Dakota’s mind was still whirling the next morning. She found herself constantly touching objects, touching herself and trying to work out if she could make a difference in the way they felt.

She’d draw a breath and hold it, seeing whether now she knew she was some sort of construct whether she could actually control just how long she could hold the breath. Trying to work out if there was some way that she could change the rules of the game, break the physics.

She couldn’t. But it didn’t stop her from trying time and time again. A sense of melancholy descended, and she found herself wanting to cry at the oddest of times. It was as if a cloud was hanging over her head.

Whilst amongst others she kept it in, putting on a mask and hiding her emotions behind her usual brash character. But even that gave her pause. Was she brash because she was brash, or because the programmers decided she should be? Now that she knew the truth behind her life, could she change and be the person she wanted to be, or would the programming forever reassert itself. Come to that, who did she really want to be?

And then the melancholy was replaced by a slow burning anger of an intensity she’d never experienced before. Dakota welcomed it, as there was no way that the programmers would have placed such a capacity for revenge in her knowingly. No-one would create something that could bring the rest of their creation crashing down around their heads.

Moving through the base, she gathered a small squad of rebels she knew she could trust. Hard men and women all, they’d proven themselves in the recent combat. More importantly, they hadn’t hesitated to do things others would balk at.

When she had seven, she called them all to her small room. It was cramped with them all there, but there was nowhere else suitable.

“What’s up Dee?” asked Red, a huge woman with hair the colour of fire and biceps that could crush walnuts in the blink of an eye.

“I’m forming a small commando unit, Mai’s blessing. You people, if you accept, are my chosen.” There was a small ripple of excitement as those she’d chosen smiled at the news. None of them reacted beyond that, another reason she’d picked them. They knew when to keep their emotions in check. “We’ve been tasked with removing obstacles to our faction getting the power and recognition it deserves.”

A couple shifted their feet at this, Ma, and Wu. They were killers through and through. Born to kill, they were borderline psychopaths, only held in check because they were with the rebels.

“You two,” she flicked a finger at them, “will be our point men. The rest of us will provide support and cover.”

They smiled at that. As she knew they would. A fleeting pant of guilt speared her. Was she manipulating them just like the programmers were manipulating her? She forced the thought to the back of her mind. Mai had warned her that dwelling on such questions would only cause her to second guess every move she made. Her friend had admitted to holding back on going to the toilet because she wasn’t sure it was because she needed to, or the programmers had deemed she should.

They’d both laughed at that, but Dakota hadn’t truly understood her friend’s dilemma until now.

How the hells did she stay sane?

Dakota realised that the others were all standing looking at her. She couldn’t tell how long she’d been quiet for.

“Apologies, I was just running through the mission in my head, making sure I had it straight before I briefed you,” they appeared to take that at face value. “Our mission is to kill the head of the Talismans gang. He’s one of the highest ranking members in the city. Losing him will bring the Talismans to its knees.”

“Those fuckers are evil too,” Wu grinned. Dakota thought that was like the pot calling the kettle black. “It’ll be a pleasure to remove them. What’s their name?”

“Mother, is the only name she goes by,” Ma rubbed her hands in anticipation. “I owe her. Used to be part of the Talismans until a couple of disagreements. Mother gave me this before I was able to get away.”

Ma pulled up her shirt and everyone in the room gasped at the network of thick scars covering her stomach.

“Hells woman! Now that is damned sexy!” Wu laughed as Ma slapped away his hand as he reached out to touch the scars. The rest of the room joined him, breaking the sudden tension caused by the revelation.

She’s a born survivor, Dakota thought as Ma dropped her top back down. She wasn’t sure whether she would have been able to survive such injuries.

“Well, that settles it, you two are definitely partnered up. Ma, I want a quick and clean kill mind. No playing games. In and out.”

Ma nodded, although she didn’t look too pleased to hear it. Dakota pushed away any worries she might have. She couldn’t afford to start doubting her chosen at this stage.

“We’ve got two hours to plan. We know where the gang is, and we know where Mother usually lives. Ma, if you’ve got any extra information, let’s hear it.”

They all gathered around the minimap that Dakota projected, and started to plot how they would kill Mother.

“Man, the street is packed!” Ma and Wu were walking along the main street in the Talisman’s part of the city. There were civilians everywhere, all of whom seemed to be moving with purpose.

“Okay, well explosives are definitely no longer viable. When the shit hits the fan, no grenades. No lethal grenades anyway,” ordered Dakota as she watched the pair ambling along the street. “Good job on the gang disguises.”

Ma flicked at hand at her top as if brushing something from it and Dakota laughed at just how calm the woman seemed to be. She was a bag of nerves. They were going up against one of the highest ranking players in the Nether City.

Why does knowing what they are seem to make it so much harder? It was as if they were trying to kill a god. She shook herself at that thought. They weren’t gods, they were demons. Creatures of the void which used her people as playthings, making them dance to their every whim.

“Coming up on the entrance to the bar,” Wu whispered over his comm. Dakota sent her drone higher up, zooming in as she pulled it far enough away to avoid detection whilst still giving good coverage.

“Two guards on the door, three on the roof. Two across the street from the door. One spotted fifty paces to the North, one to the South,” she commed, marking the gangers on the minimap. “Red, move up to the Southern spotted. Pigsy, take the Northern spotter. Hammer, the two opposite the entrance.”

The markers representing her people moved to follow her orders as Ma and Wu entered what was essentially a kill box. Wiping her palms on her trousers, Dakota held her breath as Ma and Wu walked up to the guards on the door and held up a small box.

“We’re here to see Mother. Got a little present. I want back in,” Ma strutted straight up to the guards as she spoke, holding up a small box.

“Well, well. Our favourite fucking psycho,” sneered one of the guards, a small woman with a tattoo of a shark covering her entire face. “Wait here, I’ll see if she wants to see you.”

The guard stepped away from Ma and Wu, speaking quietly into her comm. Dakota grimaced as she formed a sniper rifle and moved to sit behind the table she’d placed in position prior to the mission starting.

Whilst she’d said that Wu and Ma were on point, there was no harm in planning a little back up. She moved her sight until she could see the guards on the roof. They weren’t taking any notice of the conversation going on below them, being more than happy to sit in a small huddle and drink beers.

Cocky shits, sneered Dakota. She was in a building slightly down from them, but which was three floors higher. It hadn’t taken much to hire the room for the week, and she would have been happy to pay double what the owner had asked for the tactical advantage it gave her.

“You’ve got a fucking never coming back here, Ma”, Mother stepped out of the gang’s headquarters. Dakota closed her mouth with a snap. Stunningly beautiful, Mother was dressed head-to-toe in Celestial Court attire. It must have cost a fortune to get hold of.

“No hard feelings, I hope?” Ma raised the box. “I’ve brought a little present, and a friend, as a way of apology. I want back in. That bitch Mai Xiao is an uppity cow.”

“What’s in the box?”

“Laser crystals. Mai took them from the Ghosts, I’ve taken them from Mai. There’s enough to build at least twenty guns.”

Even through the drone’s camera Dakota could see Mother’s badly hidden excitement at Ma’s words.

“What’s to stop us from just taking them?” Mother didn’t move, but there was sudden stillness to the guards with her that Dakota didn’t like.

“Be ready everyone,” the plan was that she’d take out the two on the door first, and Mother if she had two, then switch aim and shoot the three on the roof. Looking at how they were still sitting on the roof and completely oblivious to what was going on below them, she reckoned she had plenty of time to kill them.

“Yeah, you could take them,” Ma stepped forward, leaning towards Mother. “But then we’d have no way of getting back together. Surely, if I can forgive you, you can forgive me?”

“You broke my fucking heart!” snapped Mother. Dakota closed her mouth with a snap, Ma hadn’t mentioned a thing about her and Mother having had a relationship.

This can only go two ways now, and she had a sinking suspicion things were going to go to shit in a handbasket.

“Don’t say you didn’t miss me,” Ma stepped forward, arms wide. “Come on, one last chance?”

Mother moved towards her. Dakota couldn’t tell if it was to hug Ma or squeeze the life out of her. Without warning Ma formed a knife and thrust it deep into Mother’s eye, burying the blade to the knuckle.

Dakota fired, her first round hitting the guard on the left.

HEADSHOT!

INSTAKILL!

She switched aim, the second guard was still trying to adjust to the momentous events of his life, both his boss’s and colleague’s blood dripping down his face. Firing again, she blew the stunned look away with half of his skull.

HEADSHOT!

INSTAKILL!

At this range she couldn’t miss. During her time at the base she’d put the hours in on the range, improving her sniper rifle skill until she’d hit max rank in that time. Something she was especially proud of.

Now, at Rank Five she had a base twenty-five per cent chance of a critical hit. On top of that she’d also managed to find a scope which added a further ten per cent, with a bipod on the barrel she’d added another five, and with the extra-long barrel she’d chosen, she gained another five per cent. Forty-five per cent chance that every shot she made would be a critical hit. And if her target was at close range, she’d gain another five per cent, giving her a fifty per cent of a critical hit with some shots. Although “close range” was a somewhat subjective term as it was still one hundred paces when it came to this rifle.

Still can’t get too cocky, as I’ve got to hit them to get the critical hit bonus. Wish the system conferred better hit chances too!

HIT! 67% DAMAGE

BLEED @2%

PINNED

“Fuck,” her third shot missed, the heavy bullet blasting a hole in her target’s chest without killing them. Still, they were down, screaming loudly enough to wake the ancestors.

The other guards on the roof were starting to react, weapons forming on their arms as they tried to spot where the incoming fire was coming from.

CRITICAL HIT! 88%

BLEED @10% PER SECOND

PINNED

Her third target was blindly firing in every direction, spraying bullets in an attempt to hit something, someone in order to stay alive.

HEADSHOT!

INSTAKILL!

TITLE: MELON BURSTER

YOU JUST LOVE TO GET THOSE HEADSHOTS! BURSTING THEM LIKE MELONS ON A SHOOTING RANGE

Switching her aim, she scoped down. Ma and Wu were gone, their task complete.

KILL!

Her second target had died, whilst the first was still screaming.

HIT! 50% DAMAGE

KILL!

“Time to go people,” Dakota absorbed her rifle, stepping away from her firing position. “Meet you at point one.”

They’d set a number of agreed meeting points, point one was the first on the list. If it was no longer viable they would switch to one of the others. Each of the points was marked on the minimap, allowing them to be as flexible as they could there be any trouble with extracting.

“Negative boss, got some major heavies coming down the street,” Red’s voice was calm, as if she was just passing the time. “Going to have to head for point three.”

“All Chosen, head for point three,” Dakota ordered as she slipped out of the room, moving swiftly down the corridor towards the stairs. Outside she could hear the hue and cry as the gangers within the headquarters reacted to the action. Looking at her retinal monitor’s clock, she saw that the mission had taken only five seconds from start to finish.

“Ma, Wu, what’s happening with you guys?”

“We’re clear, heading to point three. Civilians don’t look too pleased at what we’ve done,” Ma’s voice was slightly out of breath. “Not looking like we’re going to be able to blend in like before.”

Dammit, Mother had obviously created some level of loyalty amongst the NPCs. Dakota bared her teeth at the thought. It felt good to be hitting back, even if she didn’t know what actually happened to the players they were killing.

She promised herself she’d find out if they actually suffered any pain, what dying actually meant for them in the real world.

Just got to find another one and take them alive. Gods, I hope that they feel some sort of pain.

Running down the stairs, she forced herself to slow before she exited the hab block. Opening the main door, she stepped down onto the street. Looking towards the gang headquarters she saw the main entrance boiling with activity as gangers ran back and forth. One team had headed up towards Red’s position, another section heading to where Pigsy had been.

“Pigsy, how are you doing man?”

“Took my spotter out, civilians didn’t like it. Couple have followed me, they’re letting others know I’m an enemy.”

“Can you make point three?”

“If I do, I’m going to be bringing a lot of new friends with me boss. Shit!”

Dakota forced herself to keep walking as if she didn’t have a care in the world whilst her comm channel exploded with noise. It was echoed in the street as guns started firing towards Pigsy’s position on the minimap.

“Pigsy, come in man, update.”

“Gods, I’m hit, I’m hit! Not going to be able to make point three.”

Dakota closed her eyes for a second, trying to centre herself, keep herself calm for the sake of her team.

“Head for whichever point you can, we can’t get to you right now, too many gangers on the street.”

“Okay boss, gods, they’ve hit me good I …” his comm channel went dead as there was another burst of firing. Then his marker disappeared from the minimap to be replaced by a kill marker.

Pressing herself into an alcove, Dakota pretended to be adjusting her boots as tears spilled down her cheeks. She’d lost friends before, but not because they were following her orders. Not because they were following orders for a mission which hadn’t even been sanctioned.

“Can’t make point three, damned locals have given me away,” Red’s voice was full of stress, coming in pants. She must have been running. “Heading to point six.”

Hammer, Wu, and Ma were the only members of her team not having an issue.

“Hammer, how are you doing?” she left the alcove and made her way down the street. She watched as his marker drew closer to her on the minimap. Scanning the street she was unable to spot him.

“Took my two down, no one saw me do it as far as I can tell. Coming to you now.”

He slipped out from behind a large hand cart piled with vegetables and gave her a quick grin. And then died in a hail of gunfire. Without a second thought, Dakota turned and ran.