Hello, everyone. :) I'm here again for another chapter... and this one is the shortest one of the story so far. I don't know how all these words manage to end up on the page, but I decided to cut this chapter off at a reasonable length. Just be aware that this chapter doesn't necessarily end on the most conclusive note.

But yeah, have a great day. :)

Review response: booping the snoot: So far, there hasn't been too much of a real point to the game... it just looks suspicious to Ninten and Ana. Also, I'm not sure if I properly conveyed that the game itself is just a single file within Lucas' Magicant. The Magicant is kind of like an entire computer and the game is just something that Lucas has on there. But it's a super sketchy game. Imagine if a full HD game like Super Mario Odyssey was found on my computer with me as a character and no references on the internet and that's about what Ninten and Ana are dealing with (and they'll discuss this more during the chapter). I didn't know that Lucas was a Latin name, but I think for someone like Ninten it still falls under the category of "normal" whereas Hinawa and Claus sound kinda foreign to a lot of Americans.

And we'll see about Ness. :) Thanks for reviewing again!

Ninten opened his eyes with a yelp. He looked around at Lucas' dorm room, his eyes inadvertently locking with Ness' after a moment.

"What happened?" Ness said, dropping his backpack on the floor. "Is everything all right?"

Shirts and pants spilled out of Ness' open backpack. Ninten took a moment to take a deep breath and collect himself.

"Ninten." He turned around to see Ana looking up at him from the floor. "What did you find in that V-game?"

"Wait." Ness frowned. "You were playing a V-game?"

"A suspicious one," Ninten said. "Man oh man, I don't know what to think about what just happened."

"Why don't you tell us?" Ana said. "Maybe we can help you reason through your experiences."

Ninten sighed. He supposed that three minds were better than one.

"Just promise you won't think I'm crazy for what I saw inside of the game."

"Hey, it's a V-game," Ness said with a shrug. "Anything can happen. I'm interested to hear what you saw, and I'm expecting it to be a little crazy."

Ninten spent the next few minutes explaining what happened in the V-game. He led off by talking about the shaking white letters that described the Nowhere Islands before detailing his encounter with Hinawa and the Drago.

"And this was all lifelike?" Ana said, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah. I think so."

"Meaning that all of the environments were just as detailed as in real life? The dialogue felt fluid?"

"I was almost convinced by the end that Hinawa and her family were real."

"Well, we know that Lucas is real," Ness said. "To find him as a character in a V-game seems odd."

"I'd describe it more along the lines of batshit fucking crazy," Ana said. "Who in their right mind would program such a detailed game and never release it on the psyweb?"

"Lucas, maybe," Ness said.

"How much do you know about game design?" Ana said.

"I took a class in high school." Ness shrugged. "I'm not an expert."

"Looking back, I don't think Lucas could have made something so detailed alone," Ninten said. "Ann, do you think an entire team of developers helped make the game?"

"Oh," Ness said. "It would be strange if a bunch of people cooperated on a game and never released it. Lucas never even struck me as a gamer or a programmer, either."

"The thing is, I'm not sure what to think," Ana said. "I'm not an expert in game design either, but I do play a lot of V-games. Even the biggest-budget games aren't as lifelike as what you're describing."

"So…?" Ninten said, looking back and forth between Ana and Ness.

"Well, I need to go soon," Ness said, "So I guess this is just another weird coincidence to add to my list."

"It's true that just because we encountered a bunch of weird shit doesn't mean it's all connected," Ana said, "But it's a little suspicious."

"Then I'm glad we have you two on the case," Ness said. "I'm sorry that I can't be more helpful, but I have no idea what any of this could mean and I do need to get going."

"Maybe we can talk just the two of us back in Lucas' Magican-err, psyspace," Ninten told Ana. "I have no idea what the game could mean, either, but I think we would be better off looking through it again."

"Sure," Ana said. Turning to Ness, "One last thing. Do you know if Lucas has a brother named Claus and if his mother is actually named Hinawa or not?"

Ness frowned. "His dad was the one to help him unpack at the beginning of the year. He called himself Flint. I don't know if that was his actual name or not, but I didn't want to ask after just meeting him. Lucas never mentioned his mother or siblings, and I never really asked. I don't think he knows about Tra-uh, about my own sister, so it wouldn't surprise me if he had a brother."

"Okay." Ana nodded to herself. "I guess we should head back into Lucas' psyspace, then. I can run a scan to see if he has any files on his family."

A shiver ran down Ninten's spine. He wanted to object, but if the characters in the V-game were real, maybe Ana would be able to contact them and have them help search for Lucas.

"All right," Ninten said. "Back into Lucas' Magicant we go."

Back inside the sunflower fields of Lucas' Magicant, Ana walked over and examined the dragon-and-islands sprite of the Nowhere Islands V-game. This time, the sky inside Lucas' psyspace was a light green, mixing with threads of soft pink in the distance. If there was one thing Ninten had learned about Lucas so far, it was that Lucas really did pay attention to aesthetic. Ninten had only been vaguely aware that the default sky color could even be changed, let alone cycled through different color patterns.

"So," Ana said, "I gave my scan a quick look. I found a few references to a 'Claus,' and in the files he looks similar to how you described Lucas' brother in the V-game. Red hair instead of blond, and a more confident posture overall. I'd say it's quite likely that Claus is Lucas' twin brother in real life as well."

"Did he leave the contact info of anyone he knows?" Ninten said. "Ness said that Lucas unpacked and moved into his dorm room with his father. If we know where to find Flint or even Claus on the psyweb, we might be able to ask if they have any ideas as to where Lucas went."

Ana frowned. "Not sure how well that would go over. As far as they're concerned, we're strangers. Besides, I assume that the school has already contacted Lucas' family about his disappearance."

Well, given how George didn't want any information about Lucas vanishing to get out, Ninten wasn't sure if he would have even told Flint about his missing son. Ninten opened his mouth, but noticed a dark look on Ana's face and kept quiet.

"This is all so confusing," Ana said, practically glaring at the dragon-and-islands sprite. "People in this age aren't really supposed to go missing anymore. Ninten, do you mind if I share some of my worries out loud?"

"Uh… sure. I'm all ears."

Ana sighed, turning back towards Ninten and sitting down in the sunflower fields. While sitting, the sunflowers blocked all sight of her below the neck. Ana closed her eyes and taking a deep breath, and when she reopened her eyes she needed to bat away a sunflower in front of her face so that she could see Ninten.

"Ness is right that Lucas didn't really seem the type to run away by his own choice. I remember asking him about the PSI test last week, and he told me that he wouldn't mind failing and going through the university as a regular student. And maybe he was lying, but he just always seemed so… in control of himself. He would plan out every word before speaking to me and when I caught a glimpse of his planner I saw that he scheduled in specific chunks of time for lunch and dinner. Talk about dedicated."

Ninten nodded along, but he wasn't convinced. He thought it quite possible that Lucas would be the sort of person to break his composure completely before he let it bend. Maybe Lucas needed to be so thoughtful and organized because he was barely managing to hold his life together in the first place. If that were true, and if something like failing a PSI test had set him off, Ness could see Lucas losing control completely.

"But I do want to believe that Lucas ran away on his own," Ana said. "I want to believe that he was covering up his dark side ever since I had known him and he finally just cracked. But honestly, I don't believe it."

"I mean, there's always a chance," Ninten said. "Although I do see why it would be concerning if someone else played a role in Lucas' disappearance."

"I…" Ana paused. "I don't think you understand."

"Hmm?"

"Let's say Lucas wants to get back to campus," Ana said. "Maybe he got lost. Maybe someone kidnapped him. Maybe he disappeared to deal with family issues like Ness did and now he's ready to come back. Can't you think of one tool he has to let everyone know he's okay?"

The psyweb. Of course.

"Oh."

"If anything bad happened to Lucas, someone should have heard something by now," Ana said. "But the university's updating Lucas' missing status every ten minutes or so, and they haven't heard anything from him."

"Wait." A chill ran down Ninten's spine. "Do you think…?"

Ana stood up, drawing a shaky breath. She hesitated for a moment, and then looked Ninten straight in the eye. Instead of her usual impishness, Ninten saw sheer terror in the depths of her pupils.

"The way I see it," Ana said, "Is that there are two different scenarios. Either Lucas is missing and wants to stay missing, or he's dead."

Even though Ninten was expecting the words, he froze at the harshness of Ana's tone. The idea that someone in this day in age could be kidnapped from a college campus and quietly killed was almost unthinkable. Sure, there were still bad people out there, but college was supposed to be safe. Most people were friendly, and Ninten could always just back away from the ones who weren't.

Just like that, Ninten's illusion had been broken. He wasn't safe, Ana wasn't safe, Ness wasn't safe, and Lucas sure as psych wasn't safe. What kinds of monsters were lurking in the shadows even now?

And suddenly, it made more sense why Ana got upset when Ness had mentioned that Lucas wasn't the type to run away on his own. She had probably been thinking about the possibility of Lucas' death since Ninten had told her about his disappearance. Ninten was glad that he had chosen someone as perceptive as Ana to help him find Lucas.

"Wait," Ninten said. "This scan of yours. You're not trying to figure out where he went. You're trying to figure out if someone murdered him."

Ana released a sigh. "The majority of murders are committed by someone the victim knows. If someone decided to kill Lucas, I want to figure out who they were and why they did it. Of course, I'm hoping that Lucas is alive and well and that I'll find a clue that will lead me to his location, but I'm not really expecting him to have a file labeled 'this is where I go and hide when I completely lose my shit'."

"You could have told me," Ninten said.

Ana threw her arms up in the air. "I'm telling you now, aren't I? I just didn't want you to worry about what at the time was just an in suspicion. But the Nowhere Islands V-game is too strange to pass by. Lucas couldn't have made it by himself. And while I can't see the code inside the V-game, I can see the file size. It's far too small for the game you're describing."

"I swear, I'm telling the truth." Ninten frowned. "I almost forgot I was inside a game. Everything felt so real. Honestly, it was a pretty jarring experience."

"No, I believe you," Ana said. "Which means that the only way to run such a complicated game with such a small file is to run it somewhere else and have this file output the images like a movie."

"Huh?"

"The game isn't really playing from that file," Ana said. "Like I said, it's running somewhere else. All of the characters and environments, as well as their reactions to what you do, must be stored in a much larger file in a different location. That file then transmits the data to this little bugger here," Ana gestured towards the dragon-and-islands sprite, "Which then relays the information to you."

"That sounds complicated. Why would anyone do that?"

"So that if a hacker broke into the game, they wouldn't find anything about the game itself," Ana said. "Whoever made the Nowhere Islands game must want pretty badly to keep it a secret."

"And do you think that Lucas was involved with these people?"

"They put him in the game, didn't they? I don't know what they were trying to do with the game, but everything about it seems shady and then Lucas disappears without a trace."

Ninten didn't know what he would do without Ana. Maybe she should have been the one adopted into George's family instead of him.

"I should go back in," Ninten said. "I don't think I'm useful out here in the open psyspace. You're running scans and deducing information like a madwoman, and I think you should keep doing that."

Ana waved a hand dismissively. "This is still just a hunch. Don't take my words for fact until you see the hard data."

"But still. I can keep exploring the Nowhere Islands inside of the V-game while you search for clues in the rest of the psyspace. If the people who made this game are connected to Lucas' disappearance, I might be able to gather some information about them by playing the game. And this is one area where I might be able to perform as well as you."

The last sentence came out hollow, and Ninten grimaced. A dedicated gamer like Ana could probably trek through the Nowhere Islands far more successfully than Ninten. But then again, the Nowhere Islands V-game was odd enough that maybe Ana would be just as lost as he was inside the game.

Ana walked over to Ninten, brushing aside sunflowers as she reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "You did look like you were waking up from a nightmare after coming out of that game. If you want, I could go instead."

Ninten shook his head. "This is the only way that I'll be useful, Ann. Thanks for offering, but I think you're needed out here."

Ana smiled and nodded, taking her hand off of Ninten's shoulder.

"All right," she said. "I won't try to hold you back. Stay alert in there, all right? There's no shame in closing the game if it gives you another scare."

"I'll be fine, Ann. This time, I swear I'll come back with info about Lucas."

"Don't make promises that rely on forces outside of your control. There could be nothing to that game."

"I don't think so." Ninten walked forward towards the dragon-and-islands sprite, placing a hand on the dragon's head and feeling over the smooth scales. "There's so much out of place about the Nowhere Islands. I'm sure they hide some sort of secret. And I'll do my best to uncover that secret, Ann. I'll explore every inch of the game if I have to."

Ana walked next to Ninten, placed her hand on top of his on the dragon's head, and grinned.

"Then I won't keep you waiting, then. Just remember that we're a team. I have your back if anything goes wrong."

"Always," Ninten said, and then channeled his mind into the V-game.

THE YEAR IS 20XX. WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS THE LAST REMNANT OF HUMAN CIVILIZATION.

The words appeared once more, floating in the same empty space in front of his avatar-less consciousness.

THE PEOPLE YOU WILL MEET DO NOT KNOW WHY THE REST OF THE WORLD WAS DESTROYED, OR EVEN HOW. THEY NEVER KNEW THAT A REAL "WORLD" EVEN EXISTED.

THE NOWHERE ISLANDS ARE THE ONLY OASIS IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INFINITE DESERT.

AND THEY ARE ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED.

WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS REAL. IT IS THE FUTURE.

AND IT IS THE PAST.

YOU WILL SEE THE SAME TRAGEDIES REPEAT THEMSELVES AGAIN AND AGAIN.

YOU WILL COME ACROSS PEOPLE WHO ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT THE CYCLE OF SUFFERING.

YOU ARE THEIR ONLY HOPE.

SAVE ONE PERSON, AND BREAK THE CYCLE.

THAT IS YOUR QUEST.

…

…

…

WELCOME TO THE NOWHERE ISLANDS.

Same words, same smoke once he entered the world of the Nowhere Islands. Ninten stuffed a sleeve in his mouth to keep from coughing and looked around at the same burning forest, fire blossoming in the sky as it spread from tree crown to tree crown.

NEW POWER GRANTED: 4TH-DIMENSION SLIP.

Instead of appearing in front of Ninten, the words echoed inside of his mind. Ninten tried to pause the game before remembering that this game lacked pause functionality, likely in an attempt to feel more realistic. Ninten closed his eyes and his list of PSI abilities appeared as an image in the back of his mind. His new power, 4th-D slip, rested at the bottom of the list.

The fourth dimension was time, right? So using his new ability, it seemed like he could slip through time itself. Maybe he could go back and prevent the forest fire from happening in the first place. Would that be enough to break the cycle of suffering?

Ninten's thought process was interrupted by the sound of the Drago's roar. He opened his eyes to see Hinawa, Lucas, and Claus jumping out from a gap between the trees. Hinawa had the same iron expression and the same burn on her left arm. Ninten accidentally locked eyes with her, and he swore under his breath.

"Stranger," Hinawa said. "Please, take my children to Tazmily."

She gripped Lucas' and Claus' wrists in her hands, and she shoved her sons forward before casting a worried glance behind her.

"I…" Ninten fumbled for the right words.

"Please." Hinawa looked back at him, her eyes desperate. "It's going to kill all of us if you don't take my sons and run away right this second."

Ninten couldn't hope to fight a Drago. But maybe he could go back in time and warn the townspeople about the threat to come.

"Please," Hinawa said. "Take my sons and go!"

Hinawa's concerned expression twisted into a sneer. Ninten could almost hear the words coming off her lips. She looked like she wanted to ask why Ninten was hesitating, and why he couldn't see that she was sacrificing herself so that the rest of them might live. Ninten recoiled away as Hinawa shoved Lucas and Claus towards him.

For such a realistic game, the Nowhere Islands was forcing Ninten to make choices he had never encountered in real life.

"I'm sorry," Ninten said.

"Why?" Hinawa released her grip on Lucas and Claus. "What are you sorry for?"

"4th-D slip," Ninten said, focusing his mind to use the ability.

"No." Hinawa's eyes widened as the world started to blur around Ninten. "Don't you dare-"

Hinawa disappeared before she could finish her sentence, along with Lucas, Claus, and the fire that had brought them all together.

Ninten found himself standing in the same forest of pine and cedar trees. But instead of a raging wildfire and a Drago's roar, Ninten found himself confronted by silence. Standing here in the middle of the forest, the whole world felt… still. Sunlight filtered in through pine needles and illuminated small patches of dirt, appearing calm next to the memory of a blooming wildfire.

Finally, a sparrow chirped to break the silence. A moment later, Ninten heard a scuffle of wings behind him, and looked up to see birds colored bright red and orange flying off into the sky, looking like jewels on a blue backdrop.

When Ninten turned around, he found himself standing face to face with a boy wearing what looked like a rebel pilot's helmet from Star Wars. Only instead of a glass screen protecting the eyes, this helmet's screen blocked Ninten's view of the boy's face almost entirely. Lips perfectly flat in neither a smile nor a frown were all that Ninten could see of the boy's expression.

"Please tell me that not everyone here is like you," Ninten said.

The boy smirked, and then sat down on the dirt floor. "It's been a while since I've met a player."

"A…" Ninten frowned. "Wait, you know who I am?"

"It was admirable what you did to protect Hinawa," The boy said. "Admirable and foolish. What made you think you could take on a Drago?"

"Listen, I didn't even know what a Drago was before today. And how do you know who I am?"

The boy sighed. "What if your life kept flashing before your eyes? And each time you tried to change it, you only messed up a different part of your life in ways you never thought could be possible?"

"You're definitely ignoring me and I want my questions answered."

"Fine." The boy stood up and dusted off his pants. "I know you're a player because I've been looking through each thread of time, and I know every single person on these islands. Which isn't to say that they know me. But I don't know you, and you can travel through time like I can. That makes you a player."

"You know," Ninten said, "Where I come from, that word means something different."

The boy frowned in confusion, and shook his head after a moment. "I just need to find out what you're doing here. It's been boring here without any players."

"Are you a player?" Ninten asked.

"No. But I'm also not like the other people here." The boy smirked. "Think of me as a… moderator."

"Well, you're not doing great at keeping things moderate," Ninten said. "A fire's going to break out in… well, in however much time I traveled backwards, I suppose. Are you going to do anything to stop it?"

The boy waved a hand dismissively. "You only slipped a few days out of time. And if I stopped the fire, another one would start in a few more days."

So that must mean that there was someone or something causing the fires, and would continue to start fires until the whole forest was engulfed in flames. If Ninten could figure out who or what was starting the fires, maybe he could stop them for good. Would that be enough to break the cycle of suffering?

Ninten took a moment to remind himself that he was here to gather information on the people who made this game. The boy in front of him might be a good place to start.

"What's your name?" Ninten asked.

"I'm not allowed to have one. Call me the Masked Man, if you must." The boy looked up at the blazing sun in the sky. "And you seem a lot smarter than the last player. Maybe I should just stop talking before I give away more information than I want to."

"No, I want to ask you more quest-"

"I'll give you a map that you can access while scrolling through your list of powers," The Masked Man said. "Feel free to explore the Nowhere Islands a bit. That's what they're here for. 4th-D slip."

Ninten reached out to try and halt the Masked Man, but after a moment the boy vanished from sight.

Strange. The Masked Man himself seemed to be standing outside the simulation of the Nowhere Islands, acting as an observer to all the tragedies taking place. He had implied that even after messing with several different timelines, he couldn't find a way to save the Nowhere Islands. What could Ninten do in a few playthroughs that the Masked Man hadn't already tried?

Ninten sighed and closed his eyes, taking a look at the image of the map that popped up inside of his inner consciousness. Like any good V-game, the map showed where Ninten was and which direction he was facing. In this case, he was located in the middle of the Sunshine forest. To the north lay a set of cliffs and a building labeled "Alec's house," while Tazmily Village was located to the south.

Well, next time Hinawa asked Ninten to take Lucas and Claus to Tazmily, he would at least know where it was.

But if Hinawa had been running away from Alec's house and towards Tazmily, the fire had probably started somewhere near Alec's house. Or maybe Dragos were just more common up in the northern cliffs. Either way, he would be more likely to find clues about the fire and the Mecha-Drago near Alec's house.

And maybe this time, Ninten could finally break the cycle of suffering.