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A Piece in the Game of Gods By Morpheus Part 1 I was dead, and because of that, everyone else was probably going to die too. I'd been around the block enough times to know that this was nearly inevitable. "Come on!" I exclaimed, jumping to my feet and yelling at my computer screen. "Where was the damn healer?" "A goblin got him," a voice answered from my headset. My friend Matt was playing the same online RPG that I was, and I could see his character on my monitor. He was playing a rogue, a class that specialized in sneaking around, stealing things, and stabbing enemies in the back. As I watched, his character went invisible and escaped while a massive horde of goblins rushed through the room and killed off the rest of our group. "Apparently, the tank missed one," Matt teased me. Of course, I was the tank in question, so I scowled at the suggestion that this team wipe was my fault. I was an experienced tank. In fact, that was my preferred role, and the one I usually played in these games. But that being said, even an awesome tank like myself, can't always contain all the agro. I grimaced and watched the monitor as my entire group was wiped out, except for Matt, who'd run away. I couldn't blame him for that, because that was the kind of thing that class did. In fact, being able to sneak away from dangerous situations, or avoid them entirely, was the whole point of playing that class. A minute later, my own character respawned at the save point, halfway through the dungeon. If I hadn't known better, I never would have been able to tell that Karock the Invincible had been dead just a few seconds before. But that was the advantage of video games to real life. In video games, death was only temporary. "Okay people," I said into my microphone, getting into character. "I've sharpened my axe and knocked the dents out of my armor. Now it's time to go kick some goblin ass..." There were a few brief comments from my headset, mostly from members of the team talking trash, though I didn't pay much attention. Instead, I lead the group into the next room, which was still clear of monsters from the first time we'd gone through. It didn't take long to get back to where we died, and to meet up with Matt, who'd been waiting on us. Then, we made another attempt on the boss. A horde of goblins came pouring out of the side doors, trying to overwhelm us again with sheer numbers. This time, we were ready for them. I charged in with shield raised and axe swinging, keeping their attention while the damage dealers on our team focused destroying them. We'd done this the last time too, however, the main difference was that several people watched the healer's back, so he didn't die, and as a result, he was able to keep me from dying. After a ten minute fight, we cleared out the goblins, killed the boss monster, and then looted everything we could find. "Nice run," I said once we were done. I was feeling pretty pleased by a new shield that had dropped. The stats weren't much of an improvement over my old one, but any improvement was a good thing. After this, everyone else dropped off the channel, leaving only Matt and I behind. "So," Matt asked me. "You up for another run, Jerry?" I hesitated for a moment, tempted to go ahead. "Sorry," I said with a reluctant sigh. "I can't. I've got to get up early for work." Even though I couldn't see Matt through the headset, I could clearly picture him nodding his head absently. "Well, I guess your tuition isn't going to pay for itself." With a chuckle, I responded, "Not all of us are nerds with scholarships." "Yeah," Matt said with a chuckle. "Man I'm glad I'm not a dumb jock." "Bite me," I told him with a chuckle of my own. I spent the next minute chatting with Matt before I logged off. Then, with a grunt, I stood up and stretched. Long gaming sessions always left me feeling a little stiff and sore, even if some of that was all in my own mind. In spite of the fact that I was an avid gamer, I didn't fit the usual 'gamer' stereotype. I wasn't some pasty fat guy with no social skills, who hid away in his mom's basement. Like Matt said, I was a jock. I was six foot three, with the kind of solid build that came from years of athletics, and a lot of time in the gym. Back in high school, I'd been something of a typical jock, competing in almost every sport that the school offered. Football, wrestling, basketball, and I'd even spent one year swimming, though my build was a little too bulky to be good at that. Unfortunately, in spite of my athletic enthusiasm, and the fact that I had a bunch of trophies with the name Jerry Tanner etched on them, I hadn't been good enough in any single sport to earn a scholarship. My lack of a scholarship had been a disappointment, but not a surprise. Fortunately, there were other ways to pay for college, such as student loans, and the fact that I'd been working like crazy to earn money for my tuition. In fact, now that summer vacation was here, I'd been working a full time job so I could pay for my next semester. Since I was no longer competing in any actual sports, I'd been making up for that by spending a little more time in the gym, and hitting the weights six days a week. I've even been playing around with the idea of trying out for an amateur bodybuilding competition. Once I'd finished shutting down my computer and had stretched enough to get the gamer kinks out of my back, I began to get ready for bed. Like I'd told Matt, I had to work tomorrow, which meant that I had to get up even earlier, just so I had time to hit the gym first. -------------------- I was leaning back in my chair while keeping my eyes on the TV. Technically, it was Matt's chair since he owned it, but this was the one I always sat in whenever I came over to visit, so tended to think of it as 'mine.' "Good shot," I said, nodding in approval. Matt was playing a console game, a first person shooter called Target of Opportunity, where he was playing a soldier and had to run around shooting people with a variety of different firearms. First person shooters weren't really my thing, so I just sat back and watched him play. "Thanks," Matt responded, not taking his eyes from the TV. "I just need to find my target." Then his character took a sudden hit to his life points, and he scowled, adding, "And that sniper..." I continued watching the screen for a couple more minutes before turning my attention to Matt. He was short and wiry, with curly dark hair and a somewhat nerdy look. In fact, he was almost the exact opposite of me. Back in high school, whenever anyone saw us together, they probably assumed that I was taking his lunch money, but the truth was, we'd been best friends since middle-school. The way I figured it, Matt and I balanced each other out pretty well. I kept him from getting too sedentary and out of shape, while he motivated me to study and get decent grades. I'd introduced him to paintball, and he was the one who got me hooked on gaming. He'd warned me about my psycho ex-girlfriend before it was too late, and I'd hooked him up with a hot cheerleader girlfriend. "So," I said, picking up Matt's paintball gun. The air cartridge wasn't installed, so there was no chance of an accident. "You still up for Saturday?" "Of course," Matt responded with a grin. "You know I'm not gonna miss out on the chance to shoot Cody." "Didn't think you would," I responded with a grin of my own. Cody wasn't a bad guy, but he was cocky and had a tendency to talk a lot of trash, especially to Matt. However, since he was on the paintball team we were going up against on Saturday, Matt would have his chance for revenge. "Just don't let your boss call you in for overtime," Matt told me. "We'll need your ugly mug to intimidate those guys." "Not a problem," I assured Matt. "If they need someone to drive the forklift, Mike will be there." Matt and I began talking strategy for our match, though he continued playing Target of Opportunity as we did so. He wasn't even distracted enough to mess up his game, at least not enough to really notice. It was around this time that Teri came into the room, holding a big bowl of popcorn. She took one look at us and asked, "What are you losers up to?" "Five foot seven," Matt answered without hesitation. "Six foot three," I said almost simultaneously. This was an old joke, that was like my favorite t-shirt. It had seen better days, but was too comfortable to throw out. Teri was Matt's kid sister, a fifteen year old with long brown hair, who was just starting to really fill out. In another year or two, she'd probably be pretty hot. I suspected that Teri might have a crush on me, not that I'd ever do anything about that, even after she filled out the rest of the way. Not only was Teri my best friend's sister, and jailbait too, but I'd also watched her grow up and tended to think of her as my own annoying little sister. "Hey, Jerry," Teri greeted me in a somewhat friendlier tone. "Hey, Teapot," I responded with a nod of acknowledgement. Teri gave me a look of annoyance at the old nickname and even flipped me off, but didn't say anything. The first time I'd ever met Teri, she'd been practicing her routine for a school play and had been singing, "I'm a little teapot," over and over, hence my own personal nickname for her. I didn't use it very often, just enough to provide the occasional annoyance. "So," I asked, "What's up?" "Not much," Teri responded with a forced casualness. "I've just been practicing for my driver's test..." "Cool," I said, holding back a chuckle. It was pretty obvious that Teri was excited about getting her license, which would be in another two months, after she actually turned sixteen. She'd been practicing for the last few weeks, and made sure that everyone knew this. Teri sat down in a chair that was fairly close to my own, and immediately began to play on her cell phone. She didn't seem to be watching the game, though she occasionally looked up and made the kind of comments that could be expected of a little sister. "You stink at this," Teri announced after Matt was caught in an ambush. "Maybe you should do something you're good at, like... Well, I guess that would be nothing." "If you can't be quiet, you're welcome to leave," Matt responded with a snort. "Of course, asking you to be quiet is asking the impossible, so you might as well just leave now..." "Ah, the pleasant sound of siblings arguing," I said with a chuckle. "Makes me glad I'm an only child." "You're lucky," Matt and Teri said at the same time. Eventually, I noticed the time and apologetically announced, "I've got to get going. Work in the morning." "No problem," Matt told me with a nod of acknowledgement. "Just don't forget Saturday." "I won't," I promised. Then, as I left, I absently wondered if I might be able to fit in a little game play before bed. One quick dungeon wouldn't hurt, and I was close enough to leveling Karock that I could justify cutting into my sleep time to finish it. I was grinning in anticipation as I started the drive home. Part 2 I'd been at Matt's place for a little longer than I'd intended, and it was getting a bit late out. It was late enough that the sun had set and there were few cars on the road. I preferred it this way, because I didn't have to deal with nearly as many jackass drivers. My tiny apartment was only about ten minutes away from Matt's place, so it was normally a pretty short trip. However, my fuel gauge was getting a bit low and I decided to stop for gas, which would probably add another ten minutes to my trip. There was enough in the tank that I could make it home without any problem, but then I'd just have to gas up on the way to work tomorrow, and stopping now was more convenient. The gas station looked like nearly every other one that I'd ever seen, with a couple rows of pumps and a small convenience store where you could pick up some snacks or something to drink. I'd been to this particular gas station a few times before, and knew that this one had a small frozen yogurt machine near the register. At the moment, there was only one other vehicle at the pumps, a nice looking motorcycle. It was one of those crotch rocket types, though I couldn't tell anything more than that. Motorcycles weren't my thing, but this one looked pretty damn fast. With a shrug, I went on inside to pay for my gas and pick up a couple snacks for work. That, and stock up on some energy drinks, since I'd need the boost for my early morning workout tomorrow. I had nearly reached the door when a girl came out, immediately catching my attention. She was a hot looking blonde, about nineteen or twenty, which was around my own age, and she was wearing a black leather jacket. The girl was busy unwrapping a pack of cigarettes so didn't seem to notice me at first, but when she did, she exclaimed, "Jerry?" At that moment, I suddenly realized who this girl was. I should have recognized my former girlfriend sooner, but the last time I'd seen her had been more than a year ago, and she'd had a different hairstyle. "Nadine," I responded in surprise. Nadine Fairlan stared at me with a gleam in her eyes and a faint sneer on her lips. She took a cigarette and lit it, not taking her eyes off me in the process. Only after taking a deep drag, then blowing the smoke out in my direction, did she speak. "Well, this is a surprise," she said. "Yes," I agreed, not sure what to say next. 'It's nice to see you again,' would have been a lie. "You look even more buff than you used to," Nadine said, giving me an appreciative look, before abruptly asking, "You using steroids now?" "No," I answered evenly. "Not my thing." I didn't bother to admit that there were many times when I'd been tempted, especially when I'd been trying to get the attention of some scouts so I could earn a scholarship. Maybe if I'd been willing to take that risk, I would have played well enough. Or maybe, I could have really messed up my body and life. There was no knowing what could have been, nor any reason to dwell on it. Just then, Nadine's cell phone began to ring. She took it out of her jacket pocket and backed away from me before answering. "Yeah," answered, still moving away from me. "You found them? Great. Where?" There was a pause before she said, "I'm about half a mile away. I'll be there in just a minute." Nadine hung up the phone, smirking as she did so. It was an expression that meant that she was about to make someone very unhappy, and I was just grateful that it wasn't me. "See you around, Jerry," Nadine said in a tone that could have been a promise or a threat. Then, Nadine went and climbed onto the motorcycle, giving me one more look before she took off, nearly racing out of the gas station. "And there goes a whole crap ton of crazy," I muttered with a shake of my head, before I continued with my business. Ten minutes later, I left the gas station with a full tank and a couple snacks for later. By this time, I was even more eager to get home, and looked forward to getting a little more XP for Karock before bed. I hadn't gone very far when I saw a sudden burst of fire, like some kind of explosion from an action movie. It was off to the side, in a large empty lot that looked like there had once been a building there. A ball of fire, about ten feet wide, appeared out of nowhere and then vanished a moment later. "What the hell?" I blurted out in surprise. No matter the cause, explosions in town weren't good news. The smart thing would have been to just call 911 while driving away as fast as I could. However, as Matt liked to joke, I was just a dumb jock, so I slammed on the brakes instead. Jumping out of my car, I yelled, "Hey, what's going on?" Even as I said this, I knew I was being stupid. My curiosity was getting the better of my common sense, but I was too stubborn to change my mind now. For a couple seconds, I just stood there, looking over the lot. There were several people there and it looked like they were fighting, but it was dark enough that I couldn't make out many details. I might have changed my mind and hopped back into my car, if it wasn't for the fact that I saw a motorcycle laying on it's side. It was the same motorcycle that I'd seen at the gas station a short time ago. "Crap," I grumbled, remembering the brief conversation I'd overheard Nadine having. Whatever was going on here, Nadine was involved. That gave me another reason to turn around and go the other way. However, I wasn't the type of person to just up and run away. So instead, I did what I always did when in doubt, I charged forward and counted on my own strength and determination to get me through. I walked into the lot, tensing up as I got ready to fight. I didn't know if I'd have to, but I wanted to be ready, just in case. From this new position, I had a much better look at what was going on, but it didn't make a lot of sense. The first person that my eyes went to was Nadine, who for some reason, was wearing what looked like some kind of lightweight red and black armor. I was pretty sure that there hadn't been enough time between the gas station and now, for her to change into this cosplay getup. But as surprising as her outfit was, that was nothing compared to the fact that she actually had a ball of fire in her hand. A short distance away from Nadine was another person in a strange costume, though I couldn't tell if it was a man or woman, because he or she was wearing some kind of green and black robes, with a hood that shadowed the face. This person was holding a nasty looking scythe, which glowed with a purple aura. Both Nadine and this robed figure seemed to be attacking the two other people who were present. One of them was a large and muscular guy, who held a massive sledge hammer. No, as a gamer, I should have recognized a war hammer sooner. He looked almost like he'd stepped right out of one of my games. The last person was a girl with long red hair, who was standing back behind the guy with the hammer. She was wearing an odd white and red dress, and was holding a golden staff. If the hammer guy looked like a warrior from my game, she looked like a caster of some kind. "What the hell is going on here?" I demanded. Nadine was the only one who seemed to notice me, as she alone turned to look in my direction. Her eyes widened in surprise. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon, and especially not like this..." At the same time, the robed figure leapt at the man with the hammer, swinging the scythe. Suddenly, a black clad ninja appeared right behind Robe, trying to stab him from behind with a katana. However, Robe reacted in an instant, snapping and slicing the ninja in half. The girl cried out in horror and Hammer charged at Robe. Their weapons met with a loud clang. Nadine snapped her attention away from me and threw the ball of fire at the girl, who was no longer able to hide behind Hammer. The ball of fire hit a glowing transparent wall, which appeared in front of the girl. I was shocked, horrified, and completely confused by what was going on, and by Nadine's involvement in it. A man had just been murdered in front of me, and it seemed that everyone else was trying to do the same thing to each other...with balls of fire and monster scythes. "Get back here and protect me," the redhead yelled to Hammer. Nadine smirked as both of her hands burst into flame, right before she charged straight at the redhead. The girl shrieked and scrambled backwards, swinging her staff and creating another glowing wall of light in front of her. Nadine hit this wall and was knocked back a little, but only for a moment. From that look in her eyes, I knew she wasn't going to give up that easily. I didn't know who this girl was or what Nadine had against her, but I knew my one-time girlfriend, so I was siding with the redhead. With barely a conscious thought, I ran forward and tackled Nadine. Normally, I don't like hitting chicks, but in this case, I was making an exception. As soon as Nadine hit the ground, she twisted around and hit me, knocking me off her with a surprising ease. Then she scrambled back to her feet and sneered down at me with that familiar look of contempt. "You should have minded your own damn business," Nadine exclaimed. "Yeah, but you know me," I responded with a chuckle. Nadine sneered. "Yes, I do. You've always been an idiot." "I was smart enough to dump your ass," I reminded her. Without saying another word, Nadine abruptly came at me. She grabbed the front of my jacket, and to my shock and confusion, she lifted me up off the ground...with one hand. "What the hell?" I blurted out in stunned disbelief. But considering everything else I'd already seen, I probably shouldn't have been surprised at one more crazy thing. "You know, I'm glad you're here," Nadine announced with a malicious gleam in her eyes. "It gives me the chance to do this..." A ball of fire suddenly appeared in Nadine's hand, and before I could get free of her grasp, she slammed it into my stomach. An instant later, a burning, searing pain, tore through my stomach and insides. Before I could even get the scream out of my threat, the agony spread over my entire body. "Oh yes," Nadine moaned, sounding like she was having an orgasm. Then she dropped me to the ground. "Thanks for the boost, Jerry..." I screamed in agony while smelling a horrible stench, which a voice in the back of my head identified as my own burning flesh. I was on fire. I was being burned alive. Terror and desperation join with the pain, but I couldn't do anything about it. Somehow, I remained aware of my surroundings enough to see Nadine throw a blast of fire at Hammer, hitting him from behind and covering his entire body in flames. Robe immediately ran around him and swung his scythe at the redhead. He hit another wall of light, then his scythe cut right through it. "NO," the girl cried out in desperation, swinging her staff. She caught his scythe and knocked it aside. "Even if you beat me, I'll beat you when I come back..." "No, you won't," a man's voice responded. Robe punched at the redhead with his free hand, which was glowing with an eerie purple aura, similar to what had surrounded the scythe. He struck her in the solar plexus, and suddenly, the purple glow spread to her entire body, covering her with what looked like purple flames. "You got her?" Nadine asked with a sadistic glee. "Yes," Robe answered in a cold tone. "I've removed her from the game..." The redhead had already collapsed to the ground, but that didn't seem to be enough for Robe, who then swung his scythe at the motionless body. From my position, I couldn't see what kind of damage he'd done, but he seemed satisfied, as did Nadine, who laughed. By this point, I was no longer screaming, though that wasn't because the pain had stopped. It was simply because my body no longer seemed capable of screaming. In spite of the burning agony, I was still alive, though I knew it wouldn't be for long. And truthfully, I hoped...prayed for it all to end. At that moment, all I wanted was for it to end. Then, my silent prayers finally seemed to have been answered because I sank into a cold, soothing darkness. At least, until I saw the light. Part 3 I was dead. If by some miracle I had survived, then I had no doubt that I would have been better off dead. First, there had been the searing agony as my body was burning inside and out, and then, the soothing release of darkness. Now, I saw the light in the distance and wondered if I was supposed to walk to it. I had no idea how long I floated in the darkness, with no sense of my own body, and staring at the light. It could have been seconds or even hours. Eventually, I realized that the light was coming towards me. When the light was close enough, I could see that it was shaped like a human. Like a woman. She stopped a short distance in front of me, giving me a good look. The woman was enormous, standing at nine feet tall, at least. She towered over me, making me feel like a little kid in comparison. That was a strange experience for me since I was used to being taller than most other people. She was unbelievably gorgeous, with the kind of looks that made an airbrushed supermodel look plain in comparison. Her hair was long and lustrous, waving around behind her as though caught in a breeze, and ending at her ankles. Each strand seemed to be made of light, shimmering through different colors as it moved. The rest of her body glowed too, with some kind of inner light, but nowhere near the brilliance or variety as the hair. And then, there was her clothes, or at least the ribbon of light, which seemed to be what passed as clothes. "Mortal," she said, her voice sweet and melodic, somehow seeming to go straight to my very being while bypassing my ears entirely. At that moment, I was suddenly aware of my body again, though there was no pain or discomfort. I looked down at myself, seeing that I was standing in the darkness, which was lit only by this giant woman. My body seemed to be completely whole and unharmed, not to mention naked. I quickly covered myself. "Who are you?" I demanded, trying to hide my fear, confusion, and downright embarrassment at being naked in front of this enormous woman, by at least trying to act confident. "What the hell is going on?" "Your life has just ended," the glowing woman answered, going straight to my second question without bothering to introduce herself. "You were killed by Nadine Fairlan, the chosen champion of Pfath, god of fire and pain." The glowing woman said this matter-of-factly, as though it was no big deal. All I could do was gape as I tried to absorb all this. I was still trying get over the fact that Nadine had killed me. In the same calm but melodic tone, the glowing woman continued. "One of the gifts Pfath gave her is called 'sadism', where if she causes sufficient pain in another, she is granted a brief increase in power. She used you to power her attacks on my champion and her companion." I just stood there, staring up at this giant glowing woman and feeling stunned, though I realized after a few seconds, not nearly as stunned as I should have been. My heart should have been pounding in my chest, but I didn't feel anything like that. Maybe it was because I was supposedly dead. Then again, was I really dead? Everything that was going on was too strange to be real. Maybe I was drugged...or suffering from a head injury. What was the last normal thing that I remembered? Visiting Matt and his sister? Getting gas? Maybe I'd been in a car accident and was hallucinating all of this. "You are neither insane nor hallucinating," the giant woman said, sounding almost amused. "What you are is dead, or more accurately, on the cusp between life and death, held in this moment by my will." Still staring up at this woman, I gulped, deciding that whether or not I was imagining all this, it would probably be a good idea to treat this as if it was real...just in case. "Why?" I asked, intimidated by her sheer size and presence. "I mean, I still don't get what's going on..." "Your death came about, because you attempted to protect my champion," she answered calmly. "You failed in that, but succeeded in earning my attention, and even a small degree of my favor." "Does that mean you're going to save my life?" I asked hopefully. The giant glowing chick shook her head. "That life is over. Your lungs have drawn their final breath, and your heart has beat its last. The rules would not allow me to interfere, were this not the situation." I blinked at that. "Rules? What rules? You make it sound like this is some kind of game..." With a deep scowl, the glowing woman stated, "That is precisely what this is. This is a game, but one of great consequence." "I don't understand," I admitted. For several long seconds, the giantess stood there with a thoughtful expression, before she began to explain. "I am the goddess Maelyne." "Goddess?" I repeated with a nervous gulp. The giant glowing woman...Maelyne, continued. "Long ago, my kind discovered the folly of warring amongst ourselves. With our power, even a minor skirmish can cause untold devastation. During our only great war, most of our world was destroyed. Before it could be obliterated entirely, we came to truce and agreed upon an alternative method of fighting. Now, we resolve our conflicts in your world, through proxies. We each choose a human to champion our cause, and embue them with gifts and power. Our champions compete against each other, and we rise or fall upon their success." "What the hell?" I blurted out. "That's total crap... You mean, Earth is just some kind of game board to you, and we're all just pieces?" "No," Maelyne responded, her voice still calm and melodic. "Our champions are the game pieces. You are, at best, what you would refer to as...an NPC." I clenched my hands into fists as I glared up at this supposed goddess, angry at the insult. I was many things, but I sure as hell wasn't some damn NPC. NCPs were Non Player Characters in games, the ones who were part of the game itself, with no will or purpose other than to fill space and provide plot or material support of some kind to the actual players. "I'm no NPC," I exclaimed defiantly. Maelyne didn't seem to notice my anger, or she just didn't care. If she really was some kind of goddess, and admittedly, I kind of believed her, then that probably made sense. From what she'd already said, her people just seemed to think of humans as being nothing more than pieces in their game. However, she was taking the time to explain what was going on, so that was a point in her favor. For several long seconds, Maelyne just stood there, staring down at me with a thoughtful expression. "You are familiar with games," she finally said. "Both athletic competition and simulated combat." "Yeah," I agreed, giving her a suspicious look. "Is that a problem?" I knew some guys at the gym, who would mock the hell out of me for being a gamer, and wasn't sure if I was about to get it from her too. Then, with a faint look of amusement, Maelyne mused, "If Gorath had been allowed to compete in this round, I believe he might have chosen you as his champion." Before I could think of how to respond to that, Maelyne continued, "In our latest round of games, many of the rules have been inspired from the games of your world. This should make it easier for you to understand what you have become involved in." "You use people as pieces in your game," I responded, thinking of the strange fight I'd gotten caught up in. "Like gladiators... It's not exactly rocket science." "Each champion is given gifts and abilities," Maelyne told me with a serious expression. "These depend on both the nature of the patron, and the inclinations of the champion. As they compete...as they gain experience and achieve success, their powers and abilities grow stronger, allowing them to serve their patrons even more effectively. These gifts, and the power that comes with them, are the reasons most champions agree to serve in this role." This talk about gifts and abilities really caught my attention, because I'd seen that kind of thing in action already. Back when I'd been dating Nadine, she hadn't been able to lift me up with one hand, or create balls of fire. Obviously, those were some of the gifts that Maelyne had been referring to. In fact, she'd already said that Nadine had one gift that was called 'sadism'. "That does sound kind of like a video game," I agreed. "As I have said, this is a game," Maelyne responded with a deep scowl. "But one with grave consequences for my kind. The success or failure of our champions, determines our own success or failures. And though we do call this a game, it is more akin to war, one with a great many rules to keep it civilized and limited in scope." My eyes remained fixed on this giant glowing woman, and I could see her own anger and frustration. Then, something dawned on me. "They killed your champion..." "Yes," Maelyne said, her glowing eyes flashing red for a moment and making me instinctively step back. "Normally, this would be a minor problem, as I am allowed to return my champion to life, up to three times. However, Arakthiel, god of the void, has found a way to remove his rival's champions from the game...permanently. His champion has been given the power to destroy human souls, and has used this ability on my own champion. I could return her body to life, but without a soul, there is no purpose in doing so." "What happens if you don't have a champion?" I asked, though I already had my suspicions. "What happens in an athletic competition, if your opponent fails to appear?" she asked me. "They forfeit?" Maelyne nodded faintly. "And in a war, if one country's army fails to appear at the field of battle..." "They forfeit," I repeated quietly. "Indeed," Maelyne responded with a grim expression. "Without my champion, I am vulnerable. My enemies can seize or destroy my home, territory, and people, while I will be powerless to stop them." "I...I'm sorry," I said, not sure what else I could say. "And I am sorry for your death," Maelyne told me, staring down with a faintly sympathetic expression. "You were not involved in our game, yet died because of it. You died because you attempted to protect my champion." "I died because Nadine is a psycho bitch," I spat out bitterly. Maelyne smiled faintly in apparent agreement. "As you were not part of the game, your death neither benefits nor harms me. However, by living, you could be of great benefit..." "What?" I blurted out, suddenly feeling hope again at that last statement. "I thought you said you couldn't bring me back...?" "I cannot," Maelyne agreed with a twinkle in her eyes...literally. Her eyes were both glowing a little more brightly than before. "However, what I can do, is restore my champion to life...and repair her injuries." "Okay," I admitted uncomfortably. "I'm confused." I could almost hear Matt teasing me about being a dumb jock. "Arakthiel used a loophole to remove my champion from the game," Maelyne explained triumphantly. "I want to use a loophole to restore her... However, there is a very small window of opportunity, so it must be done now, or not at all." The goddess crouched down, as if she was going to speak to a child, so I was now able to look her directly in the eyes. They seemed to be looking right through me, sending a shiver up my spine. "If you agree," Maelyne told me, "I will restore my champion to life...with your soul to replace the one that was destroyed. You would live again, as my champion. You would inherit all of her gifts and abilities, along with her status within the game, including the responsibility of serving as my proxy. If you accept this bargain, you will face grave danger, and perhaps even the risk of having your soul destroyed utterly. However, you would live again. You would gain abilities beyond what most mortals will ever possess. And, you will have a chance to take revenge upon the one who killed you..." At first, all I could do was stare at Maelyne with my mouth hanging open in stunned disbelief. That was insane. Completely and totally insane, and not the kind of crazy that came from getting a few too many concussions either. This was like padded room crazy. But in spite of that, I no longer had any doubts about all this being real, or that Maelyne was telling me the truth. I wanted to live. I REALLY wanted to live. It was too soon for my life to be over, and I wasn't about to throw in the towel, just because that bitch Nadine decided I should. Getting revenge on her would just be a nice bonus. "Deal," I announced, holding out my hand. Maelyne stared at my hand for several seconds, as though trying to decide what she should do with it. She smiled faintly in amusement and reached out to shake. Her massive hand easily engulfed my own, making me feel even more like a little kid in her presence. "Your previous experience may serve you well in this," she said. "But beware the other champions. Many will attempt to strengthen their position in the game by removing their competition between contests." "Yeah," I responded, remembering how I'd ended up here in the first place. "I got kind of got that impression..." "Now go and serve me well my new champion," Maelyne commanded with a smile. "Your loyalty will be rewarded." As soon as Maelyne had said those words, a soothing warmth spread from her hand into my own, and then through the rest of my body. When I looked down, I was surprised to see that I was now glowing as well, though not as brightly as she was. However, this only lasted for several seconds, before everything exploded into a burst of light, and my world changed forever. -------------------- I was laying on the ground when I awoke. It was cold, hard, and uncomfortable, but for some reason, I didn't really mind too much. I felt light and full of energy. I felt...good. As I opened my eyes and sat up, I saw that it was dark out and that I was still in the empty lot where I'd died. A horrible stench filled the air, and I recognized it as the same smell from when I'd been burning. There were a few small fires where the dark smoke and foul smell were coming from, and my stomach churned and threatened to turn inside out as I realized that they were human bodies. "No freaking way," I blurted out, staring at one charred body in horror. "That's me..." My own body was sprawled out in front of me, a charred and ruined mess. Enough remained unburnt, that I was able to recognize myself and the clothes I'd been burning. The other burnt corpse belonged to Hammer. And as I looked around, I saw one more dead body, that of the ninja who'd been cut in two. That body left a mess of a whole other kind. "Shit," I gasped, covering my mouth to keep from throwing up. "Fuck. Shit fuck." As I staggered back, away from the bodies, I suddenly realized that if that was my body over there... I paused at that and slowly looked down, gulping as I did so. Maelyne had warned me about what to expect, but I hadn't really put two and two together, or at least, I hadn't let myself think about what it meant. "Crap," I muttered. My body was NOT my body. At least, it sure as hell wasn't my old body, the one that I'd grown up with and was intimately familiar with. The one that was currently a charred ruin, just a short distance away. This was a different body entirely, though from what Maelyne had said, it was mine now, and probably would be for the rest of my life. I was smaller, shorter, and without nearly the size or mass that I was used to. And even more distressing, was the fact that I was now a chick. I was wearing slacks and a blouse, both dirty from laying on the ground, but they showed my new body off well enough to make it obvious that I was a girl. Hell, I had two nice round bumps pushing out of my chest, which made quite a statement by themselves. I could have just stood there, staring down at myself in shock, but a flicker of common sense told me that this wouldn't be a good idea. There had been quite a show with all that fire and fighting, so it was amazing that the cops hadn't shown up yet to investigate. They were almost guaranteed to show up sooner or later, and when they did, I didn't want them to find me here...with three dead bodies. Once I got over my initial shock enough to think straight, I went to where I left my car, only to get another surprise. It was on fire, though the flames were just burning down. Apparently, it hadn't been enough for Nadine to murder me, she had to destroy my car too. "Bitch," I snarled. Since I no longer had a car and didn't think that hitchhiking was a good idea at the moment, I began walking the rest of the way back to my apartment. This gave me time to think about what was going on, though mostly, I just thought about how Nadine had murdered me...how I'd burned to death. When I finally reached my apartment, I discovered a small problem. Namely, that my keys had been in my pocket, back with my real body. Because of that, I ended up standing in front of my door with no way inside. "This is NOT my day," I groaned, in what was probably the greatest understatement of my life. Part 4 I was dead. That was the first thing I remembered when I woke up in bed. Remaining where I was, I slowly let everything come back to me, knowing from the strange feel of my body that it hadn't just been some sick nightmare. When I was finally ready to face reality, I sat up and looked around my small studio apartment. Last night, when I'd gotten home, I'd been locked out of the place. Fortunately, I'd remembered that I'd been leaving my window cracked open to provide some air-flow during the summer. Leaving my window unlocked might have been pretty stupid from a security perspective, but this time, it happened to work out in my favor. "This is crazy," I said, staring down at my hands, which I held in front of me. These were not my hands. They were smaller and more delicate looking. Girl hands. And while I stared at them, I was aware of some other differences that were even more noticeable. As I stood up, I looked down at myself, getting a good look at my naked body since I'd undressed before bed. I'd looked myself over last night, at least a little bit, but I'd still been too much in shock to do more than give myself a brief examination. "Don't freak out," I told myself. "You're alive. Remember that. This is a lot better than being dead." With that in mind, I made my way to the bathroom where I sat down on the toilet to do my business. I'd already experienced the novelty of relieving myself with my new equipment last night. It was different, but not worth making a big deal over. At least, that was what I told myself, since it wasn't like I had much choice about it. While I emptied my bladder, I tried not to think about how strange my entire body felt, which was nearly impossible. Instead, I ended up thinking about all the differences, even creating a mental list that kept growing longer and longer. "This is so freaking weird," I muttered, gently poking my soft and fleshy chest. I was no expert, but I guessed I was probably a C cup, maybe even a D. Once I was finished on the can, I stood up and looked myself over again. If I was being honest, I had to admit that my new body was very nice. It was slender and curvy in all the right ways. However, it still wasn't MY body, not the one I was used to, so it felt totally wrong to me. "You'd better get used to it, Jerry," I reminded myself. "There's no going back..." I suddenly remembered my old body, or what was left of it, and shuddered. No, there was definitely no going back. This was my body now, and I was lucky to have it. Maybe, if I told myself this enough times, I'd actually believe it. Then with a sigh, I flexed my muscles, not that there was anything there to flex. My old muscles were gone, along with my old body. That was frustrating, because I'd put a lot of time and effort into building those muscles, and I'd been pretty damn proud of them. This new body was in decent shape and had a little visible muscle tone, but nothing more. This wasn't a body that engaged in frequent athletics or daily trips to the gym. I missed my muscles every bit as much as my manhood, and stood there for a minute, silently mourning them both. My eyes went to the mirror above the sink and stared into a pair of green eyes. My old ones had been a sort of bluish grey. These green eyes were set into a face that was pretty, maybe even beautiful. There were a couple freckles and even a small scar on the chin, but these just helped add a little more character. Red hair framed the face, and cascaded down behind me, to the middle of my back. "The redhead," I said, recognizing the girl from last night. I'd known that I was in her body, but seeing in with my own eyes made that just a little more real. "Who are you?" I asked, before correcting myself. "Who WERE you?" I didn't know anything about Maelyne's former champion, about the girl whose body I wore. Not even her name. There hadn't been any money or identification on this body when I'd woken up in it. She might have had a purse, but if she did, I hadn't seen it at the lot, nor had I even thought to look for something like that. Now, I regretted that, since it would have been nice to know who I was supposed to be. After a minute, I turned away from the mirror and left my bathroom. However, my thoughts remained on the question of who I was now. I didn't know anything about this body, the person who had it before me, or even about the gifts that Maelyne had given her. Since I was supposed to be taking over as Maelyne's champion, that kind of information would have been useful. "It would be nice to know if I was diabetic, or something," I grumbled aloud, thinking about all the problems I could have if I didn't know my own medical issues. "Hell, I could be deathly allergic to peanuts, for all I know." Suddenly, I felt something strange...a presence. It took me a moment to realize that it was Maelyne, and that she was somehow communicating with me, almost like she was whispering into my ear. There were no actual worse, but a moment later, I just KNEW what she was telling me. As soon as I'd received the message, her presence withdrew and vanished, leaving me alone again, and admittedly...a little shaken. "Okay, coach," I said, looking up, simply because that seemed appropriate when talking to a goddess I couldn't see. "I'll try it..." I took a deep breath, then mentally focused on the word 'status', just like Maelyne 'told' me to. Suddenly, an image appeared in the air in front of me, almost like a computer screen, but without any actual computer or monitor being attached. And of course, there was writing on this screen. NAME: HEATHER MARIE SIEVERS GENDER: FEMALE AGE: 18 PATRON: MAELYNE, GODDESS OF LOYALTY AND PROTECTION HEALTH: 100% MANA: 100% STATUS: NO INJURIES, ILLNESSES, OR NEGATIVE STATUS EFFECTS. "Well," I commented, after reading through the message several times. "I guess this answers some of my questions." According to this, I was now Heather Marie Sievers, or at least, that was the name of the person this body had previously belonged to. The idea of actually taking over her name and identity, along with her body, was kind of creepy and disturbing. I knew that the real Heather was no longer around to care, but this was like the ultimate identity theft. "I'm sorry for this, Heather," I apologized. "I'm not the one who killed you, and I'd give just about anything for last night to have never happened." Then I looked over the 'patron' section again. It said that Maelyne was the goddess of loyalty and protection, which was actually a bit of a relief. If she'd been the goddess of something like sex, humiliation, or evil, I would have begun worrying about our deal. As I looked over the screen in front of me, trying to determine if there was anything else I could learn from this, I noticed several tabs on the side. I cautiously touched the next one, and like a touch screen monitor, it changed windows. Now, the page was different, though surprisingly, very familiar. STRENGTH: 7 STAMINA: 8 ENDURANCE: 10 - AGILITY: 11 REFLEXES: 8 DEXTERITY: 9 - INTELLIGENCE: 11 CHARISMA: 13 AWARENESS: 10 - MANA POOL: 330 MANA RECOVERY: 167 HEALTH: 120 REGENERATION: 120 Maelyne said that the gods had been inspired by some of our games, and the proof of that seemed to be right in front of me. This looked like a stats page from some online game, or like the character sheet from a pen and paper role playing game. I looked over the screen, noting that these traits had been separated into four groups, with related traits being grouped together. The last group, which dealt with mana and health, seemed to be using an entirely different scale to measure those traits. At least, that was my assumption, considering just how much higher those numbers were than all the other ones. This page was definitely interesting, but it didn't tell me as much as it seemed to. For one thing, I didn't know the range of numbers available. My strength was listed as being seven, but was this a seven out of ten, or was it a seven out of a hundred? That was an important detail. At the moment, I simply didn't have a good point of reference. "I don't feel very strong," I said, flexing my muscles again and wincing. I felt light and full of energy, but not especially strong. A moment later, I suddenly wondered how strong Nadine was. Yesterday, she'd picked me up off the ground with one hand, and she'd made it look easy. How high was the stat on her strength? Higher than mine? Lower? Somehow, I doubted that it was lower, which made me wonder, just how much higher than mine it was. I was still considering these stats when my phone started to ring. My cell phone had been in my pocket, which meant that it had probably been melted beyond recognition. However, I still had my landline phone, which was convenient for whenever I forgot to recharge my cell. That was the phone that was ringing now, but I made no move to answer it. After a couple rings, it went over to voice mail. "Jerry," my manager's voice came from the machine. "Are you there? If so, pick up." He waited a few seconds, then continued, "You didn't show up this morning, and you didn't call in sick. I just want to know if you're all right..." The call ended without any response. I wasn't sure what I sounded like now, but I was pretty confident that I no longer sounded like myself. If I'd answered the phone, that probably would have created some wrong ideas, and possibly a lot more problems for me. "Sorry, Paul," I said to the empty air. "I'm not coming in today...or ever again." I looked down at myself and shuddered, suddenly realizing that I couldn't go back to work like this. I couldn't go back to college in the fall. Hell, I couldn't even go home. What would I tell my parents? There was no way that they'd believe me. For a minute, I just stood there, frozen in dread as I considered what I'd just lost. It hadn't just been my manhood and muscles, but EVERYTHING and EVERYONE in my life. It felt like a fist was crushing my heart and soul in a way that was every bit as painful as being on fire. "No," I said, trying to shake myself out of this growing depression. "Cut the crap. You died and now you're getting another chance to be alive. There's nothing to cry about." Of course, I wasn't sure how much I really believed it, but that did help for the moment. After shaking myself out of this, I tried to focus on what I needed to do. First was getting dressed, and then it was getting something to eat. When I was done with that, I could figure out my next step. Unfortunately, I didn't exactly have a lot of clothes around that would fit my new body. One of my former girlfriends had left a light jacket behind when we broke up, but other than that, the only thing I really had to wear were the clothes I'd woken up in. They weren't exactly clean, but it wasn't like I had much choice. Next was breakfast, though that was going to be a bit of a problem. I didn't have anything in the fridge, and all the snacks I'd bought last night had probably been burned up along with my car. My only choice was to grab something from the vending machines in the laundry room. Once the decision was made, I grabbed my coin jar and made my way to the laundry room. To my relief, the machine had been refilled recently, so there was still a good selection to pick from. A few minutes later, I started back towards my apartment with my arms full of food. My eyes were probably bigger than my stomach, especially now, but most of this could wait until later. For all I knew, this was my lunch as well as my breakfast. I was almost back to my apartment when I saw the building manager standing beside my door, along with a cop. I froze where I was, far enough away that they didn't notice me, and close enough that I could hear a few words of what they were saying. Though I missed most of what was said, I heard the cop say, "...car was found burned..." With those words, a weight sank in my stomach like a lump of lead. I didn't bother to remain and listen to the rest, because I'd heard enough. If they found my car, then they would have found the bodies as well. As of now, Jerry Tanner was officially dead. Part 5 I stared out the window of the bus, firmly clutching the duffel bag that sat on the seat beside me. This bag contained everything I owned, which admittedly, wasn't much. A few hours ago, the sight of a cop at the door of my apartment had been enough to make me realize that I couldn't stay there. Jerry Tanner was dead. Murdered. And if anyone found a girl staying in his apartment, especially one that none of his friends or family had ever heard of, there would be a lot of awkward questions, which I really couldn't answer. "Somehow, I doubt that anyone would believe the truth," I muttered to myself. After the cop left, I'd snuck back into my apartment and filled my duffel bag with everything that I wanted to take with me. Actually, there had been no way I could take everything I wanted, so I'd only taken what I needed, which wasn't very much. It was depressing to realize that I'd left behind almost everything I owned, including all the trophies and medals, and even my gaming rig computer. At the moment, people on the bus were giving me looks, as though they thought that I was homeless. That was understandable since I was wearing dirty clothes, and my hair needed to be washed and brushed. I looked like a homeless person. In fact, considering that I'd just left my apartment for good, and had no place to go, I actually was homeless. However, in spite of that, I wasn't penniless. I still had all the money that I'd saved up for my tuition, and I was definitely going to need it. I looked around the bus at the other passengers, feeling nervous about the fact that one of them could be a champion, and I might not even know it. What if someone came after me, the same way Nadine and Robe guy went after Heather? What if THEY came after me? I shuddered at the memory of what Nadine had done, then took another look around...just to be safe. "I hate riding the bus," I muttered under my breath. That had more to do with the other passengers than with the bus itself. Riding on the bus wasn't usually my thing, but it wasn't like I had any better choices. When I reached my stop, I was relieved to finally get off the bus. One guy had been watching me a little too much, though I suspected that it was simply because he was a pervert and not because he was serving some god. Well, maybe the god of perverts, if there was such a thing. It was strange for me to feel so nervous around other people, because I'd never been worried like this before. I was used to being bigger and stronger than most people around me, and confident in my ability to take care of myself. Because of what Nadine done, that was all gone. Even if I somehow got my old body back, things just wouldn't go back to normal. Nadine had broken something deep inside me, something that couldn't be easily fixed. "Psycho bitch," I spat out bitterly. A minute later, I walked into a small caf? near the bus stop, bought myself a coffee and sandwich, then made myself comfortable at a small table in the corner. I took one sip of my coffee, then opened my duffel bag and pulled my laptop. Normally, I only used it for school work, but this was a lot easier to take with me than my desktop rig would have been. This might not be that good for gaming, but at least I could still access the internet. "Thank God for free wifi," I said. "Or should that be thank goddess?" In spite of my deal with Maelyne, I had no intention of worshipping her. That hadn't been part of our agreement. Besides, I'd never been very religious before, and saw no reason to change that just because I'd met an actual goddess, or at least, someone who claimed to be one. While I sat there in that caf?, a mysterious redhead who was typing away at a computer, I almost felt like I was some kind of spy or hacker. But the truth was, all I was doing was checking the local news sites to see if there were any stories about my death. So far, I hadn't found a single story about a crazy fight or three bodies being discovered. The closest I came was a small article about an 'abandoned car' having been set on fire and burned, with the driver being missing. "Did they even bother to look in that lot?" I asked myself in disgust. I figured that the smell of burnt people would have been enough to make them investigate. I leaned back and finished my coffee and sandwich, which should have been only a small snack to me, but now filled me up as though it was a full meal. It seemed that my smaller body also came with a smaller stomach, so I'd have to keep that in mind. Once I was finished eating, I turned my attention to the other reason I'd come to the caf?. I logged into my email account and began typing a message. This was actually something that I probably should have done first, but I'd put it off as long as I could. 'Hey, nerd boy. Something really weird happened to me last night after I left your place. I mean, Twilight Zone weird...like that show you made me watch. The kind of freaky weird that you'd never believe if I just told you, so I'm coming over today to tell you about it, and to prove I'm not nuts. This won't be easy to believe, so I'm gonna copy this from my other email and game accounts. I figure, a hacker might get into one of these accounts, but not all of them. That should help to prove this is really me. Honestly, you're the only one I know, who MIGHT believe me, and I don't know who else to go to.' I finished typing, then went back and fixed a couple errors before hitting send. As soon as I did that, I did what I said I would in the message, and sent the same message from several other accounts. If this didn't get Matt to at least listen, I didn't know what would. About ten minutes later, I got up and left the caf?. I figured that I'd waited long enough, and knowing Matt like I did, if he hadn't seen his email yet, it wouldn't be long before he did. Still, I was a bit worried about everything that could go wrong with this, and about what I'd do if Matt didn't believe me. But in spite of that, I'd never been a quitter before, and that hadn't changed now just because I'd traded my balls for boobs. Matt didn't live very far away from the bus stop and caf?, so it only took me another ten minutes to reach his house. There was a small part of me that just wanted to wait out front, giving Matt more time to read the email and think about it. However, you can't score any points if you don't at least try, so I went straight to the door and rang the doorbell. When the door opened a few seconds later, Teri stood there. She took one look at me, then loudly called out, "Hey, Matt... Your girlfriend is here..." I nearly choked at that. "I don't have a girlfriend right now," Matt responded from somewhere behind her. Teri gave me a skeptical look before responding, "Well, she looks kind of homeless, so I figured she was here for you..." "Yeah," I said. "Pretty funny, Teapot. But I am here to see Matt..." "What...?" Teri gasped, obviously confused about my use of the nickname. "What's going on?" Matt asked as he came to the door and gave me a look of curiosity and confusion. "Who are...?" "It's me," I blurted out, feeling nervous and more than a little self- conscious. I wasn't used to feeling like this, and I really didn't like it. Forcing a weak smile, I added, "I emailed you about twenty minutes ago." From the look on Matt's face, he'd read the emails and knew what I was talking about. It was also obvious that he still had no idea of what was going on. He looked confused, but also suspicious. I grimaced at that, knowing that this wasn't going to be easy. "It's me," I repeated, calmly walking right past Teri and Matt, and going into their house as though I'd been invited in. "Jerry..." I gestured down at myself and gave a pained smiled. "Obviously, some really weird crap happened last night..." Teri stared at me for a moment, before exclaiming, "She's crazy..." "Look," I started, trying to figure out how I could explain this and not come off like the crazy person they obviously thought I was. "Last night, I stopped and got gas, and ran into Nadine..." "Nadine?" Matt asked, with his eyes narrowing with even greater suspicion. "Wait... Nadine put you up to this, didn't she? This is some kind of prank..." I let out a sigh of exasperation, silently cursing Nadine and the fact that I'd ever met her. Back when we'd first started dating, I'd had no idea of just how messed up she was. She'd been pretty, outgoing, and definitely passionate. However, she had a darker side, one which I hadn't seen at first. Nadine liked to hurt people. She seemed to get off on causing pain, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally. From what I could tell, it gave her an adrenaline rush, or maybe, just a sense of power. Nadine had been nice to me, at first. In fact, she'd been great. However, she hadn't been quite so pleasant to the people around me. She pushed buttons, made emotional digs, and even caused a few minor accidents, just because she could. Then she began doing this to me, slowly enough so that I didn't catch it right away. It was Matt who pulled me aside and pointed out that I was in the beginnings of an abusive relationship, and that it was only going to get worse. He was the one who opened my eyes to what Nadine really was. "Oh, that bitch is responsible for this all right," I spat out bitterly. "But this sure as hell isn't a prank. I know I don't look like it anymore, but I really am Jerry..." "I don't know who you really are," Matt responded, backing away from me, "or what your game is..." "I can prove it," I exclaimed, almost desperate at this point. "Back in our freshman year, Deke Morrow slipped you a laxative brownie...and you crapped your pants, right there at school. You hid in the audio- visual room for an hour while I went to get you some new pants." "Really?" Teri asked, giving Matt a speculative look. I could almost see the wheels turning in her head, about how she could use this to tease her older brother. "And then," I quickly continued, "in our junior year, I asked you to help me cheat on my math test, so I wouldn't fail the class and get kicked off the team. You refused, but helped me study for it instead, so I ended up getting a B..." Matt was starting to soften under the memory of these shared experiences, but he wasn't there yet. I knew him well enough to know that he was trying to figure out how I could know about either events. He probably just figured that Nadine told me, which would only make him more likely to believe his first assumption, that I was part of some prank that Nadine was playing. I had to come up with something that Nadine wouldn't know, or something that would convince him to actually listen to me. Then I had it. "Status," I announced, activating the status screen. It appeared in front of me, exactly like it had a few hours ago. I figured, the sight of some holographic computer screen, floating in the air in front of me, would be enough to shock Matt