by Dante Steel
“You two will be able to stall that long?” Olivia asked.
“Yes. Once done, Elena, you guard it. Olivia, you come back. Quick. They’re coming. I don’t want him to hear the plan.”
“Ah, he’s a part of the game,” Elena said.
“Or maybe not,” Gary said bitterly. “We can’t take anything for granted.”
Elena nodded.
While the two of them got to work, Gary whispered to Nicoletta to attack but not use too much energy.
“We’ll need your real fireworks later. Just be careful.”
“Got it,” Nicoletta said.
The two of them kept the vampire boss dude or the bats, whichever he was at the time, occupied while the others smuggled out the goods. Each trip they took made Gary more and more antsy. Yes, it was great they had gathered so much stuff, but seriously? This needed to end. Gary had almost gotten bitten five times now, and he was ready to end this.
When Olivia returned this time, she was alone, and Gary grinned.
“Let’s get this fire party started,” he said. To Olivia, he muttered, “Make sure none of the bats leave. Not one. Go on. You’re on perimeter duty.”
She nodded. “Check,” she said, and she darted out of there.
It was harder to get a chance to talk to Nicoletta. The vampire boss dude seemed to be holding back some, and Gary didn’t like that idea at all.
Eventually, he got close enough to whisper, “Blow up the joint.”
“Blow… Say, what?”
“Light it up,” he whispered.
“Are you crazy?”
“Light up the night!”
She nodded. This time, instead of aiming for the bats, Nicoletta poured her fire directly at the metal walls. The heat grew intense, and the vampire boss dude turned into its bats again.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Gary said. He stood right beside Nicoletta, keeping the bats away from them but also within the confines of the throne room. If any managed to get around his forcefield, hopefully Olivia would be able to cram them back in.
Finally, that portion of the wall burst into flames, and Nicoletta turned to the other side. The bats began to beat against Gary’s forcefield with more intensity, biting it, slamming their bodies again it, clawing, ripping, tearing. They looked positively rabid, and Gary winced. If one of them attacked, they would destroy whatever was in their path.
The other wall burst into flames. Nicoletta hesitated. “Ceiling or floor?”
“Ceiling,” he said. “If it collapses, the floor will burn too.”
She lifted her fire upward. The heat was so intense by now that Gary’s skin was growing too hot for him to touch. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could withstand the heat. He’d have to get out of the kitchen soon.
The ceiling groaned well before it was on fire, and it began to fall down all around them. The bats shrieked, and they flew around in a panic, congealing into the vampire boss dude once more. Even he no longer seemed as oddly detached and coolly aloof as before. He hissed and attacked the forcefield itself.
And then, he broke through. He reached for Nicoletta, ready to bite her.
Gary slammed down the ceiling beam directly above his head. It knocked the vampire boss dude aside long enough for Gary to grab Nicoletta. They darted out the window, and he flew, resealing the entire burning castle with his forcefield. The vampire boss dude banged against it from all angles, almost acting as if a rubber ball bouncing from one side to the other, but then, the flames engulfed the entire place and crumbled to dust itself.
No way could he have survived that.
It took a long while for the last piece of the castle, the tower, to fall, but then it crashed onto the pile of rubble.
Instantly, the sky above them turned an even brighter color, blue for the first time, and the sun they had saved was rescued.
Even better were the words on the air.
Congratulations, superheroes!
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Gary followed Olivia down to where Elena was and helped Nicoletta to her feet before landing himself.
“Well done, superheroes!” he said.
They all hugged and high-fived each other.
Gary grinned. “I’m so changing my handle.”
“Geek,” Elena teased.
“Oh, cool! All kinds of new superhero outfits to try on!” Olivia said.
“I love mine as is,” Nicoletta said.
“Are you sure you don’t want to check it out?” Olivia asked. She was changing through costumes too fast for Gary to even see them all.
“There are some cool ones,” Elena said. “But I think I’ll stick with the silver look.”
“It does suit you,” he said, and she beamed.
In the end, Olivia decided to do with more of a starry night theme but only for a few moments and then reverting back to her original attire. Nicoletta updated her fire tattoos, but that was her only change. Gary had never been into superhero outfits before, so he didn’t bother even looking, something that the ladies teased him about.
Nicoletta and Olivia had to get going, and Gary didn’t blame them. The fight against Smaug and then the vampire boss dude had been intense.
Elena yawned. “I’m beat too.”
“If you want to head back to the room, you can.”
“What about you? And all of this crap we collected? We don’t know what half of it is, but we thought it might be important. Hard to tell. We were in such a rush and—” Another yawn caught her off.
“Don’t worry about this. I’ll get it to Haru. You go on back. I’ll be there soon.”
“I don’t like the idea of leaving you.” She pursed her lips.
“I’ll be fine. I think I can handle myself. I am a superhero after all.”
“Ah, yes, the mighty Dragon—Whoops—Vampire Hunter.” She giggled. “Be careful and don’t be long.”
“I won’t be,” he promised.
He wanted a kiss or at least a hug, but all he got was a tiny wave, and Elena was off.
Gary sighed. He missed her already. Actually, he missed all of them.
Settling into work, he rifled through the items the girls had pulled aside. Some pieces of papers, some notebooks filled with writings he couldn’t begin to make heads or tails of, nothing that screamed electronics. Nothing that suggested this was how he had hacked the game. Then again, Gary had no idea what exactly he should be looking for or what he was looking at.
Twilight descended shortly thereafter, and once night fell, Gary didn’t have to say anything to get Haru Sato to approach.
“You’ve been taking this game over a lot quicker than expected,” Haru said. “You brought back the sun and the vampires are all dead. I’m impressed. You didn’t get around to the vegetation yet, though.”
“I’m not worried about the game,” Gary said. “I’ve brought you a gift. Some items we recovered from Smaug—Samuel August. I thought you might want to take a look through it.”
“Hmm.” Haru walked over with tiny, swift steps. He almost looked like a bird.
The Japanese man rifled through the items one by one, muttering to himself. By the time he finished, he straightened and appeared thoughtful.
“Does any of that help you figure out how he’s hacking the game?” Gary asked hopefully. “Any chance you can put a block out so that he’ll be stopped?”
“I’m quite confident that Samuel August isn’t hacking the game,” Haru said stiffly.
“Oh, yeah? You remember the dragons from the first game? He was a fucking dragon rider. Were the dragons supposed to be okay with that? Didn’t think so. Were the vampires in this game supposed to come out during the daytime? Granted, the daytime was like two hours before we got the sun back, but still. Right? No vampires in the daytime?”
“Yes,” Haru said begrudgingly.
“Well, there were vampires during the day. How many vampires were there supposed to be in total? Because I bet we killed over a thousand. Maybe a lot more. Was
that the number you had in mind for the game?”
Haru was silent.
“Was he supposed to have pet bats?” Gary fumed. “Were bats supposed to have sonic waves to de-plane a flier? Try to detach metal arms? Breathe fire? Be invulnerable to telekinesis? Because that’s what his pet bats could do, and I’m willing to bet that’s not how you program things to be. Am I right?”
“We… We’ll look into this.”
“Oh, great. You’ll look into this. Isn’t that just fucking great? You’re not supposed to just run your damn tests and forget about us here in the game, Haru. You have to watch the game, specifically Samuel August, to make sure that the game isn’t being tampered with! What about that security breech you had? That was him making all kinds of hacks to the game right under your noses!”
“I appreciate you bringing all of this to our attention,” Haru said stiffly. “If you don’t mind, I will like to continue to study this for a bit.”
“Go on. Whatever you need.” Gary swallowed hard and inhaled and exhaled a few times. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m under a lot of stress, but I’m sure you are, too. You don’t need me to yell at you all of the time. I’m sorry. I won’t do that again.”
“I appreciate your apology, Gary,” Haru said. “And I apologize, too. I never intended for any of this to happen. Believe me. I am doing all I can to help you. I just wish that things were better.”
“What things? Your tests?”
Haru nodded glumly. “We are… Our hands are tied to some extent. You see, nothing like this has been done before. Honestly, I would like to send an animal through to be used as, well, a Guinea pig. However, if word got out and the animal activists knew, they could destroy us.”
“Because that is so much more devastating than for anyone to learn that actual humans are trapped in your game,” Gary said, somehow managing to keep from yelling.
“I do understand. I sympathize. I want you back, but I want you back intact and whole. We cannot risk trying to send you back, and your mind being mush. Or your body only partially coming out. There are a whole host of things that could go wrong with a transfer of that magnitude, Gary. I hope you understand that.”
“I can understand that.” Gary nodded. “I just want to go home.”
“Believe me. Before the end, you will return home. I promise you.”
As much as Gary didn’t like or even trust Haru, for some reason, that promise hit home. Haru was going to do his best. Gary did believe that.
He held out his hand. Haru hesitated and then shook it.
For the first time, Gary was the one to walk away. He headed back to the underground town, to the room he shared with Elena, climbed into bed, and was asleep in minutes.
When Gary woke, he was surprised to realize that Elena was sitting on the bed along with Olivia and Nicoletta.
“Finally, sleepyhead decides to join us,” Olivia teased.
“Breakfast in bed,” Elena said. She handed him a plate of steaming hot food.
The others were eating, and Gary waved to them. That was all he could do before he started to inhale his food. He was starving. He hadn’t had dinner the night before.
By the time he finished his food, he knew it was time. Quickly, he cleared everything off the bed since he was the last to eat. Then, he cleared his throat and sat back on the bed, facing the girls.
“I’ve talked with you all a little about this before,” Gary said. “I think it’s only fair to have you all on the same page.”
He hesitated. Olivia was nodding, but she wasn’t smiling. If anything, she seemed as nervous as he was. Nicoletta was toying with the burn mark on her palm, looking at that instead of him. As for Elena, she was opening and closing her right hand, making a fist and opening it, also avoiding his gaze.
He exhaled. “I love all of you. Maybe that’s selfish. Maybe that’s not right. I don’t know. Well, I do know this. It feels right. There are so many wonderful qualities about all of you. You’ve all grown and overcome so much even before I met you. We’ve been through so much together. To some, this is just a game, but to us, it’s more than that, right? Can any of you deny that?”
Olivia shook her head. “It’s been Hell in a handbasket, that’s for sure.”
“We’ve had our ups and downs,” Elena murmured.
“We’ve made it this far,” Nicoletta added.
“I need to know how you all feel,” he said desperately. “How you feel about me, how you feel about each other. It’s… This is important to me. I need… It’s not just about what I need. What you all need. You need to have a say in this.”
No one said anything. Elena and Nicoletta weren’t looking at anyone. Olivia was looking at them all in turn.
Finally, Olivia spoke up. “I know how I feel. I’m with Gary on this. I love you all. I think Elena is one of the strongest women in the world and not just because she has metal arms and legs. Silver on her is the sexiest color. And Nicoletta? You’re a terror in the best of ways. You’re strong, too, and you’re a passion that’s like no other. Gary, well, you’re always eager to help, ready to fight. You’ll do anything for those you care about. It’s so damn easy to love you all.”
“Love you all.” Elena snorted. “Are we all supposed to hold hands now and sing Kumbaya?”
“I think we need a ukulele for that,” Olivia joked.
Elena grimaced and opened and shut her hand a few more times. “I don’t know if I can handle all of that.”
“It’s all love,” Gary said, trying not to be desperate, attempting to not influence her one way or the other. He longed for acceptance, but if she wasn’t ready yet, she wasn’t ready. “Love can include more than two people.”
“Is it love?” Nicoletta blurted. “Or is it lust? Just a way for people to make excuses to do what feels good.”
“Do you love me?” Gary asked her quietly.
She glanced away.
“Do you understand the qualities I see in Elena? In Olivia?”
“Yes,” Nicoletta said. She sounded almost bitter.
“Do you appreciate those same qualities?” he asked.
“Yes, I appreciate them, but that does mean I… okay, maybe I do love them. But I think only as a friend. I mean, I’m not… I don’t… I just don’t know!”
“You don’t have to be bi to accept being in a harem,” Olivia said.
Gary winced. He really hadn’t wanted that word mentioned.
“I don’t know,” Nicoletta said. “I just don’t know.”
“You don’t think boobs are attractive?” Olivia asked. “I’m not trying to joke around. I’m being serious.”
“Yours are so fake anyhow,” Elena cut in.
“Ask Nicoletta,” Olivia said, jutting her chin toward the Hispanic who was blushing as red as her fire.
“She does have a nice rack,” Nicoletta said, her face turning even more red with her embarrassment.
“You want to know how I know it’s love?” Gary asked. “Because it wouldn’t matter to me if Olivia has big boobs or small ones in real life. I’m attracted to her because of her ability to make me laugh, because of her positive attitude, because she can be serious when the time calls for it. I love her for her personality, not her looks. Am I attracted to her? Hell, yes, but that’s just one part of it.”
“I just… I’m just so confused about everything,” Elena said. “My life is spiraling out of control. My mother died, and I missed the funeral. I wasn’t there for my family. I couldn’t do anything for them or myself because I’m stuck here.”
“Yes, you’re stuck here,” Gary said, “but you’re stuck here with us. We aren’t going anywhere. We’re here for you.”
Nicoletta reached over and patted Elena’s hand. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I haven’t lost any of my parents. It must be incredibly hard. We really are here for you. Whatever you need. If you want to take a step back from playing so hard and just sit with us all in the tavern and talk and tell stories and share abou
t our lives, I am more than okay with that.”
Elena sniffed. “I just want to be able to do my part.”
“Your part? In the game?” Olivia shook her head. “If that’s what you need to do, fine. We’ll play, but, honey, you can’t just keep doing this.”
“Doing what?” Elena asked sourly.
“Pretending that you can ignore your grief.”
Elena blinked back tears. “I… I guess I have been doing that. I just don’t know what else to do. How am I supposed to get through this? It can’t… It doesn’t seem real to me. I guess being here has messed with my head. I can’t think about my mom being dead because she was never here. I’m here. It’s all so garbled up. Nothing makes any sense. None of it. How can I get better, do better, be better, if I can’t focus on my mom?”
“If you want,” Olivia said, “we can have a small service for her here. I know we didn’t know her, and it’s not the same thing, but at least it might give you a little bit of closure.”
“I… I would like that,” Elena said.
Olivia leaned closer to her and wiped her tears away. “We really are all here for you,” she whispered.
Elena smiled. “Thank you,” she murmured.
And then, Olivia leaned forward and pressed her lips to Elena. The kiss lasted a fraction of a second, not even, but Elena jerked back.
“I didn’t… You shouldn’t have… I have to go.” Elena bolted off the bed and stomped out of there.
“Where are you going?” Nicoletta called.
“I’m going to find Smaug, kill him, and get the fuck out of this game and back home.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Gary rushed out of the room with the other girls on his heels. No way would any of them allow Elena to fight Smaug by herself. None of them could handle him one-on-one. So far, even all combined, they hadn’t been able to bring him down.
“Did you have to do that?” Nicoletta asked as they climbed the stairs.
“She looked so tragically beautiful. I couldn’t help myself!” Olivia wailed.
“I think you’re gonna have to ask her before you want to kiss her the next time,” Nicoletta said.
