1

Rick Billings was, all things considered, a little nervous.

Now this wasn't particularly uncommon. So many things had occurred in Rick's life over the past few months that his most recent experiences had all consisted of one bout of nervousness to the next. And it wasn't like he lived the most exciting life before all this. That said, at least his friends had begun to expect it now. Before, they tended to be surprised at the state of his nerves; as far as he assumed anyway.

But the reason for his alarmed nerves this time made perfect sense to him. He was about to embark on a mission to recruit an unknown element into hsi ranks and he was doing it all alone.

Everything for him had started two months and some change ago, when Lisa Pak - his best and, at the time, only friend - had allowed him to copy a strange program onto his neurolinker. Even as he thought about it, Rick toyed with the small computer that sat at the base of his neck and linked directly to his brain waves through some kind of quantum interface, whatever THAT meant.

But not knowing anything about the fairly recent jump in technology didn't prevent him from enjoying using it, and not long after their commercial availability, around sixteen or seventeen years prior, almost everything in society had restructured itself to accommodate the use of neurolinkers. They were used in just about every facet of everyday life, from banking, to making prescription glasses no longer necessary, to providing information on any building in the city that was within your view.

Rick, however, only had eyes for that amazing program that Lisa had given to him. Sure, he regularly used other programs and apps in his daily routine, but all of them paled in comparison to the super-secret game Brain Burst 2039.

Called Brain Burst - or just B.B.- by those lucky few who could play it, both the game itself and the programming behind it were amazing. But more than that, it granted the power of acceleration. Even now, after nine weeks, Rick still got a slight shot of adrenaline when he thought about it.

Of course, nothing is quite that simple, even for a seventh grader. If the game and acceleration were all that there was to it, Rick would've been quite the happy camper! After all, he'd met some really cool people playing that game, an entire community of Burst Linkers! He'd even met his first ever girlfriend because of it! All these different factors had joined together to slowly break him out of the shell he'd closed around himself for most of his life.

But the political structure of Brain Burst was a completely different animal and sadly, Rick's Legion Master - known as a Governor - was at the center of it, though not through any fault of her own. Still, because of choices that had been made by those not wanting to be involved, an innocent had been abducted, and now Rick and his friends needed to make it right. The only saving grace was that the kidnapping had occurred in the Accelerated World, not the real one.

Hence the need to recruit and the reason for Rick's nervousness as he sat on a bench near the center of Central Park. Checking the clock display at the top left of his vision, he saw that it was nearly 2:30 PM that Saturday afternoon in mid-may. Almost time.

Sitting there waiting, he watched a young family walk by, enjoying the warm spring air. It had rained last night, but luckily it wasn't humid at all. Rick himself let the sun beam down on his average arms and legs, knowing he was going to turn pink before the day was out. He'd forgotten to put on sunscreen again!

When the time finally came, when his digital alarm that only he could hear sounded, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, though neither was necessary. "Burst Link," he whispered, hoping that the few people near enough to hear were too engaged in other activities. Last thing he needed was to be the guy who outdated Brain Burst to the rest of the world!

As soon as the final word ended with that hard "K", the world around him and all the people and animals in it came to an almost complete stop. Not only that, but everything he could see, from the grass to the trees to the sun itself was colored a dark blue.

Including himself, which he could now see, as his personal home avatar stepped out and gazed at this virtual world created by accelerating with the Brain Burst program. Of course, this blue, frozen world wouldn't exist without the aid of the hundreds of thousands of public cameras that blanketed the entire city of NYC, which the program somehow managed to hack into and overwrite. He still didn't understand how that worked…

While accessing this virtual world, Rick could activate Brain Burst to challenge others to duels, check the status of his avatar, and look to see how many Burst Points he had. He could also use his normal computer's desktop while the world was frozen around him, allowing him to surf the global net and complete homework assignments in a fraction of normal time!

He clicked on the bright, flaming "B" icon that appeared whenever he accelerated and his options menu appeared. Scrolling through the various features - including things like tag team set-ups and Battle Royal mode - Rick deactivated his Gallery, a feature that would allow nearby Burst Linkers to watch the matches that occurred around them. What he was planning was more of a meeting than a fight, so he didn't need a bunch of avatars hooting and hollering.

That done, he opened the Challenge Board, which listed all the Burst Linkers who were within his range to duel. As the Saturday afternoon was quite pleasant, he wasn't the least bit surprised to see an extra large number of names appear, though he was looking for a single, specific name.

Luckily, they were listed in order, from highest level to lowest, and he found the name he was looking for right where he expected it to be; with the level 4s. He highlighted the name with a finger and took a deep breath before selecting the DUEL option.

The blue, still world of Central Park - as well as all the people and things in it - vanished. In their place appeared… well, not a lot, as it turned out. Instead of the hustle and bustle of New York City and its amazing skyline, there was nothing but a rolling grassland, as far as the eye could see. Not a single tree was visible on the horizon and a gentle breeze blew across the wide savannah, causing the waist-high grass to ripple like waves in the sea.

A Grassland Stage.

And because there were no obstructions, he could easily see his invited guest, even if the tall grass nearly covered her short, child-sized avatar.

Rick checked his avatar's hands, just to make sure. He confirmed that they were indeed covered with the copper armor that he'd grown accustomed to, the once gleaming armor covered in the browns, reds, and greens that gave his avatar its name; Copper Tarnish. Sure, starting a duel- or being thrust into one - caused the game to automatically create your avatar, armor and all, but he just knew that the one time he didn't check was the one time it didn't happen.

Without wasting another second - about thirty had passed while he made his observations - he began to run towards his opponent, waving with one hand up. Actually, it was more of a power walk, since the tall grass impeded most of his leg speed. Luckily, his opponent was coming closer as well!

Or unluckily as it turned out, since he suddenly noticed the small duel avatar pull a pistol out of the holster on her belt and point it at him.

Instinctively, Rick dove for cover under the grassy canopy as he heard a shot ring out over the quiet of the stage. From his prone position, he edged his way closer, using an army-style crawl on his belly. He'd fought enough long distance types to know to take cover whenever you could!

When he judged he'd gone far enough, he lifted both arms up, over the grass in an obvious sign of surrender. "I only want to talk!" he called out.

"Well geez, Tarn," a girl's voice drawled, closer than he'd expected, "then get up and talk! I ain't seen or heard from ya since that fight against Talon two months back and you suddenly challenge me to a fight! I figured you wanted to celebrate bein' level 4 with a duel against yours truly." She glanced around the stage for a few seconds. "Though, I guess you askin' me to turn off my Gallery prob'ly shoulda been a hint."

Slowly, Rick rose from the high grass, hands still up. Before him stood an avatar that came up to about his chest, if you included the hat, and her gun was still pointed right at him!

She sighed. "Here, you invite me to Central Park, I thought we could have ourselves a good 'ol tussle!" She spun the gun around her finger and holstered it, just like the cowgirl her avatar made her out to be.

Rick had to admit, her appearance still threw him off, even after all the odd shaped avatars he'd seen while playing B.B. She was dark pink, with armor that flared out at the ankles to resemble horse riding chaps, while the torso wore a sleeveless vest with a pattern across it. Atop her head sat a small ten gallon hat and pink hair that looked tied back in a tail.

From top to bottom, Raspberry Revolver looked like a little cowgirl.

Slightly embarrassed, Rick scratched at the back of his head, a gesture he could feel even though his head was covered by a helmet, his face covered by a shield only he could see through. "How, uh, how's it going Raspberry Revolver? Long time, no see, huh?"

The girl let out an exasperated sigh and put a hand on her hip. "Call me Razz, okay?"

He nodded. "Sure thing! And thanks, Razz. Raspberry Revolver's a mouthful."

"So's Copper Tarnish," she replied. "And it's good to see ya and all, but if we ain't fightin', then say what you gotta say so we can skedaddle!"

"What's the rush?" he asked playfully. "Got a hot date or something?"

She laughed nervously as she scratched at the back of her own head. "Well, truth be told…"

It took a second before what she said registered to Rick, but then his eyes grew wide. "What!? But - but you're just a kid! Aren't you like, seven, or something?"

"Hey!" she yelled indignantly, stepping forward and thrusting her chest out. "I'm eight! Plus, he's cute! So it's almost a crime NOT to hang out with him and let him buy me ice cream! Anyway," she shook her head, "this ain't about me! What do ya need? We were having a nice conversation about stuff when ya interrupted, so out with it."

As opposed to a conversation about nothin? Rick wondered. Also, you knew I was going to challenge you to a duel! You should've been ready!

But outwardly, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "Okay, here's the deal, Razz. We, the Crystal Conclave, need your help."

There was silence for a few seconds before Razz spoke up. "With?"

Rick blinked. "Oh, right. Sorry. Uh… let's see. Have you heard any rumors about the Slip Circuit recently?"

This large Legion was located in Queens and was a rival to Rick's own Legion, the Crystal Conclave.

Razz shrugged. "Some stuff here and there. Not much."

"Then I'll just come right out and say it," he replied. "Peach Parfait, Senator of the Slip Circuit and second in command has been abducted in the Accelerated World by the Lupus Guard and is currently their prisoner."

"Horse hockey," the cowgirl laughed. "Shoot, even Silver Lupus ain't THAT crazy! Get any direct evidence of that, it'd start a war. Both the Guard and the Circut've signed the Accords; everyone knows that! If it's true, all the other Accorded Legions would have to attack the Guard up in the Bronx."

"Right," Rick agreed, "which is why the Lupus Guard has covered their tracks really well. There is no direct, physical evidence. But my Governor spoke with Pewter Slip - in the real, I might add - and she's confirmed it."

She let out a chuckle. "And how does 'ol Slip know fer sure?"

"Peach Parfait is her child."

Raspberry Revolver was quiet after this revelation. The bond between a Parent Burst Linker, the one who allowed the upload of Brain Burst, and their child, the downloader, was a near unbreakable bond, due to the fact that the game couldn't be shared wirelessly; a direct connection of neurolinkers was required. This meant that parent and child needed to know each other and trust each other implicitly.

After a few seconds of silence, Razz shook her head. "Well, damn. That's gotta suck something fierce."

"Right," Rick agreed, nodding. "And with no evidence, Pewter Slip can't get her Legion mobilized to attack, or SHE'D be in violation of the Accords. It'd throw the entire Accelerated World into chaos!"

Razz looked right into the faceplate of Copper Tarnish and shook her head. "Aw hell, Tarn, don't tell me…"

"Yep! The Conclave is mounting a rescue! It's called Operation: Save the Princess!"

Hand hit forehead as Razz groaned and face-palmed at the horrible joke of a name for a rescue operation. "Does Crystal Seraph know about this?"

Rick laughed. "It was her idea!"

"'Course it was," she muttered. She paced and shook her head for a second before stopping suddenly and slowly turning to face the copper avatar in front of her. It seemed like she finally understood the point of this entire conversation.

She pointed her tiny finger at him in defiance. "No! Oh, no! You ain't draggin' ME into the Lupus Guard!"

"Oh, c'mon!" Rick pleaded, stepping forward. "We only have six people in our Legion right now! And nobody with the long-range abilities of a red color! Your support from pretty much anywhere on the battlefield could be invaluable!"

"Invaluable or not, I ain't gettin' on Silver Lupus' naughty list! That guy gives me the creeping heebie-jeebies, and I ain't even met the guy! And not a 'I'm shakin' in my boots in my boots 'kinda feelin', either. I'm talkin' a legit, deep down in my gut bad feelin'. That guy's got more more'n one screw loose and his followers ain't all that much better."

"Which is why we need to help Peach Parfait." Rick countered. "You know Silver Lupus is a stickler for tradition and the status quo. You know as soon as Crystal Seraph became a Governor of a Legion larger than his, he was going to try and crush her. And when Pewter Slip refused to help him, he punished her. It's not Peach Parfait's fault that she got caught up in our mess."

"Your mess," Razz said, "not mine."

"Besides," Rick said slyly, "do you know how many other red avatars I could've gone to for help? How many of them want to stick it to the Lupus Guard?"

They cowgirl let out a barking laugh. "Then go to them!"

"But they're not you! I chose you because you're a good fighter. You've got amazing instances and you think fast when things get dicey. That's what we need for this."

"Layin' it on a little thick ain't ya?" she chuckled. "'Course, I ain't sayin' you're wrong."

He laughed back, embarrassed. "Okay," he conceded, "maybe I'm hamming it up a little, but that doesn't make what I'm saying untrue. You were literally the only distance-type I thought of when we were told to find allies."

Razz suddenly perked up. "Allies? As in, more than one?"

"Well, yeah, but I wasn't planning on inviting your coworkers that we met two months ago. No offense, but that Ocean Crush guy didn't strike me as the brightest bulb in the box you know? And I don't trust Teal Spike at all. He may be your boss - maybe your friend - but he doesn't seem the type to remain all that loyal when Burst Points are up for grabs."

But Razz shook her head. "Don't worry; weren't them I had in mind. I was thinking 'bout another guy I know. Level 6, good fighter, ranged but not as much as me." She suddenly shook her head and turned to face Rick.

"I ain't sayin' yes," she said sharply. "Not 'til I think it out some and talk to this other Burst Linker, k?"

"But I can list you as a definite maybe?" Rick asked hopefully.

Razz let out a sigh but nodded. "Ain't right what's happened to Peachy. Hear she's good people."

Rick let out a whoop and jumped up, pistoning his first back and forth.

"Gotta tell ya Tarn," Razz said, "gettin' awful excited for a maybe."

He laughed. "You don't understand; I thought I wasn't even going to get through half of my argument. As soon as I mentioned invading the Lupus Guard, I figured you'd fill me full of holes!"

"Why?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. "Just seems to be the kind of thing that happens when I make plans with beautiful women, is all."

Razz's eyes perked at that and she crossed her arms across her slim chest. "Oh, you're one 'a those types eh? Like the smaller F-type avatars, do ya?"

What!? That wasn't what he'd meant at all! "No! I mean, that wasn't - I didn't - But I…" he trailed off as Razz began laughing.

"Calm down, buddy. I'm only teasin'."

"Still," Rick sighed," you can't make jokes like that! I'll get a reputation as a creepy guy with some kinda complex."

"Anyway," Razz said, waving her hand to return to their original topic, "in the unlikely event I decide to join you on this suicide mission - where we'll probably all wind up in unlimited EK - when is all this fun supposed to happen?"

But Rick shook his head. "Can't tell you unless you're officially with us. Get a response to me before Tuesday afternoon. We'll be having a meeting; the entire rescue force. Time and place to be sent after you join. Details will be explained there."

"I ain't gotta join your Legion, do I?"

"Nope! But as a Senator of the Crystal Conclave, I can extend an invitation if you'd like one."

"And the meetin's in three days?" she asked, ignoring that last part.

Rick nodded, "Three days. But that's a long time in the Accelerated World." It actually came out to be about nine years in the Accelerated World, where time was one-thousand times faster.

"Don't I know it brother," Razz commented dryly.

Rick was rather pleased with himself. This had gone MUCH smoother than he thought it would. Casually, he looked at the countdown timer in the corner of his vision. The clock, which had started at 1800 seconds, was almost reduced by half during their conversation.

"So, ready to declare this fight a draw, so you can return to your ice-cream buying lover boy?" He stopped for a second. "Why are you going out on dates anyway? When I was eight I wasn't trying to get girls to go out with me."

"Don't worry about it," she replied evasively. "Anyway, I was thinkin' about doin' that, but then I figured, it'd be a shame to let these last fifteen minutes go to waste, dontcha think?

He nodded. "Brain Burst IS all about the duel. It'd be a shame to disappoint the Central Server wouldn't it?"

Deep down, he'd hoped she was going to say something like that. Because, while having the ability accelerated was cool, nothing compared to the duel!

Whenever Rick became Copper Tarnish, whenever he found himself facing off against a new opponent, he simply lost himself in the duel. In the real, he wasn't athletic by any stretch of the imagination, but his friend -and parent- Lisa was, and she'd told him of "the zone," where athletes simply stopped thinking and let their muscle memory and reflexes take over.

He was pretty sure that was where he went when he was in the middle of a fierce duel with an eager, well matched opponent. It was like nothing else mattered except the avatar in front of him, at that second.

Granted, that wasn't for every fight he'd ever had; plus it had taken time to get over a few hang-ups he had, like fighting avatars that looked like children or particularly… curvy F-types. But once he relaxed and let his instances take over, there were times when he thought he could actually communicate with other Burst Linkers through the connection in their duels. Like he could feel their motivations, the reasons they dueled, their hopes and aspirations.

It was like nothing he'd ever felt.

Rick nodded his helmeted head at Raspberry Revolver and said, "Well, let's get this show started then!"

Razz held her hands above the twin revolvers that hung from her belt. "Well then draw, pilgrim!"

Rick looked at the digital clock in the corner of his vision as soon as he left the Accelerated World. Just like every other time, not two whole seconds had passed, time passing mentally 1000 times faster; one half hour over there was 1.8 seconds in the real!

He sighed as he stretched. I almost had her, he thought, standing up from his bench and sticking his hands in his jean pockets. Though, two months ago, I never would've been able to fight Raspberry Revolver to a draw! He decided to simply wander, not having any other plans for the afternoon. The sun was bright but a cool breeze was blowing, so it wasn't so bad he was sweating.

As he walked, he tried to organize his thoughts. He had maybe one lead and possibly a second, if Razz could convince that level 6 to join them. Lisa said she had two level 5 friends that would probably agree to come and the twins, Sara and Jayne, had said they might know someone willing to help as well. They might have themselves a decent sized invasion force when all was said and done!

A beeping that only he could hear caused his thoughts to derail for a moment. Looking at the display that had suddenly popped up, he saw that his girlfriend, Sam, was calling him. He smiled. This was a surprise! Sam had told him she would probably be busy for most of the day; maybe she finished early?

Normally, he wouldn't have accepted the call - facetime calls like this were expensive, plus he couldn't neurospeak very well, though he'd been practicing - but he knew she would keep it short and he was in a particularly good mood after his duel with Razz, so he hit the ACCEPT button and a face popped up, dominating his view.

He took a step to the side to get out of the way of the multitude of people walking down the sidewalk as he couldn't continue walking; Sam's pretty face - with auburn hair and light tan eyes and cute little button nose - were taking up all of his view. Not that he was complaining! Sam was way nicer to look at than a boring old Central Park sidewalk!

She blinked as she came into view, her face one of surprise. "Wow," she finally said after a few seconds, "I didn't expect you to answer. Hi Rick."

So as not to be rude to the passers-by, he didn't answer with his voice but with the neurospeak function. Good to see you too, Sam! As for the call, if w-we're quick, the d-d–damage shouldn't be too bad.

Her grin widened. "Hey! Your neurospeak is getting really good! Well, I was going to leave a message asking you to text or mail me, but since you decided to pick up, where are you?"

Strolling through the Mall in Central P-park, he responded, trying not to gaze too deeply into those beautiful eyes; neurospeak was tough enough without distraction!

Those beautiful eyes grew wide at his answer. "Wow! You're close! I'm at Central Park West and Columbus Circle. I'm with a friend I'd like to introduce, so get here quick," ANd just like that, her face vanished and his view once again returned to the sidewalk.

When I said we should keep it quick, I didn't mean THAT quick, Rick thought. Also, I should reduce the size of my view window so I can see other things around me… He headed west, happy that he'd get to see Sam and curious about who she was going to introduce him to this time.