“You’re still here,” Alan addressed a silhouette sitting in the far corner of the poorly lit basement. He passed through five cells, from where the snoring of prisoners could be heard. The air smelled clean and the rest of the silence was peaceful enough for him to comment about. “It’s pretty calming here. I wouldn’t mind spending some time here to help me think.”
The guard snickered at him. “Don’t think I’ve been here sitting on my ass all day. I just come occasionally to bring them food. I have a camera installed here, so I can observe them from the comfort of my home, and I could send any of my Mods in my place.”
And yet, here you are.
Alan put his hands inside his jacket and exhaled, watching in the cell's direction. “Have any of them awakened?”
“Yes. I’ve been able to communicate with them all,” The Administrator of Conduct said, running a strand of hair behind her ear. “They don’t seem to remember what happened. Or at least that’s what they claim.”
“Has Ricardo Silva checked them yet?”
“No, why would he?” Jane Andersen asked, raising her voice. “They’re my responsibility.”
She doesn’t trust him, huh? Ricardo doesn’t trust any of his colleagues either. And now we can add Viola Lang to the list of suspects… This will never end.
“Alan, is that you, buddy?” a faint voice spoke from one of the cells.
Alan dashed towards it. “Paul? Hi, pal. How do you feel?”
“Like if a truck had hit me. Wait, that’s an old-fashioned way of saying it, right? Let’s see. Like if a High-Leveler had kicked my balls.”
“You must be fine if you can joke like that,” Alan chuckled.
“Hey, Alan, do you know when they are going to let us out of here?”
Alan peeked behind him, not able to find Jane Andersen nearby. She must be hiding, listening closely.
“I haven’t asked, but expect to be here for a little longer. They have told me that although you’re fine, you won’t be able to leave Unus for a while. You’re still affected by whatever she did to all of you.”
“Are we still infected? Man, that sounds messed up.” Paul sighed. “I never had intentions of leaving this bore of a place, but now that they’re restricting me, I want to get the hell out of here as soon as I can. Isn’t it weird?”
“It’s just human nature.” Alan shrugged. “Do you remember what happened to you when the black goo trapped you?”
“Nothing. I just remember this albino girl. Oh! And one of your NPCs got stabbed. It was a messed-up situation, but we won, right?”
“Yes. We won,” Alan said, bitterly swallowing. “You know, there’s something that still bugs me.”
“What is it?”
“Serenity…”
“Who’s that?”
“The albino gal.”
“Oh, yeah. What about her? Although she was our enemy, she was pretty hot, huh?”
“She was, yes, if you like them insane. But, hey, maybe you could help me brainstorm some theories, yes? Listen. The first time I met her, she seemed to break the rules of what regular Users are capable of doing inside The Novus, and this last time she did it again. This thing that is affecting you, acts more like a virus… A computer virus. Are you following me, Paul? How could she propagate something like that in such a controlled enviroment?”
Paul’s frown gradually disappeared, and his expression changed from concerned to mocking. “What a mystery, eh, buddy?”
Alan heard the rest of the prisoners move inside their cells. One said: “You may have enough collars for the entire Userbase, but what will happen once we have to get out of here?”
“By the end of this space trip you’ll end up enslaving all of humanity, Alan Warden. Would that be ‘humane’? Would that be ethical? Aren’t we, the Tandem, humanity’s last hope?” another asked, sneering.
“You must be kidding me,” Jane Andersen could be heard muttering from the shadows, watching the other four prisoners stand at the same time and stare at her from behind the bars.
Alan exhaled in front of Paul before walking away. “If that’s the game you’re going to play, I’ll find a way then, Singular. See you later, Paul.”
“What do you mean?” Paul asked. “Hey! A way for what?!”
“Do you know what this means?” Jane Andersen grunted, following Alan to the exit. “Look at them! I can’t release them yet.”
“But you must,” Alan said after opening the exit door. “Their human consciousness is still there. Put all the restrictions you want on them, but you still must let them go.”
“But you said it yourself. If the Singular has the ability to hack, who knows what they could do?!”
“Then you must admit that you need Ricardo’s help. We mustn’t let this situation get out of our hands. If we can’t trust each other, we’ll fuck this up before it even starts.”
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Jane stared at him, narrowing her eyes. “How can you say all that with such a calm face?” She folded her arms. “Fine. I’ll ask for his help. You’re moving today, right?”
“Yes.”
“Go. I’ll take care of this. I'll call you if I have an update.”
“Thanks, Administrator. I’m counting on you.”
Jane shook her head while watching him go. “Wait, Mr. Alan.”
“Mister?”
“Although I agree with you on this one, you can’t live like that, trusting everyone blindly. Either you’re stupid, naïve, or a masochist.”
Alan smiled at her. “Yes.”
***
**
*
He returned to his home, which was now just an empty lot, expecting to only encounter the members of Phantom Seekers waiting for him, but he found a large group gathering there instead. A third of New Unus City. Users and Advanced Slimes alike called his name and patted his back as he approached.
“W-What is this? Is judgment day upon me?”
“We’re here to say goodbye to you, Alan Comatose Warden,” Brenda, owner of the underground bar, said aloud, her husband Kristoff beside her, who was nodding. “You made living here fun again.”
“Even if I destroyed the entire town?”
“If it wasn’t for that, Miss Cosmica would’ve never come, so we thank you for that,” Jared, the weaponsmith. said, hugging his NPC wife.
Others agreed, chuckling. “Good luck, Comatose.”
“Take care, Alan.”
“And stop getting into trouble, eh? Or you’re going to make Amelia sad."
As Alan watched their smiling faces, he sobbed. “Oh, guys…”
“Ready to go, Alan?” Amelia asked, carrying their miniaturized house in her hand, like a dollhouse. Ashley and the maid NPCs waited for him a few feet ahead.
Phantom Seekers turned their backs and Alan waved goodbye to them. “Farewell, Beginnng Town! I’m missing you al--!”
“WAIT! HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN ALL ABOUT ME!”
“Oh, crap,” Alan muttered.
Being the strongest in the town besides Amelia, Clara Dominguez shortened the distance in a couple of seconds thanks to her high Vitality rank. Despite that, she panted like she had run a marathon. “Were you leaving without me, you bastards?!”
“Of course not. We could never leave you behind,” Alan said in a monotonous tone.
“That’s more like it.” Clara smiled and put her hands on her hips. “Well, it was a pleasure working with you, Unus! Thanks for being such welcoming folk! Take care, and let’s hope the stars unite us again in the future!” As she laughed out loud, the citizens remained silent. “Let’s go, Fabio.”
“I can’t go, ma’am,” her NPC said in a polite tone, and Alan could be heard sneering from a distance.
Clara dashed to hold his NPC by the shoulders. “W-What do you mean, my love? W-We have traveled the world over! You knew this place was nothing but a brief detour in our long jour--”
“As long as I’m Unus’ mayor, I can’t leave this place,” Fabio explained with a calm face.
“Oh, right! Um… Can you give the job to another NPC? We stole the job from that bitch, anyway, so…” Clara pointed at Anastasia, who was neutrally smiling.
Alan glanced at his NPC, looking for any other reaction on her face, but there was nothing. It would have been amusing though.
“Yes, I can, ma’am. Who will be New Unus’ new mayor?” Fabio said, snapping his fingers, and the NPCs in the crowd stepped forward and formed a line, five in total. “If you wait a little longer, I can summon the rest currently working in the town.”
“There’s no need for that!” Clara shouted confidently while adjusting her glasses. “Because the right person is right here, in front of us!” She pointed with her index finger, and Alan could hear her whispering. “Eenie, meenie, miney, you!”
“What?!” Kristoff, the owner of the underground shop, cried from the crowd, watching Clara pointing at the pink-haired NPC ‘married’ to Jared.
“It will be done,” Fabio said, snapping his fingers again.
“Wait, no! We should vote first!” Kristoff shouted, making his way towards Fabio, but by then, a new badge showed up in Jared’s wife's name, indicating that the change was done. Kristoff’s face turned crimson. “Oh, for fuck’s safe! Thanks a lot, Clara!”
“Yeah, thanks a lot!” Jared laughed out loud, hugging his expressionless ‘wife’.
“A pleasure serving you, people,” Clara said, sending them kisses. “¡Adiós, mis amigos!”
“That surely went well,” Alan muttered to her.
“Shut up and don’t stop walking,” Clara replied, looking nervous.
***
**
*
Once New Unus City could not be seen on the horizon, Alan noticed a shadow passing over them. He looked up, watching a winged mount descending and landing near a leafy, still green tree. He swallowed after recognizing the rider.
“Someone else came to say goodbye,” Amelia commented bitterly.
“Wait, is that… The Golden Comet?!” Clara cried out, eyes wide open. “What’s she doing here?”
Amelia glanced at Alan’s fixed eyes and closed fists and exhaled. “It’s okay. Go.”
He blinked repeatedly. “But…”
“What? You’re just going to talk to your ex, right? It’s not a big deal.” Amelia chuckled. “Go. You’ll catch us down the road, right?”
“Ex? Whose ex?” Clara asked, dumbfounded.
“It’ll be only a minute, girls, I promise!” Alan said urgently before sprinting toward that tree, being followed by Amelia’s gaze.
“Fabio is also here, and he’s a guy, you know?!” Clara pointed out while Amelia pulled her by the arm.
“Whatever. Let’s go, guys.”