A world of his own

Emma was calmly reading a romantic book at home when reality quicked in. Silvy suddenly appeared in her living room through her portal. Her sudden entrance made Emma throw the book up in the air.

-Emma! Nyco is in danger. I… I didn’t know where to go... The general might be controlling every Planet-Gazer portal so I can’t escape-, Silvy said nervously.

-Wait what? What happened?-, Emma asked.

-One of our general’s, the one responsible for the mission in Nane Sarma, has set up a trap for Nyco. Alan… Alan is dead!-, Silvy voiced. -I need to go back as quickly as possible, they have him trapped inside virtual reality. And from the look on his face… They are torturing him.

-They are… torturing…-, Emma could not believe it.

-Quick! Do you know of anyone that can help me save him?

-...yes… Yes. AI-Juliet can!. I’ll call her.

Emma called the AI and explained the situation. 
Then, AI-Juliet appeared through Emma’s portal. Only this time she wasn’t a hologram, she had a mechanical body similar to a Star-Fly suit.
Mr. Litdawn had bought her this body in case Nyco ever needed to be saved. As the AI had all the training information Juliet had, it was the perfect candidate.

Emma had found out about her new body months ago. Mr. Litdawn wasn’t that fond of Nyco. He thought he only brought trouble, but when he found out he had become a Planet-Gazer, he felt the need of taking preventive measures.

The two girls and the AI were now ready. Silvy discarded asking for help from the police or any other Planet-Gazer as she knew they would stand behind Amanda. Unfortunately they were on their own. Silvy put on the suit she had teleported with and Emma told AI-Juliet to open itself so she could wear it like a Star-Fly suit. The AI knew it could not prevent her from going. Plus, Emma would be their trump card.

The three then teleported to the flagship in order to get another space capsule. As Silvy thought, two Planet-Gazers awaited them on the outside of the portal. They were only expecting Silvy to appear, so AI-Juliet was able to knock them down quite easily.

Lasson was rejoicing as he saw Nyco’s face. From the outside it looked as if he was having a nightmare, but Lasson knew that what Nyco was going through was much worse.

Amanda was waiting for them on the entrance of the cave with two other Planet-Gazers. She did not expect Silvy to bring reinforcements but they still had the advantage, or at least she thought so.

Silvy started fighting with the other two Planet-Gazers. They weren’t Star-finders like she was, no Star-finder would ever agree to Amanda's devious and treacherous plan.
As her enemies were regular humans, Silvy had the upper hand and fought both at the same time.

AI-Juliet went straight to Amanda. The AI remembered her from Juliet’s messages to Alan. Amanda was a devious woman that had pretended to be her friend. When Juliet discovered the backstabbing scum she was, she exposed her, earning her hatred forever. Unfortunately she had crawled her way back to the Planet-Gazer’s organization. It wondered how she could have become a general.

They were evenly matched as Amanda was inside her own Star-Fly suit. When AI-Juliet was able to slam her to the ground, it stunned Amanda momentarily. AI-Juliet took the opportunity to get inside the shelter and drop Emma off so she could fight Lasson.

When she saw the bully that had tormented her in the past, Emma felt rage. But nothing like the rage she felt when she saw Nyco agonizing on the floor with the virtual reality helmet on.

-Thank you for coming-, Lasson told her. -My revenge can finally be completed. You and Nyco ruined my life. It is because of you two that I couldn’t live in peace thinking that, any second, my life can be ruined with the video Nyco took of me. I can’t even fly without thinking of falling and breaking something again!-, the bully screamed.

Emma didn’t know what he was talking about. Nyco had never mentioned what happened the day they fought. All she knew is that he got beaten down badly and that he broke his leg. She never heard of a video and she didn’t care to ask.

-The day you recorded me was the day my life turned upside down with Nyco. You changed me that day. And this time, I’ll make sure you understand why messing with us is a bad idea.

Emma ran to the bully, dodged a punch to the face by sliding on the floor and intertwined her legs with his. She then made him fall and started punching him in the face. Ever since that day, Emma had decided to train in martial arts in order to fend for herself. All the training had finally paid off. She dislocated one of his arms and asphyxiated him to the point of making him unconscious. She decided that a life in prison would be a good end to his story.

Emma ran to the boy she loved and ended the experience so he wouldn’t suffer anymore. Then, she took his helmet off.

Unfortunately, Emma was too late. Nyco had spent 9 hours inside the torture experience Lasson had prepared for him. Even if it was 9 hours in the real world, for Nyco, it was 9 whole days of pure pain and suffering.

Emma tried but could not wake him up. His mind was in shambles. The neurlinked experiences had a limit of 1 hour a day to prevent any problems. But since Lasson had modified it illegally, the built in time limiter was removed. His mind had taken a beating and its repercussions were something Emma wasn’t ready to face.

Nyco, the only boy she had ever loved, was now in a world of his own, unable to wake up and feel her tears falling on his face as she hugged him. She had failed to save him again. The girl felt useless as self hatred filled her heart.

“I should have never let you go, Nyco. I’m so sorry. Please... please come back to me”-, the devastated girl weeped.