I had always thought Axel didn’t know about the Warheads and my panic attacks. I’d done my best to hide it from everyone except the childhood therapist I’d seen when they started. I guess my dependence on the lollies originally stemmed from Axel, though I never remembered telling him about it. Maybe he was more observant than I thought. We had known each other all our lives after all.

Pocketing the Warhead for later, you know, just in case, I spoke to Axel’s back. Without him hunching, it seemed wider than it’d ever been. “I never told my parents, you know.”

“Never told them what?” he said, looking back with a toothy smile.

I scoffed. “That you have a shit eating grin.”

“And that’s why you love me.”

“You’re confusing love and loathe.”

Axel started singing a song so off-pitch that I didn’t recognise it, and I said as much.

He looked stricken. “You don’t vibe with Pink?”

“Not with your tone deafness I don’t.”

He snorted. “Like you can sing any better. I’ve heard you in the shower.”

“You need better hobbies.”

We fell into step and continued on in amicable silence. Though the world around us was anything but. Security alarms were screaming, sirens were wailing down streets in ambulances, police, fire trucks, and the further we went along, the more it became clear that nearly every other window on ground floor had been smashed in.

As though it mattered, Axel and I walked down the footpath, like we were clinging to the vestiges of human etiquette, even as people sprinted past us faster than should be physically possible, screaming and shouting, items falling from their hands. Looters were amok, and smoke rose into the skies of the setting sun in several locations. I’m certain at one point I saw someone materialise inside a storefront next to a dapperly dressed mannequin.

Somewhere a child was crying, but it sounded like it was coming from all different directions. Part of me wanted to go looking, unable to dismiss the noise, but the other half of me suspected it was bait. Still the guilt formed inside me. What if it was a lost child in the middle of all this chaos?

For that’s what it was.

Absolute bedlam.

In the span of an hour from the first Dungeon announcement Brisbane had fallen to lawlessness. With citizens having no immediate way of communicating with law enforcement, or getting news to each other, it was everyone out for themselves. Maybe that was a more sane reaction than what we were doing.

“We’re here. Come on, the back is accessible through this gate.”

It was a non-distinct gym, clearly not a franchise, with large glass windows so you could see the people exercising within. Why pay for advertisement when your clientele would do it for free? There were three people on exercise machines, all looking incredibly toned. How could they continue like normal after all those announcements? Sweat glistened on their skin, their AirPods probably blaring some sort of pop as they worked.

I glanced down at myself. I’d never been the type of person to hit the gym. Hell, I was probably considered unfit. I preferred just kind of existing rather than forcing myself onto reality.

I hoped that our stats weren’t actually a reflection of our real life bodies. ‘Cause that would be a blow to the ego more than I could take. Below average in all stats…

~Dungeon 14 entered for the first time. Player Fati Okeke rewarded title of Jester~

Axel met my gaze. If he’d been tallying them up like I had been, that was the last one, unless there were more than fifteen. I held my breath. Surely something would happen now that all Dungeons had been entered.

~All current Dungeon initiations completed. Sponsorships now available~

I frowned. “Sponsorships… Like advertisements?”

He opened the gate for me and I walked through. Closing it behind him, he said, “Does that mean people will be or are watching us?”

Pulling my phone from my pocket, I checked for reception. Still zero bars. My battery was now at 53%. “Nothing’s up. It’d be impossible for anyone to watch anything right now. And if people were watching, how would they be doing that? It’s not like there’s a camera on everyone on Earth.”

I paused, rethinking my words having just put away a personal camera that I technically carried everywhere. Still, not everyone had a smartphone. Some people had to be rocking those minimal T9 physical button Nokia bricks somewhere in Japan.

Axel continued, “Lee, we’re hearing voices in our heads.”

It was still weird for him to call me that.

“A single voice,” I corrected him.

“We’re hearing a voice in our heads,” he said. “We’re seeing personal AR-like stat windows. We’re feeling driven to enter the Dungeons. We just walked through several active crime scenes on the way here. I think I saw someone bleeding out down an alley.”

It was only a brief recap of what events had taken place, but when he put it so simply like that… “I get what you’re saying. Somehow having something like invisible cameras filming everyone on Earth isn’t that farfetched in comparison, huh?”

“Maybe not even cameras. You remember the first Dungeon title. First Contact, right?”

I laughed. “You’re not saying aliens are watching us.”

“Is that really so hard to even consider?”

Sighing, I shrugged. “I guess anything’s on the table. Aliens, mythical monsters, gods, entropy incarnate. You name it, it could be it.”

We turned the corner to approach the cloud of cigarette smoke wisping from the dark under the stairs. Only the very red glowing ember end was visible. An exasperated groan wafted from the shadows. So, this was Jye? They didn’t sound overly enthused at our arrival. Though with everything going on that wasn’t entirely surprising.

“Jesus, can’t I get a fucking break?” said a deep voice.

“We’re not clients,” Axel said. In the same breath, he slapped the cigarette from their lips. “Smoking is a disgusting habit and it’ll kill you. Now join our party.”

From the shadows loomed Jye, all muscle, and at least a head taller than Axel. I’d bet they could rip apart a coconut with their bare hands. Or someone’s head. With red hair in a mop framing their face, green eyes, and freckles, they looked every inch a lumberjack sans axe. Their square jaw and deep set eyes really sold the look despite the fact they currently wore black sports tights and a loose long sleeved shirt.

Eyes wide, I waited and watched, hoping Axel had some sort of plan after harassing this goliath. Maybe a way to cash in a life debt? Blackmail? Extortion?

“Yo, Jye, old pal. You know me, it’s Axel! We go way back. To that party in the Bahamas! You know the one where you hooked up with the DJ. Jye, this is Lee, Lee, Jye. Now we all know each other, let’s form a party.”

The muscle in Axel’s jaw twitched and I desperately tried to hide my reaction, covering it with a cough. Thankfully, Jye didn’t seem to notice. Inside, I was reeling. Why the hell would he lie about where he knew Jye from? Was Jye even their friend? Hell, did he even know Jye at all? Spiralling, I was frozen as the redhead cocked their head at an angle, somewhat akin to a dog.

Their thick red eyebrows furrowed together. The world fell away and Jye appeared to increase further in size. In the back of my head, I heard static. Then they leaned down, pressing their nose into Axel’s and growled. “The Bahamas, you say? I don’t remember seeing you there. And I have a great fucking memory.”

Was this how we died? In the back of a gym lot?

I guess there were worse ways to go. Chrissie crossed my mind. She was always there somewhere.

Axel scoffed. “You told me to take some classes with you here since we lived in the same neighbourhood after we discussed the best Hunter x Hunter arcs. Greed Island is mid as fuck, but I do concede it was a foundational moment in Gon and Killua’s friendship.”

Jye roared directly into Axel’s face, “God, you’re so wrong! Greed Island was the only time that Gon and Killua were able to have fun without worrying about the world or family. It’s the purest arc and it shows how much they truly care about each other!” They actually and genuinely growled. “You’re probably a Chimera Ant arc nerd, aren’t you?”

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Axel rolled his eyes and slid a little further from Jye who was now all but frothing at the mouth. “Personally, the strongest arc, in my opinion, is the Yorknew City arc.”

Whoosh.

Jye’s roundhouse was aimed perfectly at Axel, on the square of his jaw. I was half expecting his head to explode from impact like one of those slo-mo watermelon videos. Instead, the redhead’s attack flew through empty air. Axel stood two steps to the left of where he had previously been.

What the fuck? Had he teleported? I tried to recall his abilities and his traits, but couldn’t remember what he’d said. The long forgotten rational part of my brain was screaming about the impossibility of being able to use game-like abilities to move faster than sight, but the present portion of my mind was simply scrambling to keep up with what I was witnessing.

Looking unimpressed, Jye chuckled. “Oh, you got tricks? Well, so do I. Can’t read them though.”

They couldn’t read their tricks? What did that mean? Was that their abilities? My brain leapt ahead. Was Axel’s potential recruit illiterate? A non-English native? But they spoke so fluently… Before I could think another thought, I heard the static hiss again.

Jye took a step. He was closing in on Axel. And now it was Axel’s turn to frown. He glanced quickly down in blatant confusion, then continued to stand there. What the hell was he doing? Couldn’t he do that… Was it [Swift Footed] thing again?

With a grunt, Axel pulled at his feet. They wouldn’t move. It was as if they were glued to the floor. Something was pushing or pulling them with so much force they literally wouldn’t budge.

He was stuck.

Jye had to be using an ability on him. But what was it? Some sort of immobilisation? I wanted to give Axel the benefit of the doubt. It’s not like he would’ve taunted them without having some way of dealing with them. Right?

“So, that’s what that does,” Jye said with a grin.

A panicked expression began to bloom over Axel’s face. Oh. He had no idea how to get out of this situation. Typical. It was always me cleaning up after his messes. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I steeled myself, mentally mumbling self-affirmations. Okay. You got this.

They probably won’t kill you.

Then I slipped in between the two of them. Not because Axel didn’t deserve a thorough thrashing. This was just my way of paying him back for that time in high school when he’d stopped my bully from continuously pelting into me. Though he only interfered because he thought his parents would get mad at him for not doing anything. Still, I owed him for that.

“Jye, actually Axel made me watch Hunter x Hunter with him and I agree with you about the Greed Island arc.” The giant’s eyes focused on me. “Gon and Killua’s friendship was the core of that storyline and it really showed that Gon needed Killua as much as Killua needed him.”

“You…” Jye’s finger dug deep into my collarbone. Oh, shit, this was it. I was a dead man.

Then suddenly Jye’s arm was around my shoulder, and they were squeezing me tightly. “You get it. You’re one of the good ones. Lee, was it? You’re one of us.”

The breath I didn’t realise I’d been holding sighed out of me. I wasn’t quite sure who Jye was including when they said “us,” but I was glad everything had been diffused. Perhaps we’d get out of this without any sort of physical altercation. After all, we all were supposed to work together going forward. Or at least, that was the plan.

Wiping the nervous sweat from my forehead, I opened my mouth to speak as Axel slapped a hand onto Jye’s back. “Good to hear that, now we can–”

THUNK. Quick as a flash, Axel’s head was smacked deep into the concrete ground. I grimaced in secondhand pain knowing firsthand how much that had to hurt.

“Not you,” Jye said. “You’re still on my shit list. Fucking Yorknew City arc…” They continued under their breath and I caught a few choice swears I didn’t care to repeat. Clearly, they cared deeply for the anime. I couldn’t say I didn’t relate, though truthfully my heart lay in Western animation. I probably wouldn’t ever mention as much to Jye though.

Ignoring Axel as he struggled to fight against whatever was forcing his face into the floor, I tried to placate Jye, “Okay, so honestly. Fair reaction. Axel is hard to like, but hear me out. He’s not wrong. We need to form a party for future Dungeons. You’ve got to be feeling the pull as well.”

In slow motion, the inner workings of Jye’s mind flickered over their features. Oh no. The pure confusion on the redhead’s face would’ve been comical if it didn’t fill me with dread. This was not going to be good. Their follow up question did nothing to reassure me either.

“Dungeons?”

Leave it to Axel to ask for help from the one person who wasn’t in on the whole mess. Though if their abilities were anything to go by, they were better than having no one. And they also looked incredibly strong. Hopefully their stats would match up.

I gestured to the smoking buildings in the distance, hoping it would expand on the whole thing. “Didn’t people, like, sprint out of the gym? No, don’t worry about that. You have been hearing a voice in your head, right?”

Stoically, Jye said, “All my life. It’s called a conscience.” With that, they glared down at Axel and his face pressed deeper towards the concrete. “Something a Yorknew City arc sympathiser probably wouldn’t be familiar with.” I wondered if he could breathe. Ah, well, Jye was just a buff nerd. Not a killer. They wouldn’t let Axel die from suffocation.

Would they?

Axel’s voice was muffled and strained as he asked, “Nothing new lately?”

Jye ran a hand through their hair and pulled at a knot, then they said, “Well, yeah, now that you mention it. There’s been this like… speaker feedback. I thought it was just tinnitus.” Smiling guiltily, they added, “I listen to music pretty loudly.”

“So, no actual words?”

They shook their head, red hair swaying with the movement. Again I was reminded of a puppy. Actually, more like Clifford the Big Red Dog.

The resemblance did nothing to quell the pinpricks of panic beginning to swell in my chest. Doubts began to form again. Maybe I was hallucinating. I had just simply accepted the world was essentially ending due to the cataclysmic appearance of black holes that turned reality into some sort of weird game. Wasn’t it easier to believe I was crazy? I had just gone along with Axel on this whole thing. And Axel wasn’t even being normal either! The differences with him were definitely something I could have dreamed up.

God, was I really just in a coma?

Nonplussed by his new station in life, Axel inquired further, “What about the status window?”

“I think you mean the little blue screen? Is that what it is? That I got. But can’t read shit. The fonts all messed up. I can barely make out the headings. Stuff like abilities, traits, titles.”

My mind went back to their words when they’d begun using their ability. They really didn’t know what their abilities did. It had all just been a gamble?

Needing clarification, I asked, “So, you can’t read your stats or abilities?”

“Nope,” they said, popping the "p."

What the actual fuck. This couldn’t be right. It had to be some sort of error, a glitch. Could we do bug reports? Was there a reality altering game dev on support right now? How did we submit an IT ticket to someone I wasn’t sure existed? God, would it be to someone, or something? I was stopped from going too deep into that rabbit hole as Jye’s hand on my shoulder pulled me back.

“I’m not gonna lie to you ‘cause you seem like a good bloke, but that smoke this fucker flicked out of my lips? Not the nicotine kind.” They threw their hands up into the air. “I just thought it was kicking in fast, all right. Like the screen was part of the trip. The abilities too.”

“There’s no one who wished that were true more than me,” Axel dryly commented.

There was a crunch and his face was then pushed so far into the concrete that I was genuinely worried his nose had been broken. His face was flat like a pancake across the floor. No longer convinced that Jye wouldn’t just kill him, I found myself pinching the bridge of my nose.

“Please, can you let him up?”

Jye sighed. “I just wanted him to learn a lesson.”

I waited for them to elaborate.

“Start shit, get hit,” they explained.

“I think he’s learned that. Haven’t you, Axel?”

He spoke, but no words he said were discernible. Only the sound of his voice muffled by the floor. Jye didn’t look convinced. They had folded their massive guns over their chest and had a blank expression on their face.

Taking creative licence, I feigned sadness. “Look, Jye, he even said sorry.”

The giant thought for a moment, rolled their eyes, and then turned to start walking away. Thank God for that. In the same moment, Axel gasped for air so loudly and quickly like a balloon exploding in reverse, that it startled me. Smoothly, he pushed himself up from the floor. In a blink, he closed the distance between Jye and himself. Thankfully, he still seemed winded. It gave me enough time to intercept, my back to Jye and theirs to mine.

I mouthed to him, “Don’t you fucking dare.”

Axel’s eyebrows shot up and his mouth opened to object.

I slammed my pointing finger against my lips, the international sign of shutting the fuck up.

His lips pressed together, almost pouting, and he backed off. I nodded appreciatively at him. Jesus christ. It was like trying to wrangle a cat. The creatures just do whatever they want, but occasionally yours and their desires align. And that’s when you could cooperate with them.

Jye had walked to the gym’s back entry and was holding it open. “I got some XXXX in the staff fridge, if you guys are keen. Axel, you gotta pay for yours.”

The crash of another window storefront smashing nearby was all it took to convince me to follow them inside. Axel trailed me in, dour expression and all. We passed through the hallways connecting the different rooms to the staff kitchen, a dingy closet sized shoebox with a bar fridge, microwave, sink, and a single table and chair. Axel proceeded to take the only available seat, and Jye cracked open the fridge to retrieve the promised alcohol.

“To be honest, I really don’t understand what you’re talking about when you say Dungeons and joining a party. Like, my high is definitely dead, but those words mean pretty much nothing to me.”

With my eyes I tried to communicate with Axel to explain, but he avoided my gaze.

This fucker.

I took a deep breath and then attempted to lay out the broader points of what had happened, as well as our plan, which when I said it aloud really didn’t amount to much more than make a group and go look for something. After a solid fifteen minutes, I had thoroughly explained everything I knew so far. Jye took the entire thing in silence, sucking on their lower lip, a solemn expression on their face.

They blew a raspberry. “So, the gist of it is, the modern world is over, life’s a game, and you want me to help you guys win it?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it. You in?” Axel asked.

“Man, if you had just led with that, this would’ve gone so much faster. Of course I’m in. Fuck capitalism. I’m sick of the grind. If you’re telling me I never have to work a day in this sweaty ass gym again, I’m in. Where do I sign?”