Chapter 76 - Pulling Nerve Strings
Back at Gamco Inc HQ, Adam went back to his office. Sitting at his desk, he put his head down on it near the edge. Trying to think of how to solve the new crisis that occurred, he wasn't coming up with any solutions. Beginning to mildly bang his head on the desk, no bright ideas were coming to him. His mind kept going back to the unexplainable aspect of how the viruses broke through their own programming.
'...I don't understand...how could the viruses break through the Surreality program?' he asked in his mind. 'At the time, the group agreed once Surreality was activated, it would remain open. We made sure that there was no code open so that they could possibly breakthrough...and yet...they have.'
'So far...there have been reports of six of the seven demon signatures coming on the system. The one that hasn't been seen is Selbith...which doesn't make sense.'
'She, by far in comparison with the others, is the most dangerous,' Adam thought. Sitting back up, he leaned back in his chair.
'That infiltrator trait, along with the attachment piece to the breaker, makes her capable to mess with a player on an emotional and psychological level. She can go in and out of gamers menus, the main menu in the VR helmet, and seemingly possess the person she is attached to.'
'And that is making me worry,' he continued putting his hands together. 'Where is she and why isn't she being the most destructive?'
"...wait a minute..." he stated then began typing on his computer. Bringing up a search file, he inputted the Grim Reaper's code ID. He and the other programmers did this so they could track where the seven demons were at any given moment. After a pop-up window came up with an hourglass icon, a minute went by until it gave an answer.
["Selbith" virus...can not be found]
"...!?" Adam reacted veering back in surprise. "WHAT!?"
"Can not be found!? How!?" he asked out loud and looked at his desk.
'...hold on...hold on...collect yourself...I just need to do parameter adjustments to narrow the searches,' the programmer thought. Closing his eyes and taking a couple of calming breathes, he opened his eyes. Going back to the file, he typed in the condition of in the E.D.E. world. Doing a search for the three realms, she was not found. Another was done for the E.D.E. world in general, the results were the same.
'...she's...not in the world?' Adam spoke in his mind. It echoed as if he was next to a canyon. Shaking his head, he changed the filters for the search.
'...okay...how is she not in the game...has she been erased?' he thought while typing at the same time. Hitting the enter key, a hourglass icon came up and spun around for several seconds.
["Selbith" virus has not been deleted]
'...okay...' he continued and changed the parameters. 'Where was her last known location?'
[...processing...search complete.]
'...two entries...the second one was when Surreality was initiated...the first one was...today?'
"That seems strange," Adam muttered to himself and digged further into the entries.
Pulling up both at the same time, the information regarding them made him pale. There was one row of data on the second to last entry that was bewildering. But the last log confirmed what the other stated. Feeling frozen in place, he stared at his monitor confused, lost, and horrified. Putting a hand over his mouth and breathing slowly, his mind raced.
'...she...transferred herself...out of the game!?' he shouted in his mind. 'WHAT THE HELL!?'
"Hey Adam," Rodger stated walking into the office. He stopped seeing the lead programmer jump in his seat. Observing him, he saw his supervisor look like he seen a ghost.
"...you okay?"
"...no...I'm not," Adam stated with a heavy sigh and trying to calm down.
"...I would say the same...everyone in the office is feeling hopeless at the moment," the programmer stated with a downcast face. Hearing him cleaning his throat, he looked up.
"Just wanted to say that the message has been sent regarding a bug in the system. We put in saying that we are working as fast as we can to correct the issue."
"...that should be okay for the time being..." the lead stated. "...question for you."
"Yeah?"
"In a hypothetical world, say an A.I. that was in a computer system was able to come into being in the real world. And when it did so, it was placed in...a body made for it. Anyways, if that A.I. had an attachment program imbedded in its core functions, what would you say that A.I. would do first?"
"..." Rodger replied with a couple of blinks. Crossing his arms over his chest, he looked up to the ceiling and contemplated. Looking like he came up with something, he closed his eyes.
"...okay...an A.I. goes from system into a physical structure...with an attachment program, I am assuming that it is attached toward a person?"
"Yes."
"Well if it came out, its first function would be to see if the physical body is compatible with its system. After that, it might go after the individual that it was programmed to be attached to."
"..." Adam stated muzzling over what he stated. Thinking about it while leaning back in his chair, he tried something.
"Okay...say if the A.I. has been attached to the person for an extensive period of time...if separated, what would you think it would do?"
"...are we assuming the A.I. is equivalent to a human brain?" the tech asked with a quizzical expression. He saw the other man nod with a serious face.
"If that is the case...the A.I. will go into a panic attack...h-hey...?"
Without saying anything, Adam went back to his computer. Going to the second to last entry, it gave a signature of where and what VR helmet was used. Typing quickly, he opened up a world map. Copying and pasting the signature, it pinged in a location that was a few states over from HQ. Magnifying, it went further till it read from a building that was part of a hospital complex.
'...oh no...' he thought and face palmed himself with both hands. '...no no no no no...'
"H-Hey Adam...what are you trying to-!?"
"GOD DAMN IT!" Adam shouted. In a flash of frustration, he slammed both fists on his desk. Breathing deeply and growling, he saw Rodger slowly back up.
"...wait..." he stated holding up a hand. Standing up and turning to him, he closed his eyes and tried to relax.
"...sorry...I just found out...that one of the viruses is loose."
"...!?" Rodger balked and froze. "...one of the...what!?"
"Listen...I need you to take the helm here and keep trying to find a way to get the players to log out."
"...what are you going to do?"
"...do you remember the gunslinger character we just deleted recently?"
"...yeah...why?"
"Unless we find another way, he is our only ticket for fixing all of this."
[...okay...I'll see you there. Let me know when you arrive so I can start heading there] Renee stated over the phone.
"Will do. See you later," Jin replied.
[Bye Jin]
"Bye," he mentioned then hanged up. Putting his phone in his pocket, he glanced at the person next to him. Ami just looked at him with a neutral face; however, he felt that underneath it she wasn't exactly pleased.
"You do not bear responsibility...so why are you meeting her at the eatery?" she asked.
"Do remember the ones trying to get rid of me?" he said blinking with an impassive expression. She nodded.
"How much do you want a bet that they will come again?"
"...I see..." Selbith remarked then nodded. "If the others are asking for you, the ones that wanted to erase you will be seeking your aid. Are you going to help them?"
"..." Jin answered with a half frown. "...I don't know..."
"In the perspective of things...you are in the one in power."
"...really? From where I am and what has been going on since when I started this, I have not felt in power of anything."
"..." Ami reacted blinking in confusion. "...what do you mean?"
"...never mind..." he commented and gave a dismissive hand. "Just go bathe yourself."
"...what will you be doing?" she asked seeing him turn around.
"I'll go get your-" he began to say taking a step forward. Two fast hands snatched his wrists and squeezed. Closing his eyes in annoyance, he sighed through his nose.
"...clothes? What is it now?"
"You will not escape...you will not leave...you will not go...you will...bathe...here...and...now..." she said in a low threatening tone.
"...let go of me...right now..." he retorted back in a whisper. He clenched his hands into fists tightly.
"No."
"...I will not repeat myself..."
"Make me."
"Do not," Jin spoke gravely slowly turning around. His face was in a nasty glare and was in front of her face.
"...test me...Selbith."
"..." the female teen replied taking a step closer to be nose to nose with him. She gave him an equal nasty glare.
"You and I...are from the same heritage...the same class...the same demon essence...get over your sense of humanity you idiot," she began baring her teeth at him. Letting go of his wrists, she gripped his shirt and curled it into closed fists.
"I'm not the same as you...I am not a demon or a reaper...I am a human being...I'm not breaking my standards to do your bidding," he countered back showing his teeth back at her.
"I'm...giving you...one last warning...imbecile."
"..." he replied becoming even more angry. Just before both were about to do something, there was soft knocks at the door. It diffused the fast growing tension between the two. The voice from the other side of the door made both stiffen.
"...Jin...are you in there?" Samantha called softly.
"...yes mom...I'm here."
"Are you okay in there? What are you doing?" she asked. Jin bit his lip from trying to focus on how to get out of this situation. Feeling the fists on his shirt relax and let go, he looked at Ami. Seeing a cruel smile, she backed up till she was at the shower.
'...you wouldn't dare...' he stated in his mind a bit desperately. Gritting his teeth, Selbith turned the water on. Swearing in his mind, he shook his head.
"...I...was just about to take a shower mom."
"Oh...okay," Mrs. Ainsley commented. To his demise, Ami started to remove her clothes. Turning around and facing the door, he stared at it hard.
"Have you checked on Ami this morning?"
"..." both teens replied. Having removed half of her clothes, she froze and stared at the door.
"...um...sort of. Why?" Jin asked swallowing nervously.
"Well...she seems to be mumbling in her sleep. Her door is closed, but I didn't open it to check."
"...ah...maybe she is having a bad dream?"
"That's true. Anyways, don't use all the hot water hon. Let me know when you are done. I'll be downstairs."
"Okay mom," he stated. Both started hearing soft footsteps go away from the other side of the door. Once they did not hear anymore, one tension was gone for the time being. Continuing to face the door, Jin heard more clothes being removed.
"To avoid suspicion Jin...one bathing session will have to be done," Selbith stated walking behind him.
"...that is true..." he muttered while frowning. "So take a shower."
"...such a child..." she muttered then grabbed the bottom of his shirt. Pulling it up, his arms quickly pushed it down.
"Stop it!" he spoke softly with surprise.
"...I told you before...I do not care what your mortal body is. Besides, we have already seen our bareness," Ami continued and shifted. Grabbing his waistline of the sweats pants, he grabbed her hands.
"Would you quit trying to get my clothes off?!"
"Time is of the essence Jin and you are being an irrational cretin. Just remove these garments," the female teen commented and pressed herself against his back.
'I'M...GOING...TO...KILL YOU!' the sophomore raged in his mind getting worked up. Squeezing his fists harder together to be shaking, he suddenly stopped.
"...fine...let go of me..." he stated in a tense fed up tone.
"Finally letting go of your stupid mortal code of conduct?" she asked in a mocking tone. Feeling her hands being let go, he turned around. Not looking anywhere else except her face, he looked at her with scorn.
"...shut up..." Jin commented in a even hush tone.
Walking passed her, he took off his clothes. Blinking with a frown, she turned around and followed. While he was removing the last of his undergarments, she opened the shower drapes and stepped inside. Being splashed with the hot water, she heard two ginger footsteps behind her. Turning around, he still looked at her with hate though it contrasted with the redness in his face.
"Now that you have taken the baby steps toward the demon commonwealth of conduct, what are these used for?" she asked pointing at the various containers.
"...one is body soap...another is shampoo for hair...the other is conditioner," the male teen replied crossing his arms over his chest.
"...I see..." Selbith remarked and picked one up. Opening it, the scent inside came to her.
"It is fragrant...is this the only type?"
"No, there is a massive amount of variety and different scents at shops."
"I see...I have containers in the bags that man and...family brought," Ami mentioned then looked at his face. "Show me."
'...either she is really pulling my leg and has no shame...or she is insane,' he thought blinking and forcing himself to calm down. Despite her being rail thin, she was still a developing female teen. Seeing her move a little, he saw her eyes look down. Glancing back at his at, she looked at him narrowed eyes.
"...are you going to rape me?" she asked nonchalantly.
"...N-NO YOU...grrrr...!?" he reacted sharply with irritation in a hush tone. Sighing out loud, he grabbed the bottle of body soap from her hands. Grabbing a shower sponge, he applied some of the liquid on it and began to create suds.
"...J-just copy me...it isn't going to melt your skin or kill you," he began and scrubbed himself.
As he was doing so, he felt eyes watching him. Doing everything quickly, he looked back up at her. She looked at him then at his face. Handing her the sponge, he applied more soap on it. Copying him, she began scrubbing herself. While she did so, he looked at the curtains when she went south.
'...don't think about it...think dead bodies...the nightmares...the bloodshed...the carnage...' he told his mind. Feeling a little calmer and closing his eyes, he turned back to her. Breathing in and out slowly, he opened his eyes. Seeing that she finished, Ami looked back at him.
"...I oddly feel...refreshed for some reason..." she remarked looking puzzled.
"Probably because you haven't had a real shower or bath in a long long time...I mean your body hasn't."
"...I see...and the others?" she asked. Putting down one bottle, she picked up the next item.
Using the shampoo and conditioner, both washed their hair. While rinsing, Ami stared at him as he kept veering his eyes toward the curtains. Looking down and seeing that he was reacting like a male, it reminded her of the pass times a majority of demons did in hell. Strangely though, he was not responding to its instincts or lust. Looking back up at him, his face was tense.
"...is it painful to have it up this long? Aren't you going to use it?" she asked.
"...!?" Jin flinched. Opening and closing his mouth, his eyes moved quickly. He still did not look at her.
"S-Shut up. Are you done yet?"
"..." Selbith responded with a blink.
Moving away from the incoming water, she side step behind him. Watching him, he moved under the shower head. When all the suds were washed off, he turned off the water. Without stopping, he reached for something passed the shower curtains. Retrieving a towel, he handed it back to her.
"Dry yourself and your hair," he stated quietly.
Grabbing one for himself, he began rubbing the cloth against him. Seeing what it was doing, she began to do the same thing herself. He seemed to do it quickly then rubbed the towel on his head. What seemed like fast shaking movements, he removed the cloth. His hair was mostly dry.
Finished drying herself, she went to doing the same thing for her hair. When it was wet, it seemed longer and heavier than before. Going through the hair once with the towel, it seemed to barely dry it. Doing it again, the results were the same. Seeing the curtains being opened, Jin stepped out of the shower with the towel around his waist. Stepping out as well, she kept rubbing the hair with the towel.
"This hair...is cumbersome and irritating," she commented with a frown.
"...longer hair is harder and time...consuming to..." he mentioned glancing behind him. Not seeing with a towel covering herself, it was on her head. With her arms up and rubbing her hair, everything else was exposed.
"..." the sophomore replied closing his eyes. Looking back at the door, he scrunched his face feeling both agitated and stimulated.
"Time consuming to maintain?" she finished.
Going around him and looking herself in the mirror, she placed the towel on the sink counter. Grabbing all the hair in one hand, she moved it to the front. Seeing it still wet, she thought about the character being that she created. In wanting to be more of her other human self, the long hair was not a match. Looking at him, he was pinching the bridge of his nose. His lower half attachment was still the same erected state.
"Jin, is there a blade here?"
"...a blade for what?" he asked choosing to not open his eyes. Knowing she was in front of him, it didn't help him relax.
"Cutting hair."
"...why do you want to cut your hair?"
"If I am trying to achieve my true human form, I did not have long hair."
"...that is true..." Jin stated. Opening his eyes and looking down, she was still not wrapped around in a towel.
"Look...just wrap the towel around you. I know you don't care. If mom sees us, she will make sure there is separation regardless what you say or do," he began and grabbed the clothes that were on the floor. "I'll cut your hair afterwards."
"...fine..." Ami replied.
'...at least she agreed to it...' he thought standing up straight. Listening and hearing that she finished, he turned around. Looking at her and blinking, he curled his lips in. Pressing them together, he felt his right eye twitch. All she did was wrap the towel around her shoulders.
"...whatever..." he muttered and went to the door.
Putting his hand on the handle, Selbith stood behind him. Ignoring her, he slowly opened the door. Looking through the narrow opening, there was no one on the other side. Increasing the gap, he slowly peered his head out. There was no one on the second floor. Glancing at the first floor, his mother was on the couch watching TV.
'...it is now or never...' he thought anxiously.
Opening the door more, he left the ceiling fan on. Walking quickly out of the bathroom toward his, there was equal quiet footsteps following him. Reaching his room door, he opened it without being quiet. Not waiting to look at her, he ushered Ami in with a slight push on her back. Going back to the railing, he looked down.
"Shower is free mom."
"Thanks honey," Samantha commented looking back and up. "Rather quick for you."
"...I...I guess so."
"Alright streakier, go get dressed. Can't have you being a care taker that flashes everyone," she said standing up and smiling.
Her son rolled his eyes and went back to his room. Closing the door, he stood near it and put his ear to it. Listening, he could hear the TV being turned off. Shortly after, footsteps were heard going up the stairs. Walking passed his room, his mother headed for her bedroom. Hearing the door opening and not close all the way, he let of the breath he was holding.
"Looks like the coast is clear," he muttered to himself. Turning around, he saw that Selbith had opened his dresser drawer. Pulling out a shirt, she began to put it on. About to say something, he closed his mouth.
'Better than her walking around naked I guess,' he thought.
Walking over to be next to her, he grabbed a shirt. Putting it on, he closed the drawer. Opening the one with shorts or pants, he also opened the one with underwear and socks. Grabbing a one of each, he turned around toward his desk. Placing the clothes on it, he began to dress himself. Once finished, he turned around.
Feeling somewhat relieved, Ami had put on socks and pants. Seeing that the shirt and pants were big on her, she turned around. Giving him a frown, he smirked. She walked toward him and stopped in front of him. The female teen had to hold onto the pants so they wouldn't fall down.
"A bit big huh?" he commented still smirking.
"...yes..."
"Let's go to your room so you can change into your clothes. They should fit better and not be as big," Jin mentioned. Turning toward the door, he walked toward it.
"...very well..." she replied walking behind him. "And my hair?"
"There should be scissors in the bathroom downstairs."
Nodding, he opened his room door and looked outside. Hearing that water was flowing, it meant someone was taking a shower or bath. Exiting, both headed downstairs after he turned off the ceiling fan in the bathroom. Crossing the living room to the guest room, he opened it a little bit. Upon entering, there were faint sounds of static. Stopping, both looked at the VR helmet and saw that lights weakly flickered on and off.
"They are still trying to breach through," Jin commented surprised.
"...they do seem determined to find you," Ami remarked not surprised.
"...that doesn't make me feel any better. Anyways, go try out one of the clothes that came in your luggage. See if there is one that fits you."
"..." she responded with just a blink.
Seeing her go to a closet and opening it, her clothes were inside of it. Turning his attention back to the helmet, he was baffled on how it still had battery life. Assuming that it was going off and on throughout the whole night, there was little possibility that it had battery power left. After contemplating for some minutes, he did not hear someone walking toward him.
"...Jin..." Selbith called to him. Drawing his attention, he blinked and looked at her. She wore a dark red sundress with a black light dress cover up jacket. The only clothing that seemed out of place was the white socks.
"This two pieces were together on the same hanger...it provides much freedom of movement compared to others," she spoke. Hooking her thumbs under the shoulder straps, she moved the dress up and down. While doing that to show nothing restricting her, it reminded him that she wasn't wearing any undergarments. Shaking his head, he decided she looked better than in his clothes.
"That is true...at least that looks better on you than wearing my shirt and pants," he commented.
"..." Ami stated blinking. Looking at him then at herself, she felt strange again.
"...I see...in that case...I will wear this," she said. Shaking her head from the sensation, she walked toward him. Stopping in front of him, she grabbed her damp hair and pulled it over her shoulder.
"Cut this."
"...fine..." he replied with a small sigh.