Chapter 13: Kidnapped!

"Psst. David. David, wake up!"

"Five more minutes..." you muttered, turning around.

"David. Come oooon! I've got something for you."

You blinked awake and gazed blearily over to your PC. You didn't see Jake anywhere, which made you scowl in disappointment. He'd promised he'd stay. But then you noticed Jake's little red-framed monitor on the right was black, as were the two others. You saw the body in the main screen pacing up and down in some dark place and he was wearing a straw hat. If Jake was fronting, that explained why he wasn't with you.

You crawled out of your hammock, tiredly rubbing your face as you focused on the main screen.

"Okay... Okay I'm up. What's wrong, is it zombies again?" you asked. From what little you could see Jake seemed to be in some kind of abandoned, empty house. The lighting suggested it must be day still out there or maybe early evening but boarded up windows dimmed everything.

That's when Jake turned around and your eyes almost bugged out. There, sitting on some kind of crate in the middle of the room, sat none other than Peter Parker. Disheveled, pale and tied up like a Christmas goose.

"Jake, what the fuck!?" you exclaimed and lurched to the front, stumbling away from possibly the only game character you might've wanted to call a friend.

"Err, surprise?" Jake made.

Peter looked at you with a raised eyebrow. He seemed more wary than scared as he regarded you.

"I am so sorry", you burst out. Angrily you ripped the stupid straw hat from your head and threw it aside before rounding the crate and getting to work opening those knots. "Just a moment, I'll have those off you - Fuck, I'm so sorry. Jake, what the hell?!"

"I thought it would do you good if you could talk to him", Jake replied, not sounding particularly guilty.

"So you kidnapped him?! Not okay, J! What were you thinking!" you exclaimed. You looked around for a mirror, wanting to shout at Jake directly but there was nothing here. You managed to loosen the ropes, allowing Peter to free his hands.

"I didn't plan on kidnapping him", Jake defended himself. "I just... I just thought I'd walk up to him, after school, pretending to be Marc or Steven or something. Get him alone somewhere and then switch with you. But then when he was actually there, I was panicking just a little and I kinda, uh, knocked him out."

"You call that a little panicking?!" you shouted at the ceiling. Turning to Peter after freeing his feet, you asked. "I'm so sorry. Are you hurt?"

"No, just a little stiff", he said, smiling awkwardly and rubbing his neck.

"I'm not an amateur, David, I know how to safely knock out people."

"And why did you tie him up!?"

"Because I thought he would run away when he woke up!"
"Of course he would run away! You know that's exactly what Steven was afraid of!"

Jake sighed. "Look, Steven's not the problem right now. He never has to learn about this. Just talk to him, okay?"

"The hell I will!" You turned towards Peter. "Look, I'm really terribly sorry about this. Jake didn't mean to hurt or scare you, he was just trying to help and being an idiot. I'll talk to him - it won't ever happen again. You-" Your throat suddenly closed up but you forced yourself to keep talking anyway, "you won't ever see me again. So, just... Just go. And... Please don't call the police? I don't want to have to leave the country." Again.

Peter kept watching you, as if searching in your face for something. He was oddly calm about all of this.

"So it's true then? You really have... several people living in your head?"

"Ah", you made, shoulders slumping. Another person who knew. You didn't even have the energy to freak out about that. At least, you told yourself, it was just Peter. "May told you about that, huh? I mean, not like it's not obvious right now, I guess..."

"You're definitely not Steven", Peter observed, "nor are you the guy who brought me here, this Jake. So then, are you... Marc?"

You opened your mouth to confirm his guess but hesitated. It was bad enough that you'd called out Jake's name without thinking. But your secret was still safe. Layla had promised not to tell and if Peter somehow got back to the boys, they would assume Jake was Moon Knight and that was it. You doubted Peter would want to talk long enough to any of them to accidentally reveal he'd also talked to 'Marc'.

But... Peter was the only person in the game you had ever chosen to spend time with just for fun. Not because you had to, not because you wanted to protect the boys but just because you wanted to. Now Layla already knew and the Parker's opinions about you were already in the basement so it could hardly get any worse, could it?

"No, I... I'm David", you admitted. Guilt twisted in your stomach. "You've never met Marc, he keeps out of Steven's life."
"But I met you before?" Peter asked.

You nodded hesitantly. "We hung out a couple of times. I didn't... I didn't mean to cause trouble. Steven just wanted to make a good impression but he had no idea what to do so I just wanted to help him out. But I really liked spending time with you so I kept returning even when it was no longer necessary. I just... Everyone around me is old, you know? And I… I'm not, I'm way younger inside. I mean, you're older than me too but at least it's only a couple of years and it's just... Just different. Like having a friend. I never had a friend", you waved your arm around, avoiding to look at his eyes, "out here."

Peter was quiet for a moment, regarding you as you stood there, fidgeting. At last, he smiled.

"I liked hanging out with you too", Peter said.

You perked up. "You did?"

"Sure." And to your surprise, Peter actually sat back down on the crate. "How old are you?"

"Fourteen", you said. Your hand went up to your ear to fiddle with your glasses but they weren't there. Peter kept smiling at you encouragingly.

"A-Aren't you going to run away?" you asked confused.

"Well... I was actually going to beat up Jake", Peter said and you snorted, imagining this stick of a teenager going up against Jake. "...But I can hardly do the same to a kid."

"I'm not a kid", you muttered.

Peter smirked. "You just said you were fourteen."

"Yes but I'm inhabiting the body of a thirty year old with more muscles than you'll ever have", you returned, smirking back. "I could totally take you, with or without Jake."

Peter grinned weakly. "For what it's worth, I'm not afraid of you. Or Jake. Honestly, he seemed almost as freaked out as you right now." He patted the crate next to him. "Come on. This sounds like you really need an ear. Tell me what's bothering you. Maybe I can help."

"You? Want to help me?" you asked incredulously.

Peter shrugged. "I try to help people lots of times. It's a hobby of mine."

"You're not... scared of me? Of us?" you asked in a small voice.

"I told you I was not. Why, do you think I should be?"

Hurriedly you shook your head. "No. None of us would ever hurt you. Or your Aunt. Or any other innocent person. Even Jake, he's our protector, even Jake's only dangerous to people who want us harm, or that harm others. He's never done anything like this before." You motioned towards the ropes.

"Okay, I believe you." Peter waited, looking at you expectantly.

You looked around, instinctively checking the exit, the windows, places to hide (there were none). There was very little space on the crate left so you finally, hesitantly, sat down on the ground in front of it, leaning your back against the crate and pulling your knees towards you.

"Jake, why am I here?" you asked your best friend a bit hysterically.

"You haven't been well in a while, David. You need to talk to someone. Someone that isn't me."

"I don't know what I'm supposed to say!" you hissed at your boots.

"Doesn't matter. You can apologize for pretending to be Steven. You can tell him about what it was like for you when he and May broke up. You can even tell him about Moon Knight. Whatever you want."

"I can't do that!" you protested. "He'll go to the police and then we'll be put in jail or back in a hospital!"

"I'll break us out of there. It'll be fine, just don't mention that the suit's magic."

You pinched the bridge of your nose and groaned. This all sounded like a terrible idea.

"You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to", Peter said, though he sounded a bit saddened. "I just thought it might help. I mean, first Steven and Aunt May break up... Then Jake goes and kidnaps me, which is apparently very out of character for him. He… Well, he asked for my help, you know?"
You blinked at him. "Jake? Ask for help? Now I know you're lying!" You glared up at the ceiling. "Right, Jake?"

Jake sighed. "Goddammit, David. Yes, I asked him to help you. Because you need help."

You sputtered. "I-I don't!"

Peter smiled a bit and you turned your attention back to him when he said: "No, it's true. I mean, Jake threatened to do a bunch of things to me if I wasn't nice to you and didn't hear you out… But I swear that's not why I'm staying. Most of those threats aren't even physically possible, I'm pretty sure." That sounded more like Jake, alright. "You… All of you, you obviously carry quite some hurt with you. And if I can help ease that a little by just listening, how could I say no? So… You can tell me whatever is bothering you. Even if it's nothing, even if it's just nightmares or something… You do have circles as deep as the Grand Canyon under your eyes. When's the last time you slept?"

"I literally just woke up", you protested. "I'm fine! I..." You faltered. "I mean, yeah, I was upset. About the whole breakup thing. It's my fault, for pretending to be Steven and now Steven is all heartbroken and I hate that. And Marc's been going to marriage counseling and telling that stupid doctor all about the system and I'm constantly afraid she'll try to lock him up. And then Layla ran into Jake one night and of course he panicked and switched with me. She figured out it wasn't either Marc or Steven and then she told Marc and now they know there's a third one and they hate the mere idea, without even knowing us personally!

But I'm fine. I'm just worried for… everyone else."

Peter blinked. "That… is a lot. You are worried the others won't accept you?"

You started playing with your shoelaces a bit, just to busy your hands. "Not… for me I'm not. I think… I think Steven might hate me but… that's not the worst…" There was a giant clump in your throat that you failed to swallow and it didn't get better. It got worse, especially when Peter put a hand on your shoulder and said:

"I don't think Steven is capable of hating anyone. Much less you. I'm sure if you explained that you just wanted to come out and play a little, he'd forgive you. What's the other thing that's bothering you?"

You fought with yourself. A part of you really wanted to spill it all out even though you weren't 100% sure it was safe.

"Jake... can I... Could you...?"

"Sure, I'll leave you guys alone. If you need me, have him punch you in the face or something." With that the slight pressure at the back of your head that signified Jake's awareness faded. You sighed in relief.

"Okay, I'll tell you. But you have to promise not to tell anyone else! Especially not Jake!"

Peter held up a hand. "I swear."

"And... And I meant it, we're not dangerous, Jake's not dangerous, not unless he has to defend someone, so, like, no police, okay?" you begged.

Peter hesitated a moment longer, but then he nodded. "Okay. No police."

"I think... I think Jake's getting too invested in everything happening with Marc and Steven. I think he's losing his grip on reality", you confessed. There, you said it out loud. It was a huge relief, actually. There was nobody else you could talk to about your worries concerning Jake, since Jake himself was the only person you could talk to about the game at all.

Peter raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "What do you mean? How's he losing it?"

"Ugh, I don't even know how to start explaining it", you said, wringing your hands. "It's just... Everything's so complicated."

"With you and the other personalities?" Peter asked.

"Actually, that's supposed to be the easy part", you said. "This is connected to something much bigger. But if I tell you, you can't un-know it and you're really better off not knowing. You know?"

Peter shook his head. "Do you mean, like private things about the others?"

"No..." you shook her head.

"Then...Something embarrassing? Disgusting? Illegal?"

Every time you shook your head. "No, no, no! Nothing like that. It's more like... a painful truth. About the universe in general."

Peter folded his legs underneath him and his gaze became more intense. "Okay, now I'm really curious. Tell me this truth."

You groaned. "I shouldn't!"

"Look, if its bothering you so much, you have to share the weight. You'll feel better, I promise", Peter said.

"I'm not worried about me, I'm worried about you!" you emphasized.

"I promise I can take it", Peter said seriously.

You gazed at him a bit longer, full of doubt. Then, at last, you took a deep breath... and you told him.

"The thing is... I'm not actually an alter of Marc and Steven. And neither is Jake."

Peter blinked. "Okay. Then what are you? A ghost possessing him or something?"

You shook your head. "No, it's way more complicated than that. You see, Jake and I, we're real people. But Marc... is not. Y-You... You are not."

You waited, holding your breath.

Peter just looked confused. "What do you mean? You think I'm not a real person?"

You nodded slowly. "Nobody in this world is real. This whole world - it's not real. You're all... Well, you're basically AI's, programs that only think they're human and that live in a simulated, virtual reality."

Peter leaned back a bit, still with that slightly confused scowl on his face. "You mean... Like in the Matrix?"

"Sort of but not really. You never were real, you see? There's no body in the real world to return to, no way out. Not for you, anyway. All this", you motioned around, "this world, it's... Well", and you winced guilty, "it's a game. A virtual reality game. Jake and I, we are real people playing this game. And, and Marc, he's like the main character of the game. And yes, he has DID, he has Steven. As players, Jake and I slip into the roles of alters but we're really not. That's just the cover under which we borrow his body to play the game. But Jake, he treats Marc and Steven as if they're real people. Like he's one of them or he wants to be one of them. But he's not! He's a real person and he, he just gets way too invested in the game! And of course it doesn't work out. Because, like, if Steven gets mugged in a street or something and Jake takes over to defend him, then that's just an VR action game sequence. He's just fighting NPC's. It's not like they're real people, they don't even have names or backgrounds, they're just mugger 1 and mugger 2. But Steven doesn't think like that, he'd wake up from a blackout with unconscious bodies all around him and he'd be terrified. So, so I get it, you know, and I love Jake and I don't care if he's a tinsy bit violent sometimes when he's protecting us. That's his character class! I know he's actually a really kind and soft person because he's like that when he's with me, in the real world. But Steven hates all kinds of violence and Marc, Marc has done some stuff too, you know, killed people in war when he was with the Marines. But he's feeling super guilty about it so when Jake sometimes hurts someone, even when they totally deserve it, Marc blames himself and he thinks there's something wrong with him, and then for Jake, it's like Marc thinks there's something wrong with Jake, which is horrible for him!"

Peter was silent for a few moments. He went through a number of expressions and little twitches. Finally he said:

"Uhm, okay. That's a lot. There are... a few things I don't understand."

You regarded him anxiously. His head hadn't yet exploded from you revealing the nature of the game but you were still waiting for the other shoe to drop. "Like what?"

"Like... I know I have thoughts and emotions and dreams and things", Peter said slowly. "So, even if I'm just a simulated AI, I feel like a real person. Since I'm not even the main character, I assume Marc and Steven are as fleshed out as I am, personality-wise. Right?"
You nodded. "People that the boys interact with a lot are usually very complex, just like real people."

"That sounds to me as if the people in this world are just as real as you two, they just happen to be AI and unaware that they're in a virtual reality. Why is it wrong then for Jake to care about them?" Peter asked.

"Well... it's not wrong of course. I care about the boys too. I care about you, even though you're an AI. But in the end, it's still a virtual reality. And Jake, well, we have fun together sometimes. Especially during the action sequences. I can use my controller to take partial control of the body when he fights and then he's faster and his passive perception rises and he's just way more efficient. But outside of that, Jake... He's not having a lot of fun with the game. He's miserable more often than not. All this time he was so afraid of the boys finding out he exists and asked me to help him hide himself and everything. If he's not happy in the game, I think he should focus more on the real world, you see? Just... take a step back for a while. So then I tried to step in one time when the boys were in trouble, I tried to fight off some bad guys that were trying to hurt them. But I... I kinda messed it up. I'm not as good as Jake in solo play and then things got out of hand and that's how the boys found out about us in the first place. They reacted exactly as Jake feared they would so I'm afraid it's only going to get worse."

Peter crossed his arms, trying to make sense of it all. "Alright, so if Jake is unhappy in the game, why does he play it?"

"I... I don't know. To keep me company?" You started to tremble. Oh god, maybe it was your fault. Maybe he would've quit long ago if it weren't for you...

"But would Jake be any happier in the real world?" Peter asked. "Does he even have a life outside of it? Does he have parents? Friends? A job?"

You stared at Peter. The questions hit you like a cold splash of water because… you didn't know. Which meant you were a horrible friend, if you didn't even know something so basic about him!

"I… I don't know," you admitted, your heart racing. "I... I never asked." What did Jake do when he wasn't playing the game? You knew he was a night owl, he must be or he wouldn't have chosen to play the character that only came out at night. But then what did he do during the day? Whenever you pinged him, even if it was midday, he would always login, even if only for the few seconds it took him to tell you to piss off. You supposed that must mean he had to work with a job where he used computers too, or maybe he was logging in through the mobile version via phone or... something. Yeah, that must be it.

"I think he's working with computers. He... never mentioned family. I, I don't think he has any."

Peter leaned forward, eyes narrowed. "How much do you think he plays the game per day? I've heard about video game addiction, it can become pretty serious."

"Oh", you made, relieved, "I don't think it's that bad. Jake's a casual player, he really only logs in when there's a real need for his character. That's the nature of the game, you know? That's why we're set up like emergency fronters. Most of the time, it's really more like a TV series that I just watch for fun but there are triggers that call for our intervention, when our role is needed. Jake really only comes out when there is such a trigger. Sometimes he stays to chat with me and he has some solo sessions late at night when I'm asleep. But he's not online every day and when he is, then just for a few hours here and there, often only minutes even. So I don't think it's really an addiction. He can coordinate it pretty well with his day job and gets enough sleep and everything."

Peter wore an unreadable expression.

"Aha. And how about you?"

You blinked. "Me?"
"If you both have these emergency triggers, but you watch what's happening even in between, then how many hours do you spend on the game each day?"

"Uhm... Most of them?" You felt the need to defend yourself, you were definitely not a game addict! "But I only have it running in the background. I don't even pay all that much attention most of the time! Why, I skipped the entire fifth arc, back when Marc first got married, that was about five years or so!" You were still sore about Jake not waking you up earlier back then but anyway.

"Even if it's just running in the background", Peter said slowly, "what about school? Or going out with friends? What do your parents think about this game you're playing? I know Aunt May would've freaked out if I played an VR action game in which I had to beat up muggers at age 14."

Your chest tightened and your hands became sweaty. "S-School?"

You didn't have parents. You didn't.. didn't have... parents. You lived alone. And... And you didn't... You didn't really go to...
"Yeah, school", Peter said and shrugged. "Or do you not have that in the real world? Please don't tell me a bunch of sadistic programmers invented High School just to torture us poor simulated AI's!"

"N-No... We have school", you stammered, your brain scrambling. "I just... I already finished it."

"You finished school already?" Peter's gaze softened a bit and he smiled. "That's a pretty great accomplishment. I've heard about child geniuses but to finish school at 14, that's pretty neat." He tilted his head. "No, wait. You've been playing this game for a while, haven't you? How long was it?"
"Two years..." you said hesitantly. This felt weird. Peter sounded kind and he was complimenting you but it felt weird. He sounded off. As if he was luring you into some kind of trap.

"So you finished school with twelve? Are you taking a break then, before going to college, because you're still so young? That would make sense", Peter offered.

College?

"If you've played the game for two years and you have it running almost nonstop, that means you started watching Marc and Steven when they were 28, is that right? How about Jake, has he played the game for longer? Maybe that would explain why he's more invested in it", Peter said.

You stared at him. Your mind scrambled and stumbled and your head hurt.

That wasn't right. You hadn't started watching the boys when they were 28. You had started when they'd been eight. This didn't make sense. It didn't... Peter didn't understand... He got something wrong, there was a mistake... somewhere…

"There… there were time skips, in between. Like… like those five years I missed", you stammered. "And some… some sections are restricted, I can't watch them even if Jake can… I started watching them as children but I didn't watch everything. I… I skipped some parts."

"You mean… like a blackout?" Peter said gently.

"N-No. I just… The show sometimes skips when I'm asleep", you stammered.

Peter nodded, accepting that answer. "So all the time you were watching, put together, it was just two years? With no school, how long did you watch each day? Six hours? Eight? That's maybe… 6000 hours. 250 days. Spread over fifteen years, you'd see… Maybe 2 days a month, on average. Is that right?"

No. No, that was not right.

Your chest felt so tight and your head pounded and your breathing was going ragged. You saw Peter's eyes widen and heard his voice call your name as if from a distance.

This wasn't right. This wasn't... You never went to school, you didn't... you didn't have parents and... but Jake…

Jake.

And suddenly, you remembered.

A few months ago, shortly before you had that horrible nightmare about being locked in a closet… no… a sarcophagus-

"You're not different, David! You're not watching TV and you're not playing a game. You're in here, with us!"

When Marc had freaked out about Mom's shiva.

"This is not a game, David."

When they'd been institutionalized.

"I'm just a part of the same whole, same as you. We've got to look out for each other."

The first time Jake called you by your name.

"You never introduced yourself. I have to call you something."

The very first time you met Jake, back when you'd only just gotten your PC.

"You're another alter, aren't you? One that even Marc didn't know about."

It wasn't Jake who was confusing reality with a game.

It was you.

XxX

AN:

DUN DUN DUN DUN!

Someone had an epiphany. It only took 1, ½ fanfictions.

OMAKE:

Peter: (Oh boy, how do I gently explain to this obviously insane person that they're talking nonsense? Uhm, let's try math.) Okay so you're fourteen, Marc's thirty and you watch him every day. No further questions, your honor, that doesn't add up.

David: No like, because game mechanics.

Peter: *sigh* Okay, so what's your imagined life like? Do you have school?"
David: School? *DOES NOT COMPUTE* What's that?

Peter: *sweatdrop* Okay, what about family?

David: *WARNING WARNING WARNING* I live with Jake, he's adopted me as my brother.

Peter: What kinda job does Jake have?
David: *CALCULATION IN PROCESS* Uh, informatics?

Jake: *whose cozy little bunker suddenly transforms into an office space* Hey, leave me out of this!

Next week: Total mental meltdown! David's out of commission until further notice, which means… We get Jake POV! Yay!