Although Donny had been there several times in the past, it wasn't for leisure this time around. It was for a very different reason. He felt very nervous as he pulled into Mikey's garage today. The steering wheel of his new used hatchback was being covered with the sweat from his hands and his back felt like it was exuding an unnatural amount of heat. The garage door closed behind him, leaving only the dim light in the space to light the room.

"Ay, Donny." Mikey greeted him as he exited the car.

"Yo." Donny replied tersely, walking over to where Mikey was standing. Mikey opened his car's trunk and removed a piece of cloth to reveal two pistols in their holsters. There were also a bunch of regular looking boxes that could have been mistaken as any normal items found in a store, instead of the ammunition that was actually inside.

"Are these...you know...used or something?" Donny asked.

"Nah. They're brand new. Brought in from the states." Mikey reassured. "So you don't have to worry about the police looking for someone's murder weapon."

He and his friends had chatted about imaginary situations where they would use one in the past and how cool it would be, even Will had been a part of those conversations. But seeing one up-close like this held a different weight, especially when he knew that he would be using them very soon in the near future.

"Can I?" Donny asked.

"Go ahead, they're yours now."

Donny picked up the piece of weaponry. It was heavier than he expected. It also looked like the starting weapon for one of the teams in an FPS game he played. "This looks like a Glock?"

"Glock 19." Mikey nodded in confirmation.

Will had said not to worry about being caught with the guns but Donny couldn't help but feel trepidation. Even after everything they had done so far to prepare for what Will had basically described as an undead apocalypse, it was only now, when he laid his hands on these very illegal goods, that it was really sinking in.

"I guess this is it...there's no turning back now." Donny muttered to himself.

"What's that?"

"Nothing."

Mikey looked Donny in his eyes in a solemn manner. "Look man, I don't know what you and Will are getting yourselves caught up with or if you're in some kind of trouble. But if you need any help, just holler, me and the boys got your backs."

Donny couldn't help but waver a little when he heard that. Will had said that he couldn't trust strangers but these guys weren't strangers to Donny. Will had said to be careful of other people in the future but Donny wondered what had happened to him for Will to turn out this way. Donny also wondered what had happened to himself. From the way that Will had acted, Donny guessed that his future self had most likely died but he was a little afraid to ask.

"Thanks bro." There was a moment of silence before Donny spoke up. "Actually, there's something...there's something going down and I think you and the others might need your own protection." He wanted to at least say something and not leave his friends completely unready and defenseless.

"For real?" Mikey's eyes widened slightly at the news.

"Yeah, I'm serious." Donny said, channeling the intense look he sometimes saw in Will.

"Alright, I'll have to call up Jay again to get me a few more."

After transferring everything into his hatchback, Donny exchanged a couple more words with Mikey before it was time for him to leave.

"I feel like I'm going to shit my pants driving with this in the back." Donny said as he entered the car.

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"Just do it outside, we just cleaned up the garage on the weekend." Mikey laughed, clicking the button to open the garage door.

The drive to the workspace they had rented was the longest and most nerve wracking car drive Donny had ever experienced. He spent the entire time scanning the streets. He drove with perfect posture, seatbelt on, his hands in the 9 and 3 o'clock positions, and he drove just below the speed limit. His heart nearly leapt out of his chest when a car beeped at him from behind for driving too slow.

He let out a sigh of relief when he finally reached the place and parked safely in the garage. Donny sagged in the seat for a minute, exhausted from the drive over. When he finally gathered himself, he entered the house and found Will working on the laptop.

"You're back already? I got the stuff from Mikey."

"That's good, we can start practice soon."

"I also talked to Mikey about a bookie his guy knows that he can introduce us to. There won't be any limits, or at least it's very high." Donny said. "Since paying for the land and the contractors will put us back a lot and the limits on those betting sites is slowing down the amount of money we can make."

Will contemplated for a moment before he said, "I guess that could work. We can also go all in for games that are 100% sure wins."

"Like if the games went onto game 7?" Donny grinned.

"Exactly."

"So where should I put the hot stuff that's burning a hole in my trunk right now?"

"We can store it in here for now."

"We're not starting practice yet?" Donny asked and Will shook his head. "What were you working on anyway?" Donny looked at the screen. It seemed like Will had ordered something.

"We'll practice when we get back."

"From?"

"Do you have a passport?" Will asked. "We'll be going to Tokyo for the weekend."

"For real?" Donny couldn't help but feel excitement and a sense of adventure as he started dancing in celebration. "Popping bottles like a G6!"

"We're going economy." Will said, taking a little of the winds out of his sails but he was still excited nonetheless.

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"What's up YouHub! It's your boy, the T.Don, back at it with another video! Today, I'm going to be doing something a little different from usual, I'm going on a short trip! A short trip to see the sights of Tokyo!" Donny held up his selfie stick and spoke into his camera. "As you can see, I'm at the airport right now getting checked in!"

"Do you have to shout?" Will asked. The passenger service agent had a wry smile as she returned Donny's passport. The two proceeded through the terminal to the security checkpoint with their carry-ons.

"That's how all the big YouHubbers do it." Donny said. "I'm building up hype, that's just how the game is played."

"I thought you had a gaming channel?"

"I'm branching out."

"How many followers do you have anyway?"

"Twenty...but that's not important. I'm on the grind, and I'll get up there soon."

"Are those twenty, people you know, by any chance?"

"I mean...you are one of them..."

"Are you recording on that thing?" An impassive TSA agent asked when he saw Donny with his selfie stick.

"No, it's not on right now." Donny said.

"What are you planning to use it for?"

"It's for my YouHub."

"Really?" The TSA agent suddenly showed interest and began asking him about his channel. Donny ended up taking a selfie with the agent while Will had to have his bag looked through because they thought the laptop looked suspicious.

"See? That's the perks of being an influencer." Donny said when Will finally finished with the checkpoint. The two headed towards their gate and waited for their flight. When it was close to boarding time, a young woman approached Donny while he was recording the scenery.

"Oh my gosh, are you a YouHubber?" She gushed.

"That's right."

Because it was the middle of the season, there were empty seats on the plane and the young woman spent a majority of the flight in the empty seat next to Donny, chatting up the "YouHubber." After a long 16-hour flight, the two exchanged contact information before Will and Donny found a taxi.

"Did you have fun?" Will asked when Donny finally separated from the young woman and the two entered the taxi.

"The perks of being an influencer." Donny grinned.

"You should enjoy it. This will most likely be your last chance to travel for a while, especially by plane." Will said.

"So, what's the plan, bro?"

"We'll drop by the hotel before a quick visit to the Neural-Chip building for an appointment."

"Appointment? For what?"

"Just a few quick words, some consultation, and a pre-checkup before the surgery."

The taxi soon arrived at the hotel, where the two checked into their room and dropped off their bags. Will changed into his suit but Donny didn't see the point if they were only going in for a pre-checkup. They were back out the door and in another taxi en route to the Neural-Chip building in no time.

Donny enjoyed the feel of visiting a new city as he filmed all the sights along the way. Not long after, the taxi stopped in front of a large skyscraper. The panel outside the building indicated that it was occupied by multiple companies, and the Neural-Chip logo displayed on it showed that it was one of the companies that shared the building.

The two entered the building and took an elevator up to the Neural-Chip offices. What greeted them when they entered the Neural-Chip lobby was a large commotion.