by Charles Dean
“I’d love to sit down and get some ice cream, but I kind of have to stop these bird men from making it far enough into the Human lands to turn into lawyers,” Darwin said, laughing a bit.
How can you be so light-hearted right now? Getting ice cream with her? You’re supposed to be taking me out to a nice lunch. Kass’s jealousy flared up more. She started telling herself that Stephanie’s strength was the only reason Darwin was playing along with her. There was no way he would be into a girl who talked like that. Why do I even care? It’s not like we’re an item anyways.
“Oh, that uncooked serving of chicken pot pie and his rotisserie club? Don’t get your panties in a bunch over them. I can, like, totes take care of it right now if you want,” Stephanie said. “It’s like no problem at all, but you’ll like owe me more than ice cream. Maybe dinner and a movie?”
“If you don’t mind a boat ride: I don’t think I plan on hanging around these lands,” Darwin said.
Wait, he’s not planning on bringing her with us? Kass found herself hoping her face wasn’t as red as it felt.
“Deal,” Stephanie said. The agreement was followed by an awful bone-wrenching sound.
“Did you just Mola Ram Temple of Doom him?” Darwin asked immediately after.
“I know when I’m not needed,” the King said.
“Yeah, I like told you I love me some Indiana Jones.” Stephanie sounded very happy with herself. “Like, off for a moment, Dear. Be back with the bacon. Kassy girl, you can open your eyes.”
Kass waited a second just to be sure, then opened her eyes to see the carnage. The King was gone, and Darwin was standing over the four-winged commander, who lay dead on the ground with his chest ripped open. Everywhere she could see the White-Wings were either statues, decapitated or gorily missing limbs. Only the Turtle-Wolves and a dozen White-Wings that Darwin had converted into red-eyes were still standing and not simply torn-up pieces scattered about like red leaves in fall.
“Darwin, why are you taking her out to dinner and a movie?” Kass asked, still grumpy about the developments. “And ice cream?”
“Of course, I had to. Your logic, not mine.” He shrugged.
“How do you figure that? I don’t think I said anywhere that you need to have dinner with a mass murderer,” she complained.
“Well, we both know that we’re both mass murderers. But if you bringing me three Minotaurs and helping me kill a few Turtle-Wolves equals twenty meals, how many do you think I owe her for killing a whole army?” Darwin said, his eyes still looking at the dead Commander before him.
Kass wanted to argue, but his logic was right. They both owed her, and they owed her big. The King might have helped, but Darwin still might have died if the Commander had overpowered the King. Darwin might be dead, and from his point of view that was probably easily worth a hundred dinners and thousand movies, depending on what the movies were of course.
“Lord Darwin, I don’t mean to disturb you,” a voice shot out from behind Kass. “But we still need to know what to do with the three prisoners.”
Kass jumped. Why must everyone appear behind me! Am I that easy to sneak up on? This is starting to be bothersome.
“Prisoners? What are you talking about?”
“Three White-Wings who fell fighting . . .” Blake’s eyes paused to look at the Commander, “. . . their Commander. Lady Kass told us not to kill them, Milord.”
“I see. The White-Wings were on our side?” Darwin asked for clarification. “Can you bring them to me?”
“Yes, Milord. Right away.” He disappeared for a moment only to appear almost instantly later with the four other Scouts and their three White-Wing prisoners.
They were looking around in as much shock and horror as Kass was. It was hard to take in the slaughter that had occurred. It’s one thing to see people dead in a virtual reality game; it’s another to see them carved up like fine cuts of meat put to a fat man’s knife.
“I am told you three were captured after you failed to kill . . . this guy,” Darwin said, kicking the Commander’s dead body. “Any reason you were trying to stab your Commander in the back?”
“Tim, Sir, I mean, O, Great Lord Darwin,” one of the two female White-Wings, the frailest yet most blood-spattered of the three, said as she stepped forward and lowered herself into a bow. Hearing the title and seeing the bow caused Darwin to look at Kass confused, but the mystified look didn’t stop the other two from following suit and bowing as well.
Kass shrugged. “Don’t look at me,” she mouthed from atop her Hydra. Darwin then looked at Fuzzy Wuzzy, who just roared in confusion too while Blake and Justin looked just as puzzled as Darwin. They clearly didn’t understand what was awkward or perplexing about a player calling him by the title ‘Great Lord Darwin.’
“That’s enough,” Darwin finally said impatiently, waving his hand. “Just tell me who you are and why a Tim somehow caused you to turn your back on your Faction Leader.”
“Great Lord Darwin, my name is Valerie,” the one who bowed first spoke.
“My name is Daniel, Your Majesty,” the only male said next, and was immediately followed by the other female White-Wing.
“My name is Mclean,” she said before Valerie nudged her with her shoulder and she tacked on, “O, Great Lord.”
“Okay, we can skip the titles and pleasantries for now,” Darwin said, walking over to the Hydra Kass was riding as he spoke. “What does a Tim have to do with why you were attacking your own kind?”
“If I may, Great Lord Darwin, my humble story is one that may take some time,” Valerie said, bowing her head only this time. “Perhaps we should wait until after the battle to begin the tale.”
Darwin looked around for a moment. “I don’t see any battle still going on, so go ahead and start your story before Stephanie gets back.”
“St . . . I mean, yes, Great Lord. Let me begin with the Fire-Walkers,” she started her story, but Kass was too worn out from all the heart-pounding moments to pay close attention. All she could do was sigh. Why do I get the feeling that Darwin’s ego is going to grow even bigger?
Chapter 10: Lines in the Sand
Darwin:
“That is why we were helping you, Great Lord Darwin, during the battle,” Valerie finished her story, stepping back to join ranks with her two friends.
“So, you were one of them, but then you were betrayed, and you’re angry because they killed an NPC?” Darwin asked for clarification as he continue to pet Fuzzy Wuzzy. Halfway through her story Fuzzy Wuzzy had nudged his head under Darwin’s hand and growled at Darwin when Darwin tried to stop petting the giant Bear.
“Yes, I guess you could sum it up like that,” the male White-Wing, Daniel, said. “I mean, it feels a wee bit more complicated when it’s happening to you, but I don’t see any reason that doesn’t add it all up fine.” He had stopped talking for a minute, until Valerie nudged him again. “O, Great Lord Darwin.”
Darwin wanted to say something, but Kass’s face had turned absolutely red from them saying ‘Great Lord Darwin’ after everything. Darwin could tell from her bursting eyes and puffed cheeks she was doing everything in her power not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole affair.
“Lady Kass, is something wrong?” Justin asked, noticing her face. “Perhaps it is an after effect from a poison or spell you suffered during battle?”
“No, no, I’m quite alright. Didn’t really take any Damage at all during the fight,” Kass said, her face growing more crimson by the minute as she struggled to contain the chuckle.
“Well, what do you think of these three? Do we trust them?” Darwin asked Kass. His inclination was to give them the benefit of the doubt, but he knew better than to not take advantage of a woman’s intuition. “Do we believe their story and let them join our alliance?”
“Wait, um . . . Great Lord Darwin, we didn’t ask to join your alliance. We just were explaining why we aren’t the bad guy,” the third White-Wing, Mclean, quickly corrected Darwin.
“Wait, is that not what you were about to ask us?” Darwin said, raising an eyebrow.
“Well . . .” Mclean started to respond, but Darwin immediately interrupted her before she could get more than one word out.
“Don’t think about telling me different. You lack funds, you have no connections in these lands, and, lastly, your group of three couldn’t operate a craft if it wanted to,” Darwin said, squinting at Mclean. “So, are you going to start off our soon-to-be-fabulous relationship with lies?”
“No. I just was saying we weren’t going to ask to join your alliance--only for a ride,” Mclean stated, finally failing to add Darwin’s title.
“Ah, that’s what you meant. Well, good. You’re not a liar at least. The problem is you’re not going to get a ride without joining up too. It’s going to cost resources to ferry you across that ocean to the mainland, resources and time that could be spent elsewhere,” Darwin said, noticing that Kass’s face had lost it’s chuckle. Did I say something wrong? he thought, not sure why her face was souring. “So, you either join up or go find someone on this island that will be sympathetic to three runaway White-Wings. I’m sure plenty of people will be willing to give you a ride.”
“Well, we might get one on our good looks alone.” Daniel made a ridiculously big smile while looking at his two friends, then frowned. “But given the recent invasion, probably not . . . I say we throw in our lot with the Great Lord Darwin.”
Mclean nodded at Daniel, frowning as well. “I can’t really argue with that logic. I guess I’ll throw my lot in with the Great Lord Darwin too.”
Well, you don’t have to be so sad about it, Darwin thought as he watched the two vote for joining him. It’s not like joining me is the end of the world.
“I’ll join, Great Lord Darwin, but only under one circumstance,” Valerie said confidently, stepping forward again while maintaining hard eye contact with him. The sincerity on her face reminded Darwin of Alex.
I haven’t even decided if I want to actually accept them on, and they’re already issuing demands if I do? Darwin thought as he watched the arrogant White-Wing step forward. “Well, let’s hear what the demand is at least,” he said, resisting the urge to shake his head.
“Your Lordship, I request that if we encounter the Sun God Empire again, you assist me with my vengeance,” she said, bowing her head one more time. “
Does she really think we’re going to run into more of them on the mainland, or is this just her way of saving face? Darwin thought for a minute, not sure why Valerie would make that request. Darwin looked over at Kass, who just stood on her Hydra and shrugged while giving a half-hearted nod. Well, I guess half the Faction officers are in agreement, and it’s just me left to make the call.
He looked Valerie up and down, and then glanced at her two friends. His gut told him that he could trust them. His brain reminded him that of all the stories she could have made up, the one she’d given wasn’t likely one of them. All in all, he was left with a feeling that they were good people, the type of people to get upset if even an NPC was killed for the wrong reasons. They were people worthy of being in the StormGuard Alliance. “I won’t give you terms that risk my people, but you’re welcome to pursue vengeance on your own terms if you join the Alliance,” he decided, sending out the Tipqa Faction requests.
“Thank you, Great Lord Darwin,” Valerie said as she joined the alliance with the other two.
“You’re welcome. Now that I’ve got three extra hands, I’ll need to make use of y’all to to save on the time we spent talking. Alex, what do we still need done for preparations?” Darwin said, turning to Alex, whom he knew he could count on to be behind him again in his usual shady fashion.
“All the preparations are complete, Lord Darwin. While Valerie was regaling us with the plight of her group, I had the men set up the ships for sail,” he answered, pointing to a series of glass ships prepped and manned. “You may give the order when ready, and we can begin departure immediately.”
“Great job as always, Alex. If all the preparations are made, have everyone begin looting the spoils of war, and make sure to save me the items dropped from the Commander. These three will be happy to help out,” Darwin said, waving his hand at his three new Faction members.
When everyone but Kass had left, the two locked eyes, Kass staring down at him from on top of the black Hydra. “When were you going to tell me?” she said. Darwin knew immediately what she was talking about, but Kass explained further. “When were you going to tell me that you weren’t one of us?”
“You mean a player?” he asked, buying time more than asking for clarification.
“Yes, I mean a player, you idiot!” She yelled down at him.
“I assumed you already knew, to be honest,” Darwin resisted the urge to shrug. He knew that even though he had grown incredibly comfortable with the situation, she wasn’t, and if he just tried to brush her reaction off, he’d only come across as a jerk. “I saw you read my notes, and since then the clues have piled up. I just thought, welp, she’s figured it out by now and just isn’t saying anything.”
“I didn’t. I mean, I did and I didn’t.” Kass broke eye contact and turned her head away from Darwin so he couldn’t make out her facial expression. “I pretty much had figured it out, but it wasn’t exactly information I wanted to believe.”
“Not something I’d like to believe either,” Darwin said while hopping up on top of the Hydra next to Kass in one swift movement. “Wasn’t exactly my idea of a dream come true when it happened.”
“How did it even happen? Why did it even make you like that with the red eyes and all?” she turned back around to face him, and Darwin could see from the wrinkles rippling across her face, this was more than just confusing to her. It was frustrating. “How could it trap you here?”
“I don’t know,” Darwin answered, his face flat. He didn’t have the answers she wanted.
“You don’t know? After all the time we spent together you’re just going to tell me you don’t know?” Kass’s voice kept getting louder and louder.
“I don’t know.” Darwin stayed stoic.
“Don’t give me that! Don’t tell me you don’t know! This is your life! You have to know!” Kass practically yelled as she balled up her fist as if she was going to strike Darwin’s chest with it before she finally opened her hand and sighed. “Just . . . just tell me what happened from the beginning. Can you at least do that?”
“Well, for starters, it didn’t make me like this. It didn’t change anything about me. This is who I am. This is how I look,” Darwin said as he pointed to his own eye.
“You . . . look like that in real life?” Kass asked with slightly wider eyes before poking one of his biceps. “Even the muscles?”
“Even the muscles,” he flexed the best he could without trying to look like it was intentional.
“Well, I look like this in real life too,” she twirled for a moment.
“That’s kind of funny,” Darwin noted, causing Kass’s blush to return.
“What? Are you saying I look funny?” she covered what little cleavage was showing and backed up.
“No, no, no! I just meant that we’re probably the only two people on the entire server who didn’t alter their avatar at all, and we ended up meeting in a pretty weird way,” he explained, throwing both hands up like a robber trying to prove to a police officer he didn’t have a gun.
“Oh, yeah,” she lowered her arms and relaxed. “That is kind of odd. Then again, I figure with me actually being a girl avatar being played by a girl, it’s already odd.”
“Well, you still could be a trap. You say it’s what you look like, but you still might be a forty year old man behind that pretty face,” Darwin laughed. The Internet was known for having more gender benders than a drag race without cars. This wasn’t the Rocky Horror Picture Show, but there was always a good chance one of the girls was a guy.
“So you think I’m pretty?” Kass ignored the rest
of his trap accusation.
“I’ve already said it, haven’t I?” Darwin bit his lower lip. “You’re just messing with me, aren’t you?”
“Maybe? You seem pretty sure about that,” Kass chuckled. “Anyways, you were telling me about your predicament.”
“I was, but you’re going to be disappointed with how few details I have. You see, like I was saying, this is how I looked like when I got here, down to the fact I was wearing a bathrobe,” Darwin began his story, telling her everything from the moment the burglar broke into his home to the moment they met, leaving out no details. By the time he had finished, her face was flatter than untouched pancakes fresh off the frying pan. “What?” He asked in response to her look.
“Just, aren’t you freaking out? How are you so calm right now?” Kass asked, her expressionless face melting into a weak frown. “Why are you not doing everything in your power to figure out how to get back?”
