The sounds of video games, tickets being dispensed, kids running around and jumping in the ball pit, as well as a few choice curse words from a man playing Sock 'Em Rockers, were the first things that greeted Miko, Five and Mitch as they walked into Joystick Junior. The trio each put ten dollars onto an arcade card and ordered a pizza before heading into the heart of the arcade; their collective attention was drawn to Battle Brawl, a side-scrolling beat 'em up with four player co-op. Miko pointed her thumb at the machine and asked, "You guys up for a quick round?"
"Always," Five replied with a determined grin. He was just about to swipe his arcade card through the reader before Mitch held out his hand and stopped both him and Miko. "Listen, as much as I'd love to see you two noobs flail about while beating up a bunch of sprites, the fact remains that we're here on business."
"True, but that doesn't mean we can't kill some time beforehand," Miko countered. "If you don't feel like playing, that's fine."
"Hey, I never said that," Mitch replied in a defensive tone. Five began to push his buttons even more as he leaned against the machine with a cocky grin on his face, saying, "What's the matter? You afraid you're gonna be the first to lose a life? Or... even... get a Game Over?" He put his hand to his mouth in a mocking gasp, and not only did that gesture steel Mitch's resolve, it threw him into action. The Brit stepped forward, swiped his arcade card through the reader, and selected his fighter as Miko and Five did the same. "You just made a big mistake, noob."
"Oh, we'll see about that!" The game began with the trio's avatars advancing through a city street before a series of enemies fell upon them. The punching and kicking began in earnest as the trio hammered the respective buttons at their play stations, and it wasn't long before the screen was cleared and they moved on to the next wave. A new set of enemies approached, with some using their fists and feet while a different trio of mooks dropped down from the top of the screen wielding baseball bats. Miko and Five whaled away on the attackers, but it wasn't long before Miko's avatar was grabbed from behind and rendered defenseless. She started to hit the buttons and wiggle the joystick in an attempt to free her character, when all of a sudden, Five's avatar jumped in and beat the assailant down. "Thanks for the assist, partner," Miko said with a smile.
"Anytime," Five replied. He shifted his eyes toward Mitch and gave him a knowing glare before finishing with a pointed, "I'd never leave you hanging." The Brit said nothing as he concentrated on the game, his eyes laser focused and his fingers hammering the buttons with a little more force than necessary. In his mind, every new enemy that approached bore the face of the Neurosurgeon, and every punch, kick and throw was a giant "screw you" as he racked up the points. They were three levels deep in the game before a series of loud slams and angry grunts were heard, as well as a few slams that were so hard and so loud that they not only drew the attention of nearby gamers, but caused the entire cabinet to shake. Looking to the right revealed a wild-eyed, furious Mitch Williams, his teeth bared in anger and a closed fist hitting the punch and kick buttons with brutal force. Miko couldn't help but feel concerned as she asked, "Hey, Mitch... you okay?"
He responded with a scream of frustration as his avatar got knocked across the screen by a well-timed punch from the boss, and as he hammered the buttons to revive his character, one of the boss' underlings attacked him and drained what was left of his avatar's life. With his game over, Mitch let out a loud, furious "DAMMIT!" as he put his hands behind his head and walked away from the machine. Miko and Five left their stations and let the game end as they followed Mitch to a nearby table, watching as he put his head down on the formica and let out another frustrated yell. The duo sat down in the pair of seats across from him as Miko asked, "Dude, what did that game ever do to you? You were beating it like a drum!"
Mitch raised his head and gave a curt reply of "Nothing" before putting it back down again. "That sure didn't look like nothing," Five countered. "If you're mad at us, don't be. We just... wanted to kill some time before we got down to business."
"If you're still feeling up to it, we can do that," Miko added. "Besides, the pizza should be here any minute."
"Yeah," Five said with a grin. "You'd have to be crazy to turn down pizza." Mitch raised his head with a tense sigh and replied, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but... you're right. Heck, pizza may be just what the doctor ordered after the last few days." No sooner had those words left his mouth than a server arrived with a trio of plates and a large sausage and pepperoni pie; Miko and Five each took a piece and dug in while Mitch took a piece and set it on his plate as he cleared his throat. "Now then... what I'm about to tell you doesn't leave this building, understand?" Miko and Five nodded.
"Good." Mitch rose to his feet and looked around to see if anyone was listening, and when he saw the coast was clear, he sat back down and said, "You were right. Both of you." A confused stare was on Miko's face as she asked, "About what?"
"About me being afraid," Mitch responded with an embarrassed, irritated sigh. "If the Neurosurgeon had come from the patched version of Near Scream, it would've been easy to trap him in a pattern and contain him. But since he's from an unpatched version - which, believe me, I have no bloody idea why anyone would still have that laying around - that's nothing but a pipe dream." Five took another bite of his slice and asked, "Because of that chip Phil mentioned, right?"
"Exactly," Mitch responded as he took a bite of his own, but unlike Five, he made sure to swallow it before he continued to speak. "This glitch can not only think, but it can adapt. There's no pattern we can use, and no strategy we can fall back on. And because of his little edict, it's up to the three of us to stop him." Miko tapped her finger against her chin and mused, "Is that why you're so afraid?"
"Partly. The main reason, however, is something that happened to me when the game was first released. I was eight at the time, and my older brother had just reached the 'Clock Is Ticking' sidequest..."
Mitch knocked on his brother's bedroom door and asked, "Hey Speck, can you help me with something?"
"In a tic, bruv! Just gotta finish this mission!"
"Aw, come on," Mitch whined. "This is important!"
"I'll be out in two minutes!" That was two minutes too long for Mitch to wait, so he chose the direct route and opened the door himself, keeping as silent as possible as he crept into his brother's room. Speck was sitting in his gaming chair with his back to Mitch and his eyes locked on his TV screen and the reckless driving his avatar was performing - so reckless that, at one point, the car hit a concrete divider, went airborne, did a 360 and landed back on its tires before continuing on its merry way. Mitch's eyes lit up in amazement as Speck reached his destination, with his avatar stepping out of the car and engaging in a fistfight with a boss. A series of determined grunts and shouts of "Come on" were heard as Speck dealt damage to his target, followed by a series of quick defensive maneuvers as the boss retaliated with a sawed-off shotgun.
Mitch stood rooted to the spot as his brother continued to work over the gun-toting villain, and once enough punishment had been dealt, a cutscene began to play. Speck's avatar grabbed the shotgun and headbutted the boss, with the force of the blow forcing the gun out of his hands and into the player's. Now that he was at Speck's mercy, a pair of options appeared on the screen: pressing X would spare him, while pressing O would kill him. Today Speck chose to be merciful, and when he pressed X, his avatar wielded the butt of the weapon and struck the boss on the side of the head, knocking him out cold. The screen faded to black for a few seconds, and when it faded back in, a car door opened and the unconscious body of the boss was unceremoniously dumped in front of a police station before the game returned to its open-world sandbox setting. Mitch let out a soft "wow" at what he had just seen, catching Speck's attention as he saved the game and turned to face his little brother. "Curiosity got the better of you, yeah?"
Mitch nodded.
"S'all right. What'd you need, bruv?"
"I... I can't remember," Mitch admitted with a sheepish shrug. "What game are you playing?"
"It's called Near Scream. And before you ask: no, you can't play it. At least, not till you get older. There's a lot of violence and swearing; 's not really appropriate for an eight-year old."
"Can't I just play a little bit while you watch me?"
"No can do, bruv," Speck answered. "And I guarantee Audrey and Ruf'll tell ya the same thing." He switched his Hinobi console off before putting his hand on Mitch's shoulder and guiding him out of the room, saying, "Besides, if you saw some of the things in this game, you'd have nightmares for days."
"I'm not scared," Mitch insisted as he puffed out his chest. "I can handle it." Speck admired his tenacity, but he once again reiterated, "No means no, bruv. Now come on; let's you and me get a bite to eat, yeah?"
"Now, I've never been one to take 'no' for an answer-"
"You don't say?" The sarcasm dripped off of Miko's statement as Mitch responded with a mirthless glare. "Anyway," he continued, "later that night, Speck was out of the house and Audrey and Ruf were asleep. I had my opportunity, and I took it. But once I reached the abandoned house, I wished I hadn't..."
Mitch glanced back over his shoulder towards the door as he explored the interior of the abandoned house. Here he was, disobeying Speck's order not to play the game, but he knew the risk, and in addition to keeping his ears and eyes open for any sign of his brother returning home, he made sure to be as quiet as possible to avoid awakening Audrey and Ruf. He could feel the tension building as he moved from the kitchen back into the living room, where he noticed a pair of chairs sitting in the middle of the room, one facing the other. "Huh... that's weird," he said to himself as his avatar ascended the stairs. Entering the bedroom to his right revealed another empty space, as did the bedroom on the opposite side of the hall. The only option left was the bathroom, so in he went.
A chill ran up Mitch's spine as he entered, for while everything was where it should be, the bathtub had its shower curtain draped around its circumference, hiding whatever lurked within. Mitch gulped back his nerves as he prepared to draw the curtain back, psyching himself up with a silent countdown. On three, he pressed X and his avatar opened the curtain to reveal... nothing. Mitch sighed with relief and turned towards the bathroom door, but as soon as his avatar stepped back into the hallway, a cutscene ensued. Mitch covered his mouth and let out a muffled scream as the assailant rammed his avatar's head into the wall, with the controller giving a quick rumble upon impact.
A few seconds of black ensued before they were replaced with a blurry screen that gradually grew clearer with the passage of time. As Mitch pressed the buttons on the controller, he discovered that nothing was happening except for his avatar's field of vision moving back and forth thanks to the left joystick. Since that was all he could do at the moment, he kept moving the camera around until he saw his assailant walk into the room and sit down in the chair across from him. The first thing Mitch noticed was the assailant's piercing blue eyes, which seemed to bore into his soul as he began to speak.
"I tried warning you, but you came anyway. Haven't you ever heard the saying, 'curiosity killed the cat?' Heh... of course you have; who am I kidding? From what I understand, you're the guy cleaning things up around town." His speech paused as a series of replies appeared on the screen, and Mitch selected the second option of: "That's right. And who are you?" The assailant grinned and replied, "The Neurosurgeon. Odds are you've seen my handiwork over the last couple of days, and I've gotta hand it to ya: you got balls coming after me. However..." He got up from his chair and approached the camera, where he leaned forward until his bearded face all but filled the screen, forcing Mitch to stare into his icy blue eyes.
"You don't look anything like I expected, Speck. I figured you'd be a bit older." As the Neurosurgeon said that, Mitch's hands began to tremble and fear began to build in the pit of his stomach. "What's a kid like you doing 'round here, anyway?" Another dialogue option ensued, and Mitch selected the third option: "None of your business."
"Well, you ignored my warning and came here anyway, so guess what? That MAKES it my business." Mitch was already feeling apprehensive and more than a bit nervous, but a quick, subtle gesture from the Neurosurgeon turned his apprehension into terror. The villain had kept eye contact with the camera the whole time as if he was talking to Mitch's avatar, but when he said those last five words, his eyes shifted ever so slightly and made brief contact with those of the eight-year old boy in front of the screen. Mitch let out a loud gasp of horror, dropped the controller on the floor, and watched in numb shock as the cutscene continued to play.
"Besides, no one knows you're here, so..." The Neurosurgeon kicked over the chair, sending the avatar to the floor and leaving him defenseless. Mitch could only watch as the villain pulled a gun from its holster, cocked it and pressed it to his avatar's head. As he spoke, his eyes seemed to gaze through the screen into the real world as he said, "Say there was a bullet in this gun. If I were to shoot you in the head right here and now, what would everyone say at your funeral? Would you be praised... or would you be damned?"
Another dialogue prompt appeared, but Mitch was too paralyzed with terror to do anything. After a few seconds of waiting, the Neurosurgeon frowned and said, "I'm gonna need an answer." However, he received none as Mitch remained frozen to his spot, too afraid to respond with either choice. With no answer given, the villain sighed and said, "I guess you're gonna find that out the hard way." He pulled the trigger, and a loud bang filled the room before the screen turned a blinding white. That pushed Mitch over the edge, and he let out a terrified scream as the game returned to its opening menu.
"Audrey and Ruf were there in seconds. When Speck came home, they told him about what happened, and they all agreed that the experience had punished me enough." Mitch shook his head with a grim chuckle and finished off his slice of pizza as Miko said, "Wow. It sounds like you couldn't handle it."
Mitch swallowed and replied, "Stuff like that plays different when you're eight. The whole experience freaked me out so bad that, for the longest time, just looking at the cover art scared the crap out of me. When I did the playthrough for my Tweeker channel all those years later, the only reason was because a donator requested it. Hell, if you take a look at the first video in that series, you can see how nervous I was." Five took him up on that offer, setting his phone on the table as the video began to play. It began with young Mitch opening a bottle of water and drinking half of it before taking a deep breath. Sweat was already seeping through his clothes as he ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head, saying, "Man... I really, really don't wanna do this. I have... a history with this game, and it's not a good one. Getting right down to the heart of it: I'm terrified. However, one of my donors requested this, and I've been told that the game was patched a long time ago, so... yay?" The video would have played further on if not for an incoming call on Five's gauntlet, and the familiar refrain of "Incoming call from: your boss" was heard. Five paused the video and answered the call, with the projector revealing a steel-eyed, angry Phil. Miko shot Mitch an uneasy glance as Five asked, "Uh... is everything okay?"
"Far from it, Five," he replied. "That glitch tried to kill me." Miko and Five gasped in shock and repeatedly asked if he was okay, while Mitch tensed up and began to sweat, knowing full well where this conversation was headed. Phil held up his free hand and said, "I appreciate your concern, but I'm okay. I got the pipe bomb off my car and detonated it in that patch of land just down the street... and that's when you know who showed up."
"The Neurosurgeon," Miko hissed.
"Exactly. But here's the thing: he told me he'd heard everything I said in the meeting. And after seeing his mode of travel..." Phil gave a quick shudder and continued: "If he can travel through power lines and electricity, he could be anywhere. I see you guys are at Joystick Junior, and who's to say he's not lurking there right now? I don't know if he was serious when he said he heard me or if he was just screwing with me, but I'm not taking that chance. As of this moment, the Neurosurgeon is priority one on our list. I'm advising all techs to proceed with extreme caution if you do wind up encountering him; God forbid we have a repeat of what happened to either me or Mitch. And speaking of Mitch... I can vouch for what you said earlier. He does want only you, Miko and Five to fight him, but... that puts you three on the spot. If you find him and you need backup, don't hesitate to call."
"But that would put them in danger too," Miko replied.
"Yeah," Five added. "I mean, what's gonna happen if they show up, and he just decides to..." He shuddered at the thought while Phil sighed and said, "I know. This is a real damned if you do, damned if you don't situation we're in. Believe me, I don't wanna put anyone in danger, but I don't think we're gonna be able to avoid it. All I can say is: be careful, don't try and fight him alone, and for God's sake, if you need help, don't hesitate to call for it. Make sure you all look after each other. You and Miko enjoy the rest of your day off." Phil hung up and the projection disappeared, leaving Miko, Five and Mitch all staring at each other with uneasy, nervous expressions. After a minute of silence, Miko raised her hand and asked, "Should... we get your phone number, Mitch? Just in case something happens?"
"I suppose," he replied with a shrug. He wrote it down on a napkin and passed it to the duo, and they entered it into their phones as Mitch got up and stretched. "You two can stick around here if you like," he said as he activated his visor. "As for me, I've got glitches to find." He left with a parting "Boosh!" as he kicked the front door open and headed for his brand new Hinobi van. Miko and Five followed him outside and watched as he checked the underside of the van before he climbed behind the wheel and headed off. The pair put their bike helmets on as Miko cracked, "How much you wanna bet that he's gonna be the one calling us?"
"A round of tacos," Five answered with a grin. Miko gave him a friendly punch in the arm and replied, "Consider it done." The pair unlocked their bikes and hopped on, pedaling back towards their homes. However, as they left Joystick Junior, a green burst of electricity did the same as it traveled down the connector wire on the side of the building. It followed the wire until it hit the power lines, and at that point it headed east.