Over the next few days, I waited for a miracle. But none came, except for the one we were already given.
The miracle of the pacifist matches.
A way out of these endless death games.
I thought maybe Mr. Atlas or Jack would beam down from the sky. If they did, we could perhaps brute-force our way through the upcoming challenge. Or maybe Tanin's leg would begin to heal. But nothing of the sort happened. The date of the next challenge drew closer. I knew, and Saber knew, and Tanin knew, that the three of us had slim chances of surviving a 3v3 match versus the robots here in Gold, given that Tanin was in no shape to fight.
"We'd love to partner with you," Sylvia told Saber and me one day after lunch, "for a pacifist match. But we'll need to decide soon. If you aren't up for it, I'll understand, but we'll need to move on. Me and my friends will need to find another team of three that wants to pacifist-match, before the challenge starts."
We sat in the driveway of my house. I still felt hungry, despite having eaten. Food was running scarce inside my pantry, and we had to ration sparingly.
"I understand," I admitted. "At this point, I'm honestly not opposed to your plan."
I looked towards Saber. She gave a weighty nod.
"Then let's move forward," she said.
"You need to be fully sure," Sylvia told me. "Once you're in the arena, there's no turning back. Can you promise me you won't regret anything?"
"I…I don't know," I admitted. "It's a bit scary. I've barely met you and your friends. Now you're saying we're gonna live together forever."
Sylvia chuckled. "It's not any easier on our side. You think we should all get together, get to know each other a bit more?"
That would make sense to do.
The next day, with what rations we had left, the six of us – Sylvia, Brandon, Reina, Saber, Tanin, and myself – prepared a meager potluck for dinner. Well, I'd call it dinner, but since no day-night cycle existed here, it was mostly just my designated meal before I'd go to sleep. Tanin had a different sleep schedule, so for him it'd be lunch.
I hosted the meal at my place, since my house was the largest one around here.
I made and brought instant ramen, and Saber helped make grilled cheese sandwiches. Tanin delighted us with hot spaghetti and meatballs. He lived downstairs nowadays for the most part, and he'd move around by sliding on an office chair with wheels. He also had a mop he used as a makeshift crutch. Though he did have to get help from Reina in the kitchen.
As we ate, I talked about my life back home, about my like for video games and cheeseburgers, and about the life I led in Silvercreek.
"Saber and I are pretty nice people," I said as I helped myself to precious morsels of meatballs. "I can clean things really well, with my Ring of Water Purification. I used to be a professional janitor in the Combat Institute. So you can count on me to keep our places clean."
"I can help with construction," Saber said. "I'm pretty strong physically, I think."
Neither she nor Tanin brought up the fact that the Combat Institute was gone now.
Sylvia used to be an elementary school teacher back in our world. She grew up in a rural town, and had experience with farming. Brandon was a third-year college student studying Business. He liked "non-American football" a lot and also liked board games.
"I, uh, I can also help with construction," he said, sneaking a glance at Saber, before looking around the group and giving a smile.
Huh.
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And Reina was still in high school. She didn't talk much, Sylvia explained, since English wasn't her first language.
"Reina can speak English," Sylvia said. "She's just a bit shy about it though, but don't worry, she definitely understands you."
At the end of dinner, all of us confirmed our intent to enter a pacifist match together.
Sylvia gave me a wink. "No regrets?"
"No regrets," I said. "Thank you for…partnering with us, I suppose."
"I know it's not an easy decision. For anyone. And things won't always go smoothly in the days ahead. Your trust in us – our trust in each other – means a lot. It's what will see us through."
With our plans to start a pacifist match confirmed, we began to plan out the logistical aspects.
Unsurprisingly, Sylvia's team had spent much longer thinking through the details.
"You should bring tents and sleeping bags if you have them," Brandon explained to Saber as they sat together on the couch. "Really, anything you can carry, since the things you carry, like, on your person, is what you get to bring into the arena. You want somewhere nice to stay the first few nights, while we're still building up proper shelters."
Saber stroked her chin in thought. "Maybe we could set up a tent in the corner of our base?"
"That's exactly my plan!" Brandon said with a grin.
I think I had a tent and sleeping bags in the garage. Saber didn't have any, but my tent had been large enough for my whole family, so she could camp in with me for a while.
Before we parted ways, Sylvia instructed us to gather any seeds we could find. Her team had been collecting seeds for crops. Brandon saved rice, appleseeds, and oats from his food supplies. Reina had seeds from an orange, plus two potatoes. Even though we'd have pine-melons and fishes inside the arena, it'd always be great to have more variety, especially if we were going to spend the rest of our days there. Tanin managed to harvest seeds from a sickly tomato plant he had. As for me, I had oatmeal, but Brandon already had that covered. So there wasn't much for me to contribute.
We scheduled to begin our pacifist match in three days.
That gave me a bit more time to poke around on my computer. I wanted to bring it, even though there'd be no internet or electricity inside the arena. Who knew, maybe someday we'd build a primitive generator or something.
The computer still couldn't connect to the internet. But I did manage to find a bunch of software disks on my dad's bookshelves, and installed practically anything I found onto the computer. Microsoft Office, some tax-reporting software, some physics simulator my dad used for his engineering job. There was also a backup disk with a bunch of his work files, old bank statements, and an installation of the Python programming language.
Surprisingly, all the installations worked. I wondered how Alice, the game-master, managed to replicate even the disks inside my house, down to the level of precision needed to install softwares from them.
Soon came the day of our departure into the arena. Before I left, I penned a note and taped it to the inside of my window, so anyone walking by could see:
> To whomever may find this message,
>
>
>
> I am Sophia the ice mage. Saber is with me, and so is Tanin. If you find this message, it means that I have left for a pacifist match with Sylvia, Brandon, and Reina. We'll be inside an arena for 3v3, but we won't be fighting. Instead, we'll spend the rest of our days there in safety. Tanin is injured, and we could not find another teammate. We didn't have many other options available to us.
>
> To all my friends, I am thankful for how far we've come together, up until now. Thank you, Jack and Mr. Atlas. Thank you, Hei, if you are still out there. I love you. Do your best!
>
> Nothing could make me happier than knowing you're still carrying on. Know that I am carrying on, too. Inside our arena, I'll be with our friends, and we'll work to find our own happiness. In a way, getting to this point is our own small victory.
>
> It's been a good run. We've made it. We've survived.
>
> I'll miss you. If anyone makes it back, please let my parents and friends know I won't be returning, but I'm doing well. You can reach them at 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX.
>
>
>
> My dearest regards,
>
> Sophia
As I stood outside my house, checking how my note looked to passers-by, the rest of our group walked up to me. All our supplies had been gathered. The last to arrive was Tanin, hobbling along on one leg. He looked weary but he smiled at us.
"Are you folks ready?" Sylvia asked everyone. We were.
And with that, she cleared her throat.
"Sophia, Saber, Tanin," she announced. "I, Sylvia, and my teammates, Reina and Brandon, challenge you to a three-versus-three match!"
A flash of light consumed us. When the light faded, the perpetual mist that engulfed everything disappeared, and with it the infinite suburb was gone as well. Once again I saw the sky, the clouds, the bright and beaming sun.
The soft, grassy field under my feet waved in the gentle breeze.
I looked to my left and right. Saber and Tanin were there.
Around us were the tall stone walls of our base.
We had returned to the arena once more.