I smashed the key into the lock and yanked the gate open. It screeched out as it slid across the pavement beneath us. Before our party was a simple, box with a staircase leading down. We could march two by two down the steps, which is exactly what we did. Torches illuminated the musty stairwell, casting our shadows across the stone walls. Water dripped from the sealing, plinking against the stonework beneath our feet.

Lower and lower we went, deep into the underground holding cells. Luckily, there were no encounters on the way down. It seemed like most of the demons had already gone topside to be reinforcements. That was the thing about this dungeon, the AI when the game was still a game acted with some form of logical intelligence. This was ridiculous though. It was as if the entire dungeon swarmed us right as we entered.
As we touched the bottom of the stairs, sconces lining the walls flared to life with eerie bluish-green flames. Our party tread carefully through the dim hallway. Prison cells lined our path, and we checked ever single one. Some were empty, some had dead animals, and some had full skeletons.

Suzuha clutched her guitar tighter, “This is a lot creepier when its first person and you can smell the death.”

“Yeah.” I agreed. “Switching from third to first person has been disorienting in fights. This isn’t as bad, but it’s still creepy.”

Another voice, female in tone, called out in the darkness, “Hello? Is someone there?”

Suzuha, Lucky, and I immediately recognized the voice. We darted down the hall, leaving Candy in the dust. The farther down the hall we ran, the worse the smell of death became. Rounding a corner, the end of the dungeon was visible. A large double door with demonic sigils on it loomed over us. Four more cells lined this passage way, and all but one was empty.

Behind the iron bars, laying against the wet wall of a musty cell, was a female player character. Her short and spikey cropped blue hair almost glowed in the dark. Sticking up from her head were two wolf ears of the same blue color. Thankfully, she was dressed, even if it was just a brown sack.

“Kit-Kat!” We all shouted.

Our friend lifted her head, staring at us through misty grey eyes, “Took you long enough.”

I fumbled through my inventory before I found the extra key. Hesitantly, I used the key on the cell, and thankfully it opened. We rushed inside and embraced Kit-Kat, who hugged right back.

“What took you so long?” She asked through muffled sobs.

I pulled out of the hug, “We had to figure out how to fight first. Saving you would be impossible with only using auto attacks. Oh, also, here. I found your stuff.”

Kit-Kat let go of Suzuha and Lucky. She took her gear out of my hands and stared at it. The glint in her eyes that I remember seeing came back. I watched as her hands moved through an inventory menu, but then she paused, glaring at Lucky and I. I took the hint and turned around. Lucky was not as bright so I had to grab his head and turn him myself.

“You can turn around now.”

Kit-Kat was back in her armor. The gunmetal blue of her heavy metal gear matched the color of her hair and eyes quite well. Strapped to her back, the sword Sanguine Fang rounded out her tank attire.

Candy poked her head into the cell, “Hey, Kit-Kat. Good to see you. We can catch up later, but right now, we need to get out of here.”

I nodded my head and tried to exit the cell, but Kit-Kat grabbed my arm, “Wait, one of my friends is in the game too. Some cultist guys took him into the boss room a few minutes ago.”

Lucky tilted his head, “This dungeon doesn’t have cultist.”

“I know,” Kit-Kat said. “Something changed in this dungeon. Whoever took Serena talked about sacrificing her!”

“That’s all well and good, but we’ve got company!” Candy shouted.

Shouting echoed from down the hall. The demons had chased us down here. Fighting both the demons and trying to save whoever this Serena was would be impossible.

Candy readied her lollipop, “Go! Get your friend! Lucky and I will hold them off and join you when we’re done!”
Lucky put his hand to his chest, “We will?”

“Yes! Now the three of you go!”

Candy had a presence about her that made people want to listen to her. She made a great guild leader. Suzuha, Kit-Kat, and I followed the orders and ran at the door. Despite the size, it was easy enough to push open with the three of us working together. With a little bit of muscle power, we entered the final boss room.