Chapter 92

Addressing the Nation... from a Fishbowl

The entire Interverse held their collective breath as they were let into the event of the year. They were treated to a familiar scene, the wrecked cityscape that had been the backdrop of Fishbowl Head's legendary battle.

BigNutz was in the frame, too. He grinned. "Hey there, Nut-Heads! Or, I guess I shouldn't say that. You all are a lot more than my usual audience. So, how about this: WHAT'S UP INTERVERSE!?"

He screamed to the sky, the live chat exploding. He was a master at pumping people up.

He calmed down and gave the camera another grin. "Let's get to it then, yeah? I know you all aren't here for me. Don't worry. She's here. I present to you the Fishbowl Head herself!!"

He gave a little flourish and stepped aside, revealing Fishbowl, sitting in an extravagant chair, her legs crossed at first but when the camera fell on her she sat up more straight and her foot fell to the ground. She cocked her head to the side and gave a little wave.

The chat went wild.

BigNutz threw another chair into frame and leapt into it.

"See, I told you all she was here! You really kept us all waiting though." He was suddenly all business, focusing fully on Fishbowl. The interview had begun. "Why did you avoid talking to anyone for so long?"

Everyone was on the edge of their seats. They'd heard her talk before, but just the same lines from the video over and over. They were about to hear more.

"Well, I'd like to say that I did it on purpose. To build up hype. That was sort of just an after effect. The truth is... I was kind of nervous to do it."

Nervous? How human! She was just like them!

BigNutz gave a knowing nod. "Very understandable. The spot light isn't for everyone."

"I definitely did not expect you to beam me to the entire Interverse. It's caused a lot of problems for me."

The streamer chuckled nervously. "Ah, yeah, sorry about that... But that's a good segue way to I think the biggest question we have all had: what were you doing there? Why were those User Killers after you?"

She shuffled her legs a bit, seeming not to want to answer. But, eventually, "I can't tell you everything. I think all I can really say is that they took something from me. I had to fight to get it back."

BigNutz scratched his chin faster with every word. "Fascinating. A battle to retrieve something stolen. No wonder you fought so viciously. You don't have to tell us what it is, but... You got it back, didn't you?"

"Oh, yes." The way she said it everyone watching could almost see the smile she must have flashed from in the depths of the helmet.

"Fantastic! So, with that out of the way, I think what everyone wants to know is: just who are you? What can you tell us about yourself?"

"Uh, I'm not really as interesting as you all seem to think. I'm pretty boring, actually."

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

BigNutz waved his hand dramatically, shooing away that notion. "Bullshit. Someone as powerful as you? You've got to have all kinds of stories of conquest, action, drama."

Fishbowl laughed. "No, really. Before the tournament was announced... I was basically a shut in."

BigNutz jaw almost dropped to the floor. He held it for a second, playing things up or maybe genuinely shocked, it was hard to tell. "W-what? You're telling me that you went from a shut in to fighting a small army of User Killers? In less than a year?"

Fishbowl wiggled in her seat. "I guess when you say it like that it does sound a bit unbelievable... But, yeah, that's what happened."

"Incredible! But surely you did some training at home before, right? You didn't start completely from zero."

"Not from complete zero, no..."

"You're hesitating," BigNutz voiced everyone's thoughts. "Do you want to change gears?"

"No, it's okay. Just, I've wrestled on whether I want to reveal this or not. But, I've decided I've got to. It's actually what convinced me I wanted to set this whole thing up at all."

"Really now?" BigNutz leaned closer. "So you're giving me an even more exclusive exclusive! You spoil me, Fishbowl."

She laughed and then dropped the reveal on them: "I'm a Statistical Anomaly. Before the tournament was announced, I was in a dark place. I'd basically wasted my entire life up until that point trying to find something I wanted to do or was good at. My Starter Skill... It didn't give me any answers."

BigNutz was leaning so far forward he almost fell out of his chair. "So you found your own?"

Fishbowl laughed again and many crushes were born. "I did. It was hard and I sort of just floundered around but upward this time. I can't even begin to explain just how different I am from when I started. I kind of wish I could show you all. On my 25th birthday I was just an absolute wreck. One of my lowest points. But I turned it around. And that's what I'm here to say and to show. If I can do it, anyone can."

She swallowed, visibly unsure of continuing. The Chat abandoned words and spammed hearts, their only way of showing her their support. She noticed, laughed, and pressed on.

"We may be in this digital world... but we are more than numbers and code. We're alive. The Interverse tries to classify and quantify US not the other way around. With some people, it can read them perfectly. But others—like me—have to work harder than that. And that's okay. I gave up before I'd touched any of the Stats I raised to allow me to do all the things that have brought me to this moment. Somewhere along the way, I gave up trying to find my thing, my purpose."

The hearts kept flying in. BigNutz had the perfect expression on his face, touched by her words. The non fans watching couldn't be sure if it was genuine or just fantastic acting. But his fans knew the truth.

BigNutz spoke, his voice sounding if from a daze, "Fishbowl, that was incredible. I've been trying to get that across to my viewers my whole career and you summed it up in a few words. It made me think of a question. You said that you were in a dark place before the tournament's announcement, so... if you could open up a portal in time right now—what would you say to her? Maybe that's a dumb question. You would have just said all that, yeah?" He laughed.

But Fishbowl replied firmly, "No, it's not a dumb question. I never thought to ask myself that. It's a good question. Let me see..."

The helmet dipped down, her hand knocking against it as she thought, looking sort of like Winnie the Pooh to some of the older viewers.

Eventually, she looked up again, scooted closer to the camera, and said, "I would tell her: 'Girl, you're free now. Try the things you were too scared to touch. Join the Statistical Anomalies, you stupid idiot!'"

BigNutz laughed, and was about to say something, thinking she was done, but she continued.

"And I would say... 'I know you feel like you wasted your life. No matter how old you are, it's never too late to turn it around. Don't give up. Keep trying things, keep living... The Interverse does not write your destiny. You do.'"

Those words would spread like wildfire through the Interverse, awakening slumbering souls that had long given up. Her words would inspire everyone that considered themselves washed up failures. Young and old. Statistical Anomaly sign ups hit their highest ever rate. They would be so flooded with requests to join that they had to install new systems to flush out the people who had great lives and careers, just trying to join for the fad. The Anomalies had their spokesperson, someone even the normal people of the Interverse wished they could be.

What was once a death sentence now had a success story. A road out of the darkness, lit by a pink fishbowl.

[DARCY WILL RETURN IN

BOUND BY CODE BOOK 2:"An Abundance of Monsters"!]