A Tale of Flux and Lifeforce

Prologue:
The Library...a world ruled by books and stories. A world where numerous Characters spend each day slaying countless monsters known as Nightmares in order to gather the Lifeforce necessary to revive their Author. A world...controlled by two very annoying puppets.
“What are those two scheming?”
Alice has thought out loud as she and the other Characters looked at Parrah and Noyah huddled over what they called a “tablet”, a strange device that seemed to peer into countless other worlds.
“Probably being greedy again,” Aladdin chimed in, “A shame they say my money can’t help them. I’d have gladly done anything to put an end to their money schemes.”
“T-They’re not going to force me into a maid outfit again...are they?” Pinocchio asked timidly, the young boy hiding behind his staff.
“Come on,” Dorothy jumped in unwelcomely, “I’m sure they’ll do something interesting.”
“Interesting for you,” Alice said, “Because only you could enjoy what those two concoct.”
“Such untapped potential,” Parrah could be heard saying, “These characters seem popular enough to bring to the Library.”
“Yes, think of the influx of players. The number of Colosseum participants...”
“”And the Twilight Crystal Purchases!””
Noyah’s head then suddenly fell off, likely from the excitement.
“Let’s do it! Dorothy, we require your assistance.”
“Right away!”
—-
Book of Obsession—Chapter 1:
There was a great flash of light, almost blinding, before Turing could see where he was.
The strange place he awoke to reminded him of his old workshop, but something about it was different. There was an air of MALICE he had never felt before, and in the many shadows of the workshop, he could sense countless monsters eyeing him.
“Billy, are you there?”
But no matter how much he called out for his assistant, no voice replied.
ALONE, and with no other recourse, Turing gathered his equipment and prepared to defend himself.

Upon taking his first steps forward, he was immediately attacked by two monstrous wolves. Unlike the beasts of Luxium, these wolves were far more monstrous and vicious. Their attacks came quickly, leaving Turing to act on instinct alone. Despite the unfamiliar territory, he quickly vanquished the wolves.
“What is with these beasts? Has the Order of Shadow used a new form of corruption?”
“Ah, he’s finally awake.”
Above him, Turing saw what looked like two puppets who were giggling.
“And already slaying nightmares like a pro,” the white one said, “You really are a genius.”
“Talking puppets? Interesting.”
“Careful, he looks like as big a weirdo as Dorothy.” the gray one chided, “And I like my head where it is right now.”
“Who are you? And what is this place?”
Just then, a wretched howl pierced through the halls of the workshop. Manifesting before them was a great dragon.
“If you make it out alive, we’ll tell you more,” the white one said,
“But we won’t leave you out to dry. We’ll give you some help,” said the gray one. “But just until you make it out.”
A moment later, two forms began to materialize next to Turing.
The first was a girl with black haired girl with two great ribbons resembling a rabbit’s ears and wielding a sword as long as she was tall. On his opposite side was a young boy with blond hair wielding a large club with a wretched face carved into it.
“Tch,” the rabbit girl clicked her tongue, “Typical of them.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, the girl kept into the air and began to attack the dragon.
“I guess I have no choice.”
The boy soon followed, showing a viciousness that belied his innocent appearance.
As they fought, Turing couldn’t help but stare. These two knew these monsters, and knew exactly how to counteract them.
But the dragon was not a slow beast. Noting Turing’s hesitation, it launched a fireball at him.
“Gah!”
“A-Are you ok?”
The rabbit girl landed before him, looking down at him with scorn,
“If you want to live, you need to kill anything that stands in your way,” the girl said, “Do you want to live?”
Turing gritted his teeth.
“I...”
Activating his armor once more, he launched himself at the dragon.
“I want to live!”
Between the three of them, the dragon soon fell, vanishing into a miasma of black and red.
When the dust settled, Turing turned to look at his two companions.”
“Thank you for your aid. I’m Turning; mind if I ask you your names?”
“I-I’m Pinocchio.” the boy stammered, “P-Pleased to meet you...”
“Alice.” the girl said curtly, “This isn’t the time for pleasantries. The Nightmares will attack again soon if we don’t get moving.”
“Nightmares? That’s what those beasts are called?”
“Yes. I’m sure the puppets can explain more...if you make it out of here alive.”
Despite the harshness of her words, there was a look of pity on Alice’s face.
Almost as if she knew what was to come.
——
Book of Loyalty—Chapter 1:
Despite all of Turing’s calculations, and despite the help of the Academy, it seemed the teleportation device had been a huge failure.
It was a shame too, because the Arcanist had looked relieved when they told him the might have found a way back to his home star.
But as Billy came to, he felt something was off. Though the place he was in resembled Never Isle, there was a malice that he had never felt before.
“Oh no, I think we messed up real bad this time.”
As the shadows began to convalesce around him, Billy grabbed his trusty wrench and prepared for what felt would be a long battle...

The monsters that rose to challenge Billy looked like piles of rock. The closest thing he could compare them to were the rumored golems in the Academy’s textbooks.
Their rocky appearance certainly betrayed their sturdiness, and before long Billy found himself out of breath.
“What are monsters doing up here? Aren’t the Oathkeepers supposed to keep them out?”
“Ah, the slow one is finally up.”
Billy looked up suddenly as he heard a voice. Hanging above him were two laughing puppets, their porecaline faces sending a chill down his spine.
“Umm, excuse me, you wouldn’t happen to have seen a genius red headed inventor recently?”
“Who’s asking, Baldy?” the grey one chided,
“But I’m not...Whatever! If you haven’t, I guess I’ll keep looking.”
“”Kehehehe...””
As he turned to leave them, a menacing looking lizard creature manifested before Billy.
“If you want to find your beloved boss,” the white one started,
“You’ll need to escape this place alive.” ended the gray one.
Billy gritted his teeth as he prepared to fight the monster.
“But things won’t be interesting if you die early,” the white puppet said, “So we’ll give you a hand.”
Two forms began to manifest next to Billy. The first looked like a blond haired man who looked more like he belonged someplace far warmer than Never Isle and wielded a strange tome. The second was a frightening looking brown haired girl who carried a cage containing a skull in one hand and a blade in the other.
“Ah, so we’re the chosen ones,” the blond man said,
The girl looked at the skull in the cage,
“Brother, let’s hurry and slaughter this Nightmare.”
As his two new companions launched their attacks upon the lizard, Billy didn’t hesitate to join in.
As they battled, he noticed how quickly the two changed equipment.
The girl sliced at the lizard’s neck before drawing a hammer to crush its foot. As it leaned back in pain, she summoned a spear to pierce its chest before leaping back and drawing a bow to fire a few arrows at its head.
The man would cast an incantation from his tome that seemed to drain strength from the lizard before drawing a violin which seemed to invigorate Billy’s own power. When the girl was injured, he drew a staff that quickly undid the damage and allowed her to return to the fray before switching out to an orb that blasted the beast with magic.
Before long, the lizard vanished in an explosion of red and black miasma, leaving the three the last ones standing.
“Phew, thanks you two. I don’t think I could have lasted against that thing.”
“It was no trouble. We deal with these Nightmares on a daily basis.”
“If it’s not too rude to ask, could I ask for your names? I’m Billy.”
“I’m Aladdin. If you ever need funds, I’d be more than happy to offer them to someone such as yourself.”
“What about the girl?”
Said girl was currently muttering “Brother, dear brother...” to the caged skull.
“Ah, that’s Gretel. Don’t worry about her, she’s dependable if a bit of her rocker.”
Just then, a roar echoed throughout the streets of (the what Billy now believed to be fake) Never Isle.
“A witch is coming,” Gretel muttered, “We need to hurry.”
“Yes, let’s get moving. The Nightmares don’t stay away for long.”
Aladdin then turned to look at Billy.
“I’m sure you know the way around here, no?”