Chapter 79 - Brewing of Secrets
"Your mom is playing a good homewrecker role," Jin muttered at the right side of his mouth.
"...I'm sorry...I am really embarrassed and angry at her," Renee whispered at the left side of her mouth.
"...why did you dress up?"
"...mom persuaded me to...she stated that Selbith would too."
"...that is some fearful keen sense..." he commented. About to ask something, he felt someone scoot closer to him on his left side. Feeling physical contact of being shoulder to shoulder, he glanced to his left. Ami drank her hot chocolate then held the mug with two hands in front of her.
"...Jin..." she whispered.
"...yes...?" the sophomore responded. Speaking out of the left side of his mouth, he tried to remain relatively still.
"The thief's parent is...intense."
"...indeed..." the male teen agreed.
"Why did the thief dress like a whore?"
"..." Jin reacted felling his mouth twitch. About to answer, he stopped then kept his mouth closed. Grabbing his beverage and taking a sip, Renee scooted over. Only seeing her in his peripheral, he had a feeling she heard the question.
"...Hey Jin..." she began evenly and leaned her head closer to his. "Why not ask her why she is dressed up like an exhibitionist?"
"..." he replied with sighing through his nose.
"If she looked at what the female mortals wore as prostitutes in the other realm, she would fit right in," Ami remarked turning her head toward him.
"Sorry...not exhibitionist. More like anorexic slut," Renee retorted turning her head toward him.
"..." the sophomore answered again.
Blinking and looking up, the adults were watching them. Both his father and Tiffany were staring with surprised faces. Gene was watching looking intrigued. It made him wonder if this seemed like what one of his brother's TV shows were. Samantha was the only one that still had a stiff look and body position.
"Yes mom?" Jin asked turned his head toward her.
"..." Mrs. Ainsley reacted with blinking and staring at him. Mentally shaking her head, she still felt overly irritated and restrained. If she didn't change how she was feeling, she would pop.
"...oh nothing...just amused to see you get attention," she stated with a tight smile.
"..." he responded with a small nod. He kept a blank expression and chose a neutral response.
"...glad to hear that this is entertaining for you."
'She looks far from looking entertained,' Alex, Renee, and Selbith thought at the same time.
"...how have you been Tiffany?" Samantha asked turning her head toward her. The question seemed to catch her off guard a little.
"Tell us what you have been up to."
"...sure..." Renee's mom stated then began to tell about herself after high school.
Having left HQ and checking the flights, Adam traveled to the airport. Not needing things for a stay over, he carried only his work laptop in a shoulder strap bag. Once he parked in the lot, he headed for the main terminal. Entering and buying a ticket at the counter, it was to the nearest airport near the player's town. Deciding on renting a car, ti was the least expensive option than have to use a taxi to go anywhere. The flight that he would be on left in an hour which gave him time.
Getting through security and reach where the plane would be, he had a good amount of minutes before departing. Sitting at a bench, he got his laptop out. Turning it on, he began to access files and prep things for the flight. Hearing the boarding announcements after some time, he put his computer into airplane and sleep mode. Closing it and putting it back in his bag, he waited in line to be called in.
Once on the plane and in his seat, he waited anxiously for the plane to leave. Hearing the overhead announcements, the airplane started to move. Once it got in position on the landing strip, it took off. After ascending up into the sky for several minutes, the aircraft began to level out. After making a gradual turn toward a direction, it headed off to its destination.
During the flight, Adam pulled out his laptop and opened it. Accessing the files again, he began arranging and formatting a master file. The flight was a few hours long, but the time zone change would give him an hour back. It took him the whole flight to accomplish a majority of what he was trying to put together. Once he reached the airport, he would call the local Gamco building. Letting them know he was coming, it would speed up what he was trying to achieve.
"...since coming back to town, I've just been working and doing my thing," Tiffany finished explaining her story of after high school and onwards. Looking at Samantha and Alex, both were looking at her with surprised faces.
"...what...?"
"Sorry...I'm just surprised you were married," Mrs. Ainsley stated getting out of her train of thought.
"Oh...you didn't think I would?"
"Given how you were in high school, could you honestly say you would have found someone to settle down with?" she asked with a smirk. "Or settle down in general."
"..." Tiffany responded with a tight smile. "...I can't argue that...besides...you two together...talk about a riot."
"What's that suppose to mean?" Jin's mother asked.
"What happened with you and Derek? You two were "so" compatible with each other," she stated making quotations with her hands.
"..." Samantha replied with a tense face. Her smirk went away as she took a sip of her coffee.
"...I had a phase...and then got over it."
"Really?" Renee's mother questioned with a smirk. "A three year phase?"
"...yeah...so what?" she asked giving her a small frown.
"Then after that...you went after this guy," she stated and rested her forearm on Alex's left shoulder. He just stiffened a little.
"How did that happen?"
"..."
"Awe come on," Tiffany stated leaning more. "I spilled my story...spill the beans."
"...one thing..." Samantha asked and reached her hand toward her. Grabbing her forearm, she pushed it off his shoulder. Letting go, she leaned back. Tiffany kept the smirk.
"Yeah?"
"Keep your hands off my husband."
"Heh...touchy are we?"
"I'm not loose like you so don't try it with me."
"...loose huh..." Tiffany stated with a small sly grin. "You wanna say that again...princess?"
"..." Mrs. Ainsley clenched her teeth. About to speak, she stopped. Feeling many eyes staring, she turned her head to the right. Her sons and the two female teens were watching them quietly. Trying to calm down, she adjusted her position a little. Breathing in and out, she gave in.
"...okay..." she stated then addressed the children. "...I'm sorry...but could you four...not listen to this?"
"..." Renee and Gene reacted with surprise. Both Jin and Selbith held stoic expression; however, both female teens saw his hands closed into fists. Putting his hands on the table, the sophomore spoke.
"...fine..." he stated with indifference then turned to the junior. "Excuse me."
"..." Renee reacted with a blink then looked at him.
Nodding slightly, she scooted off the bench. Seeing him get off while grabbing his drink, Ami followed him with her beverage. Without saying anything, Jin walked passed the open tables next to the booth. Sitting down at one that was hard to hear them, his back was turned toward the adults. Selbith walked to the chair adjacent from him and sat down.
Gene pouted a little then got off the chair. Putting it back at the table he took it from, he retrieved his glass and went toward where his brother was. Renee stood looking back and forth for a second. Feeling awkward, she grabbed her drink then left the parents. Taking the last open seat that was across from Jin's, she sat down. With them separated, she saw different expressions.
On the sophomore's face, he looked agitated. Seeing his younger brother looking upset, both didn't say anything. Glancing at the adults, she blinked in surprise. Tiffany's expression changed rather quickly. She seemed a bit worried then looked at the Ainsleys. Alex looked a bit drained and down at the table. Samantha looked guilty as if she pushed them away.
'...this is way too intense in the morning...' the junior thought feeling that this morning gathering was slowly deteriorating.
"...Jin...?" Ami asked.
"...yes...what is it?" he responded with a tired tone.
"Your family relations...seem to be increasingly fragile."
"...you don't say doctor..." the male teen stated with a mild sarcastic voice. "Do you have a recommendation for that?"
"...no...I don't..." she replied then took a sip of her hot chocolate.
"...hey brother...?" the boy called looking at the table.
"...yeah...?"
"Keeping secrets...is okay. Right?" Gene asked. It seemed to make Renee blink in surprise.
"...based on how things have been going and what we talked about before...yes. Keeping secrets is normal."
"However...they do not develop good ties or trusts with others when found out," Selbith added.
"..." Renee added feeling uncomfortable. Glancing back at the adults, they began to converse with one another. Shaking her head, she decided to change the subject.
"Hey...now that it is just us, let's talk about the real situation at hand."
"...alright..." Jin commented and sat up more.
"Very well," Selbith stated placing her mug down.
"...?" Gene responded looking at them confused. "...the real situation?"
"It is about E.D.E.," the sophomore explained. "Something happened in the game that caused...chaos to happen. The three of us are having a...party meeting to discuss about."
"Really? I wanna know! Let me listen!" the boy said excited and curious. He smiled seeing his brother nod his head.
"Is it wise to let your sibling know when he isn't involved?" Ami asked.
"Since he has a VR helmet and the possibility of what's happened affecting him is high, he should know what is going on."
"...is that why my headset is on the shelf in my closet?" the child asked looking alarmed.
"...yes..." Jin answered then looked down. "I'm sorry I did that without asking you...I was a bit concerned from what hapened."
"I thought mom came into my room and did that...she was angry yesterday," Gene spoke. "Why did you do that?"
"...well..." he began then looked around him.
Both female teens watched how his actions were making his younger sibling looked more intrigued. Seeing that the coast was clear, the older brother leaned toward him. Ami and Renee leaned forward to hear. Listening to Jin explain the entire situation up till the present, the teens leaned back in their seat. Looking at the boy, there were a mixture of emotions on his face.
"...whoa...that sounds...so cool and scary at the same time," Gene reacted looking interested and a little scared at the same time.
"Yeah...so don't tell mom or dad or anybody else about. Can you keep it a secret?"
"You bet!" the boy said with strong affirmation and a smile. Blinking, he felt a hand being placed on his left shoulder. Looking at his brother's face, he gave a rare expression to him.
"Thanks Gene. I'm counting on you," Jin responded with a warm smile.
"..." the younger sibling reacted with a small nod then gave a large smile.
'...so he can be affectionate...' Renee thought finding this side of the sophomore attractive.
"..." Selbith reacted staring at his expression. Though she could understand that what he did proved to be affective to gain loyalty of his sibling, it made her feel strange. Recognizing the sensations again, there was an odd pull. Her instincts felt drawn to what he displayed. Bizarre to her, a want came to her head.
'...how strange...' she thought blinking. Looking down at her hands, they were fidgeting.
'If this is how strong mortal emotions and desires are...and he is not an incubus nor emits aphrodisiacs...no wonder mortals are so weak.'
'...then again...demons do not resist urges or lust...it is more effective on those that try to resist them.'
"You two okay?" Jin asked looking at them. Both female teens blinked and got out of their trance. They nodded their heads.
"...kay...so I think what we should decide on is whether to help or not help the situation in E.D.E. Right?"
"To what I have seen and the individuals involved, I still say there is no obligation to aid the creators," Ami stated plainly. "With the other six demons in control, survival is already deemed a fool's errand."
"Maybe not the people that made E.D.E. But, there are all those players that are trapped," Renee commented. "All of them are not involved with what has happened. They are just innocent bystanders. We should consider saving them."
"You forget thief...those mortals chose to go to those three realms," Selbith corrected then turned her head toward her. "It is by their greed of adventure and gluttony for treasure that they stepped into those forbidden spaces."
"That only happened because the higher ups in the game company fooled all of them," the junior retorted back. Turing her head toward the young Felmort, she gave a stern look.
"They sent communication across all channels of what Surreality was. They feed everybody that it was a long winded expansion they just finished making."
"And a majority of them blindly trusted the words of the creators," Ami spoke back and gave a look of dark amusement to her. "The masses are so easily persuaded and gullible."
"You don't understand. It isn't like how the NPCs are in the game or how the public AI acts in the towns," Renee responded with a small frown. "This is supposed to be a game of fun and entertainment. The makers have to follow guidelines to act within regulations and ensure that the public knows this is safe and strictly for playing."
"..." the rail thin teen spoke then slowly grew an amused face. So much so, she started laughing.
"W-What's so funny!?" the female teen stated surprised. At the same time, she found her mirth to be irritating.
"Dark gods following...heh heh...a moral and social code when their true purpose was opening Armageddon?" she asked while still chuckling. Calming down with a smile, she looked down at her.
"What are you all...delusional and insane pacifists?"
"Grr. Talking to you is pointless," the junior stated dismissively. Looking at the boys at the table, Jin was looking down in thought while Gene appeared engrossed on the subject. Still wanting to prove a point, she spoke.
"Hey Gene," she asked. His head turned toward her and gave her his full attention.
"Yeah?"
"...you really seem into this..."
"I've only ever been in one party discussion before...but this sounds so much more serious," he began. "You two are in a party with a Grim Reaper whose been from Hell and back...that sounds wicked."
'...how impressionable...' she and Jin thought at the same time. Both glanced at Ami and saw a smug on her face.
"...right...anyways Gene. You play an MMO on your headset. Right?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Do you get notifications of updates and expansions?"
"...yes..."
"You trust that everything the makers state or do is for just increasing the game's playability. Right?"
"...I...guess so," he responded with scratching the side of his head.
"See," Renee stated and looked at Ami.
"...I see..." Selbith began than looked at the older brother. "...Jin...?"
'Jin will agree with me. He isn't delusional like her that only understands what she knows in the game,' the junior thought.
"...hmm...?" he replied and looked at her tired.
"Do you remember the updates that you received?"
"...yes..."
"Were the updates...as the thief says...something that you trusted?"
"...initially yes...then no..."
"...oh..." she spoke then placed her elbows on the table. Aligning her forearms with one on top of the other, she leaned forward.
"And why is that?"
"..." the sophomore replied. Opening his mouth, he closed it from seeing Renee put her hands on the table.
"Hey. Wait a minute. Jin was being specifically targeted. His is a special case."
"Answer the question Jin...explain to her that she is a fool," she repeated and leaned forward more.
"..." he answered. Only blinking, Renee turned to him and leaned forward as well.
"Explain to her that she is the fool because she doesn't understand."
"..." Jin gave a small frown. Reaching toward his glasses, he took them off. Getting the napkin on the table, he began cleaning them. Waiting for a couple of seconds, he saw both of them not moving from their position. Glancing at his brother, his face was blushing heavily.
"What are you two...trying to pull exactly?" he asked looking at his glasses. About to put them back on, he could see a reflection of behind him. Seeing the expression of his parents and Renee's mom faces, he now felt embarrassed.
"...?" both female teens responded.
Selbith glanced at the younger sibling. Recognizing the face and that his eyes were staring lower that her face, she looked down. Seeing that she was almost exposed, she moved her head back straight. Looking Renee, she had some exposure. Seeing what the bra did, it didn't change her out look of wearing one.
'...huh...?' Renee thought seeing movement behind him.
It was her mother who had a tight smile on her face and was making a lift gesture in front of her. Blinking and thinking about her position, she immediately leaned back. Red in the face, she looked irritated at the boys. Gene immediately looked down and still was red in the face. Jin put on his glasses and adjusted his sitting position. Knowing that he crossed his legs, it meant that he saw.
Seeing movement to her right and turning her head, Selbith was adjusting her dress's shoulder straps. Seeing that she didn't even have a shred of shame, it made her more annoyed. Biting the inside of her lip, she adjusted her blouse around her chest.
Back at the adult table, Samantha was in the middle of explaining about what happened after high school. She stopped when she noticed movement at the table were the children were. Turning her head a little and observing, she stopped. Seeing Mrs. Ainsley staring, the other two looked over. When the two female teens were leaning too far forward, Mrs. Ainsley heard an annoyed sigh.
Turning her head to the left, Tiffany was giving silent gestures. In the process, she saw that Alex was still staring. Focusing on him, she saw in her peripheral that the two girls sat back in their seats. Seeing the other woman sigh out loud again, she immediately turned toward her. The tight smile stayed as her focus shifted toward him.
"Like what you see Alex?" she asked sweetly. He snapped out of his staring and looked at her.
"See what?"
"Oh come now," Tiffany continued and poked his arm. "You trying to play innocent and tell me that you didn't see that."
"I don't know what you are talking about," he persisted then turned to Samantha. Hoping that she wouldn't have the same mindset as the other, her expression was a pleased one.
"H-Honey...why are you looking at me like that?"
"I don't know Alex...you tell me," she stated. At the same time, she put her hand on his right ribs. Putting her thumb on one, she pushed in firmly causing him to cringe.
"Did you see something interesting at the kids table?"
"Other than that Derek's and Tiffany's daughter leaning toward Jin...they seemed a bit animated."
"That is true," the other woman agreed. Putting her left elbow on the table, she rested her head on her left hand.
"Are you saying you weren't looking at them young vibrant flashers?"
"...I-I wasn't..."
"Hmmmm?" Tiffany mentioned with a smirk. Blinking, she looked at Samantha.
"Tell me Sammy, has he been going through phases of a mid-life crisis?"
"...not to my knowledge..." she replied then moved her eyes only to him. She pressed her thumb more.
"Are you?"
"...n-n-no...you are hurting me."
"I know...why do you keep staring at Ami? You've been acting weird ever since you have met her."
"It's because...of how sickly thin she is," he stated. Moving his left hand to grab the thumb that was jabbing into his ribs, it felt caught for some reason. Turning his head to the left, Tiffany was holding it.
"Is that the only reason? You are hiding something aren't you?"
"...I am not."
"You said that it was a matter between only you and Derek...why?" Samantha asked.
"That's what he wants. Just to keep it between ourselves."
"Too bad this isn't high school," Renee's mother stated still holding his arm. "I would have started beating you up until you told me."
"..." Alex reacted with glaring at her. Just about to open his mouth, someone slowly came into view. It was the waiter.
"...um...is there something wrong?" he asked. Both women let go of him and gave an apologetic smile.
"No...just having a close chat about the old times," Mrs. Ainsley mentioned.
"...I see...did something happen for the kids to be sitting over there?" Dale questioned with concern.
"We had adult talk and didn't want to bore them with our babbling," Tiffany explained. "Would it be an issue for them to be there?"
"N-No. It is fine. We aren't that busy right now so it is okay," he stated with a nervous smile.
Turning to his assistant, he passed the dishes to them first. Going to the other table, he passed out their breakfast. Asking them for anything else other than refills, the youngsters shook their heads. Leaving them, both tables were quiet. The occupants slowly began to eat in an awkward silence.
Having finished what he wanted to complete on the plane, Adam put everything away and spent the rest of the time trying to rest and relax. Once the plane reached the airport, it took more time of waiting until it was docked. Grabbing his luggage and departing the plane, he headed straight for the rental car kiosks. Going through all the paper work of getting a vehicle, he was bused to the one of the space area where the parked automobiles were. Entering the building and finalizing all the documents, he was handed the keys.
Going to the car and putting his luggage in, he got into the driver seat. Getting his cell out, he called the local Gamco Inc. building. Speaking with Phil about when he will arrive, the supervisor there stated they'll be ready for him. Ending the call, he typed the address to that place on the GPS. Getting directions, he exited the lot and airport.
'Phil stated that they have the player's helmet...and that it was a prototype one,' Adam thought driving on the highway. 'If it is one of the few ones that I thought we got rid of years ago...then this will be more difficult.'
'Not only that...but that head gear had special features installed in it to increase the interactive capabilities of virtual reality.'
'...if the kid refuses to help...then I might have to go through the drastic measures again,' he pondered and frowned at the idea. 'I hope I don't have to...but after what Mr. Bennett tried to do...and what I tried to do...'
"..." Adam stated sighing out loud and shook his head.
'And that is not the most of anxiousness...I need to know where did Selbith go...'
'My best guess is that she permanently transferred herself to the VR headset that was at the hospital...and given that the player was there as well...he took it and is using that headset.'
"...that has to be it..." he muttered to himself. "There is no other way that Selbith could have escape E.D.E."