Chapter 41: The Black Market

Yesterday

Johnny was walking through the byways and alleyways of the many backwater streets that populated the southern part of Citadel Gargantua, aided by the company of Baroness Tak and two of her most trusted bodyguards. Currently, they were all wearing rags of various condition, while Johnny's rags was in the most worn condition out of all of them. Johnny failed to see the reason why he needed to dress so poorly, but the only explanation he had received from Tak was 'to blend in with the locals'. Even Tak spent much of her time preparing for the outing by painting her red scales to a dull yellow color. Apparently, standing out in a crowd would make it more likely to get mugged or pick-pocketed, even if they were in the busiest and most populated part of the streets.

After traveling the rail-trolley to the Far South Station, Johnny could see how poor the conditions were in this part of Tak's city. Almost every house and store found there was beyond disrepair, yet the people walk around as if nothing wrong ever happens in the streets. Unlike the streets near the Far East Station, this place was less clean, with the people in the streets consistently wearing drab clothing and torn rags. Johnny sighed as he tailed behind Tak, while her two bodyguards stood next to her and himself. "So uh... Are we near the place were we're supposed to go?"

Tak turned around and nodded, but placed a finger to her lips in a hushing gesture. "Yes, but please be quiet. This is not an area where we can talk freely. Even the bathrooms are bugged with microphones and listening devices."

"Ah." Johnny said, getting the message from Tak and shutting up. Johnny didn't understand the cutthroat politics of the underground crime world, but he played along with Tak's cautious gesture and warning.

After walking for a distance, roughly fifty meters from the station that Johnny and his party got off from, the group found a set of stairs at ground level that lead below the streets. It looked strikingly similar to a subway entrance, except more dilapidated and decorated with ruined parts and animal bones. After going down the ground entrance, Johnny could see that there were several more trolleys that populated an artificial tunnel system, many of them already derailed from their rails. There were many kiosks set up within several of the trolleys that were strewn around, obviously no longer used for transportation.

"Wow." Johnny whispered.

"Shh." Tak sharply whispered back. The four continued on and went past several trolleys, each one having a different design that tailored to different kinds of product they sold. Each kiosk appeared to sell different kinds of merchandise that do not seem to be commonly sold on the surface. There were fewer shops that happened to sell rather unusual items, such as the dried roots of some toxic plant, pickled and preserved organs of varying sizes, and even extremely worn technology once belonging in the hands of a Golden Star Empire citizen.

After a few minutes of navigating through the underground marketplace, Tak led Johnny and her bodyguards to a giant black and blue cube that was ten meters high and twenty meters wide and long. A short line of people were at the front of this structure, apparently waiting to get in. Once the line thinned, Tak went to the line and stood in the back where one last customer was getting his service. A female voice as soothing as silk talked to the gilanian that was next in line. One of such gilanians was facing a wall that seemed to glow more brightly as it talked to its customer. [Welcome to the Asul Corporation's stand-in terminal service, where you can pay a middleman to do your activities for you. State your alias and your account number. If you do not have an account, then we can make one for you.]

"Alias: Plus-One-Syllable-Name. Account number: K-74238691."

[Reason for your visit?]

"Uh... I would like to visit a strip club, please."

[Wait for a moment... Your account has been verified, and your appearance matches your alias image. Please proceed inside.] After the gilanian was sorted with, he went through a door that opened and closed quickly. After the customer went inside, Tak went up to the glowing panel once the line emptied. [Welcome to the Asul Corporation's stand-in terminal service, where you can pay a middleman to do your activities for you. State your alias and your account number. If you do not have an account, then we can make one for you.]

Tak took in a breath. "Alias: Deeper-Than-Pink. Account number: L-23232441."

[Reason for your visit?]

"I wish to buy something. Also, I require these three to accompany me during the transaction. I can pay for their stand-ins, but one of them will be joining me in a co-op connection. Also, he needs a tutorial before we can continue." Tak explained, pointing to Johnny.

[I see. May we create an account for this individual?]

"That would cost too many vouchers than for what I am willing to trade today. He'll be sharing in a co-op stand-in session with me. I'll also be buying another co-op stand-in session for the... gentlemen that are also with me." Tak said. She then turned around. "Unless you want your own rooms?"

Her two bodyguards looked at one another for a brief pause before deciding their answer. "Separate rooms for us, please."

[I understand. Also, your account has been verified, and your appearance matches your alias image. Please proceed inside.]

Tak turned around to Johnny and motioned him to follow. Johnny did as instructed and followed her past the quickly sliding door that lead into the black and blue cube. Several square blue lights lit up the ground that started flowing in a direction. Tak followed them while Johnny tailed behind her. The two bodyguards that was once with Johnny and Kat had turned a corner, going a separate direction as they too followed their own square lights on the floor. After walking a few more feet, Johnny and Tak found themselves in a closed room with two blue circles on the ground. Besides the circles were two tables that were waist high, which had unusual looking gloves and a strange headset resting on top, which seemed to be connected to wires that hanged from the ceiling. There were also two adjustable chairs that were provided, set next to the circles and tables. Tak took in a breath and sighed. "Alright, we're safe."

"Safe from what?" Johnny asked, looking at the gloves and headset on one of the tables.

"Eavesdroppers." Tak explained, turning to Johnny and breathing a sigh of relief. "They will do anything to get information from anyone that are talkative types. Many of them would be willing to rat us out, and sell any information they learned from us to... questionable people." She replied, going to the table and equipping the gloves and headset. "Put your gear on."

Johnny nodded and equipped the gloves and headset. They were a little loose on his person, but he adjusted them to be more snugger on his hands and head. After donning the headset, he looked back at Tak. "So uh... What now?"

"Stand in the circle, Johnny." Tak said, going into her own circle and standing in it. "This might take a while to get used to, since this is your first time."

Johnny looked at the circle on the ground for a few seconds before stepping onto it. Once he was centered, his eyes filled with an unusual light, which he later figured out that they were emitted by the headset he had recently equipped. [Welcome to the Asul Corporation's 'Stand-in Interaction Network' gear, or simply known as the SIN gear. First-time users detected. Initiating tutorial.]

Johnny's vision was suddenly filled with a blue digital lattice that detailed a crude artificial world, filled with blue objects of third-dimensional make. This was enough to 'surprise' Johnny. "Whoa! This is pretty cool!" Johnny emoted his lines as believably as he could.

[With your SIN gear, you will be able to direct the actions of your stand-in as you adventure into the environment. Point at the green square now.] A green square appeared a few 'feet' from Johnny's position. As directed, he pointed at the green square, and his world moved around him, even though he remained still and had not moved his feet once.

[Communication with your stand-in is key to our business, and you will remain anonymous as your stand-in fulfills your needs. If you wish to communicate with your stand-in, you may do so by pointing at the 'talk to stand-in' icon.] An icon of two mouths, one an outline and another a silhouette, appeared. [If you wish to talk aloud, point at the 'talk aloud' icon.] Another icon of a silhouetted mouth with speech lines emanating from it appeared. [If you wish to talk privately to a stand-in's SIN gear user, simply face a stand-in and the 'connect to SIN gear user' icon will appear.] An icon with two silhouetted mouths flashed before Johnny's eyes. [If you wish to form a party conversation with SIN gear users, simply approach a stand-in, or several, and point at the 'form SIN party' icon.] An icon of four smaller silhouetted mouths flashed into existence. [If you request customer service, you may do so by pointing at the 'request service' icon.] An icon of the gilaish symbol for the question mark appeared. [And if you need to discontinue the stand-in services, point at the 'exit' icon.] And then an icon with a red X appeared.

[And that concludes the tutorial. Once you connect to your stand-in, you will automatically have the 'talk to stand-in' icon active. Also, since you are joining with another SIN gear user in a co-op experience, you and your co-op partner will share with each other's conversations, essentially forming your own permanent party until you exit your stand-in session. To deactivate the previously explained icons, simply point at them again. This function does not work with the 'request service' icon, or the 'exit' icon, since they cannot be switched on or switched off. Enjoy your stand-in, and enjoy our provided services!]

Johnny's vision turned into static for a few seconds before being replaced with an area that was outside of the black and blue cube. Johnny looked around, as though amazed. "... Whoa."

[First time user, I take it?] A feminine voice talked to Johnny. [Anyway, hello. I'll be your stand-in for today.]

"Uh... Hi. What's your name?" Johnny asked.

[I'm sorry, but sharing personal information is strictly forbidden. Corporation policy, you see. However, you may refer to me by the alias of 'Miss Lovely'.]

Johnny looked around, trying to find the voice. "So if I were to guess, the SIN gear lets me connect to a stand-in, which is essentially a person with cameras and microphones attached to their heads?"

[Pretty much. I can also see the position of your hands, so if you point at something, I'll pick it up for you. If you need me to go somewhere, simply tell me about the location you want to be at and we can go there.]

Johnny was starting to get it. He looked down and saw that his body was not his own, noting that it was a loosely fitting cloth on a lithe form. "I'll admit that this is a little disorientating."

[I'll also know where you are looking at, so I'll have to ask you to stop staring down my shirt. You don't want to get a warning on the first day using Asul Corporation's SIN gear.] She warned.

Johnny immediately looked up. "Oh! Sorry!"

"Don't be sorry." Tak said. Johnny looked up to see a buff gilanian in torn rags. His face seemed to be surrounded in a cage with tiny lens cameras pointing outward in every direction. But he could also see a familiar face that was digitally projected over the buff gilanian's head. "They wouldn't care if you solicited in some dangerous activities. You'd only get in trouble if your stand-in is harmed by your actions."

"I see. So what about the uh... Two others that came with us?" Johnny asked.

Tak giggled. "They were just there for safety reasons. You'd be surprised how many muggings happen on a daily basis at the southern part of Citadel Gargantua! In any case, they have been given some free time off. But if you need to talk to me, then use my alias."

Johnny raised his eyebrow. "Deeper Than Pink, huh? Can I just call you Pink?"

Tak smiled. "You may~. But now to figure out what alias to call you..."

"I think I got one." Johnny said with a smirk. "How about... 'Mister Shifter'?"

"That'll have to do." Tak said with a smile.

The buff gilanian stand-in raised his hand. [Since we're sharing our aliases with each other, I'm Muscled Fister.]

"..."

"..."

[... Or just call him Muscle. Everyone else does.] Miss Lovely added.

[Ugh, and I thought they were kinky honeymooners, since they switched their SIN gear around.] Muscle asked in an annoyed manner.

Tak shook her head. "Okay, enough of this dialogue. Changing the subject! Muscle, Miss Lovely, there is actually a trade that we need to get to quickly, and there are three locations that we must first visit."

Muscle nodded his head. [Sounds like you got plans. Fun plans. Alright, sounds good to me! Where will we be going to today?]

"We will be doing a fair bit of walking, for starters. Our first location would be the gentleman's club known as 'Fur Fetish.'" Tak instructed.

[Kinky.] Muscle said, smiling.

"And I will tell you our next location when we arrive." Tak added.

[Smart, but less kinky.] Muscle complained.

[Save it for writing a complaint, Muscle.] Miss Lovely said, rolling her eyes. [Let's just go there and wait for more directions. And Shifter? Once we get there, I'll wave my hands around my face and say your name a bunch to get your attention. But please bear in mind that if we get in any kind of trouble, you'll become responsible for any possible damage caused to the clients that are acting as your stand-ins. Got it?]

"Got it." Johnny replied.

"With that said, I'd like to talk to you in private, Shifter." Tak said, pointing at a direction.

Johnny followed Tak's example, pointing at the 'talking aloud' and 'talk with stand-in' icons from his perspective, turning them off. "Alright, then. Now it's just you and me." Johnny said to Tak.

Tak rolled her eyes and smiled. "Don't make it sound like we're on a date, you jackass."

Johnny scoffed. "That, and I hardly think going to a nudie bar would be a good place for the first date."

Tak turned to Johnny and smiled. "Not a classy way to start the evening, that's for sure. ... Anyway, there is something important I want to tell you. When we are nearing our trade destination, I want you to leave the talking to me. There is a huge chance that this deal might go haywire, and that might lose our chances of getting you your intact hyper-fluid memory bag."

Johnny raised an eyebrow. "Sounds serious. Do you know who you are buying my memory bag from?"

Tak nodded with a serious expression. "A notorious slave master that only claims to have an intact memory bag. He said that he has recently stolen it from some scientists belonging to the Cube Research Division of the Golden Star Empire. He threatens to activate the bag and attract the empire here, unless if someone trades six hundred and forty thousand ounces of water, or an equivalent in vouchers, for trade. He has given the entire city a month before he activates the bag."

Johnny sighed. "A month, huh? Why not a week?"

"There have been some recent empire activities of late. It has something to do with some gross looking animals, or whatever. I think they call them the 'flerg', or something? I don't really keep myself updated with empire activities outside of my citadel, so I wouldn't really know what they are doing. Anyway, I'm guessing it is because the Golden Star Empire has been so distracted with their current focus that our seller has increased the time limit of the auction until a buyer comes. He will either sabotage my city with the memory bag, or get a buyer before then. I'm hoping to get the bag before anyone else moves in and buys it before I do."

Johnny smiled. "Really? Judging from your description, then they must be the same creatures that helped me escape the desert! Hah!"

Tak rolled her eyes again. "Regardless, whether or not that is relevant, we still have a task to do. ... Ah. And here's the gentleman's club."

Johnny could see a grandiose structure that used eight trolleys to form a super structure. Two trolleys were used as supports, with four more trolleys were set on top of the two perpendicularly. Another two trolleys were placed at the very top of this structure, which had colored fabrics that were tied with fairy lights that spelled the name of the establishment. The fabrics, acting as the building's sign, had the Gilaish language glittering the words 'Fur Fetish' as strippers danced around in various kinds of fur, both synthetic and real, along the entrance and inside of the building. The customers and patrons ogled at the scenery for their services they have paid for.

Johnny's stand-in waved at his face. [Okay, guys. We're here. Where to now?]

Tak and Johnny reconnected to Miss Lovely and Muscled Fister. Tak gave the next set of directions. "Very good, Miss and Muscle. Our next destination is to the arena. Go through the establishment and then out the back. This way, we can lose any pursuers that followed you here."

[Nice to know that you care about us.] Muscle replied. [Man though! I remember going here quite a few times! They usually charge double for active stand-ins, but damn do they know how to make egg-shots.]

"Egg-whats?" Johnny asked.

[Egg-shots. A very alcoholic beverage served in a krell eggshell. I can have, like, three before I start getting loopy.] Muscle explained.

"That's not important right now." Tak said. "Through the club and to the arena, please."

[You heard Pink, Muscle. Let's go in.] Miss Lovely added.

The inside of the establishment had many soft and vibrant colors, with soothing music that filled the air with lewd romanticism, often interrupted by an animal call that brokered the attention of the furred strippers. The gilanian strippers there had various clothes that had an animalistic theme to them, which consisted of some kind of fur on themselves, either fake or real. There were even a few that wore wigs! After wafting through the sights and sounds, the stand-ins exited the establishment through the back and recouped themselves.

Johnny had to shake his head. "Wow, that was uh... That was a bit much."

[You've seen nothing. Be here on the final day of every month and you'll find out how morbid this place gets. I've been at those celebrations a couple of times, but uh... Yeah, it can be a little much the first time around.] Muscled Fister explained.

After that pause, the stand-ins continued on their way to this 'arena'.

The arena was just that. A big place where fighters would combat each other for supremacy in violence and domination. However, the combatants were something that Johnny did not expect. Cheers and shouts came forth from a giant area that looked like a collection of television sets that viewed the same program from different angles of the fight. Within the center, the true gem of the arena was seen.

A six-armed suit of ancient, yet shiny armor, wielding six swords that looked like they were charged with electricity, was fighting against a neon green beast that was shaped like a banana slug with many stumpy legs with red claws, and the head of a red horned sharp toothed lizard that breathed bursts of fire.

The ancient armored warrior combatant swung its swords at the green slug lizard, only for the lizard to easily dodge its attacks. The lizard shot spouts of flame at the warrior from a safe distance, crawling up the walls of a giant rusted cage to evade the warrior's slicing reach.

But the warrior jumped up to strike at the lizard's feet using several surgical strikes. The attack was accurate, which made the lizard lose its footing on the cage's wall.

The lizard fell to the ground and writhed, but it lashed its tail to trip the warrior, and the lizard made its counter-attack by chomping down hard on one of the warrior's arms. The beast pulled the warrior's arm out of its socket and threw it to the side of the cage, removing one of the warrior's weapons.

The warrior retaliated with a desperate rush attack, rolling back onto his feet and leaping into the air. The warrior deftly turned his five blades as he descended, and then unleashed a whirlwind attack that spun violently, its swords making an electric ring that sparked with death. Once it connected to the green slug lizard, the beast screeched in deafening pain before falling to pieces that spasmed every now and then.

The audience ate that up as they hooted and hollered at the sight of the bloody duel between a six-armed duelist and a fire-breathing beast. An announcer started talking to the audience when the battle was over. [And there you have it, folks! The Sextuple Swordsman has won over the Rot Eater, making the victories between each other an even 223 to 223. Looks like there have been some heavy donations to balance the difficulty between the two combatants, but the winnings will always proceed to the winners of the bet. Our combatants in the next line up will be... Quarnby the Skeletal Summoner, vs the god known as Dusker!]

"Hmm. This seems fun." Johnny said, looking at the spectacle before him.

[Yeah, it is pretty nice and all.] Miss Lovely said, looking at the many screens. [Let me teach you a bit of history of this arena, since it's obvious to me that you're a tourist visiting these gutters. Krell fighting used to be a very big thing that was celebrated several years ago, but it was eventually abolished and made illegal. But as a publicity stunt, some smart guy by the name of Jaklen brought dream projectors from one of the empire settlements, and manifested two krell from the dream-lights to fight each other. The city guards tried to crack down on the operations when they learned that krell fighting was happening again, but they were unable to gather enough evidence to suggest that there really were krell fights happening. As a joke, the first ever dream-light arena manager, named Jaklen, created a giant krell and had it fight miniature city guards to demonstrate the law enforcement's current headache in their attempt to contain the new craze that was happening. Eventually, the city guard had given Jaklen an ultimatum. If he kept on using krell characters as combatants for the battle arena, or used characters in the likeness of other people, then he would be severely punished. After that, he took in several suggestions of new characters that would fight each other, which eventually evolved into what you see today.]

"I see... You know, I think I know someone that would love to visit this place someday." Johnny said, knowing that Kay would be greatly excited to see the arena.

"That will be for a later day." Tak said. "Our next destination takes place at junction forty-four."

Muscle shivered. [Junction forty-four?! Oh man, why did I accept this stand-in request?]

[Shush, Muscle!] Miss Lovely said to Muscled Fister, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. [This is the will of our users. If they do not treat us well, then the Asul Corporation will sue them of all of their vouchers.]

Muscle shook his head. [Well I've only been there once, and it didn't turn out great.]

"Hush now, stand-ins." Tak said, sighing. "As of this point on, you must refrain from talking, unless it contributes important information to us. Now proceed to junction forty-four. We mustn't wait any longer, and I need to buy something there before it gets sold to a higher bidder."

[And the mystery deepens.] Muscle said aloud. [... Oh! Uh. Right. Shutting up now.]

Both Johnny and Tak rolled their eyes as their stand-ins departed to the place called 'junction forty-four.'

The junction was populated by many types of thugs that carried various weapons under their cloaks. After passing but a stone's throw away from the arena, the stand-ins were already being carefully watched. Johnny decided to pipe up. "Uh... Okay Pink. Where is the place we're supposed to go?"

"It's close, don't worry. ... I believe this is the right address. ... Ah, there's the building we need to go to." Tak said, pointing at the one building with the most thugs guarding its entrance. The building itself seemed to be in the process of being repaired, even when there were no construction workers currently toiling with the structure.

Once Muscle and Miss slowly walked up to the building, they were immediately accosted by a thug. The thug pointed his rifle at the stand-ins. [Oi. This ain't no tourist place. Unless you got business ere', then I suggests that you fack off before I shoots you.]

Tak pointed at an icon to talk aloud. "We are here for business. I contacted your boss in order to buy something off of him."

[Hmm...] The thug said, gesturing to the stand-ins to wait patiently. The thug reached under his cloak to fetch a short-range radio. [Hey boss. Likrit here. Got sum stand-in feller and lady saying something about trading something with yous. What's that about?]

[Ask for the password, you idiot.] The radio called back in a deep and gruff voice.

[Oh~!] The thug turned back to the stand-ins. [What's the password? I remembers it now, so... Yeah.]

"The password is: Big bags of memories." Tak replied.

[Yah yah! That's the password! Follow me in!] The thug said, motioning to the stand-ins and going inside the heavily fortified building.

After the stand-ins were guided into the building, they eventually turned around several hallways before coming to a rest in a less than sterile room, fitted with two couches, a monitor on the wall, and four armed thugs that were as still as statues. The stand-ins sat on the couch that looked clean in their eyes, and several seconds had passed before anything else happened. But when that something happened, it happened to be a door opening, only to reveal a screen hanging on a rack that was rolled into the room.

It showed the image of an incredibly obese gilanian with shoulder pauldrons as big as his fat head, with a helmet that barely covered his head and face. Each shoulder was tipped with a long spike that reached high, while the spike on his helmet rose even higher. The face of this gilanian smirked as drool slightly slobbered down his chin. [So I take it you're the one wanting to buy my product, huh? I had expected this transaction to take place a little later, but there has been a lot of crazy things happening these days. ... Wait... Stand-ins? Ah, fuck me. I guess we have here some mighty right paranoid people today. Anyway, state your password and we'll get this trade started.]

"Password is Big bags of memories." Tak said, rolling her eyes.

[Huh? Tak, is that you? Oh, I didn't expect you to use a stand-in in my presence! How have you been!?] The fat gilanian shouted excitedly.

"Use my alias, you bloated oaf. It's Deeper Than Pink." Tak growled.

The fat gilanian chuckled and shook his head. [Hahahaha, ah... You sound so much like your mom. And damn it to hell, she was a fine woman! It's too bad that she contracted that transmitted disease and died. But hey, you gotta live with the crazy in your family. ... Anyway. What were we talking about?]

"WE WERE TALKING ABOUT GETTING THAT DAMN ITEM FROM YOU! NOW STOP TALKING ABOUT MY MOTHER AND LET THIS FUCKING DAY END!" Tak shouted.

The bloated gilanian chuckled again. [Yeah yeah. Whatever. I'm activating the password interface.]

A number pad appeared in front of Johnny, and he could see his own arms disappearing from virtual depiction. Tak pointed at the floating number pad. After a few seconds had passed, the number pad went away. "There. Now we can confirm that it's me, and not some bitch that just sounds like me."

After a few seconds, the obese gilanian nodded and smirked. [Alright, I got the confirmation that it's you. Now then... Let's talk business. How much do you want for my item?]

"The amount that you announced last time, either in vouchers or in ounces of water. You can see what I want on your requisition page." Tak replied.

[Hmm?] The obese gilanian shifted in his seat, reading something that was off-screen. [You know, I have this urge to ask. Why are you so willing to pay for the full price of this item? And so soon in this trade too?]

"To put it simply, Ponpon, I have someone on the inside that has a great interest in this item. I'll give you a fifth of the vouchers as the confirmation payment. The rest will be soft-locked onto your voucher account until I receive the item you have in your possession. If the item is faulty in any way, or if I do not receive it in three days time, I will cancel the transfer and warn the authorities of your presence in this city. Do I make myself clear?" Tak said in a serious tone.

Ponpon chuckled. [Oh, Tak, don't be like that! We're family!]

"Seven generations of cousins, technically. You're side kept inbreeding, while my familial line bred only the most strongest, smartest, quickest, cleverest, and hardiest generations Kiln ever had to offer. Royalty is not bound by blood, but it is bound by the loyalty the royalty has to its people. The respect you gain through love or fear is quite different from each other. As it turns out, people favor love over fear more." Tak said flatly.

Ponpon rolled his head. [Yeah yeah yeah. Well, you know what? I ain't that strong, I ain't too smart, I ain't very quick, I'm not so clever, and I'm very soft-bodied. I ain't any of those things, true, but I am three other things.] Ponpon began listing things off in his stubby fingers. [One, I am a fat son of a bitch. Two, I am a gentle leader of a famous band of mercenaries. And three, all I really need is luck on my side to get whatever the hell I want, need, and desire. And let me tell you something, cousin.]

Tak seemed to pale a little when she saw Ponpon's expression.

[I am feeling VERY lucky right now. See you soon.] Ponpon said with a smile.

And that was when Johnny's world suddenly flashed white, immediately becoming deaf as the sound of an explosion blotted out every other auditory sensation from then on. After that, Johnny felt a sharp blow to his head, prompting him to fade from existence completely.

A/N: BWAH?! 8U