Game 25: There and Back Again

Takeshi Ishida and Eileen Stewart had just found themselves face to face with the enigmatic Mr. Set. He had just knocked a girl unconscious with just a snap of his fingers. Although, Eileen reasoned that there must have been more involved than just the snap of one's fingers.

“Mr. Set! What are you doing with her?” Takeshi asked him.

“I need more players for The Game, Mr. Ishida,” Mr. Set explained, “More players means more energy for my machines. And when they gather up enough energy, it's like WHAMMO! I've unlocked the power of creation itself.”

“Power of creation?”

“Oh, come now, Mr. Ishida, I know you've been reading my diary. Have you not gotten to that part yet?”

“Which part is that?”

“The part where I explain all my plans in the form of a dramatic monologue, Mr. Ishida! I need to collect essential energy in order to harness the power of creation to bring about a new age for humanity. Transcendence.”

“There's that word again,” Takeshi realized. 

“Once I'm able to make Transcendence happen, I'll be able to craft a new world in my image, a world without pain, without poverty, without greed, without betrayal.”

“So you'll become like a god…” Eileen realized.

“Not just a god, Miss Stewart, THE God of the new world, a perfect world…”

•

Inside The Game, Proteus woke up to see that Takeshi had disappeared. Without saying a word, he began to frantically search the ruins of the Emerald City for him. It wasn't like Takeshi to just run off out of nowhere, but that is exactly what had to have happened. There's no way… no, Proteus thought to himself, that's simply not possible. Takeshi was a much better player than that.

And so, he continued to search the ruins. Takeshi had to be around here somewhere.

•

“God? A perfect world? Does anyone else have a say in the matter?” Takeshi asked him.

“Why would anyone say no to a perfect world?” Mr. Set asked in response. “It's what everyone wishes for deep down. It is the secret greatest desire for all people. It's why we invent afterlives and happily ever afters and true love and escapism. It's why we wish upon a shooting star. It's why it baffles me that the two of you would work so hard to interfere with my plans.”

“You've killed countless innocent lives in the quest for your perfect world!” Takeshi protested. “Are those people really worth your wish?”

“Temporary measures, Mr. Ishida, an unfortunate price to be paid in the quest for perfection. I've had to accelerate some things in order to get all of this achieved within the next twenty-one days.”

“What happens in twenty-one days?” Eileen asked.

“It's my daughter's birthday, of course! She turns sixteen in that many days, and I'd like to do something very special for her birthday. It's the reason why I've been looking all over The Game for her.”

Takeshi and Eileen could not believe what they had just heard.

“And now, if you'll excuse me,” Mr. Set told them as he snapped his fingers again, “I've got people to add to The Game.” Two men ran out from under the bushes to scoop up the unconscious girl, presumably to hook her up to The Game.

“Where are you going?” Takeshi asked him.

“Back to The Game,” Mr. Set answered. “I hope the two of you will be joining me soon.”

Once Mr. Set had left the scene, Takeshi reaffirmed what he already knew, that his mind had long been made up.

“Eileen, you can help me with this, or not,” Takeshi stated. “Although, without your help, this will take longer. But I am going back into The Game.”

“Takeshi, I need you to take a good, long look at what's important in your life,” Eileen implored. “Some stupid game that could get you killed, or living your life as best as you can?”

“Sixty-five thousand people are now dead because of Mr. Set and his plans,” Takeshi countered. “Have the adults done anything about it, yet?”

“No…” Eileen had to admit. “If anything, the Blue Moon incident has only gotten MORE people wanting to play The Game.”

“I don't trust Mr. Set one bit with all his talk of creation and perfection and transcendence,” Takeshi continued. “I worry something else very horrible will happen if Mr. Set continues The Game. But if other people aren't going to do anything to stop him, then I need to.”

“Takeshi…”

“Please, Eileen,” Takeshi begged her. “I need to do this. It's my one chance to achieve something in my life. Between this regular boring life and people trying to use The Game for their own nefarious purposes, I don't know if I'll ever get another one.”

Eileen fought it as much as she could, but she finally relented. “Fine, but can you at least ask for your parents' permission, first?”

•

Rita, Makoto, and Aisha finally entered the Emerald City. Or rather, what was left of it. What was once flawlessly crafted brick that shone like emeralds in the sun was now a lawless, chaotic jumbled, tumbled mess. Nonetheless, the three of them had a mission: find Takeshi and Proteus no matter what.

As they wandered the abandoned streets, they could hear the occasional signs of life. They would investigate and only find someone getting robbed. Or a fight breaking out between two gangs. Or people begging for help. But no sign of Takeshi or Proteus could be found.

Eventually, they turned down one of the main streets of the city. There, they spotted a deer, quietly rummaging through the rubble of the city.

“That's weird,” Makoto observed. “Deer usually aren't fond of going into the cities.”

“That's because that's no deer,” Rita quickly realized. “Show yourself, Proteus!”

Proteus quickly shifted from his deer form to his human form.

“Guys? Oh, I never thought I'd see you again!”

•

“The answer is no,” Takeshi's dad told him. “After everything Miss Stewart told us about this game of yours, the kidnapping, the gameplay, the possibility of dying, we decided it was much too dangerous for you to go back.”

“But, Dad -”

“No buts, Takeshi,” his dad continued. “Besides, you've got seven weeks of schoolwork to catch up on.” He then turned to Eileen. “Kids these days, getting themselves kidnapped and hooked up to these weirdo virtual helmet thingies. How have the police not gotten themselves involved in this already?”

“I promise you, Mr. Ishida,” Eileen told him. “I'm trying to get the proper authorities involved here. Easier said than done, though, given how this is potentially an international case.”

“I could do The Game part-time!” Takeshi tried to bargain with his parents. “Go to school during the day, and at night become the hero I need to be!”

“A part-time hero?!” Takeshi's dad was visibly flabbergasted to hear such words. “Don't be so foolish!”

“Your father is right,” Takeshi's mom agreed. “You've got a lot of schoolwork to catch up on. And besides, we've already lost you once.  We are not risking that happening again. Now, go to your room.”

“Yes, mother…” Takeshi said as he sulked up the stairs to his bedroom.

“I just want to reiterate, Miss Stewart, how we cannot thank you enough for bringing our son home,” Takeshi's dad told Eileen.

“Just trying to do the right thing,” Eileen answered as she made her way to the door.

•

The happy reunion between Proteus and the rest of the gang quickly turned somber as Rita realizes Takeshi was not with him.

“Where is Takeshi?” Rita asked Proteus.

“I've been trying to figure that out myself all day,” Proteus explained. “After our speeder got stolen, we had been trying to fight our way out of here for the past ten days. And then this morning, Takeshi just… disappeared.”

“You don't mean…?” Makoto tried to ask, but he could not get the words to come out.

“No,” Proteus insisted. “He couldn't have. He still had three Lives left.”

“Would he have just left you for any other reason?” Rita asked him.

“No…” Proteus told her. “I don't understand… None of this makes any sense!”

“Look,” Rita told him. “We'll help you find Takeshi. That's actually why we're here.”

Through the tears that started to form, Proteus simply said, “Thanks.”