Radical-9

Intermission XI:

February 24^th, 2022

11:45 pm

“Do you think you have it?” Klein asks me. He leans against the wall to his back with his legs outstretched.

“Yeah, just cycle through the magic on the staff and cast? It isn't too bad, I'll just have to memorize which type goes after each one, that way I'm not hung up looking for one,” I say.

“I'd suggest keeping in mind this little adage. The tree is struck by lightning, the forest catches fire, and a snowy cold wind fans the flames onward,” he explains.

“I guess that's one way to think of it, but why would there be a fire, much less a thunderstorm in a place with snowy wind? Wouldn't that suggest that there is snow on the ground as well? Fires don't spread well if there's snow everywhere.”

“It's just a saying, I didn't make it, it's just how I remember the cycling,” he says.

“Why would you need to, though? You go all close combat with everything,” I say.

“Maybe, but that doesn't mean I didn't try out magic at one point. It was the first thing I tried out, even. I mean, who wouldn't want to try out magical powers in a virtual reality game?”

“I can see that,” I say.

“Hey, so, unrelated, but what did Athena ask Dex about? You seemed to know,” he says.

“Oh, well, you know you can call him Andy, right?” I ask.

“Habit, sorry,” he says.

“Right. Well, I told her that if she liked him she should tell him,” I say.

“But...didn't they...I could swear I've seen them...” he pieces together.

“Yeah, no matter what they did she hasn't told him straight up, so she needed the push to do so. Considering how happy Andy looked when he walked inside I say it went well,” I say.

“I guess so, should we go fetch her? I mean, with Andy helping Beth they should be finished in no time,” Klein says.

“Yeah, sounds like a plan,” I say.

I stretch out my legs as I walk towards the door, opening it up and taking in the air outside.

“Hey, Athena, are you out here?” I call out.

Klein pushes past me, stepping outside.

“Hey, anyone ever teach you manners? It's ladies first.”

Klein turns to me and raises his arms and cocks his head, “Oops, my bad,” he says, laughing.

I'm shaking my head, my eyes fall just past his armor and I see a figure lying on the ground outside, dressed in purple armor.

“Oh my god, Klein,” I say, running out.

“Huh?” He turns around and sees what I see.

“Oh, Athena!”

We rush over, her health bar shows that she is at full health, but she seems unconscious. I kneel down beside her, I try shaking her awake.

“Athena? Wake up, please wake up,” I say.

“How about we bring her inside?” Klein suggests.

“Good idea, I'll grab her legs,” I say.

He nods and grabs her by her shoulders and I her legs. We carry her inside and rest her down inside of the living room, right to the left of the entrance.

“Hey, want to go get Beth and Andy? Maybe they can help,” I say.

“Right,” he says, walking out.

I turn back to Athena, I put my hand on her shoulder and gently shake her. “Hey, come on.”

Her eyes start to flutter, and I can see them beginning to open. Her pupils dilate and she takes in a deep breath, her eyes scan the room frantically as she sits herself up. “Where? What?”

“It's okay, calm down, you're safe.”

“Andy...he-”

“Jen, we have a problem,” Klein says, walking back in. “Oh, hey Athena, good to see that you're okay.”

“Andy...” She says, her eyes are practically bugging out.

“Oh right, uh, Andy, Sam, and Beth are nowhere to be found,” Klein says.

“What?” I ask.

“I don't know, they just aren't there.”

“Is it possible that Beth is with Jack too?”

“I don't want to think so, I mean, how many people are with him? Is it every single beta tester?” I ask.

“Of course not. I'm not, Oaken's not, but it's looking like a vast majority of beta testers are here because of their alliance to Jack,” he says.

“No,” Athena says.

I turn to face her again, her eyes are wide, “What?”

“It wasn't her.”

“How can you be sure?” Klein asks.

“It was Andy, he did this.”

“What?” I ask.

“I was outside talking to him. I told him and he started to smile. I got so happy and then he punched me. It was only one, it was all it took, it knocked me right out,” she says.

“Why would he do that? He doesn't do stuff like that,” I say.

“Well he did! He fucking did and now he's gone! Your brother's got some secrets he's hiding from you, why else would he fucking do it?” She asks, more like screams.

“Okay, why don't we just take this a step down,” Klein begins.

“Why don't we go out there and find them before something happens?” Athena asks, standing up.

“Are you sure you're fine enough to stand?” I ask.

“My health doesn't deplete here, I don't care.”

“There's got to be a reason for this,” I say.

“I don't want to hear it,” she says, walking to the front door. “I don't want to hear any of it.”