[Good morning, players] boomed the ‘polite’, slightly more human voice of the Neutral Zone system. [You are all cordially invited to enjoy a complimentary breakfast in the player promenade. Directional arrows will guide you in your personalized user displays. Some tournament rules will be explained, and a few tournament rewards will be demonstrated. See you soon! We hope you're enjoying your stay in the Neutral Zone.]

"But it makes no difference if you aren't," Mason mumbled, throwing his legs off the bed. Becky stretched like a cat beside him with a wink, cuddling into a groaning Haley.

"Mornin'. That bed is somethin'. But I wish you two'd woken me up last night. I know what ya'll were up to."

Mason grinned and tickled her foot, then lifted her up for a hug when she pulled away.

"You'll get your chance. Now throw some clothes on. And I want to hear all about your first fight at breakfast."

Becky sighed and ran her hands down Mason's arms.

"I don't suppose breakfast is a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ kind of thing."

Mason snorted and didn't bother responding. When the hell had anything roboGod wanted ever been voluntary? He suspected if he stayed in bed, it would teleport him down in his underwear. Speaking of which...he glanced at Haley, who was watching Becky rub him with a hungry look.

"I assume you have thoughts on what I should wear."

"I do." She snapped back into assistant mode, throwing off the covers as she stood with glazed, profile/power searching eyes. Mason wasn't exactly focused, though, since she was still wearing nothing but a pair of panties, her hair in the pigtails she'd readied just for a late night blowjob. She noticed his eyes, made a tsking sound, and started pulling on clothes.

"I bet this 'emperor' goes full on post-apocalypse drama,” she said. “Robes. Jewels. Who knows. After your first meeting, I expect he'll try and outshine you with pomp and toadies everywhere. So I think we go nice and casual, like you've got nothing to prove."

Mason sighed as both girls covered up. But he liked what he was hearing.

"Casual. Approved. But we might define that word slightly differently."

Haley materialized a nice dress shirt and dark pants from her hidden storage.

"Business casual," she clarified. "I have shoes, too. I think. Though I can buy whatever I want. I've been saving up a huge amount of points. Do you prefer black or brown? We could add some color but it's hard to match it with your glowing lighthouse eyes. So maybe..."

Mason just stared until Haley rolled her eyes, handing him the outfit. Her beautiful face crinkled with a wince.

"When the system, eh, how do you say, 'presented' you to everyone after the Nexus, you looked kind of…terrifying. So try and be a bit more…approachable, today? Everyone's going to see the murderer in the ring. OK? So when you're outside of it, try to show your nice, loyal, protective side. We need more recruits."

Mason still wasn't sure he'd get the chance to 'recruit' as Haley said. But he supposed even if it didn't happen now, a day would come when he could win players from the east, and certainly anyone he hadn't met in the west. So he supposed she made sense.

His primary goal, after terrifying everyone individually, was to unite the rest of the western settlements. They needed as much strength as possible if it became some kind of continental rivalry, because they were vastly outnumbered. He didn't need them to 'swear fealty', because you didn't beat a tyrant by becoming one. He just needed to get an understanding that they were all on the same side if it came to a fight.

By the time he'd buttoned up his shirt and pants and wrapped around a belt, Haley was basically ready. He stared with incomprehension as she adjusted her blouse and hair, which looked more complicated than anything he'd ever done to his appearance.

"Can you zip me up, please?"

She turned around, and even Becky was staring with disbelief.

"How did you..." Mason just shook his head and put it from his mind. He kissed Haley's neck and zipped her up, then winked at Becky in her t-shirt and jeans.

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"You look good, country girl. And who gives a shit, you're a soldier."

"Yes I am," she agreed, taking his hand with a smile. Haley took the other, and they walked out together to the 'elevator'.

"I see Rosa and Lexi are still unconscious," Haley said, a little teasing pride in her voice. Mason grinned.

"I should think so."

"Shit I miss everything," Becky complained. "Do we need a bigger bed already?"

"Bed's fine," Mason said, but actually he took a second to picture it in his new Nexus mansion. It was definitely huge, but at this point it was entirely possible to have Rosa, Haley, Becky, Lexi, and Naya in it together...not to mention Calypsa the nymph, who was living in his great tree...

"Hell, he's not even sure," Becky said. She took a step forward so she could see him. "I'm Becky, by the way. Or just girl number two, if that's easier."

"Be careful, girl number two, or I'll demote you."

"Oh really." Becky tried to keep up the bravado, but she was practically grinding into him. He kissed her until she opened her mouth and moaned, then pushed her back like nothing happened with a grin.

He looked at the lobby button, and the 'elevator' instantly dinged.

"Kinda wish it took a minute," Becky mumbled, and Mason guided her out by the ass, exchanging a lusty look with Haley.

The lobby was absolutely full of people.

Voices and laughter sounded from every direction, people talking excitedly from every corner of the big, mostly empty space. Mason saw a couple of his players and gave them a nod. But nearly everyone else was a stranger.

Having spent the last two months in near isolation, or at best in the company of the same groups of known people, it was extremely bizarre. And disconcerting.

Between the hotel-like structure, and the sudden cluster of humanity, for a moment it felt like he was back in the pre-apocalypse world. It reminded him that he didn't much like the pre-apocalypse world, even if it was probably best for almost everyone else.

People started noticing him instantly. So that was different. Mostly they looked at his eyes and went silent, or stepped away, or whispered to the people next to them, until every group he walked by was staring like he was some kind of damn celebrity. Which he supposed he was.

How the actual fuck had that happened?

Turned out Haley was dead on about the 'emperor'. Mason spotted his people from across the room, dressed up in red robes like ancient priests, or some sci-fi new religion. They dangled with jewelry, their hair groomed and plucked, their soft hands manicured. He had the urge to punch them and take their lunch money just because they were idiots.

But he tried to ignore them as he gathered more and more of his players en route to the promenade doors, which apparently hadn't opened. Maybe a quarter of his people wore something according to their style and personality, but their clothes were pretty much all basic crafter made, with jeans being about the most elaborate. Most just wore their system uniforms.

Mason noticed they were literally the only ones. People were staring at them like they were some kind of ignorant vagrants. The way normal people stared at someone homeless who walked into a restaurant. He practically felt himself growl.

"System outfit. Now."

Haley frowned but nodded and appeared one. Mason stripped off his shirt and pants right there, ignoring the few whispers and gasps as he put on the uniform and kicked off his shoes, more comfortable these days bare foot anyway.

Maybe it was his people getting mocked. Maybe it was just the ridiculousness of it all. Playing dress up and social posturing in a world where billions were dead, and some alien overlord worked on killing the rest in a series of 'games'.

Have you people learned fucking nothing? he wanted to scream. Do you think it matters who looks the prettiest when the wolves come howling?

The chances of being Haley's 'Mr. Nice Mason' were dwindling fast. It seemed likely the eastern types hadn't had the same shit fest as Mason's players. They looked too civilized, too soft, too comfortable.

Maybe what they all needed was to feel a little less comfortable.

"All good, gentlemen?" he said once his players were gathered around, the ones in the uniforms especially standing close, like he was their shield. He supposed in a way he was. They all nodded, Carl and Phuong, his 'officers', giving him reassuring smiles that always helped more than he'd ever expected.

"Shit. Well now I want a system uniform," Seamus said, pulling miserably at his plaid shirt.

"Look at these people." Garet stared at the emperor's players in particular and shook his head. "They playing the same game we are?"

It was a damn fine question, actually, and kind of pissed Mason off. Who the hell decided one side of humanity should get a city, and the other should get the Wild fucking West? How many people had died on Mason's side? Were the numbers equal to start?

It was probably good he didn't have more time to think about it.

“Thank you, players, for your prompt attendance,” called a system servant near the doors, its voice naturally like a loudspeaker. “The promenade is now open. Some seating has been reserved. But please feel free to choose any other available areas. All tastes have been accounted for. All nutrition and entertainment is complementary. Please, enjoy your time in the Neutral Zone.”

Two of the androgenous system servants opened the doors, and Mason saw the emperor step in first. He was a short, unassuming Korean man, wearing gaudy clothes similar to his 'priests'. Nothing about him was extraordinary or intimidating, until he turned and looked back.

Mason almost shivered as their eyes met. He had recognized it, of course, when they'd met through the communication beacon—the spark in the other man's eyes that Mason somehow immediately understood.

But as he saw it now in person, he finally realized why his own appearance struck people. He realized then his eyes didn't glow green because he was a druid, as he'd thought, though obviously his affinity mattered.

It was his Blessing of Gaia. His immortality. This ‘emperor' had obviously received the same gift from some other system god, and it made his eyes glow with golden light. As he smiled like a man who rarely bothered, they also burned with the intensity of a fanatic. Or a madman.