"Why can't I log in?" Chloe grumbled.

"Hmmm, let me check," Sophia said. "Ahhh, I see, Orc Wars is down for maintenance. There is a notice on its official page."

"Good. That will force everyone to rest a while. What time did they log off again?" Gwen asked as she surveyed the lifeless bodies littering the floor.

Jace was curled up on his side, dark hair in his face. A few feet away, Ash sprawled face down, half on and half off his sleeping bag. Lorenzo's leg was over Ash's back, his face hidden under a stolen blanket. His abused sleeping bag had been kicked away and lay crumpled under the coffee table.

Aria smiled in amusement and Chloe giggled. "I don't know but omigosh, they look so cute sleeping." She squatted next to the blond youth and poked him, "... especially Ash."

"Is this how boys usually sleep?" Aria asked. She did not have siblings. Chloe shrugged, she did not have brothers.

"Aiiyaiyai, yes! And you are so lucky not to have a brother." Sophia rolled her eyes. "Hey Gwen, do you still want Lorenzo? I will give him to you for only a small price of a delicious breakfast, yes? I'm hungry."

Gwen sat up and yawned. Sleepovers were fun. It had been forever since her last slumber party. She looked around and grinned. "I'll exchange Jace for Lorenzo," she said and poked Jace with her toe. "Is that o'kay with you, Jace?"

"Mhmm-mmm."

"What I can't hear you. Is it o'kay?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever ..." Jace murmured sleepily as he turned over and went back to sleep.

Gwen chortled and held up her phone. "Yes! I recorded his agreement. Now Jace is officially yours and Lorenzo is mine," she said grinning wickedly. Then she sobered, "But come to think of it, I can't have Lorenzo, I'm older than him."

"It's o'kay Gwen, it's just for fun. Don't take it so seriously. Anyway you are only a couple of years older than us. No big deal. Take him, please!"

"Fine, I'll just keep him then. He is so adorable and entertaining."

Sophia laughed. "But now that I 'officially' have Jace ... I can't keep him."

"Why not?"

"Because Aria likes him," Sophia teased the blushing Goth girl.

"Really? You interested in him? Quick, make a trade with Sophia and stake your claim. I can get him to agree to anything now when he is half asleep!" she said waving her trusty phone.

Before Aria could open her mouth, Sophia cut in. "I will trade Jace for ... aiyayayai, I can't think of anything!"

Aria smiled shyly but her eyes twinkled with mischief. "I will give you whatever you want in the future."

"An IOU! Nice!" Sophia agreed nodding her head. "Deal!"

Gwen winked and held her phone up. She jabbed her brother, disturbing his slumber yet again. "Jace? Deal? Is it o'kay if Sophia trades you to Aria for an IOU. It is a sweet deal right?"

He groaned and flopped onto his stomach covering his head with his arms. "Leave me alone Gwen ... just a few more minutes."

She shook his shoulder again. "Just say 'Deal' and I'll let you sleep. JACE!!"

"Oh my God, seriously! O'kay, deal, DEAL!! Now go away."

The girls giggled. Vera laughed shaking her head. Chloe chortled, "Poor Jace and you have evidence too."

"C'mon. Let's wash up, get breakfast started then we can wake them up. Maybe by that time Orc Wars will be back online."

Hidden under his arms, a half smile formed on Jace's lips.

-----

Jennifer was dressed casually and flipping pancakes expertly whilst the girls set up the breakfast table. Gwen was frying bacon. Soon the delicious aroma woke the hungry boys up. They came stumbling to the kitchen like zombies.

"Breakfast!! I am in Heaven, yes?"

"Morning ..." said Ash sleepily. He was still tired but the delicious smell of bacon, eggs and pancakes were just too much to resist.

"Here, have some." Jennifer came over with the last batch of pancakes and sat down at the table. It was nice to have hungry teenagers eating so well at her table. "Juice anyone?"

"Did you sleep well?"

"We did but I think they slept late," Gwen said. "What time did you finish?"

"Dunno," mumbled Ash as he helped himself to some toast. "Three, maybe four in the morning?"

"We finally turned in at about five, I think. We had something to eat."

"How far did you get? Did you complete the final challenge?"

"Yeah, we did."

"We sure did, thanks to me! I rescued them both!" boasted Lorenzo.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Renzo. It's disgusting!"

"Gwen doesn't think I'm disgusting, do you lovely Gwen?" he retorted winking at the blond girl.

She laughed and exchanged secret glances with Aria and Sophia. So entertaining!

"Jace, Jennifer and I were discussing Laz's condition last night. I think we have come up with a solution! Your mom is simply brilliant."

"Why thank you Vera."

"You did?!"

"How?"

"There is a cure? Did you find a solution for Laz?"

All eyes turned to Vera and Jennifer.

"I'll let Vera do the honours," Jennifer said taking a sip of her coffee.

"Well, we went through all Lazarus' symptoms and the hints given to us. Here is what we know so far. There is no cure for the nauk dzi-vras. The Research Sharak has done indicated that he was experimenting with a brew that had nothing to do with the poison. However, his one and only task at the Stronghold was to find a cure, right?"

"It doesn't make any sense but yes ... so where does that leave us?"

"That means the brew he was working on must have something to do with the poison. Also, his notes highlighted the Bello."

"Yeah, he circled the Boss' name on his map and scribbled something," Ash said remembering his translated copy. "Wasn't that because of the Lifestone?"

"Yes and no. He circled the Bello because she is guarding the Lifestone but also, and I think this is the key ..." Vera glanced at Jennifer for support and continued when the doctor nodded. "... the Bello can cure the nauk dzi-vras."

"How?" Jace leaned forward, folding his arms on the table.

"Ummmm, Jennifer?"

Jennifer took over. "Cure is not exactly the right word. It's more like a counter-measure to the poison. Since we have confirmed that the final monster is poisonous, all clues in the Game points to this very possible solution. In the medical world, if there is no cure, one of the last resorts is homeopathy. I think this is what it is."

Jace nodded understanding. "The Annazzosh is the Bello's poison. I thought as much." Jennifer smiled at her son. He would have researched the topic and came to his own conclusions. Now, it was just a matter of confirming what he must have already guessed. "So it's the Bello's poison Laz will have to use. I was wondering what it was going to be."

"Homeopathy. What is that?" Aria asked.

"To put it simply, in this case it is to use poison to fight poison. I will leave it to Vera to study this possibility but I will wager that the Bello's poison, the Annazzosh is even stronger and more unique than the nauk dzi-vras. The antidote that the orc Sharak was working on was for the Bello's poison not the original one from the orc's blade."

"Fight poison with poison?" Ash echoed doubtfully.

"Yes, the Annazzosh will overcome and destroy the nauk dzi-vras, then you can use Sharak's antidote to cure the new poison."

"Wow, seriously? Cool!"

"Wait a minute," Ash said slowly digesting the information. "If that is the case, wouldn't the Bello's stronger poison be more dangerous. What if it kills Laz off immediately?"

"That is a risk you will have to take. That and figuring out the ingredients to the brew that Sharak listed. Without it, there is no point in obtaining the Annazzosh."

-----

Since they couldn't log into Orc Wars, they lounged around in the hall. Vera was doing more Research on homeopathy and the Bello. She wanted to know more about the monster and its poison. The other four GateKeepers were discussing their next move.

"Before we go in next, top up Laz's Health to max."

"Yeah, I plan to. Also, I will need to get more potions from Isis. O'kay Vera?"

"Sure, no problem," she said from behind her screen. "Let me know what you need."

"Do you happen to have any potions that will warm Laz up? He is freezing from the inside."

"I'll see what I can find or come up with but you know, don't get your hopes up too high. The orc poison is not in ordinary gameplay so that type of potion may not be available."

Meanwhile, Aria and Chloe were huddled together with their laptops on. They were on the GateKeeper's secret blog. The more help they could get in deciphering the main ingredients of Sharak's brew the better. Maybe, someone somewhere out there might have a clue to Laz's salvation.

Two heads are better than one, so the more heads, the better.

Attention all fans. The GateKeepers need you. Lazarus needs you.

As you all know Lazarus had been inflicted by an orc's poison in Season One. Since then, he has been suffering in silence as there was no known cure. Isis has been creating stronger potions to stall the poison and Kirana is on standby, monitoring those in the orc realm. You have seen the videos and clips of the fight in the Overlord's Stronghold.

Believe me, the GateKeepers have been scouring the lands for any hints of a cure. Constantine, Lazarus and Valentine have even crossed over to the orc lands in their search for clues.

Now they have come across a potion which ingredients are a mystery. To make the antidote, we need to decipher its ingredients. If you can figure it out, please help. It contains

1. Water of eternal life

2. Pearl of life

3. Local herbs from the orc realm (they have this already).

Almost immediately questions and guesses started pouring in from those online. Aria and Chloe exchanged glances.

"I think we are going to be busy for a while."

"Yes. Many are asking questions for clarification."

"Oooh, look at this. Someone is asking if the Spider's venom can be the 'Water of Eternal Life' ... and another is asking about the wolf's saliva."

Ash shook his head. "No, we have gone over that. Those Items are not 'life giving' so we ruled them out, right Jace?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, this comment has some merit. 'Silverstar' asks if melted ice from Dungeon 55 might be it. The water may have the needed life-giving properties."

Jace looked up. "Dungeon 55? The group dungeon with slippery ice? Hmmm, I never considered taking stuff from dungeons other than dropped Items. Tell him I said thanks and that we will check it out."

"What about fruit juice from Isis' Orb Trial? 'Unicorn Fluff' says there are a lot of delicious looking fruit trees there. Maybe the 'Water of Life' is some special sweet nectar from the pretty flowers?"

"Vera?"

Vera shook her head. "No, anything edible in my Trial is designed to distract, discourage or put the Hero to sleep. No healing properties."

"O'kay. I will tell her that Isis confirms that's not it."

"You know, those are good ideas. These Gamers are awesome. I would have never thought of that," said Chloe.

"Yeah, me too."

"Hey Lorenzo ... what about Constantine's Orb Trial? Is the water below those flimsy chain bridges special? Can we use that?"

"First of all, those are not flimsy bridges. They are magnificent tests of bravery for the faint hearted, especially those who are scared of heights or swaying unstable things under their feet, yes?"

"Rrreeally Renzo, get to the point," Sophia cut her twin off. "Is there any water of Eternal Life down there?"

"Of course not. If there was I would have told Jace already. What do you take me for and by the way," Lorenzo dropped is voice dramatically, "it's not water down there. It is something much, much worse."

Sophia rolled her eyes at her brother.

"This Lifestone quest is driving me bonkers. We went there to find a cure but Simtrixx steered us back to the main quest," said Ash.

"Lifestone quest ..." murmured Jace. "Water of Eternal Life and Pearl of Life ..."

Ash glanced at Jace. "What are you thinking Jace? Do you have a lead?"

"It's all about life, right? ...the initial Lifestone quest with or without me was the main quest for Heroes crossing over to find a cure for the jaav ukon. One would think it would be a simple matter of crossing over to the orc realm, fighting your way to the final Boss and getting the Lifestone to cure the orc prince."

"Yeah so?"

"That would be too simple and straight forward for a Game like Orc Wars which is primarily focused on action and drama. What if they did all that and find out that the Lifestone alone doesn't work on the prince?"

"Why not?"

"Because all the pieces of the puzzle hasn't been fitted, yes? If you get only the Lifestone, what about the stuff Sharak was working on? The brew must be relevant or Simtrixx wouldn't have gone through all that trouble for the Bello quest, no?"

"Bello quest?" asked Chloe.

"Yeah, you know, the Bello's Annozzosh and Sharak's antidote."

Aria and Vera listened to the boys' theories.

"Constantine is right, anyone who goes through the portal will be steered by the Game in the way Lazarus was. The only thing different is that Laz is searching to cure himself too, not just the orc prince."

"If the Lifestone alone does not work, what will?"

"The Annozzorh and Sharak's antidote, yes?"

"Jace?"

"Still the Lifestone is important. In that case ..." Jace said slowly thinking aloud, "the Lifestone must be part of the cure?"

"Huh?"

"I wonder if the Lifestone is the 'Pearl of Life'."

-----

"Is the Lifestone really the 'Pearl of Life'?"

"I don't know. We will have to get it from the Bello to see if it really is some kind of pearl."

"It says here that a pearl is also categorised as a type of stone," said Chloe reading from her phone.

"You know, whoever made it across the Portal would invariably meet Kasakh first at the mountain top. If they don't kill her, they would discover Sharak's notes and the need to go to the Stronghold. There they would meet Kalthu for a chance of an audience with the Overlord and be introduced to Thalasis."

"Along the way, they would also learn of the three Challenges and the Bello's poison."

"Ahhh, I see where you are going with this," Sophia said and picked up Vera's musings. She liked to put things in order in her mind. "Once the Heroes meet Thalasis, they will be introduced to the Witch, yes? Every Hero would need the Witch's agreeable guidance through the Challenges for a chance at the Bello and the prince's cure."

"Exactly."

"Awww, I thought we were special," said Ash.

"We are not, no?" Lorenzo chimed in sadly. "Everyone who plays Orc Wars and passes through the Portal gets to do the quest, not just us, yes?"

"Where does Mallarg come in?"

"I'm not sure."

"Kasakh has the herbs and the Lifestone might be the 'Pearl of Life'. So what's the 'Water of Life'?"

"Guess we will have to continue working on that."

"Hey! Orc Wars is back online. Maintenance is completed."

"Yes!"

Everyone got up.

"O'kay, five minutes. Let's gear up and face the Bello."

"Yes, and check out the Lifestone, yes? I am so curious about that now."

"Meanwhile, Nyx and Kirana will check out Dungeon 55 for ice and melt it. I can check its properties in my workroom. While waiting for them, I will continue studying the Bello and Sharak's brew."

"And I will man the Gatekeeper's blog," said Chloe. "If come across anything useful, I'll let you guys know. I'll chat either Kirana or Isis. They can use their familiars to group chat you guys. In case you have your hands full."

"That seems like a plan to me," Ash grinned. This was going to be it, the endgame. They were finally going to meet the final Boss.

"Uhmm, guys? Just a thought, don't kill the Bello when you meet her," Aria cautioned.

"Why not? How else would we get the Lifestone?"

Aria tilted her head, "I've been thinking, you might need her to show you where the Lifestone is, if it is hidden. Also, her Annazzosh may only be useful if she were alive ... like the field dwellers and the Kivhs. Simtrixx has a history of these sneaky traps."

"Yes, there is that."

"There is only one Bello, kill her and you might have to redo the whole quest."

Ash made a face. "O'kay, don't kill the scary final Boss, get her poison and ask her nicely to handover her Lifestone. Did I miss anything?"

"Be serious," Chloe smacked Ash playfully on his shoulder.

"Owwww."

"Aria is right," Jace said impressed by her shrewdness. "Ash, Lorenzo ...?"

"Do not worry my friend; we will be there to help Laz."

Jace clenched his jaw nervously. The nauk dzi vras' effects were going to be worse than the last time, maybe he should play 2D? Then he recalled the gameplay lag, crowding notifications blocking the screen every time he made a move and the distracting chat box scrolling at the side. Also, besides his Hero's level and status, at his high level there were many more Icons displayed on the screen for fast access to the various unlocked Achievements. There were two for direct access to both his Cities, one for Anya, GateKeeper's Trial, location map, Changing Weapons, targeting/scoping and all the other basic MMORPG menus. He could minimise them but it would still take up half the screen. Also if he touched any of them, a pop-up would cover the screen while the game was still in progress. All the distractions might get him killed faster at this point.

Jace considered the option for only a split second before realising that playing Virtual was still the better option. In Virtual all the menus were still there but placed above the avatar's vision within easy reach. To access was to look up and touch the Icon when it came into view. Touched menus were transparent, allowing the Hero to overlap several menus at a time yet still able to be aware of his surroundings unlike 2D. Notifications were projected in the sky or on whatever appropriate surfaces the avatar was near at the moment if he was in an enclosed space. Then there was the Perception; it gave an edge to the Player. Feeling the situation instantly and instinctively was much better than having to read the pop-up notifications narrating the 'feelings'. It was just not the same.

Playing Virtual was the obvious choice if he wanted a chance to complete the Bello quest. Man up, he thought to himself. The quest is almost done, one more monster and it's over. All he had to do was endure the last stages of the poison and oncoming 'madness', face the Bello, get the Annazzosh and drink Sharak's brew. The faster he could accomplish that, the better.

Also, Constantine and Valentine will be there to help him, right? Right!

"Let's do this."

-----

Author's Note : The next chapter will be updated in a fortnight as some stuff have come up irl. Thanks for continued support and patience.