by Alex Mulder
He remembered Arex’s betrayal, but he also remembered the last time they’d encountered each other, after the failed meeting of the guilds under the occupation of the Arbiters. He’d fought by Luke’s side during the escape.
It was self-serving, but so is this.
Luke made his way up to a large, sloping dune and looked down. The sandstorm had died down enough for him to see the Revolutionary Rebel’s zone below.
It looked less like a conventional guild settlement, and more like a military camp. The buildings were arranged in long rows, and looked extremely utilitarian in function. But after fighting against the Tymians for so long, Luke found himself happy to see another guild that was holding their own. He ran down the dune and into the encampment.
At first, Luke thought everyone was asleep. There was no sign of movement from outside any of the buildings, and he couldn’t hear anything. Luke had made it to the center of the zone and slowed to a stop when something sharp poked against the back of his armor.
“That’s far enough,” said a voice. “State your name and business.”
Luke frowned.
“My name is Kato,” he said. “I’m… here to see an old friend. Arex.”
A hand gripped Luke’s shoulder, and the point on his back pushed harder. He spun out of instinct and knocked the weapon out of the man’s hand holding it.
CONJURE SWORD 5
Luke had his swords out in an instant, but made no move to attack. He could see another figure standing on top of one of the buildings at the end of the row.
“Kato,” said Arex. “Please, refrain from attacking my men while you’re in my zone.”
Luke shrugged.
“If you start keeping them on a tighter leash, there won’t be a problem,” said Luke.
He walked toward the building, coming to a stop at the door. Arex slipped in through a hatch in the ceiling and then met him at the entranceway, ushering him inside.
“Have a seat,” said Arex.
Luke remained standing.
“Look, I’m not here to waste time, or beat around the bush,” he said. “The Tymians have taken Stark Town. I’m recruiting an alliance to take it back.”
Arex did sit down, in a chair that was large and cushioned. His red robes made him look bigger than he actually was, and even without a weapon in hand, he looked dangerous.
“Do you enjoy this, Luke?”
The question came in a casual tone, one that caught Luke off guard.
“Do I enjoy what?”
“This.” Arex met his eyes. “We’re all trapped inside Yvvaros, with no other choice but to fight for our lives.”
Luke didn’t say anything.
He apparently doesn’t know that I can still log out. No reason to tell him.
“For some people,” continued Arex. “I can see what a horrible turn of fate that would seem to be. The Tymians, the scary monsters, coming for our lives at every turn! How horrific and violent!”
“I don’t enjoy this,” Luke. “I endure it.”
Arex smiled.
“Oh, I’m not so sure about that,” he said. “You’re always the one coming to the rescue, trying to save the day. You play the archetype of a hero so well. That’s even why you’re here right now.”
“Yes or no,” said Luke. “Will you ally with my guild?”
Arex looked at the wall as though he hadn’t heard him.
“See, I do enjoy this,” said Arex. “I love it. I love every second of it.”
“Arex…” said Luke. “We’re all going to end up dead, at the rate we’re heading at.”
“And we would have lived forever in the real world?” The Red Mage smiled.
“My guild has lost people.” Luke tried to keep his voice steady as anger threatened to seep in.
“So has mine. We were attacked earlier tonight by a group of Tymians larger than I’ve ever seen before.” Arex closed his eyes and set a hand on his chest. “And I’ve never felt so blissfully alive before in my entire life.”
Luke chuckled derisively.
“You don’t even have a wall surrounding this place,” he said. “You built too many buildings, too fast. Arex, you and your guild are sitting ducks here. If you make a stand, you’re all going to meet your end.”
“Are we, though?” asked Arex. “This isn’t the real world, Luke. This is simulated.”
“So what?”
“So, I’m not a gambling man, but if I were, I’d hedge my bets on this one.” Arex turned back to Luke and locked eyes with him. “There could be an afterlife in Yvvaros. It’s possible.”
He’s lost his mind…
“Don’t give me that look,” said Arex. “Just think about it. If you were the AI that’s taken over, would you delete the entire personality, memories, and experience of a potentially useful human just because of an arbitrary encounter in what used to be a video game?”
Luke took a deep, calming breath.
“Look, Arex, I don’t have time for this,” he said.
Surprisingly, Arex nodded.
“Yes, I suppose you don’t,” he said. “I will ally myself with you, Kato.”
Luke blinked, containing his surprise.
“Good,” he said. “That’s good. We’re preparing for an all-out strike. It’s going to happen very, very soon, before anyone else can be hurt or killed.”
Arex reached his hand toward Luke, and Luke shook it.
“Send a letter with the time and place,” said Arex. “I’ll have my men there.”
Luke nodded and then turned to leave.
“Oh, and Kato?”
Luke turned his head just in time to see a dagger whizzing through the air. It struck the wood a few inches from his head, burying itself half up to the hilt.
“Think about what I said,” said Arex.
Luke stepped out of the building and back into the desert.
CHAPTER 35
Luke arrived back at the gates of Dunidan’s Rest feeling tired. His stamina bar was almost empty, and after the gate guard let him inside, he headed for the guild hall.
Tess was sitting in one of the chairs around the table. She looked up as he walked in, her expression grim.
“We got a few more reports from Stark Town,” she said. “It… was a massacre.”
“We’re going to take it back.” Luke walked over and sat down beside her. “You don’t have to worry, Tess.”
He found that strange, he believed his own words. The situation in front of them was full of danger and unknowns, but Luke knew in his heart that they would be okay.
There isn’t any other way forward, other than for us to win. Every other option ends with death… Tess’s death. Everyone’s death.
“Here.” Tess slid a loaf of bread across the table, along with a cylindrical vegetable that she’d cut in half.
“Did you salvage this from the garden?” asked Luke. Tess nodded.
“I’ll have to replant everything, once…” She caught Luke’s eye, and forced a smile. “Once everything settles down.”
Kaoru walked into the guild hall. She had a few locks of hair pulled up into her mouth, and was chewing on them nervously. When she saw that Luke and Tess were already there, she stopped and chewed her lip instead.
“How did it go?” she asked. Luke nodded.
“He’s with us, along with his guild,” he said. “Have you heard word from anyone else.”
“No.” Kaoru walked over slowly, staring at the floor. “This latest attack… it has people scared. Scared enough to give up, to decide that it’s time to hide instead of fight.”
I can understand that.
“We’ll manage with what we have, then,” said Luke. Katrina entered through the door.
“I didn’t realize that there was a meeting taking place,” she said, irritated.
“Sorry.” Luke stood up and gestured to his own seat. “Here.”
He walked over to one of the guild hall’s windows, which opened out toward the north. Stark Tow
n was too far over the horizon for him to see it, or any sign of the destruction that had taken place. Still, an ominous vibe came off the norther desert, and Luke felt like he was trying to stare it down.
“I have to log out one more time before we do this,” he said. “To take a look at the server in the real world.”
He paused, wondering at his word choice.
Is it the real world, or just the other world?
“That’s fine,” said Kaoru. “I’ll send a letter to Arex now that he’s on board and have him mobilize his forces here in Dunidan’s Rest. It should take a few hours.”
“I still can’t believe any of this is happening.” Katrina was shaking her head. “My body in the real world… It’s been days. I’m not sure how it would even feel to go back to it.”
“It’s not the only reason why we’re fighting,” Tess said, quietly.
“The reason doesn’t matter,” said Luke. “Our backs are against the wall. We’re doing this because it’s the only way forward.”
Everyone in the room nodded. Luke’s heart was beating fast, and judging from the nervous energy in the room, most of them were the same.
He walked over to where Tess sat, and she stood up, wrapping him in a hug. Luke kissed her, softly at first, and then with more passion as a whisper in the back of his head mused about it being the last time.
“I’ll be back,” he said, looking around the room. “And if there is something I can do with the server, the fight might be over before it even starts.”
“Let’s hope so,” said Kaoru.
Luke reached into his bag, pulled out his character record, and logged off.
He was back in Jun’s cramped apartment, the first rays of dawn leaking in through the windows. Surprisingly, Luke’s body didn’t feel tired. It felt ready, and he welcomed the energy.
Jun was already up. There was a tiny kitchen area against the wall, and he stood over a skillet with eggs and bacon frying over it. Ben was still asleep, but Sam was sitting in the corner of the room, her face buried in her phone.
“Good morning,” said Luke. Jun nodded to him.
“Good morning,” he said. “Breakfast will be ready shortly. If you want to get to the private server today, we should set out immediately after.”
Luke raised an eyebrow.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“The news reports…” Jun spoke English with a thick Japanese accent. “They have been confusing. We will have to hurry.”
Luke looked over at Sam, and she met his eyes.
“Luke…” she said. “This is it. It’s happening.”
“What is happening?” Luke pulled out his own phone, but the battery was apparently dead.
“Several major missile attacks have been reported in the United States, Russia, and China,” said Jun. “Drones have also begun attacking high interest targets. The media is still only speculating who might be behind it, and what their motivations are.”
Damn it… We might be too late.
Luke gritted his teeth.
“We’re skipping breakfast,” he said.
“Nonsense.” Jun smiled and turned off the stove. “It’s already done.”
Luke woke Ben up, and the four of them ate a quick meal. The headed outside. It was a beautiful day, but the silent street and lack of air traffic made it feel unsettling.
“It’s only a short drive from here,” said Jun. “Are you ready?”
Luke nodded. He climbed into the front seat next to Jun, and was again taken aback by just how similar he looked in comparison to Kaoru’s old avatar.
“Your Kaoru’s brother, right?” he asked, unable to keep the question held down.
Jun nodded.
“Half-brother,” he said.
“So why don’t you live at the estate?” asked Luke. “I mean, given how rich your family is, I kind of expected a slightly… bigger apartment. No offense.”
“None taken,” said Jun. “My birth was the result of certain… unsavory conditions.”
Luke didn’t say anything, but Jun smiled at him.
“I was conceived through an extramarital affair,” he said quietly. “Kaoru’s mother hated the fact that I existed. The family’s dirty little secret.”
“I’m sorry…” Luke frowned.
“It’s okay, really. Kaoru was kind enough to me to make up for it.” Jun smiled fondly. “And I will always be there for her.”
Jun set his foot on the gas. The car sped forward, passing by a Buddhist temple on the left side of the road. He took a turn onto a street that carried them out of town, the houses and buildings giving way to grass and trees.
The drive took about fifteen minutes, most of it being through the rural outskirts. Jun turned down a long curving driveway that snuck between two patches of trees and slowed the car to a stop.
“We should go on foot from here,” he said. “Kaoru’s mother is still not fond of me. It would be best if we kept a low profile heading to the server building.”
“So we’re going to sneak in?” asked Luke.
Jun shook his head.
“Most of the estate staff won’t mind me dropping by,” said Jun. “I do it all the time, in fact. But if I pull up in my car, Kaoru’s mother will be informed.”
Luke nodded. Sam and Ben walked behind him and Jun, and they all kept to the side of the road, though Luke hadn’t seen a single car on their journey.
“We’re really doing this,” whispered Sam. “Luke… is this going to work?”
He didn’t say anything.
It has to!
“I never thought it would come to this.” Ben moved up next to Luke, shaking his head.
“Neither of us did,” said Luke. “But we-”
A humming noise came from the sky above them. Luke glanced up to see a tiny black dot moving against the backdrop of the clouds. He stared at it in disbelief as it slowly began to get bigger, and bigger.
“That’s a drone!” he shouted. “Come on!”
The group ran forward as more black dots appeared in the sky. Luke swore under his breath and centered his bag on his shoulders.
“We need to get back to the car, and get out of here!” shouted Sam.
Luke shook his head.
“She’s controlling them! This is all the evidence I need. There’s something here that she doesn’t want us to find.”
The group pushed along the path, cutting through the trees as it curved around. As they broke out into the clearing on the other side, Luke stopped dead in his tracks. Sam bumped into him from behind, but he barely noticed. All he could focus on was what waited ahead.
Even without having seen the estate before, Luke could tell at a glance that a transformation was taking place. A large mansion stood at the center of the grounds, and it looked as though it was slowly being eaten by termites, with most of the roof having been nibbled away, and holes set into the walls at random.
A dome made of strange, hexagonal sections stood a few hundred feet away from the mansion. At its base, more of the hexagons had been installed into the ground, with orange light seeping out from the space where each of them connected to the other sections nearby it.
Drones flew thick in the air, but there was a strange, dark cloud that moved with intention along with them. As far as Luke could tell, it was deconstructing the mansion, though he didn’t understand how or why.
“This…” Jun was shaking his head. “This can’t be…”
“Where is the server?” Luke grabbed the man by the shoulders, shaking him back to reality. “We don’t have time to waste, Jun! Where is it?”
Jun’s expression was blank. He blinked a couple of times and then raised a hand, pointing over to the dome.
“That’s where it was,” he muttered.
“Fuck!” Luke ran a hand through his hair. Behind him, Sam and Ben were watching with shocked expressions on their faces.
Drones hummed from the path behind them, and Luke realized that he’d led his friends in
to a trap.
“Jun, we need to get into one of these buildings!” he shouted.
“All the staff… I knew these people. Even Kaoru’s family, they’re al-”l
“Jun!”
The dark cloud of drones was also taking notice of them. Jun finally snapped back to the situation at hand and started leading them over to a small building, the furthest away from the mansion and the dome. Luke and his friends sprinted as fast as they could.
“Don’t stop running!” shouted Luke. “No matter what!”
He heard pop, and then a scream, and looked over his shoulder just in time to see Ben go down. Blood was streaming from his calf, and the dark cloud descended on him without hesitation.
Luke and the others reached the door of the building. He let Jun and Sam rush in first, and started back toward his friend. He’d only made it a few steps when the cloud crashed into Ben, covering his body with black. The cloud pulled back after a few seconds, and Ben was gone.
No… No!
Surprisingly, it didn’t immediately turn its attention on Luke. He felt someone pulling his arm, pulling him inside the building, and went with it. Jun slammed the door closed once he was inside and slid down to a sitting position against it.
“Those are… nanomachines,” he said, disbelief fluttering into his voice. “The AI has developed nanomachines.”
“Jun, I need to get in-game!” shouted Luke. “I have my headset with me. If we can’t get to the server in the real world, then-”
“Are you out of your mind?” Sam was hysterical, and tears were streaming down her face. “Ben is dead! We have to get out of here.”
“No, we wouldn’t stand a chance,” said Jun. “We wouldn’t even make it back to the car, and even if we did, there’s a good chance that it’s already hit it with a drone or nanomachines.”
Luke was already busy pulling out his laptop and VR headset. There was still wireless internet, miraculously. He passed the computer over to Jun to type in the wifi password.
“I’m not running away, Sam,” he said to her. “You have to trust me on this. The only way for us to get out of here is-”
A knocking noise came from the door, too perfectly regular to be a human. Sam screamed.
“I’m not going to let you kill my friends!” shouted Luke. The knocking noise continued, ominous and threatening. He pulled on the VR headset and logged into Yvvaros.
