Chapter Text
"Welcome to the A-"
"Another one? That didn't take very long."
"At least they didn't break my..."
"Don't be such an 💭🐬💫💥💭💥💫 for like, two seconds."
"You freaked out yet? Wanna cry?"
"Another newbie...?"
"-IGITA-"
"You really couldn't care less, huh?"
"Not really. Why would I?"
"-IRC-"
"Fan of heights, X̷͓̱͈͈͇͇̃͜ͅE̷̞̱̭͐̄̏͋͊̄̇͝N̷̛͉̺̬̳̱̮̎̑͌́̈́Ỉ̷̢̤̼̖̌̚̚ͅE̷̛͔͖̾̀̆̈̀?"
"So why'd you come with me? You could'a said no!"
"Cat got your tongue?"
"You're perfectly safe."
"Pfft, furry."
"You lose that instinct after a while here. At least I have."
"Enjoy your stay!"
.
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Kassie felt their body shoot up in bed before their mind could catch up. The same dream, each night since their headset arrived in the mail. They ran a hand down their face, groaning quietly.
This was seriously getting old.
They let their feet swing over the side of their bed and they slipped on their dark green cat slippers. They made their way out of their room and into the small room they'd turned into a playroom for their birds, greeting them tiredly and refilling their bowls.
After that, they went and got dressed. They brushed their hair, took care of their teeth, popped in their retainers... And off they went. They figured they'd pick up breakfast on the way to therapy.
If you couldn't already tell, Kassie Harris was deeply plagued by their dreams. Night after night, they were struck with nonsense that was far too strange to be real, but felt so much like memories. Vivid memories, as warped as they were. Like nobody could say their name, and they couldn't see anyone, but it all felt...
Familiar.
Like a childhood best friend you've moved away from. You remember such specific memories, and you long to return to them, but they seem so far away, and you can't even particularly remember who that best friend really was anymore.
So they went to therapy.
They studied psychology in college, but this was definitely not something they could wrap their head around. So, instead, they went to see someone who actually made a career out of their studies.
"Good morning, Doctor Foster." Kassie fumbled with their hands. "It, uh... It happened. Again."
"Oh, dear... And you did take the medicine, correct?" The sweet woman's posh accent was relaxing. No wonder she was a therapist.
"I did. I got enough sleep because of it, at least...?" They offered an awkward smile.
"Ah, that's wonderful. I'm glad to hear your sleep schedule is doing better. Has the dream changed at all, since the last time?"
"Maybe...? I can't remember. It all goes by so quickly, I just can't... Latch onto anything, you know? Other than the furry part. That's... I don't know what that's about. It's weird."
Doctor Foster gave a quiet giggle in response. "Well, perhaps the dream is just... A nightmare, I suppose. You could just have some strange subconscious fear of virtual reality."
They hummed. They hadn't touched their new headset in a while.
"What I'm suggesting, dear, is exposure therapy. An hour a day. It's... Odd, sure. I've never prescribed a video game before, but... Well, anything to stop those dreams."
"And you really think this'll work?"
"I hope so. Do be safe, Kassie. Let me know how it goes, won't you?"
"Yeah. I will. Thank you, Robyn."
"Of course, love."
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"So she just told you to play video games? Weird." Doom leaned back in her seat. "Is that actually a thing?"
"Maybe it'll help jog my memory. I trust it. Robyn's never let me down." Kassie shrugged and took a bite of their food court fried rice. It was gross.
They took another bite.
"You know, Mothman also causes memory loss." Calliope piped up.
"Cal!" Amber gently nudged her partner. "Come on, they're stressed enough. They don't need any cryptids to worry about, hon."
"Okay, okay. Just throwing it out there." She sighed. "Other than Mothman... I would do it. I mean, what do you have to lose? Unless-"
"Calliope!"
"Sorry!" They snickered. "My bad, my bad."
"It's fine, Cal. Don't worry about it. Cryptids don't really affect me. I'm just worried because, like... I don't know. What if I have some sort of hidden trauma or something? You know, dissociative amnesia."
"...Yeah, I know what that means." Doom cleared her throat.
"Like... When you forget things on purpose because of trauma. It's common in children that suffer from abuse, but it can happen to anyone."
"What could have traumatized you to the point you're having nightmares about virtual reality? I dunno, it just doesn't sit right with me. Something's up." Cal crossed her arms.
"Oh, you always think that. I'm sure it'll all be okay, Kass. Just keep pushing forward, okay?" Amber smiled and gave Kassie a comforting pat on the hand.
"Thanks, guys. I appreciate it."
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And that was it. Kassie Harris had a relatively normal life, aside from their strange digital dreams. They'd feed their bird, go to therapy, go to work, hang out with friends... It was nice. Doom, Amber, and Calliope even offered to play with them once they all got home, and they did.
They all figured it'd be nice to play something active, but simple. Laser tag seemed good enough. Kassie's only worry was that they'd get called a furry for their avatar. It was a black cat, but instead of fur or whiskers or anything, it was more of a void. The silhouette of a cat, if you will, with two little white eyes and no mouth, and a dark green cloak. They liked how it looked. And the username was cute, too. XEN1E. They didn't know why, it just felt right.
Everything was going so well. They didn't feel scared, or anything. They just had fun with their friends. They teamed up with Doom, who had just been rambling about robotics and tech while somehow effortlessly taking out any member of an opposing team that had the misfortune of trying to shoot at either of them.
Eventually, though, Doom managed to get shot. Her avatar was teleported back to the spawn, and Kassie quickly took cover. "Shoot, shoot, shoot... How do I reload this thing..."
They scrambled to figure out the laser gun. They weren't in too big of a panic, but something deep down made them feel like they should've been frightened. Scared for their life.
Like if they died in the game, they'd never go home.
When they finally managed to figure their gun out and aim, they were cut off by some other player jumping onto their cover and shooting their attackers. "POW, pow, pow! And that's... Fifty points? Oh, that's baloney! That's what that is! I should've gotten at least seventy-five, those were totally headshots! Stupid sellout game." The man groaned and kicked a smoke grenade, watching it explode one of his own teammates. He didn't seem to care much.
Kassie ducked back behind their cover, hugging their gun to their chest. Unfortunately for them, the shuffling noise seemed to alert the new player to their presence, and he quickly jumped off of the surface and landed in front of the poor fellow, aiming his gun right at their head.
But then he paused.
And so did Kassie.
They looked up at each other's gamertags, and then back to each other's faces. Jax. Jax.
Why was it so familiar?
Something about it made them feel emotional, although they couldn't quite place what emotion they felt.
Joy that it was someone they knew?
Sad because they lost him in the first place?
Confused because how was he there?
Fear?
Because that meant it was real?
"You freaked out yet? You wanna cry?"
"Not really, no."
"Maybe you just need a little more time to get sick of me."
"That won't happen. I like you too much for that."
"You seriously think we'll ever get out of here?"
"Honestly? No. But I don't mind.
I can live with this."
Kassie stood up slowly, making their way toward the player. "Jax?"
"Holy shit. Xenie! It's you! I thought I was fuckin' crazy!" The purple rabbit man picked his companion up and spun them around — far more touchy than what Kassie remembered.
"I did too! I started telling my therapist about everything, and I thought—"
"—It was all a dream!" Jax finished. "Oh, my god, Xenie, you're... I forgot you. I forgot... I can't remember anyone. Can you?"
"Kind of...? But they're all... Glitchy. I couldn't hear them say any names, and I can't remember their faces. But now that you're here, and I can see you, and... It's like I put together so many pieces to an unsolvable puzzle."
"I don't think I've ever seen you this excited, kitty!" He snickered.
"Oh my god, not this again." Kassie sighed, but let it happen.
"Who'da known you'd be a furry in the real world, too?"
"Jax."
"...I missed you, Xenie."
"I missed you too."