Jye’s face was crinkled with delight.
“This isn’t what I would’ve suggested,” Axel said as Jye applied two Loads to him, and then hefted him up over their shoulder like he was just a down-filled pillow. Then, taking far too much pleasure, they grabbed Axel by the scruff of his shirt. Their arm muscles rippled as they yeeted the blond up at the top of the maze wall.
I half expected him to hit an invisible barrier, like an out of bounds stopper in a game, and bounce back. But he landed on top without issue, albeit ungracefully.
Scrambling, Axel grabbed for purchase. He landed on his stomach, his legs and arms dangling on each side of the labyrinth divider. I could hear a few choice words he was calling Jye as he calmed down. The gravity taking hold of him again was clearly perceptible when Jye released their ability from Axel’s body. After a breath, he stood, testing out the top of the wall for firmness. Axel stomped his foot down, once, twice, and then three times, then shrugged. He shot me and the others a thumbs up.
“Looks dece.”
“Who’s next on the block?” Jye asked.
One by one, Jye lightened us and threw us up onto the top of the wall until it was only them standing down there. Surprisingly, when Axel had been in the sporting goods section of Kmart he’d picked up some rope. Which had been a stunningly good idea. As a team, we lowered the end of the rope. Jye applied Load to themself, and pulled themself up as we remained anchorage. Yes, we all could’ve used the rope after Axel got up there, but I didn’t want to ruin Jye’s fun. You gotta let people get the joy out of the small things, or you run the risk of never wanting to enjoy life again. Not to say I had been there. Well…
Eventually, all of us ended up atop the wall.
From there I could see that the maze walls stretched as far as the eye could see, disappearing in hazy lines as the curve of the world hid the true expanse from us. It really simply never ended. That proved that. There was no exit to the labyrinth. Not that I didn’t trust Axel’s word, but also I didn’t trust his word. I guess the shrine was the only option left.
I turned to check the direction Axel had previously said the other people were in. Just vaguely I could see the blurry humanoid shapes. It was incredibly difficult to make out anything in more detail, though it appeared one was slightly smaller than the others. Part of me was hoping it wasn’t a child. Still, if it was only us and them in here, then our chances were still pretty good with clearing the Dungeon. Axel had to have known the trio was so far away they wouldn’t hear us. He’d just acted like that to be an asshole.
Pinching at the bridge of my nose, I scanned for the shrine.
It wasn’t difficult to find.
To the side Axel had indicated, in a depressed level of the ground, there sat a stone shrine glowing faintly blue from the candles lit upon its offering porch. It was reminiscent of a Shinto shrine, but had none of the red gates. It was also unlabeled, not depicting to whom or what it was dedicated to. If I were being honest, it looked like a poor asset flip, much like the cabin. Other than the otherworldly gem maze, everything else in this Dungeon lacked imagination and creativity, almost like whoever had designed it had been been following a tutorial and had just been fucking around in the developing program.
“This way,” I said, and I mentally plotted out our pathway to the shrine.
Being on top of the walls gave us the advantage of seeing more, but it also made it more difficult to get to certain places because of the gaps that turns and splits added to our pathway. That said, it would be easier progress and we would actually feel like we were advancing towards something rather than wandering aimlessly.
It was amazing what increased morale did for the human spirit.
Wren started playing I Spy and eventually cajoled us all to join. Though initially petulant, Tam also joined in, won over by the cheer in Wren’s voice. Given the simple environment we were in, the game didn’t last long, ending when we looped back to Jye who again chose to spy the pockets on the backpack of Wren’s bag, who was walking in front of them. We moved through a gauntlet of other spoken games until we were worn out from speaking. Instead, we walked in silence as the blue shimmer of the shrine’s candles grew brighter and brighter on our approach.
“Kinda reminds me of when I went to Nara,” Jye mentioned, cupping a hand over their brow.
“Of course you’ve been to Japan,” Axel said, none too dryly.
For once Axel’s reaction was understandable. He’d been talking up a trip to Japan for years now, adding all these visits to his itinerary and scheduling events that he literally kept an Excel spreadsheet of. Since Axel used his leave almost as soon as he accrued it, he hadn’t been able to save enough to cover the length of trip he’d wanted. He usually preferred one or two day trips to exotic locations, like when he’d supposedly met Jye. The past few years, he’d been a bit more precious and had almost hit two weeks of paid leave before the Gates. The last tabs I saw open on his phone were airline websites. It had to smart that he’d never be able to live out the vacation of his dreams.
“My parents took me there once,” Wren said. “I don’t remember much, but the food was really good.”
“Don’t even get me started on the food, man,” Jye sighed, an expression of mourning crossing their face. “God, I miss it all so much. Matsuri yakisoba and takoyaki, all-you-can-eat yakiniku and nomihodai, combini onigiri and sandos, the hidden gems of ekibentos, a vending machine around every corner, single stall ramen booths, Mr. Donut’s Pon de Rings… Euuuugh, even just the cheapest conveyor belt sushi with complimentary green tea on tap…”
Curious, I asked, “How long did you visit?”
They shook their head. “I worked there for a year. Went more rural where none of the younger people want to stay, but it was a damn dream.”
“Where’d you go?”
“Ibaraki.”
Axel snorted. “Wasn’t that listed as the least attractive prefecture several years in a row?”
“Less tourists, less traffic.” They shrugged and then grinned. “Pure cultural immersion.”
I checked Axel’s expression and his face was scrunched into bitter jealousy.
“Babes, it’s nothing to cry home about,” Tam said. “It’s just like any other place in the world. Just more difficult to get around if you can’t speak a lick of the language.”
“You’ve been too?” Axel inquired, the envy almost greening his face.
She seemed startled for a moment, and then crossed her arms, her brows furrowed. “That’s nunya.”
Clearing my throat, trying to steer Axel from exploding, I said, “My dream destination would probably be Antarctica.”
This earned a concerned look from each of my party members. Well, it was where I had wanted to go. Before the Gates. But I guess if someone asked me that now, my answer would be different. All I really wanted to do was go back to my hometown and see my parents. Back before all this, I hadn’t really thought of visiting them for awhile now. Typically, I saw them during Christmas and spent a couple days in Charleville. But it was only September. I wouldn’t have even thought about scheduling the trip for another month.
“Oh, honey,” Tam said, and it was almost like she genuinely pitied me. That said, I didn’t know her that well, so it could just as well be scorn. She was hard to read. And something told me she preferred it that way. I wondered where the animosity she’d held towards me had disappeared to. Maybe through the silence, she’d reflected? Or maybe she wasn’t one to hold a grudge. Some other people in our group could learn a thing or two from her (hint: it’s Jye).
I still didn’t know what I’d done to earn her ire. She’d seemed pretty chill before the whole wall explosion. Was it because we’d all be huddled up and she wasn’t fond of physical touch?
Oh, I guess I hadn’t told her I asexual. Maybe she thought I was feeling her up the entire time. How did I even clear up that, if it was what she’d been angry at me about? “Sorry for touching you while saving your life”? “I do not find you sexually attractive, so me touching you was not inappropriate”? Well, if she’d forgiven me, or forgotten it, it might just be best I let the whole matter go too.
In response to her comment, with my tone definitely not being defensive at all, I said, “What’s wrong with wanting to go to Antarctica?”
“Is there anything… to do there?”
I turned to cast an accusing glare at Wren. “Of course. There’s nature tours.”
“What nature?” Jye asked.
“Penguins and seals.”
“Right.”
Of course, the number one real reason I had wanted to go to Antarctica was because Axel wouldn’t be there, and I wouldn’t be expected to be a human being. I could just do nothing. I think part of me had always been dreaming about escaping the monotony of life I’d crafted for myself, but never had the guts to do it. The others wouldn’t hear me say that. “Come on, guys, really, Antarctica is cool.”
“Like from a distance, yeah,” Jye said.
Wren’s brow furrowed. “Isn’t it night time for half the year there?”
I flung my hand out, aware that now that I was speaking with over exaggerated actions. “That’s part of the charm. No risk of sunburn.”
Tam snorted, as she tucked an errant braid behind her ear. “You’re literally BIPOC. You’re telling me you slip slop slap?”
“I– Just because I don’t, doesn’t mean I’m immune to sunburn.”
“Always thought you were more the Arctic kind,” Axel said, and through the back-and-forth I realised this was the first time he’d spoken since I’d suggested my “dream destination.” He couldn’t possibly know what it meant to me. Axel had stopped trying to understand me ever since Chrissie passed. Once he knew me like I was his reflection, but that’d been when we were kids. Yeah, I’d adored him when we were children, and it’d been mutual. We’d been practically attached at the hip. Back then, I’d thought… No, I didn’t like thinking too much about the time when our friendship had been at its strongest. The memories just made me feel nauseous. Because in almost all of them Chrissie was there somewhere.
“Same diff,” I replied.
Jye blinked in offence. “Excuse-a moi?”
I shrugged. “They’re basically mirror reflections, just on opposite sides of the globe.”
“The Arctic has cities,” Wren said. “People actually live there.”
I stared. “People live in Antarctica too.”
Jye folded their arms in judgement. “Like… five people. For a portion of the year. On a research station.”
Everyone was now giving me a very worried look. I regretted bringing it up. At the very least Axel seemed to have forgotten his lost trip to Japan. So mission success on Operation Stop Axel From Having Another Mental Breakdown. Probably needed to workshop that name. Though even though I’d pivoted the conversation topic, why didn’t I feel very content? Under the weight of everyone’s stares, the desire to further redirect the subject of conversation suddenly grew. I didn’t need my party to dissect my inner fears like this. That depth of knowing me didn’t even come with a lifetime membership.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I cleared my throat, glancing around as we walked.
“I spy with my little eye…”
A collective groan sprung up from the group, especially considering that it looked like the shrine might be one more hour with all the detours we had to take by following the top of the walls.
As I searched, I repeated, “I spy with my little eye…” I frowned, squinting into the distance to our left side. “A fireball?”
The silent ball of fire was jettisoning towards us, closing the distance at an alarming rate. If I hadn’t noticed, given how relaxed and vulnerable we’d been, one of us would’ve been taken off-guard and hit for certain. At its trajectory, so long as we avoided where it would go, we’d be fine. Silently, we parted, the party splitting in half with Tam, Axel, and me on the left and Jye and Wren on the right.
The party’s collective gaze watched as the fireball approached the gap we left for it to pass through. It sailed right by us, the searing heat warming my arms, the hiss of its flames dancing in the air. The ball’s arc was descending slightly. Axel held a flat hand to his brow and narrowed his gaze, trailing its path with his eyes long after it had passed any danger to us. The fireball dipped between a pair of walls a few metres away from us, its flight coming to an end out of our sight.
“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Jye said.
“Absolutely piss poor performance,” Tam agreed.
Wren folded her arms in consternation. “Yeah, it was a bit boring.”
It was also the first example of range magic we’d seen bar Jye throwing his magicked ranged weapons. And this particular fireball had not been very effective. Part of me was glad none of our party was primarily a ranged damage spellcaster.
I glanced in the direction the fireball must’ve originated from but saw nothing.
At the very least, the spellcaster had quite an impressive reach. Though with an attack like that, it seemed like a shittier class category. Maybe we should avoid getting a spellcaster in our party. If we looked at it from a performance and entertainment perspective, range magic wasn’t that interesting either which meant less XP. The only time range magic was fun to witness was when there were pyrotechnics and explosions. The whole shebang.
Axel said, “Must’ve been one of the three other players I spotted.”
“Must be. Eyes out for future attacks everyone.”
That answered one of my questions; the other players were not like us. They were more similar to Tam. Ready to kill and attack for whatever they wanted. They’d done a terrible job of it, but incompetence didn’t mask their intent. It was clear they were on the offensive. I hadn’t been ready to let Jye kill Tam, not fully. But this other party… If it was kill or be killed, I knew what I’d choose if worse came to worse.
We continued on, a speed in our step that hadn’t previously been there. The silence between us was anxious, quivering. The attack, as pathetic as it was, had changed the tone. It had sharply brought into relief the fact that this was still dangerous. That was something we had forgotten in our pursuit of the shrine. Influenced by the high of discovering a superior tactic to achieve our goals, we’d lost sight of reality.
We couldn’t let that happen again. Despite the human need for highs and lows, and rest and joy, some part of my brain had to remain on alert at all times. There was no skill or shortcut to learning this new thought process. Just pure practice.
I wondered what Mrs. Brown would think of my intentional choice to compartmentalise my actual thoughts.
Well, what did that matter now?
The world was different. Everything was different. Thinking differently was just one part of fitting in now.
As we walked, every now and then I’d glance back in the direction the fireball had originated from, hoping to catch a glimpse of our wannabe attackers. But I had no luck. They were either incredibly skilled in hiding or, like my previous assumption, their range was out of this world. When I’d seen them before they’d seemed pretty far away, considering I could only make out their silhouettes.
But that thought would have to wait for later.
We’d finally arrived above the temple.
Its presence as it loomed before us was daunting. A fog seemed to cling around the area directly surrounding it, as if warning us that danger lurked within. The candles flickered without wind, their cool blue flames dancing wildly, the melting wax and lit wicks never shortening; each of them like a cinemagraph. The air smelled damp, almost like mildew or mould, but there was no water or moisture visible. Like the terminator line between day and night, the two biomes of the misty temple and desert sun clashed, blurring together to form something less than the sum of its parts. A dirty mush of atmospheres. Someone needed to get the smudge tool and go ham on their blending.
Our party stood there for a second, closer than we’d ever been to completing the Dungeon, letting the moment sink in. Fuck. Maybe we could do it. We could clear it. Hell, maybe we’d be more like Kimi who’d cleared their Dungeon than Riku who… could be dead.
The thought gave me pause. We’d heard no announcements about any other Dungeon since we’d entered ours. Were we… cut off from the outside world when we were in here in more ways than I’d originally thought? Did time even pass in the Dungeons? Or were notifications about external events forcibly filtered out to ensure we focused on our own “show”?
Axel looked about ready to say something, his own blond brows furrowed in consideration.
“Hello, strangers!”
It was a voice I did not recognize in the slightest, the accent so foreign to my ears I wasn’t sure the words were even being spoken in English. And I couldn’t pinpoint the origin either. If pressed, I’d have probably said something between Korean and Irish with perhaps a dash of New York in some vowels.
As a unit, we angled our heads, looking straight down from our position atop the wall, interrobangs etched above us.
Gesticulating wildly below us was a short person wearing an overcoat that’d make the biblical Joseph jealous from its flashy design. It was like nothing I had ever seen before, the fabric gradating texture and colour in a way I couldn’t comprehend, almost shifting as I watched. I frowned, wondering if I was seeing things.
“Are you coming here?” Again, there was that bizarre accent.
We continued to stare. There was no air of hostility about the stranger, and we were all caught off guard by how harmless and yet completely alien the person appeared. Built like a barrel, as wide at the shoulders as at the hips, the newcomer held a hand to a brow to cut out the sun. Above that brow was a beauty mark, ala Angela Jolie. And from where we stood, it looked like the stranger’s eyes and hair were the same cosplayer silver, the latter of which was cropped close to the head. Perhaps the largest thing of note was a spattering of lighter skin amidst an overall darker copper hue; vitiligo.
“We were,” I replied, now wondering if that was a good choice.
“The name is Gigi! It is good to meet you. Xem– Hmmm. Xir? No. Xe would… That is still not correct. Me would– No, it is I!” Xe punched into the air with a clenched fist to celebrate xir arrival at the correct personal pronoun. “Sorry, your lingua franca is quite complicated. I would like to be your friend!”
I’d once considered Jye the golden retriever type, but this person… It was like rocking up to a pedigree contest only to find out that you’d entered a mutt. Jye was barely even a goldendoodle in comparison. In xir expression, there wasn’t a hint of malice, no ulterior motive. Xir smile was serene, trusting. Welcoming and without any guile. Like some sort of celestial being from a fucked up avant garde indie film.
“I accidentally entered the Dungeon, and I have been waiting for help,” xe continued.
Immediately, Axel was on the offensive. “Yeah, sure, a likely story. Explain how you ended up here then.”
“I walked. The maze was quite large. You are all welcome to ask me any question you would like!”
Hit with a seemingly infallible response, Axel froze, not expecting something so simple and unassuming. In his hesitation, Tam surged forward to take the interrogator’s spotlight. She crossed her arms in front of her, her bosom under the knitted top propped above her forearms. I caught Jye’s gaze drop to them for a moment. They seemed to be reappraising their attitude towards Tam as they did so. Though Jye was non-binary, something told me that Tam, as a self-proclaimed… lesbian, wouldn’t so much as bat an eye in their direction. I’d witnessed Axel’s cold disregard to those he wasn’t interested in enough to recognise the same vibe from others.
Speaking to Gigi, Tam drawled, “Why haven’t ya moseyed on into the shrine, huh?”
“I do not believe I would be sufficiently strong enough to succeed in completing the Dungeon.”
The honest response, and new information, caused Tam’s mouth to pucker up in consideration. It was a reasonable response. Perhaps xe had checked inside and found the challenge to be beyond xem. It was completely understandable. Especially when the alternative might very well be death.
Jye’s eyes now back on xem, they tilted their head. “I’ve only got one question.”
“Please ask! I am enjoying this conversation.”
“Can I have your coat?”
Xir expression became sorrowful. “You can not. This is my [REDACTED] I have left from [REDACTED]. I could not part with it.”
Though the harsh blast of Jye’s glitch had to smart, they simply mirrored the same emotion as Gigi, nodding, and then they bowed their head. They brought a closed fist to their chest and tapped it. “Respect.”
The only one out of our party to not speak yet was Wren. She was looking on in confusion and interest, one of her mousy brows raised, her head slightly askew. It seemed as though she had at least a dozen questions she wanted to ask and was running through which was most pertinent. I wondered which inquiry would win out.
She landed on: “Are you human?”
I clamped a hand over her mouth, offended on the stranger's behalf. You couldn't just ask if someone was human because of a skin condition. Wait, was vitiligo a condition? Oh god, should I be cancelled?
“[REDACTED],” xe said in answer, then xir brow furrowed. Gigi tried again, xir mouth opening to form words. Xe said, “[REDACTED].” Xe attempted once more: “[REDACTED].”
Ignoring the ramifications of what Gigi’s moderation meant in regards to xir humanity, I pinched the bridge of my nose and held up a hand. “Stop, stop, stop. You’re not getting anywhere. I don’t think we’re allowed to hear that yet, whatever it is.”
Wren harrumphed in disappointment, clearly annoyed that her question had been wasted. Still, the inability for Gigi to respond answered just as much as any words would have.
Gigi jutted xir jaw in understanding, silver eyes blazing. Were those natural?
“I see! This is an early Dungeon then. I am most glad to hear that!”
I cocked my head. Xanthe had said I’d been quite early to Twilight too. Did that mean… Would there be many other Dungeons? I knew asking would be useless, since Gigi was likely to be censored from saying anything specific based on previous conversations. I wondered what I should ask. Xe’d been answering all our questions without asking anything in response. Lost in my thoughts, I was dragged back by Gigi waving again.
“May I join your party?” xe asked, a wide grin on xir face.
A beat passed as everyone else’s gaze met, then centred on me. I saw the panic in their eyes. As they all each attempted their own silencing technique, clamouring at me, trying to pull me away, slap a hand over my mouth, or tackle me to the floor, I managed to make out my first question to Gigi.
“What’s your class?”
I struggled against them to hear xir response.
“I am a [Vanguard].”
It was barely a thought. I would not be looking this gift horse in the mouth. Gigi was going to a veritable fountain of information when we progressed further. Much more than Tam. At least as much as she was willing to divulge, which had been practically nothing. And our party sorely needed a tank which the class [Vanguard] absolutely screamed. Not to mention I’d technically not made an irreversibly lethal decision yet.
The invite was sent from within the entanglement of limbs that was my teammates.
Gigi has joined your party.
“Oh! I am very fond of the party name! What an exclusive group we shall be.”
Tam’s grip tightened around my neck but stopped before any pressure was too uncomfortable. Thank god for that collar. She let out a frustrated yowl and pulled away. Axel however didn’t hold back, grabbing me by the scruff of my shirt, and shoving his face close to mine. His expression was unreadable, but underpinned with exasperation and something else I couldn’t comprehend. Yeah, that checked out. Classic Axel.
“Are you genuinely insane?”
I grinned apologetically.
He took a deep breath and then hissed out through clenched teeth, “Every fucking time.”
Even Wren appeared unimpressed with my antics.
“You're the party leader and it's ultimately your decision who joins, but I'll be fucked if this just adds another body to the pile that I have to keep healing,” she said.
I shouldn't have been surprised considering her previous outburst when I'd nearly killed Axel, but I was still taken aback. Temper apparently ameliorated by her words, Axel released my collar and strode away. If I wasn't getting choked out by Axel, was it really a day ending with Y?
Gigi stared at Wren. “Are you not a child?”
With a sigh, she said, “What does it look like, genius?”
“[REDACTED].”
“I like xem,” Jye commented, not reacting with any visible pain. Huh. I wondered if they were getting used to the glitch sound. The redhead was made out of stronger stuff than I. Recalling the noise myself caused goosebumps to form on my arms and legs.
Well, that was at least one person in my court, even if it was just Jye. That had to count for something.
“Come, come! I am eager to add this Dungeon to my [REDACTED],” Gigi said.
Now what the hell could that even mean?