political background and his ancestry to Ibrahim's Elijah, he eventually is forced to rig the election with the corrupt Head Librarian, Index. With his new leadership, he creates the White Skulls, an elite organization he fills with handpicked Players loyal to him. At the same time, the cold-logic X is brought on to investigate and locate the Headhunters, and is partnered with the hot-headed Ramirez. These two internal disputes lead to a lot of unrest among the Players, some which don't care at all, others which are worried about their role in it all, and others who fear for their lives.

The Headhunters continue to murder Players left and right, but several of them disband once they are discovered. In particular, Headhunter Deus (Machine) falls in love with Benny Foster, only to see her slain just before he meets her in person. In his anger he sides with the Players, and reveals the existence of Origin, leader of the Headhunters. On the political front, Elijah grows ever fearful of his lack of control, as many are claiming Cruz was a better leader, even if his attitude was worse. In anger, Elijah decides to follow Cruz's attempt to push out every Player who doesn't follow him, but by blood instead of money. After cornering them all and telling them they are going to die, Bi-Gwang appears with her recruited force of Nagne, B, and every Player with a Fragment on her side. Outmatched and beaten, Elijah drops his attack, and Galliano forces all parties to sign a contract, finally uniting the Players under one force.

X and Ramirez continue looking for the remaining Headhunters and Origin, but struggle with the diminished number of players (less than 100 remaining). At this point, they are only missing two, Clone and Malice, as well as Origin. Clone has the ability to make copies of the players, and has already taken many lives. Malice turns out to be Elijah's number 2, Obab, and is forced out of the fray. Deus also reveals that all the Headhunters are under a death contract - anyone talking about who Origin is or the workings of the Headhunters will immediately die. After pouring over the notes, Ramirez realizes that something has been strange about Elijah for a long time. After him and X investigate Elijah's apartment, they find his dead body, and realize the current Elijah is a clone made by the Headhunter. The fake Elijah dies after revealing Clone's identity, and X and Ramirez take Clone in. ''[Lloyd's note: I don't actually know who Clone is - the entry is currently unviewable unless I level a new account up to 60. I've reported this glitch already.]''

The Loser's City arc then begins with Max (Maya's dark side) wandering down into the criminal city. The Players pursue her, only to find her killed by the same bullet that killed Benny Foster. In a fit of rage, Deus breaks the death contract and in his last breath, reveals that Origin is the god Hermes, who killed both Benny and Max. In a scene from Max's last moments, we see her wound Hermes, leaving him in the Third World.

The Players then continue to pursue Hilaria, who has been seduced by Hermes with promises of power. Hermes and Hilaria both want to open the door to the Pantheon, where the other gods reside. Hilaria gains enough power to do, and starts an automatic process to open it, but the Players manage to stop her before she completes the task. However, Dr. Hydro realizes that the process cannot be stopped, and that they only have six months to prepare before the Gods invade Earth.

''[Lloyd's note: It's unclear why Hermes wants to open Pantheon. The other Gods want territory, but Hermes can move about freely. I don't understand what Hermes stood to gain from it.]''

'''

Main Story: War of the Gods and the Aftermath
'''

When Maya prayed to all the Gods for help, she connected them to Earth via the Pantheon. However, none of the Gods were interested in helping her, instead they wanted to conquer the world for their own rule. The Pantheon is very small, however, and Hermes is the only one who could leave. During the Witch Forest arc, Hermes (as Origin) actually helps Morgan Le Fay, Hyperion, and Basatan out, but seals them back inside until he can open the door completely. With Hilaria's help, the door will be opened, but Hermes ends up wounded by Max inside the Third World.

In response to the new crisis, X organizes the Player Training program and opens up the remaining Third World Mirror Sites to strengthen the Players so they can fight the gods. This succeeds, making the current Players immensely powerful, and six months after Hilaria's defeat, the doors to the Pantheon open. Although our story only covers Villa Skylla, Hyperion does mention Villa Chimaera, which seems to be the basement floors of the Pantheon. The Players do not encounter Morgan Le Fay or Basatan, nor the numerous other gods Maya prayed to, so there is likely more Pantheon left to explore.

Once the Pantheon has been conquered, Hermes is found by Ramirez, and admits to killing Benny and Max. Ramirez comments that he wanted to burn Hermes in revenge, but since Hermes is dying already, there is no need. At the same time, X is confronted by a Dark Blue Horse, one who had warned Jackdaw of the Pantheon's opening and who pleaded with all the Players to save Maya. He tells X that he is a fragment of Ibrahim, and desires to grant the wish of the Players. Before he can, Galliano appears and slices off his head. The Horse curses Galliano, saying that Galliano has been trying to kill him all these years. Galliano states that the Players have become too imbalanced for their wishes to be granted, and curses back that the Horse was his creator. Unlike the other gods, Galliano was summoned by Ibrahim's power; all the rest were brought forth by Maya. Before Galliano can attack the Players, however, Hermes jumps on his back and pulls him into a box (or maybe the Pantheon?) so that they can die (or be sealed?) together.

Meanwhile...

Once the Headhunter organization is destroyed, Tony Cruz returns with information about another undercover plot. The Head Librarian, Index, is one of the leaders of the organization called Idea. They were using Elijah and Max as a means to find Maya and they have recruited several assassins to their side that they are waiting to use. Once they have Maya, they intend to use the synesthete Yume's ability to enter Maya's dream and control her. We've seen this ability when Yume entered the dream of the lion cub, Tiago. Unlike Tiago however, Maya will be conscious for it, and possibly able to control her dream powers. Cruz believes Maya to be in Pantheon, and that she called to Max before Hermes killed her. To stop Index, Cruz goes and recruits Misma (who was one of Idea's assassins), as well as Koscheck and Tiger. He then recruits Thompson the teleporter, the same Thomspon from the old world of Earth who disappeared through time. Before joining Cruz, Thompson calls off-screen to a woman named Jenny.

CLIFFHANGER!!!

[Lloyd's note: Thompson and Jenny are from Ibrahim's time, if you didn't catch that.]

''The Headhunters are: Hatred: Oberon Death: Tyltyl Cruelty: Five Machine: Deus Delusion: Misma (she is unaware of it) Malice: Obab Clone: [unknown at this time]''
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