AUTHOR NOTE: Hey! I know I don't have the biggest audience right now, but I wanted to make something clear. When Velma mentions that she created a multiverse box, that was an idea that I used with iamacliche's permission. That was NOT my own idea. All the rest of the ideas, however, are my own. Happy reading!
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CHAPTER 1
I'm glad that Mom let me borrow her car and didn't decide to drive me over to Shaggy's place. My stomach feels as if a swarm of butterflies randomly festered inside of me. Hmm. Maybe it's because the video game Shaggy wants to show me is quite brilliant in my opinion. Or maybe it's Shaggy himself? I'm not quite so sure, but the game he mentioned is definitely promising.
I find myself about to arrive at Shaggy's house, so I slow down the car a little. I park in front of the pathway leading up to Shaggy's front door in case his dad gets back from the precinct before I leave. I turn the ignition off, and I step outside. I lock the car and walk up to the front door. I ring the bell.
Mrs. Rogers answers the door. "Hey, sweetie! Shaggy told me you'd be coming, so I made some snacks. You look very pretty in that top." I look down at the white top I'm wearing along with my jeans and smile. I guess Daphne's advice on changing my style a little bit worked.
"Thank you, Mrs. Rogers! You didn't have to make snacks," I reply respectfully. I step inside.
"How've you been doing for the past month?" Mrs. Rogers asks as she closes the door. I can tell she's concerned about my feelings about the multiverse box I created a month back. It nearly killed Fred and Daphne after they got trapped inside.
"Fine, I guess. Apart from the occasional mean note and some mean stares, I should be fine. It's dying down quite a bit."
"Velma, don't worry. If you need someone to talk to, always know that I'll be here." Mrs. Rogers smiles and gives me a hug. At least someone cares other than my friends. Shaggy's mom is always one to see the good side in people.
I hear a door open from down the hall. "Velm! You're here!" Shaggy hurries over to me and gives me a hug, which is unexpected. I hope he doesn't notice when I blush furiously. "Like, c'mon! You'll love 'Detroit'!"
I follow him back to his room. When I enter, I'm surprised. It's much neater than I expected. The blue walls are mostly clear of posters except for one of the Beatles and another of John Lennon. His bed is made, and there's a smart TV in front of his bed. His desk is pretty cluttered, but his computer area is neat and tidy. I see Scooby running up to me. "Ri, Relma!"
"Hey, Scooby!" I kneel down, give him a hug, and rub his back. Scooby gives me a hearty kiss in return. Shaggy gives me a few tissues from his desk to wipe off the dog slobber, and I wipe the slobber from my face. I turn to Shaggy and stand up.
"You said the game is called 'Detroit'?" I ask.
"It's called 'Detroit: Become Human'. It's, like, really awesome! You should, like, try it!"
"Tell me the premise of it," I say.
"Sure! So, there are, like, three androids named Kara, Connor, and Markus. It's, like, really hard to explain, but your choices matter. Like, a lot."
"Okay, Shaggy, okay," I reply, trying to process the information while filtering out the "like's" in Shaggy's speech. "So, how do the androids work? Are they together, or…"
"No! Like, they have separate storylines. Connor is a police investigator, like my dad. Markus is a caretaker for a guy named Carl. Kara's a housemaid android with, like, a very abusive owner."
Now, my interest is piqued. Different androids, with different storylines. Not too complex, but very interesting.
"So, Shaggy, is there anything else I need to know?" I ask.
"There are, like, more than ninety-nine different endings!"
"Whoa! That's insane!" I reply. "There must've been a lot of hard work involved with this game. Do you know how long it took to develop it?"
"Four years. The script was more than, like, two thousand pages!" Shaggy smiles. "Let's play the first chapter: 'The Hostage'. It's, like, really fun."
"Wait, you finished it already?"
"Like, obviously. I don't rate games until I'm, like, finished with them." I really do like how Shaggy's mind works sometimes.
Shaggy hands me the controller and I sit down on the bed. Shaggy takes the disc out of the game box, which has half a man's face on the cover with a skyline in the background. His skin is slightly dark, and he has a blue eye.
"Who's that?" I ask, pointing to the man on the box.
"Markus. He has, like, two different eye colors."
"How?"
"You'll see," Shaggy replies with a wink. My eyes flit down to the floor, and I start blushing again. Why am I blushing so much around Shaggy all of a sudden? Shaggy inserts the disc into his PlayStation 4. Then, he turns on the console and sits with me.
"Can I, like, see the controller?" Shaggy asks. I hand it to him. He clicks the game on the menu, and then we reach the main menu of the game itself. There's a girl on the screen with blue option boxes. She's a very pretty girl, actually. Very...pure, I guess?
"Like, I forgot! There's an android on the menu screen too! Her name is Chloe. She talks to you and all that stuff. She's, like, really smart." Shaggy hands me the controller. I played video games with Shaggy before, so I know how the controller works. I click on "Chapter Selection" and click on the very first chapter. "Let the show begin!" Shaggy says enthusiastically.
The date fades into the screen at the lower left corner saying the date: "AUG 15, 2038." It fades out and is replaced by the time, which says "PM 08:29:04." The screen fades from black into a scene of an android in an elevator. The graphics are so realistic! The time fades away. I like this kind of scene opener with the date and time. His suit jacket says "ANDROID" in large letters. Below it, there's a blue triangle. Then, it says "RK800" below that. "RK800" must be his model number if I'm not mistaken. The android is flipping a coin.
"Like, that's Connor," Shaggy whispers. The camera cuts to the floor numbers, and then to Connor's eyes. It cuts to his hands, which are flipping the coin back and forth between them. Wow. This guy has skills. The elevator reaches floor 70, and the doors open.
I see a SWAT officer in the background say in his radio, "Negotiator on site. Repeat, negotiator on site." Then, the game transitions into actual gameplay. Instructions appear on the screen: "FIND CAPTAIN ALLEN." Then, I see a tutorial on the screen telling me how to move and interact with different things. After I do that, I find a picture of a family. I make Connor analyze it. It's a mother, father, and a young girl. Their names are Caroline, John, and Emma Phillips, respectively. I put the picture down. I see another SWAT officer escorting who looks to be like Caroline out. She comes up to Connor, and she looks up at him.
"Please, please, you gotta save my little girl." She looks at Connor and realizes who he is. "Wait. You're sending...an android?"
"Alright, ma'am, we need to go," the SWAT says.
"Y-you can't do that! You...w-why aren't you sending a real person?! Don't let that thing near her! Keep that thing away from my daughter! KEEP IT AWAY!" I feel the anguish in her voice as I see the SWAT practically drag her away into the elevator.
"There's prejudice against androids, I'm guessing?" I ask.
"Yeah," Shaggy replies.
I move Connor around as I start my search for Captain Allen. I find him in the master bedroom, and I go up to him. There's a choice which appears. It says, "TALK." I press it.
"Captain Allen? My name is Connor. I'm the android sent by Cyberlife?"
"It's firing at everything that moves. It already shot down two of my men. We could easily get it, but it's at the edge of the balcony. If it falls, she falls."
Then, four choices appear. I choose, "DEACTIVATION CODE."
"Have you tried its deactivation code?"
"It's the first thing we tried."
The three other choices appear again. I decide that it's best to ask about emotional shock. I click on the option.
"Has it experienced an emotional shock recently?" Allen jumps up and looks Connor dead in the eye.
"Listen. Saving that kid is all that matters, so either you deal with this fucking android now, or I'll take care of it."
"Damn," I say. "You didn't say there'd be language, Shaggy."
"It's, like, rated M. C'mon." I hear the exasperation in Shaggy's voice. I sigh. I should've looked at the box. I need to change my glasses soon. Two options appear on the screen: "SAVE HOSTAGE AT ALL COSTS" and "UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED." I decide to investigate. I go to the first area, where a gun box is open. A tiny yellow box pops up. I click on it to scan the box. Then, I reconstruct the events (using yet another tutorial that appears on the screen) and find out that the android took the father's gun.
"You should, like, go into Emma's room next," Shaggy says.
"Thanks, Shaggy," I reply as I guide Connor into Emma's very pink room. I find a tablet on her desk. I click the yellow box that appears on top of it and watch the video on the tablet. I learn the android's name: Daniel.
"Okay, Velm. Don't need to look at, like, anything else. Go to the living room. Like, you'll find more info there." I follow Shaggy's instruction and head to what looks like the living room. "Remember that there's, like, a time limit on this thing," Shaggy adds.
I see a man, presumably dead on the floor. He must be John. I guide Connor over to him, and I scan his body using the reconstruction technology. I learn that Daniel killed him, and I also learn the reason why when I scan John's bloodified tablet: he was going to be replaced. I decide that I should also scan the dead officer on the ground near the kitchen table. That's when I find his service weapon under the table. I scan the gun, and the American Androids Act of 2029 appears on the screen. It states that all androids are forbidden from carrying guns. I decide that I should take it anyways as a reassurance. Then, I go outside.
I'm greeted with a gunshot, which rips Connor's jacket sleeve and some of his actual arm.
"Stay back!" Daniel warns. "Don't come any closer or I'll jump!"
"No! No, please! I'm begging you!" Emma pleads through tears. That's it. I'm saving that girl no matter what.
"Go, go, go!" a SWAT officer shouts. An option appears with "NAME."
"Hi, Daniel," Connor says.
"How-"
"My name is Connor."
"How do you know my name?"
"I know a lot of things about you. I've come to get you out if this."
Four options come on the screen. I choose "CALM."
"I know you're angry, Daniel. But you need to trust me and let me help you."
"I don't want your help! Nobody can help me! All I want is for all this to stop...I...I just want all this to stop…"
Then, Daniel looks at Connor. "Are you armed?"
Two choices appear. I choose "LIE," because I don't want to lose my only backup.
"No, I don't have a gun."
"You're lying! I know you have a gun!"
"I'm telling you the truth, Daniel. I came here unarmed." That's when I notice an officer bleeding profusely. I inch closer to him.
Four more options appear. I decide to choose "EMMA AND YOU."
"I know you and Emma were very close. You think she betrayed you, but she's done nothing wrong."
"She lied to me. I thought she loved me, but I was wrong. She's just like all the other humans." Daniel sounds extremely vengeful and hurt.
"Daniel, no…" Emma counters through her tears. I get close enough to analyze the officer.
"He's losing blood," Connor says. "If we don't get him to a hospital, he's going to die."
"All humans die eventually. What does it matter if this one dies now?" Daniel replies vindictively.
"I'm going to apply a tourniquet." Daniel shoots at Connor.
"Don't touch him! Touch him and I kill you!" Two options appear, again. This game is more complex than I thought. I like it! I choose "IGNORE." Why would I leave someone to die?
"You can't kill me. I'm not alive." I see a box on the top right corner saying "PUBLIC OPINION." There's a blue arrow going up to the left of it. Connor rips his tie off and applies the tourniquet. Then, he stands up cautiously. I resume guiding Connor towards Daniel. I notice that my probability of success is a bit low.
The previous three options appear as well as a new one. I pick "POSSIBLE CAUSE."
"They were going to replace you and you became upset. That's what happened, right?"
"I thought I was part of the family. I thought I mattered. But I was just their toy, something to throw away when you're done with it."
The previous three options appear with a new one. I choose "SYMPATHETIC."
"Listen, I know it's not your fault. These emotions you're feeling are just errors in your software."
"No, it's not my fault," Daniel agrees. "I never wanted this. I loved them, y'know, but I was nothing to them. Just a slave to be ordered around…"
Then, Daniel flails his arms around. "Urgggh! I can't stand that noise anymore! Tell that helicopter to get out of here." Two choices appear. I realize that I have to make Daniel stable, so I choose "ACCEPT." Connor waves his hand to signal the helicopters to leave.
"There. I did what you wanted," Connor says. Four new options appear. I choose "TRUST."
"You have to trust me, Daniel. Let the hostage go and I promise you everything will be fine."
"I want everyone to leave! And I wanna car! When I'm outside the city, I'll let her go."
Four new options appear. The pressure's building inside of me, but I remind myself to stay calm. I ignore the "USE GUN" option, and I choose "COMPROMISE."
"That's impossible, Daniel. Let the girl go and I promise you won't be hurt."
"I don't wanna die…" Daniel looks like he's lost it at this point.
Four new options appear. I choose "REASSURE."
"You're not going to die. We're just going to talk. Nothing will happen to you. You have my word."
"Okay...I trust you." Daniel lets Emma go, and she runs away and falls on her hands and knees by the pool. Then, the unexplainable happens. SWAT officers start sniping Daniel left and right.
"Like, holy shit!" Shaggy shouts. I just sit there, my mouth gaping open as Daniel's blue blood is sputtered everywhere. I...I thought I had the situation under control, I-
"You lied to me, Connor. You lied to me." I look up. Daniel is on his knees, and he shuts down. I see that Connor's software instability goes up by looking at the top left corner. Captain Allen comes up and looks at Daniel in utter disbelief. Connor just looks at him coldly. Then, he walks away from the balcony. The camera cuts to the buildings, and that's where the scene ends.
"Shaggy? Why were you surprised?" I finally ask. "You said you played the game."
"But, like, I got a different ending here. Connor jumped off the building with Daniel after, like, pulling the girl to safety in, like, my playthrough."
"I see how choices matter now," I reply thoughtfully.
"I have a question," Shaggy says.
"Yeah?"
"Could you, like, build a way for us to access the world?"
"What do you mean?"
"I dunno. I mean, like, you built that multiverse box to access, like, different worlds. Can't you build, like, a way to the Detroit world?"
My heart starts racing. "Shaggy, you know what happened-"
"But it's not, like, as risky. Is it?"
"I don't think I should. Fred and Daphne nearly died the last time I built something like that!"
Shaggy grabs my hand. I blush furiously. Again. "Please, Velm. This isn't nearly as dangerous. It's just putting us in a game. There'd be an easier way to get us out!"
"Wait. You keep on saying 'us'. Why?"
"I want you to come with me, of course! You're, like, really smart. I wouldn't be able to, like, handle myself and Scooby on our own."
I sigh, quite flattered with Shaggy's praise. "Promise me that you surely want to go inside the game. I don't want to make it for nothing."
"Like, of course, Velm. And it would be, like, so much fun if you came along!"
"Okay, okay. This won't be nearly as complicated! See you at school tomorrow, Shaggy!"
"See ya, Velm!"
I wave goodbye and walk out of Shaggy's room. I turn to Mrs. Rogers, who is cooking in the kitchen. "Bye, Mrs. Rogers! It was fun hanging out!"
"Bye, sweetie!" I exit the house, get out the car keys from my pocket, and get inside. Then, I turn on the ignition, and start my drive back home.