Chapter Text
Chapter One
It felt odd, MC thought.
Something was on the tip of their tongue but they simply couldn’t place that thought. It was if they knew something that they couldn’t know. But, what was it that they couldn’t know and why couldn’t they recall the thought? This happened time from time but normally they would ignore it and carry about with their business but today it felt like that itch was stronger.
Déjà vu could happen to anyone, so they merely turned their head back onto their phone as they chatted amicably with the RFA.
Jumin and Zen were going back and forth about something again and MC couldn’t hold back the laughter from their lips as they did so. Zen was tired of Jumin making cat project after cat project and spilling it all over the chatroom. Jumin paid him no mind whatsoever and only chuckled at that, letting Zen groan all he wanted.
It sort of felt one-sided, but Jumin always played back with him.
Even if it seemed like they didn’t get along very well, MC could tell right off the bat that they cared about each other. It felt the same way whenever MC saw Jaehee gushing over Zen and how much she seemed to support him with such intensity, or when MC was around when Seven was teasing the heck out of Yoosung to torment him.
As a matter of fact, each member of the RFA cared about each other as if they were a family, and MC had noted that the more that they spoke with them and saw how they acted. This, being the game that Ray had given MC to play.
It felt oddly realistic for just a simple game. It felt more like MC was chatting to real living and breathing people most of the time. This software… had to be advanced, after all. MC could make phone calls and prompt however and whoever they wanted, alongside the chatting feature.
This was why MC sort of understood why his team had been trying to hide it. This would revolutionize this type of gaming, and even other types of gaming if they were able to do it right.
To think that MC would be able to talk to someone like this as if they were a real person like themselves? Amazing! MC simply gave him the credit for working so hard with the team of people that he must have had at a place like this. It took a lot of work to make something feel so flesh and bone.
MC admired him for that.
He was a sweet soul, and so very gentle as far as MC could see from their vantage point.
He may not have always known what he was doing when it came to social cues or understanding how to make friends, but he was always so very kind to MC and on his best behavior. Ray treated MC like royalty and it brought a smile to their face. Ray also worked himself to the bones of his fingertips all the time.
It didn’t seem very fair that he was always caught up in his work.
For some reason, MC had this gut feeling that he had always been that way. He had always worked himself into the ground. Thinking of being stuck in that room all day long. That feeling made their stomach twist into a knot.
Why did that bother MC so much?
Why did their stomach feel sick whenever they thought about him working in that lonely dark room all by himself? Though, as concerned as they were for him, MC also worried for the one and only Jihyun Kim, or V, as the character model suggested.
Out of every member of the RFA, the so-called leader was fraught with the most insecurities and secrets that had to be unlocked. Ray didn’t seem to care for him or for Seven, the other mysterious figure.
But, if MC wanted to play this game to the very best that they really could do, wouldn’t it be much better to take the hardest path to help Ray understand what bugs he needed to fix in his programming? MC thought that it was worth it. He had put so much faith into them and MC wanted to do their very best for him.
So, when V came into the chatroom to speak with everyone again, MC entered without a moment of hesitation.
They’re going to play this game to the best of their abilities.
All MC had to do is ease back into their chair and let themself get close to these people as if they were their real friends. It wasn’t going to be very hard.
It had only been a couple of days but it felt like they had known the RFA for years. This feeling was one that they had not felt before, MC thought. Their chest burned with excitement as MC spoke more and more with V and got to know him the best that they could.
Yet, the closer that MC found themself growing to him, the more danger that would come their way. MC didn’t know why, but they had a sinking feeling in their stomach… even as V spoke to MC with such concern for their sake. MC liked talking to him. He was a gentle soul but it was clear that he had a lot of pain in his mind.
There was always this sense that he was holding back with MC, not saying everything but never saying too little.
MC worried for his sake.
He seemed so caught up in trying to help everyone around him that he didn’t even think to consider himself. MC was going to make him see otherwise, no matter what it took and no matter how hard that it was.
After all, Ray had said that things could be reset, even if it might have been a lot of trouble to deal with. A restart wasn’t a bad thing, right? But, MC was going to focus on the road that they were taking now. MC felt like they were doing the right thing as far as they could tell.
The story was progressing and things seemed to be going as they should. That feeling in their stomach still threatened to bubble up, though, no matter what MC tried to do.
What was this sensation and why did it feel so strong?
404
Things had shifted drastically in a matter of days.
The RFA had turned out to be living, breathing people, and the game that they thought they were playing had been nothing more than a long-winded con to trick someone into getting the RFA to crack and reveal their secrets to the Mint Eye. The Savior was their founder, who had supposedly died months earlier only to reveal herself to you.
You had no choice but to hear the woman out after you had gotten close to V, as you wanted to know and understand how all of this had happened in the first place. Her explanation wasn’t anything that aligned with what you had heard from the others, which was to be expected but finding the answer to your questions was next to impossible.
Ray hadn’t even been able to see you since Rika had taken your hand and considered it her personal business to tend to you.
After days of being trapped in the stronghold with Rika for days on end, she had finally led MC out of her chambers and walked through the interweaving hallways until they walked down a set of stairs and into a damp room with nothing but stone and cobble. The light slowly illuminated the scenery but it was still low, as if by a dim candle.
And it wasn’t until they stood in front of a set of bars that MC realized, Rika had taken them down here to see V.
“Hello. What a good night to punish a traitor, isn’t it?”
V looked to be in bad shape. His chest ragged with breaths and his mint eyes glossy as if he had been taking something that had made him ill. MC couldn’t stop their gasp as the door to the cell opened and they could approach him, “V! Are you okay?”
As they rested their hands against his shoulders, he didn’t even respond.
Rika tsked, clicking her tongue in disgust. “Hmm. I didn’t expect to see you like this so soon tonight. He doesn’t even seem to recognize me… hm, Ray must have drugged him much more than I thought. What a shame. I told him to go with a small dosage… just enough that he could speak to me. This may not be as fun as I thought that it would be.”
MC stood up straight and looked back at Rika, the fear evident in their eyes as they heard that last word. “...What? What drug?”
“It’s the elixir of salvation, of course. Simply put, it causes your brain to produce an excess of dopamine. You feel happy and energetic for a while but you can suffer from hallucinations if you take too much, like this, for example,” she gestured down at V who was crumpled on the floor in a heap like a dirty dog.
“The elixir works like magic on people. It lets me do as I please… not elegant or democratic, but sometimes, things must work this way. Fear not, I don’t believe you are in need of this, right?”
MC didn’t respond. They just turned their head to look back at the man on the floor in front of them. He had tried to get them out of this place. He had tried everything he could do and he had been hurt.
Did Ray hurt him? Rika ordered Ray to hurt him? What had been happening while they were stuck with this woman?
Rika merely sighed. She shrugged her shoulders as if to say, what can you do, and looked back at MC with a frown. “If this is how V has turned out with the elixir… he might as well just die before I do anything. I can’t give you a choice like this.”
“The coordinator…” a croak came from the floor down below. “You need… to run…!”
“Who was he calling just now…?” Rika’s voice grew dangerous thick as she looked down at the man in front of you.
Against their better judgment, MC tried to speak to him and see if there was clarity in his eyes again, or just a hint of recognition.“V-V? It’s me, I’m here!” MC told him, hands meeting his arm where he gazed up at them.
He managed to look at them, but then his head lowered as he wheezed and coughed, desperate to end the pain. “This place is… dangerous.”
His words only provoked Rika more, “You’re the only one in danger here! I’m not going to let you hurt this person as you hurt me, You traitor. You liar! You deceiver! You will testify, right? Show this ghost how well I’ve been treating you, MC.”
“Rika, please. you need to stop this,” V spoke again, his time his voice was growing in strong confidence. He took a moment to breathe and catch his breath again. “Rika, please… our love… obsession… should end… with me. I can’t let… them… get caught up… Aaah…”
Rika’s own breath quickened. There was this look in her eyes like a deer caught in a trap. She looked stunned but it was washed away from her seething anger that held no bounds.
“V, there is no such thing as our love. I am me. I don’t care about you. I never cared! I’m just doing what I want…! Now, MC! Tell him. Tell him what I’ve done for you. Make him suffer! It’s what he deserves! You know how afraid and stressed I am because of him. You know why I’ve become the devil I am. You know everything. Tell the traitor… tell him.” Rika demanded.
Her eyes were desperate. It was like this was her last chance to prove something that even she did not know she wanted.
In front of MC was a woman that was hurting just as much as she was hurting the others around her and this cycle of pain was solving nothing. Nobody here was going to win if things continued in this manner. Her side, their side…
There was no side for MC here.
All they saw were people that needed help.
MC shook their head, “I understand your pain… but you need to control this devil within, Rika. It’s hurting you just as much as it’s hurting the ones you’re upset with. This isn’t going to make you feel better.”
Rika’s voice caught in her throat and a bitter laugh escaped her as her panic rose, and she started to crumble. “I thought. I thought you understood me! Are you trying to kill my devil?! MC… you didn’t choose me. You’re going to choose V…?”
V stiffened against their hold and coughed, “MC… you need to run. It’s not safe… to stay with Rika.”
Rika’s bitter laughter went quiet, deadly quiet. Then, she spoke through that silence that only consisted of V’s desperate gasps of air that he could swallow, “V, MC as well… you’ve chosen them… each other… traitors... MC, and V… you’re all the same. You’re all the same! No one will ever truly understand me!”
“Rika…” MC trailed, eyes wide as Rika clutched her arms together around her torso tightly as if to comfort herself.
“Rika, don’t… don’t do this,” V repeated himself, but it was for naught.
He was now looking squarely at the woman that he loved, he once loved so very dearly, and even now, he cared about her well-being as much as someone could.
Her glowering gaze rested on MC.
“This is where I belong! Hahaha… You made a mistake when you came here, MC. I’m the devil! I am my monster. Nothing but darkness exists inside of me. Dreaming of happiness is a luxury that I don’t deserve! There’s nothing but fear, hatred, and sorrow within me! Nobody will betray me inside of this darkness! If I step outside… I’ll die. I… I already knew that.”
“Rika…?”
Her shriek echoed throughout the dungeons that they all resided within. “Don’t call my name with that filthy mouth!”
V had sat up on his own but it was obvious that he was barely keeping himself together to have this conversation, “Rika, think about… our memories. When we used to be obsessed with each other.”
“Obsessed? That’s a funny expression!” Rika spat. Her green eyes couldn’t have been colder at that moment. “We were never obsessed with each other. I was the only one that was obsessed. You don’t even know what that is! You know nothing of endless love for another!”
“Rika… I… I was obsessed with you. I thought I had to… love you unconditionally,” he trailed off, as he was unable to stop himself. “I was telling you that I love you when your soul didn’t want it. I was… I was obsessed with you!”
Rika’s laughter had grown once again but now her eyes were threatening to spill over with thick white tears. “Hahaha… so you’re trying to tell me you never loved me, you were just obsessed with me!”
“Rika… I did love you,” V said, softly. It was filled with sincerity that even MC could not deny the way he said it. It made their heartache.
It seems these words are a spark to a fire that isn’t going to stop. This small ember that had been starting to burn was now a blazing inferno that would cover everything in its wake. Rika sucked in a desperate breath of air that came in and out haphazardly.
“Don’t change your words! You said what you said to me! Don’t turn back on it now, you liar! You’re saying that you don’t love me, that you never loved me! All of that attention you poured into me was an obsession, and you didn’t love me at all! You said that you loved me like the sun! You said you’ll love me even if I test you, even if I ruin you! It wasn’t loving me?! That was an obsession?! Tell me, which one was it?”
Neither V nor MC moved as Rika broke down into a million pieces in front of the both of them as her gaze fell from him onto the ground.
Her sobs were the sounds of desperation.
“Was it all lies? Was it all a game to you from the start? Did you ever love me or were you obsessed?! Did you come here because you love me or because you were obsessed with me?! Was it all lies from the start, V?! Tell me! I demand you tell me the truth! You never loved me in the first place?! Obsession… obsession!” her voice echoed against the walls as she slowly turned to beg with the air for an answer that she wanted to hear.
Fists pounding against the ground like a child throwing a fit.
Rika sank to the ground as she hit her knees and her fingers dug into the floor underneath them as she shouted and lost herself, “You said you loved me! You said you loved me! You said you loved me! You said you loved me! You said you loved me! You said you loved me! You said you loved me! You said you would love me like the sun!”
Neither of them moved.
Rika had lost her wits and she wasn’t even aware of anyone else in the room at this point. She was hurting. She had done wrong but this woman broke into pieces as if she were made of glass instead of brick. It made MC’s heart feel sick and they wished that it wouldn’t have turned out that way but there was nothing that they could do to change what had happened.
A couple of tense moments past but they heard a strange sound come from behind their back all of a sudden. A hand rested against their shoulder and a voice rang through their eardrums, “Shh. Quiet. You're MC, right? Don’t answer. I said be quiet. We’re getting out of here. Okay?”
That sounded a lot like…
MC nodded their head, providing that they understood what was happening.
Seven guided them through what to do, “Pick him up. Now, so that she won’t notice. We don’t have a lot of time.”
MC followed through his orders. They managed to haphazardly pull the mint-haired man across the room until they had him in Seven’s grasps. He looked down at him with a bit of disdain in his eyes but it was torn up with a lot of other feelings. He hoisted him up on his back the best that he could and then, they were moving as fast as they could through the hallways. Mint Eye had a floor plan that didn’t make any sense at all.
Seven seemed to have figured it out, somehow, so they were out of that building and into the grass within a couple of minutes.
“Luciel…?” V eventually croaked out. “I’m sorry…”
Seven almost sighed in relief when he heard the sound of the RFA’s leader’s voice speak back to him but he paid no mind to him. There was going to be a lot that had to be spoken about in the future but for right now, they had to get out of this place.
MC glanced back at the building behind them as they hurried through the treeline, “Wait, what about the hacker? Seven, we can’t leave him behind. He’s being abused and manipulated as well!”
The redhead grit his teeth, “It’s no good. We’ve got no time. We can come back for him later, but right now, we have to focus on V.”
404
It had been a few days since MC found themselves in the safe house with Vanderwood, Seven, and V. It had not been a pretty situation to take care of V’s injuries and defend themselves from an attack. They had promised MC they wouldn’t hurt the hacker but they were fighting him while they said that.
They spent much of this time trying to focus on V. It was hard when he had been laid out cold most of the time for his own pain’s sake. The elixir had messed him up badly and the painkillers evened out everything else. MC tried to make sure that he was as comfortable as he could be but that was all that they could do.
Being around the hackers made them uneasy, and that also another issue that they were dealing with. It didn’t help that they were fighting with Ray… going back to help him was one thing, but fighting with him after the promise to help?
Ray was still back there, and he was not okay.
MC stepped outside to get some air after the sun had gone down and the moon had started to rise again. They stared at the treeline and sighed. Their life had really gone from zero to one hundred without warning. It wasn’t anything that they expected but they had to make do with what they could.
They just wanted a moment to think.
What could they do? They weren’t all that strong. Everyone had been taking care of them from the start and they had done nothing but get in the way and cause trouble over and over again. It wasn’t their drama, to begin with, but they were involved now.
They couldn’t even protect Ray after promising that they would never let him go. That was what hurt the most of all, MC thought.
They sat down in the grass and started up at the moon as they took in a breath. They had wanted to stargaze with Ray. They had never got the chance to ask him to do that.
MC lost themself in their thoughts until their phone rang. They lifted their head up and gazed at the photo on the phone.
Ray! It was from Ray. They immediately picked up and put it next to their ear as his voice came through the other side, “Thank god… It’s working. You know, the weather is nice today. So, I wanted to be able to talk to you… about something important. I hope I’m not bothering you.”
MC shook their head, incredulous. “Important? You can tell me anything, Ray. You’re not bothering me. I wanted to talk to you. I’ve wanted to see you. I’m sorry I couldn’t find you before they took me. Please. Talk to me.”
“But, I feel so nervous to say it…” Ray trailed off.
It was quiet for a moment.
“Listen, I… to be honest with you, MC. When you were in that room… those days were the happiest moments of my life. That’s the only memories that sparkle so pure with not a spot of betrayal. That moment is the shiniest moment in me. I will never forget how you trusted and waited for me… all those times, your voice… I really wanted to tell you that, MC,” he said, quietly.
Why did that sound like a goodbye letter? MC stared at the stars overhead and pursed their lips.
"Ray…” they say, uneasy. “What’s going on?”
Ray didn’t seem to notice that they were speaking or asking him a question, he was so caught up in whatever he wanted to tell them that he couldn’t stop talking. “I miss you so much. I’ve said that a lot, haven’t I? I miss you so much, so these words would just come out without even thinking. But, in the end… we couldn’t even see each other one last time.”
MC’s heart was beating fast against their ribcage. They missed him too. They hadn’t wanted to leave him behind in the first place.
“The last moment we were together… was when I introduced you to my Savior, wasn’t it? It’s only been a few days since that happened but it feels like years have passed. Now I’ll never get to see you again… will I?” Ray’s throat was racked with heavy sobs but he tried to hold them back.
MC could hear the sorrow in his voice as he poured his heart out to them and they were too stunned to do anything to listen.
Ray continued, “It’s all my fault… I’ve done wrong. I dreamed of living happily together here. I thought that one day that would come true if I just worked hard enough… but, it seems as though that dream wasn’t something I ever deserved.”
No.
No!
MC never thought that way of him. They had thought that they would be able to be his friend and show him a world that he had never seen.
It hadn’t been all that thought out when they chatted to Ray about this and that, but that didn’t mean that they had given up on that dream because they weren’t in the same place anymore.
They shut their eyes.
“Ray… wait…”
There was an odd sound in the background of the phone, it sounded like ticking or like hands hitting keys.
“Though it was very brief, I even imagined going on a date with somebody I love… you know… that person that is more important to me than anything else in this world. Holding hands just so tenderly, giving warm hugs, and making lovely kisses… something like that. They are dreams too big for someone as pathetic as me, right?” his sobs had gone stiff.
He was trying to keep himself together but it wasn’t working. That faint sound in the background of the phone was now more key to MC. It sounded like a voice counting down.
Fifteen…
Fourteen…
Thirteen…
“You were… too good for me. You were a person too good for me, MC. Thank you for staying with me, even if it was briefly. I wanted to see you… one last time… I think even now that I’m sullying your time just for hearing how pathetic I sound now. But still, thank you for bearing with me all this time. I won’t ever see you again but, I’m glad that I could hear your voice one last time.”
Six…
Five…
Four…
MC realized what was happening at that moment. That countdown… that could only be for one thing and one thing alone.
They bolted onto their feet and stared at the distance where the building of Magenta lay far on the horizon just out of sight but just close enough that they knew it was there. “Ray… please! Wait! Stop! I never wanted to leave you behind, I wanted you to come with me! They wouldn’t let me go and find you! I’ve always cared about you, Ray, I—”
Ray’s voice was now in a whisper so soft that only they would be able to hear that sound, only they would know his final words. “I won’t ask you to remember me, MC. It doesn’t matter if you forget about me. I want you to be happy no matter what. You need to be happy… you must… my first, and last love.”
Then, it happened.
There was a righteous explosion in the distance so loud and so sky-high that MC could see the smoke and fire billowing into the skyline. They raised a hand to their lips as the sounds of a scream and then nothing came through their phone. MC dropped the device and it collided with the ground.
MC stared at the sight, in horror, and then a scream ripped through their body. A flurry of visions poured through their mind all at once of a thousand lives they had lived, lives lived, love given, trust exchanged, and so much more. They saw everything and anything and then that saw Ray, except he wasn’t Ray.
He was somewhere… someone else… he wasn’t dressed the same and he looked a little bit older than he did right now. His eyes were locked in pain and disgust and agony all at once as he lifted a gun and—
Nothing.
Everything they had seen turned to a blank, they could remember nothing. Their body went slack against the ground and they passed out.