Chapter Text
I woke up earlier than usual, nearly as early as Juniper, which just about freaked her out of the flesh to become a Halloween décor skeleton. After the initial shock, she came galloping back from down the street to slip back into her skin suit, though admittedly she was still bubbling unadulterated enthusiasm that may have well flooded out the apartment windows had she not contained it.
“Ryen! You’re awake, wonderful! I never thought I’d see the day. Is this going to become normal? I sure hope it does. How’d you sleep?” Juniper was being her normal self. Happy, cheerful, supportive. Unfortunately I think this was just a fluke on my body’s part. Damn biological inconsistencies.
I gave a brief, “Slept well” before easing myself into the chair one ache at a time. My smile, however, was warm and genuine, despite the dull of my eyes. Or at least I hoped it appeared as such. Juniper took an extra moment, her glance hanging on me with a smirk at the corner of her mouth. Yep, she had always known I was just a tired @!#?@! in the mornings.
She even brought over the coffee pot, a cup, and cream and sugar for my benefit, probably a reward for my early rousing. I keep trying to tell her that I can’t be trained like Pavlov’s dog. Certainly didn’t stop her from trying. The coffee helped though, and soon enough I was more than half dead. I think, never quite sure of that.
“Lo and behold! As does Ryan rise, so the Queen follows!” Juniper was nearly as excited to see her as she was me. I was worried they wouldn’t get along at first, but they get along almost too well. They even enjoy ganging up on me in bouts of teasing. Rude.
“Morning, Juniper…” her gaze went from Juniper to me, then back to Juniper, then once again on me, “Holy @!#?@!, I didn’t expect to see you up!”
“You didn’t notice me suspiciously missing from my spot?”
“Well, with how much space there is now, I just figured you had rolled to the side… or had mysteriously transformed into some weremanager and began terrorizing the neighborhood”
“Haha, so funny, I’m absolutely dying of laughter. No really, stop, I can’t breathe” I said, not at all sarcastically.
My roommate simply grinned at us, wiggling her eyebrows a bit, “Oh, I see the lovers tried out the new bed~”
Before I had a chance to respond to the comment, Iris was already buzzing my pocket to be unleashed upon the kitchen. I plopped her down—my phone really isn’t my phone anymore so much as it is her home—and she appeared in her usual, sort of pinkish-purple-whatever-color, “Heeello! No, they behaved, sadly”
I’m pretty sure she could sense my glare entirely fixed on her, “I thought you weren’t snooping on us”
“I wasn’t, promise! I knew there was a 98.76% chance you two were just going to snuggle, and I was right!”
Uh huh, sure. She was a hell of a detective though, so it’s totally possible I suppose. Most of the time. She took liberties with her percentages and what they actually measured.
Queen decided to bump back into the conversation as she sat down beside me. I could feel her stroke my arm ever so subtly, though it felt anything but subtle. Electrifying, rather, a much better wake up than coffee ever could be (no offense to Juniper of course), “He’s an utter gentleman, ladies, don’t you worry. Not unless I don’t want him to be that is.” Her sly smirk simply reddened my face as the other two giggled. This was beyond unfair at this point, so I tried to cough it away.
“Ahem, so, uh… what’re your guys’ plans for the day?”
“I’ve got some posters to spit and polish, shouldn’t be too laborious” Juniper said as she moved to the counter for her own meal prep.
“Streaming, though probably later, I’m learning to live on my time for a change”
“Following you around” Iris’ words were accompanied by silence before she cleared the air, “In a non-creepy, non-stalkerish way, of course”
All I could do was give a sigh, “Riiight, well, you know where I’ll be, heading to the arcade”
Iris cocked her head ever so slightly, “Ryen, didn’t you call in today?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. What can I say, I changed my mind-” I couldn’t help but shoot Tanvi a smile, “-feeling energized, I’ll take tomorrow”
“If you say so, just don’t push yourself, or we’ll all have your head”
“Thank you, Iris, that totally doesn’t freak me out about the encroaching AI apocalypse”
“Oh relax, I did say we, didn’t I?” That didn’t make it much better, but it was a sign of human-AI coexistence in a weird way. Perhaps they’d let us live as servants for them, our rightful overlords.
After a little while, I got up and headed to my room, got dressed in my usual attire of cargos and my purple zip up sweater (don’t judge me for the cargos, they’re comfy and I dig the pockets, I don’t understand all the flak they get. And yes, I support pocket rights for all. Don’t get me started on the lack of pockets in women’s apparel, it’s appalling). Waving farewell, I picked up Iris as I went to the door. I could still hear the giggling from the remaining duo. Not at all concerning.
I was feeling good today. No, not just good, not simply great, but @!#?@! fantastic. Even the commute was more tolerable as usual. Ms. Withers decided to share the cookies she baked for her granddaughter’s birthday. Sweet lady that one, always brings a smile to my face when we ride the bus together. The world could use more people like her. The second I stepped into work was interesting in and of itself. Naomi sprung up and down and up and down to greet me, not unlike a bunny, the little ball of energy. Gavin stood behind the counter with a little gleam in his eye as he looked to Naomi. Her enthusiasm was beginning to rub off on him, and his patience and business savvy her. Oh, how I love a happy family.
“Hey there, what’s got you riled up?”
Naomi took in a deep breath, “We got a package we got a package WE GOT A PACKAGE!!”
My hands went up to defend against the assault of sheer joy. Despite my mood, I’m still not a morning person, “Slow down there, what’s so unusual about a package? We get them all the time.”
“No no, you don’t get it—the thing’s a tall shipping crate labeled fragile!” I was still at a lost, and it must have shown on my face, “It’s a new cabinet”
“Oh! I’m surprised you didn’t open it”
“Wouldn’t have felt right without you here, boss” spoke up Gavin from the back, “Y’know, your arcade and all. Plus it didn’t have a return address”
“No return address? That’s rather… spooky”
“You’re telling me”
Before I had a chance to continue, a crowbar was shoved into my hands. I always wanted to use one of these in all honesty. I bid Naomi to stand back, who knows what could be in the crate considering all the crazy @!#?@! that had transpired in the past several months. The face of the crate proved surprisingly resilient, but eventually it gave, hitting the floor with a loud smack. The sound did nothing to help the unease creeping from within, and I had to actively hold back from bouncing back into Naomi. The sensation was far too familiar, almost a radiating aura, but I couldn’t pin as to where I had experienced it before. Packing peanuts spilled out like a wave of the ocean and, to no one’s surprise, Naomi began to throw them about like confetti.
I, however, was not at all thrilled.
The marquee read a dreaded title; one I had hoped never to see again. One single word on the marquee—Polybius. No. This can’t be. This absolutely cannot be.
My feet couldn’t help but stumble me backwards, colliding me into the side of one of the other games. I didn’t care, nothing around me registered, only that damn thing. Naomi tried to steady me, help me stand straight, but to no avail. I wouldn’t respond. No, more like I couldn’t respond. I could see her mouth moving, forming words, but there were none to be heard. Even Iris tried to jerk me back to my senses. Nothing worked, and they began to fret more and more. Then walked in Tanvi. Her voice was the only one to make it past my ear and into my hollow brain. Slowly, surely, her hand began to drag my attention to reality, my head slowly shifting but with eyes that wouldn’t follow. Her other hand cupped my cheek and forced me to fully look to her.
“Love? Love, look at me, please” the tone in her voice was unmistakable, though I’d rarely heard it before.
Moments passed and my eyes finally rested on her. All I could do was blink in a vain attempt to clear something that wasn’t in my eyes to begin with. It was her thumb, stroking along my cheekbone, which finally urged me to speak, “I’m… I-I’m alright.”
“I don’t believe you”
“You should”
“Then where are you right now, what time is it, who’s with you?”
My lips were at a loss. Though images flashed through my mind, none stuck, and none reached my vocal cords for a long while, “You… and… Naomi? Gavin?” I failed to answer the other questions given to me.
Ashley stepped from the back, chipper as ever, “Heya, guys, I’m here too-!” her words trailed off as she took in the weight of the situation at hand, “-ok, serious Ashley time” she took a few steps towards us, hesitating before joining the group, equal concern on her face to the rest of her cohorts at this point. At that moment, a woman dressed in all black, dark shades, and one of those little earpieces entered. A secret agent, the secret agent, the one who had stolen the cabinet before Gavin and I had the chance to bid, collect, and destroy it. Arguably enemy number one after Deko Nami was out of the picture. Not that there was really a list to begin with. Her silhouette in the doorway was enough to rattle me back to the present, even if I were tunneling everything else out.
“You. You are not welcomed here, will never be welcomed here. Get out of my arcade, I’m not going to tell you again” my friends could do nothing but give me strange, inquisitive looks. What was I—almost the politest of this crazy hoard—doing speaking with such a tone, such a dagger like tongue, to a complete stranger?
“I can’t do that, no matter how much you command me to do so”
“Wanna bet?”
It was odd, from what little I saw of her, the expression on her face was always stoic, not a single betrayal of emotion. Yet there she was with a cocked eyebrow, “You’re free to try and force me out, but I can guarantee it won’t work in your favor” damnit, she was right. I felt rather foolish promising such a tiny threat, or rather bluff, to someone whom could most likely snap me in half seven ways to the weekend and back again. Not a good idea.
I paused, thought, waited to regain my senses. She was more than willing to wait on my response, she had all the time in the world, “Alright, fine, you can stay. You could at least tell me why you’re here however”
The agent cleared her throat, “I was going to explain that if you had given me the chance” yet more embarrassment on my part. Fantastic, I was not on the winning side of this battle, “As I can see, you’ve opened the package-” I was beginning to hate how anything clandestine and unspecified was referred to as ‘the package’, person or no, “-I think you have some idea”
Now was my chance to square up, hold my ground, ensure that she cannot pass, “Enlighten me, because I see nothing but a hellspawn machine that deserves to burn eternally in a fiery pit in the depths of hell itself” the vivid description of torturing a cabinet made Naomi wince. Normally I’d be more wary of such things, but now was not the time. This was a matter of survival.
“You’re more or less familiar with the system. If I have to spell out why both it and I are here, I will; frankly, you’re the only individual to survive using the Polybius system. More than a certain pop star you encountered within”
At this point, I think everyone aside from the agent before us and I were confused. Alright, I was little lost myself. Government conspiracies are beyond me 99.97% of the time. They’re definitely keeping aliens at Area 15 though, Iris says so.
“Alright, supposing that’s true, what is it exactly that you want me to do?” oh, how I love inadvertent rhymes.
“Simple, I want you to play it again”
Wut
What
What
“Nope, nuh uh, no way. In. Hell.”
“You have no choice in the matter”
Instinct took over and my feet dragged me stumbling back once more. I wasn’t able to see the look in my eyes, but I knew exactly what the others saw—a wild, caged, cornered animal afraid out of its mind. The words from my mouth lost their punch, shrinking back just as I was doing, “No… No, you can’t make me. Don’t make me go back, I can’t, I can’t-” I rambled on and on and on, repeating those same words, “I can’t go back. I don’t want to go back. Please, don’t make me go back” tears began to run down my face, and all I was doing at this point was freaking out my friends, who were growing ever more bewildered.
“As I said, you have no choice. I have a government order compelling you to aid us in this… endeavor. Classified, of course”
That set me off. I have had enough of people coming into my arcade(s) thinking they can tell me what to do. Thinking they can just get away with whatever they pleased. No more. Now I could feel my voice rising, let alone the overpowering atmosphere of worry growing around me, “I don’t care. Get away from me and take that damn game with you. No force on this earth will get me to ‘play’ it, I will never touch that fucking thing ever again!” that’s when everything fell dreadfully silent, and my rage bubbling up from deep within had finally unmasked itself. I had never sworn at work, much less around my friends. Not once. Tanvi and Juniper only heard when I was really excited or had stubbed my toe. That was on rare occasion. Never in pure, unadulterated, raging wrath. The fear in each of their eyes was staunchly apparent. Unfortunately for me, there’s no backing down, not that I could control myself at this point, “I will not tolerate such evil in my arcade. I will not tolerate it around my friends. I will not tolerate it around me. Leave, and never return” even as I spoke, my volume growing ever louder, the agent stood in utter silence, unphased and unmoving.
“I can’t do that” was all she spoke.
“So you keep saying, like hell you can’t”
“My superiors won’t tolerate it”
“To hell with your superiors, I don’t give a damn!”
Naomi was growing increasingly uncomfortable, squirming, crawling out of her own skin. I noticed when Gavin stepped up behind me and placed a tender, but certainly firm hand on my shoulder, “Ryen, that’s enough, you’ve made your point”
It was only then that I felt the hot breath in my lungs release, a steam engine relieving the stress of strenuous labor. The sensation of shaking came soon after. Not of fear, or shame, but anger. In my mind I feel like I should be ashamed of the way I had behaved in front of everyone, but I’m not in my heart. Deep down, I’m just not.
Trying to gain some composure and control again, I stand up straight, leveling my shoulders as best I could “I’m guessing this won’t be left alone”
“Let me put it in simpler terms. Either you can stay in the arcade with your friends and cooperate, or we can drag you off and you’ll never be seen again”
I paused, looked around at everyone, then back to the agent with another sigh as I pinched the bridge of my nose “Fine, we’ll role it on back. We can discuss this in length later I’m assuming?”
“That works for me, so long as you don’t back out”
“Fine, fine. Naomi, could you get the dolly out of the back please?” she simply stood there, mouth agape at the scene before her. That was when the guilt set in, the deep shame that welled up in pit the of my throat. I had always hated that feeling, then again, who doesn’t? I put them through all of this, and for what? Gavin gave her the same gentle touch he did me not long before, and she headed off back. She tried to load the machine, but I wouldn’t allow it. I won’t let anyone else become a victim. I loaded it myself, tilted it myself, and rolled it on back myself. Upon returning I gave them strict, unwavering instructions, ‘No one, absolutely no one, is allowed to touch that cabinet. Don’t look at it, don’t think about it, just leave it be’. I even took the precaution of covering it with a spare tarp lying about. I can still feel that tingle in the back of my skull to take that joystick in hand myself, and heavens knows Naomi would be the most curious of the lot.
With that, the agent nodded, turned, and left us in total silence. @!#?@! asshole.
I couldn’t stand to look any of them in the eye, not a single one, not even the person dearest to my pulsing heart still racing from whatever the hell just happened. This was such a lovely day, such a good day, am I really still stalked by the Ader family curse?
Another hand stopped me now, smaller this time “Ryen, babe… are you alright?”
“Would you be?” It’s apparent that those words stung more than I could have guessed as she looked to me. More sorrow, more concern, more worry, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”
“I know, love” her regard was enough to settle my nerves, the tension falling away as old, worn armor barely holding together, “I know”
There was no helping it now. My legs couldn’t hold me anymore, the only choice available to me was falling into her arms as a collapsed mess spilling at her feet. I used to be so much better at hiding these kinds of things, what happened? When did my guard drop? It never should have in the first place. Sob after sob, Tanvi held me, just held me. With a nod, everyone got the clue that I’d be alright and headed to the back room to give us as much privacy as the floor allowed. How humiliating. I’m supposed to be the staple of this arcade, the rock upon which everyone leans on. I filled the roll well until, why was it all changing?
It was such a lovely day, why did it have to turn into this?