And through we went, as we were greeted with a vast void speckled with stars.

"Where are we…?" Natsuki asks as she looks around at the scenery, dumbfounded.

"Yeah, this is…" The other Natsuki pitches in as well. "Super trippy."

Giving up, I ask the know-it-all of the group. "Do you have any clue, PG?"

"Not one bit." I even hear her faintly sigh into her microphone. "The only presence I detect here is to the south of where you currently are."

"You act as if I have any clue where south even is right now…"

"You really need help with everything, don't you… It's the opposite direction from where you're facing.

Natsuki gasps. "You're right, there is a sparkle in the distance… Let's go check it out. Better be on our guards, though."

Slowly, we creep towards the light. It grows brighter and brighter, until finally it begins to come into view. I can just barely begin to make it out…

"Die, interlopers!"

From behind the light, another figure lunges out at us. Her black hair with burgundy highlights obscures her face as she throws a punch at me. Too shocked to dodge in time, I take a battering to the face.

"Xavier!" Natsuki pleads, before the mysterious woman throws a kick at her. Natsuki is able to dodge out of the way, and knocks her square across the jaw with a right hook. She steps back to dodge the rest of the assault, but moves right into the other Natsuki who is able to grab her by the stomach to hold her in place.

"Now, you two!"

Natsuki and I throw blow after blow after blow at her as she struggles out of the other Natsuki's grip. And with one last kick from me, she is thrown back and slams into the strange figure in front of us.

"You rotten man, Xavier McEnroe… I'll make you all pay for-" I feel a pang in my chest as the woman is suddenly cut off by strange words that appear right above her.

0/4 FRAGMENTS ACQUIRED

2/4 COLLECTED

3/4 PRESENT

"Two!?" She seems confused by this, as are the rest of us. What the hell does any of that mean?

Natsuki grunts. "Collected? Acquired? Fragments? Sounds like my taxes. Anyways, lady, do you know anything about this?"

"My name is Quandary, I'll have you know. And your guess is as good as mine. When I got here, though, it was only one out of four that had been collected.

"Are we the only people that have come through?" The second Natsuki ponders. "If you were the only person here before and the number went up because we showed up, maybe the fragments are people?"

I shrug. "I'm not sure… There are four of us in total, so the number wouldn't match up. Anyways, miss Croissantdary."

It's Quandary."

"Sorry. Miss Quandary. What's your issue with us? Do I know you at all?"

"I don't need to tell you anything."

"You don't, but I have a feeling that just ends with you being stuck here forever. We have a way back, we'd just like to get back to the real world instead of, well, the alternative."

"..." She contemplates for a second. "Fine. I work for a woman named Tsunami, who is in charge of this simulation.

"Tsunami? What's with all these wacky names?" Natsuki blurts.

"Stupid names," Her alternate chuckles.

"Don't talk about my master like that." Her tone is passive, but Quandary's face looks vicious.

I take control of the conversation back. "Your master… What do you mean by that? What exactly is your relationship?"

"I am her apprentice, and have trained to succeed her one day. At least, that's how it was supposed to go… She's the one who sent me here."

"Sent you…?"

"She tasked me with killing one of my coworkers and friends, since he had learned too much regarding the inner workings of the simulation and those running it. She'd told me the gun was loaded, but when I shot it… Nothing came out. Instead, she came in and shot me. This is where I woke up."

I gasp. "But if you were shot, and you're here now…? Could that mean…"

"Without a doubt. It's an AI bullet."

I grumble confusedly. "But why would she go out of her way to shoot you with an AI bullet if she wanted to kill you…?

Quandary shrugs. "I'm not sure… If the fragments truly do represent people, though, could it be that fragments are only collected when they enter this realm? If that's the case, what makes a person one?"

"Mmm." I pause, looking up at the strange static figure. They look so, so familiar… As I move closer to touch it, the words and numbers pop up again.

0/4 FRAGMENTS ACQUIRED

4/4 COLLECTED

4/4 PRESENT

ALL FRAGMENTS COLLECTED
RITUAL PROTOCOL READY

"What the… Four!?" I look around, scanning the vast expanse for any sign of life.

"And what the hell is all this stuff about a ritual!?" The alternate yells in question, herself running out into some random direction.

Natsuki runs to follow her. "Hey, get back here!"

And just like that, it's only the woman and I.

We stand in awkward silence for some time, before it's broken by her. "Xavier McEnroe, what did you come here for?"

I cringe at the question, but answer honestly. "My ex-girlfriend and former best friend got put into the simulation. I thought they were kidnapped, but it turned out they came here willingly. I treated them terribly, after all, not in a way any friend should. When I talked to that former friend, he turned me away. At this point I'm just trying to leave this world for good…"

"What did you do, if I can ask?"

"I shot him." I look to the ground and sigh. "It's not an excuse, but I wasn't thinking straight. Those whole two years after I left the simulation for the first time were nightmarish, and if I had just waited and hoped it all would have turned out okay. I'll live with that regret for the rest of my life, and it's not an ounce of what I deserve for all the harm I've done."

"Wait, if you remember the first run of the sim…" The woman brings her hand to her chin before her eyes widen. "It all makes sense now… You're one of us, aren't you?"

"One of- What does that mean?" Before I can get an answer, a deep rumble fills the void. "Do you know what's happening, Quenesaisquoi?"

"It's Quandary. And no, I have no idea."

The suspense wouldn't last long, though, as all of a sudden people rise up from the starry earth, one by one. Mounds of invisible soil elevate them above the depths and into view, as I begin to recognize those from my classes or just from around the neighborhood on more than one occasion. Every single one of those digital people, now having risen above the earth.

And in the center of it all, the ground just below where Quandary sits begins to rumble. The tremor spreads to where I stand, and before I know it a sinkhole begins to emerge below the suspended, glowing figure. Quandary scrambles off of her perch as it expands, and soon after I need to take multiple steps back as well.

In the end, a massive burrow into the void stands before us. And just before we can feel comfortable, another more subtle sound emerges.

Scrape…

Scrrrrrrrape…

Scrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrape…

Louder and louder, that grating gets. Closer and closer, the strange sound approaches.

And as soon as it started, the sound stops. Moment after moment, I wait with bated breath.

Impatiently, I try to creep up to the sinkhole to see if I can find anything. I creep, and see nothing.

Creep, nothing.

Creep, nothing.

Creep... Until finally, I find myself at the edge. I peer over the sheer edge of the face, and just when I think I can spot something…

"Overinvestment in your decision-making has always been your greatest weakness, McEnroe."

In the blink of an eye, a scythe-blade tied to a thick climbing rope flies over the cliff face. Pulled back down even more quickly than it rose up, the blade cleaves a deep gash from my shoulder to my inner thigh. I scream, and blood splurts out of the wound. I try to the best of my ability to step back from the hole, but instead just stumble and fall flat on my back.

Scrape.

Scrape.

Scrape.

And finally, the figure hops over the edge of the hole.

The woman, clad in buzzed gray hair and a scar-riddled face, stares at me with her deep-blue pupil. Even after getting the upper hand on me, there is absolutely nothing that can be found on her face but pure, perfect hatred.

I glance over to Quandary, who is now on her hands and knees prostrating herself. "All praise in the multiverse be to the fourth of the supreme five, grand consul of all that is…"

"All praise be to the one-eyed queen, Miss Tsunami!"