“There are the ones I have right now,” the merchant named Love said once she finished placing the drinks on the countertop. “They’re sort of cold.”

“Didn’t you tell me you had one that would help me sleep?” Samuel asked her. “I guess that wouldn’t make it an energy drink, maybe an anti-energy drink, but you know what I mean.”

Love, who was just about to light another cigarette, took a blue can out of the fridge. Like the others, it was labeled professionally, the words Knock-Out Punch emblazoned on the side of the can in vibrant lettering. “Drink it, and you will rest for an hour. Just one hour. But it will feel like you had a solid eight hours of sleep. Just know that you will experience something like a hangover when you wake up.”

“Yeah that’s what we take, mate,” Samuel told Hiro. “We drink these and sleep for a bit, then we’re back out there. We can part ways, of course.”

Hiro hesitated for a moment as he looked at the cans.

“It’ll be fine,” Samuel told Love. “We’ll take two of the Knock-Outs. Put them on my tab.”

“Thanks,” Hiro told him. “What do the rest do?” he asked the merchant.

%%%She produced a black can with the word Munster written on it in acid green letters. “Munster gives you an additional point in Strength for a single fight.” Love set this down and picked up a small can that had pink accents. “Pink Bull gives you one additional point in Stamina, just one battle, though.”

“That’s the one I took,” Samuel chimed in as he leaned against the countertop, arms crossed over his chest.

The merchant continued with a yellow drink shaped almost like a can of Buzzballz: “Smellcius reeks. It stinks so bad that upon consuming it, enemies won’t approach you for ten minutes. Even the most aggressive ones.”

“How bad does it taste?” Hiro asked her.

“Part of the fun is getting it down,” was all Love said as she moved to the next can which was labeled as Haterade, the logo done up in fluorescent orange text. “Haterade aggros enemies in the vicinity and forces them to come after you.”

“Like lures them out?”

“Exactly. Lasts for ten minutes.” She picked up the black can of Smoke Zero. “Drinking this lets you exhale enough smoke that you are able to obscure yourself from an enemy. It lasts two minutes. And it can be dangerous to use if you’re not certain of the environment around you.”

Hiro thought of ways he could use this and ways it could backfire. It would be a good one to have, but I’d still have to physically keep these cans with me. With that in mind…

“Finally, there is Poxstar,” she said, holding up a white can. “This one is probably the most risky of the bunch. You’ll experience heightened sense and agility after drinking Poxstar, making you nearly impossible to hit in combat. But after about fifteen minutes, you will be inflicted with a debilitating case of something that resembles chickenpox and paralysis. Itching, nausea, and overall discomfort. And paralysis. Right now, I only have one can. But if you buy it, I’ll get another.”

“Why would anyone want that?”

“Aside from the ability to dodge almost all strikes, you can also throw it at an enemy. It will enhance their speed, so you better throw it while trying to get away or to some sort of cover, but it will eventually inflict them with chickenpox, making them more susceptible to your attacks and potentially killing them by the disease alone.”

“And you’re sure it works on all enemies?” Hiro asked as an idea came to him, one based on the Zone of Influences he had been trapped in. “I’ve fought a fucking door and a trash can at this point.”

Samuel laughed. “That’s actually a good question.”

“All enemies.” Love lit her cigarette and took a long drag off it, one that she savored. “So, what will it be?”

“Now hold on a minute,” Samuel told her. “You said there was something else you had coming. Rizz? I think it was called Rizz.”

“Rizz. Yes, I have Rizz as well.” She ashed her cigarette and returned to the fridge. Love placed a small golden can on the counter that was labeled RIZZ. “This one increases your charisma, which the system interprets as your willingness to risk it all. If you need to run into a burning building to chase a mimic that stole your lunchbox? Drink a Rizz. If you are really looking to do something daring that will get you more followers? Rizz it is.”

“Rizz it is, yeah? What do you think, Hiro?”

“Poxstar. I’ll definitely have one of those.”

Samul gave him a funny look. “Wait, what? Why?”

“I’ll explain later. I’ll show you, actually,” Hiro said. “At least it’s worth a test. Poxstar, Smoke Zero, Munster, Pink Bull, and…” Hiro quickly glanced at his followers. “How much more can I buy? I want a Bleed cartridge too.”

Love grunted. “All of what you just said and a Bleed cartridge will be seven thousand followers total. Deal?”

“Fuck it. Deal.” Hiro tried to ignore the screams that followed. He placed his hand over his ears, yet he wasn’t able to drown out the noise.

Please!

Please!

Nooooo!

Not my—!

Spare me!

“It’s getting worse,” Samuel called over the shouts, the man clenching his eyes shut.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The wails and screams died down as Hiro packed away his drinks and the Bleed cartridge. He could certainly feel the weight difference in his backpack now.

“I think I’ll step out,” he told Samuel.

“Right. Just let me settle the bill here, yeah?”

Hiro returned to the other space while Samuel finished his business with Love. As he waited, Hiro stood by the broken window, looking out at the red canoes hovering in the sky. Tomorrow, Spectators will join the fight, he thought, but I’ll be ready.

Hiro cringed as he heard Samuel’s followers shriek in the other room. He plugged his ears, but the followers’ final laments still reached him.

The cloaked Australian stepped out of the room holding the two Knock-Out Punches. He had stuffed the rest of what he purchased in his fanny pack. “Good, you waited. So we get some rest, yeah? Then you need to get your vape pen upgraded.” He shook the drinks once and grinned. “Probably shouldn’t do that.”

“Maybe not.”

“I got something that could help with rest. It creates a barrier that will protect us. I can’t fight within the barrier, can’t be attacked until we step outside of it. It’s called {Sacra Limina}. It’s also why I bought the Poxstar.”

Samuel squinted at him. “What are you thinking, mate?”

“I’m thinking I use the Doom System’s own rules to my advantage.”

“Go on…”

“I hit a boss with Poxstar, cast {Sacra Limina}, wait it out until they’re tired, let them either die from the infection, or attack while they’re weak.”

“Brilliant.” Samuel rubbed his hands together. “It’s definitely worth a shot. If it doesn’t work?”

“Then I’m fucked. I can run a test, is what I meant. But I’m still fucked.”

“That’s a test I’d gladly run with you, then. Rest first, though. Then we can test it and I’ll stop tagging along. Weird to think we’re going to be enemies at some point. But maybe there will be a workaround.”

The pair moved to a building that overlooked a subway exit. Beyond, Hiro could see an apartment building that once had a rooftop pool. It had since dried up and a helicopter had crashed into it, a couple of pigeons currently resting on its tail rotor.

“I still need pharmaceuticals.”

“Do what now?” Samuel asked.

“One of the ways I fought a mimic off was to toss a bottle of Xanax at it.” Hiro pointed toward a building covered in marks, like the stone had been riddled repeatedly with bullets. “Let’s check those apartments for any drugs we can find.”

“Now we’re talking!” Samuel laughed. “Kidding. And that makes sense. We could rest in there as well.”

“Definitely.” Hiro bounced over to the next building and found the door on the rooftop, one locked from the inside. He hit it several times with {Blade Whirlwind} and the door finally popped open.

“Not bad, that,” Samuel said.

Hiro was just about to step into the open doorway when he paused. If I go in first, he’ll be directly behind me. A perfect chance to strike.

Samuel moved on, clearly not overthinking it. “Let’s see what we can find, yeah?”

They split up and searched two apartments for pill bottles. Inside a one-bedroom place that smelled like garbage, Hiro examined the warning label on a bottle of Nuerolox: “Caution: Nuerolox may cause nausea, vomiting, heartburn, stomach pain, diarrhea, and loss of appetite.”

Hiro joined Samuel across the hall and tossed the bottle to him. “That’s a banger,” Samuel said as he did the same with the bottle he found.

Hiro examined the orange bottle and its label as they headed down the stairs to the next floor. “Cyclobenzaprine.” He shook the pills. “This one is a muscle relaxant.”

“Didn’t know.”

“I worked with a guy that would take this stuff from time to time.”

“Sounds like a riot,” Samuel said as they reached the next floor, where they split again after Hiro blew out a pair of doors. “Let’s see what else we can find, and then I’m guessing we mix them all up and split the loot.”

“Exactly.”

After clearing through an apartment with Banksy-esque art on the walls, Hiro found a full bottle of sildenafil.

Hiro considered a mixture of the pills they currently had, a muscle relaxer, some neurological medicine with a ton of side effects, and now, boner pills. He then imagined a raging mimic with a hard-on and thought otherwise.

“Found something!” Samuel called from the apartment across the hallway.

Hiro entered to find the man standing before a coffee table with several pill bottles on it. Samuel grinned at him. “Jackpot.”

“I found generic Viagra.” Hiro set the bottle down on the coffee table.

“Yeah? I always wanted to try that. But that can wait. Check this out.” He held one of the bottles up to Hiro. “More xanax. Not a lot. But this person has a ton of other things. I know this one,” he said as he produced another bottle. “Valium. Had a mate who had a prescription after he had leg surgery from a rugby injury.”

“Nice,” Hiro said as he took a seat on the couch. He set the bottles he had found out and picked up another of Samuel’s discoveries. “Hemostat. May cause skin rash, vomiting, headache, nausea, and diarrhea.”

“I got this one too,” Samuel said. “Doxorubicin.” He said the word again, sounding it out. “Dox-oh-rub-icin. We got hair loss here, nausea, and heart damage.”

“I almost feel bad for the next mimic to fuck with either of us,” Hiro said as they started mixing the pills and bottling them up.

“Ha. Not me. I chased one of those buggers through the Nike store. I was just trying to get some shoes and a box actually came alive.”

“But you have Crocs now.”

“Yeah, I opted to become a stereotype instead, an Aussie in Crocs. Is that a stereotype? I guess a stereotype would be if I had a big knife.”

They finished up repackaging the pills, each taking three bottles.

“That should do for now,” Hiro said as they took the stairs to the top floor again, to the apartment they had cleared that was the cleanest and smelled the best.

Like he had before, Hiro moved furniture in front of the door while Samuel closed the blinds and dragged in a mattress from one room and a futon from another.

Once everything was secure, Hiro cast {Sacra Limina} which produced a red shield over the entirety of the space.

“Not a bad one at all,” Samuel said as he handed Hiro his can of Knock-Out Punch. He checked the time on his phone. “Wish the damn thing had an alarm. But even if the drinks don’t work, we’ll still wake up with plenty of time. I hope. But they’ll work. Love’s last drink worked.”

“You trust a random merchant that much?”

“I guess I do. I don’t know about you, mate, but I find it easier to trust people with what we’re going through. And by people, I mean the people the Doom System has populated the place with. I don’t know about actual people. Anyhoo.” The Australian plopped down onto the futon and popped his drink open. “Cheers.”

“Cheers,” Hiro said as he finally pushed his black Hyottoko mask off his face.

“So that’s what you look like under there. I was wondering.”

“I get used to it being on.” Hiro took a sip of the drink and smacked his lips. “It tastes like… carbonated grape Kool-Aid.”

Samuel finished his can. “It’s not bad, that, now is? I wonder how long it will take to work.”

Hiro took another drink and felt a yawn coming on. “It’s fast.”

“Yeah, it is,” Samuel said as he brought his cloak over him. “Weird weapon, I know, but having a built-in blanket is the tits.”

Hiro laughed. He finished the Knock-Out Punch and felt the exhaustion spread through him.

Samuel yawned again. “Welp, I’m about to go out hard. Before I do, I’ve always wanted to say something. “He glanced over to Hiro and grinned. “We ride at dawn.”

Hiro wanted to laugh yet he suddenly felt powerless, his exhaustion tinged with fear.

Should I have drunk this stuff?

Should I…

His periphery blurred.

The last thing Hiro remembered doing was clutching his sheathed katana, as if he’d be able to use it.