Episode 9.2 - Stopgap Measures

"Ughhhhhhh," I moan as I flop face-first onto my bed. That old man wasn't playing around; he worked me to the damn bone. First, measuring and mapping out the shield, but that was the easy part. Then, he insisted I transcribe the tutorial menu's rather detailed pages on the turrets, the Killer-Drones, and a dozen other things he thought might be helpful, with sketches! I pretty much wrote a damn book. After he made me go through and draw a diagram of every button on the replicator, most of which are just decorative anyway!

 Finally, he had me help out around the shed, instructing me and asking my opinion on all sorts of parts and materials. We only stopped when his niece came to the door, complaining that supper was going cold. They insisted I stay and eat, suspiciously having prepared enough for three as though they'd always known it would end that way - crafty old git.

"Tch," I can't help a small smile despite all that. I like Flint, he's unshakably strong, reliable and creative. Dude's a blacksmith, retired at that, but there he is, in the wake of his son's death and losing his hometown of decades, working harder than anyone. He's the sort of man I always wished to be, honestly, working with him is fun.

"Seeeeeeeeeek!" an ‘evil’ voice calls from my open door. I flip over to see Eshu and Ko arrive, Ko a little more reserved as usual, her face almost apologetic for the sudden intrusion.

"Heya you two," I reply, too exhausted to even sit up properly.

 Eshu's enthusiasm, however, suddenly wanes, "Sniff sniff! Sniff sniff!" she says aloud.

"Your weebism is way too terminal, man," I mutter, cringing as she dramatically sniffs the air, before fixing her gaze on her, "Woman."

"Bwah!?" I stutter.

"You smell of another woman!"
    Silence for a moment, then, "Is that true, Sek?" Ko adds.

“Hey, hey, hey now!" I shriek in protest, yet for a very petty moment, I almost want to play this out; ‘Why yes, there actually is a lady out there who I amn't woefully undeserving of standing beside. Someone who hasn't run a million miles ahead of me and who might actually have use for me,' except, aside from how pathetic that sentiment is, the 'woman' in question hardly even counts as one. Flint's niece is a nice girl; I don't want to insult her or anything, flaxen brown hair, a cute face with freckled cheeks - a standard village girl - the type in two scenes of an anime that becomes the fan community's sweetheart, maybe, sure. If I were to say anything less, that old man would probably beat me to a pulp with fire in his eyes - but nonetheless, she's like, fifteen! For all my faults as a person, I am proud to say I do have some boundaries! Some lines must not be crossed by even the lowliest mutt. I try to explain this, baffled how I could even smell of her; Eshu's senses are stupidly acute.
     "Mhmmmm fine," she relents at last, and I let out a sigh of relief, "Err, so what's up?"

Eshu crosses her arms and pouts, "Not in the mood anymore. Hmph!"

I blink, "You, our Eshu, not in the mood? Is the world ending? Again?!"
      "Baaaaaaaaaka," she sneers, sticking out her tongue. I can't help but laugh at her silly expression right now.

"Well, you two doin' ok anyway?"

"Ya, ya," Eshu murmers, still pouting.

"You Ko?" I ask, looking over to her still in the doorway. My eyes drift to her legs-- God damn it, how many times is that now, man? How many little glances have I made since I learned about it? How many small looks as we hiked our way back to the fort, dozens? Hundreds? Why can't I stop myself?
     She tilts her head slightly, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Ah, well, no, I--" stalling out, I look down, only of course, to be faced with her legs again. Glancing back up on instinct is a mistake. I watch Ko's face grow sterner. Eshu seems to pick up on it too, stepping back slightly as though to avoid the piercing gaze on me.
     
"Listen, Sek," she says somewhat coldly; a cloud seems to settle over her porcelain expression, "If, if you have some sort of issue with me, with my past, I mean, I want you to tell me. Right now, ideally. I've been through a lot of that in my life, you know? Unasked for pity, scorn, being seen as a burden. If you feel like that in some way, it's fine - we can work through it - but first you need to tell me clearly. Please." Her words are impressively reasonable, but I can tell there's anger too.

"I-" my mouth feels dry, and no words come easily. How harsh must that have been for her? To be judged and belittled for something she was forced to live with through no fault of her own. That's not what I'm thinking at all, it really isn't, so why can't I say it?
I've spent my life ranting and raving, my basic reaction to anything is to complain and begrudge, so surely now, when I need to be able to talk, to explain myself in full, surely now isn't the one time I can't make myself speak, damn it! Look at her standing there, a mix of old frustration from her past life and disappointment in me, making her feel that again. I’m the cause, so I’ve got to clear it up. I refuse to hurt her over this. If ranting and raving is all I’m good for, then that will just have to do!
     "K-ko, I. Ahem… I think you're amazing," I finally manage.

"Huh?" her folded arms, posture ready for an argument, falter.

"Just what it sounds like, I think you're a really amazing person, I could never do what you have, never..."

"Wait, errr, Sek, I don't follow, I thought--"

I step forward, finally feeling like the words are taking shape, like I can say what needs to be said, be a decent person for once in my life and make things crystal clear for her, no lingering doubts or anxieties between us - when suddenly Eshu interrupts, “Stooooooopoooooooo!!” she declares, waving her arms in a wild X-pattern.

“Urk?” I mutter, biting my tongue and feeling the building moment evaporate awkwardly like a ton of bricks has just fallen on me.

“Errr, Eshu, now’s really not the time,” Ko adds.

“Ya, no, it isn’t!” She replies, chirply but with a hint of desperation? “If you do this now, it’ll be no good. I need you not to.”

Ko frowns, looking a bit cross, “Need us not to what? Look, I wasn’t trying to leave you or anything, it's just something me and Sek need to talk through.”

“Nope!”

“Come on, Eshu, you’re not making any sense,” I say. I reach out to her, but she slaps my hand away rather violently, a flash of something grizzly in her expression for just a second, “Eshu?”

“Ah,” she stutters and falls back a step, “No, see, ah…”
      It’s at that moment, far too late, that I notice her chest rising and falling awfully fast. Has she been hyperventilating? Since when?!

Thud
     Just like that, her small body goes limp, and she hits the deck. In a flash, Ko goes to her, and I'm not far behind, "Eshu, what's wrong?"

"Oiiiiiiii!" an extra voice calls from outside the room, only reinforcing the mounting chaos. It is a coarse, impish voice and one utterly lacking in a sense of timing, "You lot, we got trouble, K’?"
Lila floats into my line of sight, her face instantly dropping when she sees Eshu collapsed.

Ko grabs the limp girl by the shoulders, shaking her, "Eshu, Eshu, please come on."
Magenta hair sways back and forth as Eshu's head jerks unresponsive.

"What happened?" Lila adds, descending lower.

"I dunno, we were just talking, is all," I reply shakily, "We maybe excluded her a bit, it wasn't on purpose though.” Ko nods; her face has become so strained with worry in the last couple of moments.

"I don't see her as the type to collapse over that..." Lila mumbles.

Suddenly, Eshu's eyes finally flash open. They are wrong somehow. It's as if they're blank, devoid of motion. More than that, removed of detail, none of the intricate light you see when you stare into someone’s eyes; no pupil within the colour, just large blank discs.

"Specification re-allaignment no longer a sufficient countermeasure..." she mutters.

"Eshu, what are you talking about?" Ko all but wails.

"... Actualisation parameters achieved absent of... …no longer required..."

"No longer required?" Ko mouths, tears streaming down her face, she wraps her arms around the blank-eyed girl and clutches her tightly, "Stop saying such weird things, just talk to me normally and tell me what's wrong. Eshu, please!"
    Her petition goes unheeded, those monotone eyes slide back into her head as our young partner falls limp in Ko's hands.

"Sek put her on the bed," Lila says.

"Ah, right," I gently pull Ko away, and carry Eshu over, laying her down gently.

"What's wrong with her. She was fine for two weeks and now this?" Ko sniffles. Lila absently ruffles her silky white hair as she stares at Eshu's sleeping face.
I'm just as shocked by this sudden turn for the worse, but another thought has crosses my mind,        "What if, it's like a bug, could a player get bugged? No, that's not quite it..."

"Sek?"

"Ko, if a moderator, someone on the outside of Escape, a game developer, wanted to get a message inside, talk to what players are still kicking - what if they tried to do so through another player? Those words she said, they almost sounded like a programming diagnosis or something."

She looks at me aghast, "If you're right, if some bastard is trying to use her to talk and causing her all this pain - I promise you, I'll kick their ass."
    I almost break into a smile at that, but Eshu's blank eyes are too fresh in my mind.

"Whatever it is, sleep helped in the past; let's try not to wake her," Lila adds.

"I'll stay here, you go ahead," Ko replies, pushing a stack of my clothing off the chair I'd left it on and dragging it over to the bedside. With a nod to us, she sits down and takes Eshu's still hand in her own.
     I gently shut the door as me and Lila step into the corridor. My emotions are an utter mess, so many feelings, everything I said to Ko, everything I was going to say, needed to say, only to have a resurgence of Eshu's -- her what, her illness?
    "What's wrong with her, Lila?"

The black skinned Grand Demon with the cute elf ears and proud moe-fang simply shakes her head, "I don't know, I've simply never seen anything like it."

"I understand,” I mutter softly. I wouldn't gain anything by lashing out at her. “Oh, didn't you say something about trouble before?"

"Ah!" Lila strikes one fist into her open palm, "Right, it's the drones. Those two armies we saw on our expedition, ye? The southern one, I just spent the last hour on the roof - it's moving, a whole darn army - in a perfect beeline, an arrow heading right for us and at one hell of a pace."

Oh come on, this really isn't fair... "You're saying we're at war then, now of all times?"

Lila nods gravely, "Looks like it. These things never wait for a convenient moment," she scowls, “We’ll just have to do our best, one man down or not.”