[CHAPTER 3]

Waking up from the mesh, Leo thought he heard screaming. That was normal, there was something like 500,000 people in the stands around the stage. As he recovered more from the disorientation the screams took on a more sinister note. Instead of screams of cheering fans, they sounded like screams of pain and fear. Suddenly a scream of pain came from right next to him, finally breaking Leo out of his funk.

Ripping his borrowed helmet off and pushing himself out of his chair, Leo finally saw the cause of the screams. In the midst of the stampeding crowd prowled something Leo had only ever seen on videos and in his Samurai Rush games. Antithesis were tearing their way through a crowd packed in so tight they could hardly move to get away. As he watched, two Model Threes tackled the tournament official who had double checked his work on Luke's helmet and tore out his throat. Leo watched as he fell and gasped his last while reaching toward Leo for help.

‘Luke! His chair was to the right of mine , or was my chair to the right of Luke’s since we switched?’ Leo shook the intrusive thought out of his mind as he turned toward where he last saw his best friend, only to see Luke throw an Antithesis off of him, showing that his gym time wasn’t for nothing. As Leo watched, another Three snuck up behind Luke and pounced on his back, bringing the large man down. “Luke!” Leo screamed as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Without much thought, Leo swung the helmet in his hand at the Model Three with a scream of rage.

Though the Three tumbled off of Luke’s back, it was only a couple feet. Leo’s adrenaline running high and still in the mindset of his game Leo tried to queue up a ball of acid in his hand. Realizing too late that he no longer had any abilities, Leo watched as the Three got up and tore a chunk out of Luke's shoulder. The sound that came out of Luke would haunt Leo’s nightmares for a long time, a sound so full of pain and fear, it shut off the part of Leo's brain that let him realize how stupid his plan was as he tackled the Three to the ground.

Staring into the face of an Antithesis from point blank range is normally something that would incite fear into the most battle-hardened of mercs, but for Leo it only served to fuel his rage as the green and black of the things three-hinged jaw was currently stained red. Leo took the helmet and bashed the head of the Antithesis below him. As thuds turned to squelches and squelches turned into the thud of helmet on stage, a brief sharp pain spiked through his head, almost like a brain freeze turned to 11.

System Initialized.

The voice Leo heard was smooth and deep with a country accent that sounded like it came from his hometown up in Montana. Leo sat in shock for a second. ‘I have to be hallucinating. People like him didn’t become Samurai, not when he had pretended to be one for the last 6 years. But situations like this are exactly how samurai are born isn’t it? Just in case it was real, it would be a waste to ignore this gift.’

Before Leo could think to speak his ideas out loud a voice spoke in his head again.

Leo glanced over at his friend who was still not moving. "Do it. Connect it to my augs"

Class I Kinetic Firearms unlocked!

Points reduced to - 60

New Purchase: Hummingbird Mark I

Points reduced to - 50

In front of Leo appears a small box with a stylized Phoenix on the lid. It looked just like the sticker his dad gave him for his mesh helmet. Ripping the lid off Leo saw a familiar handgun. A large square barrel with three dozen needles visible in the muzzle, a barely curved handle with a square button instead of a trigger. Picking it up, Leo idly noted that it was slightly heavier than the one he usually used in the Mesh.

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A familiar visual glitch happened as Leo’s augs refreshed, now showing a targeting circle wherever he pointed the pistol. Aiming it at a nearby Model Three trying to get at Luke, Leo squeezed the trigger. Four of the needles raced out of the barrel and impacted it in the head and the Three simply slumped over, sliding a couple feet closer to its goal.

Target Eliminated!

Reward - 10 Points

“Glad to see it still works the same.” Leo said as he slid towards Luke’s prone form. “Aegys, is Luke still…..” Leo couldn’t finish his sentence. Looking at his friend, the one he had grown up with and started their dream Esports team with, Leo saw the ragged wound where his neck met his shoulder.

Before Aegys finished their sentence, Leo had sighted onto a nearby model three and pulled the trigger, dropping it immediately.

Target Eliminated!

Reward - 10 Points

“Buy it.” Leo said, his voice strained as he tried not to break down.

Class I Medical Utilities unlocked!

Points reduced to - 20

New Purchase: Class I Nano-Regenerative Suite

Points reduced to - 0

A box appeared on the floor next to Leo, much the same as before. Opening it, Leo saw a syringe with a black liquid inside.

Lei did as he was told and watched as the liquid was injected into his friend before shifting to hold his friend's head in his lap. He watched as the wound on Luke’s shoulder began closing, but before it could finish, the movement stopped.

“Aegys, what happened? Why isn’t it fixing him?”

“Well then give me something for them to use. I can’t let him die like this!” Leo cried, frantically trying to come up with plans on how to heal Luke.

Leo’s world lost all color at that. How could he survive when he let down his best friend? Samurai were known for performing miracles, if he was one of them now why couldn’t he do the same? Why was it fair that he be held back from saving his friend by some made up number decided on by some alien —

Leo felt a touch on his arm. Luke stared up at him, his face deathly pale, his smile shaky. “Hey man, looks like your dream came true.” He winced as blood spurted out of his neck.

“What are you talking about?” Leo asked

"Saw... boxes. Samurai."

Leo wiped a tear from his eye. Of course Luke would focus on someone else's fortune rather than his misfortune. “Doesn’t do me much good. I tried saving you and fell short. Some Samurai I am.”

Luke tried to sit up before slumping back to the floor. "Too... late. Not... enough." Luke was visibly losing strength as his voice got weaker the longer he talked.

“You should rest. I can go kill some of those plants and get the points I need to save you properly.” Leo begged his friend as he tried to make him more comfortable in his sitting position.

"Too long... Help people..." Luke gestured to the surrounding stands where the screaming still hadn’t stopped.

“I’m sure the security teams will step in soon enough. I need to go get some points so I can buy some—”

Leo was interrupted by a strong grip on the back of his neck. Luke pulled him closer until their foreheads were touching. Blood flooded out of the wound on his neck but Luke ignored it, "Go! Save them! Phoenix..."

Luke held Leo’s head there for another second before a spurt of blood caused him to wince in pain before he lost all strength in his body, falling over onto the floor with a final exhalation.

“Luke!” Leo exclaimed, rushing to check on his friend.

Leo stared at his best friend’s body for a second. “Aegys. No one else dies if I can help it. Do you have a record of my build in the game?”

“Yes. First thing should be either the cloak, or the wrist launcher. No need for the heatsink upgrade just yet. What are my points?”

“Well then,” Leo said, tucking the helmet with the Phoenix sticker into his friend's arms before standing and turning towards the stands. “Lets get some points.”