John came back to the real world as if waking from a dream. Physically, his vision was completely black and as he waited with unnatural calm the veil of shadow drifted away. His restoring vision brought back the rest of his senses as well. They came as if old friends, the same and yet different as if the passage of time had wrought hidden changes that he had yet to discover. For one, they were sharper. He could smell the tang of sweat and cheap cologne coming from the kitchen where Will was obviously taking up residence. He could hear the clinking of utensils as the man prepared something...heavenly. Oh god, the smell. An exquisite odor was floating from the depths of the kitchen and taking up real estate in John's nose.
More than anything, John wanted to leap up and sample whatever was creating such an enticing smell. However, he remained calm. A feeling in his soul cautioned him to stay still until he fully came back to reality. This was a marked difference from the last time John was in an altered state. The anger and uncontrollable fury he felt the previous time was entirely absent. In fact, he felt more whole than ever before. It was like a wound that he had never realized he had until he felt the relief.
Even though John sat draped in shadow, he could see further into the darkness than he could before. What was once subtle lines and intangible corners became objects in sharp relief. Moreso, he felt...comfortable. The shadows of the apartment were friendly companions. They felt safe.
Finally, he slowly rose from the couch. His movements were graceful and silent. He turned to see Will cooking something within a pan on a stovetop. Watching him cook, John realized that if he wanted he could sneak up on him without him even realizing. The implications didn't shock John. It felt right that he should be able to. He cleared his throat.
"I'm back."
Startled, Will jumped and shot an accusing glance in his direction.
"Collective, you scared the shit out of me John." Will looked him over with a measuring gaze as if weighing the changes that the cube had wrought.
"You look different. I'm not going to ask you what happened in there. It's different for every person that goes through it, but I know that it wasn't easy." He paused to consider. "It can be difficult to forget the people you met, the person you were, and what you had to do." He gave John a searching look. "I advise that you forget that you even went and be thankful for the abilities it granted you."
A sudden shattering sound caught both of their attention. In John's hand, the pyramid in his hand cracked, and the broke apart completely. Tinkling, glass-like shards fell from his fist, and black smoke wafted from his closed fingers. John turned his attention back to will with aggressive intensity. Part of him expected some retaliation from the man and he subtly shifted his weight accordingly. Instead, Will gave him a quizzical look.
"What the hell was that?" John looked back down at his fist and brushed his hands together to rid himself of the debris. He could see that the material on the floor was undergoing some weird sublimation process as it transferred from solid to more of the smoke-like gas. Transfixed, he took a moment to respond.
"I'm not sure, Will. Did I break it?"
Will shook his quickly. "Nah, they're supposed to be damn near indestructible. That's part of why they're so valuable." He shrugged. "Easy come, easy go I suppose."
John remained silent. He searched his memories to see if he had done something to cause the inadvertent destruction. Even now he could feel the memories from the simulation fading away. They were swiftly becoming more dream than reality. He probed his thoughts of Mouse like one would a sore tooth. He found that he preferred this dream-like quality. Pulling himself from his thoughts, he ghosted into the kitchen, and Will noticed the fluidity that John displayed and chuckled.
"It does seem to give more to some than others. Hey, come check this out." He said, gesturing to the food he was preparing.
At his beckoning, John drew closer and finally let his body enjoy the tantalizing smell filling the small domicile. "What is this, it smells amazing." John drew out the last word with thinly hidden desire and Will laughed as John craned over his shoulder.
"It was my favorite thing growing up. You seem to have missed out on a lot of things, and I wanted you to try it." Will went on, and John didn't want to interrupt as a faraway look entered Will's eyes. After all, he might stop making the food.
Stolen novel; please report.
"I already told you that my family earned their name because of Disable. Well, having a name doesn't guarantee any measure of wealth. It's more of a social and political status than anything else. My family has never been wealthy by core world standards, but we did well. My parents, in particular, made sure that they were around to have at least one homemade dinner each night."
Will gestured to the stove. "You won't find many of these anymore. They're relics of a different time. In this day and age, most food can be made by adding a reacting agent with pre-made food. Usually, you only have to add water, but some of the deep space food is different."
Will tapped at his chin and John noted the particular tick. He had never noticed before this moment. "Some of them are pretty good, but the cheap ones are almost always awful. I think the worst one I've ever had was a veggie omelet. I'm not sure what company makes it, but they have to share their manufacturing center with a water treatment plant."
He laughed and looked at John to see if he caught the joke. Seeing nothing but polite interest, he continued. "Anyway, this is a family favorite. It's curry and rice. I'm not sure where the food is actually from but its cheap and its good. My parents used to make every week, and it became something of a family event."
A dark look crossed his face. "Back then, my parents were different people." He fell silent for a moment while still stirring the curry.
He stared into the pan as if he was reliving the past in its contents. "Back then, my dad was a Guardian. It's another class. They focus on a mixed assault and healing strategy. They're kind of similar the paladins of legend. They also tend to become civil peace officers, security guards, or anything of that nature."
Seeing that the food was just about done he dropped the temperature and then moved to a small white canister on the counter that John had previously disregarded as unimportant. John looked on with interest. Will pressed a diminutive button on the cannister and a bright chime rang out. It opened, and Will began to spoon small white granules into two waiting bowls. John was a little taken aback. He thought that WIll would be introducing him to something more exotic, but this looked like the wriggling insects that invaded food that was left out too long. John decided to remain silent instead of risking offending Will and his family's cooking. Will continued to speak as he worked.
"So my dad used to have a position of authority on this planet's security force. He taught many of the guards his Disable tactic, and for a while, they were pretty successful in keeping crime down in this city." Will sighed and moved from the kitchen to the dining room table with two bowls. John followed dutifully and sat down opposite of Will. He grimaced and then slid the bowl over to John.
"Well, all of that changed when Mom died." John paused with a spoon of the brown, heavily spiced substance halfway to his mouth. Will still hadn't touched his utensil. John awkwardly decided how to proceed. Will looked up and noticed his dilemma.
"Just eat."He gave a small, sad smile. "Sorry, I don't know why I'm springing this on you right now, kid." He picked up his spoon and watched John put the first bite into his mouth.
A series of expressions flitted through John's face. First, there was surprise, then came pleasure, and he finally settled on content. The expression brought a bit of the roughishness back to Will. He grinned, a gleam in his eye.
"Well! what did you think!?"
John didn't reply and instead began scarfing down the food with renewed vigor while Will chuckled, looking on.
The rest of dinner passed fairly quickly, and soon it was time to begin business. Will collected the dinnerware and John watched him go with a fair bit of wistfulness. Will placed the dishes in an automatic cleaning receptacle and then returned to the table.
"Alright John, let's begin planning for our heist." He pulled a cigar from the depths of his coat and brought it to his lips. John noticed a bright light flash in the ceiling, and suddenly the cigar was aflame. He puffed slowly and then met John's eyes.
"Alright John, what did you learn?"
John paused, suddenly wondering how much he should reveal to Will. So far, Will had been nothing but helpful, but John wasn't used to this sort of treatment, and it still made him uneasy.
"Well, I hit level five. I know how to be stealthy, and I know how to sneak, ambush and throw. More than that, I feel different. My senses seem to be slightly sharper, and altogether I feel a degree more..." John paused trying to put into words how he felt.
"Well?"
Without thinking John's voice came out an unnatural growl. The sound raised the hair on Will's neck.
"...lethal. I feel more lethal." John smiled. It seemed a hair too menacing. It was confident and relaxed like a resting predator. Will successfully stifled his consternation. If the kid could help him break into the manor, then WIll didn't care what the simulation taught him.
He continued. "Good. let's get this started." He pulled out a thin data disk and placed it on the table. With a gesture, a diagram of a manor house sprung into being and began to rotate slowly. Excitement pooled in John's belly and spread to his chest. He was ready for this. He was prepared to prove himself and finally become an Outlaw.