Chapter 113 - Secret Unfolding
Back in the outskirts of Sage County, Rogue, Selbith, Lamia, and Empusa were still locked in the time stop command. However after a few hours in, two individuals started having fraction movements. Only lasting a millisecond, the frequency was many minutes in between. After the first hour, the gaps between the minimalist moves became smaller. By the end of the second hour, both players had moved a step or so and blinked.
When the third hour came, the gunslinger and holy thief were moving in stop-animation. Unable to communicate or understand what is going on around them, they solely focused on trying to move more. Nearing the 4th hour and seemingly breaking out of the spell, both were able to move relatively normal. Breathing from immense exhaustion and weakness, drips of sweat were coming down from all over their body. Lowering to the ground and lying down, they stared at the black, white, and gray world.
"...wha...hap...pened...?" Renee huffed out the question through breathes.
"...time...has...been...stopped," Ami answered breathing deeply and feeling a burning sensation of her lungs.
"...who...has...that...pow...er...?"
"...Lam...mash...tu...or...that...bast...ard...crea...tor..."
"..." the thief replied with continuing to inhale and exhale air to recover.
They seemed to recover when 10 minutes went by. Standing up on their own, Rogue felt like she just finished a long distance run. Turning around and looking at the two female demons, both were still frozen in place. Walking in front of them, not light reflected from their eyes or sights of motion occurred from them. Suppressing the urge to wave her hand in front of them and snap her fingers, her eyes wondered around them.
"..."Time Stop" is an actual magic spell?" she asked looking back at the gunslinger.
"It is...however...it requires not only a mass amount of mana, but an enchantment to effect the time and space of this realm."
"So...it would only affect this world, but not the other realms. Right?"
"Correct," Selbith mentioned. Glancing at her, she saw the thief open up her menu. Seeing that the messaging option was opened up, she headed toward her to get a closer look. Stopping a few feet away, the image of the character of DK appeared. Remembering who that was, there was an error message that appeared.
["Time Stop" engaged. Can not send message]
"...?" Renee reacted with a blink. Turning to the gunslinger, even she looked a little surprised.
"This spell...is also affecting Hell too?"
"..." Ami answered with looking down in thought.
Unsure how to answer, the aspect that the dark goddess was the one that initiated it seemed to fit. However, she remembered what happened when Surreality was activated. It wasn't by all seven becoming free. The event was triggered from the creators end. Looking at the thief, she was looking down in thought as well.
"If Hell is affected from the spell...then it is more likely casted over the entirety of this world and others connected to it," Selbith stated.
"This sort of reminds me of Surreality," Rogue mentioned then looked up at her. "How it didn't initiate until me and Jin talked out loud about it from the notification we got...so that must mean Adam or the creators are pulling this off."
"I concur...with that in mind," the gunslinger began then opened up her menu. "These two can be exterminated without them knowing."
"...why do you want to kill them? Did they tease and push your buttons too much?" the thief asked holding back a smirk. Seeing the other just blink with a blank expression, she opened up her items menu.
"If Jin's goal is to kill off the other viruses to create his own world, then that is fine."
"...hey...that isn't Jin. He just doesn't go on a killing spree...it is whatever has infect him that is making him do this acts of fatalities," Renee remarked trying to defend him. She heard a short laugh from the gunslinger.
"You and your humanistic ideals...don't you see he has been turned? He is not a HUMAN any more," Ami corrected. Finding the items she was looking for, there was nothing on hand that she could use to convert into ammunition.
"In here, no. Outside of this, he is. Don't write him off as someone that is closer to your ideal."
"Oh...but he is," she informed. Closing out the windows, she looked at Renee with a smirk.
"In your sick, twisted, and delusional mind...he probably is," Rogue stated with a neutral expression then sighed in irritation. "Whatever."
"Giving up on him already? I am sure I can fulfill his needs more than yours."
"I am quite sure you CAN'T bonehead."
Without another word, the thief turned around and vanished. Watching her head deeper into the central post strip of Sage County, the gunslinger continued her mocking smirk. Closing her menu and turning toward the town, she went to where the item shop was. Entering it and looking around for one of the conversion items, there were none available. Ignoring the fleeting presence of the thief going further south, Selbith spent more time in searching the shop. Finding nothing, she went to the others to find conversion items.
'Damn her,' Renee thought doing repeated "Vanishing Steps". Going south to where the next town was, she wanted to get away from the gunslinger. Just the thought of her made her blood boil a little.
'I have had it with her. She can rot in here for all that I care.'
'Thinks she can just up and claim someone as hers,' she continued making a bitter face.
'Thinks she knows him better than I do.'
'All she has done is be a possessive stalker, a delusional psycho, and only has caused him suffering,' she said gritting her teeth. Tightening everything, she saw that she was getting more distance with each "Vanishing Step" she did.
'If she wants a monster she thinks she morphed into, then I will take him away.'
'I prove that he is just Jin trapped and infected...and once he is cured from, I will see to it that he only sees me as the real interest.'
'That little fool thinks she knows who Jin really is,' Selbith thought smirking going into the next shop. Searching through the inventory, there were some useful items but none that she was looking for. Stealing them and exiting the building, she tried the next one.
'The bond that we have...the bloodline we share...the death we have caused...we have the same ability,' Ami continued.
Reaching the neighboring shop and entering, she searched it. Finding only a minimal amount, it was a start. Exiting the building, she opened up her menu. Going toward the items menu and using the conversion tool, she was able to make a full clip. Exiting out of the menu, she pulled the large handgun out. Reloading it, she grinned and vanished.
Appearing closer and closer to the two viruses, she materialized in front of them. Without hesitation, she put the muzzle of the gun point blank at Empusa's head. Firing three shots, the image of the demon's neck and head became pixelated. As if the impacts caused small fractions of quick movement, there was a clear indication that Empusa's head was obliterated in suspended animation.
"And now...for you," Ami spoke and moved the gun.
Pointing the gun barrel dead center in the water demon's, unloaded the remaining bullets. Seeing the water serpent demon's head and neck become pixelated, the gunslinger leaped far back away from them. Pointing the gun at the two, her body started glowing green. Once it converged to the muzzle of the gun, her gave a sadistic smile. Pulling the trigger, a large energy shot burst forth.
Travelling and impacting the two, a half-dome space of 12 feet in diameter and several feet in the air became pixelated and blurred. Sliding hard on the ground from the immense recoil, Selbith kept standing and pointing the weapon at them. Coming to a stop, she grinned at what would be waiting for them when they were unfrozen. Lowering the gun and standing straight, her HUD stated that ammunition was depleted. Thinking about where she would go to collect more conversion items, Trentavila seemed the best option.
'...besides...' the gunslinger said in her mind. Pulling out a Hell runestone, she tried activating it. Seeing it not working due to the "Time Stop" spell, she stared at its gloss surface.
'...we have shared something...' she mentioned seeing her reflection. Looking at it and staring at her face, the memory of getting closer to him and the promise he made came. Feeling tingly inside, there was faint warmth on her cheeks. Surprised from feeling it, she touched her lips in wonder.
'...and have yet to confirm our bondage...'
Giving herself a cruel smile, she put the rune away. Turing toward the North, she activated "Fast Reactions" and "Heightener". Covering much ground, she continued till she reached the metropolis she was previously at. Knowing that the thief would try and save Jin from his accented form, a part of her believed her efforts to be folly. Feeling the corners of her mouth curl upward more, she grinned again.
'No matter what she does...I have already told her that she can not have him...Jin and I are inseparable...he is...mine.'
Waiting for Derek to enter in the cafeteria, both Alex and Tiffany sat in awkward silence. After thinking of what to talk about, she turned her head toward him.
"Hey Alex?"
"Yes?" he said looking at his coffee cup.
"Do you still do that hobby that you had back in high school?"
"..." Mr. Ainsley answered with rotating his drink a little. "...yes..."
"Really?" the woman asked surprised.
"...yes..."
"Are you part of a club or still by yourself?"
"...I found a group that shares the same hobby..."
"When did you join them?"
"College years."
"Been with them ever since?"
"For the most part, yes."
"..." Tiffany said frowning a little bit. Moving her hand and poking his cheek, she got him to look at her.
"Acting like your old self of short answers and not looking at who is talking to you...it doesn't make you look cute."
"...I see..." he replied then looked back at his coffee. Hearing her grunt a little, she moved her finger and poked his ribs.
"Stop that."
"I don't like this awkward atmosphere," she commented. "If you don't want to talk about it, just say so. I just thought talking about your hobby would have lighten the mood till Derek shows up."
"...you remember what your gang did when I brought in a portion of my hobby to school as part of a science project?" he asked turning his head toward her. Not showing her a bitter expression, he looked at her with a cold demeanor.
"..." Tiffany replied with pressing her lips together a little. Knowing that she was going to feel guilty, she fought back and got into his face.
"Hey...don't you lump me in with them. I stopped them from crushing that model of yours and gave it back to you."
"I remember you doing that...but your friends stole it later on that day," he continued not changing his tone.
"...what?" she reacted with surprise. "They never told me that."
"They burned it in one of the oil barrel trash cans near your turf area...while you didn't come to school for a couple of days, each one would remind me of how shitty the model was and that I was a complete loser," Mr. Ainsley explained then turned back to his cup. He ignored the shock look on her face.
"And when you came back, they stopped doing that and never mentioned it again."
"...you never spoke to us and avoided us ever since then," the woman said finally making the connection. "...I didn't know...I just thought that..."
"...it doesn't matter anymore..." Alex mentioned in a neutral tone and took a sip of his drink. Putting it down on the table, he felt two hands get placed on his arm. Glancing back at her, his eyes widen a little.
"...I'm...I'm sorry..." Tiffany spoke softly with a guilty look and tone in her voice. "...I...I really didn't know..."
"..." he said not expecting her to go this direction. Seeing her look up at him, he felt his mouth part from feeling surprised.
"...could...could you forgive me?...for being such a bitch back then?"
"...uh...um...y-yeah," Alex responded still in shock. Seeing the relief look on her face, he still looked at her with oddity and confusion.
"Am I missing something between you two?"
"...!?" both flinched from hearing Derek's voice. Looking at the other side of the table, Mr. Felmort was standing there with an amused look on his face. Both reset their expressions and Tiffany let go of Alex's arm.
"We were just clearing misunderstandings from the past," she clarified looking at him with a neutral expression.
"I bet...seeing emotional responses of a softer side from you is photo worthy," he stated then gave and open palm gesture to them. "Please...continue."
"..." Mr. Ainsley remarked with a frown. "We finished what he talked about...what did you want to discuss about?"
"Down to business so quickly...what a shame," he said with a small shoulder shrug. Taking a seat across from them, he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I asked a couple of my sources to see what efforts are being done for the numerous amount of individuals trapped with the VR headsets. From what they have gathered, they haven't heard much of solution. However, it seems the gaming company has found a way for getting the victims out."
"My son told me this morning about the number of players that have logged out so far," Mr. Ainsley added.
"He found that on the company website I presume?"
"Yes."
"As slow as that is, it is at least something," Mr. Felmort remarked and saw both nod their heads. "The other part my sources stated that this..."entrapment"...of the gamers was premediated."
"...!?" Alex and Tiffany reacted with surprise. Both saw Derek give a small frown then continued.
"The expansion that the company released then closed down shortly after...was the front for the viruses that got into their mainframe."
"...how credible are your resources?" she asked not fully believing what he stated
"...what do you think Alex...old buddy?"
"...they are usually accurate...from what I have experienced and how you get that information."
"Why thank you," Derek stated with a smile.
"Strong arming and intimidating as usual huh?" Tiffany remarked and crossed her arms over her chest. Her comment made him snort.
"That is pretty harsh to say Sandy...I prefer...negotiations," he clarified. He didn't flinch when she leaned forward and put her fists on the table.
"...don't...try it...understand?" she spoke with a threatening tone.
"Heh heh..." Mr. Felmort chuckled a little then raised his hands. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."
'...I can image from all the time she spent in detention...and his position on the student council...she would hold resentment toward him,' Alex thought. Seeing her face become scary as if her buttons were being pushed, he put a hand on her shoulder.
"H-Hey...we are drawing attention from others," he spoke in a quiet tone.
"..." Derek responded keeping his hand position and mocking expression.
"..." Tiffany reacted with just keeping her glaring face and fists on the table.
"Dad?" a small boy called. The three blinked and turned their heads toward the cafeteria entrance. Coming into the space was first Gene followed by Samantha. From what they could see, the child looked hungry while Mrs. Ainsley was giving a grave expression toward all of them.
"What are you two doing here?" Alex asked carefully then looked at his wife. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed still?"
"Mom got cleared by the doctor and took us to see big brother," his son stated stopping next to him.
"I see," he spoke looking at his child then back at Samantha. She stopped near the table.
"Morning Sammy," Derek greeted while turning his head toward her and nodding. Seeing the unamused expression on her face, she looked at him and nodded.
"Morning Derek."
"How are you feeling?" Tiffany asked calming down. Seeing that the woman's face never changed, she didn't try to tease or poke fun at her.
"I am awake...that is about as much as I can describe at the moment."
"How was Jin?" Mr. Ainsley asked trying to bring down the immediate suspense atmosphere.
"..." she answered glancing at him. "Other than looking more like a vampire...his readings were stable."
"Take a seat," Mr. Felmort began and stood up.
"..." Mrs. Ainsley responded with only moving her eyes toward him. It only made him give an airy snort of amusement.
"Correct me if I am wrong...what you eat when you are like this in the morning...is it still the same?"
"...relatively...yes..."
"Heh heh," he commented then looked down at her son. "And what would you like...Gene?"
"...um...orange juice and a pastry...Mr. Felmort," the boy answered looking a little startled. Before Derek could question further, Samantha spoke.
"Any one that is not jam filled is fine."
"Very well," he stated then walked to the beginning of the cafeteria. As he left, Tiffany began to get up when someone stopped her.
"You can sit there," Mrs. Ainsley mentioned and sat in the seat that was across from Alex. Seeing Gene get into the chair next to her, Tiffany moved back down to sit. As much as she wanted to create a wedge, she felt being level was fairer for the time being.
"I only caught the tail end of the conversation," Samantha said blinking. "About the probable conspiracy that the gaming company intentionally did this to all the patients affected."
"Y-Yeah," Mr. Ainsley began nodding his head. "Derek stated that one of his sources was telling him that it was a premeditated plan...but I think that is only a guess without much proof."
"Based on how things have gone so far and the incidents with you two and Jin...pretty sure it was premeditated," Tiffany added in.
"...yeah...every since that admin guy visited...they have only caused trouble," Samantha agreed.
"I-I was reading on the online forums about the gamers trapped in E.D.E.," Gene spoke nervously. "A couple that were able to log out made a post. They were saying that something weird happened in the game."
"...?" the adults responded with giving the child their attention. Seeing they were looking at him, he fidgeted but continued.
"All of them stated that everything stopped and colors turned gray...like if time and space stopped and they were stuck."
"...how were they able to get out?" Alex asked.
"They stated that someone or something grabbed them. Before they knew it, they were thrown into something that was bright and white. After that, they woke up."
"So...would that be the company's tech support doing that?" Tiffany asked then saw him shake his head no.
"Usually if admin pulls you out, you just suddenly are logged out. From their posts," he began then looked at Samantha. "...they were saying something cold and clammy touched them...and looked like a pale person."
"That sounds...creepy," she remarked.
"...cold...clammy...pale..." Mrs. Ainsley repeated out loud. The group heard footsteps and turned to see Derek with a tray. Setting it in the middle, it had three drinks and five pastries on it.
"If I recall correctly," he began. Turning toward a table and grabbing a chair, he placed it near the side of the table and sat down.
"That seems to fit the description of Jin's condition currently."
"When I visited him and held his hand," Samantha began then looked at her hand. Part of her arm got goosebumps from remembering it.
"I couldn't hold it for long from it was...so bizarre and eerie. The doctor stated that all of his vitals were stable and functioning normally...which I have doubt they are from him looking like that."
"Maybe if we find that doctor again, we can see what is going on from the kids point of view," Alex mentioned which made his wife blink confused.
"Hmm...that is true...it would validate my sources if that game world has come to a complete stand still," Derek commented.
"...are you guys saying we can see what is going on in the game our children our playing?" Samantha asked and saw everyone nod their head.
"Before we do that...we should probably eat something," Mr. Felmort remarked causing everyone to blink and look at him. "We will feel less on edge if what we saw from Jin's view the first time is the same."
"...what...do you mean?" Mrs. Ainsley asked feeling afraid. "To hear you say that is...not comforting at all."
"Well...he's...in a nightmare...a really bad one," Gene stated softly.
"...yes...you did tell me that this morning," she agreed and nodded her head. Turning to the food and beverage, the group ate in silence as all of them brewed about something in their heads.
'...great...just great...' Adam thought pacing around in his study room. '...Adam was killed...and that...who knows what that was...has been loose.'
'Which doesn't make sense...if everyone else is caught by the "Time Stop" spell...how are players still logging out?'
"Is that thing an actual player?" he said out loud.
Stopping his pacing and going back to his computer, he closed the windows that showed both the live and history feeds. Solely focusing on searching on the character list, five more players had logged out from the last notification he saw. Ignoring that, he continued scanning. Going through all of them, none of them were a match. Confused, he opened up the monsters list.
"...that thing couldn't be an A.I. or NPC...none of the creators even made drawings of something that looked like that."
Deciding to proceed, he narrowed the enemy list to demons. Looking through the dozens of monsters, none of them were a match. Going toward the database of all types of bosses, he began searching through that list. Coming close to similarities, none of them were exactly the right fit. Frowning more, he went back to the enemy list and filtered it for humanoid figures.
"...this is impossible..." Adam muttered perplexed. "How can that not be listed under humanoid enemy type? It had two legs!"
'Calm down...calm down...' the programmer thought taking a deep breath in and out. 'Think about the noticeable characteristics it had.'
'Okay...it was dead looking and pale...so undead,' he said in his mind. Filtering the search for undead, there was none that looked like it.
'How about vampire?' he continued and adjusted parameters. Still no match.
'What else did it have...black-white eyes...there really isn't a filter selection for that...it had black protruding veins...that could mean it is infected in someway.'
'Infected...there are sub-categories for that,' he thought. Clicking on the one that listed "Virus", it only showed a small list. To his surprise, two more viruses were killed off.
'Lamia and Empusa were killed,' he began then shook his head. 'No...they don't matter at this point. The three that are still remaining are probably the most problematic right now...once I find our what that thing was, I'll deal with the three myself.'
"How about parasite?...no...poisoned...no...diseased...no...mental...no..." he muttered to himself. Finding no matches, he let out his frustration by slamming two fists on his desk.
"Grrrrr. This makes no sense!" he growled. Looking at his mobile and grimacing, he picked it up. Speed dialing a number, he put the phone to his ear. After a couple of rings, the call went through.
[What do you want?] Rodger spoke coldly on the phone.
"Information. There is...something loose in E.D.E."
[I am aware of it]
"What is it?"
[How did time and space stop in the game?]
"...are you considering this a trade of information?"
[Depends. As of right now, that "something" is helping getting the players out]
"Fine. I'll tell you if you tell me what that thing is."
[Fair enough. You implemented the time freeze I am assuming?]
"I uncovered it when searching through old binders and development of the pre-E.D.E. days. I did not think it would work, but it did," Adam stated as normally as possible.
[...]
"I gave you my part. Now it is your turn. What monster is that?"
[It is not a monster...or enemy...it is a complex A.I. individual. John figure it out during his team's overnight shift] Rodger clarified. He could sense the bewilderment through the man's breathing.
"...you mean...a regular CPU? Like someone from a town or city in E.D.E.?"
[Look it up if you don't believe me]
"..." Adam reacted with going to the database. Changing the parameters to CPUs, he scrolled through the long list. Stopping at one named "Blighter", he opened the profile.
"...what...the hell...this is a corrupted gamer's profile," he stated in shock. The avatar was a match to what he saw; however the nightmarish and glitching settings made him close it from feeling creeped out.
[Yes...that kid you were trying to recruit...that's him...doing your dirty work Adam]
"...I don't know what you-"
[Shut up] Rodger told him flatly. [Unless you can speed up the rescue operation, you don't do a damn thing on your end. Got it?]
"You seriously think you can just order me around?" he mocked.
[All of our asses are in deep shit anyway...when we are investigated and sued by the victims of this, I will personally make sure that you and Bennett's can is thrown under the bus] he retorted and ended the call.
