So much has changed.
I have a feeling that it will keep happening as well.
4
Logging out, I check the time on my phone beside the bed and see that it is 16:00. I also find that I have a crap ton of messages and missed calls. A lot of them are from Rosie, surprise, surprise. The rest are cursory touch bases from Dylan.
Dylan sent me the details for the storage rooms and thanked me profusely for allowing him to rent my house. Dylan also sent me a link to both my code black incidents, which I might watch later.
Taking a quick flick through the multiple messages, I realise I haven't looked at my phone since I set it down when I first logged in here. No wonder there are so many.
The general gist of the ones from Rosie seems to be asking how I'm going and whether my friends are still hanging around and what time I start work tonight. The more recent ones say she was on her way home and would be home today sometime.
The most recent one was from five minutes ago, where she is freaking out thinking the four-wheel drive has been stolen. Ha. Debating for a moment, I decide against texting her the truth. I definitely don't want to talk to her right now.
Taking a quick trip to the bathroom, I then take my phone and tablet out to the main room.
“Hey, gents!” I exclaim in good spirits upon seeing everyone hanging around the lounges. “Good news!”
“Hmm, I wonder what it could be? His voice dropped years ago, so it can't be that he is coming into puberty,” Fuzzy says with a thoughtful expression.
Lockie’s face is deadpan. “You found the skeleton in your closet and you like it?”
Rolling my eyes, I hold up my phone. “Dylan sent through the links to the code blacks.”
“Ohh, even better!” Lockie says, a slow smile splitting his face as he rubs his hands together.
We are all laughing, and I think how much he looks like a young Mr Burns from a famous cartoon show.
“Grace? Are you there?” I ask.
“Of course I am, where else would I be?” Grace gently admonishes me. “Would you like me to play it on the big screen?”
“Well, that was quick. Please do, Grace,” I respond.
“Hold up, the gaming news is on, and I kind of want to see this section. I'm interested to find out how well everyone else is doing,” says Blake.
“Certainly. Let me know when you wish for me to play the video, as the link to the code black with Dylan isn't working for some reason,” replies Grace.
“Yo, Donald, we ordered Italian this time. They have an amazing pizza and pasta range. So I basically just ordered share plates of everything. I hope the chefs don't hate us with all the fiddly meals,” Fuzzy says hopefully.
“Don't worry, Douglas,” Karma says positively. “That is mainly the way they make meals here, as there are so many options, no one really ever just wants one thing.”
“Oh, that's alright then.” Fuzzy sighs, relaxing into the couch.
Something grabs my interest on the screen, and I see that it is a debate going on about that fellow who is brain-dead I saw last time. It looks like the presenter is the mediator for the debate between a government official and a DSR representative.
“So, in conclusion, gentlemen,” says the presenter, “there is no concrete proof that substantiates that the DSR Corporation is at fault with a potentially deadly glitch.”
“That is only because they are refusing to let the government look at their technology and ascertain that for ourselves,” says the government lackey.
“For the final time, sir”—the DSR rep shrugs nonchalantly—“the DSR Corporation is not beholden to any government and needs no oversight from such. This is due to the agreements signed by each government so that its citizens could access the technology. Due to the technology being spread throughout the world, this was necessary.”
“Then please explain to the world why Pierre Devore is currently in cryostasis due to being brain-dead. Possibly permanently,” the government lackey says angrily, shaking his fist at the DSR rep. “His family have a right to know!”
“Unfortunately, at this time, I cannot give any more details other than this is an unprecedented occurrence, and we are working around the clock to rectify it,” the DSR rep says calmly.
“Nothing! You're doing nothing!” shouts the government lackey, standing and taking a step towards the other man. “I've spoken with his family and seen firsthand their grief. You should be ashamed of yourselves. If you can't figure it out, then let the government in so that we can help!”
“The incompetence of the government body you represent, sir, is astounding in and of itself. You are one of the only governments who haven't been able to create a working prototype to rival even a quarter of what DSR is capable of,” the DSR rep calmly parries and ripostes.
Turning beet red, and I mean a proper solid colour that this screen picks up rather stunningly, the government lackey lunges forward across the open space between them. His momentum is arrested by the presenter as he tackles the angry man off the stage and into the camera.
The tension of the situation broke as we all burst out into laughter, wolf-whistling, and general uproarious behaviour as the fight continues. The camera is off-kilter and on the floor, but still somehow focused on the red-faced fellow, who is struggling quite heavily with the presenter.
This cameraman is bloody good, I have to give him props for that. A couple of massive guards arrive and jump in, basically sitting on them both and taking all the wind out of their sails.
Just before the feed is cut, the camera is physically moved to get the DSR rep into the shot for a split moment. He is still just sitting there with his legs crossed and his hands folded over his knees, calmly raising a single eyebrow.
The screen abruptly shifts to a female presenter, who starts talking about the various groups within DSR2 and what they are up to in a singsong voice.
“When the fights are happening on the news, you know someone planned that to happen,” Lockie states, trying to control his mirth.
Holding his sides and catching his breath, Fuzzy agrees. “Yes, however, it's the same as watching various people doing extremely stupid things for stupid reasons. Usually to their own detriment physically. It's funny as fuck!”
“True, very true.” Blake laughs.
The food arrives then, and it's the same unhappy fellow as before who comes in and sets everything out on the tables in front of the lounges from a large serving cart. He even looks annoyed to be here doing his job and is rude almost to the point of insulting with his mannerisms.
I probably should say something, but I know how hard people are worked these days. I don't know what's going on in his life, and it wouldn't be fair unless he takes his rudeness too far, so I hold my tongue.
Blake, however, does not. “Yo, dude, what's up with you? You need to relax and chill, mate.”
Shooting a scowl at Blake, he replies, “It's not all sunshine and rainbows for everyone else who isn't a beta tester. Let alone a VIP one. I get virtually no time for myself in the new game. There are too many people in my life who make it suck. So bloody well forgive me for not being all chipper and fake smiles.”
“Oh, that sucks,” Blake says, taken aback.
The delivery guys are interrupted by the high-pitched and excited voice of the presenter on the show, and he shifts his attention there instead of responding.
“Check out this baby twilight dragon. How cute is it!? Oh my god! While not the first familiar that has been summoned, it is by far the rarest so far!” the presenter squeals with delight.
The familiar in question is my own, and the scene being displayed is from the moment I first hit summon. I'm front and centre in view when the lights in the room are dimmed to blackness, and the only light is now coming from the azure and purple orb of swirling energy.
It's being fed from energy coming from my chest and slowly coalesces into a solid egg shape. I watch myself reach out and cup it gently from beneath an
d see the first cracks start to appear. All at once, a baby twilight dragon emerges from the shell, its scales coloured with the same glowing swirls as the energy from before.
The presenter is right, Grace is so very cute, manliness be damned.
When the broken shell hits my hands, it disintegrates into motes of bright light, which are absorbed into my skin. I see my shocked expression and my mouth opening into a wordless scream as I remember the immense pain that made me look like that.
The intensely bright light travels up my arms and eventually covers me from head to toe, leaving my body transformed in its wake. The light is even shining through my armour and clothes, making them seem transparent, the lines of light glowing brightly.
Throughout this, I look like I've been electrocuted with my spine flung backwards. My eyes are glowing purple, and my hands, now tipped with claws, are still cupping Grace. Once the horns, tail and wings grow out to their full length, most of the light in the room fades as the excess energy has finished being absorbed by my body.
The viewing cuts out then, not showing how I collapsed and curled up in the foetal position for the next five hours.
Funny that.
“Holy shit,” gasps the delivery guy, mouth open and eyes wide.
“Donald, I didn't realise that's what happened,” Anya says sympathetically. “That looked painful.”
“Yes, yes it was.” I nod, trying not to remember just how much.
“That was you?!” exclaims the rude gent in utter shock as he looks at me anew.
“Yeah, that's me alright. Horns and wings and all.” I nod again.
“I, wow. That was incredible.” Abruptly he notices the food cart and jerks with a start. “Oh shit, I need to get back to work!”
In a flash both he and his cart are gone and out the door.
Reaching forward, I pull some pasta dishes and a pizza in front of me and start digging in.
“Chow time,” Blake says half-heartedly, and everyone else also grabs food for themselves.
After watching some more familiars appear, we all start to relax again while we eat. Food is amazing, especially good food.
Very few people had their bodies transform when they received their familiar. No idea why though. Maybe it was a rarity thing? Or it could have been that I was a dragonkin and received a dragon as a familiar. There isn't enough information to go on.
Soon enough, 16:30 rolls around, and Lockie asks if we can watch the code black now. With no disagreements, Grace pulls up the video and starts playing it.
Immediately the game news show disappears and is replaced by a full-screen version divided into four sections. Each section is a different view from the DSR Corporation building's lobby.
One shows the lobby entrance from the inside with a semi close-up of the doors and a still shot of Rosie walking in hanging off the Hercules lookalike. Another has a still shot of the mezzanine floor we are all standing on while we fill out our tablets. I can clearly see my obviously happy face gazing out into the lobby with a wide smile, though facing away from the doors.
All the screens start playing the videos of the lobby security cameras. The video shows the smile slip off my face and my eye twitch as I see Rosie for the first time in a few days when she walks through the lobby entrance.
“Should have brought popcorn,” Fuzzy mutters.
“Ordered,” Karma says just as quietly.
The sound is turned on as well, and we all start to hear a female voice superimposed into the clip. Probably not necessary, but I really don't have any control over what people do with stuff like this.
The female voice begins. “Hi there, in this training video, you will see an altercation that could have ended up much worse than it did. You see, things can spiral out of control even in the most mundane of moments. In this scenario, the main protagonist we will call Mr X, while the other two we will call Miss Y and Mr H.”
A large circle is superimposed around myself as I lean on the balcony. Two other circles surround Rosie and Hercules.
The disembodied voice continues, “Right at this moment, Mr X has just noticed Miss Y entering the building while hanging off that Hercules lookalike, Mr H. That's about the same look I would have on my face too if I saw my partner with some floozy. Now witness as he tries to dissuade himself that it is actually her as he gets out his phone and sends a quick text.
“Oh dear, you can see Miss Y gets a message and responds. This goes back and forth a couple of times before eventually Mr X man’s up and calls her.”
The ringtone for 'We Didn't Start the Fire' starts playing just then.
“That is the ringtone that Miss Y has for Mr X. Quite unique, one would say, right? Well, look at that, she is pulling out her phone and cancelling the call. Then what does she do, full out shoves her tongue down Mr H's throat.
“Brutal. Especially since he is standing right there watching her do it. Oh dear, can you see the blankness of Mr X's face right now? And the twitching around his eye? To be quite honest, I would have already popped a blood vessel and there would be hell to pay.”
A box of popcorn lands in my lap quietly and I unconsciously start munching on them.
“However, Mr X has some awesome friends. They also happen to be his guild mates. They look out for each other. See the extremely tall and muscular lady next to Mr X? Talk about an Amazonian goddess in real life! She heard the ringtone and then saw whom it belongs to immediately. Her quick thinking saved the day. She shouts something that makes the others instantly try to jump their friend with worried looks on their faces.
“Too late though. Mr X has snapped, his rage taking over him completely. Look at that. Just wow. I mean, who moves like that? You would think three big guys and a seven-foot-tall strongwoman would be able to take down one dude, right? Well, not without partially destroying the place first.
“They have a hold of him! Nope, they are thrown off. Oh, ouch, the guy with the big red beard goes head first into the double reinforced glass railing and cracks it! How hard is his head?!
“Did Mr X just flip two of his friends at the same time and slam them into the furniture? Whoa, man. This guy is nuts. I really wouldn't want to get on his bad side. Like ever. Ever, ever. Oh, did I mention that all of these gentlemen used to work at a very prodigious nightclub in the city as security and management before they started working for DSR? Have to keep the whereabouts secret though.
“Wait! It looks like the Amazonian woman just sat on Mr X and he is staying down! Oh, it's because two of the others have his arms trapped. Now his legs are trapped. Is this the end?! But wait. No way! Is he starting to lift the big guy off the ground?! Oh wow, now he is in a proper headlock, aaannd sleepy time.
“That, ladies and gentlemen, that is what might have happened to Mr H if Mr X's friends didn't stop him. This is what the DSR security needs to be able to train for and prevent. Even in the darkest hour, stay sharp. You never know when something is going to go wrong. On a side note, everyone here should probably take to heart not to fuck with people this man cares about.
“Well, the entire time that fight was occurring, Miss Y and Mr H had no idea it was going on, and now they leave the room none the wiser. They have no idea how close they came to being on the wrong side of the happy fellow we saw at the beginning of this training video.”
The videos revert back to the original screens with my smiling face and Rosie walking through the door hanging off Mr H.
The voice-over reverts back to the beginning, and the video starts playing again.
“Anybody want a drink or some coffee?” My mouth is quite in need of a drink from the popcorn, so I get up and head to the kitchen.
Everyone yells to the affirmative. As I get up, I see that there is a new delivery dude standing a couple of paces away from the back of the lounges and that he is watching the video from the beginning, muttering under his breath with a sickly grin plastered on his face.
Shrugging, I fix us all some coffee, or rather, I press
a button five times and out pops five coffees. Someone has gone and messed with the settings, and now there are five buttons that have our names written above them in digital letters. Handy.
Taking a tray from on top of the machine, I bring them all back to the others, who have lowered the volume and are conversing with the delivery guy. I notice that he has his name badge on and his name is Matt.
He turns to me and outstretches his hand for me to shake as I set the tray down. “Hey there, Donald, I was just introducing myself to your friends. My name is Matt and I'll be one of the regular waiters for this apartment. Don't hesitate to call if you need something. We have an extensive range of almost everything.”
“I was just explaining how the guy who delivered the food a couple of times is a rude little fucker,” Fuzzy says, not pulling any punches. “He wasn't wearing a name badge, so I can't tell you who it was either.”
“Oh, that's fine, I'll get the AI to inform me later and make a note of it for our superiors to look into. As for now, I have to get back to it, but let me just say one thing.” He points back to the screen at Rosie. “Your ex is a royal bitch. I'm hoping that you dropped that slut after seeing what I just saw. I just wish I could voice my opinion on the video. Would have said a few things differently.”
Letting go of Matt's hand, I give him a nod in agreement. “Yeah, I'm no longer with her. Although I should probably say something to her on that account. I haven't actually spoken to her for a few days now. Thanks for your hospitality. I'll be sure to let you know if we need anything.”
“Considering this apartment is the only one in my section that has called for anything in the last few hours, I think I can find the time,” Matt responds with an easy smile.
“Well then, why was that other kid in such a bad mood? It sounded like he was rushed for time,” Lockie says, frowning.
“Not sure, but I'll leave you to it, gentlemen.” With a wave farewell, Matt leaves the room, and our attention is back on the screen.
“Donald, you have a phone call from Dylan,” says Grace over the room speakers. “Would you like to take it now? Your phone is linked to your earphones.”
Dream Stream Reality: Publisher's Pack Books 1-2: (A LitRPG Adventure) Page 33
