Hey all. Find below an original story based in the VGHS universe taking place 23 years after the series finale. I'll be introducing a few original characters as well as revisiting those from the show. Enjoy.

Nile knew he should be sleeping. School started in two hours, but he had to get another round in if he wanted a shot at the top of the ladder. The double-platinum tier was within his grasp.

He took a deep breath, pounded his fist into his palm, and jumped into the solo ranked queue.

The dim light from his monitor was fading against the rising sunlight. It was just another Tuesday morning for Nile. He was different from the other kids at school. Sure, they loved video games, but to Nile this game was the most important thing in his life. It was his ticket out of the suburbs, and normal high school, to get a shot at doing what he loved for the rest of his life.

His game of choice was Goliath Rally Rampage, abbreviated GRR, and shouted "GRRRRR" on live-streams. It was the latest, and in his opinion greatest, MOBA to hit the internet. Game play exploded with hyper-stylized animations as mechanical giants crushed each other in urban landscapes.

"FLAWLESS RAMPAGE!"

The words flashed across Nile's monitor after he secured his fifth kill in a row. It would have boomed out of his speakers accompanied by the screech of a fighter jet, but he played on mute.

Nile moved his mouse and unleashed a flurry of clicks, urging his goliath to move faster and capitalize on the team's momentum. He felt a familiar flutter in his chest. The win was within reach if his team could stay focused.

"You Have Been Compromised"

Nile slammed his hands against his desk. He waited for the sixteen second respawn timer to tick down and watched his anonymous teammates defend against a refreshed enemy team.

"Suck it InDeNile" his opponent taunted in the chat.

His opponent was piloting S1LENT K1LLER, a goliath capable of stealthing while standing still. Nile had been careless and forgot to drop a radar beacon which would have revealed the surrounding area. The kill no doubt gave the other team a substantial gold bonus.

He purchased a temporary vision buff and increased the capacity of his energy core, granting him more resources for abilities. Nile pressed down the top lane towards the enemy fortification while his team engaged in the middle lane.

RUMBLE P4CK was his goliath of choice. It had two massive power gauntlets which powered up every time he landed an ability or goliath kill. Countless online videos drew Nile to the up-close-and-personal style of play. Many of the ranged goliaths had longer recharges for their abilities, allowing him to get close and land a flurry of punches.

Nile activated his W ability, "Power to the Fists", sacrificing a portion of his shields for increased damage. He clicked furiously on the enemy's core sentry tower. His eyes darted between the respawn counters and health of the tower.

One of his opponents respawned before Nile could down the tower. It was N4STY CH0MP, a shark-like goliath capable of firing rockets and rending opposing goliaths with its teeth.

Nile evaded being shredded by the shark's ultimate and returned with a "Best Fist Forward". His attack made contact and he followed up with an attempt at his own ultimate. RUMBLE P4CK grappled the other goliath and smashed its head between the gauntlets in an explosion of sparks. It was enough damage to dispose of his foe.

The tower went down soon after and his team pushed into the fortification to finish off the enemy's central command.

"SPARKLING VICTORY!"

Nile left the post-game chat amid the messages of "GG" and "xxKittySwirlxx is a noob". He had enough time to catch an hour of sleep before his mom would come in to wake him up. Six more points and he would secure double-platinum for the rest of season one.

"Nile, time to get up for school," his mom called from the hallway.

He groaned and rolled over to grab his phone from the nightstand. There was a notification for one unread email.

His mom came in, "get up or you'll be chasing after the bus," she said. She flung open the roller shades on both of his windows and flooded the room with sunlight.

Nile squinted as he tried to read the new email.

It was from Christine Calhoun. The dean of MOBAcademy.

Nile rubbed his eyes and focused on the message.

InDeNile,

Congratulations. At the insistence of the faculty, I am informing you of your recruitment to MOBAcademy. You were selected based on your performance in Goliath Rally Rampage and nominated by one of our instructors.

Please contact our Admissions Office, not me, at your earliest convenience to enroll.

Sincerely,

Christine Calhoun

His dreams were beginning. All of his hard work and countless nights without sleep paid off.

"Mom," Nile said, "I'm not taking the bus today."

Back when video game training institutions were introduced it was considered controversial to transfer a student into one from a "normal" high school. The stigma associated with video game schools faded once eSports grew in popularity. Within twenty years, every state and country with a fast internet connection had a dedicated gaming school.

Nile had read everything he could about Dean Christine Calhoun, and the school, when he dedicated himself to becoming the best GRR player. He was redirected to her office by one of the admissions officers upon arrival.

Christine Calhoun was the dean of MOBAcademy, and daughter of the famous dean of VGHS. Her father had fought for his school and made history twenty-three years ago when they defeated the Napalm Energy Drink Company. Christine had already built a legacy of her own: she was the youngest dean of any private school, and the first video game institution dedicated to MOBAs.

The floor was poured concrete, and all of the external walls were glass. Christine could watch over the students milling in the courtyard from her vantage point. Almost all of the furnishings were made of glass or polished steel.

Nile took two steps past the doorway and stared at Christine. He stayed locked in place, afraid he might break anything he touched. She called for him to take a seat.

"I'm told you're one of the most dedicated players in," she made a few clicks, "Goliath Rally Rampage."

"Well, I'm almost double - " Nile started.

"Let's get this clear, Nile. Just because you're good at some hot new game, doesn't mean you're cut out for MOBAcademy," Christine said. She pushed her monitor aside and leaned forward.

Nile leaned back. All the reading he had done was useless for a face-to-face meeting. Up close, Christine was intimidating. "Yes, ma'am."

"Sometimes I'm not sure why we have an admissions process if we keep plucking newbs out of ranked queues and throwing them into classrooms," she said. Christine took a moment to cool her temper and continued, "Students here are expected to be more than gamers; they're members of a community. My father hated almost every single one of his students, and rightfully so, most of them were brats. But he told me once in a while you come across a student whose heart is in it for all the right reasons."

"Dean Calhoun, it's been my dream to attend MOBAcademy. I won't screw it up," Nile said.

"I have a policy for all of our recruits here. You have to get yourself a spot on either the varsity or junior varsity team by the end of the season, attend all of your classes, and secure a position on some extracurricular executive board," she said.

Nile nodded. It sounded like a lot to take on as a new student, but he would do anything to graduate from the school. Dismissal meant all the time he spent grinding in the solo queues would be worthless. He just had to dedicate himself, focus all the strength he could muster, and overcome any obstacle in his path.

"Get down to orientation," Christine said, "and remember, it's all about your lane."

Orientation was held in the courtyard. The office of admissions set up a booth to register for student IDs and another providing information on the required courses. Other booths scattered over the pavers were set up by student groups to recruit freshmen.

Nile registered for his ID and perused the booths advertizing different clubs. None of them were compelling: book club, poetry jam, bible study. But he saw someone he recognized, from online, at the Video Game Culture and Design booth.

"You're Lee Wong, right?" Nile asked.

He looked just like Lee from the pictures Nile had seen. Same mix of features rare for someone of his background. Straight black hair, green eyes, and a bone structure suited for a western european.

"Uh, yeah. Have we met before?" Lee asked. He looked down at the ID card hanging from Nile's neck and said, "oh, you're new here. Want to join Video Game Culture and Design?"

"Maybe. I didn't know you're a student here," Nile said.

"Yeah, my parents said I should go to a video game school. They never stop talking about how great it was at VGHS," Lee said.

Leland Wong was the son of the most beloved industry executives: Ki Swan and Ted Wong. Their studio had released GRR, a cat racing game, a hybrid FPS/Platformer, and something about hyper-intelligent trees. Lee was involved in creating a few of the goliaths in GRR. In fact, he had designed RUMBLE P4CK.

Nile picked up one of the flyers on Lee's table. A connection with Lee meant he could gain insight on perfecting his playstyle and maybe get a spot on the board of the club. There was even a chance he might get to meet Lee's parents.

"So, when do you guys meet?" Nile asked.

"Video Game Culture and Design club meets every Wednesday at seven. We're there," Lee said and pointed at a building across the courtyard, "in Nexus Tower."

"Hail, son of the creators," someone passing the boot shouted. It was common in GRR forums to "hail the creators" whenever a new goliath or feature was released.

"You don't even know how to play, Lazer," Lee shouted back.

"You really need to think about buffing your comebacks, Leland. See you lazer," he said and walked off.

"Just because I'm not a recruit doesn't mean he's better than me," Lee said.

Nile racked his brain looking for the right thing to say. He had one friend from back home, and they talked about gaming. His experience dealing with other people's problems was minimal. If he let any more time pass, Nile would miss his chance to make a good impression on Lee and things would end up being awkward.

"Tell me about it. Who are they to tell us how to have fun?" Nile said. He lied because it had worked for him in the past.

Lee spun back to Nile, and his eyes lit up. "That's just like what my mom says. Video games are meant to be played, not won."