She glared and marched up to the beaver. “Surender now!” The words came out as angry as she was, loud and hot. She held her mop ready. Time slowed as the other defenders readied themselves, many looking exhausted. Jennifer assumed others were hoping the raid would be over after defeating the exoskeleton. Jennifer held her breath, trying to steady herself on her feet, waiting for the beaver to either comply or attack.
After more heart beats than she could count on her fingers and toes, she let out her breath. “Umm, hello?” she said, trying to prompt the beaver into deciding. She looked around at the other defenders, but they were also frozen. She had no idea what was going on. When time slowed a moment ago, she had been fighting for her life, so she assumed it was from adrenaline. But not only did time slow down, it had stopped.
“Did you ask one of the greatest threats to the turtle to surrender?” asked a voice that dripped with disbelief.
Jennifer looked around to see where the voice was coming from but could not place it. She answered with far less confidence than she felt, “Yes.”
“That is very much not something that happens when beavers come down for real raids. It is more boom boom, bang bang.” The cultured voice sounded like someone educated trying to talk to a child.
“This has happened before, but never with beavers,” another female voice said.
But again, Jennifer could not see who was speaking or from where.
A third deeper voice with more authority said, “This was just a paper raid. According to the system notes, surrender is possible.”
The first cultured voice said, “Yes, but from the players, not the paper copy. We have no data on what is needed to be done for him to surrender. He always fought while the other grabbed whatever wasn’t nailed down.”
“Umm, hello, my name is Jennifer. Could you come out please?” She had no idea what was going on or who was talking, but this world did make someone crazy.
“She wasn’t stopped?” the female voice asked.
“She was the one asking for surrender, and she’s barely more than a paper copy herself,” said the cultured voice.
“I sped her time sync up with us. The Dev is too busy for this, so it’s up to us to decide. Besides, I wanted to hear her opinion,” the deep voice said.
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"Umm, which Dev are we talking about?” Jennifer had some idea on who the Developers were, but maybe getting a name of one could help her.
“The Dev.” Three voices said in unison.
A short man in a red lab coat appeared before Jennifer. The little man had the letters GM embossed on the coat. He had the same beard as the little man that had handed Jennifer the red egg that became Woozle, but his hair and build were different. Recognition filled her mind as the man appeared. A woman and another man, both in lab coats, appeared before her. The woman was poking the beaver with a stick, and the other man looked disinterested.
Jennifer was nervous and the silence made her more uncomfortable. “What does GM stand for?” she asked before she could stop herself.
The woman answered first, “Game Master.”
The second man with the cultured voice said, “General Manager.”
The one with the deep voice answered, “Ghost in the machine. There is some debate as you can see. Now, before you ask any more silly questions, what were you going to do if the beaver surrendered to you?”
She looked around, unsure what to say. Her eyes fell upon the mayor, still frozen and looking like he was about to shoot lightning out of his hands. With a shrug, she said, “I would make him work for the town and repair any damages, or task him with improving the town?”
Jennifer glanced at her teammates seeking advice in their frozen forms. Her forehead wrinkles thinking about what she should say. Tilting her head from side to side, weighing choices.
“Bah, she has no idea. She is no general, king, or even mayor. If we let the surrender happen, it’s just a wasted path,” the woman argued.
“Hostages,” the cultured man said. “They come for the hostages.”
The words sent a chill down Jennifer’s spine. She did not want to be a hostage taker, and she glared at the man who made the suggestion.
The one with the deep voice smiled. “As a gnome, a keeper to the system I declare. Your Giant Intimidation racial ability has activated on the beaver, and he has surrendered to you. Good luck.” With a finger wave the trio disappeared, time resumed, and the music stopped.
“Victory goes to the defenders,” said a powerful voice that seemed to come from all around.
The defenders cheered as the beaver dropped his cannon to the ground and looked down.
Jennifer searched frantically for her teammates, glancing at her team interface to check for their names. She froze. Kevin’s name was still grayed out, as was Woozles. She made sure one of the skeletons was in her inventory, but the one that was out had been destroyed. She had lost track of it in the battle.
She needed to find Woozle. Her eyes darted quickly from person to person on the battlefield. Seeing how few of the defenders were left. They were cheering and looking like this was all fun and games, but so many were missing. Her heart raced to the point that it hurt. She could not focus on her breathing. Her heart was beating so hard she could hear it. Her hands were clasped together so tightly they were white. She had no idea what to do next. She needed guidance and someone to talk to. She needed her first friend from this world. What was she going to do? When Jennifer saw the mayor, her eyes watered.