Aspirant 2: A Sci-Fi Harem Adventure

by Maxx Whittaker

  I don’t think about it. They’re good. They’ve survived the Citadel… A little shit like Wick didn’t get the best of them. No way.

  I widen my eyes significantly at Syl. Go with this.

  She gives the subtlest of nods. Maybe she’d be a good poker player, after all.

  “Wick,” I say. “You are sneaky. And it’d be a lie to say that I trusted you not to ghost the second our backs are turned, so–”

  “I won’t. Promise,” he pleads, eyes already darting to the horizon. God, he’s a bad liar. He must be as young as he seems. “Told you I’d help you. I meant it.”

  “I think you're full of shit,” I say, tightening my noose just enough to keep him from interrupting again. “But here’s how we’re going to keep you close.”

  Syl lowers him so his feet touch the ground, but she doesn’t let him go. He nods frantically as she extends the claws of her other hand, a slow movement right at his eye level. “Y… Yeah, boss. Whatever you want.”

  “Good.” I reach up and tear a piece of Astra’s material from my sleeve. The moment it separates from the rest of the shirt it melts into a silver blob the size of a quarter. I hold it out to him. “Swallow this.”

  He recoils, looking sick. “Uh, I mean, like… No?” He glances to Syl’s claws. “That’s gotta be… poison or something. I… I don’t even know what it is and–”

  “It is the only thing that’s going to keep Syl from cutting your head off,” I say. I feign boredom, like it doesn’t matter to me whether he lives or dies. I don’t play the bad guy very well, and I’ve always found cold indifference more terrifying than rage, anyway.

  Wick apparently agrees. He swallows hard, closing his eyes. With one paw he tentatively reaches out, taking Astra’s goop.

  Then he fumbles, dropping it. “Oh, shit man… Sorry. I–”

  His eyes widen as the blob raises back in the air and moves toward his lips. “Not getting out of it that easy,” I say.

  “Oh, God…” He mumbles. He clenches his eyes and opens his mouth as I press the blob inside. He gulps and I nod to Syl, who finally releases him.

  Wick goes to his knees, making a big show of coughing. “You two are sick,” he whines. “Poisoning me or making me part of your sick… Fucking… Whatever that was… Probably sex perverts or something...” As he rants, his body bends, tensing. Ready to spring away.

  “Don’t even think about it,” I say. Time to really screw with him. I extend my power into his body, searching… There. Astra’s essence, so unmistakable that I could recognize it in my sleep. Slowing working down Wick’s esophagus.

  I take it with the power, holding it in place. “What you’ve just ingested, buddy, is a highly explosive material.”

  Syl covers her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing. I stab her with my eyes. Don’t blow this!

  But Wick isn’t looking at her. Or me. He’s clawing at his chest, breaths so panicked it sounds like he’s about to pass out. “Explosive? What? You… You fucker! That–”

  “Shhh,” I hush. “Here’s the deal. At any time of my choosing, I can detonate what I just put inside you. It won’t be a big explosion… Just enough to tear you apart inside. You’ll die slowly, and it’ll be really, really painful.” I vibrate Astra’s blob just enough that Wick feels it.

  Wick gapes. “You… You…”

  I vibrate it harder and he shuts up. On some level, I can’t believe he’s buying this; I just tore the blob from my shirt, and he’s seen me move shit with my mind. But I suppose fear goes a long way toward convincing someone. “Here’s the deal. Lead us back to the others. Help us out when we get there. Get us into the city, find us a place to make some chips and get some information, and we’ll let you go. Try to run or get us killed again?” I tug the blob so hard that Wick stumbles forward a step. “Boom.”

  I take a slow step toward him, leaning down so that I’m at his level. “Do we have an understanding?”

  For once, he doesn’t have a quip or a joke. He just nods, too terrified to speak.

  “Great. Back to Acheryx.”

  He sprints away immediately, but doesn’t go too far. Syl and I follow more slowly, letting him get a bit ahead. He glances back fearfully every few seconds but doesn’t try to escape.

  Syl’s tongue slowly extends, tasting the air between us. “Sam, that was… Deftly done. I did not know you could be so ruthless.”

  “Neither did I.” I slip into one of the canals, craning my neck to keep watch on our unwilling party member. “Just hope it’s enough to keep him from thinking too hard about the ‘bomb’.”

  “Do not worry.” Syl bares her teeth. “If he flees, I will catch him.”

  “Knew you’d have my back.”

  “Always.” A slow smile spreads across her face. “In more ways than one.”

  ***

  My worry grows when we hit Acheryx’s outskirts. I scan the countryside, looking for some sign of Mika and Astra. The city looms in the distance, walls pocked and blackened from the battle. There’s no signs of the Obsidians. “Guess they got what they wanted.”

  “Or were driven away,” Syl says, squinting at the copse of trees we first hid inside.

  “I don’t know. That Avalon chick was terrifying. Something tells me they came out on top.”

  “Perhaps. She was impressive.” Syl licks her lips in a slow drag. “I would enjoy meeting her in battle.”

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  “Look, movement.” She points to the trees. “Over there.”

  I’m running before I realize my legs are moving. I’d recognize that flag of black and purple hair anywhere.

  The girls meet us halfway, and Mika slams into my arms so hard it knocks me back a step. “Sam… Thank Christ.”

  “Hey… We’re okay. We’re good.”

  Astra’s just behind her, laying a hand on my arm. “We worried. When Wick escaped us… We knew something was wrong.”

  “We wanted to follow,” Mika says, squeezing me tight enough to break ribs, “but we didn’t know which way the contract was.”

  “It’s okay. Got a little dicey, but we handled it.”

  Mika switches to trying to squeeze Syl to death, and I turn to Wick. “Thanks for not lying about this, too.”

  He glares at me. “I told you.” His whiskers twitch as he stares at Mika’s butt. “Like I’d hurt two fine ass ladies like these, anyway.”

  “Hey, eyes up here, bud.” God, he talks like a fifteen-year-old kid who thinks he’s smooth. “And to be fair, in the short time I’ve known you, you haven’t exactly been straight with the truth. About anything, really.”

  “Yeah, yeah… Can you take this thing out of me, now?”

  “Thing?” Astra says, eyeing me speculatively.

  “Oh, no, not yet,” I say. “You forget about the other half of what you owe us for trying to get us killed?”

  “He what?” Mika’s glare looks like it could melt ice. The flames that ignite at her fingertips definitely could.

  “Yeah, he’s got quite a little racket going. Luring newbs into fighting elites way too strong for their level and then collecting their crap afterward. Was any of it real? The guys beating you…”

  Wick winces. “I… Hired them to rough me up. So hero types like you would drive them off.:

  “I knew they gave up too easy,” Mika crows.

  I lean against Syl’s shoulder. “So, he puts us in an unwinnable situation. But he didn’t count on us collecting that,” I say, nodding to the Corroc head I dropped when Mika tackled me.

  “Hehe, yeah…” Wick rubs his head. “Gonna have to find a new con after this.”

  “Boo hoo.” Mika mock pouts. “Sam, why didn’t you kill his ass the second you realized?”

  “Because Wick’s going to help us as repayment.” I pat his furry head a little harder than is necessary.

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Wick sighs, ducking away. “Let’s get this over with. Faster I can get rid of you crazy
assholes, the better.”

  “Watch your tone,” Syl warns. “Disrespect my clan further…”

  Wick swallows. “Yeah, sure. Kay.” He wanders a short distance off, muttering to himself.

  “Seriously, though…” I say, taking Astra and Mika’s hands. “We didn’t know what he’d done with you. I figured you wouldn’t have trouble with a shortstack like him, but if he had friends…”

  “We are pleased that you are unhurt,” Syl finishes.

  Mika nudges Astra. “That’s about as emotional as she gets. They were really worried.”

  I pull them both close. “You have no idea.”

  Pressure, at my back. Syl, wrapping us all in her slim arms. “I… Tried to leave. Sam stopped me.”

  Mika pulls back, shocked. “What, physically?”

  “Yeah,” I laugh. “That went about as well as expected.”

  “He used his power to pull me back. Even after I struck him and threw him down, he did not relent. He tied me to a rock with his mind and–”

  “Yeah,” I interrupt, grinning. “That happened too.”

  “You two got busy? On a mission?” Mika swats me. “Lucky.”

  “Yeah,” Astra says. “Unfair.”

  “And I see you levelled up,” Mika pouts. “Did that happen while you were getting all distracted from the mission, too?”

  Astra blinks. “Can you level that way? Because if so, we should definitely explore that further.”

  “No, sadly,” Syl says.

  “Yeah, that was just regular old monster killing.” Damn, though… That would be fun. “Sorry to disappoint.”

  “Oh,” Mika says, eyes hooded. “You never disappoint.”

  “He used his power during, as well,” Syl drawls. “In very creative ways.”

  “Hoookay,” I laugh, backing up a step. Considering everything I’ve done with these three, I’m not sure why them recalling it after the fact makes me clam up like a twelve-year-old seeing tits for the first time. “Don’t we have a city to infiltrate?”

  “I’d like to infiltrate something,” Mika hums, licking her lips. “You’ve never used your power on me.”

  “Do not worry, Viera,” Syl says, patting her awkwardly. “He has plenty of stamina. He was prepared to mate and climax for a fourth time when we were interrupted by–”

  “Wick! Time to go!”

  “Four times?” Mika purses her full lips. “Wow.”

  “Right now!”

  The girls dissolve in laughter as I chase after the Palico. He waits a short distance off, watching us with wide eyes.

  “What?” I say, not liking his look one bit.

  He looks from the girls to me. “Seriously? With all three?”

  “Uhh…”

  Wick shakes his head. “You are a sex pervert.”

  “Dude. Mind your own–”

  “No, no… That’s not an insult.” He gazes at me with something like awe. “Teach me.”

  “Oh hell no. We are not having this conversation right now.” I push him toward Acheryx.

  “Not yet,” he grins over his shoulder. “Follow me.”

  “That’s more like–”

  “Sensei.”

  Oh, Lord.

  14

  Acheryx Streets

  Player: Sam

  Level 2

  “Well, that certainly wiped the smug smile off his face.”

  I laugh, my back digging into the rough brickwork of the wall I lean against. “Yeah, thank God for that.”

  Astra and I stand at the end of the weirdest alley I’ve ever seen, laying low as we watch traffic pass by in the nearby street. “I’m still not sure how I feel about a piece of me being inside… That.” Astra wrinkles her nose in disdain. “But I suppose I understand the need.”

  “Yeah, sorry I couldn’t ask. I had to think fast.”

  “It’s alright.” She shrinks back behind a dumpster as something so large it blots out the sun thumps down the street. “I’ll get it back, eventually.”

  “Along with Syl’s disguise. Seriously, that was art.”

  “It was nothing,” she says, blushing prettily.

  “Are you kidding? A quick coating of… you… And she’s perfect.” Mika and I stood in awe just outside the side entrance to the city as Astra’d touched Syl with a single finger just above the breasts. Her silver had spread over the Threvian’s entire body before coalescing into clothes and skin. She’d even given Syl freckles. By the time she was done, Syl looked like a human with slightly strange proportions and anime eyes. Wick had assured us that none of that would stand out.

  When we’d asked him for clarification, he’d just laughed and said, “you’ll see.”

  Astra’s chest inflates on a long breath. “You’re making me feel a lot better about the whole ‘cat swallowing part of me’ thing.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, you can put something in me later. If you want.”

  Astra’s mouth works. “I’m not sure how to decode that one. But I’m intrigued.”

  “Just no straps ons.” I huff out a low laugh. “Actually, you wouldn’t need one, would you? You could just… You know. Grow one yourself.”

  “I could, yes.” She licks her lips and stares at me intently. “I think I prefer the female form, though, so you don’t have anything to worry about.”

  A group of players passes by, shouting so loud I’m sure they’re about to start brawling in the street. I push further into the shadows, watching in case we need to bolt. “Wish they’d hurry.”

  “Don’t worry,” Astra whispers. “I’m sure Mika and Syl can handle him.”

  “Yeah. And I don’t think he’d try anything stupid at this point, even as pissed as he is.”

  Astra’s laugh is merry. She’s enjoying this way too much. “Yes, he was pretty unhappy when you delivered the bad news.”

  The bad news was me telling Wick in no uncertain terms that if he didn’t cough up his harvest of chips from dead players he’d have a lovely new hole in his chest. He’d sputtered and argued and hissed and cursed me out, but I have a hard time feeling sorry for someone that stole the money in the first place from players he’d tricked. The same way he’d tricked us.

  I few tremors of power sent into his chest had changed his tune. After, he’d snuck us into Acheryx without incident. I’d been mildly disappointed, and I could tell Syl was very let down… I’d expected some kind of tunnel filled with killer rats, or a daring escape from sewers filled with poisonous lizards, but the reality was nothing but a few quick hand gestures to someone manning the side gate before we’d been let inside the city.

  The alley was only a few streets from the entrance so I haven’t had much of an impression of the city. What I have seen is as confusing as what I could observe from outside. Buildings of all shapes and sizes, streets that seem laid out with no real plan, and players wearing every skin imaginable.

  The alley is bizarre; it has all the trappings of any of its real-life counterparts. Boxes, dumpsters, piles of newspaper. What’s missing is the grime. The oily sheen of filth that’s coated every neighborhood alley I’ve ever traversed is missing. Everything is clean and seemingly untouched like someone mocked up a backstreet straight out of New York but stopped at the last second.

  I guess it makes sense. This is a videogame, not real life. People might eat and screw and piss in the corner and produce garbage, but it’s a lot easier to poof all those nasty parts of living away when you can make them literally disappear.

  The thought reminds me… “Hey, uh… Can you keep lookout for like… Thirty seconds?”

  Astra frowns. “Of course. But why? Going to check on them?”

  “No. I need to… Ah… You know.”

  Her eyes blink in Morse code that I’m sure reads what the hell are you talking about? “No… I don’t?”

  “Really gonna make me say it, aren’t you?” I cough. “Need to take a leak.”

  “Oh! Oh.” Astra blushes. “Sorry! Yes. I’ll keep w
atch. Go and… I’ll be here. While you go.”

  I move maybe fifteen feet away, then duck around another huge dumpster. It’s in perfect shape with not a bit of crap on it, and I have a sneaking suspicion that if I looked inside it’d be empty.

  I do my business against the wall of the building, ducking my head back to make sure Astra’s not trying to take a peek. Her back’s to me but her shoulders are shaking with laughter.

  Jeeze. Can’t take a piss without…

  Taking a piss. I look down, amazed, as I unload my bladder. When was the last time I used the bathroom?

  Before I died. It wasn’t necessary on the Citadel.

  But it is on Lifestream.

  And my beard is growing for the first time in days. For some reason, they’ve programmed those little everyday rituals into the game.

  Something about that tugs at my brain, a whispered warning I can’t quite hear. Something I should be considering but haven’t.

  It doesn’t come, and I give a mental shrug. I’ll have to ask the others about it later. Mika will probably figure it out before I’m ten words in. She’s so goddamned brilliant.

  I give a shake and tuck away before rejoining Astra. She smirks at me. “How’d it go?”

  “Look, just because you’re an almighty AI that doesn’t have a bladder or colon doesn’t mean you should look down on us pitiful mortals.” I peer into the street, relieved that the group of ragers has moved on. “Come to think of it… What the hell happened to that meat you ate earlier? You don’t… like… digest, so…”

  She gives me a blank stare. “Do you really want to know?”

  “Nope, never mind. Forget I asked.”

  “Good, because I didn’t want to have to describe the process.”

  Her laugh is merry, lighting up the alley.

  I nudge her. “Hey, you okay?”

  Her smile is as luminous as her laugh. “I’m wonderful.”

  Not the answer I was expecting. “Really?”

  She clasps my arms with both hands, squeezing tight as she inhales. “Oh, Sam. This is all such an adventure. I never thought I’d escape that place. I never dreamed my existence would be anything more than watching Aspirants fail over and over again.” Her lip trembles, and she reaches beneath her glasses to wipe away a tear. “And now I’m here. With you. I have no idea what’s going to happen next.”