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Aaaaah, look at the sky! It's so shiny... and the air is incredibly fresh for being summer! I just can't stop smile at all this: it's like I'm living inside a dream! Except this is one is real life… it's too wonderful to let it pass by!
"Soke, give me your smartphone! I wanna take a picture at the park!"
"Huh? Why?" … he still has his pen on his mouth.
"Because I need it as a guide for my newest drawing!"
"… as long as you don't clog my memory…" He's giving me his smartphone! Yippie!
Now, let's see… which side I should capture…? Oh! That one with the tree!
Click!
… hmm… on second thought, this side doesn't feel anything like the wonderful day I'm living. … ah! Of course! With the people walking by!
Click!
… ah, shoot: I moved it! Aaawwww… now I can't get the same one… … wait, there are more people coming by!
Click!
Uhm… too crowded…
"Ursula, can't you look at your pictures with more calm before shooting the next one?"
Ah! Soke said that… … looking at the pictures? … uuhhmmm… actually, the one with the tree is giving me that huge drawing vibe I was looking for!
"Hey, you are right! The very first one is the best of the three!"
"… you are very excited, aren't you?" He puts his smartphone away.
"Y-yep! A bit nervous too… I-I mean, this is the first time I'm showing my pictures to a huge crowd!"
"I guess it's a good thing for your enthusiasm to run wild… but make sure to not make it too wild." He looks away…
"What do you mean?"
"Before, you were taking pictures like mad… when the very first one was your perfect choice." He took off his pen. "Running too wild does that to people: it fogs your vision, making you run against walls."
Eeep! I-I don't want to hit any walls!
"S-sorry! It's just… well… th-the inspiration was getting a bit out of control and"
"… I meant to say that, actually." I wonder if he ever writes anything with that pen he's playing with.
"Ah! … ok, ok! I-I'll be more careful!"
He's reading me like a book… but it's so hard for me to stay still like this! Look at this wonderful park we are seeing! The trees, the people, the small lake over there… aaaah! I could stay here for days, drawing every single inch of this park! …
"You know, Soke… I do have a wish."
"… becoming a great drawer?" He was looking forward.
In front of us there is a small, wide structure. That must be the place where the art exhibition takes place!
"… no. That's not it."
He was still looking forward. This time he made a mistake… yet, he doesn't even seem to notice.
"… do tell, Ursula." He turns over me. "I'm hearing."
Oh… oooohh… …
"… you know… … I… I always wanted to attempt… … p-painting on canvas…"
"… I see." … his right eyebrow rose. "Before heading to the art exhibition, do you want to sit over that bench?"
He was looking at it… … I guess I need to get this all out from my throat… … g-gulp! I-I feel so nervous… I-I'm blushing like mad! …
"Soke… I-I'll make this one brief, since it-it's really nothing…"
"I don't know about that… you look like someone who's handing me over a diary." His arms were stretched wide on the bench's board. He wasn't staring at me… but now he does.
"… ehm… I-I love drawing, as you know… but… bu-but there is one thing which is more… interesting for me. I-I always wanted to paint on canvas… p-painting the scenery and the people a-around…"
"Let me guess." He took off his pen, again! "There is a special reason for you to desire this traditional method…"
"Y-yep! It's… ehm… I-I like creating worlds on paper, with my hands… bu-but painting on canvas… n-not only I'm creating wonderful worlds… I-I'm also… … p-petting them… c-caressing their very soul…"
"Uhm… using a brush is more delicate than a pencil, after all." He looks away. "The signature attitude someone loving this world would have…"
"… yes, I-I do love the world we Inklings live in! It's so… perfect… and… … perfect."
Huh?! Wait… why I keep hearing voices about… perfection? What's going on…? Th-the headache returns as well…! Ah… aaaahhh…!
"Soke, I-I don't feel good…! I… aack! Aaah! S-something weird is going on with me…!"
"… I should have known that." His eyes closed. "You just couldn't play along… wouldn't you?"
"Huh?! Wh-what are you talking about…?"
"Ursula… looks like she had enough of playing this game." … wh-why his face got this… d-dark and scary…?!
"… Soke, I lost you."
"No… I'm the one who lost you." He gets up! But… he's not facing me… "… many, many years ago… in one of the most ordinary days you can get."
… what he's talking about?!
"Soke, would you stop talking in such cryptic way?!"
"It would be useless… as I said, she had enough." He faces me. "That's the sign I was afraid of seeing…"
"The sign… of me getting a headache?"
"The sign of you suffering… just like that faithful day…" … his expression… it's so blue… "… she's coming to get you away from me."
"Wait, you mean… th-the Worldwide Investigation Team?!"
"… in my game, they do not exist. Nothing could ever harm us, actually." He looks at me now, as he spits his pen down! "… except that girl…"
Aaaaah! Yeouch! O-ow! Wh-what's happening to me?!
"I knew she was strong… but I didn't thought she could break you down that easily." He frowned. "I wanted her to keep on playing this game… until she would soon forget herself and truly become you, Ursula."
"M-me?! Wh-what are you talking about…?"
"There is no time for those explanations." His hands fell inside his pockets. "For now, you must fight that girl back."
"F-fight who and how?!"
"Don't listen to her perfection words! Kick her from the inside of your head, as hard as you can!" He really looks mad…
K-kicking?! … perfection… AH! No no no no! Go away from me! Uhmpf! Grumpf! Ack! Aaaaah! …
…
…
You fool… listening to his words, without knowing the whole truth…
"… you insolent…"
"NO!" He bended forward, with an expression of shock.
"… this was your plan all along… you wanted me to enter inside your realm, after breaking the AI which kept you locked inside the Debug Mode. With the excuse of letting me know more about Project Neo, you wanted to convert my own persona into the girl of your dreams…"
"She's real! She… was real…" His head lowered. "… I too was real… … but our souls? They still exist! We were sent inside my own game!"
"Hmpf. You can say all the excuses you want… but I had enough of your games. I demand you to bring me back to the real world!"
"… what you will do, if I say no?" He… grins?!
"I'll find another way to get such wish. If you dare getting in my way, I'm forced to send you down."
NO! YOU CAN'T DO THAT! Nnngghh! Sh-shut up! I-I need to break free from this prison What prison?! Who are you in the first place?! … my name is Mirii. Mirii Hanache. This man wants me to become you. … I have friends who really wish to talk with me once more.
… forget your friends. You are no longer Mirii. No! I-I need to see everyone again! I-I want to live in the real world! And you really think I don't want to? If you are gone, I'll go away too… I'll lose everything, including my best friend and passions.
He's not your friend! He lied to you! He never said this whole dimension is nothing more than a videogame! No, it's not. As Soke said, if I defeat you once and for all… you'll be gone and I'll remain. The opposite could happen as well.
But he clearly said that the Worldwide Investigation Team doesn't exist inside this game! … he could easily make one of them. Problem solved. No, that's not the point! This is a videogame! You are not real… I am! I thought this morning I took a look at the mirror: I saw myself, not you.
Th-that's just the product of illusions! Your words are an illusion. I want to live… and if that means splatting you down, it looks like I have no
"Wait just a second! I have a question for you! About that AI…"
"… she's here as well." He smiles… "Talking with you… forgetting everything that happened earlier."
"So, you are making her wish come true… except you wanted to be part of all this, in your own terms?"
"As I said before, I can interact with the real world in a limited way… I couldn't do anything, even if I wanted to correct your personality." His face got serious. "I don't understand why you are not giving this game a second chance…"
"A chance to NOT be myself?!"
"A chance to become a better yourself." He folded his arms. "Ursula… she's far, far better than you. She's caring, gentle, inspiring… you, on the other hand, are nothing more than a robot following something as unclear as perfection."
"Don't you dare stand in my way!"
You really follow perfection? That's why I kept on hearing this word… I have my reasons for doing that! Actually… it's not even just that! You want to meet your friends, too. … I have a life, Ursula. If you are blocking my path, my absence will make real people becoming desperate!
Not that I ever going to see that… or even believing the fact those real people are "real". For all I care, they are all an excuse to get rid of me. You really don't understand, don't you? If you choose to become my enemy… then, I'll accept it. ACK! AAAAH! Grrrr!
Ow! Aaah! Ugh! Eeep! Graaah! … anf… anf… anf… anf… I'm so tired… uff… this whole battle is useless. We are fighting against ourselves. … I guess you are right…
"Soke… she doesn't go away…"
"She will." He nods? "What you did was attacking her own defenses. Now, all you have to do is to ignore her and move on."
WHAT?!
"Ignoring her…? Will she forget everything…?"
"The more you ignore her, the more she loses her power… in addition to her now ruined defense, she'll disappear in less than a day." He smiles. "Come on, Ursula… you have an art exhibition to attend."
"… but… is there another way to do this?"
"No. Come with me." He was walking forward.
His pen was resting on the road. …
No, I really can't do much about it… without it, I don't feel right.
…
"… Soke, wait."
He stood still.
"… why you never said anything about this? Why… you lied to me?"
"Because… if I talked about it, she would have gotten away… thinking about her, makes her stronger and stronger. I didn't thought her power was that big, though…" He sighed.
"But then I would had fought her back! You… you weren't trusting me, huh?"
"I trust you with all my heart." He turns behind. "I waited for this moment ever since… that incident."
"Incident? … and you were keeping this information inside you, without thinking to tell me anything about it?"
"Th-there is a reason for that!" He was sweating. "Th-that incident… I-I want to forget about it… I… I want to forget many things, actually…"
"Soke"
He shakes his head.
"Listen, don't make me say anything about it. It's one of the most terrible things I ever experienced… although, you also lived that same experience." His eyes closed.
"… but why forgetting many things?"
"Forgetting the fact that… I can change the game as I please… forgetting that this Mirii got inside my game… forgetting that I'm inside a videogame." His eyes… they turned blue.
"Wait… are you saying that in the future… something really bad happens to us?"
"Impossible!" He stomped the floor. "The Worldwide Investigation Team doesn't exist! I made sure not a single piece of their existence are anywhere around this game!"
"So… one day… th-they really took us away…?"
"… me and my big, darn mouth." His head lowered. "… after the art exhibition, a special mechanism would operate on us… simply put, it takes all our previous memories, keeping the most opportune ones inside us."
"So… th-that's why you wanted me to take her defenses down, hu-huh… so her own power couldn't save herself from the impeding mechanism."
"Even if I tell you this… it really doesn't matter." He smiles. "We only need to let the day pass on… and forever we will live… in the what if no one ever come to us, taking our lives away…"
"… but that… wouldn't that be a lie?"
His smile… disappeared.
"… who said that all lies are evil…? Real life wasn't that fair to begin with… …" He lowered his head, letting out a sob. "That moment… it shouldn't exist at all… no one should had to come to get us… NO ONE!"
Wh-whoa! His face… he's… c-crying?
"… we were so happy together… the situation was turning so well in our favor… but there was a reason I was always that skeptical at life… … I remembered it, once they knocked at our door." His right wrist dried his left eye.
"Soke… you were right, before."
He was staring at me… I was imagining that.
"… I was running too wild. I slammed against a wall."
"… you did what?" His expression was a bit surprised…
"If it wasn't for you… I wouldn't know who I really was, at the end. When I draw… I always try to capture the essence of life. I can't stand lies… because that would be a poison for the soul."
"… no Ursula, please… d-don't say it…" He was shivering…
"Soke… I'll never forgive myself, if I was believing this as real life. This is nothing more than a wish… a wish coming from us."
"A wish who became true!" He sprinted towards me!
Ah! … he's hugging me…
"… real life isn't all that special, believe me… it's just a collection of random events! If a Squid could direct it a bit, no one is going to raise a finger at it! No one would mind…" He was petting my back.
"Well… I don't think that's even necessary for us…"
…
"Soke… I… I'm so glad that I met you in my life. It's truly the best gift I could ever receive… … and honestly, I don't need a good ending, at this point."
"… are you really sure, Ursula? We have the power to keep things going, unchanged." He gave me a kiss on my left cheek.
"… this poor girl wants to live her real life. She may have… something to fix about herself. But… who are we to pretend her life is worthless? After all, this whole game is just our wonderful wish…"
"You know… after the art exhibition… I would have gone to the mall, buying you the canvas and all the tools. You never said anything like it to me… … it-it was so good seeing you again, Ursula… managing to surprise me, even to this day." He sobbed.
… sniff…
"… Soke… I hope that somehow… our journey will continue… together and forever."
…
…
…
..
.
… together and forever… together and forever… …
The sight came a bit blurry: two blinks and the sight tracked many square tiles near each other.
"… … nngghh… my head…"
Mirii sighed faintly.
"… what happened…? Where am I…?"
Slowly, the girl rose her posture.
"… hmm?" Her right arm rose, as two small cords were attached on it. "… I can see a liquid moving inside this small tube. … ah! I think I know where I am…"
Her head returns forward, seeing a metallic door.
"I'm inside a medical room… exactly for two days. … actually, last time Soke told me about the time, it was before the game could start."
Her head lowered, her eyebrows went up.
"… speaking of those two… I wonder what happened to them…"
She sighed silently.
"Uhm… they were working for Project Neo." Her head rose back up. "If that's the case, I'm sure I can find more information about them… maybe I can find more clues regarding the project. Also… … the possibility to see their status. From what they said, it didn't sound positive. At all."
Her eyebrows went down.
"This project is ruining many innocent lives… I had enough hearing more negative consequences to any innocent people!"
She snorted.
"I'll do something about it… in the name of perfection and the innocents! For now, I really need to get out of this room and meet my friends. … Hunley… I wonder if he's thinking about me… sigh. I wonder how all the Squids I know reacted. Hopefully my mother and brother aren't aware of this incident: they will get so worried, they might attempt infiltrating inside the Headquarters!"
Her head turned left and right.
"This room doesn't seem to have anything who could help me out. I would like to call someone…" Her mouth opened. "Wait, where is my smartphone?!"
Her head kept looking around.
"No, I can't see it! … I don't think it received any damage… but without it, I may not have any Project Neo clues!"
The door tilts forward.
"AH!" An Inkling man jumped! He was wearing a white coat and huge glasses.
"Nngghh!" Mirii's heart skipped some beats, as her teeth gritted.
"… I can't believe this!" The man closed his door, as he walked forward while bending in the same direction. "My little patient finally woke up!"
The girl's posture went a bit backwards.
"I assume you are a doctor." Her head rose.
"Correct! I'm Dr. Ink!" He grins, while showing his right hand. "… you can use your left hand, Mirii."
Mirii's left hand grabbed his right hand: it was kinda sweaty. The girl's eyes stared at her own hand, as it grimaces and slides on her white sheet.
"You don't have any idea how much people kept talking about you!" He curves a little, as his hands were rubbing each other, his eyes were closed and his mouth was simply smiling. "Right now, exactly 2 days passed by!"
"… looks like that game didn't last as long as I thought." Her eyes squeezed. "Two days though… it's way too much for me."
"Since you are awake, I should ask you some questions." He lifted his posture. "Right now, how do you feel?"
"… I feel fine, doctor." She smiles. "Although, it feels like I'm way out of shape than usual…"
"Ha ha, you are hearing the two days weight, huh? But with some little exercise you'll get right on shape!" He turns his head to his left, seeing a black screen with a line going zig zag. "Uhm… all the values look fine to me… but it's always a good idea doing some checkups! I hope you wouldn't mind that…"
"Not at all, doctor." Her head was shaking. "I think that's a wonderful idea." She kept her smiles. "After all, I was sleeping for two days…"
"Nice!" He grins, while closing his eyes. "It will not take that long, I assure you."
…
So, Mirii… are you excited to meet your friends?
Hmm? You know them…?
Yes, I do! In fact, they are usually near your room. Every time I got out of this room, here I get bombarded with all kind of questions!
Such as…?
Your health, mostly. I was attempted many times to give them the bad news…
What bad news?
The fact you weren't waking up for a long time was rather… how should I put it? Bad news.
Oh… I see…
This boy in particular kept asking me to enter inside this room, talking with you. In those two days, he entered twice.
… wh-who's this boy you are referring to…?
He's called Hun. He's going to jump from joy once he sees you walking out.
… I… I-I don't know what to say…
You know, at medical school they usually taught us to be severe with the situation… but I never really believed such morale. In fact, I like to be always as optimistic as possible! That has always been my most important goal in medicine… a good, nice laugh cures them all!
Eh eh. Your optimism was indeed… rather perfect for the situation.
Why thank you, Mirii! … alright, the checkup is done!
…
Mirii was standing still near the door: she was smiling, looking at Dr. Ink.
"Thank you for the entire service, doctor." She bows down. "I really appreciated it."
"Don't mention it!" He smiles, closing his eyes and putting his hands behind his back. "If you need any assistance, you know where to go!"
Mirii nodded.
"The checkup is done… now, I need to find my friends, my smartphone and also find enough time to start doing some exercises." Her right hand grabbed the door handle.
The door opens, as the girl walks out of it. In front of her, an arrow sign with a word reading EXIT. The girl walks to the right, seeing two doors together: she pushes them.
"Ha ha ha! That show was too funny!"
"Like, I think this evening they will do another funny show."
"'eally?! Big bro, we 'an't lose that one!"
"Alright, Fara. I guess that would be the idea for passing another evening…"
Hun, Fara, Bars and Grina popped out from the right corner, turning towards Mirii. They all stopped with their mouths open. Mirii's hands were down, as she was smiling.
"… long time no see, everyone." Her eyes closed. "Looks like perfection is finally back."
"MIRII!" The 4 Inklings said together.
They all rushed with their arms wide open and smiling, towards the girl.