Jayce released a long sigh as he sat down in the luxurious seats. Jenira was already inside and offered him her hand. He grasped it and squeezed tightly for a second. She smiled at him as he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the back of the chair. Micu was already typing away on his watch as the cab zoomed through the much larger city. "Steve, did any buildings collapse in the reorganization of the hubs?" Steve processed his request for a moment. "It doesn't appear that any buildings collapsed. There are 53 damaged buildings and 194 partially damaged buildings reported so far. New reports are being updated constantly though and figures may not be accurate."
Micu continued to type away and Jenira leaned forward to see who he was messaging. "Tara Sourcurl?" She asked shocked. "We need to get Jayce on TV and not as a floating monstrous head. We're going to need as many of the races on our side as possible." Jenira nodded impressed. "You're already thinking that far ahead?" Micu said nothing and continued to type. Jenira heard faint snoring and turned her head to look at Jayce. His features were tense but it was obvious he was exhausted. "Can we do it tomorrow? I think Jayce needs some rest." Micu shook his head. "The sooner the better." Jenira said nothing and leaned her head on Jayce's shoulder.
Steve turned down a street they had never been to before. The neon signs here were all hanging haphazardly and debris littered the streets. Ahead of them was a large neon berry that was hanging by a few strained wires. "We're here," Micu said as Steve landed the car. Jenira gently pushed on Jayce's shoulder to wake him. He opened his eyes slowly. "Are we home already?" She laughed and opened the door, "Unfortunately your day isn't over yet." Jayce rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he stared at the neon berry. "We're getting dessert?" He asked confused. Micu brushed the wrinkles out of his clothes and nodded, "After your interview, we can get dessert. I need you to focus right now though." Jayce rubbed his head, "Interview? What the hell are you talking about?"
Micu grabbed his hand and started dragging him inside. "You need to save the simulation. To do that you need an army. To get an army you need people to join your team. To do that you need to get on TV. We are going on TV. Make sense?" Jayce nodded as he allowed Micu to pull him forward.
...
Ralnas was watching a particularly fat bird fly above the ocean when he felt his watch vibrating. Glancing down he saw that Jenira was calling him. "Where are you?" She asked as he picked up. "Uh at the beach I guess." He said hesitantly. She rolled her eyes, "Well turn on Tara Sourcurl's show somewhere a lot of people are going to watch. Jayce is going to be speaking." Ralnas raised his eyebrows. "Speaking? About what?" Jenira gave her brother a confused look. "Oh you know, the crazy shit that happened like 45 minutes ago?" Ralnas grinned, "Oh yeah." Jenira watched him silently. "What?" he asked. "Are you going to get up and turn it on somewhere?" Ralnas groaned, "Fine!" He hung up as he stood and headed towards the Royal Coliseum.
Isabel stood and hesitated, "Can I come too? This is all pretty exciting..." Ralnas shrugged, "If you want. I'm just going to warn you now that crazy stuff happens to us four." Isabel smiled, "I think it's pretty interesting." Ralnas laughed, "Interesting doesn't even come close to describing it." The two set off as Ralnas regaled Isabel with all the details of his recent adventures.
...
Jayce was sipping on an energy drink as cosmetic robots whirled around him. He sat silently as a production assistant wired him up with a microphone. "You know last time I was on a talk show things didn't go that well." He said as she continued to plug wires into a small metal box. She laughed, "Tara is a much better host than Leon. We have the ratings to prove it." Jayce smiled and allowed her to continue her work.
"All done," she said as she wiped a shimmer of sweat off her forehead. Jayce nodded as he stood to exit the preparation room. Outside he found Micu and Tara deep in a discussion with Jenira watching the set wide-eyed. "Pretty cool," he said as he walked next to her. She nodded, "I didn't realize how many people have to work on a studio to produce these little talk shows. Leon had everyone hidden from view." Jayce agreed with her as he watched dozens of people adjusting lights, cameras, couches, microphones, and audio devices.
"Jayce? A moment?" He heard from a buttery voice. He turned to see a floating fairy with purple and blue clothes smiling at him. "Of course Ms. Sourcurl!" He power walked over to her. "Please just Tara is fine," she said with a smile, "audience members like it when the guest seems to have good relations with the host." Jayce nodded. "Okay Tara, what can I do for you?" Micu spoke up, "Well we want this to be a slam dunk. So what angle do you think will get the most people to join our side?"Jayce pondered this in his head.
Tara smiled, "I have a couple of ideas if you want to hear them out?" Jayce nodded, relieved someone had an idea. " Well aren't the other three Overwatchers pretty nasty? So we could talk about why following them is a bad idea." She paused and looked at Jayce. "Or we can talk about how you're a great leader. And you do something inspiring." Jayce laughed, "That one sounds a little more difficult to pull off." Tara smiled, "Not according to your friends here, both said they would follow you into the depths of hell." Jayce blushed at the compliment. "Final idea, we talk about the future you'd create for the simulation."
Jayce considered all the ideas. "Can we do all three?" Tara nodded, "Of course, we can do whatever you want sweetie." "All three then," Jayce said happily. Tara whirled around to face her busy crew. "We're live in 3, this is the big one people." She floated away on tiny wings. Jayce watched her go. "I thought she would be taller," he whispered to Micu. "Why? She's a fairy. They don't get that big you know." Jayce shrugged, "She just seems taller on TV." Micu rolled his eyes, "Well try not to mention that to her." Jayce laughed.
...
The roundtable that had housed the elite team leaders now only had four occupants. Little Blue, C-4, Baneberry, and the leader of team Eternity Alpha. Alpha was wrapped in a long dark cloak that obscured his entire body. A gleaming golden helmet covered his face. Through the helmet gleamed two yellow orbs. "Who are you going to choose?" Little Blue asked a distressed looking Baneberry. "How could I follow one of those things? The kid is probably our only hope anyway." He sighed deeply, "Too bad a lot of my team feels differently." Little Blue understood his pain, "Most of my team seems to want to follow Ahti. It will be uncomfortable fighting them." Baneberry offered his condolences as the four sat in silence.
A few minutes passed before anyone spoke again. "So what do we do now?" C-4 asked cautiously. Little Blue shrugged, "For the next five days we can't really do anything I think." A raspy voice spoke, "We can prepare a headquarters for Jayce. If nothing else he will need our help in this campaign." Alpha spoke slowly as if every word was painful to utter. C-4 jumped up in delight. "That's right! We can set up our base!" Baneberry also seemed to find some solace in having a purpose and the energy returned to the room. "Let's use the Royal Coliseum. It's close to the beach and pretty well equipped to hold an army." Little Blue nodded with delight. "Let's begin immediately." The four stood and exited the room in far higher spirits than they had entered.
...
"Soundcheck," a voice from the studio said. Jayce coughed from surprise. "That's perfect." Everyone laughed at him and Jayce found himself blushing. Tara floated down next to him, "Ready?" Jayce nodded confidently. "That's the spirit." She winked at him and then waved her hand at one of the other people in the studio. The lights dimmed everywhere but where the two of them sat.
"Hello world, you know who I am and I would love to know who you are. This is the Tara Sourcurl show and you already know it's the best show in town." Jayce was struck by how different this opening was compared to the interview with Leon. He quickly found himself smiling at the over the top attitude of Tara. "Now today has been crazy crazy. Super crazy. I have neighbors now and they're from major hub three!" She paused as she smiled at the camera. "But this guy's day has been even crazier!" She turned to look at Jayce. "So Jayce we're all super interested in all the gossip from your date with the other three Overwatches. Spill all the details."
Jayce smiled at her, "Believe me, Tara, it's been one heck of a day." Tara laughed, "I believe that! How did you even end up in the same room as those other guys?" "Well I got killed off in the exam I was in, some of you may have been watching?" "Of course we always tune in to see the handsome Jayce Good! Jayce blushed deeply from Tara's teasing as he tried his best to continue. "So I appear in this huge dungeon of a room with the three Overwatchers. One is the bird guy and the squid guy but the evilest looking one was the insect guy." Tara nodded, "Those are the forms that they spoke to us in." "Exactly! But they changed their form to look like humans as we spoke, except their skin was weird colors." "Weird colors? Like what Jayce?"
Jayce paused as he caught his breath, "Tatewari was red, Ahti was blue and Zcerneboch was purple. It was pretty strange." Tara nodded, "They can shapeshift to look however they want and they still chose to look so freaky when they talked to us! I don't like that at all." Jayce laughed, "I guess so. They don't think much of the lower races, as they call them. Zcerneboch even said he doesn't ever think about us." Tara feigned shock, "The monsters that used to torture us for laughs don't think about us very often? That's truly unbelievable." "Well, they consider this whole grand competition a game. They just want to crown themselves king over the simulation. They don't care about who follows them." Tara gasped.
"Actually they weren't going to let us pick which side to follow. I had to convince them to let us choose who we followed." Tara appeared to be fuming, "You mean I might have had to follow that horrifying squid?" Jayce nodded, "Yep. They were just going to assign you an Overwatcher, or me, to follow and fight for. They don't care who joins them." The camera zoomed in on Tara's face which was a blood red. "The nerve of those Overwatchers! Why did they ask us to follow them then?" Jayce shrugged, "They already have armies. They don't even need us really." Tara pouted and flew in a circle. "But I need all of you. If we have any chance of getting justice for all of those of us who have died at the careless hands of the Overwatchers then I'll need every last one of you to be on my team."
Tara pumped her fist triumphantly, "I'm on your team Jayce!" Jayce grinned, "It won't be easy, but when we succeed it will be worth it. No more simulation. No more grand prize or needless deaths. We would get to decide our own fates." "That's a future that I would be willing to fight for!" Tara smiled and cheered. "Everyone who joins up with me is also picking the team with two separate Overwatchers. Tohil and Neith who created the hubs and gave us the opportunity to actually win the grand prize. If they are on my side then you can be assured they have the best intentions for all of the lower races."
"That's right," Tara was pumped up with visible excitement, "Two Overwatchers for the price of one!" Jayce laughed and nodded. The two continued to spin their story of why choosing Jayce was the right decision and joining anyone else the wrong one for over an hour. In commercial breaks, Tara would coach Jayce into where he should take the conversation. Jayce gradually became more clear on his selling points and hammered them hard. The two worked themselves into a frenzy numerous times but each time managed to pull themselves off the edge of getting too fervent.
Micu smiled to himself as he watched his friend develop his public persona. "She's honestly really good." He whispered in Jenira's ear. "I told you that didn't I? There's a reason I always tuned into her show." "You have more than proved your point," Micu said approvingly. "Think it'll be enough?" A nervous Jenira asked. Micu shrugged, "I hope so. I also don't really see any of the other Overwatchers going on TV to sell themselves to us." Jenira covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed. "Just imagine it, would be quite a strange sight." Jenira laughed harder but continued to effectively muffle herself. "I know who I'm following at least." A confident Micu said.
2/2
I have some time tomorrow to really sit down and work on this. So fingers crossed nothing weird happens.
More so than usual I appreciate you taking the time to check my stuff out. As Christmas rolls around I am very grateful to have all of you part of my experience.
Much love,
Ralnas and Isabel sat at a small table as they watched Tara's interview with Jayce. Ralnas watched his friend with pride. "This went a little better than our last interview." Isabel laughed, "I saw that one! It seemed like there was something going on during commercial breaks." Ralnas nodded, "It was absolutely crazy. Jayce thought of this plan to get back at Leon for lying to us. It was like a dream." Isabel continued to listen to him with rapt attention and Ralnas basked in it.
"Why did we never hang out like this during school?" Ralnas asked suddenly. Isabel frowned, "My friends didn't really like you four. So it was them or you. I didn't really know you so I chose them." Ralnas smirked, "And now that you've spent time with me would you still choose them? She smiled, "Maybe." Ralnas raised an eyebrow, "Maybe?" She nodded. "It's a start I guess," Ralnas laughed. "But I'd like to spend more time with you sometime. If you want of course." Isabel said nervously. Ralnas just grinned. "You're pretty cool. I don't mind hanging out with you more." She smiled relieved he hadn't rejected her outright and the two quickly began reminiscing into another conversation about their time at Chiron's.
...
Micu was lounging on the couch with his feet propped against the armrest. As he was absentmindedly scrolling through his Ripple feed he noticed that Isabel had recently posted a picture. As he tapped on the picture his face darkened. A picture of Ralnas and Isabel at a casual restaurant was displayed with him having a hand around her shoulders. The caption of the picture read, "New friends from old acquaintances" with a variety of smiling emoticons following.
Micu glared at the photo with red-hot blood pounding in his head. Feeling betrayed he laid his head down on the couch and stared at the photo agonizing over every little detail. He decided to wait until Ralnas arrived and confront him.
A few hours later a tired Ralnas opened the door to their small apartment. He was surprised to see Micu sitting on the couch at this late night. " Shouldn't you be in bed? It's past your bedtime." Micu didn't turn to acknowledge him. "I couldn't sleep." Ralnas felt something was off with his friend as he slipped off his shoes next to the door. "You okay?" Micu still didn't turn to look at him. "Yeah. Fine." Ralnas was now sure something was off. "You want to talk about it?" He ventured hopefully. Micu's face quivered as he sat on the couch. His brain was at war with his heart over whether or not he should actually tell Ralnas his feelings. The burning anger he was feeling won out and he stood and turned to face his friend.
"How could you go and have a date with Isabel behind my back?" Ralnas was stunned, "Excuse you?" Micu glared at him. "I saw the picture! I saw your arm around her! How could you do that? You know better than anyone how I feel about her!" Ralnas' face hardened. "You think I would ever betray you like that?" Micu felt he was on the verge of crying tears of helpless fury. "Well the picture sure seems to point to that being the case!" Ralnas anger was now evident on his face. "Fuck you. And fuck you again for thinking I would ever do that to you." He turned to climb the stairs to his room when he felt Micu grab his arm.
"Then tell me what happened when the two of you were alone eating together. Because that sounds like a date to me." Ralnas tried to shake his arm off but Micu held firm. "Are you serious right now? You're acting like a child." Micu squeezed his arm tighter. "Then tell me the truth!" Ralnas turned and threw a punch at Micu. "Let go of me." Micu dodged but was forced to release his grip on Ralnas. "You aren't making it easy to believe you have nothing to hide!" Ralnas face was contorted with rage and pain. "Why would I lie to you? Fuck off and go to bed." He again tried to begin climbing the stairs.
Micu grabbed both of his arms and pulled him down. Ralnas landed on top of him in a heap. "Are you for real right now? You're this crazy about a picture!" "I am because you're the boy in the picture!" Ralnas pushed Micu off of him and stood inches from his face. "Wake the fuck up Micu. Wake the fuck up." Micu glared back at him silently. "You think she gives a fuck about you? Or me? Or any of us?" Micu was momentarily confused by his argument. "Everything has changed and you better realize it before someone uses you as a puppet." Micu wanted to slap him for what he had just said and his gaze turned even more icy towards Ralnas.
Ralnas took a step back. "No one is interested in us at all! They want our power! They want to be close to Jayce! She didn't know my name until Jayce sliced open an actual monster with god powers. That's why she was being nice to me, that's why she'll be nice to you. Realize that now before you get hurt." Micu was dumbstruck. "She's not like that. She wouldn't just use someone like that." Ralnas let a sneering laugh out. "That's all anyone does! Every single person, alien, plant, chair, whatever you can name is only interested in one thing. Themselves!" He turned his back to Micu. "It's about power. It's about getting more before someone else does. It's about me before we." He started climbing the stairs. "You know how many people have hit me up to be my new best friend in the last two days? They want what we have." He paused halfway up the stairs and turned to his ashen friend.
"Jenira is protecting Jayce more than any of us just by taking him off the market. But if he's off the market then they have to go after you or me to get into our team. Isabel wants in on our team. So she's trying to date one of us. Everything in the whole simulation wants to be part of our little four-member club!" He sighed and returned to climbing the stairs. "Maybe one day you'll get that." He slammed the door shut behind him and Micu heard the door lock.
Micu stared at Ralnas' door for a long time. He was unsure if he wanted to understand what he was saying. He didn't want it to be true. He didn't want there to be such a selfish reason behind Isabel being so nice to him in the arena earlier. He didn't want to live in the world where everyone was after them for their reputation and status. But deep down he saw some of the logic in his friend's words and he hated himself for realizing it. Eventually, he sat down on the sofa and stared out into the illuminated night sky. Where before there had been empty space there were now castles extending into the sky. He sighed and knew he wasn't going to be sleeping at all this night.
As he lay there motionless he heard a faint whispering in the back of his head. Turning his head to look around the room he felt a shiver run down his spine as he noticed there was nothing there. Returning his gaze to the front he saw his reflection in the glass window. But it didn't look right. His eyes were cloudy and black. Fangs protruded from his mouth and his head had two small horns jutting from it. He gasped and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them. His reflection was back to normal and he sighed with relief. Then a voice that sounded like it was speaking to him from an endless canyon shattered his momentary relief. "He's just lying. He's trying to take Isabel for himself." Micu glanced around frightened but again saw nothing. "Hello?" He asked quietly.
"He doesn't care about you. He's always preferred Jayce." Micu shook with rage. "Who are you! Show yourself, coward!" A rumbling laugh echoed through his skull and Micu cringed from the pain. "You will see the wisdom in my words soon." Micu whirled around the apartment furiously trying to see who or what was disturbing him. Again he saw nothing and sighed to himself in frustration. He rubbed his temples and sat back on the couch. His mental state shattered he gazed out over the city again. His mind was whirling. Dark thoughts swirled in his brain. Anger manifested itself in his hands as they squeezed tightly into fists. He glared at Ralnas' still closed door.
"What does that thing know that I don't?" He sat forward and leaned his arms on his knees. "And what was it?" He opened his watch and began delving into the deepest corners of the internet to find some leads. "I will find you." He whispered to himself. Micu didn't notice how long he had been up until the early rays of light peaked over the horizon. He felt no closer to understanding what had happened the night before. Sighing to himself he got up and started making some coffee to prepare for the day.
...
Anna yawned and uncurled herself from the cold bench she had been sleeping on. The faint light of dusk spread before her. She greeted the light with a smile and began her usual morning routine of pacing around the Royal Coliseum. As she walked she noticed that the landscape had begun to change overnight. Where had once been grimy road was now lush walking paths flanked by trees and flowers. Birds flitted through the air. Bugs of a million types hid amongst the foliage. Anna felt a calm presence wash over her. She smiled at the sky and thanked whatever being was responsible for the change. Trees had sprouted overnight and created a canopy that she walked under marveling.
At the end of the path was a gently sloping hill that extended right into the sea it seemed. She stepped to the top of the hill and gazed down the fading green slopes. A thin strip of sand extended far off into the distance. The barest beginnings of a town were forming on the beach. Aliens of all shapes and sizes bustled around building shops, stores, markets, and armories. Anna was intrigued. Half sliding half falling down the hill she made her way into the little town. She ambled through the town quietly taking in the sights and sounds.
A basking gemsbok was hovering near a building that was in the final stages of construction. Anna summoned her courage and approached the hovering squid. "Excuse me? Sir? Or madam?" The gemsbok rotated to face her. Its eyes were kind and it adjusted the settings on its watch before replying to her. "Yes dear, how may I help you?" Anna smiled, "Why is everyone building down here?" A chortling noise echoed from the gemsbok's beak. "You humans are always so cute in your ignorance." It waved a long tentacle over the small town that was forming. "The grand competition draws the most skilled warriors, tacticians, and thinkers from the gathered races. They need supplies. We sell them supplies." Anna nodded slowly.
"So it's just a big mall?" The same chortling noise. "I guess you could call it that. But this is the gateway to people's dreams. Everyone hopes to be the one to claim the grand prize." Anna looked around, "But aren't they going to be fighting in the Overwatcher's name?" The gemsbok looked her up and down. "Hey weren't you that girl they interviewed from team Pure?" Anna shook her head. "I used to be with them. Not anymore." The gemsbok nodded its thick head. "Ah, then I understand. You may join a team but it's not rare for an individual to claim the grand prize for themselves. No matter what banner they're flying." Anna looked up into its large bulbous eyes. "You mean you don't have to give the prize to the Overwatcher you are serving?"
The gemsbok smiled, or at least Anna thought it looked like a smile. "Exactly. You can claim it for whomever you wish." Anna gasped as she considered the possibilities. "Then that's why the Overwatcher's themselves are participating this time?" The gemsbok returned its gaze to the building it had been observing before. "Perhaps? Maybe they just got bored after all these years of watching." Anna watched the finishing touches get added to the building. The name of the store was hoisted onto the front of the building. "Gehm's guns" was proudly displayed in glittering letters. She turned to the gemsbok. "Are you hiring?" The gemsbok swiveled in the air. "Are you interested in working for me?" Anna nodded, " I want to meet all the adventurers who pass through here."
The gemsbok hesitated for a moment before extending a leathery tentacle to Anna. "Name's Gehm. Happy to have you Ms...?" Anna smiled and shook the tentacle. "Anna pleased to meet you, boss." The gemsbok chortled and returned its gaze to its shop. "We open when the competition officially begins. I'll send you your schedule before then." It floated towards the shop. "Want to take a look inside?" Anna quickly followed after his figure.
1/8
3/10
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