[THE HAVEN]

Just another dreary day outside the Haven. Or maybe it was night. It was impossible to tell.

Black dunes surrounded the Haven on all sides, closing in like an enemy army. Raindrops struck its dark exterior, splattering into the black sand below. Nothing could live out here. Not for long anyway.

RATTLE RATTLE

A black dune ascended. This one was different from the others. Three stories tall, the dune wiggled and shifted like a hockey puck through ashen sleet. It skirted the Haven’s perimeter for several hours before descending into the sandy sea.

A whale-like moan echoed across the Haven, past the black dunes, and towards whatever lay beyond.

***

Jay’s eyes were glued to his unit’s window, hypnotized by the black rain.

Haven glass was rain proof, bulletproof, and theoretically soundproof. But Jay definitely heard something - a loud, long wail. That wasn’t a windstorm, as official Haven responses suggested; Jay knew better. Something was out there, and it wanted in.

But Jay couldn’t do anything about it. Despite having friends in both high and low places, supernatural powers, and immortality, he felt helpless. Helpless against those black worm monsters. Helpless to find the remaining two Dragon items. And helpless against the Infinities. Bander’s rig wouldn't be back up and running for days. That meant days of torment for Anton.

Every step towards Anton brought the Infinities closer to Jay. Would his powers be enough? Without locating their computers, any victory was temporary. This was a battle of attrition, and he was outnumbered.

Jay squeezed his eyes shut, burrowing his face in his pillow. Sleep was the only way to get his severed arm back. Too bad his brain didn’t see it that way. It would rather keep him up with useless anxiety. Brains were assholes like that.

Esara lay in bed beside him, curled across his remaining arm. Being big spoon made Jay responsible for their combined comfort; that was more responsibility than he wanted right now. The nerves in his arm gave up, compressed into numb submission. If only he could amputate his other arm -- Jay would have smacked that thought from his head, but he had no free arms.

Intimacy was a foreign concept in Zero Space, or at least the parts that Jay frequented. It wasn’t even possible to remove a character’s undergarments. If Shae had anything down there, Jay wasn’t familiar with it. He couldn’t imagine someone on the art team animating those bits. That had to be the worst dev job in existence. Or perhaps for some people, the best dev job.

Sex-ed in the Haven only covered the end result, and not the journey. If Jay was catching “feelings” for Esara, he wasn’t sure how to identify them. Even hot avatars in Zero Space had no appeal. Or at least, sex appeal. Jay had his own metrics for evaluating appearances, and they had nothing to do with “feelings.”

Jay’s snuggling was purely platonic. Warm flesh. Low heartbeats. Soft breaths. They were small comforts, but they added up.

Insomnia plagued Bander as well. She sprawled across a sheet on Jay’s floor, staring at a whirling ceiling fan. It was the same ceiling fan as the one in her unit - the one that jostled the Healer Killer’s flesh. If black worms travelled in flesh, where else could they hide? Maybe in Jay’s blanket, dangling off the mattress. Or within that weird duffel bag beneath Jay’s bed. Worms might already be in the rug, slinking towards her from all sides --

Bander whimpered, twisting her long hair. She had to stay strong. Emotional wounds would heal over time, even if they left a scar.

Young Bander was no stranger to trauma. Her father’s abandonment left a mark. But that paled in comparison to her mother’s suicide. Eight days: that’s how long her mother played Zero Space without disconnecting. Starvation, dehydration, and sleep deprivation all did her in. It looked like Bander’s mother was just playing. Until one day, Bander figured it out -- no, Bander would take black worms over that again.

Everyone Bander ever liked and even kinda-liked was gone. Her friends and family pushed her away, and in return, she pushed back twice as hard. It was easier to keep people at a distance where they couldn’t hurt her there - where it hurt less when she lost them. But now Bander was in danger of losing herself. There were people that needed Bander, and she couldn’t deny she needed them too.

Bander crawled into the bed, wrapping around Jay from behind. It was a tight squeeze - this was a twin bed, not a triplet bed. But somehow Bander clawed her way in, whether Jay liked it or not.

As it turned out, Jay didn’t like it. But he could feel Bander quivering behind him, suffering from an emotional hypothermia that only warm bodies could relieve. Jay let her be; it’s not like he had an arm to remove her. And if she was like her magicoid, she’d probably bite him for trying.

Jay’s friends weren’t perfect, but they filled the void left by Anton’s absence - Jay didn’t know that void existed until it was empty. There were still people he cared about. People worth fighting for.

He honed in on those small comforts, letting them soothe his mind. Jay closed his eyes --

When his eyes opened, eight hours had passed. The arm under Esara was completely numb. And the arm over Esara had returned. However -- so had the scar.

Those glitched men did permanent damage, even to a premium account user. This was bad. What if they hit him in the head? This was too much for Jay. He needed a break from all this. Maybe it was time to use Zero Space for its intended purpose - a reprieve from reality.

Those Level 1 and Level 2 materials weren’t going to spend themselves. Next time Jay met the Infinities, he’d be ready for them!

[ZERO SPACE]

Chief’s royal guard Dalli twirled his spear, sitting in a chair in the Guild Hall lobby. Patience was one of his many hidden talents. That, and spear twirling.

The moment Shae arrived, Dalli was ready for him.

“Come with me,” said Dalli.

“Hold up,” said Shae. “Don’t tell me you’ve been waiting this whole time.”

“Only a few hours,” said Dalli.

“I forgot old people wake up early,” said Shae.

“You said you’d stop making fun of me,” Dalli growled.

“I said that about Chief,” said Shae. “You’re still fair game.”

Dalli gritted his teeth. He was already regretting this.

“Just come with me you idiot,” said Dalli.

Shae shrugged and followed. He couldn’t imagine what this was about. No one died recently and he hadn’t screwed anything up. Maybe Chief just wanted to shower him with praise. Any type of shower would benefit Shae.

The hall leading to Chief’s room was barren, but the walls were claimed by portraits of Chief’s birds. There was space for one or two more. After that, Chief would need to resort to ceiling murals.

Dalli took a sharp right at Chief’s throne room, leading Shae down a side passage.

“Hold up,” said Shae. “Where are we going?”

“Just follow me,” said Dalli.

“Is this a Chief-thing?” asked Shae.

“It is,” said Dalli. “Stop asking questions.”

Shae complied. Dalli was a secretive person, but rarely vague. Whatever this was about was important. Or at least important to Dalli.

“Here,” said Dalli.”

The two of them arrived on a balcony, overlooking Chief’s personal quarters.

“Is this where you spy on Chief?” asked Shae.

“Just shut up and watch,” said Dalli.

Chief pranced around her bedroom, oblivious to her observers. The talons of a colorful bird gripped her beetle arm, eating seed from her palm. The bird screeched at her, and she sang back with imperfect pitch. It was as painful to listen to as it was to watch.

“I hate this,” said Shae. “If she starts undressing, I’m out.”

Dalli smacked him with his spear.

“This is important,” said Dalli.

Five more excruciating minutes passed. Chief stroked the bird, spinning and leaping like a drunken ballerina. Each graceless step shook the entire guildhall. Shae choked on laughter - Dalli debated throwing him from the balcony.

“Okay, seriously,” said Shae. “This hella sucks. Why are we here?”

“Chief loves those birds,” said Dalli.

“Chief loves those birds a little too much,” said Shae.

“Those birds are everything to her,” Dalli snarled. “Just like all of you. The Feather Birds are her family.”

Dalli shed a tear. Shae almost did too, for different reasons.

“She’s been so stressed recently,” said Dalli. “I want to do something for her. Something to cheer her up.”

“You could start by not spying on her like a creeper,” said Shae.

“I want to get her a rare bird,” said Dalli. “One she doesn’t already have.”

“Good luck with that,” said Shae. “She’s got every bird on the server.”

“She does,” said Dalli. “On the server.”

Shae lowered his sunglasses.

“I’m not server-hopping for you,” said Shae. “I’m done with that shit.”

“Server -- what?” asked Dalli. “No you screwball, look out there:”

Dalli motioned towards a place far beyond the mountains, way past Trader Town, and deep in the foggy ocean.

“There’s nothing out there,” said Shae.

“Wrong,” said Dalli. “There’s an island past the fog. I’ve been there.”

Dalli projected a map from his palm interface. A small section of the ocean was highlighted.

“I know how to get there,” Dalli said.

Dalli extended his other palm, gripping a small cubic mirror. One side of the mirror caught a beam of sunlight. Another side reflected that beam into Shae’s eyes. Not even his sunglasses helped him here.

“There’s a world event there from the early days of Zero Space,” said Dalli. “The quest is still active. That means it still exists!”

Dalli displayed a menu:

Active World Events NAME LOCATION PARTICIPANTS Go Figure Bizarre Bazaar 538/3000

“I never finished this quest,” said Dalli. “I was watching an old replay from it, and look what I found:”

Dalli projected an image of a colorful red bird. It was the reddest bird Shae had ever seen. He didn’t even know red could get that red.

“The Ruby Rumpus!” said Dalli.

“The -- what?” asked Shae.

“It’s still there, on that mission,” said Dalli. “I know it is. Imagine Chief’s surprise when I bring her a bird she doesn’t have!”

“It’s suicide,” said Shae. “I’ve never seen that world event. It’s probably cut. You’ll just sail out there and disappear. That’s what happens to people.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I remember exactly where the bird is,” said Dalli. “I’ll be in and out.”

“I’m your Raid Captain,” said Shae. “And I say no.”

“I’m not asking for your blessing,” said Dalli. “I’m just asking for your help.”

Shae crossed his arms.

“I’m going either way,” said Dalli. “I just wanted some back-up.”

“You’d put someone else’s life in danger?” yelled Shae. “For some stupid bird?”

“It’s more than that!” growled Dalli. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Dalli stared towards the ground.

“I don’t need you to understand, Shae,” Dalli said. “I just need this. I’ll, I’ll owe you one.”

“No,” said Shae.

Dalli groaned. There was just no reasoning with Shae.

“You won’t owe me,” said Shae.

Dalli looked up.

“I’m going with you,” said Shae. “You’re part of my team and I can’t risk losing you. You’ve got a better chance with me.”

Dalli almost jumped for joy, but that would send him off the balcony.

“In and out,” said Shae. “We don’t linger there.”

“Fine,” said Dalli. “We should head out.”

“Not yet,” said Shae. “Be right back.”

***

Shae Abilities – Path of Xieter ABILITY NAME ABILITY DESCRIPTION CURRENT LEVEL Piercing Shot A shot that can penetrate surfaces and objects. 2 Ricochet Shot A shot that can bounce off surfaces and objects. 1 Poison Shot A shot that does damage over time. 1 Rapid Shot Shoot many bullets quickly. 0 Pause Shot Take your time and aim a powerful shot. 0

A Level Two and a Level One material at the same time? It was almost too good to be true. But what to spend them on?

Upgrading Ricochet Shot to Level Two was a no-brainer. Poison Shot was just too situational.

But what about those new powers? Rapid Shot seemed useless; Shae could already emulate that with swift trigger presses. And Pause Shot wasn’t much better - his guns were quantity over quality.

Precision was his weak point though; he’d be the first to admit that. And training seemed like a waste of time, especially when there was an SP shortcut right there. That logic led him to the answer:

* Level One Material: Pause Shot

* Level Two Material: Ricochet Shot

Two more SP acquired - one for each material spent. Sixteen SP in total.

“You’re becoming very strong,” said Smith the crafter, massaging Shae’s shoulders. “You may be ready for the Dragon soon. Maybe even the Wizard Twins!”

“And then the Tower!” said Shae.

“No, the Tower is very impossible,” said Smith. “You may never be ready for it.”

“We have more than enough people for it,” said Shae. “And I’m not worried about kicking some dragon and wizard ass.”

“There’s a third condition,” said Smith. “And it’s very hard.”

Smith stepped away into darkness.

“Anyway, I’m very afraid people or power won’t help you,” said Smith. “It’s easier to destroy someone’s mind than it is to change it.”

“What the hell does that mean?” asked Shae.

“Anyway, I can’t say anything else,” said Smith. “I wouldn’t be a very good NPC if I gave away all the answers!”

“Typical annoying NPC,” said Shae.

Smith gave Shae a wide devious grin.

“Being very annoying to players like you is what NPCs do best!”

***

Dalli purchased the cheapest boat in Trader Town. It seemed silly to invest in anything bigger for a one-way trip. Unfortunately, he got what he paid for: A tiny rowboat. There was plenty of legroom, but not for a leggoid like Dalli.

“Row,” said Shae. “Row.”

Thirty minutes in and they could still see the shore.

“This would go faster if you helped,” said Dalli.

“I am helping,” said Shae. “I’m supervising.”

Dalli kicked Shae. Shae kicked back. A violent game of footsie ensued.

“Get your long-ass legs off me,” said Shae.

“I’m trying to get comfortable,” said Dalli.

“You’re just trying to get close to me,” said Shae.

“That’s the last thing I want,” said Dalli.

“I bet you wish Chief was here,” said Shae. “You two could get real cosy.”

Dalli yelled, doubling his paddle-efforts. He regretted both his travel accommodations and companions.

“I don’t get what you see in Chief,” said Shae. “She doesn’t seem like your type. Or species.”

“It’s not about physical attraction!” snarled Dalli.

“So it’s like a personality thing?” asked Shae. “She does have a big personality. That’s a fat joke. She’d sink the boat --”

“Enough!” yelled Dalli. “You promised you wouldn’t make fun of Chief!”

Shae did promise that. He shut his mouth.

“I’ve known Chief since the beginning,” said Dalli. “Way back in the day.”

“Old man story-time,” said Shae. “Us kids have it easy these days, right?”

“No, you screwball,” said Dalli. “Kids today have it rough! We had everything back then. Back before the Static.”

Shae gave him an odd look.

“We used to have blue skies and green trees,” said Dalli. “ People didn’t hate each other as much. It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than this.”

Dalli’s stare grew distant.

“Then that damn rain started,” said Dalli. “Enforcers showed up and shoved us into Havens. They knew this was coming.”

Dalli gazed into the atmosphere.

“Those blue skies never came back,” said Dalli. “Everybody lost something. I --”

Dalli bit his lip.

“I lost everything.”

Dalli hid his face.

“I wanted reality, not this, virtual reality,” said Dalli. “I couldn’t stand it. I, I was going to end it all.”

Dalli stopped paddling.

“But then Chief saved me,” said Dalli. “She gave me purpose again.”

Dalli’s reflection stared back at him.

“I know this is a silly game,” said Dalli. “And I know we’re after a silly bird. But it’s a reason to keep going.”

Dalli picked up his paddles.

“Chief wants to make you all happy,” said Dalli. “But no one ever thinks about Chief’s happiness. So that’s my purpose now.”

Dalli snapped back to reality.

“Uh, I went on a tangent there,” said Dalli. “Maybe I am getting old.”

Shae grabbed the paddles from Dalli.

“You’re good,” said Shae.

Shae took a turn paddling, giving Dalli’s arms a much needed break.

Two hours passed in silence. The fog wall grew close.

“I’ve never been out this far,” said Shae.

“Most people haven’t,” said Dalli.

A loud alarm penetrated the misty sky.

“You are going out of bounds,” said a mechanized voice. “Please turn around now.”

“There goes my immersion,” said Shae.

“Maybe we should turn back,” said Dalli.

“Hold up,” said Shae. “After all this?”

“I’ve got a bad feeling,” said Dalli. “You’re right. People sail off the edge all the time. And they don’t always return.”

The alarm escalated. A blue energy barricade rose before them.

“Turn back,” said the mechanized voice. “This is your last warning.”

“Screw it,” said Shae. “We’re already here.”

“Wait,” said Dalli. “Shae --”

“For Chief!” said Shae.

“Shae?”

The energy barricade grew near.

“Shaeeeeeeee --”

Their rowboat cleaved through the buzzing barricade, scattering neon particles like disturbed fireflies. Electric energy fizzled out, fading into the fog.

“I guess that wasn’t so bad,” said Dalli.

On cue, the foggy curtain withdrew, revealing a massive wall of water that extended as far as the eye could see. It plummeted from the heavens with enough explosive force to scuttle even the mightiest rowboat.

“Yeah, screw that,” said Shae. “We’re turning back.”

“Stop paddling,” yelled Dalli. “Shae, stop paddling!”

“I’m not paddling,” said Shae.

The boat was moving on its own, snagged by a sadistic current. This water wall wasn’t a stationary trap - it actively wanted them dead.

“We’re going to die!” yelled Dalli.

Shae studied the waterfall - it was thick, but not endless. There was light on the other side; they just had to break through.

“We have Level Twos,” said Shae. “We can do this.”

“That water’s not natural,” snarled Dalli.

“Neither are our Level Twos,” said Shae.

The falling water was nearly upon them.

“Block the water,” said Shae. “However you can!”

Dalli braced himself.

“PIERCING SHOT!!”

Shae’s Level Two bullet drilled a tunnel of air up through the waterfall’s opposing current.

It worked better than expected, carving out a boat-sized gap. The water returned fire, volleying down an endless stream of liquid death.

“SHADOW STAB!!”

Dalli jabbed his spear through the rowboat’s bench. Thousands of Level Two spears rose around them, bending into a barrier of blades.

The barrier creaked and croaked, holding the falls at bay. Dalli’s makeshift dam threatened to burst beneath the water’s weight, but it held just long enough for the boat to pass below --

CRASH

Spears collapsed under thunderous water. A rushing wave hurled the tiny rowboat like a dart, skipping it across the sea. Dalli gripped the ship's railing, screaming with psychotic laughter. Shae screamed for saner reasons.

The wave finally settled, releasing them in one miraculous piece. The water remained temperamental, but calmed considerably.

“Shae, your stupid plan worked!” said Dalli. “We did it! Chief was right to make you Raid Cap --”

No response. Shae was gone.

Dalli scrambled to the boat’s edge, scanning the ocean for any sign of life. Deep below, he found some jellyfish, some normal fish, but no fish that looked like Shae.

“Dalli --” a voice gurgled from behind.

There was Shae - just out of reach. The water threw him back and forth like playground bullies.

Drowning in Zero Space was one of the worst ways to go. Breathing was still possible, which made it worse. Salty ocean fizz tickled Shae’s throat with each inhalation. Moist throaty mucus sloshed in his lungs, accented by sharp stabbing pain.

“Shae!” yelled Dalli. “Hold on!”

Shae had nothing to hold on to. Dalli’s spear wasn’t long enough. And his ability wasn’t stable enough. His legs however --

That’s right --

Dalli was a leggoid.

Dalli wedged his spear into the boat, extending his long legs out like an unwound accordion. His two flopping feet fished for Shae.

But Shae had gone completely under. Dalli was too late.

Wait --

Dalli got a bite!

An actual bite. Dalli howled in pain.

Two hands wrapped around Dalli’s ankles. This was probably Shae and not some horrible sea monster. Either way, Dalli was going to smack it. He reeled in his shins, dragging Shae sputtering and coughing back onto the boat.

“You bit my foot!” yelled Dalli.

“Your foot went in my mouth!” yelled Shae.

“I couldn’t see!” yelled Dalli.

“I couldn’t either!” yelled Shae.

Shae kicked Dalli. Dalli kicked him back - straight in the gut. The impact emptied Shae’s lungs, spraying salty water across Dalli’s face.

Shae braced himself for Dalli’s retaliation. But instead, Dalli let out a hoarse laugh. It was such a silly and uncharacteristic laugh that Shae couldn’t help but join in. Maybe it was just the adrenaline. Or cabin fever setting in. But now he was in one of his rare goofball moods. It felt good to express it, even in front of Dalli.

The two of them eventually collapsed across the boat, drained of breath and energy. They took a moment to study their surroundings - nothing but fog.

“Are we there yet?” asked Shae.

“We should be,” said Dalli. “I don’t see the island.”

“So we’re screwed then,” said Shae.

“Maybe,” said Dalli. “I don’t know.”

Dalli retrieved his cubic mirror, aiming it towards the sky. He tilted it at every possible angle, sweeping across the fog with his speckled spotlight.

“Does it usually take this long?” asked Shae.

“I don’t remember,” said Dalli. “It’s been almost thirty years.”

Light flickered from Dalli’s mirror, smearing soft sunlight against smothering fog.

Shae leaned against his palms. Today was a wash, but maybe that was okay. This was like a mini-vacation, sans the whole almost-drowning thing. It was a break from the usual chaos, which was exactly what he needed.

The cool ocean air felt nice against Shae’s skin, juxtaposed by a warm curtain of misty sunlight. He was tempted to strip to his skivvies, but it would be tricky explaining that to Dalli.

Shae’s bare fingers wiggled in the cold water. Sweet seabreeze rolled across his tongue. Gentle waves tapped against their boat, massaging his back with soft vibrations. A bright beacon of light swiveling in the foggy sky --

Wait --

That beacon --

Dalli had done it!

Shae sat up, smacking his face against Dalli’s dancing knee.

“They see us!” Dalli said, hopping from leg to leg. “We did it! I knew it was still there!”

A foghorn blared and the fog responded, reeling away as if inhaled by a titan’s maw.

Shae lowered his sunglasses - he couldn’t interpret what he was seeing. The island ahead wasn’t glitched, but it was damn close. Buildings and plants curved at paradoxical angles. Pieces of giant beasts twitched in the sky. And a massive lighthouse stood above it all, casting a spinning spotlight on floating translucent debris.

The key difference between this place and a glitch was consistency. Everything here was reliably weird. Nothing changed shape, color, or warped in and out of existence. This was a man-made anomaly. Or at least man-maintained.

Dalli’s excitement was naive. Whatever Shae was looking at terrified him. It would have been preferable to find nothing at all.

Shae’s vacation was over.