Power Fantasy

by Scottie Futch

  Please Note: Whether you choose to use the quick save slot, or the auto-save slot, does not matter. Upon returning to a prior temporal locale the quick save will be destroyed.

  Quick saves only exist while you are in a specific world. If you leave that world for any reason, save for entrance into your loadout area, any quick saves made in that world will be lost.

  If the auto-save occurs during a time when you are incapable of responding, you will automatically be returned to the world. Please keep this in mind, should you take serious injuries. Injuries are not automatically healed when an auto-save is performed.

  The automatic reload feature will default to your auto-save as its entry point. This does mean that any quick saves currently available will be lost.

  Upon archiving a new auto-save, all quick save data will be destroyed. If you choose to enter a new world, the point in which you left the previous world will become a new auto-save locale. Please keep this fact in mind, once you begin to unlock other worlds.

  Knowledge of how to make a quick save appeared inside his head, and he immediately chose to activate that power. Like hell would he go all the way back to that damned classroom! If he died again, he would have to remember to make a new quick save. They only lasted until he reloaded his life, or whatever.

  It was possibly the ultimate cheat power. If he died, time would rewind, and he could try again. Much like what happened earlier, there was no guarantee that he would succeed. He died several times before he managed to move forward. If he saved at a bad time, he could easily end up in a fate worse than death. Scott easily understood that there was a serious drawback. If his auto-save occurred at a time where he was about to die, it was entirely likely that he would be trapped in an eternal death loop. A quick save could help alleviate some of that concern, but it could also go badly for him as well.

  Of course, those mental musings were interrupted, and his quick save action proven to be unnecessary, when the system revealed the next juicy tidbit.

  Chapter Zero – The Prologue – Complete

  Now saving… Please do not cease life functions until your auto-save is complete. Your auto-save will be complete when the little CD icon stops flashing and disappears.

  Saving… 4%

  Saving… 12%

  Saving … 37%

  The game save notifications continued for several seconds while the save icon, which did look like a little CD, continued to flash in front of him. At least it did not use the floppy disc symbol. That must count for something, right?

  Not long after the auto-save completed itself, and the disc disappeared from view, his musings were cut short by an obnoxious voice. “You are the leader, I take it?” asked Shit-do.

  Scott glanced over and noticed that not unlike his anime counterpart, he asked that question of Saiko. She glanced toward Scott, but then closed her eyes and said, “No. We’re just a group who got together in order to survive.”

  Briefly, he was confused. Shouldn’t there have been some angry little douche bitching at Tosh, first? Scott bit his lip a little and tried to think about the situation a bit. He loved the show, but it wasn’t like he had it memorized completely. Did that happen before or after Shit-do decided to pretend he was worth a fuck?

  Before. He was certain of it, and yet it did not happen here. Just how similar would the events taking place in this world prove to be comparable to the anime?

  “No. No. It cannot be,” said Shit-do dramatically. “In trying times such as these, we need a leader.”

  “Surely, none of you want the—” began Shit-do.

  “You’re right. We do,” said Scott loudly. “So, I’m in charge now. Take your seat, and I’ll let you know what we’re doing later.”

  “Why you little…” said Shit-do. He glared at Scott. “You are only a student! I am—”

  “A morally repugnant shit-weasel who needs to be mindful of his tenuous position on this bus after the crap that he pulled back at the school,” replied Scott coldly.

  Shit-do drew back like he had been slapped. “Of all the— Why you vulgar little—”

  “Vulgar?” interrupted Scott as he rose from his seat with brush axe in hand. “Cute.”

  The bus suddenly lurched to a halt. “Hey! Stop fighting!” called out Summer, “We have enough problems as it is!”

  Scott snorted at Shit-do. “Hey, look at that. Guess we know who the real boss of this bus is… The pretty lady with the keys.”

  “Now, you listen here you little… student,” said Shit-do, his face burning red and his eyes practically popping out. “We need proper leadership! We will take a vote!”

  Scott shrugged at him. “Sure, go ahead.”

  “Excellent!” crowed Shit-do.

  “Now then,” he said before sweeping around to look at the students behind him. “You have seen the choices! Do we follow this aggressive and vulgar student?”

  Shit-do did not wait for anyone to speak, instead he moved into a monologue. “Though I am unworthy of it, I see now that we absolutely need someone to lead us through this crisis.”

  He gestured toward Scott. “Clearly, it has left many of us unhinged, and though I am also afraid… of failing you all. I take up our mutual cause, should you accept me.”

  “Now. Who wishes for me, your teacher, someone who personally saw to it that you reached the safety of this bus, shall be the one who continues to lead you all until we find safety?” asked Shit-do humbly.

  All the students at the back of the bus raised their hands. There were eight of them that Scott could see. With Shit-do that made nine.

  “See! That’s half the bus at least! Surely, you must know that this means the majority secretly yearns for a strong leader?” crowed Shit-do.

  “There’s twenty people on this bus, and one of the students you were traveling with certainly did not vote for you,” said Scott.

  He glanced toward the student who had fallen on the way to the bus. Not long after they left, Scott had helped him to raise his leg up on the seat so that he could keep his foot elevated.

  “Yes, but that does not matter… Unless every single one of the people in the front of the bus chooses to vote for you,” said Shit-do.

  “I think it matters a great deal, because I don’t give a shit who votes for you,” said Scott. “You threw the two of us away like a used condom the moment you saw that leaving us behind would give you a chance to escape. The only reason I don’t cleave that smug little head of yours from your neck is that I’ve seen enough death today.”

  “You… would go so far as to threaten my life for disagreeing with the majority?” asked Shit-do. “You even lie to make yourself look better?”

  He spun in place and said, “Are these the qualities of a leader?”

  Scott snorted while the back of the bus jeered at him. Several of the students rose up and tried to intimidate him.

  “Let me explain the timeline of events, so all of you cheering idiots get the facts right,” said Scott.

  “Saiko, Summer, and I hatched a plan to go and get the keys to this bus,” said Scott. “Most of the rest of us met each other in the same place, and a plan was formed to again... reach this bus.”

  “Shut up!” snapped one of the male students in the back. “You’re no better than any of us! Mr. Sheeto is a teacher!”

  Scott ignored him. “We picked up some people along the way and worked together to get… to this bus.”

  He raised his brush axe and pointed it menacingly toward Shit-do. “You idiots ruined that whole fucking plan by rushing out and shouting. Even so, we still helped you get to this bus.”

  Scott gripped the handle of his brush axe tight enough for his knuckles to become a dull white color beyond his normal complexion. “Every single damned one of the students who followed you made it to this bus and escaped because of what we did.

  He snorted at Shit-do, then continued, “Two of us almost didn’t because of what you did, Shit-do. You obnoxious mealy-mouthed little shit.” />
  Shit-do stared at him slack-jawed. No one had ever spoken to him like that in his life. They didn’t dare! Not considering his father’s position! He was so shocked that he could not even speak.

  “Fuck democracy. This is our bus. We took it. I don’t give a damn who the others up front decide will be their leader in the future,” he continued. “That’s up to them. Several of them can’t stand my ass anyway.

  “It won’t be you, either way,” said Scott coldly. “Hell, even without seeing what you did back there, Jade sounded desperate not to let you on the bus. So, I’m sure she will never vote for you at least.”

  “And she seems like she would actually a pretty nice girl when she isn’t being a seething bitch,” said Scott. “Whatever you did to her, it’s obvious that you’re a scum bag to make her act that way.”

  Several people looked toward Jade. She refused to look at anyone; and tilted her head forward. Strangely a shadow fell across her eyes and she seemingly became tense. It was not a natural phenomenon, but something one might see in an anime. It was enough to make Scott blink briefly, but he regained his senses.

  He swept his gaze over the back of the bus. “You’re all scared, so you’re making the stupid decision to follow a guy who will throw you away to save his own ass. That’s your business.”

  Several of them tried to talk over him at that point, and Shit-do fumed. Strangely the front of the bus remained quiet this whole time. It was like he was alone on a stage.

  “Get one thing straight. I do care whether or not you live or die, but I won’t coddle any of you,” said Scott.

  “Ultimately, you’re just a bunch of unarmed baggage along for the ride,” said Scott. “I’m sure everyone is happy to have helped you get out of there despite how much more difficult your presence could make things if we’re together long term.”

  He continued unabated, “We’re all in this together, until we’re not. None of us will be on this bus forever.”

  “You can’t just decide for the majority! We voted!” snarled Shit-do. He looked as though he would attack Scott, but that brush axe he carried rose menacingly when the older man started forward. Shit-do wisely halted his movements, though he held an expression of barely constrained rage.

  “Your vote doesn’t count for shit. You people are just taking up space at the moment,” said Scott.

  “If you don’t like that, you can democratically elect your useless asses to fucking walk.” Scott nodded his head to the side. “Road’s that way.”

  A brief lull in the conversation occurred as Scott’s words sank into the exhausted and frightened minds of everyone on that bus. However, that peace did not last for long.

  “God! Would you two just stop swinging your dicks around and sit down already!” snapped Momoko. The twin-tailed genius made a loud *humph* noise and glared at them, though her glare was mostly reserved for Scott.

  “I’m fine with that,” said Scott.

  Shit-do glowered darkly, but then quickly shifted his expression to one of utter calm. He adjusted his tie then took a cleansing breath. “In the interest of alleviating the tension of the survivors of this bus, I will comply… but we will need to elect a leader soon.”

  Scott shrugged at him. “Do what you want. I doubt we’ll be in this bus more than overnight at best.”

  “What makes you say that?” asked Saiko.

  He glanced over to her then shrugged. “How many millions of people live in this city? This bus is huge and can’t off road well. It’s inevitable that it’ll get stuck somewhere, blow a tire on some glass in the road, or get hit by some panicking survivor.”

  “If it’s so inevitable, why are you still on it?” asked Tosh. Lord Slap-a-Ho had finally spoken and proved to be just as passive-aggressive as always.

  “Are you serious?” asked Scott.

  Tosh sighed then waved his hand around in a non-committal manner. “Whatever.”

  People started chattering at each other in the back once more. Scott opted to plop down in his seat. Jade glanced over at him briefly then looked away. Curious, Scott checked her status.

  Jade Mitsubishi

  Status: It’s Complicated

  Affection Rating: Bitter and Angry – [-61]

  Level: 119

  Cost: 3305344

  He didn’t recall the numbers from before in detail, but he did think that they had changed considerably. Was it because of mentioning her when he confronted Shit-do? There could also be something of a cooling off period. People go through different mental states over time. Having seen him take the initiative and spend efforts to help people might have slightly softened her demeanor toward him as well.

  Scott looked around the bus slowly. It seemed that no one up front was talking to anyone else, with the exception of Taco and Nami. Neither of them would have survived the original series of events, so Scott did not know what to expect from them.

  Frankly, the entire bus was far more crowded than it would normally have been. From his best estimate there were twenty people on board.

  He closed his eyes briefly then leaned over a little. Scott covered his eyes like he was trying to hide them, a site many would think meant that he was dealing with his thoughts. Instead, he was trying to scope out the various bus-related waifus.

  Momoko caught his attention because she actually looked in his direction. So, he started with her.

  Momoko Megane

  Status: Crushing on Tosh (Conflicted)

  Affection Rating: Annoyed – [-28]

  Level: 93

  Cost: 1041600

  There was a change in her information as well. She was conflicted emotionally, but he was also certain that her impression of him had dropped by a tiny amount. If he didn’t cause any more scenes, he could probably salvage that, however. The biggest concern was that the tiny drop had greatly increased her cost!

  He looked side-eyed at Saiko. Curious to see what her impression of him might be, he waited patiently for her information to appear.

  Saiko Bustiko

  Status: Single

  Affection Rating: Curious – [+24]

  Level: 132

  Cost: 24640

  Her impression did not appear to have changed much at all. Perhaps he had earned points with her, then lost them during the argument with Shit-Do? It was hard to say. Her cost had dropped a bit due to even that slight change, however.

  Scott openly glanced toward Summer. He could look to the front of the bus without making it seem like he was staring, and he did so now.

  Summer Oppai

  Status: Single for too long.

  Affection Rating: Curious – [+29]

  Level: 103

  Cost: 15628

  He did his best not to wince. Arguing with the would-be cult leader had caused her to become slightly less interested in him by several points. Her waifu cost had increased by a few thousand points as a result.

  Something about it seemed off to him. Wasn’t standing up and taking charge important?

  Scott thought about it for a short while, as the bus rolled along. Maybe it was how he handled the situation? He had been loud and brash. Honestly, he seemed to have irritated most of the girls somehow.

  It came to mind that perhaps after how he and Tosh interacted earlier, they had begun to peg him as a hot head who liked to make things worse.

  Scott closed his eyes and sighed. He couldn’t help it. Between the cool under pressure trait, and the visceral memories of his multiple deaths earlier, the events of the day had taken their toll on him.

  Cool Under Pressure was an interesting trait. It did not turn him into an ice king, or whatever the male equivalent of an ice queen would be. Instead it allowed him not to panic and to act with more logical focus. What it really meant was that he would have less of a mental filter before he spoke. He would think of something he figured sounded right and speak, far less hesitation than before. As he had noticed in recent events, that did not always mean he made the best decision. It just let him r
each one sooner based on whatever logical information he’d acquired.

  “I see… I’ve been acting like a tyrannical dick,” muttered Scott.

  He needed to make it up to the folks on the bus. As far as Shit-do was concerned, he would probably wait a few hours to strike again, possibly even attempt to take weapons from those who had them.

  Scott mulled over the options. What was the best way to cause the frightened luggage in the back of the bus to calm down? Food. Water. Shelter. Weapons… a bathroom.

  The bus was shelter enough for now. The other three things were in short supply. That last thing, the bathroom was a vital necessity. Many of the people on the bus were covered in blood.

  Scott slipped out of his seat then walked toward the front of the bus. All eyes turned toward him as he walked, but he said nothing until he reached the front.

  “W-what?” asked Summer. “It’s dangerous to stand up while I’m driving…”

  “I know, but there’s a concern,” said Scott softly. “Do you know of any nearby grocery or convenience stores?”

  “Stores? Um…” asked Summer. “Why?”

  “Because, we had no time to check to see if anyone was bitten,” said Scott. “Even if they haven’t, a lot of us are covered in blood and need to clean up. Food and water are priorities as well.”

  “Hey what are you whispering about up there?” called Shit-do from the back.

  Scott stood up straight and looked to the back of the bus. “I was asking Ms. Oppai if she knew of any nearby grocery or convenience stores.”

  “It’s too dangerous to stop! I will not allow it!” exclaimed Shit-do.