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"What the fuck?"

That was probably what every single person online at Broarmy said when it happened.
And to think that everything was normal just seconds before. The chatrooms were noisy, the forums were jumping and, all in all, things were going good for the Bros. Then everything just crashed. The site stopped responding, those irritating error message bubbles kept popping up and, for those who were unlucky enough, the Ripple got them. You know that cute little circle thing that forms in water when you throw something in? Yeah, that was what appeared on the screens of Bros all around the world moments before they found themselves sucked into a white void of nothingness. One by one, both female and male Bros fell onto a flat, papery plane. Before anyone had time to adjust, though, the world around them shifted. Plain white was replaced with a blinding darkness and with that darkness came some of the most terrifying (yet oddly familiar) creatures any of them had ever seen. Forced to run without their sight to guide them, eventually everyone found themselves attracted to glowing green and red lights somewhere in the distance. When they arrived, there was a wall of text waiting for them:

Took you all long enough.
I'll skip the greetings since none of you know me and
I frankly don't care about any of you, so we'll get
right to the point. You're all cordially invited to test out
my first ever full-sense virtual reality game; The Ripple.
Now I know some of you are probably scared and peeing
your pants as you read this, but trust me on this;
Completing the game will be well worth your effort.
Not that you can reject, of course. While in my quaint little world--
Oh, sorry, let me get rid of those monsters for you. There we go.
As I was saying, while in this world you will possess all five senses.
Sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch.
You have two ways, only two, to go about the game.
Either keep running from the monsters... or fight your way to find three keys.
Don't worry, you will be given some things to help you along the way.
You may switch from Fighter to Runner at any point in the game,
but you will lose all equipment you possessed earlier.
And so, the choice is yours. Once you all pick, the game begins.
Anyone who tries to escape by not choosing will be terminated immediately.
Good luck.

The wall of text disappears and everyone focuses instead on the large buttons in front of them. When one is clicked, the Bro receives a letter of instruction that differs depending on their choice. The Bro is then transformed into whatever their icon pic is (hehehehehe) and find that the items/powers they receive are based on their usernames. So many curses rang through the area, it was actually funny for a minute. People turning into turtles and whatnot. Though, the same creatures that chased them earlier started to line up all around. The Bros that first chose to be fighters were now hesitant of their decisions... but no one backed down. Not yet. So when the last person had made their decision and all hell was let loose, everyone sprung into action. What choice did any of them have anyway?

So, what will you choose?

Fight | Run

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After making your decision, you open up your letter and read:


For Fighters


For Runners


List of Characters So Far

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Chapter 1: Amnesia
Let the first level begin...


The scene around them shifted again.

Really, the only upgrade was that they could all see once more. It looked as if they were in a large... mansion? From the looks of it, the house was pretty fancy (though maybe aged) and there was no sight of any monsters. Yet. Wherever they were, it was obvious that the Runners were now on edge. On one hand, there were lots of places to hide. On the other, they could easily trip on some furniture. Fun. So, according to the large wall of text in front of them, there were only three things you needed to do to pass the first level; Get to level five, make sure you're back to your original decision by the end of the game, stay alive. Everyone's eyes lingered on that last bit. If this was a game, and even the 'creator' said it was, then how could they possibly die? And if the could, how the hell can all this be legal? For a while, everyone kept quiet.

"Well, if we're going to be doing this..." Everyone turned to the voice. The oldest one among them. "Might as well do it together. Bros, right?" Yeah, that didn't help the awkwardness at all. People started to mumble their agreement though. "Alright, so... introductions. My name's Bro." The person blinked. "I said my name's Bro." He frowned. "What the duck? Am I getting censored? Well whatever then. I'm known as Miinuko on Broarmy."

"Huntress here," said a dark-haired girl waved, smiling. "Came around five days ago."
"Hugo Daniel," another guy said. "I'm mostly active in the forums."
"Mystery."
"Nerah-chan."
"Lily White."
"Xavy Awesome."
"Isaiah Draws."
"Gorky R."
"GORKY-PYUUN!"
"HUNTRESS-SAMA!"

Things lightened up pretty soon after the introductions started. Some people had been friends on the site for a long time, it was nice to finally be able to talk to and touch (or poke, for some people) each other. Laughter punctured the heavy silence ringing throughout the empty halls while everyone started a head count. At the moment, there were about two dozen of them. More than half were fighters. Eventually, everyone got down to strategizing and most agreed that it was best if they all stuck together on this one. The Runners could attract monsters and the Fighters would take them down as they come. Simple. Everything felt so much like a real game that it was almost okay.

Almost.

"What the hell was that?" Someone muttered when they heard a growling or roaring of some sort. Everyone tensed.
"It could just be me..." The blue cat-girl, Mystery, spoke up. "But haven't we all heard that sound before?"
"It's not just the sound, either," Huntress frowned, eyes set in the direction it came from. "This whole place is familiar."
"Well, whatever." Miinuko started to head for the corridor. "Let's just get this level over with. Where were those weapons we were promised again?" As if on cue, steel and weaponry of all kinds appeared at hand for everyone.

The weaponry seemed to respond to each person's username and/or other things related to their Broarmy profile. For example, Hugo got a sword, the words Excalibur engraved into the blade, most probably because of his 'Future King' tag. Huntress got herself a sleek ebony bow, complete with a sheath of arrows. The words 'Black Angel' were carved into the wood and she frowned at them, as if dreading their meaning. Those whose names didn't have much meaning still got cool stuff, though. For example, That One Bro got a nice set of daggers and Mystery got a cute (but nonetheless deadly) kitty-paw staff, complete with retractable blade. By the looks of it, everyone was satisfied with their weapons. Well, everyone except...

"THE HELL IS THIS?!" The one that looked like a really fab Mexican dude, Cormano, was staring incredulously at his... maracas? "How the duck is this a weapon?! I mean--" He was cut off when one of his maracas accidentally shot a small and slim bullet. Huh. "Okay, nevermind. I'm cool with this."
"Well alright then, let's get moving." Miinuko, assuming the temporary position of leader for now, was about to usher everyone forward when three other males suddenly blocked their paths.

"None of you move." The tallest of them said. He was completely golden. "Pig, you go check them all. Make sure none of them have gone just yet."
"Pig...?" The name stirred most of the Bros around.
"On it." Said the most rotund of the three males, a stout boy in a pink shirt. He had a pretty friendly face though. "Okay, are any of you insane yet?"
"Genius, Piggeh." The one in glasses and green button-up shirt rolled his eyes. "As if anyone would just respond to that."
"Don't be so mean, Chair. Maybe these people are nice and honest."

"Chair? Wait..." Huntress blinked. "Wait... Mr Chair? Piggeh?" She turned to the pink one, who gave her a big grin. "And you," She turned to the golden boy, who scowled. "You're Stephano!"
He regarded her with a leveled gaze then, pointing his sword at her neck. "Who are you, girl, and how do you know our names?"
Huntress raised a brow. "Alright, first off," She pushed his blade away. "It's not polite to point. Second, you should know by now to either end or start your question with a 'please'. Hasn't your mother taught you anything?"
"I... what?" Stephano stared back at Huntress incredulously. It was obvious that no one had ever talked to him that way. "Who do you think you are?!"
"A person!" She retorted hotly.
"Yeah, a short one at that."
"Says the walking trophy."

"I like her." Piggeh whispered to Mr Chair as the bickering started. By now, all the other Bros had caught on to what was going on and where they were. Amnesia, a Bro classic favorite among Pewdiepie Horror Game series plays. So their progress was halted once more by having to explain their current situation to all three game characters, who didn't seem surprised at all ("We all came alive not too long ago too.") but the upside was that they now knew a few tips and tricks about going through the area. At some point, possibly due to the game creator getting fed up, their fist ever monster popped up to say hello; the Bro.

"Is that--"
"Yep."
"What do we call it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I mean... we're Bros. It'd be confusing."
"Oh, well, how about just MOOOOONSTEEEEER!"

What ever planning they had earlier, what ever strategy, it all went to pieces as everyone just split off trying to find the safest place for themselves while the monster roared menacingly. Finally picking out which Runner to tail (poor Lily), the Bro sped off in that direction.

"Hey-- What--" Miinuko, the one who'd led the planning earlier watched as nearly everyone ran in panic. "What about the plan?!"
"Forget it," Nerah-Chan, another Fighter, took hold of Miinuko's arm and forced him to run with her. "It's too cramped to do anything but run away for now. Look, there's more coming this way!" And true enough, all sorts of Amnesia creatures were headed their way.
"When we come out of this," Hugo turned to look up at the ceiling, hoping the game creator was watching. "I'M GOING TO SUE YOU FOR COPYRIGHT, YOU SON OF A BARREL!"
Little did he know, the game creator really was watching (and enjoying) the show. He sat comfortably at his desk, smiling down at the scenes unfolding on his screen.

"If you come out."

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- Continued below

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"Of course I get stuck with you." Huntress sighed, making as much room between herself and the golden Stephano as she possibly could in the cramped space they were currently in. Right in front of her, she could see That One Bro and Gorky with their backs pressed against the wall. Up ahead were Miinuko, Nerah and Hugo. To their left, the pink-wearing Cormano could be seen holed up with Lxxnieee and Mairym. Xavy, Dororo, Turtle (the insane one) and Isaiah were currently missing. A creak in the wooden floor caused both Stephano and Huntress to turn, both weapons drawn out. Just Piggeh and Mr Chair.

"You really gotta start on a diet." Stephano sighed. "Or maybe it's that bazooka you carry around."
Huntress blinked. "Bazooka...?"
"Right here." Piggeh smiled and swung a-- yes, for real-- bazooka over his shoulder.
Over by the other side, you could hear someone saying "Oh shit".
"Voices down," Stephano said suddenly. "I hear him coming..."
"That's what she said."
"Pig, I ducking swear--"
"Okay okay!"

"Shh!" Huntress whipped back and smacked Stephano with her bow. She could hear the living statue mumble something along the lines of 'why me?' but paid no mind to it. Instead, she focused on the end of the dark corridor. There was a small light there but Huntress hardly needed it. Being in the game had caused her senses to heighten beyond belief. She could now hear every sound within the entire floor and could feel the heartbeats of every living thing close by. Oh, and if she blinked twice, her eyes suddenly became heat signature sensors. Fun. "Damn, these things actually move pretty slowly." By now, the Bro's silhouette was blocking the corridor and suspense built up with each agonizingly slow footstep. Creak, creak, creak...

"Ay, screw this." In a split second, Huntress pulled out an arrow and struck the Bro right in the middle of his forehead. It turned to black ash. Following that, a shiny number 1 appeared above her before disappearing. She'd leveled up. "... So that was easy."
"Alright, we're being barrels." Hugo stepped out, swinging his pretty Excalibur in hand. "If this is really a game, what better to do than kick some serious Stephano?"
"Huh?"
"Sorry, got censored. Said A-S-S."
"Why is that word censored to my name?" Stephano frowned.
"Seems about right." Huntress shrugged, a rather satisfied look on her face. She'd been first to level up, at least among those present.
"Well in that case," Miinuko got up and brushed himself off. "I'll go off on my own. See you guys in the next level."
"Yeah, I think I'll work with Mys." Hugo and blue cat-girl waved as they, too, left the area. Only Miinuko and Gorky decided to do things on their own. On their way out, Huntress heard Mystery say, "I thought Stephano was French?"
Once everyone left, Huntress turned to the three game characters behind her. "Are you guys going to tag along with me the entire time?"

"Pretty much."
"Yep."
"Forced to."

Huntress blinked. "What do you mean forced?"
"Apparently, our duty is to follow the first person who speaks to us." Said Piggeh cheerfully, pointing at the girl. "That be you."
"Well then you better keep up." In the blink of an eye, Huntress appeared at the end of the corridor. It had been written on her paper the two powers she'd first receive. One of them had been to flit or move at an incredible speed. To her surprise, all three boys followed suit.
"Did we forget to mention we get one of your powers?"
"Ugh."

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"Okay, so we both need 15 kills each to get to the next level." Hugo whispered, now that he and Mystery were looking down at maybe forty or so Bros circling the bottom floor. You don't see that in the game. "So I suggest we just kill as much as we need to and get the hell away. Ready?"
"Yep." Mystery, staff in one hand, nodded. "I happen to have gotten some pretty sweet powers."
"Okay. One, two..."

Unfortunately for them, the Bros were already running in another direction by the time they dropped down. "...Is that Lily?" Mystery blinked, watching the tiny blonde, cutely dressed girl run off. Both of them sighed. "Monsters will always choose Runners over Fighters. This is gonna be tougher than I thought. Managed to get one, though, you?"
"Two." Hugo smirked. "13 more to go. Watch out, monsters."
"Alright, let's go exploring. Huntress may have been first to level up, but I wanna be first to make it to the next level."

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"You know Nerah, I did plan on doing this alone." Miinuko sighed, letting the pink-haired girl tag along in the end.
"I know," Nerah pouted. "But it gets lonely. So I'll just follow you around until I find someone else to-- HEY!" Seeing a TNG (Teleporting Naked Guy) pass, Nerah shot her bazooka (lucky her for choosing that profile pic) and leveled up. "Yaaay, I got one!"
"Good for you." Miinuko patted her head. "Now please move. I don't want to accidentally murder you."
"I think I chose the right partner." Nerah smiled proudly when she saw Miinuko take out maybe three TNG's at once, leveling him up to 2. Just like with Hugo and Mystery, though, the two soon found their targets turning to chase another victim; Xavy.
"Let's keep going." The dark-haired male frowned. "I don't like this place one bit. There's not enough light..."

Nerah nodded. It did seem as if everything was dimming...

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"Let's see," The Alucard-lookalike counted the bodies around him. "Three, four, five, six. Only need nine more." He stored his guns back into their holsters when he stumbled into someone; The One Bro. "Oh, hey One." He greeted, personality reverting back to his former self. "Whatcha up to?"
"Nothing, just kicking butt." One replied with a grin. "It's actually kinda fun, no? I thought it'd be scary at first, since it's like playing with an Oculus Rift but you can feel everything and hear all the scary sounds--" She took a breath. "But it's going really well! I'm already at level 3!"
"Glad you're liking it, One." Gorky smiled. "I'm at 3 myself. Well, I best be going then--"

"Excuse me."

Both players turned to the front. "Huh?"
"Down here."
When Gorky and One directed their gazes downward, who did they see?
"Hello." Said the tiny, purple turtle. "So I've been tagging along for a while now and I was hoping I could stick with you guys? It's pretty tough for a tiny guy like me to go it alone. Oh, and I'm the Insane Turtle, you might've seen me in the forums."
A few moments of silence passed.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" Before she could stop herself, One punted the poor little turtle into the air.

"You could've just said nooooooooooooooooooooo!"

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- Continued below

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"I think we Bros are destined to stick together." Huntress scoffed.Though everyone had indeed split off from the group earlier, the Bros were reunited once more and were now exploring the empty corridors. They'd been walking for a couple hours straight now with no sign of monsters. Most were at level 2, some were as high as level 3 and everyone else was at least level 1. Not bad for the first few hours of playing. Though, the sudden lack of enemies put everyone on edge. Just when they decided to maybe rest for a bit, the Bro army found themselves at the end of a long corridor... of Untrusted Statues. You know those empty armor suits that appear every so often when Pewdie plays Amnesia? Yeah, those. In those videos, Pewdie often got hurt when he looked away for too long... but he did show his Bros how to deal with the threat.

"I DON'T TRUST YOU!" Lily jumped up and decapitated one of them. "Or you, or you, or YOU!" Everyone looked over at each other, shrugged, and started to follow suit. Even the little turtle (who made up with One and is now comfortably riding on her shoulder) participated. You'd think with all the noise they made, at least some monsters would hear and come running. But no. Not one. Not until they gave up waiting and were about to leave did a something tumble nearby. It sounded like giant waves crashing down onto the beach. There was even a slight tremor.

"Oh no," Everyone turned to Stephano, who looked even more tense than the first time they'd met the golden statue. "It's them, the worst of all the monsters..."
"Shizz," Piggeh shook his bazooka. "I'm empty right now."
"Chair mode: Activated." Mr Chair said moments before turning into a real chair. "Boop."
"What, who? What's going on?" Hugo unsheathed his sword then, ready to strike. "... Damn, I feel so boss like this."
"There's no point running," Stephano said, giving Mr Chair a kick. "All we can do now is hold them off until they disappear."
"Why, what's coming?" Huntress repeated after Hugo. What was with characters and never getting straight to the point?
Stephano's expression was dark. "You'll see soon enough. The worst enemies you'll face your entire time here."

And then, a barrel rolled into view.

Silence.

Huntress turned to the wall, laid one hand against it and brought another up to stifle her oncoming laughter.
"Barrels," Nerah sighed, rubbing her temples. "How the duck did I not see this coming?"
"Ayyyyyyyyyyy lmao."
"Seriously?"
"I'm crying."
"You'll really be crying if you don't straighten up right now." Stephano shot a glare at Huntress, who was still trying to get herself together.
"I seem to have misplaced my kidneys." She wiped at her eyes. "Alright alright, no need to look so pissy. As if I'll ever cry in front of strangers." The girl rolled her eyes.
"Hey, look--" Mystery pointed. "-- What the Pewds?!" The barrel, just moments ago normal and cute-looking, was now covered in pointy spikes. Oh, and it had friends.

One by one, the balls of death took aim and launched themselves at a target. Caught off guard, the Bros reacted slower than they did with the monsters and some of them even forgot they had powers. Needless to say, everyone was a little worse for wear by the time the Barrels let up on their vicious attack, rolling away ominously...
The worst part? No one had managed to destroy (or even seriously injure) even one of the damn things.

"Well..." Hugo leaned back against the wall, only to slide down to the ground in exhaustion. "Shit."
"Never thought a game could hurt you so bad."
"Yeah. Damn."
"Alright, I admit I might have underestimated them a teensy bit," Huntress said, panting. "Now stop smirking, you insufferable trophy."
"Told you." Stephano turned away, looking satisfied despite his battered state. "I am Stephano, I know everything." The Bros smiled at that. That was one of Pewdiepie's made-up quotes for the golden statue. "Alright, we need to go. Barrels attract monsters."
"Where to?" Miinuko asked, wincing as he forced himself up. "I don't think any of us can stay upright, much less walk for too long."
"We're going to have to search the room for some potions, then." Stephano replied simply. "Anything you find, just hold on to it. Mr Chair will tell you what's what when we get to a safe place. Oh, and we should probably gather food too."

And so began the long, painful search for supplements started. The Bros split up, checking every room and gathering what they could. Each time they thought it was safe to rest, a roaring in the distance signaled them to keep moving. A few hours ago, that sound would have been welcomed with excited shouts. Now... well, no one was in any position to carry on fighting. And even if they could, who wanted to risk dying? If the pain was real, death in this world could surely be as well. Another hour passed. It wasn't too long before people started to get agitated, the atmosphere bearing down heavily on all of them.

"I'm tempted to just let myself get beaten up..." Nerah mumbled, dragging her bazooka along. "Ugh."
"Don't be a barrel." Mystery chided. "Dying in the first level of a game is just pathetic, c'mon."
"Yeah, I reckon I got enough fight in me to decapitate a few more Bros." Hugo muttered darkly.
"With those injuries?" Another male, the living Jack Frost (aka Frosted) scoffed. "Please."
Hugo's eyes narrowed. "I didn't specify 'Bros' to monsters only."
"Ooh, I'm soooo afraid. Pfft."
"Damn, just shut up. Both of you." Miinuko hissed.
"Stay out of this."
"No one called for you."
"I still have three arrows left." Huntress said, turning back to look at everyone. Her eyes, previously amber, were now a dark blue. "Just enough to silence three insufferable dolts."

Stephano, Piggeh and Mr Chair shared a look.

"I wish the lights would come back on." Huntress mumbled, continuing to walk (or limp, more like) Northward. "This darkness is making me feel paranoid."
"What darkness?" Cormano blinked. "Everything's still bright and fine to me."
"Uh, nuh uh." Turtle (still sitting on One's shoulder) pointing upwards. "It's been dark since we got here."
"Wait... what?"
"It's your sanity." Stephano said simply. "Most of you are in need of a sanity potion, especially those who've killed more." Looking around, the golden male sighed. "We have no choice. Everyone, get in here." He pushed open the door to a fairly large room. "We'll have to hole up here for now."

They all waited, ears pricked and alert to pick up the sounds of heavy footsteps. The suspense built with every step the Bros (monsters) took. Finally, when the footfalls subsided, everyone was able to take a breath. Mr Chair then began to explain and teach everyone how to pick poisons from remedies. Some of the more useful things they picked up were Laudanum and Sanity potions. They took what they needed, stocked up the extra and starting eating. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep them going for another day. Maybe two, if they were lucky. The Bros then gathered round for a brief strategy meeting (one that everyone has sworn to follow), seeing as no one could sleep just yet. As night came and yawns started to punctuate the silence every so often, they realized it was indeed time for some sleep. Eventually, they settled on having Mr Chair take watch (Char Mode: Activated) and caught up on some much-needed rest. Sleep helped the Laudanum work its way into their systems...

But not everyone was able to get some.

"Staring at the wall isn't gonna change anything." Stephano said, voice muffled under the blanket he used. "You'd do yourself better if you got some rest."
"I can't," Huntress replied lazily. "I'm so tired, but something's keeping me from sleeping."
"So now we know your stubbornness is at a cellular level."
"Jerk."
"Midget."
"Walking trophy."
"Bowling pin."

Everyone groaned, plugging their ears as the two continued to bicker until, finally, Huntress fell asleep...

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- Continued below

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Were they that naive to think that things wouldn't change over night?
"Shit, what the Pewds?" Apparently, yes.

When the Bros first opened the door that morning, what waited for them was a watery, underground sewage-like pathway. It didn't smell bad, just wet, and you could hear every movement with the water flowing everywhere, but that was about the only upside. Testing the water, they found the water bed lined with stones. Some sharp. some slippery, but all of it combined made it that much harder to move around. They'd all be in trouble if a group of Barrels decided to come their way. Again. Still, they couldn't stay. No way would the game creator allow for it. So, reluctantly, the Bros left their comfy room and started trekking through the water.

It wasn't long before Jaws music started to play.

"Eh?" Everyone looked down at their feet, realising that all lower body movement was now taken from them. The music just kept getting louder and faster. Everyone was tense now, bracing themselves for what was to come when it ended. When it did, everyone was too on edge to realise they could move again. And then they heard it. Two words that, were they playing this from the safety of their computer, would have been comical.

"Hi, kids."

And then THAT music played. Stephano, being the one in front, was the first to notice a figure in the distance coming closer. Pedobear. "Nah, we don't need to worry. He only goes after people under age." The golden statue scoffed, waving his hand carelessly.
"And those under age." Everyone paused before looking down at themselves.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"


-Heavy editing in progress-
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