Speaker 1: And here is today's story request. Hi.
Speaker 2: Lucy.
Speaker 1: Parth became a Premium member as part of his Christmas gift.
Speaker 1: Parth lives in California with his mom and dad, his
Speaker 1: little sister, Annya, and his dog Milo. Parth loves telling
Speaker 1: jokes and playing the piano. He would love a story
Speaker 1: that involves Milo and Ptarth getting sucked into a virtual
Speaker 1: video game world. Everybody knows how video games work, and
Speaker 1: Parth was quite sure this wasn't right. What you're doing, path,
Speaker 1: asked Milo, His dog sat upon the floor. Whyn't you
Speaker 1: playing a game? Well, because it's not my game, insisted Parth.
Speaker 1: Perched on the edge of his seat. The controller was
Speaker 1: in his hands, but all he was doing was staring
Speaker 1: at the screen. Sure it's your game. Aweso, you loud
Speaker 1: it into the console, said Milo, thinking his owner was
Speaker 1: just playing with him. I loaded my game, but that's
Speaker 1: not what's on this TV, said Ptarth. I've never seen
Speaker 1: this before in my life. On screen were the words
Speaker 1: Virtual Empire, accompanied by some sinister electronic music. Beneath the
Speaker 1: game's title was a button that simply said enter. Wow,
Speaker 1: I saw you, Lucky, said Milo, whatever's happened? You get
Speaker 1: to try a whole new game for free. Well, I guess, so,
Speaker 1: said Ptarth, warming to the idea. He'd really wanted to
Speaker 1: play his favorite game, but maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
Speaker 1: He picked up the console and selected the enter button. Okay,
Speaker 1: he said, let's see what it's like. That should have
Speaker 1: been straightforward enough, but instead the air raced from his
Speaker 1: lungs as he and Milo were wrenched forward into a
Speaker 1: dazzling light, leaving behind the controller to drop onto the
Speaker 1: empty seat where Ptarth had been sitting. With a thump,
Speaker 1: Ptarth landed heavily on to a rocky surface. Ouch, he complained. Puff,
Speaker 1: came Milo's voice, his familiar nose appearing around a boulder.
Speaker 2: Where are we? I don't know, admitted Ptarth. It looks
Speaker 2: like a moon. Hey what are you wearing? You look so.
Speaker 1: Cool, beamed Milo as he bounced up, tail wagging.
Speaker 2: Is that chit pack?
Speaker 1: I don't know, said Ptarth as he ran his hands
Speaker 1: down the strange clothes.
Speaker 2: There was a band.
Speaker 1: Around his wrist with three bright buttons, one blue, one yellow,
Speaker 1: and one red. You're wearing a new collar, am I,
Speaker 1: said Milo, trying to look down. Although it's hard to
Speaker 1: look at your own neck. A rumble made them both
Speaker 1: look up to see a wide spaceship coming in to.
Speaker 2: Land near by. Paff Are we in that game?
Speaker 1: Asked Milo. I'm starting to think so, replied Ptarth. As
Speaker 1: the spaceship touched down. Wasn't a game called something Empire?
Speaker 2: Asked Milo?
Speaker 1: As a doorway opened on the ship's side. Virtual Empire
Speaker 1: corrected Ptarth.
Speaker 2: Why do you.
Speaker 1: Ask, Well, don't empires have soldiers, said the dog. And
Speaker 1: if so, does that make them the good guys.
Speaker 2: Or the bad guys? Finished Ptarth.
Speaker 1: A flurry of laser bolts shut across the Moon's surface
Speaker 1: from the ship, blasting into the surrounding rocks and sending
Speaker 1: Ptarth and Milo scurrying. They're bad guys. They're bad guys,
Speaker 1: barked Milo, as more laser fire streaked after them. We've
Speaker 1: got to get out of here, said Ptarth, and in
Speaker 1: an instant, his jetpack was blazing, shooting him across the
Speaker 1: Moon's surface at speed. It took him completely by surprise,
Speaker 1: and he'd left Milo behind. With a little difficulty, he
Speaker 1: managed to turn himself around to race back again. It
Speaker 1: was easy to locate Milo as he was at the
Speaker 1: receiving end of all the laser fire. Luckily, his small
Speaker 1: size was keeping him out of harm's way. As he
Speaker 1: dodged between the rocks, he noticed that Milo was heading
Speaker 1: towards a canyon with steep sides, about to get himself trapped.
Speaker 1: Not if I can help it, thought Ptarth. Let's see
Speaker 1: if any of these buttons do anything. He held up
Speaker 1: his wrists before him and selected the blue one. A
Speaker 1: fizzing ball of blue energy crackled to life around his hand.
Speaker 2: This looked promising.
Speaker 1: He took aim at the leading soldiers, some sort of
Speaker 1: humanoid robot. A jet of blue energy burst forth from
Speaker 1: his fist, blasting the robo soldiers to pieces. Each one
Speaker 1: turned into a tiny blue crystal that then faded away.
Speaker 2: I'm scoring points, He realized.
Speaker 1: He was getting the hang of this now, and was
Speaker 1: soon confidently clearing away the soldiers as he zoomed back
Speaker 1: and forth. In no time, there were none left. That
Speaker 1: was awesome, said Milo, once Ptarth touched down.
Speaker 2: Did you do it?
Speaker 1: The jetpack and the blaster just worked by me thinking
Speaker 1: about them, Just worked by me thinking about them, he explained,
Speaker 1: Although I had to choose the blaster from this wristband.
Speaker 1: Oh how come I haven't got anything as good as that,
Speaker 1: grumbled Milo.
Speaker 2: Sorry, shrugged Ptarth. I don't know.
Speaker 1: Large lettering filled the sky before them, presumably showing their score.
Speaker 1: Well what next, asked Milo, looking around. Why do we
Speaker 1: want to go now? I didn't see anything from up there,
Speaker 1: said Ptarth, So maybe we ought to check out that spaceship.
Speaker 1: This they did, half expecting to find a pilot or
Speaker 1: more soldiers on board.
Speaker 2: Instead, it was empty.
Speaker 1: Can you fly it, asked Milo, looking at the complicated console.
Speaker 1: Only one way to find out, grinned Ptarth as he
Speaker 1: got into the pilot's seat. Although it appeared difficult, Parth
Speaker 1: had no trouble at all. I guess these things are
Speaker 1: easier and games, he said. They lifted away from the Moon,
Speaker 1: allowing them to take in the sight of a large
Speaker 1: yellow and orange planet alongside it. It looked like the
Speaker 1: sensible place to go, but that meant first dealing with
Speaker 1: a swarm of red spacecraft that were buzzing towards them.
Speaker 1: This must be light level two, suggested Milo. And that's
Speaker 1: a lot of ships. Well here is helping we get
Speaker 1: more than one life in this game, said Ptarth, as
Speaker 1: the red spacecraft began firing on them. Milo pulled and
Speaker 1: twisted the controls, dodging and weaving around the attacks. Can't
Speaker 1: we fight back, yelped Milo. Hold on, I'm still getting
Speaker 1: used to this, Parth replied, let me try this. Green
Speaker 1: laser blasts erupted from the sides of the ship, peppering
Speaker 1: the Imperial ships and causing several to explode. They instantly
Speaker 1: turned into small red crystals. Keep it going, pof cheered
Speaker 1: Milo as something jolted the ship, shaking them in their seats.
Speaker 1: We were hit, but I think we're okay, said Ptarth
Speaker 1: as he continued spiraling through the enemy.
Speaker 2: More and more of the red craft.
Speaker 1: Were meeting their end as the green laser fire found them.
Speaker 1: Another hit lit up several warning lights in the cockpit,
Speaker 1: but Ptarth didn't seem to notice. He was focused on
Speaker 1: clearing the ships. Just two more to go, shouted Milo. Steady,
Speaker 1: you got them, few, steady.
Speaker 2: You got them. You grinned Parth. That was hard.
Speaker 1: Out of the window, their updated score was displayed beside them,
Speaker 1: just before the planet. It was much closer now, so
Speaker 1: Ptarth steered them into the upper atmosphere.
Speaker 2: They were soon.
Speaker 1: Looking down at the biggest city they'd ever seen, taking
Speaker 1: up all the land as far as the eye could see.
Speaker 1: A tall tower surrounded by a network of smaller towers
Speaker 1: and domes drew their attention. So Ptarth headed towards that,
Speaker 1: but as he did so, the ship was struck by
Speaker 1: something unseen. You've lost control, shouted Ptarth in panic.
Speaker 2: There is no power.
Speaker 1: Can't you restart it? Squelled Milo. It's not responding, said
Speaker 1: ptarth' through gritted teeth.
Speaker 2: We're going to crash.
Speaker 1: Oh no, whimpered Milo, as the ground rushed towards them.
Speaker 1: But Ptarth wasn't going to wait for that to happen.
Speaker 1: He grabbed Milo and ran to the ship's doorway, forcing
Speaker 1: it open, and then.
Speaker 2: Jumped into the sky.
Speaker 1: What are you doing, screamed the dog in terror, as
Speaker 1: they plunged downwards. I got a jippack, remember, laughed Ptarth,
Speaker 1: and fired it up. As the ship came down with
Speaker 1: an explosion below them. Ptarth guided them down to the
Speaker 1: center of a wide plaza right before the great tower.
Speaker 1: Blaster fire greeted them, immediately fired by an army of
Speaker 1: defensive robuts. Unfortunately, there was no cover for the pair
Speaker 1: of them to hide behind. Should have landed somewhere house,
Speaker 1: said Milo. Too late for that now, said Ptarth. He
Speaker 1: reached his wrist and press the yellow button. This time,
Speaker 1: a yellow dome of energy appeared around them, both safely
Speaker 1: absorbing the laser fire being poured upon them. That's useful,
Speaker 1: said Ptarth, some sort of shield, but it's not stopping
Speaker 1: any of them from attacking us.
Speaker 2: How come I haven't got.
Speaker 1: Any buttons, moaned Milo. If I'll add some buttons, maybe
Speaker 1: I could help. I've been pretty useless, sofa. I'll try
Speaker 1: this red button, said Ptarth. Maybe this will help us.
Speaker 1: What happened next wasn't what either of them had expected.
Speaker 1: The yellow dome vanished, but all the enemy's laser fire
Speaker 1: appeared to be frozen in mid air. All that moved
Speaker 1: was Ptarth and Milo, circling around one another as they
Speaker 1: rose into the air. I'm getting bigger, shouted Milo. And
Speaker 1: changing shape me too, said Ptarth with excitement. In seconds,
Speaker 1: they were transformed. Ptarth had become a towering, gigantic battle bot,
Speaker 1: heavily armored and extremely tough. Meanwhile, Milo had become a
Speaker 1: colossal dog like monster standing on two legs. We look
Speaker 1: so great, roared Milo, as the laser fire unfroze.
Speaker 2: Suddenly they were being.
Speaker 1: Struck by thousands of direct hits pat Dickles, said Ptarth, Hey, poff,
Speaker 1: You know what giant robots the monsters do in the movies,
Speaker 1: asked Milo. Yeah, I do, said Ptarth. They stomp everything flat.
Speaker 1: They sprang into action, either sweeping the robot army aside
Speaker 1: or pummeling it into the ground. Now I feel useful,
Speaker 1: bellowed Milo as he got to work on tackling some
Speaker 1: of the bigger bag guys. Working together, they cleared the
Speaker 1: plaza of all the danger, claiming the crystals as they
Speaker 1: did so.
Speaker 2: Their latest score flashed up in the sky. Is that it,
Speaker 2: asked Milo? Have we won?
Speaker 1: I don't think so, said Ptarth, pointing to the tower.
Speaker 1: It was much bigger than they were, and it was
Speaker 1: changing shape into the biggest battle robot imaginable.
Speaker 2: Foolish heroes, boomed its voice.
Speaker 1: I am the Electric Emperor, and I crush all those
Speaker 1: that stand in the way of my empire.
Speaker 2: Prepare for your doom.
Speaker 1: Time for an upgrade, said Ptarth as a gigantic energy
Speaker 1: sword appeared in his hand.
Speaker 2: How did you do that, screeched Milo.
Speaker 1: I want a sword. Use your imagination encouraged Ptarth. Thinking
Speaker 1: about it, helps it appear, Okay, said the giant Milo,
Speaker 1: concentrating on.
Speaker 2: His empty paw.
Speaker 1: It wasn't a sword that appeared, but an enormous battle axe.
Speaker 2: Okay, this will do, he said.
Speaker 1: The Electric Emperor strode towards them on mountainous legs, making
Speaker 1: the pair of them, even at their colossal size, look small.
Speaker 1: One of them went to the left, the other to
Speaker 1: the right. With his attention divided, they found it easier
Speaker 1: to slice away at the momental legs. Is this the
Speaker 1: end of level, boss, asked Milo, as he landed an
Speaker 1: impressive hack. I guess so, said Ptarth, managing a blow
Speaker 1: of his own. Then, in a blistering frenzy of sparks,
Speaker 1: the Electric Emperor let out a horrified cry and began
Speaker 1: to topple forward. Look out, yelled Ptarth, ducking to the side.
Speaker 1: The Emperor's epic form was beaten, crashing down to the
Speaker 1: plaza below in a string of explosions that shook the
Speaker 1: ground beneath her feet. Once the smoke and dust had cleared,
Speaker 1: there was a stupendous golden crystal waiting to be collected.
Speaker 1: We've won, said Ptarth as he claimed their prize. This
Speaker 1: instantly triggered the same rushing sensation that had pulled them
Speaker 1: into the game in the first place, although this time
Speaker 1: it operated in reverse. Ah, we're back in the real world,
Speaker 1: said Milo, sat on the floor before the TV screen.
Speaker 1: I was just getting used to that. Hey, look at
Speaker 1: the screen, said Ptarth, back at his seat. We want
Speaker 1: a lot of crystals. Yeah, I suppose so, said myleot.
Speaker 1: But it's all over now. As he said this, the
Speaker 1: screen changed. It said next level. The two of them
Speaker 1: grinned widely. That's more like it, said Milo as he
Speaker 1: watched Ptarth pick up the controller and press okay the
Speaker 1: and