Machine Gun
Mell led Wyatt throughout his home. They passed by room after room. Out of all the servants they passed along the way, Mell only ever bothered to introduce him to one of them.
A tall, black-haired maid with green eyes. She only gave Wyatt a quiet nod before disappearing deeper into the mansion. That was the second person to acknowledge him. He began to wonder if he was inadvertently taking the place of the player. He decided to hang out with Mell for the mere sake of getting to the bottom of this mystery.
As they came to one closed off room, in particular, Mell stopped and gestures toward it.
"This is my sister's room. Mine is just down the hall. There are a couple of guest rooms around here. We should see about getting one prepared for you."
"That won't be necessary," Wyatt interrupted. "Just show me the best spot in the house to set up a machine gun nest and I'll be happy."
Mell tilted his head curiously at the remark. "Huh? Machine gun nest?"
Wyatt fell quiet for a moment. At first, he assumed Mell was simply joking with him but after taking another look at the boy's clothes as well as the general aesthetic of the mansion, Wyatt simply had to ask the first question that came to mind.
"What year is it?"
"Uh… The year is 1603. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, that explains it," Wyatt announced with a sinister grin. "Tell you what. Just show me to the place with the best view of the property. What's the best vantage point in the house?"
"Well, that would most certainly be the observatory," Mell remarked without hesitation.
Wyatt's eyes widened. "You have one of those?"
"We do. I'm not exactly sure why. As far as I know, it was here before my family purchased the property. We believe it was a church at one point. Anyway, follow me. I'll show you."
The deeper the Denton brothers ventured into the void, the more endless this cyberpunk limbo seemed to be. For the longest time, they marched through the depths in total silence. An unsettled, digital silence. Eventually, Paul could not bear it. He had to talk about something less this empty space drive him insane.
"So, did you ever hear about what happened to that rookie and the defective microwave?"
"First story I heard in training," JC replied. "Poor guy. What a shame..."
A voice abruptly called out to them from the depths.
"Greetings!"
JC and Paul immediately stopped in their tracks. They quickly spotted the source of that ominous voice. Standing to their left they spotted a pair of men with white hair and red eyes. They were definitely a strange duo. That much was obvious.
"Woah," JC muttered in his usual robotic monotone. "Get a load of these guys."
One of the strangers gave the augmented duo a menacing smile. "My name is Adam and this is my brother, Eve."
"I'm Paul, and this is my brother, JC. We're with UNATCO."
Adam furrowed a curious brow at the two agents. "UNATCO?"
"You guys know what's going on out here," asked JC.
Adam slowly shook his head. "We were actually hoping to find someone who could answer that question for us. It appears the sky is... broken? I cannot quite wrap my head around this issue."
"Seems we're in the same situation," JC announced. He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "My brother and I were chasing a lead now. A teenage girl that ran through here a little while ago. Have you seen her?"
The two twins glanced at each other. Eventually, Adam spoke for the two of them. "We have not. You are the first people we've seen out here."
"I see," replied JC. "Well, we'd better be off. If we meet again then we'll be sure to let you know if we find anything out."
Adam seemed surprised by this response. He almost appeared slightly dejected. Paul had a similar look on his face. He turned to his augmented brother, but JC said nothing to him.
"Very well," Adam said hesitantly. "Hope to see you again soon..."
JC turned and walked back the way they came. Paul quickly followed after them. As they moved forward, Paul glanced back to see Adam and Eve standing there, watching them leave. They made no effort to follow.
As soon as that admittedly strange duo was out of sight, Paul made his concerns known.
"What was that about, JC? We could have invited them to tag along. It'd be better to work in a larger group. We could cover more ground and get more done."
"Those guys seemed off," JC remarked in his usual monotone. "I was getting bad vibes from them. I think we're better off going it alone for now."
"If you say so..."
As Wyatt was led to the observatory they nearly rammed straight into a young flaxen-haired woman who came running down the corridor. She slid to a stop mere inches away from them.
The woman wore a strange dress. It was colorful and topped off with a corset that resembled the wings of a monarch. She smiled at Mell but that happy expression quickly went sour when she noticed Wyatt.
"Morning, Dearest Mell. Um... Who's this?"
"Oh, this is Wyatt. He's here on business from what I'm told. I suppose you're actually here to visit with father, yes?"
Nellie adopted a more cynical frown when she heard this. "Father is away, right now. He won't be back for another week."
"That's fine," Wyatt stammered in an attempt to quash her obvious suspicion. "I'm already aware of this."
"Then why are you here now," Nellie bluntly asked. "Shouldn't you come back later?"
Mell stepped in between the two and gave Nellie a stern glare. "That's enough, sister! This is not the way we treat our guests."
"Pardon me," Nellie replied.
She reached forward and took hold of Mell's arm. Quite a strange sight for Wyatt to see. It appeared to him that Nellie was just a little too touchy with Mell. She seemed to make a conscious effort to stand rather close to him as well. Wyatt could not help but find her to be somewhat creepy.
"I just find it odd that he would need to be here when Father left a few days ago and won't be back for another week."
"Interesting," Wyatt muttered quietly to himself. "So daddy's off on a 'business trip' again. Nothing suspicious about that."
His little remark went ignored by the two siblings who either did not hear him or did not get the implications of what he said.
"Enough already," Mell exclaimed in a surprisingly aggressive tone. "We won't hear any more of it. This attitude is unbecoming of you, Nellie."
Nellie promptly stormed off. Wyatt found the whole conversation strange. Once again, he was left wondering if this was a scripted event or not. That robot in the desert was just as quick to acknowledge him as Mell and Nellie were. He had a hard time remaining skeptical at that point.
Mell turned back to face Wyatt. He gave his guest an apologetic smile. "I apologize on behalf of my sister. She normally is not like this. I haven't the slightest clue what has gotten into her!"
"Never mind that," Wyatt replied. He was thankful that this boy was not neatly as inquisitive as his sister. For a moment, Wyatt was worried that he was going to have to draw down on the both of them.
"Very well," Mell exclaimed with enthusiasm. "This way to the observatory!"
Mell led Wyatt to the entrance of the observatory. Mell suddenly came to a stop in front of the stairwell ahead.
He took a few steps back and scanned the area. Mell then remembered a crucial detail.
"Well, this is annoying," Mell announced. "The door upstairs is normally left locked, and I'm afraid I don't have a key."
"Well, we'd better find one," Wyatt remarked. "Those MG-42s I've been saving for a rainy day ain't gonna mount themselves."
Before Mell could respond, a timid voice spoke out from behind. "Pardon? Is there an issue, Master?"
The duo turned to see a lone maid standing a fair distance away from them. Wyatt recognized her immediately. It was the same maid he saw earlier. Her long white hair and red eyes were unmistakable.
"Ah," Mell exclaimed with a welcoming smile. "Just in time. You wouldn't happen to have a key on you?"
"For the observatory," asked the White-Haired Girl.
Mell patiently nodded.
The servant pulled out a ring of keys and fumbled with them until she found the correct one. She held it out for the two to see.
"Always appreciated," Mell remarked. "By the way, this is Wyatt. He'll be staying with us for some time so I was giving him a tour of the property. Care to join us?"
"Well, I have been asked to clean a few rooms, and I'd be worried about getting in trouble if they aren't done by noon."
Mell gestured for the entrance to the observatory, all while giving her a far more genuine smile than he did with Nellie. At least, that was what Wyatt saw at any rate.
"Worry not," Mell reassured. "You'll be helping our guest. I'll make sure there won't be any trouble over the issue."
The White-Haired Girl nodded her head.
Mell then promptly led the way, beckoning for his two companions to follow suit.
They traversed a winding staircase that was almost fantastical in appearance. It spiraled upward at a rather steady pace. The stairs were abnormally steep and there was never a point in which one was turning a corner.
While annoying at first, Wyatt eventually found strategic value in these thin steps.
"This would be a great choke point," he muttered to himself. He was practically salivating over the mental image of a mounted machine gun positioned at the top of this long stairwell. Suddenly, he knew exactly where he would be spending most of his time.
"So what exactly were you planning to put up here," asked Mell. The boy either did not hear Wyatt think aloud to himself or he did not care to respond.
"An MG-42," Wyatt said bluntly.
Mell turned around but he continued to walk up the stairs. Wyatt followed him quietly and prayed to the heavens that he would fall and make a proper fool of himself. Seeing such a thing would complete his day.
"And what's an MG-42? This isn't the first time you've mentioned it."
"It's a gift from God," Wyatt informed nonchalantly. He smiled in a sort of way that made Mell feel uneasy. "The type of weapon that'll make a soldier's life ten times easier. Set it up properly, know what you're doing, and you can kill a hell of a lot of people in a very short amount of time."
"Uh," Mell stammered. "That sounds rather gruesome."
Wyatt averted his eyes downward. Suddenly, he nodded, gesturing toward Mell's feet. "Careful. Your shoe is..."
Mell immediately lost his balance and began tumbling backward. He attempted to regain his footing, but he only delayed the inevitable. Just when he was about to fall, however, he felt a hand grab hold of his collar.
He opened his eyes to see Wyatt looming over him, giving the boy a mocking grin.
"Untied," he murmured in his usual monotone. He then promptly released his grip on Mell's collar and allowed him to hit the stairs. Casually, Wyatt resumed his trek up the steps, leaving Mell behind.
"Are you okay," asked the White-Haired Girl.
Mell did not respond. He merely stood up and chased after Wyatt. "Sounds like quite the weapon," he called out, acting as if nothing had happened.
"Are you the inventor? Perhaps you're looking for an investment from my father? If so, I can definitely be of help in that regard. If what you say is true, then this could be a very profitable venture for him. It sounds positively revolutionary."
"I didn't invent them," Wyatt said with an eerie chuckle. "I'm only putting them to use."
"I see," Mell remarked as he practically ran after Wyatt. "Did my father already invest in some sort of new uh… what would you call this?"
He glanced at the White-Haired Girl who merely shrugged her shoulders at him.
"Security measure," he guessed. "We have no guards posted, at least, none that I am aware of so, in theory, there is nothing preventing a burglary."
"Oh, they'll stop a burglary all right," Wyatt darkly joked. "Stop a couple of 'em. At a time."
When they reached the top, Wyatt was not particularly impressed with what he saw. He took a look around and promptly nodded his head.
"Guess I can work with this," he murmured allowed. "Can use that corner to stockpile ammo. Wouldn't take much to turn this place into a worthwhile MG nest. Land mines wouldn't be a terrible idea either."
Wyatt peered through one of the windows which gave him a decent view of a massive rose garden behind the mansion. He paid no mind to the colorful flowers that decorated the landscape. It was the flat space that caught his attention.
"That area would be perfect for a couple of Howitzers."
Mell leaned in to see what had caught Wyatt's eye. He adopted a somewhat smug smile at the sight of the rose garden.
"How about we go take a closer look at the rose garden? It's my home's main attraction. My mother's pride and joy."
He turned toward the pale maid and gestured for the stairs that led back down into the main halls of the mansion. "Have you had a chance to see it since you've been here? I'd be more than happy to show you as well."
Wyatt glanced over his shoulder at the awkward duo. For some reason, he could not help but feel impending tragedy about to strike at any moment. He chalked it up to anticipating another attack, which he was right to do so.
He put the feeling at the back of his mind and continued to follow Mell throughout the massive home. All the while, he kept away from that pale girl. Mell seemed to be somewhat fond of her. Perhaps it was merely her enigmatic beauty which even Wyatt could see. Despite that, he still viewed her as being a little on the creepy side, and that opinion did not appear to be going away anytime soon.
Wyatt only left the mansion once to grab the equipment he needed to fortify the location. He set up two MG-42s in the observatory and left a stockpile of land mines in the cellar. He always intended to throw a portion of the out into the rose garden, but given how many times Mell's favorite maid visited it, that did not seem like the best idea.
He mentally chuckled at the mental image of the girl stepping on one and promptly being blasted into the stratosphere. Fortunately for the White-Haired Girl, the value of those land mines far outweighed that of her own life as well as the apparent humor Wyatt found in watching her explode.
For the most part, he kept to himself. He watched as the days went by. He spent his time observing Mell in particular. Whenever the boy was not interacting with him, he went about his predetermined business. Mell mainly spent his time doing one of two things. Either he could be found chatting up an awkward storm with that mysterious White-Haired Girl or he was busy ignoring his sister.
As time marched on, Wyatt's outlook on Nellie was only solidified. She was nothing short of creepy. The time Mell spent with that young maid seemed to directly coincide with Nellie's growing aggression. The fact that her parents worked tirelessly to marry her off did not appear to help the situation much.
Wyatt found himself roaming the halls of the mansion like a lost soul on one, particularly boring day. Everything played out as a normal day until he turned a corner and spotted Nellie darting down the corridor. She headed straight for him at a rapid pace.
He managed to dodge her. As she ran past him Wyatt could hear her sobbing over something. He stopped and watched as she ran down the hall. Wyatt watched as she halted her stride and threw open a door to her right. A door leading to what he assumed was her bedroom. She promptly slammed the door shut, leaving Wyatt at a temporary loss for words.
"The fuck was that about," he inquired in a mumble.
"Sorry, You had to see that, Wyatt," a familiar voice called out from behind.
Wyatt turned to see Mell approaching him from down the hall. He waved as stepped forward and gave Wyatt an awkward smile.
"What's wrong with her," asked Wyatt.
"I believe my parents have finally become fed up with Nellie's unwillingness to grow up. Time and time again, they've given her the chance to choose a partner, but she's utterly refused. I'm unclear on all the details, but I believe father has set up a date for her and picked the gentleman himself."
"I see," Wyatt muttered as he turned back to face Nellie's bedroom door. "Seems to be upsetting her pretty bad. If I were you, I'd be worried about her mental state."
"Nonsense," Mell said dismissively. "She's just having another temper tantrum. She'll get over herself eventually."
"Nope," Wyatt bluntly disagreed. "I've been watching her since I first arrived."
"Oh," Mell interrupted with a teasing smile. "So you are interested after all."
Mell's grin quickly faded after he noticed Wyatt stern and unchanging glare.
"Let me finish. I'm only saying this to you as a warning. That girl is becoming unhinged. Trust me, I know what crazy looks like. I've seen it before and it never ends well."
"Well, that will be an issue she'll have to take up with father. I'll have nothing to do with it, especially not now of all times."
Wyatt abruptly turned and started walking down the hall. Mell immediately chased after him.
"Something happen," asked Wyatt.
"Surely you remember when I told you that I planned to ask that maid to attend the upcoming play with me, yes?"
"No," Wyatt flatly remarked.
Mell furrowed a brow at him. Wyatt did not so much as acknowledge the puzzled look on his face.
"I know I told you..."
"You probably did and I just wasn't listening."
Mell huffed in frustration. "There is a play coming to town so I asked if she wanted to attend it with me. She agreed and now I'm scrambling to find something to wear."
"How does this involve me?"
"I'm asking you for advice," Mell informed.
"Ask someone else."
"Fine. I was preparing to go into town to hopefully find a gift for her or something. You're welcome to come along if you were looking to get out of the house. I don't think I've seen you leave since you first arrived."
"Guess I've got nothing better to do. I need to set those land mines but that's gonna be a pain in the ass. I'm in no rush to mess with those things."
"Fantastic," Mell proclaimed cheerfully. He ignored that part about tossing land mines. It was yet another concept that he had no understanding of so he paid it no mind.
"Follow me, I'll show you some of the ideas I had in mind."
The two wandered off into the woods after leaving the mansion. All the while, Wyatt kept on guard. He was expecting an attack no matter how quiet things were in that game.
He could not know when or from where the attack would be launched, but he knew better than to let himself get too comfortable.
Monika roamed through the void without the slightest clue about what she should do next. She thought about loading up another game but did not find anything particularly interesting.
Monika eventually stumbled upon a pair of tall, white-haired individuals standing idly up ahead. They faced away from her and were, at least at the moment, unaware of her presence.
She froze in place and pulled her Colt. Monika has no idea what sort of game they could have come from. She had never seen them before.
"Was it something I said," the long-haired man inquired.
Monika hesitated to shoot. She listened closely to their conversation.
"I don't think so, brother. Maybe they just didn't want to travel with us."
"Perhaps. No matter. I'm sure we'll figure out what's going on eventually."
"Maybe those androids know what's happening," the man with shorter hair suggested.
"Very possible, Eve. Come along, now. Let's go see if we can track them down."
Suddenly, the strange duo was consumed by a bright white light. Monika panicked at the sight of this light and immediately unloaded her cylinder in their direction.
Within an instant, they were gone. Monika had no reason to believe any of her bullets hit him.
She searched the general area for them but she was unable to find any trace of them.
They were gone. Monika scratches her head at the sight. Aside from Wyatt and her other club members, there should not be anyone else roaming around in the void. Such a thing should be impossible.
After finally giving up on finding those two, Monika picked a direction and set out in search of anyone that she could cross paths with.
Anyone at all would do so long as they could answer the questions racing through her mind.
Note: Some of the changes I plan to make include omitting a scene from the Liberty Island chapter. Monika's threatening letter is going to be replaced. Another scene I am not particularly fond of is in a later chapter. Before Monika entered Alice's world, she was thrown into a weird room Wyatt created. The idea was for her to be on her toes since he did have a line referencing other similar traps he had set, but they seem pointless in hindsight so I'll most likely alter that as well.
Aside from that, I want to add a short prologue as well as insert "Intervals" which would be mini-chapters sprinkled throughout the story. Both they and the prologue will offer brief glimpses into the real world outside of the computer.
I'll start implementing these changes with the release of the next chapter. I'm not actually sure if updating a previous chapter sends out a notification to those following this story. If it does then that would get pretty annoying for readers rather quickly, so I'll avoid that at least until the next chapter is ready for release.