Chapter 30: Rules

Zhizhi startled a laugh out of Lena and I. Miguel chipped in with a sharp, “Ha!”

Zhizhi herself smiled thinly. The look of someone who hadn’t made a joke, but knew she was better off if everyone pretended she had.

“Feel better?” I asked Lena.

She waggled her hand. “Lil’ bit.”

I kissed her cheek and tugged her back toward the couch. She let me. We sat back down and she scooped Bernie into her arms.

Zhizhi reclaimed her spot next to Miguel and crossed her legs. “Someday, I’m getting on camera, and it’ll be somebody’s job to manage me. But until then, this could be a heck of a lot worse.”

“I guess I could get used to being a diva,” Lena said. She grabbed a handful of popcorn and nibbled on it. “Maybe I should start asking about brown M&Ms.”

“You know, there was a good reason behind the Van Halen brown M&Ms thing,” Zhizhi said. “If a venue couldn’t pay attention to a trivial detail in the contract, it was a sign they probably couldn’t handle a complex stage show. You want to find that out with candy, not electrical outlets.”

“Oh.” Lena chewed the rest of her popcorn in silence. When she finished, she said, “I didn’t even know what band it was about.”

Zhizhi shrugged. “It’s a great story though, yeah? Depending on how much you know about it, it’s about diva rock stars on a power trip, or entertainment professionals who came up with a clever way to manage a problem.”

“Or,” Miguel said, “diva rock stars who, in retrospect, came up with an explanation that painted them in the best light.”

Zhizhi stopped midway through a bite of a nacho and shot him a glance. She chewed carefully. “Is that actually what you think, or are you just being cynical?”

“I find the story more interesting with a hint of ambiguity,” he said.

“Cynical, then,” I said.

Miguel inclined his head. Lena and Zhizhi laughed.

“How hot is the dip?” Lena asked.

“Pitched for your delicate sensibilities,” Miguel said.

She narrowed her eyes, but stretched over me to snag and dip one of the chips. She crunched it. I felt a moment of tightness in her back. She said, and almost sounded like she meant, “Mm. Good.”

We swapped bowls after that and polished off the snacks. Miguel’s idea of mild dip and mine might differ, but I knew he’d made an effort. And, notwithstanding my burning mouth, it did taste good.

After we finished, I leaned back on the couch and didn’t even ask for a glass of milk. If I ever require a character witness, this show of restraint will be the first piece of evidence they offer.

We sat for a while in companionable silence, Bernie on Lena’s lap, her resting her head against my shoulder, Miguel and Zhizhi at the other end of the couch either making us look excessively sappy or calling into question my interpretation of their relationship. Either way, I liked the mood. Good food, good company, a great video.

So of course, I decided to risk it. “Zhizhi,” I said. “At the park yesterday, you mentioned a plan?”

“Right, that,” she said. “I’m not sure how much longer we can sit on the whole magic thing.”

I nodded. “We risk a lot by going public with it, but the longer we wait, the more it seems like it’s irresponsible.”

“There’s little point in telling people,” Miguel said, “if they won’t listen.”

“Another thing I’m supposed to be able to pull off,” Lena said quietly.

I stroked her hair. “We got this. Just have to fake it till we make it, right?”

“How long is that going to be?” She squeezed Bernie. “What do you think, Zhizhi?”

“Till the tournament,” Zhizhi said.

Three more weeks. It felt like an eternity, so much time for people to stumble into danger that we could’ve warned them about if we weren’t too scared to try. It felt so close, a storm we couldn’t understand or brace for, even though we saw it on the horizon.

“Why then?” Lena asked.

“You’re going to have a bunch of cameras on you, not just mine,” Zhizhi said. “I’m sure people will be tuning in live, not prerecorded.”

“So there’s way less chance for somebody to silence us,” I said.

She shifted on her seat. “I don’t like thinking of it that way, but yeah.”

Miguel offered her the last handful of popcorn. She nodded thanks and scooped it up.

When her crunching stopped, she resumed talking. “It’s not just the possibility of someone trying to shut us down. There will be a ton of players there, most of them hardcore grinders who are the most likely to have discovered Third Eye’s real-world effects. Once you break the ice and go public, all you have to do is convince a few of them to participate in demonstrations and you’ll have undeniable proof.”

“Also, too many people to shut up,” Lena said.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Zhizhi nodded.

“Someone might break the news before then,” I said. Technically, a few people had, on Reddit and the wiki comments and the official Discord. They’d just been written off as cranks by most of the players. “Someone credible, I mean.”

“Is that so bad?” Miguel asked. “It certainly puts to bed any fears you have of being, how did you put it? Silenced?”

“It’s probably bad for the channel,” Zhizhi said.

“Good for the players, though,” Lena said. “After that, we’ll have to admit we were slow-playing it, but we can back up what other people have said without coming across as crazy.”

“Personally,” I said, “that sounds like a best case scenario.”

Nods all around. Did that mean none of us thought it would actually happen, or just me? I didn’t have the heart to ask.

“Assuming we do get to wait until the tournament,” Lena said, “there’s just one thing. We gotta make sure we’ve got eyes on us.”

“Guess you’ll just have to win the whole thing,” Zhizhi said.

“Heh.” Lena stroked Bernie’s back. “Yeah.”

“I know you’re down on yourself because you lost to Matt,” I said. “Remember, though, you would’ve won if we hadn’t called the match arbitrarily. Between the techniques you’ve learned and your HP, you’re probably the best PVP player in town.”

“And if I’m supposed to win the tournament,” she said, “I need to be the best PVP player in the world.”

“Doubtful,” Miguel said.

We all looked his way.

He spread his hands. “You don’t need to be better than everyone. Only everyone who is both interested in the tournament, and can afford the time and travel costs to attend it.”

“Huh,” Lena said.

Even if Matt developed an unexpected interest in standup fights, I doubted he could carve out a couple of weeks for such a trip in the middle of the school year.

Joon Woo might be able to do it by taking vacation days, assuming whatever tech job he worked at when he wasn’t playing Third Eye could spare him. But would he bother? Not only did he not seem interested in PVP, he had a way slicker apartment than Lena and I. His was somewhere on the West Coast, too, where the prices put Denver’s to shame. Would a shot at $500,000 entice him to put the rest of his life on hold? Hell. Would a guarantee of it?

The kind of gig work Lena and I did offered few advantages, but here were a couple. We could do it from anywhere, and we could do as little of it as our finances allowed.

“With that said,” Zhizhi said, “it’s better to assume the people who actually show up are going to be real serious about the game. The ones who matter, anyway. I’m sure you’ll get plenty of no-hopers in the preliminaries.”

“We could still swap to just doing commentary,” Lena said.

“That would be safer,” Zhizhi said. “Of course, you’d miss out on the prize.”

Lena swallowed.

“And,” Miguel said, “you’d never know if you could have won.”

I leaned forward to watch the change come over Lena’s expression.

She set her jaw. She looked at Bernie, at me, at Miguel and Zhizhi.

She found her steel.

Miguel reclined with an expansive grin. “I suspected as much.”

Lena took a deep breath. “I’m going to have to get a lot better.”

“You know what that means.” I offered my hand.

She grabbed it. “We need a montage!”

A beat.

Her face fell. “I guess IRL, we have to actually film the montage.”

“It’s probably not going to be anywhere near as fun as watching it,” Zhizhi said. “Just think of how cool it’s going to look when we upload it, though.”

“A hit for sure,” Lena said.

“Upload some of it,” I said.

They both looked at me.

“You’d cut ninety nine percent of what happens out of a montage anyway, right?” I asked. “In this case, we need to cut any new techniques Lena develops that she hasn’t shown off on video yet.”

“Saving something for the tournament.” Lena nodded along with my words. “If I need a new trick for every round, though, we’re going to have to come up with a whole lot.”

“Most of your matches will probably come down to positioning and knowing what to do with your Reactants,” I said. “Plus getting more, if we can swing it. We really need to get back to scouting.”

“You know what would really help me train?” she asked.

I cocked my head.

“Knowing the rules,” she said. “If the tournament works something like the match I did with Matt, there goes any advantage from my HP. On the other hand, if we’re doing multiple matches in one day, I’ve got to focus on my MP efficiency.”

“Why don’t you ask?” Zhizhi said.

“I actually did try,” Lena said. “I posted in the thread, but last I checked, OdysseyZZ hadn’t responded.”

“I didn’t mean on a Reddit thread,” Zhizhi said. “Email him. Call, even.”

Lena shrank back against me. I don’t even think she realized she’d done it. “The dude owns, like, four businesses. I’m sure I’d just end up in his spam filter.”

“If he owns four businesses, he’s probably got a secretary, not a spam filter,” Zhizhi said. “One who would definitely pass on your question. You’re not just some rando, Lena. Right now, you’re probably one of the five most famous Third Eye players. You’re at least top twenty five, Cam.”

That should’ve seemed cool. Beyond cool! I’d never been top twenty five in anything in my life. For some reason, though, the way she said it made me shudder.

Lena didn’t seem any more enthused. She chewed on her lip. “I guess...”

“I know,” Zhizhi said. “Do it tonight, when you get home. Bet you’ll hear back by the next evening.”

I wasn’t convinced she was right, or that I wanted her to be, but when Lena glanced at me, I put on a smile. “Worth a shot, right?”

“If a top twenty five player says so, it’s gotta be.” She booped her nose against mine. “We better get on it soon.”

“Yeah.” I stood, partly lifting Lena with me as I did. “Thanks for the snacks, and the viewing session, Miguel. And the editing, Zhizhi. Holy shit.”

“De nada,” Zhizhi said, chuckling.

We collected our coats and made for the door. Before he let us leave, Miguel spread his arms. Lena and I squeezed in along with Zhizhi.

Lena grinned.

“What?” Zhizhi asked.

“Erin was right,” Lena said. “We got you into the huddle this time.”

Zhizhi raised an eyebrow. “I guess that’s a callback?”

Lena bobbed her head.

After we clapped each others’ shoulders, Miguel opened the door for us.

Zhizhi followed us out. She hesitated at the edge of Miguel’s porch, glanced at her ancient Neon. It was so small, she could probably maneuver it around Miguel’s Prius. “You guys need a ride?”

“We’re good,” Lena said. “Thanks, though. For everything.”

“You can thank me by taking us all to the big time,” Zhizhi said. “Also, not letting us get killed by aliens, wizards, or monsters.”

She said it with a grin and a wave.

But when she went back inside and left us alone in the darkness?

I kind of wished we'd asked for that ride.