Game 16: Dark Water

Takeshi found himself locked in an intense struggle with a hooded swordsman. The man was able to perfectly mimic Takeshi's movements, his attacks, his parties, everything. It's not just that they were evenly matched. It's almost like they were the same person.

Eventually, Takeshi noticed he was getting exhausted from the fight, but his opponent merely continued his offensive. Takeshi managed to get some distance between him and his mystery opponent. He wanted answers now.

“Who are you?”

The man said nothing. But now that there was some distance between the two fighters, the man found the opportunity to demonstrate a move Takeshi didn't know. He put his off hand onto the blade of his sword, then moved his hand up the blade, generating a field of dark energy which coated the blade.

“Can't say I've ever seen that play before…”

The mystery man then swung his blade in the direction of Takeshi, generating a wave of energy. Takeshi instinctively rolled out of the way, but he was not fast enough. The energy wave slammed into the wall with enough force to generate an explosion. Takeshi had been caught in the explosion’s shock wave, forcing him into a corner. The heavy damage he sustained in the blast brought him down to one Life.

The man still said nothing as he prepared to deliver the final blow.

He went for the swing…

•

Takeshi woke up safe and sound in his bed. Another nightmare. He's been having lots of them lately, but none of them were like this.

He tapped the screen on his Life Counter. Three. He was due for another breakfast Heart Cookie this morning. As he gradually became more aware of his surroundings, he heard knocking on his door.

“Takeshi, you idiot!” Rita called out to him. “Have you lost your hearing?! Mac's got another mission for us!”

“Sorry…” Takeshi sheepishly answered. “Coming!”

•

This mission did not require the use of speeders, so Takeshi and Rita found themselves strolling through the forest outside of Innsbruck.

“Isn't this great, Takeshi?” Rita asked. “Just you, me, and the fresh forest air.”

Takeshi was silent.

“What's gotten to you, man? Cat got your tongue?”

“Oh, sorry. I've just been thinking about something you said the other day.”

“Which thing, exactly?”

“The one where you noted how quickly I was growing as a player. It's weird. I never was much of a fighter, but now? Fighting feels… It feels good…”

“It should. You should be feeling good. You're giving people something to believe in again.”

“I think the opposite is true. They're giving me something to believe in. When I'm playing The Game… I feel… alive…”

“You've never said what you did before you entered The Game,” Rita then reminded him.

“That's because I never did much,” Takeshi admitted. “I was a second-year high school student going nowhere with my life. I was just… average.”

“You don't seem very average to me. You seem…”

“What?”

“When we first met, you seemed like someone who just gave up on life. You would throw yourself into dangerous situations on a whim. Complete reckless abandon.”

“I mean… it all worked out in the end, didn’t it?”

“It's all worked out so far. It's not the end yet.”

Eventually, they had arrived at the place Mac had told them about. A spring had randomly erupted in the middle of the forest. Water was visible bubbling up to the surface and pooling in that location. Takeshi immediately went to observe the water.

“Takeshi, be careful!” Rita warned. “You don't know where that water's been!”

“Well, of course, we don't know where this water came from. We aren't going to know where it's been.”

Takeshi carefully studied the reflection in the water. The more he looked into the water, the more that reflection looked… wrong…

“There's a city…”

“Takeshi, don't be ridiculous. There can't be a city in the water.”

But Takeshi couldn't hear a word she just said. He had already disappeared into the water.

•

Takeshi found himself in Tokyo. He was home. But yet, he could still see Rita in the game world.

“Rita!” Takeshi called out. “It's Tokyo! I'm home!”

Back inside The Game, Rita reached into the spring. The next thing she knew, she was lying on the street next to Takeshi. Somehow, the two had managed to return to the real world. But something was…

off…

“I've never been abroad before,” Rita commented. “Tokyo seems a lot quieter than I expected.”

“That's because this is wrong,” Takeshi realized. “It's rush hour. Where's the people? This district should be crowded, full of life! But there's nobody here except us.” The weather was cold and rainy, there were signs that Tokyo had been lived in, but it seemed as if the whole city had been abandoned out of nowhere. It was just Takeshi and Rita.

“This must be a trick,” Rita said. “We need to get back home!” She tried jumping back into the spring, but by now, it had dried up. Their one way back into The Game had closed. “What the…?!”

“We're trapped,” Takeshi realized. “Stuck in Tokyo with no one else around…”

“Do you like it?” a woman asked them sarcastically. Takeshi and Rita turned to see the woman standing nearby. “I'm Eileen Stewart. I'm -”

“One of the Game Masters,” Takeshi interrupted her. “That's enough to know we can't trust you.”

“How did you know that?”

Takeshi pulled the book out of his bag, Mr. Set's developer diary. “We have Mr. Set's diary. It names you as one of his partners. You're one of the developers of The Game. Therefore, we cannot trust you.”

“I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter,” Eileen told them.

“And why is that?”

Their standoff was interrupted by a tremendous roar off in the distance.

“That's why,” Eileen told them. She pulled out a gun that looked suspiciously like it was pulled out of The Game. “Seems the monsters have come out early.” She looked around for where the noise could have come from.

Out of the Tokyo Skytree emerged a strange mutant creature. Having spotted the three humans, it immediately charged towards them.

“I've got you right where I want you.”

Eileen unleashed a barrage of gunfire at the monster, defeating it in no time. Takeshi and Rita were impressed with her skill, but only for a moment as they immediately aimed their own weapons… right at her.

“You have five seconds to explain what's going on here!” Takeshi demanded.

“What he said!” Rita added.

“Please do not wave those things around all willy-nilly,” Eileen told them. “Someone could get hurt for real.”

Takeshi and Rita then put their weapons away. Rita immediately noticed something was wrong with this scene, but she kept that to herself in this moment.

“Now, since we've come to an understanding,” Eileen explained. “Mr. Set won.”

“Won how?” Takeshi asked.

“He went rogue. He was able to hijack our project, leading to the Day of Transcendence. However, things went horribly wrong on that day. He promised humanity a perfect existence, free from suffering. But what he gave us was our near-demise.”

“What happened?”

“One-third of the world's population turned into monsters that day. The other Game Masters were too busy trying to kill you to notice Mr. Set stole everything from right under their noses.”

“Why were they trying to kill me?”

“Because they saw you as a threat to their own plans, plans that would never be seen through because Mr. Set acted first.”

“What about you?” Rita asked. “What did you do while all of this was happening?”

“I opened up The Game's servers trying to provide some kind of refuge for the survivors,” Eileen continued. “But there wasn't enough room for everyone. Most of the people who were left out… they're dead.”

Those last two words in particular struck a nerve with Takeshi and Rita. They were both absolutely horrified. How could this be the world they returned to?

“What about my parents?” Takeshi asked her.

“What about my mom and all my siblings?” Rita asked her.

“I wouldn't be able to tell you without going back to the lab,” Eileen told them. “Other than that, I suggest you pray to whatever gods you believe in that they managed to survive.” Eileen then went off in that direction.

Rita decided now was the time to speak her opinion on the matter. “Takeshi, I think we're still in The Game.”

“How do you know for sure?”

“It just all seems a little too convenient,” Rita explained. “I'm sure you've noticed we still have all our items.”

“Maybe the process works both ways,” Takeshi countered. “Anything we were carrying gets transferred over.”

“It's possible… but I don't think that's what's going on. Too easy. Wait a minute… Takeshi, open your wallet.”

Takeshi did so, revealing fifty libras. Eileen had lied to them, but why? Even so, trapped in a very distant place with no one to trust except each other, they had no choice but to follow Eileen.