“Finally. It feels good to be back in civilization.” Lina sighed, a towel around her neck as she got out of the bathroom. She’d taken a long, long, hot shower and it managed to cheer her up enough she almost forgot about her armor.

“Yeah, it’s nice not to have to sneak around everywhere anymore.” Wally said, happily eating the stew the inn provided. It was virtual, but it felt comforting.

“And are you going to neglect your skills, soldier?” Alex said sharply.

“Sir no sir!” she replied automatically, whacking her forehead with the spoon. -1. The vampire nodded and turned back to his steak. Since resources weren’t much of an issue in virtual reality, the highest, finest-quality steak was as easy as pushing buttons to make, and thus cost the in-game equivalent of a burger. A fact he savored with Béarnaise sauce. Jamie glanced at them, then turned to his own meal thoughtfully.

“Yeah. So Wally, now that you’ve been recovered, I’m going to call the Gazelles to get you. I’ve…got another mission I must do.” Max said grimly. Wally shivered, but nodded.

“Teri, right?” she said glumly. He nodded, his green jowls wobbling.

“I’ve got to find her. She’s stuck in her avatar, you heard her. I don’t know where she is or what they’re making her do-” his statement was punctuated by a knife into his plate, cracking it. “But I have to find her, get her away from them.”

“Is…there anything we can do to help?” Jamie asked. The Alchemist shook his head.

“You’ve done more than enough already. I’d never have known what happened otherwise. Thank you. But this’s something I gotta do myself.”

“Is that a good idea? What’ll you do when you catch up to her? We don’t know what they did exactly, and they can reprogram the game. How’re you gonna reverse it?” Lina asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Then you should come with us, try to get everyone out.”

“Sorry. But I need to find Teri. I…I can’t really concentrate on anything else.” He grit his teeth, trying to keep calm, and failing. “I keep seeing her in my head. I’d be a liability. Every moment that I’m not trying to find her is pain. I’ll get Wally to the guild. But then I’m off. It has to be this way. Nothing’s gonna change my mind.” he said, his face set. “I’ll get every lead I can from the guild. I’ve got some items back at the hall that’ll help make up for solo adventuring, and if need be I can request backup. You’ve got a more important mission, focus on that. I know the right thing to do would be to help you, but…”

“Then you realize it too! C’mon, getting everyone out is-” Alex’s hand came up before her face, cutting Lina off.

“This is a matter of honor and love. Ve should not interfere vith him. Ve cannot interfere. Vhen a man goes out to save his voman, he cannot be dissuaded. I understand. Good luck, brave sir. I vish you success. Be careful and don’t get in over your head. She’ll be counting on you.” Alex said solemnly.

“I will.” Max said, eyes glistening with tears. “Erm, if you’ll excuse me. It’s been a long night, I’m quite…tired. Thanks.” Max got up and went to the couch, dozing off almost immediately, visions of his girlfriend dancing behind his eyes.

“He forgot to call the gazelles.” Wally said.

“He’s been through a lot. Give him his rest. He’s going to need it, soldier.” Alex said. She sat bolt upright.

“Sir yes sir!”

“Give it a rest, will you?” Lina said tiredly, turning back to her food.

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It was evening when Max called his guild and arranged for Wally to be retrieved .He gave an abridged version of events, saying the assailant had abducted Theresa.

“There. We’ll get picked up in the morning, the guild’s using the telepad network.” he said, tapping the screen closed.

“Vhat is a telepad netvork?” Alex asked.

“Oh, it’s a thing that guilds can use. To encourage players to form guilds and compete for quests and stuff, every established guild hall has a telepad in it, linking to the others, no matter how far. All of them are connected, but guilds usually limit them so only guild members can use the pads. It’s pretty convenient. We don’t have a branch in Ares City, but they finagled a deal with the Pineapple Brigade to use theirs.” he explained.

“‘Pineapple Brigade?’” Lina asked with a raised eyebrow.

“They’re one of the oldest and most respected guilds in RFO, disparage them at your own peril.” Jamie said.

“They sound silly, though.”

“I never said they weren’t.”

“Anyhow, putting that aside, I’d like to get started. With, uh, the…group therapy, I guess?” Lina said, unsure.

“Team meeting to discuss cohesion.” Alex supplied.

“Yes, that. Good job.” she said, pointing a finger gun, then turned to Max and Wally. “And while you guys’re great, this’s kinda, permanent members only here, sooo…” she swished her hand to the door awkwardly.

“I get it, don’t worry. C’mon Wally, let’s see what the market has before they close.” Max said, taking her hand.

“Aw, but it’s so boring there. I wanna see if they start fighting again!” Wally exclaimed, hopping up and down.

“Follow your orders, soldier.” Alex barked, and she snapped to attention.

“Sir yes sir!” she saluted, leading Max out of the room. Jamie nodded to himself.

After Lina closed the door, she flopped down on the bed in the room.

“Well, we’re here. Um, I’ve never really done anything like this before, so I’m not sure how to go about it. Lemme say there’ll be a hundred percent confidentiality here. No questions asked. Got it?” she said, staring at the boys sternly.

“Got it.” they both chimed. She laid back, wondering where to start. It was her idea, she should go first. She stared out the window at the setting sun.

“Well, first of all I should really introduce myself. My avatar’s Riezelkhrad, warrior woman extraordinaire. But I’m just Lina Michaels, office worker. I’m a secretary to a bunch of old blowhard *bleep*holes in Chicago. I’m working for Gelsinger Construction, founded about a million years ago, and my boss’s haven’t seemed to caught on that times’ve changed. Or if they do, they don’t care, more likely.” she said darkly, frowning.

“What do you mean?” Jamie asked.

“I mean they’re a bunch of jabbering inbred *bleep* bleep*s who treat me like dirt! Some kinda toy or sex trophy!” she snapped, gnashing her teeth. “Every day they drop something and ask me to pick it up, so they can stare down my shirt or *bleep* when I bend over! I’ve been hit on like three times a week, and most of ‘em are married! Every time I try to suggest improvements or complain, they laugh it off and say I’m hysterical, or not to worry my pretty little head! I went to god*bleep* college and got my degree, not to just play around like its 1954!”

She took a moment, unclenching her jaw and breathing deeply. The more worked up she got, the more they won, and she would not give them the satisfaction. “Sorry. But it gets old, and quick. Those misogynist *bleep*s are in the winner’s circle though, and they know it. My *bleep* gets smacked about eight times a month, and I can’t go to HR because he’s the one doing it half the time!” she snarled, hands balled into fists.

“I work and I slave and I’m one of the best employees they’ve got, I should not have to put up with this *bleep*! I stay for long days, I leave at seven in the morning and get home around seven at night! I got no life, no respect, and no hope! God it makes me want to scream.” Her face and shoulders fell with a haunted, empty look in her eyes. In an instant, she went from outrage to quiet desperation. “I can’t…I can’t live like this. Um.” She gulped nervously. “S-Sorry for ranting, got a little carried away there. Heh heh.” She laughed weakly.

“If you hate it that much, vhy do you not find someplace else to vork?” Alex asked. She sighed.

“’Cause the reason any of us put up with crap: the money. It’s bar none the best paying job I could find. And I can still complain about it, because Steve does a worse job than me, but he gets the promotions, he gets the raises, while I only get 75% of what he makes, but nooo, the better…ugh. I, I think I’d better stop there. I don’t wanna go into it again.”

“Maybe for the best.” Jamie agreed.

“So I can see vhy you needed stress relief.” Alex said, frowning. It was hard to imagine the tough-as –nails Lina taking that kind of abuse.

“Yup. To be honest, if it weren’t for this whole brainwashing thing, I’d say good riddance to the real world.” Lina said sourly. “There’s something really therapeutic, very primal, about hitting something with the biggest stick you can find.”

“Indeed.” Alex nodded. She rubbed her head.

“Anyway, I didn’t mean to hog the spotlight for my own. What about you, kid? Who’re you in the real world?” she tossed at Jamie, who tried to shrink back into his hood. “Ah, nah nah nah, none of that. Tell us about yourself. Don’t worry, there’s no judgment here. How old are you anyway, kid? I’m 24.” she said encouragingly.

“W-W-Well, I-I’m f-fifteen.” he said shakily, forcing himself to pull his hood down. He’d agreed to this. It was for everyone’s sake, not just his. He took several deep lungfuls of air, red-faced. “Uh, I’m fifteen, and I l-live in S-South Dakota. With my d-d-dad and my little sister, Lizzy. I’ve got another older sister, but she lives in Florida.”

“There you go. It’s not that bad, eh? Keep going, you’re doing fine, kid.” Lina nodded approvingly. Alex was silent, watching with a dull gaze. Oh, the inanity.

“Um, I go to Jackson High. It’s kinda old, the air conditioning doesn’t work right. Sometimes people pick on me ‘cause I’m kinda shy I guess, but for the most part I’m left alone. It’s never anything real bad anyway. B-But I g-guess you already knew that.”

“I like fantasy novels, and videogames, obviously. W-We’re not that well off, so I scrimped and saved and even got a part-time job to get a NeWorld and RFO. It took me six whole months, but I got it, the second batch that came to the store. The first day they ran out.” He chuckled at that, and Lina smiled and bade him continue. “Uh, t-that’s pretty much it. Everything else, you kinda already know.”

“Well, you’re still in school. Is there anything you wanna do with your life? What do you wanna be when you grow up?” she added, laughing. Jamie smiled, but his cheeks turned red.

“Uh, actually…I don’t really know. I mean, I like games, but I don’t know much about coding and stuff, I’m not sure if I can do that stuff. A-And I’d love to write fantasy, b-but I know that’s not exactly…a stable career, if you haven’t broken in. And I know it’s real hard to do that. ‘Sides, I’m not that talented enough for that anyway.” he said, smiling self-depreciatingly.

“That’s ok. You don’t have to know what you want yet, I know I didn’t. You can always change your mind, lord knows I did when I was fifteen.” Lina said.

“What kinda stuff did you wanna do?” he asked curiously.

“Eh, equestrian, singer for a folk metal band, accountant, doctor, bunch of stuff. College helped me decide on administration.” she said dismissively. Alex and Jamie shared a glance. Folk metal band? “There was like a week where I wanted to be a poet, that was during my Goth phase. Ugh, so glad that didn’t last, it was horrible. You’d rip your own ears off if I recited it.”

“We’ll take your word for it.” Alex said.

“Well, that’s about it for me, I guess. I’m just not…very special, I guess. Your average nerd.” He sighed pensively. “You know, all I ever dreamed about was being whisked away to a fantasy world, where I’d be strong, and cool, and powerful.” He stared wistfully at the rising moon outside the window. “And then I am. Trapped in a game, like so many protagonists. And…nothing’s changed. Even if I’m a Magus, a powerful wizard, build optimized as I can get it…even then, I’m not special. I’m just…the same old loser I always am. Sometimes I wonder if it’s be better if I took my dad’s gun and ended it, save a lot of time.” he said dejectedly. Alex was silent and still as a stone, but Lina immediately leapt up.

“Whoa dude, chill. You’re still a kid yet, you got plenty to look forward to! If you need help, I’m sure your family can help you, or a guidance counselor or something, I’m not sure.” As she spoke, she didn’t see Jamie turn chalk white, his mouth set in a line of cold fury. “There’s no reason to give in yet. These awkward teen years are terrible for everybody. I bet your dad went through the same thing, or similar. You just gotta-” Her words, like the thousands of pieces of ‘helpful’ advice given to him over the years, broke something in him.

“Spare me the platitudes. You’re not the one with a scar on his real body from the bourbon bottle your dad threw at you when you were ten.” Jamie cut off with sudden venom. There wasn’t a hint of kidding in his voice. Lina was shocked into speechlessness. “I’m worthless. A coward. Every day I think about taking that gun and ending it. For me…or him. And I hate it.” he spat, eyes hard and watery. He shook his head. “But I’m a coward. The second Grace turned eighteen she shacked up with a guy ten years older than her, just to get out of the house. I’ve seen her the mornings after dad came home from the bar. She never cried. She might’ve had a black eye, a busted nose or a split lip, but she never cried. She’s tougher than I am. Every time I misbehaved, or tried to stop dad form going off, I got my *bleep* kicked. He-he j-just doesn’t stop. It’s not enough, not enough that he beats you down, he m-makes sure you d-don’t try again n-next time.” Jamie said bitterly, pulling his hood over is hot face, so they couldn’t see it wet. Lina shook her head.

“Christ, kid.”

“Yeah, I know.” Jamie mumbled, head in his arms. Alex remained like a statue, While Lina started to pace.

“That’s…that’s messed up. Jeez, wow.” she muttered.

“Yeah. And it’d be b-bad enough he takes the way life turned out on me, but it’s Lizzy that I’m worried for. Grace left, I can in a few y-years, but she’s only eleven. I…I can’t leave her alone for too long. But I also can’t stand to be around that *bleep*.” He squeezed his eyes shut, determined to keep his shame in and failing miserably. Just like everything else he did. Hot tears ran down his tomato-red face. “He d-doesn’t make any super-obvious marks, and he hits worse if he even thinks we told anyone. It was mostly me’n Grace, and we can t-take it, kinda, but Lizzy…she’s not as big or tough as Grace was, and I’m not around to t-take it out on. Being trapped in here…I know I c-can’t stay, I need to get back. B-B-But being here, with you g-guys…it’s, it’s been like a vacation. A r-reprieve. And I wish to god I could stay here, so I’d never have to go home again. B-But if I d-do, it’s my little sister that’ll get beaten on, and, and I, I c-can’t let that happen.” he finished quietly. He supposed he felt better, his chest was lighter, at least. But everything else was dull and his body felt uncomfortably warm, like being filled with hot mud. Lina wordlessly wrapped her arm around him, which he was grateful for, but gently pushed her half-heartedly away. He locked eyes with the slender, diminutive form of Alex, still sitting quietly, his expression unreadable.

“W-Which…which is w-why I n-need to ask you something. I…I’ve seen how you carry yourself. You never doubt yourself, Alex. P-Please. I? I don’t have the confidence you do. I don’t know how to do it. I know I’m…not very good at a lot. I know I’m weak. So, please help me. Please tell me.” He gathered up his courage and screwed his eyes shut.

“How can I be like you?”

There was a long moment of silence. Lina raised an eyebrow.

“Uh, Jamie? I’m not sure we got the time for this, and…uh…” How did she say he probably wasn’t the best guy to take cues from? But Alex held up his hand, forehead crinkled as he stared at Jamie.

“The proper, legal vay to remedy your situation vould be to alert a teacher or something, vould it not?” he asked the Magus.

“Y-Yeah? But, but it’s not just that. I…I need to be able to stand on my own. I…every time, I fold. No matter what I do. And, I’m sick of it. H-How do you do it?” he asked in return. Alex let out a long, half-growled sigh. Jamie grimaced.

“Do you know vhat I dislike most in this vorld?” he said.

“N-No?”

“I dislike a great many things. A great many things. However, I despise and detest pathetic, idiotic, spineless vastes of space calling themselves people. I find them to be some of the vorst that I come across, even more than monsters like your father. They deserve hate; wretches like the so-called “common man” are, I find, practically vorthless. They deserve nothing.” Jamie wilted. Alex continued mercilessly.

“I find them vorthless because they are dull and veak, and are content, nay, happy to be so. In body, in mind, in vill. Most are simply shabbling lumps vanting a nice, safe routine rather than try anything difficult. I spit upon them. Vhy? Because, dear boy, they refuse to change.” He stood up, clasping his hands behind his back.

“You, on the other hand? You vish to better yourself. How…refreshing.” Alex smiled, hard, but with something that could be called a faint hint of pride on his face. Jamie’s hopes rise with his head.

How long? How long had it been, since he’d seen someone, anyone, try to improve themselves, because they wanted to be better than they were? He hated worthless worms, their names were not worth remembering. He would crush them all, given the chance. But he could not ignore this plea. Remaining trash was one thing. A desire to actually change, asking for help. That was quite another.

“My methods of teaching anything can be rather harsh, but it is vhat I know, how I do things. Tell me, Jamie. Do you truly vish for my guidance?” Alex asked, staring his eyes into Jamie’s. He shivered, but nodded. “Very vell.” Alex closed his eyes and let out a long sigh of breath through his nose. This, he had not planned on. But what did they say about the plans of mice and men? Or vampires, in his case? “Yes, very vell indeed. Since you vish to learn from me, then I vill teach you my vays. My name is Alexandru Friedrich Campanella du Fontaine de la Bridore Lonescu.” He cracked his neck, readying himself. His carefully crafted story, gone up in smoke. Ah well. “I vas born in the year of our lord 1326. I have recently reached over my seven hundredth birthday. I died in 1361. I am the undead, and feed upon blood. I am a vampire.”