Marie hated that stupid ring on her finger.
Every time she looked at it, she wanted to take it off and stomp on it until it shattered into a million pieces. In fact, she had done this at least once a day, every day, since she¡¯d arrived in those ruins and taken the personality test administered by Lucas the Lucario.
But every time she tried to destroy the ring, it appeared back on her finger in exactly the same place it had been previously. Even if she took it off and threw it against the canyon wall (which, again, she tried many times), it returned to the sender. That didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t somewhat cathartic to throw it away, though.
It was as though God, or Arceus, or whatever higher force(s) you believed in, had decided that Marie Emerson must not be allowed to get rid of the ring. It would linger on her finger for as long as it pleased, and only once that higher power decided to stop tormenting Marie would she be able to dispose of it.
Sophie had been seated next to Marie during the first banishment ceremony with Judd present. The lowest-scoring pair, Clancy Coventry and Brett Tolland, had been called up to have their torches snuffed. And Marie hadn¡¯t been able to contain herself, at least not entirely.
Marie had gasped audibly, and many of those in her section had turned their heads toward her. Fortunately, she¡¯d been able to mitigate the perception that the weekly ceremony had managed to shock her, but some of the damage had already been done. That was evidenced by Sophie¡¯s first question upon their departure from the amphitheater.
¡°Why did you gasp, Marie?¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡± Marie replied.
Sophie raised an eyebrow. ¡°You know exactly what I mean.¡±
¡°Quite frankly,¡± Marie told her, ¡°it¡¯s none of your business. I know you pride yourself on having access to information, but I¡¯m not going to tell you why I gasped there.¡±
That shut Sophie up pretty quickly, which gave Marie more time to think about her performance at the ceremony. On some level, she knew that if she revealed why hearing the names of Clancy and Brett affected her so much, she¡¯d never hear the end of it. It would become yet another front in the war of words between herself, Sophie, Jessica, and Judd.
Once the weekly ceremony was over, and the residents of Cabin Gemini had returned to their quarters, time slowed nearly to a halt. Upon arriving at Jet Force Isekai, Marie had evidently been stripped of any luxury items with which to pass the time (other than, of course, that cursed ring.) There were no books to read, no Internet to surf, not even a journal with which to record her thoughts. And when you had nothing but thoughts to keep you company, you felt more alone than ever.
That was the way Marie¡¯s mood oscillated between two polar opposites. Sometimes, Marie felt well and truly alone, and the absence of anyone she¡¯d known prior to her death a few weeks prior left a hole in her heart. (Judd would have said that this hole was shaped like Jesus Christ, but Marie wasn¡¯t ready to leap for that invisible, intangible life ring just yet).
Other times, Marie wished she could have been alone. It would be better than being stuck in a cabin with three people who seemed to hate one another¡¯s guts.
Had Marie possessed a sheet of paper, it would have taken several minutes to draw a diagram depicting the connections between the four of them. Nonetheless, the lack of writing materials didn¡¯t stop her from picturing one.
Judd was annoying. According to Sophie, he stayed up for about an extra fifteen minutes each night praying to his God. Clearly, Judd got on Sophie¡¯s nerves, and to some extent, Marie found him bothersome as well. But Judd probably wasn¡¯t trying to bother her - he just kept clinging to his faith in a world he¡¯d been unable to rise above.
Sophie, meanwhile, not only snapped at Judd on occasion for believing that Jesus would save him from his hardships, but seemed to have numerous questions for Marie. Not only was she curious about Clancy, but she also wanted to know what was with the ring on Marie¡¯s finger. And Marie could respect curiosity to some extent, but those questions were just too painful to have answered on demand. All those questions were enough to drive Marie crazy if she let it.
Jessica complained endlessly. Every couple of hours, she¡¯d mention how drafty and uncomfortable the stone cabin was, or how the bed made her back hurt, or even how she didn¡¯t get any choice in terms of what she ate. She¡¯d invariably turn up her nose whenever given a dish she didn¡¯t love. The only thing she seemed to like was Marie. For whatever reason, Jessica¡¯s eyes would light up whenever she got a chance to speak to Marie, as though she were positively thrilled to do so. Given how spoiled Jessica acted, however, these feelings were not mutual.
Marie just wanted to live her afterlife. She honestly hadn¡¯t known what to expect upon losing her life, but if she¡¯d been looking for paradise, she hadn¡¯t found it. The aspects of Jet Force Isekai that bothered Jessica so much also took their toll on her. Her back ached every morning from sleeping on that cold, hard cot, and the food wasn¡¯t exactly the sort you¡¯d find in a Michelin-starred restaurant. Nobody in Cabin Gemini liked everything here, but only Jessica saw fit to voice aloud what all four of them were no doubt thinking.
All of the above came to a head on the fourth night after Judd¡¯s first mission, with just three more days until his second Isekai journey (which would be Marie¡¯s fifth). Judd and Sophie were at loggerheads again over how the former was supposedly trying to convert the latter to his faith. In weeks to come, Marie would not remember who started the argument, nor would she be able to come to a clear decision of who was in the wrong.
But as the pair shouted at one another, with sudden, loud noises bouncing against the cabin walls and echoing like cannon blasts, Marie curled into a ball and tried once more to drift off. Then, she came to an important realization.
Upon her arrival in these ruins, she (and presumably the other residents of Cabin Gemini) had been sorted based on a ¡°compatibility index.¡± Whatever robot or AI system had implemented that index, however, had clearly been misprogrammed. In more casual terms, a human guessing that way might have been met with the jeering reply, ¡°What are you smoking?¡±
In other words, although they¡¯d been promised compatibility, it was hard to think of four young adults who would get along less.
Friday was almost a relief when it came.
Yes, it was the day when they would be tested once again and would need to earn their right to remain here. But at the same time, Friday also meant a reprieve from the monotony that was daily life in Cabin Gemini, for you could only bicker for so long.
After each member gave their individual interview with Lucas the Lucario (or one of the guildmistress¡¯ other assistants, who were of the same species), the time came to head to breakfast. Marie found herself feeling oddly hopeful. She wanted to succeed, since she didn¡¯t want to be sent Elsewhere, but she increasingly believed that it wouldn¡¯t be the end of the world if they scored in the bottom three.
Why did she believe that? Simply put, if she ended up banished Elsewhere, at least she wouldn¡¯t have to bicker with Judd, Sophie, and Jessica anymore. Besides, it was always nice to get a change of scenery.
The dining pavilion was practically teeming with activity. The tension in the air was so thick that even a chainsaw would not be sufficient to cut it. Although Marie had been present for four Isekai missions before today, there seemed to be a general sense that today¡¯s tasks would be particularly challenging. (Was there any concrete evidence for that? No. Did people still believe it? Yes, just like Judd¡¯s faith.)
Marie ate her Kalos toast daintily, careful not to spill any crumbs on her orange and purple uniform. Truth be told, the tracksuit was already rather dirty, but staying neat was just a force of habit by this point; that was why she forwent the syrup.
Once every plate was clean, Lucas snapped his claws yet again.
Marie¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and she visibly flinched as that loud noise made itself heard. She tried to gain control of her breathing again, but she was failing miserably in that effort long before the slip of paper was placed in front of her stating who her partner would be.
Man, I wish I could journal on this paper. It¡¯d be a place to put my thoughts down and actually admit the way I¡¯ve been feeling ever since last week¡¯s ceremony.
Of course, this was strictly prohibited, nor were there any instruments given that could possibly enable a violation of said rule. In any case, it did not matter, for as soon as Marie saw the name on her paper, her hair stood on end.
Judd Asgard - 2194.
Not only was she taking on a mission today, but she was doing it with the ¡°help¡± of Judd. Judd, the man who preferred to pray his problems away rather than actually solving them! Judd was her partner!
An idea forced its way into her mind, which Marie tried to dismiss out of hand. What would I even gain from that? They¡¯d probably punish me if they figured out I was trying such a thing, too.
No. I have to just deal with it.
Judd sat down next to her, brushing his dirty-blonde bangs out of his face, and the drinks were passed out to each of the residents in turn. The one set in front of Marie was cobalt blue and almost transparent, whereas Judd¡¯s was bright yellow and totally opaque.
Marie grimaced. ¡°Judd, this one is going to hurt.¡±
Judd frowned at her. ¡°Why is that, Marie? Could it possibly hurt more than the Fire-type drink I had last week?¡±
¡°I¡¯m afraid it can. Your drink is yellow, which means you¡¯re going to become an Electric-type.¡±
Judd sighed, glancing apprehensively at the Dixie cup full of liquid. Based on the color alone, the drink might well have been lemonade, the perfect beverage with which to unwind after yard work on a hot summer day. It was the vise of many people in her former home state of South Carolina, who washed down their meals of biscuits-and-gravy or chicken-and-waffles with swigs of either the aforementioned lemonade or iced tea.
Of course, a sweet, tart treat this was not. Judd closed his mouth as though trying not to puke, then leaned back, opened wide, and tipped the yellow beverage down his throat. (During this time, Marie downed hers, which tasted just like regular water - she¡¯d gotten off easy today. At least, for the time being).
Right after the last drop had passed his lips, Judd began convulsing in his seat. He grabbed the table, and Marie stood up for fear she was about to be electrocuted. The God-fearing young man writhed and moaned in plain agony, and although Marie might not have been a huge fan of Judd, she still didn¡¯t relish hearing this suffering.
And then, after what felt like a long time listening to the moans and groans all around the pavilion, the scene shifted. The pavilion disappeared, to be replaced by her instructions for this Isekai mission.
SYLLABUS FOR MISSION 5: DUNGEON DUO
YOU ARE: MARIE EMERSON (VAPOREON)
YOUR PARTNER IS: JUDD ASGARD (PICHU)
OBJECTIVES:
SAY MISSION NAME TO CONTINUE.
Marie did not say the mission name at first, making sure she remembered every last detail of those instructions. Given that there were six objectives, and none of them were worth more than twenty points apiece, it seemed cruel of Toriel and Lucas (or maybe just fate ) to place her with someone so inexperienced.
And then she remembered: Maybe that isn¡¯t so bad after all. Whatever happens, I can be at peace with it.
¡°Dungeon duo¡± Marie stated, and the black screen then vanished.
When she opened her eyes again, she found that she¡¯d spawned as a quadrupedal creature beneath a starry night sky, apparently a Vaporeon. A Pichu appeared about twenty feet away - that was probably Judd. Equidistant between them were two sets of garments - a pink dress and tiara on one side, and a blue-and-black suit containing a spiky hat in the same color.
¡°Well then,¡± Judd stated. ¡°Here we are. We¡¯ve got some clothes down there.¡±
¡°Those must be the disguises¡± Marie stated. It was then that the perfect idea occurred to her: I¡¯m not going to THROW this mission, but I¡¯m also not going to try QUITE as hard as I possibly can. That¡¯s a happy medium.
And, in the best interest of this ¡°happy medium¡±, Marie voiced the following idea aloud. ¡°Judd,¡± she said, ¡°I think you should be Lady Ilene.¡±
The Pichu appeared apoplectic with rage. ¡° What are you suggesting?¡±
¡°They won¡¯t suspect that we¡¯re faking it if we make ourselves look like we¡¯re different genders than we really are¡± Marie asserted. ¡°I¡¯ll be Lord Ketchum, and you can be Lady Ilene. And¡¡±.
¡°So basically,¡± Judd responded testily, ¡°we¡¯re saying we should both cross-dress?¡±
Marie narrowed her eyes. ¡°That is exactly what I am saying.¡±
Judd squirmed awkwardly on the cobblestone path. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I like that idea. I was always taught growing up that dressing as the opposite sex was immoral. That God didn¡¯t intend it¡¡±.
¡°I could care less what your God thinks about cross-dressing. Honestly, Judd, your God didn¡¯t show up for you when you needed Him most, so his opinion only matters so much here.¡±
Judd didn¡¯t respond, instead staring in horror at the dress. Clearly, something within the Pichu was incredibly resistant to putting on that pink article of clothing, and it wasn¡¯t entirely rational.
¡°But..¡± he mumbled eventually.
¡°Judd,¡± Marie snapped, ¡° put on that damn dress.¡±
The Pichu snorted dryly, and a trace amount of electricity exited his nostrils like a sneeze. Judd grimaced right after that, as though the sneeze had caused him pain.
That¡¯s right, Marie recalled. A Pichu is almost as dangerous to itself as it is to others.
Incredibly, Judd¡¯s next act after glaring at Marie was to lift up the bottom of the dress and climb into it. After the dress was fixed around the Pichu¡¯s body, Marie then placed the tiara atop his head.
¡°Oh my my, oh hell yes, look at Judd Asgard in his party dress!¡± Marie exclaimed, barely resisting the urge to fall into fits of laughter.
The Pichu did not seem amused. ¡°Who is this disguise going to fool? Especially once I start tripping over the fabric?¡±
Marie shrugged as she donned the Ash Ketchum costume. ¡°The syllabus said that we were supposed to dress for success, and the syllabus doesn¡¯t lie. If it says we can disguise ourselves properly, then it¡¯s clearly possible. They¡¯re not going to set us something we can¡¯t possibly do.¡±
Judd still didn¡¯t appear happy, but he acquiesced soon afterward, evidently realizing there was no way out of this. He was already committed, unless he wanted to fail.
YOU don¡¯t want to fail, Judd. But maybe I do.
¡°Okay,¡± he muttered, ¡°so how do we get into the castle?¡±
¡° Ilene, I think we¡¯re supposed to set off the fireworks first¡± Marie stated in a lackluster imitation of Ash Ketchum¡¯s voice from the Pok¨¦mon anime.
Judd rolled his eyes. ¡°Okay, Ash.¡±
The fireworks weren¡¯t difficult to find, and neither were the instructions on the boxes difficult to read. If Marie remembered correctly, the syllabus had not specified which fireworks needed to be set off. Might as well do all of them.
However, once the fuses had been lit, and the first fireworks began discharging into the starry night sky, exploding in a veritable rainbow of colors, Marie cringed. The key word there is exploding.
Judd seemed to notice it too. In his dress and tiara, he turned to face Marie. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked her.
Marie did not explain. As she turned away from the fireworks, she saw into the castle and noticed that throngs of party guests were making their way for the exit to watch said fireworks. In other words, she just couldn¡¯t spill the beans to Judd right now.
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It¡¯s not the worst thing if we fail, she reminded herself. It¡¯s not the worst thing if we fail.
But she wouldn¡¯t let them fail yet. In any case, Marie could not focus on such efforts, because it was hard enough to walk on her hind legs as a Vaporeon. She knew what moves she¡¯d be able to use in this form - Tail Whip, Water Gun, etc., but none of them would help her move any more efficiently. So she had to do it the old-fashioned way.
Tracking trace amounts of water into the castle, the pair of Marie and Judd entered what looked like the ballroom. It was a very stately chamber with chandeliers, tables packed to the brim with every fancy dish you could imagine, and even a stage where the band Billy Talonflame were playing a song that seemed to be titled ¡°Ghost Ship of Cannibal Rattatas.¡±
A Meowth sat alone at the nearest table; indeed, the catlike Pok¨¦mon was one of the few souls still inside the castle. But said Meowth did not seem to care that he was missing out on the fireworks as he chomped on a pair of Torchic drumsticks and patted his own belly contentedly. ¡°Personally, I prefer dining to dancing,¡± he murmured.
Judd turned toward Marie. In what was plainly a crude imitation of a feminine voice, he said, ¡°Shall we join in the dance, Sir Ash Ketchum?¡±
Marie recoiled at the suggestion even though she knew it was only a ploy. ¡°I think not, Lady Ilene¡± she responded, looking at the Pichu in the pink dress. ¡°My social stamina is wearing thin. I¡¯m going up to my chambers.¡±
¡°Then allow me to come with you¡± Judd stated sweetly. His proverbial ¡°mask¡± was clearly fading fast - even someone without much of an eye for detail would have spotted the difference between the Pichu and Lady Ilene if they thought about it for like five seconds.
Marie sighed. ¡°Whatever the case, we need to locate Sir Aaron¡¯s staff. It should be in the trophy room, correct?¡±
Judd nodded. By now any pretext of pretending to be a woman had been totally abandoned, and he spoke in his regular tone as he said this: ¡°If I remember correctly from the movie my elementary school classmates talked about, it¡¯s on the third floor.¡±
The movie. Marie had just enough presence of mind to realize that Judd spoke of Lucario And The Mystery of Mew. In fact, the pair were dressed as two characters from that very animated film right now! (Come to think of it, that raised the question of whether they were in the movie at this very moment - wasn¡¯t this castle, Cameran Palace, exclusive to the anime?)
But Marie didn¡¯t say any of that. They¡¯d been given a cold, hard list of tasks, and they could not deviate from it.
The opulent stairways and corridors of Cameran Palace were virtually deserted; they had likely been declared off-limits to the partygoers, but Marie and Judd presumably looked the part of those exempt from these restrictions. However, finding the trophy room still took considerable trial and error, and with each missed turn, Marie felt a jolt of worry.
Any time now, someone might be lurking with a weapon. Maybe it¡¯s the very staff we¡¯re trying to find. Wouldn¡¯t that be some cruel irony from the universe?
The trophy room was located near the third-floor balcony, and it extended three stories upward. A number of artifacts lay in glass display cases just like exhibits at a museum. In a way, given the plaques beneath each artifact describing what it was, this room was a museum.
Wow. This is the bracer Sir Aaron allegedly used hundreds of years ago. No, not ¡°allegedly.¡± More like ¡°assuredly.¡±
But Marie could not allow herself to become mesmerized by all the timeless pieces of handiwork present. She and Judd likely had very little time to find the staff and get to the castle¡¯s dungeons before the guests re-entered. Their disguises were flimsy at best.
I was okay with us failing before we started this mission, and I still am. If we finish in the bottom three today, maybe it isn¡¯t all bad.
Finally, they found the long, thin staff containing the gemstone at the end. The one Sir Aaron had trapped his Lucario inside centuries ago - indeed, that¡¯s how the staff was labeled. Judd smirked. ¡°Target acquired¡± he stated smugly.
¡°We can¡¯t be so sure yet, Judd,¡± Marie stated. ¡°There are a few staves here. What did the syllabus say?¡±
Judd frowned so powerfully that the tiara fell off his head. He didn¡¯t bother picking it up. ¡°I don¡¯t remember,¡± he said.
Marie glared at her partner. ¡° You don¡¯t remember? Is that just a ploy so that you can let Jesus take the wheel? Do you even care about success?¡±
The Pichu curved his mouth into a straight line. ¡°Of course I care about success. I don¡¯t want to be banished Elsewhere.¡±
I know you don¡¯t. But maybe I do. Which is why I¡¯m kind of conflicted about accusing you of not wanting to succeed.
Marie shook her head, which seemed to set Judd off. He turned his gaze toward the glass display case and let out an almighty electric sneeze.
Sparks cascaded out of Judd¡¯s little Pichu nostrils and curled their way up the structure. For a moment, it looked like nothing was happening, and Marie wondered if nothing would happen, if the glass was just that strong.
And then, with an incredibly loud bang, the glass just shattered. The heaven-rending sound was enough to make Marie jump a good foot in the air, her Ash Ketchum costume swiftly falling off her Vaporeon body.
¡°Arceus, Marie!¡± Judd exclaimed. ¡°You¡¯re going to get us noticed!¡±
That¡¯s pretty rich, coming from the guy who started that explosion in the first place. Even if it needed to happen for us to progress in the mission. Why am I looking at this like it¡¯s a video game?
¡°Well, I guess we don¡¯t need these disguises anymore¡± Marie said simply. ¡°It would take time to put them on again. That¡¯s time we don¡¯t have.¡±
¡°Right¡± Judd muttered, though he seemed more than happy to do away with the dress. ¡°I¡¯ll grab the staff, and we¡¯ll head to the dungeon.¡±
Just then, an alarm began blaring, which was all the incentive they needed to get out of there.
The staff weighed Judd down to no small degree, and his stubby little Pichu arms whined in protest. Evidently this species wasn¡¯t as strong as Fennekin.
Last week I literally carried 20 pounds of milk in my jaw. What¡¯s so hard about this?
The alarm kept sounding like an ambulance siren, or the sound video games supposedly made when you were about to delete your save file and the game asked you to reconsider. (Don¡¯t ask Judd how he knew that.)
He silently prayed as he carried the staff down the corridor, hoping none of the castle guards would show up to arrest their efforts. Please, my Lord, keep the guests just distracted enough for us to reach the dungeon.
¡°Where the hell is the dungeon?¡± Judd blurted out; the shout evidently startled Marie.
The Vaporeon glared at him. ¡°It¡¯s probably underground, so that¡¯d be the basement!¡±
¡°I know that!¡± Judd exclaimed. ¡°But where¡¯s the entrance?¡±
¡°Trial and error, buddy¡± Marie muttered, in a tone suggesting she didn¡¯t consider Judd her buddy in the slightest.
After a quick right turn in the labyrinthine palace, Judd and Marie were greeted by two palace guards in armor heading directly toward them. The Pichu¡¯s heart stopped as he heard one of the guards bark, ¡°He has the staff! After him!¡±
¡°Run!¡± Marie exclaimed, not that this was necessary. The pair bolted in the opposite direction and took a left turn this time, only to find what they¡¯d been dreading most.
Another pair of palace guards carried swords, pointing these swords directly at the two intruders. Judd gulped.
Is this it? Is this really where the mission ends? If we can¡¯t get into the dungeon, then we can get at most¡sixty points? I¡¯ll be sweating bullets at the amphitheater tonight, that¡¯s for sure.
¡°Well, well, well,¡± one of the guards announced with an angry sort of grin. ¡°Here we have our intruders. They seemed to have dressed as Lady Ilene and Ash Ketchum.¡±
Another guard laughed dryly. ¡°How did they possibly think they could fool us, especially when the male dressed as Lady Ilene? That just doesn¡¯t work, pal!¡±
Judd shot Marie a dirty look, but the Vaporeon didn¡¯t seem to notice. Fear was very evident on her face, probably too much fear to notice a mere glare from her partner.
¡°Laios, this is no laughing matter!¡± another guard bellowed. ¡°We¡¯re going to get that staff back if it¡¯s the last thing we do!¡±
We¡¯re cornered. I won¡¯t accept this. I CAN¡¯T accept this. God wants me to succeed!
As the guards readied their swords and spears, Marie shouted one word that made no sense in the absence of context.
¡°Clancy!¡±
The guard identified as Laios snorted. ¡°I don¡¯t know who Clancy is. But if he¡¯s dead, then you¡¯ll be joining him soon!¡±
Oh yeah. Clancy was the guy evicted last week. Why would Marie shout his name now? Because she¡¯s worried we¡¯re about to join him Elsewhere?
Judd could not think of anything to do besides stabbing the staff right into the ground. He didn¡¯t know what he expected to happen as a result - a force field, perhaps, to drive the guards away? That would only be a temporary solution, whereas the problem would remain permanent.
To his utter shock, however, the ground beneath him and Marie vanished, and the pair plummeted into darkness.
Fortunately, they didn¡¯t fall far, and their landing was cushioned by a pile of pillows. The staff bounced off one of the pillows before landing on the ground, nearly decapitating Marie in the process.
A few of the pillows had the face of a grinning, abundantly mustached man on them and were labeled as ¡°My Pillow¡±, whatever that meant. But Judd wouldn¡¯t question that, not when he and Marie were still alive.
¡°That was¡ wow ¡± Judd mouthed. ¡°We survived!¡±
Marie glanced up at wherever they¡¯d fallen from. The pathway had evidently been sealed - the corridor in which they¡¯d been cornered was no longer visible.
¡°However we ended up here,¡± she muttered, ¡°we¡¯re probably not leaving the same way we came.¡±
¡°We can worry about that later,¡± Judd stated. ¡°We¡¯re in the dungeon. That¡¯s another fifteen points for us, isn¡¯t it?¡±
¡°Well, yes, if we did it perfectly¡± Marie replied. ¡°But now we have to find Sobble and the secret exit.¡±
There was only one path leading away from the pillow pile, which opened onto a cavernous, dimly lit room with many yellow stripes providing the main source of illumination. The Vaporeon and Pichu followed this corridor into said room, upon which the door sealed shut behind them.
Marie flinched again, and then the Vaporeon curled up into a ball at the sight of the lines of electricity, clicking against one another with metallic popping sounds that occasionally reached a crescendo.
¡°I¡¯m in my element here,¡± Judd said. ¡°I¡¯m an Electric-type, and this looks like an electric maze.¡±
But Marie still cowered before the walls of said electric maze, and it was then that Judd realized what frightened her so much.
¡°Oh wait,¡± he remarked softly. ¡°You¡¯re a Water-type, aren¡¯t you?¡±
Marie didn¡¯t even need to nod for the Pichu to remember that water and electricity were an incredibly dangerous combination. There was a reason electrical appliances came with warnings telling you not to use them near a sink or bathtub. Come to think of it, that was probably why they¡¯d set a Vaporeon up with a Pichu - water is an excellent conductor of electricity.
Judd comforted himself, and tried to comfort Marie, by telling her this: ¡°We¡¯re at Jet Force Isekai. They¡¯re not going to give us an impossible task.¡±
Marie shivered, flinching every few seconds at each crescendo. ¡°Says who?¡±
¡°You told me that at the start of the mission¡± Judd told her. ¡°And growing up in the church, I was taught that every lock has a key that will open it.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t follow.¡±
¡°If there¡¯s a need or desire for something,¡± the Pichu replied, ¡°then there¡¯s a way to make it happen. That¡¯s why I believe in our ability to achieve salvation through Christ, not that there aren¡¯t other reasons too.¡±
Marie briefly turned toward Judd and away from her fear. ¡°That¡¯s a silly argument. If I want to be able to fly, that doesn¡¯t mean I suddenly have wings.¡±
Judd frowned, somehow certain that Marie had been thinking of a different example for her argument. But he didn¡¯t pry.
¡°Look, Marie, what matters now is getting through this electric maze and finding Sobble. Crying won¡¯t help you accomplish that.¡±
The Vaporeon briefly looked up from the floor, then returned to her cowering position. Judd stared at Marie, dumbfounded.
¡°How could you choke right now?¡± Judd asked, using a term often employed in the NFL (which governed America¡¯s favorite team sport) when a player had a free touchdown or field goal and still managed to screw it up.
Marie was practically convulsing on the ground, so the Pichu reached out an arm to try and pull the Vaporeon to her feet.
¡°If I let you give up, we both fail. And I don¡¯t plan on failing. Trust me, you¡¯ve been through tougher times.¡±
¡°I know it¡¯s not rational,¡± Marie mouthed softly, ¡°but you just don¡¯t understand. You can¡¯t understand.¡±
¡°I know what a phobia is,¡± Judd replied. ¡°And I¡¯m going to help you through this. You just need to trust you when I say it¡¯ll be alright.¡±
¡°Do you promise?¡± the Vaporeon stated in a far more conciliatory tone than Judd was used to hearing from her.
¡°I promise,¡± Judd stated. ¡°In fact, I might swear by the Bible on it just to show how sincere I am.¡±
¡°That means nothing to me, but okay,¡± Marie muttered. ¡°I¡¯ll stand up.¡±
My Lord, please give Marie the strength to complete this challenge and rescue Sobble.
No answer from the big man upstairs was forthcoming, not that Judd had expected one. In the grand scheme of things, God surely had far more important matters to attend to.
With that, the pair began shuffling their way through the maze. The yellow electric currents that comprised the highly effective walls were transparent, making it difficult at times to know when they were at a dead end. Additionally, the staff Judd carried like a walking stick might well be an effective conduit for the sparks, so he kept it as far away from the walls as he could.
Every time the popping sounds got louder, Marie gasped. More than once, she froze up and didn¡¯t move again for almost a minute, as Judd tried incessantly to galvanize her into action.
¡°There¡¯s no pressure here, Marie,¡± Judd insisted. ¡°It¡¯s just like the hedge maze at the apple orchard. You know, that all-American ritual. Maybe there¡¯ll be some cider donuts waiting for us at the end.¡±
Marie grunted at that, and Judd realized that maybe tempting Marie with a promise so clearly false was likely not the best move. But he could not invent a time machine and go to the past to redress that error - that was God¡¯s job.
True to the definition of this word, the maze was rather confusing. After a while, Judd felt certain that they¡¯d returned to the same position that they¡¯d been in twice before.
¡°I don¡¯t know where Sobble might be,¡± he mouthed. ¡°Would he be in the center?¡±
¡°Why don¡¯t you ask your God for help?¡± Marie snapped. ¡°I¡¯m sure He¡¯d be more than willing to volunteer that information.¡±
Judd grimaced at that retort, for it was clearly sarcasm. Clearly, Marie had disrespected his faith on purpose, which seemed to run counter to their goal of working together. But then, last week¡¯s mission had placed fire with ice; was water with electricity that much of a stretch?
After doubling back on themselves numerous times, the pair reached what was clearly the central podium of the maze. In the middle of this podium, there sat a creature resembling an overgrown blue and yellow tadpole. A Sobble.
The Sobble¡¯s eyes were closed, and Judd could not tell whether the creature was asleep, unconscious, or just too frightened to view his surroundings. Nonetheless, the Pichu tapped the creature on the shoulder.
¡°It¡¯ll be okay¡± the Pichu assured the Sobble, fervently hoping he could keep this promise. ¡°We¡¯ll get you out of here. There¡¯s a secret entrance somewhere.¡±
¡°Hey, Judd,¡± Marie noted, ¡°saying the secret entrance is somewhere might not be the most reassuring way to word things.¡±
¡°Right, sorry¡± Judd told the Sobble. ¡°We¡¯ll take you out of here and get you somewhere safe. Come here, Marie.¡±
The Vaporeon frowned. ¡°Is that really necessary?¡±
¡°Well, we probably both have to be together to figure this out. Two minds are better than one, or so they say.¡±
Marie snorted. ¡°You might think that,¡± she began weakly, still shivering, ¡°but all you have to do is stab that staff into the ground. You just did it not long ago!¡±
Oh yeah, he thought. I did.
Both Judd and Marie grabbed one hand of the Sobble (who didn¡¯t stir as a result, indicating he was either deeply asleep or unconscious), and Judd drove the staff home like a hammer pounding a nail. Sure enough, the electric labyrinth was no more.
Seconds later, the trio found themselves in the castle¡¯s courtyard. For whatever reason, there were no guards visible, but that hardly reassured Judd. If he¡¯d been in charge in the immediate aftermath of the castle being stormed by a pair of disguised intruders, he would have stationed guards everywhere for several days. Since Judd hardly wanted to be caught, he was very grateful that the staff of Cameran Palace had made such an oversight.
¡°What are we going to do with the Sobble?¡± Judd wondered aloud. ¡°We can¡¯t just leave him sleeping here. Should we take him to the nearest town?¡±
Marie narrowed her eyes. ¡°What is the nearest town to Cameran Palace, anyway?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°That¡¯s right, Judd! You don¡¯t know!¡±
Judd gasped. ¡°Are you telling me I¡¯m an ignorant simpleton who can¡¯t be bothered to do the tiniest bit of research?¡±
¡°No!¡± Marie exclaimed. ¡°Well, sometimes you are! But in this case, our task was just to rescue Sobble! Besides, you can¡¯t put yourself in jeopardy all for the sake of this mission!¡±
¡°I thought that if we died in these missions, we just failed the mission! I didn¡¯t know we died for real!¡±
¡°Failing the mission is still bad enough, because some think Elsewhere is a fate worse than death!¡±
¡°Whatever¡± Judd muttered. ¡°We need to go back to the pavilion, don¡¯t we?¡±
¡°Yes¡± Marie responded, her voice quaking. The Vaporeon panted heavily as she spoke the necessary phrase to reenter the ruins of Jet Force Isekai. ¡°Dungeon duo¡± she mouthed breathlessly.
Just like that, the Vaporeon vanished into thin air, with no evidence whatsoever to indicate she¡¯d been at Cameran Palace in the first place. And then Judd sighed, looking at the poor sleeping Sobble and wondering if they¡¯d truly done the little tadpole-like creature a favor.
But he could not abandon Marie. ¡°Dungeon duo¡± he said with a sigh.
The black results screen appeared in front of Judd¡¯s face, along with the blocky white text that read as follows:
MISSION 2: DUNGEON DUO
YOU WERE: JUDD ASGARD (PICHU)
YOUR PARTNER WAS: MARIE EMERSON (VAPOREON)
OBJECTIVE 1: 18 OF 20 POINTS (2 POINTS DEDUCTED FOR LOSING DISGUISES IN TROPHY ROOM)
OBJECTIVE 2: 20 OF 20 POINTS - PERFECT!
OBJECTIVE 3: 18 OF 20 POINTS (2 POINTS DEDUCTED FOR SETTING OFF ALARM)
OBJECTIVE 4: 13 OF 15 POINTS (2 POINTS DEDUCTED FOR BEING CAUGHT)
OBJECTIVE 5: 10 OF 10 POINTS - PERFECT!
OBJECTIVE 6: 10 OF 10 POINTS - PERFECT!
TOTAL SCORE: 94 OF 100 POINTS - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Judd found himself smiling widely from ear to ear. They¡¯d been given a mission considerably more complex than the one he¡¯d received last week. And not only had he and Marie passed, fulfilling all the objectives, but Judd himself had come away with an even higher score than he¡¯d had on ¡°Don¡¯t Buy The Farm¡±. For that, he had to hold his head high.
Once the black screen faded, however, Judd wasn¡¯t smiling anymore.
He opened his eyes to find himself back in the dining pavilion. However, the air was thick with worry, which made no sense to Judd. He¡¯d just blazed through his second Isekai adventure with flying colors, even if it had cost him some masculinity.
And then he saw that those who had also ¡°woken up¡± from their simulation were all gazing squarely in one direction: At him.
Or rather, not at Judd, but instead at the young-woman-who-would-not-grow-old next to him. Marie Emerson, the elegant lady whom many Southern men no doubt wished to date, lay sitting and trembling on the ground.
¡°Marie, are you okay?¡± Judd gasped. She was clearly conscious, as evidenced by how much she was fidgeting, but the way she was almost convulsing made him worry.
Marie did not reply, instead facing the ground as she pulled herself into something akin to the ¡°Downward Dog¡± yoga position. For a moment, Judd was convinced she would throw up, then collapse to the ground in a heap.
Both of those things did in fact happen, but not before Lucas the Lucario came rushing over to her side. ¡°Marie!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±
Tears were filling the young woman¡¯s eyes as Lucas rolled her onto her back. Now Marie faced the Lucario, and she was plainly distraught about something.
¡°Answer me, dammit!¡± Lucas bellowed, which elicited more than a few gasps from the rest of the audience.
¡°That is no way to speak to her!¡± announced a familiar voice from about ten yards away. Its bearer was a tall, curly-haired young man whom Judd knew immediately as Michael I.Z.A. ¡°Mizar¡± Rainsford.
Mizar galloped to Marie¡¯s side. The distraught young lady did not acknowledge him, but Mizar didn¡¯t seem to care about that. He was furious with Lucas.
¡°You shouldn¡¯t dismiss her fear like that!¡± Mizar all but shouted.
¡°She has to get over it,¡± the Lucario stated bluntly. ¡°This wasn¡¯t the first difficult mission she faced, and it certainly won¡¯t be the last. Unless she wants to volunteer to leave in someone else¡¯s place, that is.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t put that in the air,¡± Mizar snapped. Looking right in Marie¡¯s eyes, he stated ¡°She belongs here as surely as I do.¡±
¡°Wait,¡± Judd asked. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±
Mizar looked up from Marie to address the question. ¡°She¡¯s having a panic attack. I¡¯ll admit that without knowing what your mission entailed, I can¡¯t be sure what caused it. But I am sure of one thing.¡±
Lucas shot Mizar a dirty look. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±
¡°Talking about Marie as though she isn¡¯t there, or dismissing what she¡¯s going through, is highly disrespectful!¡± Mizar bellowed. ¡°Trauma is something that has to be respected, even if you haven¡¯t experienced it yourself. Especially if you haven¡¯t!¡±
¡°Well, there¡¯s no room to think about the past right now,¡± Lucas stated. ¡°Quite frankly, the past is a weakness. The past will eat you alive if you let it.¡±
¡°She needs help,¡± Mizar stated. ¡°She needs someone to listen to her, someone to tell her that her fears are valid.¡±
Marie¡¯s nose was now thick with snot, her face drenched with tears. ¡°I just¡those sounds brought me back¡CLANCY!¡±
There¡¯s that name again. Clancy. Why does Marie keep mentioning the first person to get their torch snuffed since I arrived here?
¡°We¡¯ll take her back to her cabin,¡± Lucas stated. ¡°I would tell her to get a therapist, honey, but there are no therapists here at Jet Force Isekai. Down here you need to take care of your own feelings, thank you very much.¡±
¡°That¡¯s just wrong,¡± Judd mouthed. ¡°That is so wrong¡¡±.
As Mizar helped Marie stand up and began leading her back to Cabin Gemini, Lucas narrowed his eyes at Judd. ¡°Is that something you learned at church, Judd? Did your God tell you what¡¯s right or wrong? If you need God to tell you right from wrong, then are you truly a moral creature?¡±
That question was akin to a stab right through the ribcage, puncturing Judd¡¯s ribs, lung, and heart. It felt violating, like it was forcing itself upon Judd and taking away a central part of who he was.
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Judd replied through gritted teeth. Then, before he could stop himself, he said this: ¡°Marie¡¯s not a loser or sucker for having a panic attack. You¡¯re the loser, Lucas. You¡¯re the sucker.¡±
As soon as those words left his lips, Judd knew he would pay dearly for daring to utter them. He did not yet know how he would pay, just that Toriel et al had numerous ways to make him suffer for that wrong and would spare no mercy when they employed them. But that was okay, because Judd would do what was right, not what he was told.
Chapter 7: Im Not Batwoman, Im the Canadian
¡°Your interviewer today will be Samuel,¡± Toriel told Judd right after the tension between him and Lucas had boiled over.
Judd wasn¡¯t terribly surprised by this news. After having been interviewed by Lucas thrice in a row, it made sense to Judd that the Lucario would want a break. Still¡
Lucas is probably thinking about how best to retaliate against me for calling him a loser and sucker. Do I blame him? No. In fact, I hope the Good Lord can give me the strength I need to forgive him.
With that, another Lucario showed up in front of Judd and gestured for the young man to follow him to a vacant stump that had clearly once been a grand column in the Greco-Roman style. Then Judd sat down and the interview began.
¡°So,¡± Samuel stated, ¡°it is a pleasure to meet you, Judd.¡±
¡°Likewise¡± Judd replied. It occurred to him that he was breaking one of the Ten Commandments, the one stating that thou shalt not lie, but sometimes sins were justified if they served a greater purpose.
¡°So tell me about your mission today. How did the yellow liquid taste?¡±
Judd cringed as he remembered the jolts the electric drink had sent cascading around his body. Literally every one of his blood vessels and veins had been shocked, and he¡¯d prayed for it to end, for the torture felt interminable.
¡°It hurt,¡± Judd stated. ¡°A lot. And I don¡¯t really want to talk about it.¡±
Samuel frowned. ¡°That is the purpose of this interview, is it not? Everything you say here will be completely confidential, and it¡¯s not going to leave this space. I¡¯ll swear it on¡whatever you hold dear.¡±
When Judd remained silent, the Lucario continued. ¡°Judd, if anything ever bothers you here, then you should tell us. Some would say that you have a duty to report, because if you¡¯re experiencing discomfort, then it¡¯s quite possible others are too.¡±
Quite frankly, the agony caused by that electric drink had paled in comparison to that of wondering what had just happened to Marie. Judd wasn¡¯t even that fond of her - they¡¯d worked together out of necessity, but that didn¡¯t mean they liked each other. But he still hadn¡¯t relished watching her suffer a panic attack.
Moreover, the fact that Lucas had dismissed Marie¡¯s mental health as though it were totally inconsequential demonstrated, if nothing else, that he didn¡¯t care about her well-being. (Some of the staff at Judd¡¯s church back in Kansas would have said that panic attacks were evidence of demonic possession, which was one teaching that admittedly made Judd feel squeamish. But he still believed, because he had to.)
¡°Look, Judd,¡± Samuel continued, ¡°all you have to do is tell me if you have any concerns, and I¡¯ll make sure they are addressed.¡±
The Lucario appeared totally genuine, at least if you just went by his facial expression. But Judd felt certain this was just a ploy. It seemed more likely that if Judd reported how worried he was about how Lucas had treated Marie¡¯s well-being, Samuel would just report Judd¡¯s blabbing to his boss Toriel. Maybe she¡¯d make some cosmetic concessions, but nothing would fundamentally change, and Lucas would still want to make Judd pay for the insult he¡¯d landed.
In simpler terms, Judd saw no reason to complain to Samuel. ¡°I have no concerns, sir.¡±
¡°Good. But you know that if there are issues, come to me and I¡¯ll make sure that stops.¡±
You dirty little liar, Samuel.
¡°In any case,¡± the Lucario continued, ¡°next question. Our footage from today¡¯s Isekai mission shows that while you and Marie Emerson were disguising yourselves to enter Cameran Palace¡¡±.
¡°Do you really know that?¡± Judd snapped.
Samuel glared at his interviewee. ¡°Of course we do. How do you think we are able to score your performances?¡±
¡°Yeah, silly question.¡±
¡°While you and Marie were dressing up, Marie gave you a command that made you visibly uncomfortable. Could you talk about that for a bit?¡±
There¡¯s no point lying. From what I remember, Lucario can sense aura or whatever it¡¯s called, so he¡¯ll be able to suss out whether what I say is, well, suspicious. And Samuel has power over me right now.
Judd sighed. ¡°Marie told me to put on the pink dress and pretend to be Lady Ilene.¡±
Samuel nodded. ¡°She did, apparently. And how did you feel about that?¡±
When he hesitated, the Lucario assured Judd once more that nothing left their interview if he didn¡¯t want it to become public. This is just like confession, Judd reminded himself. If I could do it so many times in my good Christian life, I can do it in my afterlife.
¡°It felt pretty awkward, honestly,¡± Judd remarked. ¡°It was, like, the most humiliating insult to my intelligence I could have imagined.¡±
¡°Judd, it¡¯s common knowledge that you were a devout Christian in life -¡±.
¡°I still am!¡±
¡° - and based on the culture wars in your United States, it seems that quite a few people of your faith are vocally against drag shows. Having to dress in what was effectively drag¡ did it feel wrong?¡±
¡°Yes!¡± Judd exclaimed. ¡°It¡¯s like graduating high school and then being made to repeat kindergarten!¡±
¡°Well, now that¡¯s a little extreme, isn¡¯t it?¡±
¡°No, it isn¡¯t. Having to do that, to dress in a role that isn¡¯t appropriate for how the Lord made me¡it went against God¡¯s word, you know. His plan. It went against who I am.¡±
¡°If you had to do that mission all over again,¡± Samuel asked, ¡°would you do it the same way as today?¡±
¡°Maybe I¡¯d try a bit harder to persuade Marie not to make me dress in drag¡± Judd retorted. Then, with a slightly calmer voice: ¡°I guess we only missed out on six points, so I can¡¯t complain too much.¡±
Samuel nodded, writing something down. Then he posed his next question.
¡°So you arrive back from the mission, and Marie immediately falls to the ground and starts shaking. It¡¯s supposedly a panic attack. How does that make you feel?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Judd stated.
Samuel raised one of his aura-sensing dreadlocks. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±
¡°I really don¡¯t. I felt conflicted, because we¡¯ve been fighting constantly in the cabin. But when Lucas dismissed her, and Mizar defended her, I must admit that I felt for her.¡±
¡°Oooh. Romance might be brewing in Cabin Gemini?¡±
Judd shook his head defensively. ¡°No! We¡¯re just friends, but honestly, we¡¯re not even friends! Didn¡¯t I just mention how much we bicker?¡±
¡°True.¡±
¡°I¡¯m telling you, Samuel, I don¡¯t know how you came up with the criteria for compatibility. I¡¯d like to see that data. Because it certainly isn¡¯t working out for us!¡±
The Lucario sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll have a word with Toriel about this, I promise.¡±
That was what Samuel said. However, what he did was something else entirely: He gave a rapid, blink-and-you¡¯ll-miss-it wink. It was much like a freeze frame joke in a TV show, only Samuel probably wasn¡¯t joking at all.
Okay. So Samuel isn¡¯t a good actor either. Can I even trust him during this interview?
Oh well, I¡¯ve already said too much if he¡¯s going to blab - I might as well go all the way!
¡°I have one final question for you, Judd. What did you think of Marie¡¯s behavior during the mission?¡±
¡°You mean how she kept freezing up whenever there was a loud noise?¡± Judd responded. ¡°Honestly, I didn¡¯t think much about it. I tried not to think about it, because we had a job to do.¡±
¡°Very well,¡± Samuel responded. ¡°You are free to leave this interview, though dinner is not going to be served for forty-five minutes.¡±
¡°Thank you,¡± Judd said. He was not really thanking Samuel for the interview, but rather for being allowed to leave. He¡¯d spent all of ten minutes in the Lucario¡¯s company and was already thoroughly humiliated.
¡°Thank you for the answers,¡± Samuel told him.
With that, Judd made his way back to the pavilion. As much as he hated to wait around the pavilion while some others might still be in their simulations, as much as he didn¡¯t want to intrude, there just wasn¡¯t enough time before dinner to justify returning to Cabin Gemini. Especially when there was nothing to do there.
Wait a minute - what was that plump, indigo shape behind one of the pillars?
It has to be Guildmistress Toriel. It has to be. Nobody else wears indigo here.
As Judd got closer, stepping as lightly as possible for the sake of stealth, he saw that Toriel held an appliance in her hand. A type of appliance he hadn¡¯t seen in a long time - a wired telephone!
That¡¯s weird. How could she possibly have reception here? And who would she be calling anyway?
Eavesdropping may have been a sin, but Judd decided he could let himself give in to the temptation just this once. He could pray for forgiveness later, but for now, his curiosity had gotten the better of him.
¡°Yes, Mr. Kipper, everything is going as planned¡± Toriel said softly into the phone. ¡°They¡¯ve all gone into their respective missions, and most of them have woken up after completing said missions.¡±
There was an unintelligible voice on the other end of the line. Judd couldn¡¯t even tell if the speaker sounded male or female, old or young. Then Toriel spoke up again.
¡°The mean of the scores was 81. The standard deviation was 9. Yes, we¡¯re calculating all those statistics to decide who is worthy.¡±
Who is WORTHY. She means ¡°worthy¡± of remaining in Jet Force Isekai.
To Judd, that ¡°W-word¡± carried a specific connotation. To Toriel, it seemed to mean that salvation from banishment came through works rather than through faith alone. And this idea made Judd trust the guildmistress just a little less.
¡°They¡¯ll be ready pretty soon, Mr. Kipper,¡± Toriel insisted, her tone rising marginally. ¡°You have to be patient. They¡¯ll get there when they get there.¡±
What¡¯s she talking about? Is she describing us like we¡¯re toddlers who need to reach a developmental milestone? This feels just like having to wear that damn dress!
¡°No, no, I haven¡¯t told them yet. It¡¯s more fun not to tell them. I don¡¯t think they want to know, anyway, until they do. But I¡¯m going to drop the truth on them at the last second. Again, that¡¯s the most satisfying way to do things.¡±
Okay. Now I REALLY want to know what Toriel means.
¡°Right, right, Mr. Kipper,¡± Toriel responded. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to keep that in mind. But until then, your opinion only matters so much. So I¡¯ll hang up right now - we will talk again tomorrow, okay? Bye.¡±
Judd watched with bated breath as Toriel placed the phone back in its box. The guildmistress then slowly turned around and came face to face with Judd!
His heart felt as though it were going to thump its way right out of his chest. Despite this, Judd¡¯s blood ran cold. For all he knew, his memory was about to get sold to the moment Toriel stared at him.
The guildmistress¡¯ expression was not necessarily one of anger - perhaps shock is the most accurate word here. But Toriel clearly hadn¡¯t expected to catch Judd there, and she seemed as surprised as a kid caught with one hand in the cookie jar.
¡°What did you hear?¡± Toriel snapped.
¡°Nothing,¡± Judd insisted, though his tone hardly sounded like the sort that would convince anyone who already thought he¡¯d heard something.
Indeed, the guildmistress shook her head. ¡°You certainly don¡¯t look like someone who didn¡¯t witness anything of importance. I was on the phone, and the call¡¯s contents were highly classified.¡±
¡°Why would you have a highly classified phone call out in the open?¡± Judd responded. Hey, I¡¯m just asking the important questions, aren¡¯t I?
¡°That is not important,¡± Toriel replied coldly. ¡°In fact, it is totally irrelevant. This can remain between me and you, or I can make it a bigger issue.¡±
¡°Is that a threat?¡±
¡°Maybe¡± the guildmistress responded in a tone that clearly communicated a threat. She¡¯d clearly abandoned all pretense of considering Judd her Child, not that he hadn¡¯t considered it creepy and odd to begin with.
¡°Who is Mr. Kipper, anyway?¡± Judd responded. ¡°A fish, like the one that¡¯s in those Mario games? The only video games I was allowed to play as a kid?¡±
That clearly set Toriel off, and the guildmistress glared at Judd. ¡°It does not matter. You aren¡¯t supposed to know. And again, this can stay between the two of us.¡±
¡°Fine,¡± Judd said. ¡°How can I keep it that way?¡±
¡°Head off to dinner - or back to your cabin - like a good boy and don¡¯t bring this up ever again. As far as I¡¯m concerned, this never happened. Do you understand?¡±
Judd nodded to show that he understood, but as he made his way to the picnic table at which he would consume his evening meal, he felt as though he had more questions than ever before.
It does not matter. But Toriel certainly acted like it was important that such information remained classified. If the secret was of no consequence, then why would she insist so much on it staying a secret?
Whatever. It¡¯s none of my business. Just because I want to know something doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t. When I reach the Kingdom of Heaven, I¡¯ll have every chance to ask God everything I¡¯m curious about. Until then, I¡¯ll remain in the dark.
As Judd sat down at an empty picnic table, he found himself silently praying. Nothing out of the ordinary, of course - he just asked the Good Lord to give him the tools he needed to reach His Kingdom.
I¡¯m going to get there someday. All I need to do is keep the faith and keep excelling at these challenges - I mean, MISSIONS. But I suppose they are challenges, too.
The residents of Jet Force Isekai who hadn¡¯t left the pavilion upon waking from their simulations started trickling back in eventually. During this time, Mizar ended up sitting next to Judd, putting his head in his hands after he did so.
¡°Thanks,¡± Judd stated.
Mizar raised an eyebrow. ¡°What are you thanking me for?¡±
¡°Keeping me company. Without company, I¡¯d have far too much time to think about how it started and how it¡¯s going.¡±
Mizar sighed. ¡°Welcome to my world, Judd. I¡¯ve been here for over a year. In fact, closer to two years now. It¡¯s January 2024 now, isn¡¯t it?¡±
Judd thought about it for a moment, then nodded. ¡°I think so. It was that month when I died in the Rocky Mountains.¡±
¡°Then I¡¯ve been here for about twenty months,¡± Mizar stated stoically. ¡°I died climbing Mount Everest during the spring climbing season in 2022. There was an avalanche, as they say will only get more common with climate change, and I got the short end of the stick.¡±
¡°You seem pretty calm about having died in an avalanche¡± Judd observed aloud.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
The other man shrugged. ¡°You need to accept your fate eventually, I guess. It all happened so quickly, too - you can relate, right?¡±
Judd nodded. ¡°I got mauled by a moose, and those creatures can run at like forty miles per hour.¡±
Mizar grimaced, probably envisioning the bloody pile that was Judd¡¯s corpse back on Earth. ¡°The point is, when the snow and ice started cascading down the mountain, I didn¡¯t have much time to ponder my fate before it was all around me. And I got crushed pretty quickly - it wasn¡¯t a slow suffocation like you hear about in the movies. Anyway, that was well over a year ago - May 2022, to be more precise.¡±
¡°So if my math is correct,¡± Judd said softly, ¡°you¡¯ve done over eighty missions since you arrived?¡±
¡°Yep,¡± Mizar stated. ¡°Like I said, when you keep getting Isekai¡¯d, you get used to it eventually. It seems your bunkmate hasn¡¯t gotten used to it yet.¡±
A proverbial light-bulb went off in Judd¡¯s head: Of course. That¡¯s another thing I wanted to discuss with Mizar!
¡°Thank you¡± Judd mouthed.
Mizar frowned. ¡°What are you thanking me for?¡±
¡°Thank you for defending Marie against what Lucas was saying. It can¡¯t have been easy, but¡¡±.
¡°...it¡¯s what anyone would do¡± Mizar insisted. ¡°Or at least, anyone with an ounce of decency. Don¡¯t congratulate me too much, Judd.¡±
¡°Still.¡±
¡°Look, Judd, I appreciate it, but I don¡¯t need God to tell me what¡¯s right or wrong. And you don¡¯t either - I can tell you know independently of your God that it¡¯s always best to stand up for those who are suffering.¡±
¡°God taught me that, though¡± Judd stated automatically.
¡°Did He really?¡± Mizar responded quizzically. ¡°The point is, Judd, if your main motivation for being a good person is that you want to be rewarded after you die, are you really a good person?¡±
Judd did not know how to answer that question. And that was a scary thought, like being on the edge of a bottomless pit and experiencing a call to the void that you were desperately trying not to comply with.
¡°Anyway,¡± Mizar continued in little more than a whisper, ¡°you were also pretty brave, or at least brazen, when you called Lucas a loser and sucker.¡±
¡°Maybe¡± Judd sighed. ¡°But he¡¯s going to punish me later, isn¡¯t he?¡±
Mizar nodded grimly. ¡°Probably. In fact, almost assuredly. They don¡¯t take insults lying down here. They¡¯re not the benevolent overlords that you wanted.¡±
Judd shivered.
¡°I¡¯m sure, too, that there¡¯s something they aren¡¯t telling us,¡± Mizar continued. ¡°I don¡¯t know what that something might be, but they¡¯re keeping it a secret.¡±
It occurred to Judd that maybe he should tell Mizar about the phone call he¡¯d witnessed Toriel making to an unknown entity named ¡°Mr. Kipper.¡± If the other young man (who would not grow old) wanted confirmation that he was right, then Judd would be able to provide that.
But then Judd remembered Toriel¡¯s threat to make his eavesdropping public information. It was too risky. Besides, what did Judd really know about the call? Other than Toriel¡¯s words, he had no clue what they¡¯d been discussing or even who Mr. Kipper was.
No. In the end, he saw no reason to inform Mizar of the call. Luckily, he didn¡¯t need to ponder that decision for too long, because a cut of steak with a side of what resembled a Thai stir fry swiftly appeared on their plates.
Within seconds, Judd and Mizar were both eating with gusto. ¡°Plenty of protein¡± Mizar stated with a satisfied smile as he wolfed down his greens.
Judd couldn¡¯t help but concur. This was possibly the most delicious meal he¡¯d eaten since arriving at Jet Force Isekai, and hearing Mizar¡¯s ringing endorsement of it didn¡¯t hurt matters at all.
Mizar, however, only approved of the main course. Once it was gone, each plate was swiftly adorned with a single slice of what looked like cheesecake with a raspberry sauce on top. At this, Mizar turned up his nose. ¡°Why would they serve us this garbage?¡±
¡°I dunno, looks pretty delicious to me¡± Judd said, licking his lips.
¡°But cheesecake is, like, the worst thing for you when you¡¯re an athlete. Or in general. No matter how amazing it tastes.¡±
¡°Have it your way,¡± Judd replied, rolling his eyes. ¡°But I¡¯m going to eat what I want, because I¡¯m already dead. Does it really matter if I eat like shit from a nutritional standpoint?¡±
Unfortunately, Judd did not get a chance to enjoy his dessert, for his shoulder was swiftly tugged on by an unseen force.
¡°Get off me¡± Judd muttered, but the force did not do so. That¡¯s when Judd looked up and saw that this force was the grip of one of his own bunkmates.
Sophie stared grimly at Judd. ¡°We need to talk.¡±
Judd glared at Sophie. ¡°What did I do wrong?¡±
¡°Not everything is about you, Judd!¡± Sophie exclaimed. ¡°You need to stop thinking it is! The world wasn¡¯t created for you, and neither is everything your fault!¡±
¡°Cool, so whose fault is this? And can I just eat dessert first?¡±
¡°No, you cannot¡± Sophie replied, stating it as though it were fact. ¡°You and I are going to talk, as will Jessica and Marie.¡±
Well, as much as Sophie and I don¡¯t get along, this is probably important. In fact, I¡¯d say it¡¯s ESPECIALLY important if she really thinks I need to be summoned for something like this.
Sophie led Judd over to one of the pillar stumps near the pavilion, rather similar to the ones used for the interviews. It was then that Judd saw what, precisely, the problem was.
Jessica stared at Sophie with what looked like petty rage, no pun intended. Meanwhile, Marie sat on the pillar stump, her head in her hands, a picture of emotional distress.
¡°That is the finest cheesecake I¡¯ve ever seen!¡± Jessica complained. ¡°It¡¯s like the food you eat when you¡¯re living the good life! And you had to take it from me, Sophie!¡±
Sophie narrowed her eyes. ¡°You said I had to. That¡¯s because, well, I needed to. This is more important than dessert. I¡¯m sorry.¡±
¡°You¡¯re not sorry at all, but okay¡± Jessica responded in a whiny tone.
¡°You¡¯re right, actually. I¡¯m not.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Judd said as he cast his glance between the arguing pair of Jessic and Sophie, as well as the weeping woman on the pillar stump. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡±
Sophie looked away from Jessica to give Judd a pitying glance, the sort that suggested: Oh, you sweet summer child. I¡¯m sorry to destroy your innocence. Okay, not really.
¡°We¡¯re trying to talk Marie away from the ledge¡± she muttered.
Judd frowned. ¡°Away from the ledge? But we¡¯re already dead; I don¡¯t follow you.¡±
Jessica sighed. ¡°She means, Judd, that Marie wants to quit. She told Sophie that she wanted to volunteer to be banished Elsewhere.¡±
¡°But she scored 94. I know this because I was her partner. She¡¯d really throw away her spot in Jet Force Isekai for whoever came in third to last?¡±
Marie nodded in between quaking sobs. ¡°They probably want to be here more than I do!¡±
Sophie gave Marie a back massage. ¡°What the third-to-last place team wants doesn¡¯t matter. If they scored too low today, they don¡¯t deserve to be here anymore.¡±
¡°But that¡¯s not fair!¡± Marie wailed.
¡°Life isn¡¯t fair, Marie, and neither is the afterlife¡± Sophie replied in a tone probably trying (and failing) to soothe Marie. ¡°I didn¡¯t make the rules here. Just because I follow the rules doesn¡¯t mean I agree with them. We¡¯re all in this system.¡±
¡°But I can¡¯t!¡± Marie exclaimed. ¡°I can¡¯t do it anymore!¡±
¡°Why can¡¯t you?¡± Judd inquired in an effort to defuse this situation. ¡°We just got an A in the mission. Or at least, in the A range. You¡¯re very much capable of this.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± Marie said softly between sobs. ¡°If you haven¡¯t experienced it yourself, you can¡¯t understand.¡±
Jessica frowned at Marie, frustration evident in her eyes. ¡°If you don¡¯t tell us what¡¯s wrong, how can you expect us to help you?¡±
Marie looked up from the ground and jabbed a finger in Jessica¡¯s direction. ¡°Are you trying to coax that information out of me? How dare you!¡±
Jessica held her hands in the air. ¡°What? No! I¡¯m just saying, it might help to get those words off your chest!¡±
¡°They¡¯re personal,¡± Marie stated tearfully, ¡°as are my reasons for leaving this place. I¡¯m going to volunteer my name at the amphitheater tonight, and none of you can stop me.¡±
Judd realized something at that very moment. If Marie willingly threw her torch on the ground for Toriel to snuff, would Judd have to join her Elsewhere?
Maybe that¡¯s what God wants me to do. Maybe I can show Marie mercy by putting her out of her misery, assuming she really wants out that badly.
But Judd spoke up anyway. He just wanted the answer.
¡°Marie,¡± he said testily, ¡°for all I know, if you volunteer to be banished, I have to leave too, because I¡¯m your partner.¡±
¡°No, you¡¯re not!¡± Marie bellowed, sniffing.
¡°What do you mean? I worked with you to save that Sobble from Cameran Palace! We went through the electric maze together! I was your partner.¡±
Jessica frowned. ¡°Does it really work that way? Would only Marie take the place of the person to be evicted, or would she and Judd both have to offer up their spots?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t want to find out,¡± Sophie grunted. She then turned to Marie. ¡°Look, I can¡¯t read your mind. I¡¯m not Batwoman, I¡¯m the Canadian.¡±
Marie snorted humorlessly. ¡°I don¡¯t think Batwoman can read minds.¡±
¡°I couldn¡¯t care less about the Marvel universe. The point is, I¡¯m only human, and if you don¡¯t tell us what¡¯s troubling you, we can¡¯t possibly persuade you to stay. We won¡¯t know what angle works.¡±
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Marie replied, ¡° because no angle will work. I¡¯m dead set on it. You¡¯re not going to see me here after tonight.¡±
Sophie gave Judd a side-eyed look, but defended him nonetheless. ¡°And if it means Judd has to leave too?¡±
¡°Then I¡¯m okay with that.¡±
¡°I know, but Judd may not be!¡± Jessica retorted in a moderately loud voice. ¡°And are you really willing to force your decision on him?¡±
Judd stood on his tiptoes. ¡°I can confirm that I¡¯m not okay with leaving yet. If I get a high enough score to stay, I want to stay.¡±
Jessica glared at Marie. ¡°Will you stand down, then?¡±
¡°Fine¡± Marie sobbed. ¡°But I¡¯ll make my final decision at the banishment ceremony. When does it start, anyway?¡±
Sophie rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s probably going to start any minute now. We really should dip our torches in and get fire.¡±
That is exactly what the Cabin Gemini quartet did, hastily returning to the pavilion just in time to join the procession of Jet Force Isekai residents making their way to the amphitheater. If possible, Judd¡¯s torch seemed even heavier, like he was the Titan Atlas holding the sky on his shoulders (not that Greek mythology was real - Jesus was the only true myth, the only one powerful enough to split history in two).
Once they¡¯d reached the monochrome version of Red Rocks, Judd, Jessica, and Sophie all sat adjacent to Marie - Judd and Jessica were on either side, whereas Sophie sat just above her. They had sacrificed their desired distance from one another on the altar of ensuring Marie didn¡¯t quit.
¡°Good evening, everyone,¡± Toriel announced. ¡°I see that everyone has dipped their torches into the brazier and gotten fire. This is part of the ritual of the banishment ceremony, because fire represents your afterlife here. When your fire¡¯s gone, so are you.¡±
It occurred to Judd that Toriel seemed to have used the same language almost verbatim to describe last week¡¯s ceremony. Maybe there was something to that, maybe nothing, but Judd thought it odd nonetheless.
¡°Thank you all for helping the Pok¨¦mon on the surface of Planet Nexus through your missions today. You have no doubt exerted a positive impact on the world, and a major one at that. Although the difficulty of many missions today was elevated, it seems that most teams were able to achieve a solid score. The same, of course, cannot be said for those who will be banished tonight.
¡°I will now list the three soloists, partnerships, or teams that have scored the lowest in the weekly Isekai mission and will therefore be banished from these ruins. I will start from the lowest score and continue to the third-lowest.¡±
Again, that¡¯s totally verbatim. It sounds so manufactured, but who am I to question it? A fool, that¡¯s who!
Toriel named the first casualties of that night¡¯s ceremony, a partnership consisting of a white-blonde woman and a dark-skinned man, both of whom shuffled nervously up to the snuffer when their torches were to be snuffed. After the guildmistress deployed her line The numbers have spoken, they were on their way elsewhere, and Judd¡¯s heart rate quickened.
It¡¯s only a few short minutes before we learn whether or not Marie¡¯s actually going to follow through. We¡¯ll also learn what ¡°following through¡± entails.
Judd gripped his torch more tightly as the second-lowest scorers were identified, a trio who¡¯d ¡°earned¡± a score of 52. He pictured himself being told to grab his torch and stand before Toriel for it to be extinguished, only to then be thrust into the great unknown. Quite frankly, the prospect scared the hell out of him.
The trio obediently surrendered their torches, and with it, their tenures at Jet Force Isekai. With that, Judd firmly held his torch like it was the last lifeboat leaving the RMS Titanic. Yes, it was burning, but the fire tethered him to his afterlife as he knew it.
Toriel was about to reveal the names of the third-lowest team (another trio, this time scoring 57) when Marie sprang up as though her seat had been a trampoline.
¡°Yes?¡± Toriel stated. ¡°You¡¯d better not be disrupting the ceremony. Marie Emerson, you are safe tonight - you scored well over thirty points higher than this team!¡±
¡°I want to volunteer!¡±
Judd gulped. It¡¯s the moment of truth. My Lord, please give Marie the common sense for her cooler side to prevail.
¡°Well then,¡± the guildmistress responded. ¡°If you want out that badly, you can just set your torch right here, and I¡¯ll snuff it for you.¡±
Well, nothing about what Toriel just said implies that I¡¯d need to leave if Marie does. But maybe she¡¯s about to drop it on me anyway.
¡°But!¡± Toriel continued, and Judd¡¯s stomach dropped. ¡°There is an important stipulation if you are to depart Jet Force Isekai voluntarily.¡±
¡°What is that stipulation?¡± Marie inquired, still bobbing up and down as though she couldn¡¯t wait to get her torch snuffed. Sure enough, though, Toriel gave the answer Judd feared most.
¡°All quits are team quits, Marie Emerson¡± the guildmistress announced. ¡°You are the only one who needs to want to leave, but if you are so determined to leave these ruins without failing a mission, your partner will also be banished. That¡¯s something you must think about.¡±
Yes. It¡¯s something to think about, indeed.
Judd clung even more tightly to his torch while reclining even further into the bench. This was hardly a comfortable position for his body to be in, but it at least seemed to tether him firmly to Jet Force Isekai rather than whatever came next.
Now his afterlife was hanging by a thread, and Marie was holding it. It didn¡¯t matter how fervently Judd pleaded to stay - if Marie really wanted to be gone, there was only so much he could do about it.
¡°Don¡¯t do it, Marie,¡± Judd pleaded with her.
Marie glared at Judd. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me what to do, ¡± she snarled. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me how to live my afterlife!¡±
¡°But this isn¡¯t just about you!¡± Judd protested. ¡°It¡¯s about me too. And I really want to stay here - I earned it, after all, and so did you!¡±
¡°So what?¡±
¡°What do you mean, so what?¡± Judd retorted. ¡°It isn¡¯t right to force your way of life onto anyone else! I don¡¯t know how you were raised, but I was taught to mind my own damn business!¡±
¡°Unless it relates to marrying whoever you want regardless of gender, or letting a woman access health care when she needs to, or¡¡± Marie trailed off, clearly trying to think of a better example.
¡°Don¡¯t say anything about my politics¡± Judd insisted. ¡°You don¡¯t know shit about how I voted.¡±
Lucas the Lucario, who stood near the entrance to the amphitheater at this time, snapped his claws. ¡°You have two minutes to come to a decision¡± he stated firmly. ¡°If a decision cannot be reached, we will stick with Marie Emerson¡¯s expressed wish to leave Jet Force Isekai, thereby taking Judd Asgard with her on their journey Elsewhere.¡±
Judd¡¯s lungs expanded and contracted, but it seemed impossible for them to get quite enough air. He had only two minutes to persuade Marie not to grab him and chuck both herself and Judd off a proverbial cliff.
¡°You can¡¯t do this, Marie,¡± Judd told her breathlessly. ¡°You just can¡¯t.¡±
¡°Who says that?¡± Marie responded flippantly. ¡°It¡¯s a free country. Judd, you said so yourself. I can do whatever I want!¡±
Sophie cleared her throat. ¡°I might not agree with Judd¡¯s¡ahem, religious beliefs, but he¡¯s got a point there. Your life is your own to do as you want with it, and so is your afterlife.¡±
Arceus, I wish she¡¯d just get to that point. I can practically picture that giant red timer counting down from 120!
¡°But your freedom to swing your arms ends at someone else¡¯s face¡± Sophie continued. ¡°That¡¯s why I don¡¯t like when religion is involved in politics, and why I¡¯m very scared for America. Your afterlife is yours, but you don¡¯t own Judd¡¯s as well.¡±
Judd felt the seconds slipping away. Sophie was making her point eloquently; he¡¯d give her that, even if he didn¡¯t agree with her on the matter of God¡¯s existence. He just wished she¡¯d use a few less words.
Jessica spoke up finally. ¡°You can¡¯t go down now, Marie. Not without taking Judd with you. And as much as we fight, I don¡¯t think you hate Judd enough to do this to him.¡±
Marie turned her head one way, then tilted it back and narrowed her eyes at Jessica. For a brief moment, Judd felt certain Marie was about to explode like a banshee, yelling I¡¯m pissed!, or something similar. And that would be the final nail in his coffin, the end of any hope he had to remain here. To continue his quest to find the Good Lord¡¯s Kingdom of Heaven as opposed to being at the mercy of others.
But then Marie said one word.
¡°Right.¡±
Toriel raised an eyebrow. ¡°So, just so that we¡¯re all clear here, you, Marie Emerson, will not volunteer to leave Jet Force Isekai after all?¡±
¡°That is correct,¡± Marie said with a sigh. She glanced at Judd as if to say, You owe me one. However, Judd didn¡¯t care much about that look, because he let out a breath he hadn¡¯t realized he¡¯d been holding.
We¡¯re safe. I¡¯m safe, at least for now.
¡°Very well,¡± Toriel announced. ¡°Going forward, I would advise you not to interrupt me while I am about to name the banished party unless you truly intend to volunteer yourself as tribute.¡±
¡°Right,¡± Marie stated, giving Judd another look that suggested she¡¯d truly been considering a premature exit from the ruined land they¡¯d called home for the past week.
¡°In that case,¡± the guildmistress continued, ¡°the third lowest score of today¡¯s missions was 57, and it went to¡¡±.
Judd tuned out the rest of the ceremony as his chest deflated. He could scarcely believe what had just transpired, but felt tempted to kiss the sweet ground. By the grace of God, he¡¯d been able to talk Marie into staying.
Sophie didn¡¯t seem to agree.
On the way back to Cabin Gemini following the ceremony¡¯s conclusion, Sophie glared at Judd. In little more than an angry whisper, she told him this: ¡°Well, you should really just take the W here.¡±
The pious young man (who would not grow old) narrowed his eyes. ¡°Why?¡±
¡°Because you kept Marie from getting her torch snuffed when she didn¡¯t need to.¡±
Judd didn¡¯t have the guts to admit that this had hardly been a selfless act of kindness. He hadn¡¯t saved Marie because he particularly cared about her, but rather because if he failed to do so, he was going to swing for her irrationality. In much the same way that Jesus had suffered for his sins, Judd would suffer as a result of Marie¡¯s mistakes. The only difference was that in the former situation, Jesus was given a choice. In Judd¡¯s case, he¡¯d have had none.
¡°Come on, Judd. You did something for yourself. You don¡¯t have to give God credit for it.¡±
¡°Just because I don¡¯t need to doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t. I give the Good Lord all the glory, because that¡¯s just the person I am.¡±
Sophie rolled her eyes, spitting out her next sentence as though punching Judd with words. ¡°How can it be that I¡¯m telling you that you underestimate your own worth? God didn¡¯t save your skin today, Judd - you did that for yourself!¡±
Well, yeah. I did it just for myself, not because I wanted to be chivalrous toward Marie.
When they arrived back at the cabin, Judd, Sophie, and Jessica went through their typical nighttime routine of using the toilet, brushing their teeth, etc. Nothing was very remarkable about that evening except for the fact that Marie sat cross-legged on her bed, leaning forward and clasping her fingers together as though in prayer.
That¡¯s weird, Judd thought upon finishing his tooth-brushing session. I thought she wasn¡¯t one for religion.
But it soon became clear that Marie wasn¡¯t saying anything at all. Rather, she just sat there sobbing off and on, rocking back and forth as though unable to sit still.
¡°Thanks,¡± Judd told her.
What he was thanking Marie for, he didn¡¯t know. Indeed, would you thank an arsonist for calling the fire department? Not likely.
I should probably thank God for the fact that I¡¯m still here.
So Judd climbed onto his mattress and got to his knees. Then he bowed and began praying, this time making damn sure he wasn¡¯t saying any of his words out loud.
My Lord, I would like to thank You for allowing Marie Emerson and I to survive another Isekai mission on the Pok¨¦mon planet Nexus. I know You created Earth, but here they apparently worship a false deity called Arceus. Did You create this planet, or did Arceus? Well, one day, when I can sit by Your side and ask You anything I want, I¡¯ll be glad to know the answer.
I would also like to express my sincerest gratitude toward You for convincing Marie Emerson to stand down and not send herself and me Elsewhere. I¡¯m not sure what they mean by Elsewhere, but I do not believe it is Your realm. Therefore, I am eternally thankful that You have kept me from going to such a wretched place.
Finally, one of my bunkmates, Sophie Frey, seems to think I shouldn¡¯t give You credit for talking Marie back from the brink. But I believe she is flat-out wrong. You deserve all the credit and glory, always. You have given me my daily bread, and forgiven me for my sins. And while I do not know what You expect of me, I believe You are using me as a vessel for those who lack faith in You. Amen.
Once he¡¯d finished those prayers, it occurred to Judd that maybe he shouldn¡¯t have doubted God¡¯s creation of Nexus. Hadn¡¯t He molded the whole universe with His bare hands? But in any case, Judd¡¯s eyelids were growing surprisingly heavy now that all the residual fear and stress from the day was fading.
He lay down in bed, rolling over in an effort to get comfortable. Jessica may have been the only Cabin Gemini resident to complain outwardly about the bed¡¯s quality (or lack thereof), but that cot was as flat as a board. It was more rigid than the body of a patient with what those in Kansas called ¡°brain flu.¡± Consequently, his back and neck were being remade in the image of the mattress: Stiff. But Judd knew the Lord was testing him, so until he met his maker, he just had to grin and bear it.
Last week, Judd had told Mizar that his country was the third-most important thing to him; the bronze medal, if you will. The silver went to Jesus. As far as the ¡°gold medal¡± went, Judd felt almost as though he were cheating in his relationship with the Lord when he admitted that there was something Earthly he cared more about than going to his church and worshiping his God.
Unlike prayer, or memories of how much he adored the United States, the thing Judd treasured most of all could not be accessed from this place. Try as he might, he¡¯d never be able to reach it again.
But that didn¡¯t stop him from visiting it in his dreams.
Chapter 8: Truth Antisocial
Judd stood in the main living room of the middle-class home he shared with his parents and sister. Fiddling with the crucifix necklace around his neck, he stared at the image of the American flag that was posted against his wall.
"Are you at least going to have some apple pie with us?" his younger sister, Julie, asked him.
Judd shook his head. "I''m afraid I have to leave right away. I don''t have time to eat dessert."
Julie gazed morosely at the ground, but responded seconds later with surprising vigor. "You''re afraid of being late, of all things? I''m telling you, Judd, you don''t have to go on this trip! What if something bad happens, like an avalanche?"
"It won''t" he stated. "We''ll stay within the bounds of the resort."
Judd''s parents, a pious God-fearing couple who''d raised an equally pious, God-fearing son, stood in the home''s entryway. "I trust you''ll be safe there," his mother told him. "You can promise that, right?"
Their son nodded. "I will be safe."
Judd''s father scratched his mustache. "Yes. Be safe and don''t hit a moose."
After Judd cringed at that, he gave his sister one last hug and made his way out to the Chevrolet Trailblazer that was his personal vehicle. He''d selected this one from the dealership precisely because it was the most all-American, patriotic vehicle you could possibly drive. Surely that made it a perfect fit for Judd.
Although Judd lived in a state bordering Colorado, one important tip for those living in America''s heartland (or west of it) was to remember how much distance existed between major cities. If your car broke down in the middle of nowhere, that meant trouble, because you were literally in the middle of nowhere.
It took more than several hours (several meaning seven) to drive from central Kansas to the Front Range of Colorado, and that was without traffic. The mountainous highway that was I-70 was rather slick due to the wintry conditions, and Judd knew he needed to have a healthy respect for it. He was well and truly in God''s Country now.
When Judd arrived at the timeshare he''d rented with a few of his friends, it was getting rather late, but Stan, a guy Judd''s age wearing a blue and red beanie, opened the door with a smile on his face and a slice of thick-crust pepperoni pizza in his hand. "This is for you," he told his friend.
"Stan, you''re the man!" Judd exclaimed. "You know just what I like!"
"Don''t worry about it" Stan responded. "That''s what delivery is for - it took no effort to get it other than picking up the phone and dictating our order."
In the middle of the timeshare, an elegant wooden home that looked like it truly belonged to the mountains, Judd''s other three friends sat at a table. Eric, Kyle, and Kenny were busy playing a tabletop card game that appeared to involve cute multicolored creatures. Pok¨¦mon, Judd realized.
"Okay," the red-shirted announced, directing these words at Kenny. "I''m going to use Onix here to get rid of your Pikachu. That''s your last Pok¨¦mon, Kenny."
Stan gasped. "Oh my God, he killed Kenny!"
Kyle wagged a finger at Eric. "You bastard!"
Eric shrugged. "It''s part of the game, Kyle. You can go for the gold - I''m living proof."
"Eric, the only thing you can go for the gold in is a pizza-eating competition!" Stan shot at the red-shirted man. "I''ve never seen anyone snort a pizza like you did. It was coming out of your ears, your nose, and there was sauce, and there was pineapple, and I was like whoa dude, slow down!"
Kenny mumbled something; behind his orange hood, this was almost impossible for Judd to make out.
"Well, I can eat as fast as I like," Eric stated. "It''s my life!"
Stan raised an eyebrow. "We still reserve the right to make fun of you for it."
"Whatever" Eric muttered. "Screw you guys, I''m going to bed. I''ll see you all in the morning."
Once Eric had left the table, the other four men looked around at each other. Then Kyle spoke up.
"I''ll admit that I''ve never been skiing before," he said.
Stan glared at Kyle. "Why would you reveal that right now?"
Kyle sighed. "It would have been nice of me to say that ahead of time, I''ll admit. But I honestly thought I could follow what everyone else was doing and still have a good time."
"Skiing''s pretty simple, honestly" Judd told Kyle. "All you have to do is point your skis in the shape of what we just ate for dinner. Because if you french-fry when you should have pizza''d, you''re gonna have a bad time."
Stan glared at Judd. "Why do I feel like I''ve heard that line before?"
"Because you have to admit, it''s pretty solid advice" Judd responded. "What isn''t ''solid advice'' is playing Pok¨¦mon cards around my parents and church group. They kept telling me it was demonic."
"Judd, just because your pastor tells you something doesn''t mean you have to take it literally" Kyle retorted. Kenny nodded as well, saying something virtually unintelligible.
"Why shouldn''t I?" Judd responded. "It''s the literal Word of God, after all."
Stan rolled his eyes, and that''s when Judd knew he''d be wise to end this line of conversation right there. He knew full well that his friends were not as observant as he was, and Kyle wasn''t even a Christian at all. It broke Judd''s heart to know that unless Kyle was converted during his Earthly life, he would spend eternity away from Judd. (Later, after the trip went south, Judd would tell Lucas that his friends were all about the Lord, but this was a lie. What was even the point of lying to someone who knew so much about your life?)
Julie, I bet you''d cringe at this. They''re playing POK¨¦MON CARDS. Isn''t that insane?
As Judd polished off a couple slices of pepperoni pizza and washed it down with swigs of root beer, he reflected on how he''d been away from his sister, his best friend, for only nine hours. And yet he already missed her.
Whatever. It''s only a week. I''m going to see her again at the end, and I''m sure I''ll have much to talk about. Every day with Eric, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny is an adventure.
The last thing Judd noticed before turning in was that a two-liter bottle of Double Dew (Mountain Dew with twice the amount of caffeine) sat just outside the room Eric had taken. The bottle was almost completely empty, and if Judd were a gambling man in America''s Sin City, he would have bet his all-American home that Eric wouldn''t sleep well that night.
The January morning dawned cold and bright in the Colorado mountains. In fact, due to snow''s high reflectivity (the quality his high school Geography teacher had called albedo), it was even brighter than it would have been otherwise, which made it even more important for Judd to cover his face in sunscreen.
Their first day of skiing was largely uneventful. Although Kyle claimed to have never been skiing before, he took to the sport surprisingly quickly. Within two runs he was done with the bunny slope and ready to move onto some of the more advanced blue pistes.
After every run, Judd looked up toward the heavens and thanked the Lord for the opportunity to go skiing with his closest friends. For they truly were friends, as dysfunctional as their friendship may have been. Additionally, the scenery surrounding the ski resort was downright spectacular, even if some of the region''s natural evergreen forest had been cleared to make way for the pistes.
One memory from that first day stood out to Judd the most, which was when he and Kyle rode the T-bar up to one of the resort''s highest elevations. This sort of lift required one to keep their skis straight to avoid an embarrassing spill on the lunar-seeming landscape above the tree line.
"Are you sure you''re up to this?" Judd asked Kyle. "There are only hard blues down from here."
"I am," Kyle insisted. "And I don''t need to pray to your God to have enough courage."
"Fair enough" Judd stated. Instead of Kyle, Judd himself found himself praying to the Lord above that his friend would be able to ride the T-bar perfectly to the summit.
Well, that didn''t last long, as when the T-bar came around, Kyle lowered his rump too quickly and forcefully, causing the bar to collapse under him. Kyle himself fell in a heap, the bar hitting his helmet before continuing its journey uphill without a passenger.
Eric laughed. "What an amateur" he stated mockingly.
"Shut up, fat boy!" Kyle yelped.
"Don''t call me fat, you¡" Eric began, but he was interrupted by Judd offering Kyle a hand.
"One word of advice, Kyle," Judd told his friend, "is that you''re not supposed to sit on the T-bar. You''re supposed to lower your butt, yeah, but you shouldn''t put all your weight on the bar. If you do it''ll fall, and so will you."
Eric rolled his eyes. "That''s exactly what just happened, but okay. Let''s just get up to the summit."
Kyle failed to get onto the T-bar a second time, which meant he was told to return to the back of the line and wait his turn to try again. Consequently, Judd ended up sharing the ride above the treeline with Eric of all people, who at least knew how to keep his skis straight.
"I''m telling you, Judd, I''m sure you prayed hard that Kyle would be able to ride the T-bar up."
"I did," Judd admitted.
"Well, it clearly didn''t happen. Does your God work in mysterious ways?"
"Yes, he does," Judd sighed. "He does indeed."
Although Kyle''s failure to mount the T-bar raised a question for Judd, it didn''t shake his overall faith to any significant degree. He figured that was yet another query to file away until such time as he met his maker. God had a plan for him, after all, and sometimes the plan didn''t fully need to align with his human desires. That was okay, because again, God worked in mysterious ways.
I wish you were here, Julie. The sunlight is so glorious, especially when it''s against the snow. It makes me feel so grateful to be on Earth. You would love to see this. But I''ll have another chance to tell you about this, because I''ll be back in a week.
Little did Judd know at the time that, while it was one thing to make such a promise, keeping it was another task entirely. He fully believed that he''d be able to speak to Julie again a week later, and that in the meantime, he would have the time of his life in God''s Country.
After the runs had closed down for the day, and as the sun began to sink lower in the sky, Eric suggested that they hit up one of the apres-ski bars made of ice. He''d just turned twenty-one, after all, and he wanted to take full advantage of the imbibing privileges that his new age granted him.
"No, Eric" Kyle stated forcefully. "You''re not going to get drunk. You''re the designated driver, remember?"
Eric rolled his eyes. "Designated driver, shmesignated shriver. I''m not going to listen to what you three have to say."
"Eric, driving drunk is against the law" Stan muttered. "Even if there''s only a trace amount of alcohol on your breath, you can still get prison time for a DUI. And I don''t think you want that on your permanent record."
The red-coated young man looked longingly at the ice bar, then down at the snowfront. He clearly wasn''t thrilled with needing to remain sober, but he also probably had the attitude of: If I go down, I''m taking you with me.
"If I can''t drink at the ice bar," Eric muttered, "then none of you can either. It''s either all of us or none of us."
"Then it''s none of us," Judd replied simply. "Let''s head back to the timeshare."
So Eric drove them along the slippery highway that was Interstate 70. Despite the potentially hazardous conditions, the redcoat floored the gas pedal far more aggressively than Judd''s driving school would have advised. You needed to have a healthy respect for the damage a vehicle could do if used improperly, and Eric clearly lacked such respect.
By the time the group arrived back at the timeshare, the sun was setting behind the Rocky Mountains, casting even longer shadows across the ground. An idea occurred to Judd.
"I think I''ll go for a walk around town," he told the others.
Eric frowned. "Could you get me a cinnamon roll?"
"Don''t spoil your appetite for dinner, fat boy!" Kyle exclaimed.
Judd rolled his eyes. "I''ll be back well before dinner" he stated, believing in his heart of hearts that this was true. Really, what reason did he have to think otherwise?
So Judd left the driveway of the timeshare and meandered his way around town. The town itself had a main street with an excellent view of the mountains, as well as numerous trails for both cyclists and pedestrians that worked their way around town in a labyrinthine manner. Every so often, Judd would see a rabbit or even a deer beside the path, a reminder that this place was truly wild. That he was in God''s country.
Eventually, Judd had wandered his way well beyond the main thoroughfare, and then he started thinking about how much closer he found himself to the creator of the universe. To the deity who had molded the young man, even if through evolution, to make him who he was today. In the cold, thin mountain air, God seemed less distant than ever.
Judd tapped the crucifix in front of his Adam''s apple. My Heavenly Father, thank you for providing me all that I''ve been given. Amen.
It was while Judd was on one of these pedestrian/cyclist trails, perhaps a mile or two from the nearest bakery (sorry, Eric), that the unexpected happened.
He heard a cracking sound, somewhat like that of a whip. However, the sound continued. For that matter, it wasn''t nearly as dramatic as a whip would have been, nor were there any whimpers of pain from the victim of said lashes. In other words, nobody was getting whipped.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Nevertheless, the cracking noise persisted, and Judd turned in its direction to find that a giant dark brown mammal was currently feasting on a few dead branches. This mammal had antlers that reached up to the sky with many branching "paths", and Judd pictured these antlers like the roots of a tree.
A moose.
If Judd had possessed all his mental faculties, rather than having been lured into a meditative state by the amazement of where he was, he might have recalled that moose were very dangerous creatures. If provoked, they could charge at their target with speeds approaching forty miles per hour. Even the most inhuman Olympic sprinter would not be able to outrun it, nor would an elite boxer be able to counter that moose in a fight. That fight wouldn''t last long, and it could hardly be called a "fight", for that word implies that the victor would need to struggle to win.
No. In reality, if you ended up in a confrontation with a moose, you might as well accept that you were going to meet your maker. Once you were left in a bloody pile, there was no way the paramedics could get to you fast enough. And even if they did, a bloody pile could hardly be put back together again, could it?
But Judd didn''t think. He let the thin air get to him as he called out, "Hey, moose! How''s it going?"
The moose did not respond, instead focusing on its meal of dead branches. As such, Judd decided to take a photo of the moose. He''d send it to Julie with a caption, something like, Look at that! It''s one of God''s greatest beasts!
However, Judd''s heart skipped a beat as soon as he''d snapped the picture. It did not matter that he''d turned the flash feature off - one way or another, the moose had noticed its photo being taken, and it did not like it. This was evidenced by the way the moose scraped its hoof against the snow, giving the unmistakable air of a predator about to pursue its prey.
Right then, Judd realized that he''d need to run away. Perhaps he was already too late, but he at least had to try to talk his way out of this.
He held both hands up. "I''m not going to hurt you!" he bellowed, though those words were caught in his throat and became painful to choke out.
The moose didn''t seem to care, puffing out copious amounts of steam from its nose. But at least it wasn''t chasing after Judd yet. (Running away would be futile, so all Judd could really do was stall for time until the moose was tired of staring him down).
"I swear to God, I''m not going to hurt you!" he exclaimed again. "Just let me get away. Please."
As Judd swore to God, he found himself gazing upward as though appealing directly to heaven. In a way, that''s exactly what he was doing, hoping that the Lord above would send something down from the darkening sky, a comet through the approaching night, to take down that moose and let Judd live to tell the tale.
I might not see Julie again. Scratch that - I WILL NOT see her again if You don''t help me now. I know You have many important tasks to perform, my Lord - running the universe has to be quite the undertaking. But if you can spare a lightning bolt or something to give me my life, that would be amazing.
However, no answer was forthcoming. The moose scraped its hooves against the snowy ground again, and Judd had seen enough to know that the giant mammal meant business. And it didn''t matter how fast Judd ran. It didn''t matter how delicately he tried to talk the moose out of eating him for dessert. The moose would eat him for dessert, one way or another.
So Judd turned around and calmly walked away. However, he didn''t get far.
He heard a springing noise behind him, and before he could even have the presence of mind to pray, before he could even shout his sister''s name, the moose had swept Judd off his feet and pinned him to the frosty ground.
Despite the winter''s cold, the moose''s breath was the temperature of a furnace. Indeed, during the colder months Judd sometimes liked to sit by said furnace for comfort and read the Bible, but this was not by choice.
"Get off me!" Judd all but wailed. "Please, get off me! I''ll never bother you again¡JULIE!"
All Judd could think about was how he was now going to be separated from his sister. She''d cross the boundary from her teens to her twenties, marry a devout man within the church, and possibly have children. She''d study to be a nurse, the sort of job she''d always claimed to want despite (or because of) all the stress it entailed. And she''d grow old in the presence of her husband before passing away peacefully, likely in her sleep, and being buried six feet under in God''s country.
Meanwhile, Judd would remain frozen in time, forever young.
Forever young.
As Sophie''s body remained supine on her rigid cot, her mind drifted off into the land of dreams. Typically, she didn''t remember what she had dreamed about, probably a sign from the universe that dreams weren''t worth paying attention to. Sophie resided in the world of cold, hard facts, and she wanted to keep it that way.
On the night after Marie was talked out of leaving Jet Force Isekai, however, Sophie dreamed about the day when she had become "forever young."
It had started just like any other day, and there certainly seemed no reason to think it would be the last day of her life.
Sophie had woken up in her apartment that she shared with a few of her cousins. The housing market in British Columbia was incredibly tight, but she didn''t care about that. It was better than having to pay for health care like those poor idiots south of the border did. Besides, when it came to living in the scenic seaside city of Victoria, you got what you paid for.
It was a warm, stuffy morning in the non-air-conditioned apartment, a prelude to a very hot day, and Sophie steeled herself for a difficult day of studies. In addition to her summer course in Physics at the local university, Sophie was trying to learn Finnish, a language that wasn''t related to most other European languages. Just like one of the few decent American Presidents had said in a famous speech about space travel, however, she learned Finnish because it was hard, not because it was easy.
As Sophie ate her cereal, she listened to a video of two people speaking Finnish; her eventual task would be to decipher what the conversation concerned in terms as specific as possible. She did not use Duolingo for this purpose. She''d been told that if you actually wanted to become fluent in a language other than your native tongue, Duolingo was little better than nothing.
However, sweat poured down the bridge of Sophie''s nose as she stared at the screen. It became increasingly difficult to concentrate with just how quickly the morning was warming up. Eventually, one of her cousins walked into the room.
"Good morning, Sebastian," Sophie said. "You know, I''m kind of busy right now."
Sebastian was twelve years old but already strong as an ox, built to play Canada''s favorite sport of ice hockey (which was heavily superior to American football in numerous ways). It was not his broad shoulders that stood out that morning, however, but rather the pleading look on his face.
"What are you doing?" Sebastian asked casually.
"Trying to pick up Finnish," Sophie stated.
Sebastian curled his lips into a pout. "Planning a move to Finland?"
"Well, no" the cousin ten years his senior told Sebastian. "But even if it''s only an official language of one country, learning it is still a very good mental exercise. You''ve got to stay sharp, you know?"
Sebastian sighed. "I just wanna play Fortnite all damn day. Is that too much to ask?"
Sophie rolled her eyes. "Of course it is. In fact, I suggest we head out to the river and go for a swim. It''s too hot to stay in this stuffy old apartment all day."
Her cousin groaned. "Can I at least bring my phone with me so I can hunt for Pok¨¦mon?"
"Fine. You may. But don''t bring it into the water, because then you''ll break your phone - or worse."
After that, Sophie''s brain cut off the rest of her memory. That''s right - her subconscious was a product of her brain, not her soul or any of that jazz that the Americans liked to pretend were real. Her physical body was all that mattered; she was nothing more than a meat computer existing in a sack of flesh and bone.
Of course, snippets of the rest of that fateful day still percolated around her mind on a regular basis. How could they not when the events had been so consequential to bring her where she was today?
Sophie could recall the drive to the river, during which she was very happy to only see the national flag on a handful of trucks driven by the vocal anti-science minority. (But it was a small minority, 5 percent of the population at most, whereas the US'' anti-science population was close to half.) She could also remember that Sebastian, like so many 12-year-olds in this day and age, was glued to his phone, constantly wondering aloud if he was about to catch a Shiny in Pok¨¦mon Go. And Sophie, of course, would remind him that Pok¨¦mon weren''t real, and that it was best to focus on things that were real, such as the beautiful creek they were about to visit.
She remembered arriving at the swimming hole, where they''d changed into their bathing suits and relished the cool, clear waters of the creek. The trickle of the nearby waterfall, the bright sunlight filtering through the treetops, the scent of ferns¡it was all present, and it was all natural, no God required to explain it.
Finally, she recalled the convoy idiot who''d pulled his truck into the parking lot, seen one of the bumper stickers on Sophie''s own car stating I BELIEVE IN SCIENCE, and swiftly driven off, evidently determined to boycott that swimming hole like those Proud Boys had elected to boycott Target. And she''d had a good laugh at that, though Sebastian didn''t seem to fully grasp the apparent irony in how the "convoy idiot" likely considered his older cousin a snowflake. He claims I''m too weak to handle acquaintances with different opinions, but he can''t even share a swimming hole with me.
And then there was the vague recollection of footsteps lumbering through the old growth forest, screams from Sebastian (who now seemed fully alert rather than daydreaming about playing Apex Legends all damn day), and then determination on Sophie''s part to protect her cousin. Whether or not they agreed with one another''s life choices, they both had to accept that they were family.
In the end, it didn''t matter how hard Sophie resisted the bear. She was no match for it, and even now, she wasn''t entirely sure whether or not Sebastian had been able to escape.
Even after she''d woken up at Jet Force Isekai, Sophie had clung to the notion that maybe, just maybe, Sebastian was still alive. He never appeared in those ruins, so Sophie assumed that if he was dead, that was it. Even in this bizarre afterlife, she felt certain that for most people, when life was over, life was over.
As such, she wanted to hold out hope, because the alternative was too tragic to comprehend. Sophie needed to believe there was a chance, however slim, that Sebastian had escaped those woods and continued living his life. But in the last six months at Jet Force Isekai, no evidence to that effect had been forthcoming.
If Sophie were fully honest with herself, she would likely have admitted that she believed Sebastian might still be out there for the same reason Judd clung to his faith in Jesus of Nazareth. Even in the absence of evidence, she wasn''t strong enough to admit the truth, that her beloved cousin was now in the void, eternal oblivion, the big sleep¡whatever you wanted to call it, Sebastian Frey was no more. And just because Sophie had slipped the noose of religious indoctrination, just because she didn''t fall prey to the same nationalism and flag worship that Americans espoused, that didn''t mean everything she believed was rational.
Sophie woke early the next morning, sitting upright in bed. In fact, she''d had many early mornings in this drafty old cabin, because the stiff board they called a "bed" just wasn''t comfortable. Besides, she wasn''t the heaviest sleeper to begin with.
She looked around the cabin. Her three bunkmates remained dead to the world - Jessica seemingly slept the most soundly, because Marie kept tossing and turning and Judd''s hands were clasped together even in his slumber.
We''re not dead to the world. We''re just plain dead, and so is Sebastian. It took me six months to accept this, but he''s not forever young. He''s just gone forever!
The stiffness in Sophie''s joints protested against any movement, but she nonetheless got to her feet and started brushing her teeth. She knew it was very early in the morning, and she knew that because¡she just could. After six months in this ruined land, she''d developed a sixth sense for how to operate her "body clock."
It''s better to just start the day now. I know I won''t be sleeping any longer, that''s for sure.
Sophie donned her shoes and made her way out of Cabin Gemini. The light fog filled the air, drenching part of her tracksuit - for all she knew, maybe her last name or four-digit discriminator had become illegible as a result.
Sophie did not know how far she walked until she reached a veritable maze of pathways that led to the top of the ravine. As she peered through the fog, trying to figure out how many meters the climb would be (meters, not feet, for she was a proud yet not nationalistic Canadian), she couldn''t shake the sensation that she was being watched.
That''s ridiculous, she told herself. Nobody''s watching you. You''re all alone in this canyon - are you going to start praying like Judd does?
But those walls were just plain unsettling. Not because she felt particularly afraid of heights, but because something about them wasn''t quite right. The stone seemed to glimmer every so often, with occasional flashes of light and hums. Maybe that was just Sophie''s imagination, though.
Well, maybe it would be nice to get a bird''s-eye view of this place.
Sophie began scaling the cliffs. For the most part, she was able to walk up the slopes rather than getting on her hands and knees. That being said, the slopes were steep, and by the time she reached the top of the ravine she was almost completely out of breath.
Wow, she thought. I can see for miles. I can even see my house from here, literally!
On the ground far below, however, there was a sight that made Sophie''s heart skip a beat. Her breath caught in her throat as she once more peered through the thickening fog and was able to make out two forms on the ground.
One of the bodies looked like a rather squat woman, while the other was clearly a Lucario. The identity of the former wasn''t terribly difficult to figure out - only one woman here would be walking with a Lucario at this ungodly hour.
Guildmistress Toriel can''t know I''m up here. She just can''t. If she finds out that I''ve snuck out of my cabin so early in the morning, I might get in trouble.
No. That''d be the height of hypocrisy, and Toriel won''t engage in that. She''ll just remark that I''m up early, ask if I can''t sleep, or maybe say there''s been a lot of that going around lately. Besides, there''s only so much I can do when I don''t have any Finnish textbooks with me.
"So the missions are all going smoothly, Lucas?" Toriel asked the other party to the conversation.
Sophie felt as though she''d been shocked with defibrillator paddles. She was lying down now, but she visibly flinched, which was nearly enough to make her topple over the cliff face and fall headfirst tens of meters to the ground. That would no doubt be the end of her afterlife.
"Yes, they are," the Lucario replied. Although Sophie could not see Lucas'' lips move, she could hear his voice loudly and clearly, just like a bell at one of the churches in Victoria that virtually nobody under age 65 attended anymore.
Why is his voice so clear even though I''m so far away from him?
For once, Sebastian''s knowledge, which was usually strictly limited to secrets about video games like Fortnite, actually came in handy for Sophie. Her decade-younger cousin had once mentioned that Lucario were able to speak using aura, which allowed their "voices" to reach their target even if said target was hundreds of meters away. The more skilled an aura user was, the further they would be able to project this voice.
"Wonderful" Toriel''s voice, which was just as clear to Sophie as Lucas'' had been, announced. "You''ll be sending the banished away to the train?"
"Yes," Lucas responded. "Yes, we will. They''re staying in the Halfway Cavern tonight, but in the morning we will have the Miner''s Train ready for them."
Sophie tuned out the next part of the conversation, because another question occurred to her. If Lucas was speaking via aura, and that was indeed how Sophie was able to make out all his words, why would she hear Toriel as well? For that matter, Toriel was not a Lucario - she lacked the power of aura as far as Sophie knew. So how did her voice project just as far?
"A total of eight people were banished last night" Lucas continued. "We will have to make sure enough cabins are available on the train for them. That''s why it is taking slightly longer than usual - last week we only had six."
"Why do you care how comfortable the cabins are?" Toriel responded. "The trip is only three days."
Three days is pretty long for a train ride. Why WOULDN''T you make sure the passengers are comfortable?
"Quite frankly, I don''t" Lucas muttered. "But we have certain standards we need to live up to in the industry. I don''t make the rules, Toriel - I just enforce them."
The guildmistress grunted. "And once they complete their journey, they''ll end up at the Eternal Night Mine. We''ll have to be in constant communication with Zandari - he needs to know when to expect his workers to arrive."
Sophie gasped, though she clamped a hand over her mouth afterward. It did not matter, though - if Toriel and Lucas had indeed noticed her presence on that sheer cliff face, then the damage had already been done. Even if she forcefully denied that she''d been up there, such a denial would have been about as effective as the "defense" inspired by that song "It Wasn''t Me".
"Yes," Lucas replied. "Zandari is going to be pleased when he receives his tribute."
Tribute? Is this the Hunger Games?
Sophie didn''t listen to the rest of the conversation, scurrying away from the edge of the ravine as far as she could. She didn''t need to know what else was said, though, because she''d gleaned all the information she needed to know that Marie had been an idiot last night.
What is WRONG with that lady? Like, somebody needs to slap her and bring her back into reality!
A second later, Sophie felt sick to her stomach for even thinking that line. She didn''t believe in God - certainly not a God who bothered Himself with what humans were thinking. Thoughtcrime was a foreign concept to her, the sort that only existed in dystopian novels. But that didn''t mean she could let herself get away with mentally saying someone needed to "slap" Marie.
Marie didn''t know what being banished entails. As far as I''m aware, she still doesn''t know. It''s hard to judge her too much, especially after she yelled for Clancy. But why would she yell for the guy banished last week when, in her eyes, he''s probably just cannon fodder?
Because maybe he isn''t cannon fodder, at least not to Marie.
In any case, Sophie kept jogging away from the ravine''s rim. She didn''t really have a destination in mind, other than putting as much distance as possible between herself and the authorities whom, she was now convinced, could hear her heart beating.
Did they know I was up there? Or am I just being paranoid?
Nonetheless, Sophie did not cease running until she was stopped in her tracks by an invisible barrier that she whacked her head into. Falling to the ground, Sophie didn''t think she was seriously hurt - she didn''t feel stunned or anything like that.
But that''s still so weird! Why can''t I go any further?
She couldn''t see anything different about the landscape beyond said barrier - it consisted of rocky ground the same nondescript shade of purple-gray as the rest of Jet Force Isekai. A fine layer of sand covered the rock, but that was itself unremarkable. The only thing notable about the expanse of land in front of Sophie was that she could not access it.
Okay. This is really odd. There''s a force field here stopping me from advancing. And I''d really like to know why.
A force field didn''t just pop out of thin air. To the extent that a consensus existed among science fiction authors, it was that force fields existed as a result of technology that had been developed, technology far beyond what existed on Earth.
Somebody had created this force field and set it in place. Somebody didn''t want Sophie, or presumably any of the other residents, to leave the area immediately surrounding this ravine. Somebody wanted this environment to be strictly controlled, with only select, approved individuals allowed in or out.
And when Sophie put it all together, everything suddenly made sense.
Chapter 9: Trial By Fire
Following the frightening episode in which Marie had volunteered to leave the ruins, only to be restrained by both Judd¡¯s words and the grace of God, the following week seemed totally mundane by comparison.
Sure, it was still pretty unreal that Judd was dead. He¡¯d lived his twenty-one years and change on Earth, expecting that when he ultimately succumbed to the fate that awaited all humans, he would finally get to be with the Good Lord for all eternity. Everything he¡¯d done up to that point was focused on achieving that very goal.
And now, when he finally reached the end of his Earthly life, he¡¯d been so close to the Kingdom of Heaven, and yet, just like that character from a classic comic book, the proverbial football had been yanked away from underneath Judd¡¯s foot.
Still, Judd couldn¡¯t allow himself to get too dejected. He needed to remember that his presence at Jet Force Isekai was just an intermediate step, something that needed to happen before his soul could go all the way. Every day he spent here, each mission he passed with as high a score as possible, was another chance to show God that he, Judd, was worthy of passage into His Kingdom.
A day passed. By the time Judd woke on the second morning after his second mission, he no longer felt so much fury toward Marie. The residual anger was still there, of course, and some of it would probably never leave him. But Judd knew he needed to keep his eyes on the prize by any means necessary, and that wouldn¡¯t happen if he continued holding grudges. (It¡¯s been said that holding grudges is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies - Judd liked to think he subscribed to that notion).
Over the course of the next week, the four residents of Cabin Gemini went about their normal routine. Without the thrilling excitement of a mission, the looming threat of banishment,or the ritual consisting of torches and a speech by Guildmistress Toriel, every hour felt achingly similar.
Soon, they were back to their old ways. Judd found himself praying once almost every hour, reaching out desperately for any method of deliverance from this purgatory. He wanted to believe that his faith had been renewed with a newfound zeal, a vigor that could only be experienced when you knew you were in the presence of the Lord¡¯s love.
However, what Judd could not admit to the others, perhaps not even to himself, was that it increasingly seemed as though he were talking to a void. That is not to say he had any doubts about God¡¯s existence, or even His willingness to help Judd through his trials. But even the Good Lord¡¯s willingness to assist Judd had its limits, and increasingly the young man found himself repeating the following refrain:
God helps those who help themselves.
Judd made the mistake of saying this out loud during his prayer on Sunday night. Predictably, it sent Sophie¡¯s eyes rolling.
¡°Do you not understand how ridiculous you just sounded, Judd?¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
Sophie snorted at him. ¡°You just said God helps those who help themselves. Does that mean you should pull yourself up by your bootstraps just like they always say in America?¡±
¡°Well, it¡¯s true,¡± Judd stated. ¡°The Lord helps those who help themselves.¡±
¡°If that is in fact the case,¡± Sophie remarked, ¡°then why bother praying? Why not just take action? Thoughts and prayers won¡¯t fix any of the massive problems in your country, and it certainly won¡¯t get you to heaven!¡±
¡°I¡¯m helping myself,¡± Judd insisted. ¡°Did you see the 94 I got on my last mission?¡±
Sophie narrowed her eyes, huffing and puffing so hard she might well have been able to blow a house down. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what number you got, Judd. What matters is that you¡¯re still here - you escaped this week¡¯s banishment.¡±
Judd felt like saying that he held out a seed of hope, even if it was only a one-in-a-million chance, that failing a mission meant you moved on to the next afterlife, which was the one guarded behind the pearly gates. But Sophie seemed to read his mind here.
¡°Trust me, Judd,¡± she continued. ¡°You don¡¯t want to be banished.¡±
Judd frowned. ¡°Why should I trust you when all we ever do is fight? Seriously, it¡¯s like we¡¯re in a constant war of words!¡±
¡°And whose fault is that?¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Judd muttered.
¡°That¡¯s right, Judd! It doesn¡¯t matter who started this verbal battle! What matters is that we¡¯ve got to make the best of our situation! And that means you cannot be banished.¡±
Both of them turned in soon after that; somehow, Marie and Jessica had not been roused by their argument. However, Judd came to a realization later that shook him to his very core.
A few days ago, prior to the second mission, Sophie probably wouldn¡¯t have shed a tear if Judd were banished. Now, however, she acted as though banishment were a fate she wouldn¡¯t wish upon her worst enemy. She didn¡¯t even speak about what she thought banishment actually entailed, but she didn¡¯t need to, because Judd came to a simple conclusion:
Sophie knows something I don¡¯t. She¡¯s keeping it from me because she doesn¡¯t think I can handle the truth. But maybe she¡¯ll tell Marie and Jessica, since women always say that girls mature faster than boys.
This, however, raised three further questions. What did Sophie know? When did she know it? And for how long did she want to keep Judd (and possibly her other two bunkmates) in the dark?
Judd pondered those questions for the next few days. Considering how little else there was to do between their Friday missions, he sure had plenty of time to think.
In the midst of all that, he¡¯d almost totally memory-holed catching Toriel on the phone last Friday. Who the hell was Mr. Kipper, and what did he have to do with the guildmistress?
So Judd occasionally allowed his mind to wander, concocting theories about who Toriel¡¯s unknown correspondent was and why they¡¯d been talking to one another. Some of these theories would have been laughed off as totally bonkers, such as the idea that Mr. Kipper was a married man cheating with his ¡°mistress¡± (his affair partner being the guild mistress, Toriel). But in an afterlife society where you repeatedly transformed into a Pok¨¦mon and were sent to the planet¡¯s surface to complete weekly missions, and its members were periodically banished by having their torches snuffed at an amphitheater ceremony, could such a theory be dismissed out of hand?
No. Of course not. Nothing was so absurd that it couldn¡¯t possibly be true. Not now, and not ever. And as stated above, Judd had nothing but time, at least until next Friday.
Judd ate breakfast in the pavilion on Friday morning, just like he had every other day here. The mixed berry pancakes were objectively scrumptious, but he found himself unable to enjoy them.
Today¡¯s the day, he thought bitterly, glancing over at Sophie. I¡¯ve been paired with my other two bunkmates for missions. I guess now I have to work with Sophie.
Sophie, on the other hand, averted her eyes from Judd. It seemed as though she were determined not to acknowledge him, as though she knew she¡¯d soon have to bid him a tearful goodbye. But Judd tried not to think about what that might mean - perhaps Sophie just wanted to avoid getting in another feud with her bunkmate. If that¡¯s it, I don¡¯t blame her at all.
Of course, given how Sophie had been acting over the last few days, Judd would not have been surprised at all if she was in fact worried for his future. He might have excelled in the first two tasks he¡¯d been set, but he couldn¡¯t excel forever.
Judd felt like going over and asking Mizar for some wisdom - over the last two weeks, they¡¯d developed a bond, even if they disagreed on metaphysical matters. But alas, he just didn¡¯t get around to it.
Oh well. There¡¯ll be plenty of time to talk to him tomorrow.
Eventually Lucas snapped his fingers again, and the plates were cleared away. As he had the last two Fridays, the Lucario went around, handing each diner a piece of paper. Lucas paused every so often as though trying to build suspense, but there was no suspense to be had when they were likely all paired with their bunkmates.
When the Lucario reached the table containing all four members of Cabin Gemini, he handed each of the three ladies a slip of paper. As for Judd, he remained empty-handed.
¡°There must be a mistake,¡± Judd remarked. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to be working with one of you.¡±
Lucas shook his head. ¡°There is no mistake. But please refrain from interrupting the process in the future, or you may risk having points deducted from your score in future missions.¡±
¡°Right¡± Judd muttered, still combing his brain for what could possibly be the reason for not getting paper.
¡°Judd,¡± Jessica told him softly, ¡°the three of us ladies are together.¡±
Of course.
When he¡¯d first arrived, Judd had loudly insisted to Sophie that just because he was from the Midwest, that didn¡¯t mean he was stupid. He still didn¡¯t want to agree with that, but his slip-up only gave Sophie more ammunition to claim her point was correct.
¡°So that means I¡¯m alone,¡± Judd mouthed. A statement, not a question.
¡°Yes,¡± Sophie replied. ¡°Some of the missions are solo ones, don¡¯t you know? You¡¯ll live or die by your own skills today.¡±
¡°Well, in that case, I hope I live.¡±
Soon enough the drinks were distributed, with Judd¡¯s being the same icy blue color that Jessica¡¯s had been two weeks before. From what he¡¯d remembered, it had caused his bunkmate some discomfort to turn into a Glaceon, but Judd knew what needed to be done. Sitting around and gazing warily at the icy blue drink did not fall under the category of ¡°what needed to be done.¡±
So he held up that Dixie cup and tipped the contents down his throat. He didn¡¯t even allow himself to swallow until the drink was entirely in, and he closed his eyes as he braced for the coming pain.
Sure enough, ice soon flooded his body, making it almost difficult to breathe. Judd¡¯s head also hurt, as though he¡¯d just wolfed down a giant bowl of ice cream, and he had to decide between clutching his head or his stomach. The pain made him woozy, and he was forced to plant his ass more firmly on that bench to avoid falling over.
On the bright side, at least I don¡¯t have to become an Electric-type today.
That was cold comfort, no pun intended, when he doubled over and tried not to moan. Luckily, the transformation was over this time almost as suddenly as it had begun.
Judd was faced with the same black screen, the same white text. Once more, he tried to burn the instructions into his retinas, even more important now that he wouldn¡¯t have any allies on this mission. He had to assume every character he interacted with would be hostile.
These were the instructions:
SYLLABUS FOR MISSION 3: LAVA OR LEAVE ¡®EM
YOU ARE: JUDD ASGARD (PIPLUP)
OBJECTIVES:
- INFILTRATE THE LECTURE HALL AND SIT IN ON MAGIC CLASS, TAKING NOTES (25 POINTS)
- PRESENT NOTES TO THE INSTRUCTOR AND LEAVE MAGIC CLASS (20 POINTS)
- USE INFORMATION FROM NOTES TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE FORGE(25 POINTS)
- STEAL AT LEAST ONE WEAPON FROM THE BRAIXEN HORDE (20 POINTS)
- ESCAPE FROM ZANDARI¡¯S FORGE (10 POINTS)
ADDITIONAL STIPULATION: YOU WILL BE INVISIBLE UNTIL YOU SPEAK OR ATTACK.
SAY MISSION NAME TO CONTINUE.
That mission sounded convoluted enough at first, and Judd knew it would be quite the task to remember everything. He repeated the instructions over and over again in his mind, knowing that he wouldn¡¯t have another chance to view them. Only when he felt reasonably confident in his ability to remember the syllabus¡¯ content did he utter the words ¡°Lava or leave ¡®em¡±.
The instructions were daunting enough. The reality was far worse.
As soon as Judd opened his eyes, the landscape shimmered all around him, and he was forced to shut his peepers once again. Sweat radiated off his body as he realized that the hottest Kansas summer he¡¯d lived through was a veritable blizzard compared to wherever he found himself now.
How could I have been so stupid?
Accepting the icy drink was one of those moments Judd replayed in his mind over and over, even though he knew deep down there was nothing else he could have done. But that didn¡¯t stop him from second-guessing.
Maybe I should have just volunteered to be banished like Marie almost did. At least that would be quicker than this, and I don¡¯t care what Sophie says!
As Judd awkwardly got to his feet, glancing around the shimmering corridor, he remembered that he had a panic button. If he so chose, all he needed to do was say the name of the mission, and then he¡¯d have a one-way ticket out of this fiery hall. He¡¯d also have a one-way ticket Elsewhere, but he could cross that bridge when he came to it.
Judd resisted the temptation for now, gazing around the corridor. The air was so thick with steam that it gave him eyestrain, as though he were inside a furnace. However, he was able to make out a set of lockers, at which two bipedal fox-like Pok¨¦mon (probably in their early teens) were chatting about something.
This is a school for Braixen. But why is it inside what seems to be a volcano?
That¡¯s right. Braixen are Fire-types, so of course they¡¯d have their academies somewhere hot. I just wish it didn¡¯t have to be THIS hot.
Suddenly, the bell rang, and one of the Braixen gasped. ¡°Billy, we¡¯ve got to get to class! We¡¯re late!¡±
¡°Jimmy, you¡¯re right! Let¡¯s get going!¡±
Judd figured he was supposed to follow the Braixen duo, but every step of his slipped on the ground as though it were an ice rink. That¡¯s when he remembered he was a Piplup, a penguin-like creature who waddled just like penguins did on Earth.
What a cruel joke. Whether or not this mission had been doled out to Judd as retaliation for insulting Lucas, it was certainly punishment. Not only was Judd probably inside a volcano, he¡¯d been made an Ice-type for the task. This inferno was no place for such a creature. Given that context, mere temporary invisibility felt like an insult to injury, as though they were plainly trying to placate him without actually helping matters.
Well, here I am. I have to roll with it - ¡°trial by fire¡±, as they say.
After waddling awkwardly, slipping and sliding down the hallway in an effort to keep up without yelping and blowing his cover, Judd saw that the pair of Braixen, Billy and Jimmy, were entering what looked like a classroom. Neither of them were so kind as to hold the door open, so Judd was forced to open said door himself.
As Judd took one of the few empty seats in the cavernous lecture hall, one of the students wrinkled her nose. ¡°What was that?¡±
The teacher, an elderly Delphox carrying a walking stick, croaked out the following: "What do you mean, Kara?¡±
Judd grimaced, careful not to say anything. The first word he uttered, he would be totally exposed, and the Meowth would be well and truly out of the bag.
¡°The door just swung open!¡± Kara complained. ¡°There was a cold breeze, too!¡±
Judd¡¯s face felt even hotter, if that were possible, and he could barely breathe now. He suddenly felt certain that even the slightest whistle of his nose would be enough to break the invisibility. And even if it didn¡¯t, Judd would probably still be audible.
¡°Well, fear not, Kara. This classroom is perfectly safe. Let us begin our lesson in Magic 101.¡±
Judd saw that a mechanical pencil and a notebook sat before him. Clearly, he was meant to take notes on it; hadn¡¯t the syllabus told him to do just that? If he tried, wouldn¡¯t it be rather suspicious to have a floating mechanical pencil producing notes on the paper?
As soon as he touched the pencil, however, it vanished. He still held it, but he could no longer see that he held it. Apparently he had the ¡°invisible touch¡±, much like the golden touch from that false Greek myth about Midas.
When the paper disappeared, the male Braixen to Judd¡¯s right looked visibly confused - he could practically see a question mark over that Braixen¡¯s head like this was an old-school cartoon. But Judd couldn¡¯t worry about that yet, because the teacher then began lecturing.
¡°Class, I can tell that all of you have evolved into Braixen by now. Now, what is special about our species is the tradition of magic that has been passed down to us through generations of ancestors. We are the heirs to that magic, and it is our birthright - when our species dies out, it will die with us.
¡°As you continue to grow following your evolution, you may notice that your voice gets deeper, your armpits begin smelling bad after you exercise, and you feel awkward and clumsy on occasion when you walk. These changes are perfectly normal and happen to all young Braixen.¡±
Well, isn¡¯t that great? He¡¯s teaching us about puberty.
Judd¡¯s secondary school education on such topics had left some significant gaps, possibly owing to the fact that his was a religious academy. That being said, Judd had heard some things about the changes an adolescent body went through; hell, he¡¯d experienced those changes himself. He could practically hear the theme song of his Earthly friend Eric¡¯s favorite TV show.
Of course, Judd figured that he should be taking notes (that¡¯s what the syllabus had prescribed, after all), but the problem was that he didn¡¯t know what to write down and what to ignore. To some extent, he¡¯d had difficulty with this in high school, but these students looked like they were in 8th grade, maybe 9th grade at most. Why was the material so difficult for him? Moreover, how many notes should he take?
¡°Now, another thing that happens as your body matures into adulthood is that the range of spells you can use will expand. This number grows quickly at first, but its growth will decrease as years pass. Can any of you tell me what the fancy term for that equation is?¡±
No paws were raised, so the teacher cleared his throat eventually.
¡°The term I was looking for is logistic growth. The power of your spells, of course, may not decay, but magic is like a muscle. If you do not use magic now, your ability to use magic in the future will atrophy over time, which is why you must always keep your mind sharp!¡±
Judd turned his eyes toward the blackboard. The old Delphox was clearly writing something there, but the invisible Piplup¡¯s eyes were far too glazed-over to make the text or diagrams out. All of this came to a head when the Delphox called on one of the Braixen students to repeat what he¡¯d just said.
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¡°Delgado! What did I just tell you?¡±
The Braixen identified as Delgado, who was currently busy covering the pages of his notepad with elaborate graffiti, looked up and blanched at the mention of his name. ¡°Uh¡what do you mean?¡±
¡°What Pok¨¦mon species¡¯ antlers are used to make our wands?¡±
¡°Uh¡¡± Delgado mouthed, trailing off. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°That¡¯s right!¡±, the elderly instructor exclaimed. ¡° You don¡¯t know, because you had an open notebook in front of you and kept your nose in it the whole time I was lecturing! Tell me, Delgado, do you want to be assigned remedial lessons on how to respect your elders?¡±
¡°No¡no, sir¡± Delgado stammered, shivering in his seat despite the heat.
¡°Then quit daydreaming and focus on what I¡¯m saying!¡± the Delphox bellowed so loudly that a bit of dirt fell down from the ceiling, landing a few desks away from Judd¡¯s. And this reminder that the roof of the cavern was so fragile made Judd feel well and truly trapped here. He knew now with absolute certainty: He was in the middle of a volcano.
And yet, he still had to take notes on a lecture for a class that didn¡¯t pertain to him. The next forty-five minutes or so were a textbook example of ¡°hurry up and wait.¡± After racing to follow Billy and Jimmy to class, Judd had now been sitting here so long his Piplup feet were starting to fall asleep. In fact, his whole body was on the edge of drifting off, and it was only through telling himself that snoring probably counted as speaking that he was able to remain awake.
The superheated, stuffy air of the lecture hall didn¡¯t exactly help matters either. Judd¡¯s eyes were glazed over not only with boredom, but also with sweat. This mission was very cruel indeed.
At long last, the teacher announced that he was done with his lecture, and the students sprang to their feet in unison. Many of them thanked the instructor as they showed him their notes, but most of these students probably didn¡¯t mean it.
¡°I hope my notes were detailed enough,¡± one female student told another in little more than a whisper. ¡°You know how he is - won¡¯t let us leave class until we¡¯ve gotten at least this many words down.¡±
¡°You could also look at it from the perspective of making sure we¡¯re prepared for the exam,¡± the other Braixen girl said. ¡°He doesn¡¯t wanna have to fail us.¡±
¡°Anika! Sierra! Please don¡¯t talk as you are leaving the lecture hall! Thank you!¡±
Anika and Sierra showed their notes to their teacher and were permitted to leave the room. Then it was Judd¡¯s turn.
There¡¯s a line behind me, so I can¡¯t hesitate for too long. But how the hell is he not going to know that I¡¯m here and snuck invisibly into his class?
Judd took a deep breath and flung his paper notes onto the table. They became visible in midair as they descended slowly, like a skydiver under the canopy, and Judd pictured the other students scratching their heads for days wondering how notes had slipped out of someone¡¯s backpack.
But then he was free. School was out - hopefully forever.
I pity all these Pok¨¦mon who will have to sit an exam on this material. There¡¯s no way in any life that I could memorize all that stuff, no matter how much time they allotted me.
Amidst all the ¡°excitement¡± of his first objective, Judd had nearly forgotten what the mission¡¯s syllabus said. He was fairly sure he¡¯d completed two of the objectives, those being attending class and taking notes. That left three more to go.
Judd shut his eyes and pictured the instructions. And, to paraphrase an Internet meme back on Earth, ¡°it was then that he knew he¡¯d fucked up.¡±
I should have just kept the notes. Apparently they¡¯d have told me how to infiltrate the forge!
No¡this is bad! Should I abort the mission right now by shouting the phrase?
What? No! I don¡¯t even remember the phrase, even if I¡¯ll need it eventually!
It all seemed well and truly hopeless until one half of a Braixen duo, standing alone and talking as though they were friends, gave Judd the information he needed. This surely hadn¡¯t been intentional, and it wasn¡¯t all good either.
¡°The forge is down the hall and to the left. They say the passcode is 218978113. But that¡¯s just a legend, isn¡¯t it?¡±
Judd pictured those numbers in his mind, fervently hoping that his working memory (which was typically nothing to write home about) would be able to bail him out this time. The universe had handed him a lifeline, the sort of which only came once a lifetime, if at all. Judd¡¯s only reaction to that news was¡
¡°Thanks!¡± he exclaimed.
And then he knew he¡¯d fucked up again, because he realized his mistake too late. As though he¡¯d never been there to begin with, Judd¡¯s impossibly awkward Piplup arms and webbed foot paws came into view. There would be no deus ex machina to get him out of this one.
¡°Oh my Arceus!¡± one of the Braixen exclaimed. ¡°Brian, it¡¯s a Piplup!¡±
The other Braixen, evidently Brian, glared at Judd. ¡°How could this be real, Jerry?¡±
Brian and Jerry glanced at one another, which gave Judd the perfect chance to run away. Naturally, the faster he tried to move, the more he slipped and slid like this was one of those backyard toys used to cool off in the summer.
Eventually, Judd fell flat on his face, and this wasn¡¯t good, because he found himself in a more heavily populated area this time. Students were leaving class, traveling to their next class, and gasping for breath at the sight of an Ice-type in the midst of their volcanic school!
The Piplup got to his feet, his heart pounding so powerfully that the pumping noise was all he could hear. He scampered down the hall and recalled one of the boys¡¯ directions to take a left here. (Had it been Brian or Jerry? Judd would never know, and it didn¡¯t even matter.)
The door to the forge, held firmly shut by a series of chains and padlocks, stood right in front of Judd. He knew it was the forge because the door literally said WELCOME TO ZANDARI¡¯S FORGE on it in bright red block letters. The Piplup tried to remember what he¡¯d been told the code was - amidst the commotion of the hallway, it was easy to forget such things.
Two. One. Eight. Nine. Seven. Eight. One. One. Three. Is that the sort of code that an AI would be able to hack?
Judd held out for the microscopically thin chance, the ¡°Hail Mary¡± as Catholics would say, that the Braixen boy¡¯s recollection of the passcode would be correct. Such information should have been highly classified, but as it turned out, all Judd needed to do was press the green button.
The numerous locks immediately and audibly disengaged, and the door swung wide open to allow Judd through. Apparently there were still some codes that artificial intelligence was no match for.
But Judd had very little time to celebrate, for he ran through the door and found himself in an area that was even hotter. Seriously, the classroom had been like the dwarf planet Pluto compared to this room.
Indeed, the word ¡°room¡± didn¡¯t do it justice - the area was more like a cavern. Metallic clangs of metal against metal sounded, as did the pneumatic, hissing noises of heavy machinery. A conveyor belt and a veritable maze of catwalks stood above him, each one carrying a weapon like a sword, spear, ax, crossbow, etc. There were even a few firearms (emphasis on fire). Finally, a raging river could be heard beneath him - a river of pure fire, judging by how the floor felt like the edge of a furnace cranked up as high as it¡¯d go.
This is exactly what I¡¯d imagine hell to look like.
Standing next to one of the humming machines were a pair of adult male Braixen. One of the men examined the touch screen on the machine¡¯s console, whereas the other glanced at his colleague with a quizzical look.
¡°Why are you so determined to create all these metal weapons?¡± the latter Braixen asked his colleague.
¡°Why not?¡±
¡°I mean, Slade, we have wands. We have magic. We don¡¯t even need advanced technology if we just use magic.¡±
Slade glared back at his co-worker. ¡°Amos, you have two choices here. We can use magic, or we can use magic plus technology. What do we have to lose?¡±
¡°Quite a lot,¡± Amos muttered. ¡°Think of all the effort it takes to maintain heavy artillery. And again, we don¡¯t need weapons other than our Sawsbuck-antler wands.¡±
So THAT was the answer that poor kid missed in class. At least I know one thing Delgado doesn¡¯t.
¡°What¡¯s so great about these wands?¡±
¡°Well, they¡¯re a renewable resource. Sawsbuck antlers grow back after a few weeks. There are only so many metals to mine from the bowels of Nexus.¡±
Slade glared at Amos. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s my way or the highway, and the highway ain¡¯t got shit.¡±
Judd almost laughed at that line. Almost. But whatever inclination he¡¯d had to crack up cracked like an eggshell as soon as Slade turned his gaze in the Piplup¡¯s direction.
¡°A Piplup! Why is there an Ice-type in our forge?¡±
Amos gulped. ¡° Piplup? How did it get in here?¡±
Slade growled at his colleague. ¡°Amos, don¡¯t repeat everything I say! But we¡¯d better do something! Do you have a Summoning Badge?¡±
Amos nodded. ¡°I do.¡±
A Summoning Badge? I think I know what it does, and if I¡¯m right, that means trouble for me. Big trouble!
Judd had no time to react - he just stood there in shock and awe as Amos handed Slade a small badge that looked totally innocuous to the naked eye. However, as soon as Slade tapped the badge, what must have been a dozen Braixen appeared out of thin air, their wands held high.
¡°He should be easy to burn!¡± Slade shouted. ¡°If you can¡¯t take care of him, you need to go back to preschool!¡±
One of the Braixen pointed his wand directly at Judd, which sent out a beam of red light.
¡°Don¡¯t kill him, Danforth!¡± Amos exclaimed. ¡°If you want Piplup to be of any use, you have to keep him alive!¡±
¡°My name¡¯s not Piplup!¡± Judd shouted, realizing that maybe he could stall for time. It was hardly a surefire strategy, but it¡¯d be better than just running around like a Punchic with its head cut off.
Slade twirled his wand in midair, evidently a signal that the other Braixen he¡¯d summoned should stand down. Like some of those who took part in one of America¡¯s favorite pastimes, Slade was eager to toy with his prey rather than hunting it down immediately.
¡°Well then. If you don¡¯t want to go by Piplup, what¡¯s your name?¡±
¡°Judd¡± the Piplup spat. ¡°I¡¯m Judd Asgard. And you¡¯re going to let me get out of here, because I have a mission to accomplish!¡±
Slade cackled. ¡°Tsk, tsk! How did you forget that Pok¨¦mon use their species as their surname? If this is a bold solo mission into Mount Chimney, you clearly didn¡¯t plan thoroughly enough!¡±
Well, he might be right about that.
¡°So Judd Piplup is your name here. Got that? Of course, it¡¯s not like it¡¯ll matter for you much longer!¡±
¡°But I thought you were going to bring me in alive?¡± Judd inquired.
Judd realized then what his goal needed to be. He did not have to defeat any of these Braixen in battle, but he would need to steal one of their wands. Then maybe he could teleport out of the volcano and back to Jet Force Isekai. (Of course, if he failed to steal a single weapon, he¡¯d forfeit twenty points right there, in addition to whatever he had lost through his likely failure to take good enough notes).
Obviously, that was easier said than done. The Braixen all towered over the Piplup, and they were likely far more agile too. Judd could not beat them in a battle of brawn - he¡¯d need to win in a battle of brains.
Judd realized there was a conveyor belt right behind him. It was still moving slowly, but it would be pretty trivial to select a sword from it. He could then use the sword to disarm a Braixen, grab the wand, and teleport out of the volcano with the weapon in hand. Everybody would win, except for the Braixen whose arm he¡¯d probably have to cut off.
¡°We¡¯ll bring you in alive if we can,¡± Slade stated hotly. ¡°But if you¡¯re dead, that¡¯s too bad, so sad. For you, not for us - we¡¯ll still be rewarded handsomely.¡±
I can¡¯t die here. This is just a simulation. At any moment I can cry uncle - or rather, ¡°lava or leave ¡®em¡± - and be whisked back to the ruins. Just hit that panic button, and I¡¯ll be safe from these Braixen who want to ¡°kill¡± me, though maybe not from banishment.
Judd reached for the nearest sword. Unfortunately, he knew without needing to look that his Piplup wingspan wasn¡¯t long enough for that. All he¡¯d managed to do was signal his next move, and for nothing in return!
¡°Oh, you¡¯re going for a sword, are you?¡± Slade jeered. ¡°Well, if you make one false move, we will all make sure you breathe no more!¡±
¡°Joke¡¯s on you, because I¡¯m already dead!¡± Judd blurted out, which elicited numerous eye-rolls.
¡°You really are just trying to stall for time until somebody rescues you, huh?¡± another of the Braixen muttered, holding his wand in the sky and conjuring a set of ropes. ¡°Well, enjoy being tied!¡±
In an instant, the ropes coiled around all of Judd¡¯s limbs, pinning him to where he stood. Judd gasped as the bonds cut off some of his circulation.
I can still say those words. But I¡¯m not going to unless I absolutely need to. Then again, how do I decide what constitutes ¡°absolutely needing to¡±?
As the Piplup struggled against his restraints, Slade chuckled. ¡°Now, now! You might as well get rid of any fantasies you have about rescue. As you¡¯ve no doubt figured out, we¡¯re in the middle of a volcano.¡±
¡°Mount Chimney, right?¡± Judd asked.
Slade nodded. ¡°How did you -?¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± the Piplup spat. ¡°The point is that you all suck. How do you live with yourselves, tying up an innocent little Ice-type like me?¡±
Slade rolled his eyes. ¡°Well, Piplup, how do you live with yourself for invading our volcanic base? It¡¯s not polite to take over another¡¯s personal space, and that¡¯s exactly what you¡¯ve done!¡±
If I get one of those wands, Judd realized, I can free myself from these ropes, summon a sword, and then say the phrase and be out of here. I¡¯ll have completed every task, so I should get a good enough score to stay.
But wait! Isn¡¯t God very much against the use of magic by those on Earth? Surely He¡¯ll make an exception just this once for me - it¡¯s self-defense!
Of course, the million-dollar question was that of how Judd would acquire a wand in the first place. His arms were tied behind his back. And even if he grabbed one of the wands (and that was a big if ), could he really learn how to use such magic on such short notice?
Judd steeled himself for what was to come. What choice did he have?
The Piplup¡¯s restraints seemed to grow tighter and tighter the more he tried to throw them off. The more heavily he struggled, the more thoroughly they pinned him to the ground. And as Slade held his wand over the Piplup, seemingly threatening to use a killing curse (or at least one that would do enormous damage), Judd realized something.
It¡¯s just like quicksand, the way they show it in movies. The more I fight, the harder it will be to escape.
Judd collapsed to the ground on purpose, closing his eyes as though settling in for a nap. This probably confused Slade to no end, because the Braixen¡¯s eyes widened as he saw the Piplup do this.
Sure enough, Judd was right. The ropes were far looser now, to the point where all the Piplup needed to do was roll over and kick one of the Braixen to the ground. Now he was free!
Wait¡I kicked one of them to the ground. Does that mean¡?
Sure enough, a wand about nine inches long lay on the ground, and Judd lunged for it. Before Slade could use a spell on the Piplup, before the wand¡¯s owner could seize it back, Judd clamped his paw around the stick.
This Sawsbuck antler might well be what saves me today!
As Slade and the other Braixen pointed their wands at Judd, they began firing curses. Numerous beams of light in a veritable rainbow of colors pooled around the Piplup, but none of them actually found their target. (Later, Judd would liken this to the way pockets of wind were blocked by mountains in their path.)
¡°Why isn¡¯t it working?¡± Slade wondered aloud, though it was more of an exclamation than a question.
¡°There seems to be a barrier around the Piplup!¡± another Braixen bellowed. ¡°How¡¯d he learn that spell so fast?¡±
A third Braixen rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s the Beginner¡¯s Luck Charm! The first time one touches a wand, it forms a barrier around the holder for five minutes! No spells can penetrate it!¡±
That¡¯s nice to know! I¡¯m safe for five minutes! That¡¯s more than enough time to grab a sword!
¡°Don¡¯t party just yet, Piplup!¡± Slade exclaimed.
Judd watched briefly as Slade twirled his wand in the air; seconds later, what must have been a hundred or more Braixen teleported into the forge. There were so many of the Fire-types that the Braixen were practically tripping over one another. Nonetheless, Judd realized what their goal was.
Judd may have had the protection of the Beginner¡¯s Luck Charm, but it would only last for five minutes. Meanwhile, all these Braixen had to do was form a Pok¨¦mon version of a human shield to stop Judd from reaching the conveyor belt.
Unfortunately for them, Judd had plenty of experience pushing his way through crowds. He¡¯d done this out of necessity at the handful of Christian rock concerts he¡¯d been to, and he knew he could do it this time.
Slowly but surely, Judd made progress. He imagined that he had at least two minutes to spare under the protective dome, but he wasted no time whatsoever once he grasped the sword in his paws.
Now I have to teleport out of here using the wand. Do I need to be outside the volcano before I leave the simulation?
Whatever. Teleportation was probably rather advanced magic, the sort that you had to take an exam to be permitted to perform alone. So Judd tried not to worry about that as he yelled ¡°Lava or leave ¡®em!¡±
Instantly, Judd was gone from the volcano, probably leaving dozens of heavily confused Braixen in the middle of that forge. But he clutched the sword tightly as he entered the ¡°black room¡±, for lack of a better term. He didn¡¯t let go even after the following text appeared:
MISSION 3: LAVA OR LEAVE ¡®EM
YOU WERE: JUDD ASGARD (PIPLUP)
OBJECTIVE 1: 18 OF 25 POINTS (5 POINTS DEDUCTED FOR LACKLUSTER NOTES, 2 POINTS DEDUCTED FOR ABANDONING SAID NOTES)
OBJECTIVE 2: 16 OF 20 POINTS (4 POINTS DEDUCTED FOR LACKLUSTER NOTES)
OBJECTIVE 3: 17 OF 25 POINTS (5 POINTS DEDUCTED FOR USING IMPROPER INFORMATION, 3 POINTS DEDUCTED FOR BLOWING YOUR COVER)
OBJECTIVE 4: 20 OF 20 POINTS (PERFECT!)
OBJECTIVE 5: 7 OF 10 POINTS (3 POINTS DEDUCTED FOR NOT TELEPORTING OUT OF VOLCANO FIRST)
TOTAL SCORE: 78 OF 100 POINTS - MISSION COMPLETE.
Judd couldn¡¯t help but feel as though he¡¯d failed himself. Yes, you could do a lot worse than a C+, but you could also do a lot better. A C+ was the sort of grade that would¡¯ve made his mother say I¡¯m not, I¡¯m just disappointed. And in a way, that was worse than an outburst.
Soon the screen faded, and Judd once more found himself back at the picnic table from which he¡¯d entered the simulation. The three ladies of Cabin Gemini were already awake, and they regarded Judd with what seemed like a condescending sort of worry as he glanced at them.
¡°How did it go for you this time?¡± Marie asked Judd.
The young man saw no reason to lie. If he was to be banished, then he¡¯d be banished, and he¡¯d likely never see the ladies Elsewhere. He would not need to be accountable to them anymore if his score was among the three lowest.
¡°Seventy-eight¡± Judd sighed. ¡°My first score under eighty.¡±
¡°Hey, it happens,¡± Jessica noted. ¡°At least you¡¯re not like my sister back on Earth. She cheated on her Critical Race Theory exam.¡±
¡°But what if it¡¯s the score that ends up sending me Elsewhere?¡±
Sophie snorted. ¡°Nobody who¡¯s been banished since you arrived scored above fifty. Realistically, you¡¯re perfectly fine. So stop worrying, because it¡¯s rather annoying.¡±
¡°I know,¡± Judd said. ¡°It¡¯s just¡I feel like something bad is going to happen tonight.¡±
Judd could not explain the sense of foreboding that hung over him like a thunderhead about to dump a torrent of rain and lightning. He just knew, without even needing to think too hard, that tonight would be a night to rue for the rest of his afterlife. Precisely what would happen, he wasn¡¯t sure, but he felt confident that one way or another, tonight would be a tipping point.
¡°You¡¯re fine, Judd,¡± Jessica muttered. ¡°Even if we scored a lot higher than you did.¡±
Way to be reassuring while also being condescending. That¡¯s honestly kind of impressive.
As the rest of the residents woke up from their simulations, Judd reflected on how the mission had gone. Yes, he¡¯d scored ¡°only¡± a 78, but considering that the guildmistress and her Lucario staff were likely trying to punish him, the C+ might as well have been an A. Assuming he stayed at Jet Force Isekai after tonight, he¡¯d foiled their plans once. Maybe he could do so indefinitely.
The other thing Judd realized was that he hadn¡¯t prayed to God at any point during today¡¯s mission. Somehow it just hadn¡¯t occurred to him.
My Lord, they say there are no atheists in foxholes. And I understand why they say that. I¡¯m so, so sorry that I never spoke to You during that mission today. Given how stressful it was, I know I abandoned You, and I hope You can forgive me for that. Amen.
Soon enough, dinner was served, and the linguine with piccata might as well have been manna from heaven. Judd savored every bite - it somehow tasted even better knowing what he¡¯d just been through.
But as soon as he¡¯d polished every bite off his plate, the sense of dread returned to Judd. He gazed around the pavilion, however, and none of the others seemed to feel as frightened as he did. At least, not in the same way. (Of course, there was still the general anxiety that everyone harbored before a banishment ceremony. That was perfectly normal. But what Judd felt in his bones was nothing of the sort.)
When almost everyone had finished eating, the plates vanished, and then the adventurers lined up to grab their torches. Judd tried to reassure himself, insisting internally that his score was good enough to buy him another week in these ruins. Unless Marie fucked it up, Judd would sleep in Cabin Gemini tonight rather than Elsewhere.
But that didn¡¯t stop the torch from weighing Judd down like a sack of potatoes. The young man staggered down to the amphitheater, at least semi-concerned that he would trip over his own shoelaces and fall to the ground, taking his torch with him and potentially creating a wildfire. Maybe that¡¯s tonight¡¯s ¡°October Surprise.¡± Or, to be more accurate to the time of year, that would be a ¡°January Surprise.¡±
Judd took his spot in the amphitheater, and then Toriel began the ceremony.
¡°Good evening, everyone. It appears everyone has dipped their torches into the brazier and gotten fire. This is part of the ritual of the banishment ceremony, because here at Jet Force Isekai, fire represents your life. When your fire¡¯s gone, so are you.¡±
Sophie whispered the following into Judd¡¯s ear: ¡°That line sounds familiar, doesn¡¯t it?¡±
¡°Of course,¡± Judd retorted quietly. ¡°She¡¯s said it both of the other times.¡±
¡°I mean,¡± Sophie hissed, ¡°that I¡¯ve heard it elsewhere too. But that¡¯s none of your business right now.¡±
Then why did she tell me?
¡°I would like to thank all of you for making the planet Nexus a better place today. Each of you has performed a good deed. Well, most of you. For some members of Jet Force Isekai happened to be less successful in today¡¯s missions. And for the unfortunate three who were least successful, their time at Jet Force Isekai is about to come to an end.¡±
Toriel cleared her throat again. ¡°I will now read the names of those to be banished, starting as always with the absolute lowest score. With a score of 24¡¡±.
Okay. Two parties surely scored between higher than 24, but lower than me. At least two. I¡¯m safe for another week. I was worried about nothing. Way to blow things out of proportion, Judd!
Consequently, the young man wasn¡¯t paying much attention to the guildmistress¡¯ words until the third party to be banished was announced. At that point, Judd was rapt to attention once he had confirmation that he would not leave tonight. Please don¡¯t be me. Please don¡¯t be me. And it wasn¡¯t him.
¡°With the third-lowest score, we have a soloist to be banished. Scoring a 45 on today¡¯s mission was Michael I.Z.A. Rainsford. You need to bring me your torch.¡±
Judd gasped, his stomach dropping like a freight elevator whose chains had been cut. He could hardly breathe as he processed what he¡¯d just heard.
Mizar¡¯s done almost a hundred missions here. He¡¯s not invincible, but he¡¯s as close to invincible as I¡¯d imagine anyone could be down here. And not only did he have one of the three lowest scores, he got a 45!
The designated victim of banishment, too, appeared stunned. Mizar still sat on his bench, his hands over his eyes as though he didn¡¯t want to see such a horrid world that had decided to evict him from Jet Force Isekai. (For what it¡¯s worth, Judd didn¡¯t blame him.)
As a collective chorus of gasps emanated from all corners of the amphitheater, the condemned one spoke up.¡°I don¡¯t believe it,¡± Mizar mouthed, shaking his head. ¡°I just don¡¯t believe it.¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what you believe¡± Lucas the Lucario snapped with an equivalent snap of his claws. ¡°What matters is how you scored.¡±
¡°It¡¯s just¡¡± the condemned adventurer mumbled, ¡°I know I could have done better. In fact, I think I did better than to deserve such a horrid score.¡±
¡°Well, being a veteran here, Michael, you should know that you get the score you deserve,¡± Guildmistress Toriel snapped. ¡°And in this case, your score was low enough that the hammer would fall on you. Likewise, the snuffer will fall on your torch.¡±
Mizar glanced around, but he clearly knew there was no escape. Indeed, as strong as Judd¡¯s unlikely friend may have been, there was no chance in hell (or heaven) that he¡¯d be able to resist the other residents forcing him to his feet, offering him up as a human sacrifice to the snuffer so that they might be spared another week.
So, Judd realized, Mizar had no choice but to accept his fate. The doomed explorer took his torch and staggered under his own power to Toriel¡¯s side. His arm shook as he tried to figure out where to place his torch.
¡°No funny business here, Michael,¡± Lucas snapped. ¡°Just put that torch down, it doesn¡¯t matter where it goes.¡±
Mizar set his torch down gingerly, and then Toriel uttered her line: ¡°Michael, the numbers have spoken.¡±
And then the guildmistress snuffed Mizar¡¯s torch, the former climber glaring at her with both loathing and disbelief. For a moment, Judd wondered if Mizar were about to challenge Toriel to a boxing match, a fight he¡¯d surely win.
¡°It¡¯s time for you to go.¡±
The boxing match did not happen, and Mizar once more seemed to accept his fate and walked away from the amphitheater.
¡°Those are all three parties to be banished Elsewhere. I have nothing else for you. Grab your torches, head back to your cabins. Good night.¡±
And that¡¯s exactly what the four residents of Cabin Gemini did. First they took their torches back to the pavilion, then they returned to their stone residence, a house that didn¡¯t feel like home in the slightest.
It was only once all four of them had gotten settled inside that Sophie spoke up gravely. Usually, when she talked to Judd, Sophie would go on and on about how silly his relationship with Jesus was. The fact that her tone was severe, yet not angry, suggested that something was very different this time.
¡°Marie, Jessica, Judd - we need to talk.¡±
Chapter 10: Sophies Secret
No sooner had Sophie proclaimed that the four members of Cabin Gemini needed to talk than her bunkmates suddenly stood at attention, ready to listen.
¡°What¡¯s so important right now, Sophie?¡± Jessica asked. ¡°I just want to go to bed! I¡¯m so tired!¡±
Marie glared at Jessica. ¡°You know, I¡¯m surprised you even want to sleep here, given how much you complain about how uncomfortable the bed is.¡±
¡°Whatever¡± Jessica replied, rolling her eyes and stomping the floor.
Sophie sighed. This was a conversation she needed to have soon. Ideally, tonight. She¡¯d noticed how Judd seemed drawn to Mizar somehow, even if the two men had different views on religion and other matters. But something else stood out as well.
Mizar seemed genuinely surprised by his score. Like he didn¡¯t expect to have done so poorly. I mean, he¡¯s been here for a year, so I¡¯m shocked too. And he didn¡¯t just FAIL - he didn¡¯t even come CLOSE to sixty.
But questions about how Mizar had managed to fare so badly needed to be cast aside for the time being. Ultimately, the universe had given Sophie a decision to make, and she elected to err on the side of transparency.
¡°You see,¡± Sophie stated, ¡°I happen to know what banishment entails.¡±
Marie and Jessica both gasped in what might have been disbelief. Judd, on the other hand, scratched his head. ¡°We already knew what it entailed. You¡¯re sent Elsewhere, aren¡¯t you?¡±
Sophie realized that in order to make the others take her seriously, she had to divulge more information than she¡¯d initially planned. But if it served a greater purpose (even if not a supernatural one), then it would be worth it.
¡°Well, yes. But Elsewhere isn¡¯t a land full of sunshine and rainbows. Elsewhere isn¡¯t heaven, Judd. In fact, it sounds a lot more like hell to me.¡±
¡°Only the Good Lord decides who goes to hell¡± Judd stated curtly.
Sophie snorted. ¡°Judd, your God doesn¡¯t decide who goes to hell. Hell doesn¡¯t exist. I said Elsewhere was like hell, not that it was hell.¡±
Marie shivered, but Jessica held up a hand. ¡°Well, then?¡± the latter girl announced. ¡°Continue.¡±
¡°The other day I woke up really early and couldn¡¯t go back to sleep. And I didn¡¯t want to wake any of you, so I went outside for a walk. I climbed one of the cliffs and overheard Lucas and Toriel talking about the most recent set of banishments. And I¡¯m sorry to tell you all, but it¡¯ll make your skin crawl.¡±
¡°What happens if you¡¯re banished?¡± Marie asked. Sophie noticed that Marie¡¯s face was incredibly pale as she made that inquiry, making it look rather like all the blood had drained out of it and been replaced with milk.
Sophie would not beat around the bush, at least not on this matter.
¡°According to them, as soon as you¡¯re banished, you¡¯re taken to a cavern to be prepared for the journey. Then you get on a train and you¡¯re headed for the Eternal Night Mine.¡±
Marie grabbed the edge of her bed as though scared she¡¯d faint otherwise. Judd, meanwhile, grimaced. ¡°That¡¯s not exactly reassuring, is it?¡±
¡°No. It¡¯s not. And Judd, unless you forgot who just got banished, it was your friend Mizar. He¡¯s about to be put to work in the mine. That¡¯s the punishment for those who score in the bottom three on any given week¡¯s mission.¡±
¡°So?¡± Jessica wondered aloud. ¡°We just have to keep scoring higher than at least three other parties. And once we¡¯re veterans, we will be naturals at the Isekai challenges.¡±
¡°Saying that is all well and good,¡± Sophie pointed out, ¡°until you get a challenge you just can¡¯t overcome. Take a look at Judd - he was clearly given a much harder task today than he was last week, as evidenced by his failure to get a mission accomplished message.¡±
¡°To be fair,¡± Judd muttered, ¡°that¡¯s probably partly because I told Lucas he was a loser and a sucker.¡±
¡°Even so,¡± Sophie stated, ¡°they¡¯re going to keep making it harder for us. Maybe you¡¯ll be provoked into getting angry eventually, maybe you won¡¯t. But the tasks will keep getting harder and harder, and then one fine morning you¡¯ll wake up and there¡¯ll be a challenge you just can¡¯t overcome.¡±
Marie nodded vigorously as she processed this information, now looking quite nauseous. Judd, meanwhile, scratched the trace of beard scruff on his chin.
¡°What if someone¡¯s just that good, though?¡± Jessica asked. ¡°Like Mizar was until today?¡±
Sophie narrowed her eyes. ¡°Those words until today are very important. Perhaps he got sloppy, but the point is that nobody¡¯s just that good. Eventually, or in some cases immediately, you¡¯re going to mess up, and it¡¯s going to send you to the Eternal Night Mine. And there¡¯s a force field around the ravine - nobody¡¯s going to escape without permission, not like any of you have probably ever tried.¡±
¡°Huh¡± Marie stated in little more than a whisper. ¡°So we¡¯re trapped here until we lose?¡±
Sophie nodded. ¡°That brings me to the next thing I realized. And it¡¯s going to sound totally bizarre, but bear with me - ¡°.
Judd shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it until we figure out a way to rescue Mizar. Is that even possible?¡±
Sophie gave Judd a side-eyed look. ¡°It¡¯s going to be extremely difficult to do that¡¡±.
¡°But is it possible?¡±
¡°Possible, yes. Probable, not remotely. It would also be extremely dangerous - in fact, I think it¡¯s too dangerous.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t care how dangerous it is,¡± Judd pointed out. ¡°I¡¯ve already been fatally mauled by a moose, so danger might as well be my middle name.¡±
¡°Well, I don¡¯t care what you say about it anyway, Judd,¡± Jessica told him. ¡°I don¡¯t care about that. I don¡¯t want to get in trouble.¡±
¡°Mizar¡¯s already in trouble, though,¡± Judd muttered. ¡°I¡¯d rather get banished trying to free him than live my afterlife with that hanging over me.¡±
¡°You knew him for two weeks, Judd!¡± Marie exclaimed. ¡°Two weeks! I knew Clancy much longer than that!¡±
¡°Clancy?¡± Judd wondered aloud. ¡°The guy who was banished two weeks ago? How did you know him?¡±
¡°It¡¯s not important, Judd!¡± Sophie exclaimed. ¡°But then again, you¡¯re determined to play martyr and sacrifice yourself just because your God tells you to. Why do I even bother trying to reason with you?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not going to sacrifice myself. If I get banished, I get banished. At the end of the day, it¡¯s not going to stop me from trying to rescue Mizar. He¡¯s been ten times the friend to me as any of you!¡±
¡°We¡¯re allies now, Judd,¡± Sophie pointed out despite that burn. ¡°I know that¡¯s hard for you to believe, but you need to listen to me. There¡¯s a reason we can¡¯t leave!¡±
¡°Everything happens for a reason,¡± Jessica noted, ¡°except sometimes that reason is very simple.¡±
Sophie shook her head. ¡°As soon as I was blocked from going beyond that force field, everything made sense. It took me six months to realize it, but I think once you all hear my theory, you¡¯ll know I¡¯m right!¡±
¡°No theories until we can save Mizar,¡± Judd insisted. ¡°And besides, your idea is just a theory. That doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s true.¡±
¡°Well, gravity is also a theory, Judd. In the magical land of Canada, we have not embraced the anti-science ideology that has gripped so much of your own country. And we¡¯re far, far better off for it!¡±
¡°Leave me out of this,¡± Judd remarked. ¡°It¡¯s all for Mizar. If he¡¯s really doomed to work in the Eternal Night Mine for a long time, then we have to save him.¡±
Sophie had to appreciate the irony of Judd remarking that he should be left out of this, while at the same time being so selfish as to insist that his friend needed to be rescued. Quite frankly, countless other parties had no doubt met the same fate as Mizar, and yet they weren¡¯t worthy of rescue. And why weren¡¯t they? Because Judd never met them!
¡°Judd, you need to stop thinking the universe revolves around you. I don¡¯t get why your kind thinks I¡¯m arrogant for believing I¡¯m just a speck in the universe who¡¯s here for a brief time and will eventually no longer exist, but that you¡¯re humble for thinking your God specifically has a plan for you!¡±
Judd did not respond at first; it seemed he was just trying to think of the right thing to say. Unfortunately, he thought too long, because a powerful series of knocks soon came on the door of the cabin.
Jessica rolled her eyes. ¡°What do you all want to bet that it¡¯s one of Toriel¡¯s Lucario assistants about to have us do an interview? As long as it¡¯s not me - I¡¯m just bushed!¡±
More knocks sounded, and it was soon clear that it was not one individual rapping hard on the door, but rather two or more.
¡°Guys,¡± Sophie said softly. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s an interview. I think we¡¯re in trouble.¡±
Sophie wanted to pull her hair out. She¡¯d been smart enough to figure out the truth of this place, but she¡¯d lacked the presence of mind to realize that if she was right, Cabin Gemini was probably bugged. Therefore, when she opened the door, the identities of those on the other side didn¡¯t come as a surprise.
Toriel and Lucas stood on the cabin¡¯s threshold. The plump guildmistress looked livid, but her lips were shut. She was clearly restraining herself from unleashing a tirade against the cabin¡¯s tenants. The Lucario, on the other hand, licked his lips in anticipation, as though he were about to chow down on a hunk of fresh meat.
¡°What do you two want?¡± Jessica remarked in a whiny tone. ¡°I was about to go to bed! Can¡¯t a lady get her beauty sleep?¡±
¡°That¡¯s no way to speak to us, Jessica Petty¡± Lucas snarled. ¡°And even if such a tone were acceptable here, I somehow strongly doubt you were going to sleep anytime soon.¡± Lucas then nodded at Toriel, who cleared her throat.
¡°We have heard you four arguing for the last several minutes. We heard everything you were saying about rescuing Mizar. And quite frankly, it¡¯s absurd to think you can do so, or that you should. Everything happens for a reason.¡±
Sophie¡¯s throat felt hot. They. Know. Everything!
She pointed a finger at Judd (you know which finger). ¡°It¡¯s his fault!¡± she proclaimed. ¡°He was the one who suggested trying to save Mizar from banishment!¡±
¡°Hey now,¡± Judd retorted, sounding rather like an angry cowboy. ¡°Way to throw me under the bus, isn¡¯t it?¡±
¡°They know, Judd, they know already!¡± Marie all but wailed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how much you try to deny it! You¡¯ll just sound like the desperate liar you are!¡±
¡°I¡¯m surprised it took you all so long to figure it out,¡± Lucas remarked.
¡°What was there to figure out?¡± Judd snapped.
¡°The cabins here at Jet Force Isekai are monitored by audiovisual recording devices twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week¡± Toriel stated rather pompously. ¡°It¡¯s just like that novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. You can consider the cameras - and, by extension, my Lucario assistants and I - Big Brother.¡±
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¡°I read that book!¡± Jessica exclaimed. ¡°How could you think that was a good idea?¡±
Sophie, on the other hand, was not nearly as shell-shocked by that revelation. After all, she¡¯d read all of George Orwell¡¯s novels; she knew how the bizarre propaganda world of Nineteen Eighty-Four operated.
She now felt certain that her hypothesis was correct. She knew she¡¯d been right about why she wasn¡¯t allowed past that force field. Sophie also suspected that the use of the term Big Brother had been intentional.
And now, when Sophie very likely had nothing to lose, was the perfect time to play that card.
¡°Listen up, all of you!¡± Sophie announced. ¡°I¡¯ve figured it out!¡±
Lucas raised one of his aura-sensing organs. ¡°What have you figured out, Sophie Frey?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll lay it all out there, and I¡¯ll explain how I came to that conclusion. That is the scientific method, is it not?¡±
¡°I suppose it is,¡± Lucas muttered. ¡°Carry on.¡±
At least they aren¡¯t escorting us toward that train right away. Then again, if we were to run, we¡¯d have nowhere to go. And that¡¯s because I¡¯m right about what I believe.
¡°When I and the others first arrived here,¡± Sophie continued, ¡°you tested us in a simulation. You wanted to see how we¡¯d react to adversity. That was done in lieu of an interview, and you sorted us into cabins based on a compatibility index that we never got to see.¡±
Marie grunted. ¡°This is some Sherlock Holmes shit right here. You¡¯re just explaining things to make us feel like we¡¯re five years old.¡±
Sophie glared at Marie. ¡°I¡¯ve got a lot more explaining ahead of me. In any case, we¡¯re in these cabins, and we argue a lot. I¡¯d assume you¡¯ve got plenty of experience bickering with Jessica when she tries to flirt with you?¡±
Jessica sighed far too loudly, but Marie nodded. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been through that.¡±
¡°What if I told all of you,¡± Sophie said with the air of a college professor giving an elaborate presentation, ¡°that the compatibility index was a sham from the very beginning? That it was based on a lie?
¡°We were told we¡¯d be the best of friends, or at least that we¡¯d get along well. But we¡¯ve been at loggerheads pretty much the whole time we¡¯ve been together. I believe that, far from being put together for the sake of compatibility, we were assigned cabins to create maximal conflict.¡±
Judd scratched his chin again.
¡°Think about it, Judd. I¡¯m a hardcore atheist, whereas you¡¯re the caricature of a devout Christian. They didn¡¯t put us in this cabin by accident - they wanted us to bicker about religion, and we¡¯ve been delivering.¡±
¡°I know. I know all too well¡± Judd mumbled.
¡°And then Jessica keeps flirting with Marie, who wants no part of it. And Marie, I¡¯ll admit that I was pretty inquisitive about the ring on your finger¡¡±. (Marie blanched at those words.)
Then Sophie continued. ¡°I still am curious what it means, but I asked far too many questions. And I¡¯m sorry about that. I don¡¯t believe in fate, but it seems like we were meant to fight endlessly about the smallest things.¡±
Marie nodded again. ¡°A week or two ago, I remember thinking that there¡¯s no way four people in our age group could get along less. It¡¯s like all of this was preordained, like it was set up this way.¡±
¡°Exactly,¡± Sophie replied. (On a different note, she noticed that Lucas and Toriel had not moved an inch since she¡¯d started explaining everything. If there was any emotion on either of their faces at all, it could only be described as satisfaction. Likewise, it only increased Sophie¡¯s conviction that her guess was correct.)
¡°So what else?¡± Jessica asked. ¡°Are you going to tell us that there¡¯s something suspicious about all our interviews?¡±
¡°As a matter of fact, I am. Have you ever wondered why we¡¯re asked so many questions in the interviews about each other? That¡¯s because they want drama. They want us to be paranoid. And the interviews are private.¡±
Judd nodded. ¡°Lucas called my first interview a confession.¡±
¡°Well, if I¡¯m right - and I¡¯m pretty sure I am - the term for such an interview is pretty similar to that word. It¡¯s called a confessional.¡±
If she hadn¡¯t understood it before, Sophie now completely grasped where the saying about a light bulb going off in someone¡¯s mind had come from. Marie¡¯s face instantly lit up as she appeared to piece together everything her bunkmate was saying. ¡°Are you telling me¡¡± she began.
¡°We go off for these confessionals with Lucas or another Lucario, and they get us to spill the tea as much as we can. If we know we¡¯re each telling our hosts things that we¡¯re not telling each other, that¡¯s only going to make us trust one another less.
¡°And then there¡¯s the banishment ceremony. Haven¡¯t you thought it¡¯s so weird that we carry torches to each one? Hasn¡¯t it been suspicious that Toriel says almost exactly the same words each week? Doesn¡¯t it resemble a rather familiar franchise in which they vote each other off the island?¡±
Marie shrugged. ¡°Sounds like a live-action version of Total Drama Island.¡±
Sophie glared at Marie. ¡°I cannot tell you how much that hurts. Literally, that¡¯s the worst thing you¡¯ve ever said to me!¡±
¡°Sorry¡± Marie mumbled, but Sophie wasn¡¯t convinced Marie was sorry at all. In any case¡
¡°So we light our torches, and they get snuffed if we¡¯re banished. Doesn¡¯t that sound just a little excessive?¡±
¡°Hey, I guess Toriel and Lucas have a flair for the dramatic,¡± Jessica pointed out. ¡°Can you really blame them?¡±
Sophie didn¡¯t answer. ¡°And then there¡¯s one last thing,¡± she muttered. ¡°When I went out exploring last week, I mentioned the force field. However, as I was climbing those cliffs, I couldn¡¯t shake the notion that I was being watched, that the cliff had eyes. I could hear what our hosts were saying, too, as though they were projecting their voices through the cliff itself. I was over a hundred meters up - meters, not feet - and they sounded like they were right there. The cliffs have to be enhanced somehow.¡±
Judd glanced dumbfoundedly at Sophie, but Marie didn¡¯t seem too shocked anymore. She clearly knew what was coming.
¡°So what you¡¯re saying is¡¡± Marie began.
Sophie nodded. ¡°I believe the reason I thought I was being watched that morning was because I was, in fact, being watched. In fact, they¡¯ve been watching us ever since we arrived in these ruins.¡±
Toriel scratched the backs of her goatlike ears, whereas Lucas was now practically grinning. If Sophie had harbored even a speck of doubt that she could justify her thesis, said doubt vanished in that very moment.
¡°And why are they watching us? Why did they put us together to cause as much drama as possible? Why are we sent off to give confessionals like they do on a game show? And why does the elimination ceremony so closely resemble that of a game show?¡±
Silence now hung in the air, and that¡¯s when Sophie presented her thesis.
¡°That¡¯s because we¡¯re on a game show.¡±
For a moment, nothing happened. In the immediate aftermath of Sophie dropping that bombshell, it seemed that said bombshell had yet to explode. Judd and Jessica both had their jaws on the floor.
And then she looked at the Lucario¡¯s face, which was curling up into a grin. Lucas squirmed a bit as though he were in great pain from trying to hold something back, then burst into laughter.
It was a horrible sound, not the sort of good-natured chortling that might have been associated with watching an episode of Survivor heavy with interpersonal drama. But once the Lucario¡¯s laughter started to abate, Toriel gazed at Sophie.
¡°You¡¯re right,¡± the plump woman stated simply. ¡°It took you six months to find out the truth, but you are right. Quite frankly, it should have been obvious from the get-go.¡±
¡°I had my suspicions from the beginning¡± Sophie stated in an effort to do some damage control.
¡°Perhaps you did. Oh well - better late than never¡± Toriel stated.
¡°Admittedly,¡± Lucas said, ¡°it¡¯s been rather enjoyable watching you all figure it out for yourselves. But yes, ¡®Jet Force Isekai¡¯ is in fact a game show.¡±
¡°Then who¡¯s watching?¡± Judd wondered aloud. ¡°And for that matter, what channel is it being broadcast on? What are the ratings?¡±
¡°Judd Asgard, nobody watches network TV anymore¡± Toriel snapped. ¡°Are you so old-fashioned that you still tune into your favorite channel at a specific time so that you don¡¯t miss the show?¡±
Judd tilted his head. ¡°If living a good Christian life, and afterlife, is old-fashioned, then I don¡¯t want to live your modern way!¡±
Sophie rolled her eyes. ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡±
¡°It has nothing to do with the matter at hand,¡± Toriel told her coldly. ¡°But to answer your question, Judd Asgard, Jet Force Isekai is broadcast on every streaming channel on Planet Nexus. An episode drops each week depicting the missions and the elimination ceremony.¡±
Now she¡¯s saying ¡°elimination¡± instead of ¡°banishment.¡± She¡¯s not even trying to hide it anymore - she deceived us this whole time.
¡°But that¡¯s not all!¡± Lucas announced with a snap of his claws. ¡°There is also a live feed for those who don¡¯t want to wait for the weekly episodes! That way, viewers can get as much or as little of Jet Force Isekai as they please!¡±
Jessica snorted. ¡°So there are actually people - or Pok¨¦mon - who have so much free time that they watch us for like twelve hours a day?¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure there are some Nexus residents like that, yes¡± Lucas responded.
Judd grimaced. ¡°You¡¯re saying that they can watch us whenever they want?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Even when we¡¯re on the toilet?¡±
¡°Yes. Of course, anything sensitive is blurred out, since this show is meant to remain strictly PG-13. But yes, they can view any part of cabin life they want to.¡±
Judd pursed his lips. ¡°Is that really supposed to make me feel better?¡±
Sophie pointed her index finger at Judd. ¡°You know, within the bounds of your theology, your God is also watching over you at times when you¡¯re doing something personal. But you¡¯ve never seemed bothered by that, so why is being watched by Toriel and Lucas suddenly a bridge too far?¡±
Judd paused, seemingly unable to come up with an answer that he thought would satisfy Sophie.
Eventually, Toriel cleared her throat. ¡°As entertaining as this argument may be for the audience on their living room couches, it is not the reason Lucas and I came here tonight. There¡¯s another matter we must attend to.¡±
Marie frowned. ¡°What might that be?¡±
¡°It¡¯s no secret that you four were discussing how best to save Michael Rainsford from banishment. Of course, it¡¯s a secret to the other cabins, it¡¯s even a secret to Michael himself, but it¡¯s not a secret to us because of the cameras. Such actions cannot be allowed to stand without consequences.¡±
¡° Consequences?¡± Judd remarked. ¡°Like, are we in trouble?¡±
Lucas glared at Judd. Any amusement the Lucario might have been feeling earlier had been banished to the proverbial shadow realm.
¡°You¡¯re in a heap of trouble, boy.¡±
Mizar tried not to panic as he was led away by one of the Lucario guards.
I¡¯m going Elsewhere, he told himself. For all I know, Elsewhere is the next great adventure. And if I weren¡¯t an adventurer, I could hardly have climbed those mountains on Earth, could I have?
The Lucario, whose name Mizar did not bother to ask (not least because he figured the question probably wouldn¡¯t be answered) remained silent as he led the young man away from the amphitheater where he¡¯d been sitting when Toriel had announced the people to be banished.
I don¡¯t understand!
That had been his first reaction when he¡¯d seen his score. The mission had been complicated, to be sure. But considering how many dozens of them he¡¯d been on before, Mizar had expected a challenge. More importantly, he¡¯d gotten into the groove at Jet Force Isekai. He probably had the most seniority in this ruined land, and that didn¡¯t happen by accident. Not when there was this much turnover.
He¡¯d gotten a 45, and normally he would have accepted such a fate. After all, when you climbed Mount Everest, you had to assume the risk that you wouldn¡¯t make it back down the mountain. Even seasoned climbers had to turn around from Kilimanjaro all the time when they got altitude sickness. Likewise, the chance you got a low score here simply went with the territory.
But something just didn¡¯t add up. He specifically remembered completing all the objectives, and Mizar balled his hands into fists as he entered a separate cavern with the other people who were to be banished.
¡°None of you are to speak to one another,¡± the Lucario guard stated, ¡°until the train arrives.¡±
A young woman with relatively short hair took advantage of a loophole in that command: ¡°We¡¯re still allowed to ask you questions, though¡right?¡±
The Lucario frowned. ¡°I suppose you are. But I may refuse to answer them if I deem them inappropriate.¡±
¡°Where are we going?¡± the young lady replied. ¡°You said Elsewhere, but where is Elsewhere?¡±
The Lucario shook his head. ¡°Until you board the train, that information must remain classified. Quite frankly, if I told you the answer, you¡¯d probably run away. But you wouldn¡¯t make it far.¡±
You¡¯d probably run away, but you wouldn¡¯t make it far.
Those words chilled Mizar like the winds of a blizzard on Mount Aconcagua. The guard seemed pretty confident that even if the condemned tried to escape, they couldn¡¯t. Unless he¡¯s lying to us.
Mizar decided instead to accept his fate, just like he had at the banishment ceremony, and he waited silently in the cavern with the others. It was a strange realization to come to, but after the initial shock and indignity of being banished had faded into the background, it was replaced with boredom.
Please. I don¡¯t care where that train is going to take us. It just needs to come soon.
He slept off and on for what felt like forever. The third or fourth time he woke up, Mizar heard the chugging sound and occasional horn from an approaching locomotive. It sent dust throughout the cavern, and the young man was forced to cover his eyes.
¡°All aboard!¡± the Lucario guard exclaimed. ¡°All aboard the Miner¡¯s Train!¡±
Mizar obediently got in line and climbed the steps into the railcar. At first, the thought of riding a train reminded him of the rail travel he¡¯d done in Europe during his capital-A Alpine climbs. However, the fact that both trains were attached to a set of tracks was where the similarities ended.
The train¡¯s floor was covered in a fine layer of dust, and Mizar could barely resist the urge to sneeze. Rather than being covered in cushions, the seats were rock hard, making the cots in their Jet Force Isekai cabins seem like the world¡¯s softest mattresses by comparison. There were no power outlets, dining cars, or even tray tables to be found.
Before he could spend much time pondering this train¡¯s lack of amenities, however, a bell rang, and the train swiftly gathered speed, nearly knocking Mizar off his feet. He was forced to grab the back of the nearest seat in order to avoid injury.
This train is no U-Bahn, and it¡¯s certainly no Shinkansen. Hell, it might even be worse than Amtrak! How sad is that?
Oh well. I¡¯ve dealt with discomfort before. I can deal with this too. It can¡¯t be a terribly long journey, can it?
The conductor¡¯s voice, which was deeper than the center of a planet, sounded right then and there as though said conductor had read Mizar¡¯s mind.
¡°All aboard Miner¡¯s Train Ride 1, our flagship route, with service to the Eternal Night Mine. Travel time is roughly seventy-seven hours, forty-five minutes, so make yourselves comfortable. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your ride!¡±
Enjoy my ride? Yeah, right.
That was Mizar¡¯s first thought, but then he realized just how trapped he was. For three days and nearly six hours, he would be stuck on this rock-hard bench. Oh, the cramps he would endure. And it was even worse than that, because the name of their destination didn¡¯t exactly sound like fun.
Eternal Night Mine. Are they going to put us to work or something?
When you looked at it from that perspective, of course, maybe the three-day train ride would pass faster than he wanted it to. Perhaps he had three days of excess to look forward to - and by ¡°excess¡±, I mean ¡°excessive dread.¡±
So Mizar lay across the row of seats and tried to get comfortable. The seats may have been made of metal, but Mizar could close his eyes if he ignored just how much he¡¯d ache when he woke up. But he didn¡¯t drift off for the longest time, because whenever the train turned a corner, he had to brace himself to keep from falling off his ¡°bed.¡±
It wasn¡¯t long before he gave up on sleep entirely. Instead, he decided he¡¯d wander the train for some time. His stomach growled, and while there was clearly no dining car here, that didn¡¯t mean there wouldn¡¯t be food if you knew where to look.
Then again, where DO I look?
Mizar gazed down the railcar¡¯s corridor, where the other banished people were similarly trying to sleep, and decided that he¡¯d just need to go for it.
Chapter 11: One Glorious And Perfect Conversation
Mizar braced himself against the edge of the chair, knowing that if he fell down, it was going to hurt. But as he steeled himself for the task ahead, he also knew that he needed to do this, no matter what. His stomach felt surprisingly hollow considering that he¡¯d last eaten less than twenty-four hours ago.
I don¡¯t care how unhealthy the food is, he thought to himself. Even if it¡¯s something like cheesecake, I¡¯m going to eat it.
Of course, he needed to get there first. So Mizar shuffled along the length of the railcar, leaning in the opposite direction of whichever way the train jolted him. Based on how recklessly it seemed the train was being driven, the conductor might well have been deliberately jostling him around in an effort to convince Mizar to forget about his quest for food.
The Eternal Night Mine. They¡¯re going to make us work there, I¡¯m just sure of it. And I won¡¯t be able to handle that work for long if I don¡¯t nourish myself.
At last, Mizar reached the end of the first car, where a young woman of possibly Asian descent lay against the door. The woman was either asleep or trying to sleep, so Mizar tried to be quiet around her. Still, he felt a pang of jealousy as he realized that he¡¯d never be able to rest through all this jostling.
He then glanced at the door. On one of the European trains he¡¯d ridden, it was possible to get from car to car simply by pressing a button; this would activate the door between both cars, and you could simply step across. However, there was no such switch here, and it didn¡¯t take Mizar long to realize what he would need to do.
I need a running start. Getting up there is going to require a lot of momentum.
Good thing he had long arms and plenty of upper body strength from the hours he¡¯d spent running with wrist weights. He might have been dead, but Mizar still had the deep lungs required of anyone who wished to climb mountains. Of course, physical fitness was necessary but not sufficient - you also needed a lot of mental fortitude and a little luck.
Mizar took a deep breath, then backed up. Silently counting to three, he burst into a run, leaping upward just as the train rounded a corner and bounced from side to side. The young man let out a gasp of pain, but he still managed to seize the top of the wall separating one railcar from the next.
Okay. Now, here¡¯s where all that upper body strength needs to come into play.
Mizar used his legs to pull himself closer to the rim, and it was only once he did so that he saw how far away the next car was. There was a gap of at least five feet between railings, and he¡¯d have to make the jump when nothing but the train had momentum.
I can do this. I¡¯ve climbed Aconcagua - I have it in the bag.
Something about how high the stakes were chilled him to the bone, however. If Mizar fell to the ground, he¡¯d be instantly crushed by the wheels of the train as they went around and around. He wasn¡¯t ready to move on to the post-afterlife; not yet, anyway.
I promised myself I would get food. And I intend to keep that promise.
Taking a deep breath, Mizar bent his legs backward and leaped like a frog into the next car. He landed pretty hard on the metallic floor, but that was still orders of magnitude better than landing on the track.
As soon as the jolt faded from his legs, he looked up and saw that he was probably in what counted as the ¡°dining car.¡± There were picnic tables against a handful of benches, suggesting that this had once been where those fancy rich travelers ate their meals on the go. But Mizar didn¡¯t need the cartoonish pictures of Pansage and Grookey, two monkey-like creatures, eating with their parents to know that this dining car was past its prime. Hell, the Miner¡¯s Train as a whole was past its prime.
In any case, he might have found himself in the dining car, but it was devoid of food. Perhaps the next car was a kitchen, but any food there that hadn¡¯t been refrigerated would likely have been spoiled, thus making anyone who ate it violently ill. Mizar might have been hungry, but he wasn¡¯t stupid.
Okay then. Next car it is. I¡¯ll climb all the way to the caboose if I have to.
Mizar continued this routine. Each time he reached the end of a railcar, the ride being more turbulent than a flight over very tall mountains, he would leap upward and just barely grab the rim of the car¡¯s wall. His hands were covered in calluses before long thanks to the sheet metal used to make these walls, and he couldn¡¯t help but grimace each time he put all his weight on his hands.
All of his pain, however, was forgotten as soon as he reached the caboose. It took one look to realize that he¡¯d hit the jackpot.
There were crates (presumably of fruit) labeled with words like Apples, Pears, Oranges, Plums, or whatever the produce contained within may have been. There were loaves of bread, hunks of cheeses and meats to serve as a ¡°deli drawer¡±, and even an ice chest containing drinks (not that Mizar was so foolish as to drink his calories). Finally, there were several backpacks that he realized he could use to carry the food back to his designated car.
For a moment, Mizar allowed himself to celebrate. However, he didn¡¯t celebrate very long, because the cold reality hit him within seconds.
Well, I¡¯ll probably be caught if I stay here too long. But then, won¡¯t I be caught if I¡¯m in the car with a bunch of fruit cores and crumbs from the bread?
Maybe not. I could always throw my trash out of the train. Yes, that¡¯s littering, but anyone who¡¯s super-moralistic about littering should hope they never see Mount Aconcagua in person - that place is like a sewer.
Mizar didn¡¯t think too long. He started grabbing whatever he could - a handful of apples, half a loaf of bread with which he could make sandwiches, some roast beef and cheddar, and more. While the apples would take days to rot, unrefrigerated meat would spoil within a couple of hours. Therefore, Mizar reasoned that he could keep going back and forth between the front of the train and the caboose whenever he got hungry.
There are worse plans out there. Worse ideas I¡¯ve had, like climbing Mount Everest.
Without ruminating on his past too much, Mizar stuffed all the food he felt like bringing in his backpack. This would be more than enough to last him a day - in fact, he could probably share it with one or two of the other condemned people. But it would go bad before long, so there was no getting around the knowledge that he would need to make this trip again.
Climbing the walls was a little harder while slinging the backpack on one¡¯s shoulder, but within a few minutes, Mizar was three cars up from the caboose. His determination to stick it to Toriel and Lucas for failing him in yesterday¡¯s mission was enough to keep him going, as was the knowledge that he¡¯d get a decent meal at the end of his trek.
Still, this was more tiring than he¡¯d expected, and Mizar was drenched in sweat by the time he reached the car before his own. The train¡¯s length was greater than he¡¯d remembered, and it was only after he¡¯d scaled the final wall that the unthinkable happened.
The train rounded yet another sharp bend in the tunnel, shaking from side to side as it did so. Mizar was forced to bend over to avoid losing his balance, but he suddenly felt unencumbered, almost weightless. He felt inclined to celebrate this sensation, not realizing until a moment later why it wasn¡¯t so great after all.
But the train¡¯s copious shaking continued, and eventually Mizar decided enough was enough. He had to jump for the next car, and then the jostling wouldn¡¯t matter so much. He¡¯d be safely in the first car and able to enjoy the feast he¡¯d packed.
So he leaped forward and fell eight feet to the ground, grimacing with the impact. But the pain left quickly with the knowledge that he¡¯d achieved his goal and could now chow down. There was just one problem¡
Where¡¯s my backpack?
Mizar glanced around the car, looking for any place where he might have put it down. But his search turned up no dice, and in the end he understood exactly what had happened.
My shoulders felt so much lighter when I was up there - the backpack must have been blown right off of me! And now it¡¯s on the tracks, no doubt having been crushed by the wheels. I can¡¯t go back for it - that¡¯d be suicide even if I don¡¯t break both legs after jumping from the train.
His only option if he wanted to eat would be to return to the caboose and retrieve more food. However, Mizar also knew he didn¡¯t have the stamina to get all the way back to the caboose, then all the way back to where he was. And if he ate in the caboose, he¡¯d probably get caught. But did that even matter when his limbs ached at the thought of climbing all those walls again?
Mizar¡¯s stomach wanted one thing, but his common sense wanted another. And no matter how much he wanted, even needed to eat something, common sense had to prevail.
So he sat back on the hard floor, bracing himself against the wall so that he wouldn¡¯t get thrown around like a ragdoll, and forced himself to accept that he wouldn¡¯t eat for three more days.
Hunger won¡¯t kill me. I¡¯m already dead. In fact, unless I die in battle or as a result of something else violent, I¡¯m invincible for the time being. But man, it sure would be nice to even have a banana right now!
If that fat cat Toriel and jackal boy Lucas are still watching me now, they¡¯re probably REALLY satisfied that they¡¯re breaking me down. I¡¯ll admit it - I¡¯m suffering right now, and it¡¯s because of them.
In a way, as a now exhausted and very sweaty Mizar slowly drifted off, he reflected on the gaping hole in his mind (or what religious people would call a ¡°soul¡±). Even after he¡¯d been excommunicated from the Mormon church, a major liability in Utah¡¯s still very conservative dating pool, he¡¯d found a community on all those ex-Mormon forums online. Whenever he¡¯d visited such forums, Mizar had felt as though he had company. Someone was looking out for him, even if it wasn¡¯t God.
But in the absence of any way to communicate with those people on Reddit or any other forums, as well as the lack of contact with his few friends at Jet Force Isekai, Mizar knew he was well and truly alone. He¡¯d feel it in his bones until the day (whether in the distant or near future) when he was nothing but bones.
Marie might have been on the brink of quitting last week, but if she were to believe what Sophie had told them about banishment, she was no longer sure she wanted to face that fate.
Of course, she might not have a choice. Not anymore. Toriel and Lucas stared down the quartet of Cabin Gemini, and it was plain to see that they wouldn¡¯t leave without answers.
But if these cabins are indeed bugged - fixed with ¡°audiovisual recording devices¡± as they say - then they already have all the information they need, don¡¯t they?
¡°So I¡¯m in a heap of trouble, huh?¡± Judd asked rhetorically, bringing Marie back to Nexus.
¡°That¡¯s correct,¡± Toriel replied matter-of-factly. ¡°In fact, all four of you are.¡±
¡°Awww, shucks,¡± Judd muttered.
Lucas¡¯ red eyes glinted what was likely the brightest shade of scarlet they could possibly muster. ¡°Well, what did you expect? Did you really think that you¡¯d face no consequences for plotting to save Mizar from banishment?¡±
¡°Well, no,¡± Sophie said. ¡°But I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d get caught this easily. Even if we were on a game show.¡±
¡°Well, Sophie Frey, that was incredibly short-sighted of you. But it¡¯s not like that matters anymore - the deed has been done, and the deed must therefore be punished.¡±
Marie gulped. Punishment? Does he mean that he¡¯ll banish us? But maybe banishment would have a silver lining for me specifically. Then again, it¡¯s pretty selfish of me to think that way when the rest of Cabin Gemini would be banished with me. But THEN AGAIN, we don¡¯t care much for each other, do we?
¡°Despite the seriousness of this offense,¡± the guildmistress told the group at large, ¡°I am inclined to be lenient. Lucas, do you feel the same way?¡±
The Lucario shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s up to you, Toriel. You¡¯re the boss here. But for what it¡¯s worth, I agree - it¡¯s a first offense, after all.¡±
Marie did not relax, however. Their hosts¡¯ definition of lenient might be very different from her own, after all, and it might well involve scrubbing the dining pavilion¡¯s floor with a toothbrush or something equally painstaking. Her back already ached at the prospect of such hard labor.
¡°Very well, Lucas,¡± Toriel told her Lucario assistant. Then, turning back to the contestants of Cabin Gemini, she continued thusly: ¡°All four of you will be placed on probation for the next three weeks. But just because you¡¯re not getting a more severe punishment doesn¡¯t mean you can plot against us again, because the consequences will be far worse next time.¡±
Judd raised an eyebrow. ¡°What does probation entail? Will we have ankle monitors or whatever like those on house arrest in the States?¡±
¡°Judd Asgard, you need to get over your patriotism for the United States¡± Toriel snapped. ¡°You¡¯re not in Kansas anymore, and you need to act like it.¡±
¡°Right,¡± Judd mouthed, scratching his head.
¡°But to answer your question,¡± the guildmistress continued, ¡°probation means that you¡¯ll be watched more closely for any sign of wrongdoing, just like it means on Earth. It also means that your scores will be scrutinized more heavily. In fact, if any of you score under 70 during any of the next three missions, all four of you will be banished in addition to the three lowest-scoring parties.¡±
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Lucas said. ¡°Clearly, Sophie Frey, you¡¯ve found out what happens to those banished. I don¡¯t think any of you four want that to happen. That¡¯s exactly why each of you will no doubt apply yourselves to get the highest scores possible in the next three missions.¡±
¡°We were doing that anyway,¡± Judd retorted. ¡°I was able to get a 78 today even though you gave me one of the most punishing missions imaginable.¡±
¡°What can I say?¡± Toriel replied quizzically. ¡°The missions become more difficult with each one you complete or accomplish. It shouldn¡¯t be a surprise that your third mission was harder than your second, which was harder than your first.¡±
¡°Still¡¡± Judd started, but he was interrupted by Lucas.
¡°I know what you¡¯re going to say. You¡¯re going to complain about how abrupt the difficulty spike was. You don¡¯t have to tell me that - you were an Ice-type and had to steal a sword from a horde of Fire-types. We already know what¡¯s going on in all the missions, and so does Nexus - game show, remember?¡±
Marie watched this conversation as though it were a tennis match. Within the bounds of that analogy, however, it was like a tennis match in which the loser would have their head chopped off. Judd hit the next volley.
¡°I know,¡± he began, ¡°that you assigned me that mission as revenge for calling you a loser and a sucker. For the record, I still believe those words describe you perfectly. You just want to tear us all down to create drama for your must-see TV.¡±
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
¡°For the record, Judd, you don¡¯t know that¡± Toriel snapped. ¡°You think that. Have you ever considered that you might be wrong about something? Anything?¡±
¡°I¡¯ve been wrong before, but I¡¯m not wrong about this,¡± Judd replied testily. ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m sure you made today¡¯s mission artificially difficult for me as punishment for insulting you. Just tell me¡am I right?¡±
The Lucario made the same gesture that he¡¯d made when Sophie revealed that they were in a game show. He leaned back, then let out the most horrible laugh Marie had ever heard.
¡°Because we already know so much about you four,¡± Toriel said over Lucas¡¯ laughter, ¡°I¡¯ll at least be transparent about one thing. Judd, the answer is yes. You don¡¯t insult us so blatantly and expect to get away with it.¡±
¡°Well, I did get away with it, didn¡¯t I?¡± Judd responded. ¡°I mean, I passed today¡¯s mission. If you wanted to get me banished to the mines, it clearly didn¡¯t work.¡±
Lucas winked at Judd, and Marie grasped the meaning of that wink right away. It seemed to say this: It didn¡¯t work YET. But your insults are going to catch up to you eventually, just you wait.
¡°In any case,¡± Toriel stated, ¡°that is the extent of your consequences this time. You¡¯d be well-advised not to plot against us again, or the next time you will face a more severe punishment. All of you should go to bed and prepare for tomorrow¡¡±.
What do we even need to be ready for tomorrow? We¡¯ve only got missions once a week! All we¡¯ll do is bicker and gossip about one another in our interviews - I mean, CONFESSIONALS. That¡¯s exactly what the audience wants, apparently!
¡°Except for Marie Emerson. Marie, you¡¯re coming with us.¡±
Marie¡¯s stomach dropped. Today had been so chaotic, like a roller coaster with loops, twists, and turns, and she wanted nothing more than to get off this roller coaster. But no, one last twist was deployed all for her sake.
¡°You¡¯re not going to¡¡± Marie began. ¡°You¡¯re not going to banish me right now, are you?¡±
Lucas raised one of his aura-sensing organs. ¡°We already said we aren¡¯t going to banish you four yet. But would you like to be banished?¡±
¡°No, of course not¡± Marie snapped before she could talk herself out of it.
¡°Are you sure?¡± the Lucario responded. ¡°You seemed to be on the brink of quitting just last week. If you want out so badly, maybe you should rethink why you¡¯re here.¡±
¡°I just wanna be with Clancy,¡± Marie blurted out.
¡°Well, that¡¯s not what you chose tonight¡± Toriel snapped. ¡°Even in the afterlife, your decisions have consequences. But follow us - we¡¯ve got a surprise for you.¡±
Marie did as she was told, but she felt sure that the word surprise was a euphemism for something she didn¡¯t want to experience. Toriel and Lucas led her to one of those pillar stumps on which she¡¯d given her interviews.
Confessionals. They were confessionals, because we¡¯re on a reality TV set, and everything I say there is broadcast to the world.
Knowing she was being watched felt akin to standing in a windowless room slowly filling with water. Sooner or later, the water would overwhelm her and she would drown. In this case, ¡°drowning¡± was a metaphor for something less fatal - namely, snapping under all the pressure to perform.
¡°Wait here,¡± Lucas commanded. ¡°Samuel will arrive shortly.¡±
Marie sat obediently upon that pillar stump. While she waited for Samuel to show up, she had several minutes to think about everything that had no doubt been viewed by millions of people and Pok¨¦mon. It was one thing to have an embarrassing moment, but most people¡¯s embarrassing moments weren¡¯t broadcast to a global audience.
On Earth, people usually have a choice in whether or not they become a public figure. I didn¡¯t! I just wanted to live my life with Clancy - it was ripped away from me, and now I¡¯ve been robbed of my privacy too!
As Samuel the Lucario strode toward the pillar stump upon which Marie sat, the young woman knew that she¡¯d have to be careful what she said. After all, she¡¯d been lied to during her previous confessionals - she¡¯d been told whatever she said was confidential. Really, that was a lie of omission, but still a lie nonetheless. Her bunkmates were in the dark, but not the audience on Planet Nexus!
¡°Good evening, Marie Emerson¡± Samuel said once he was seated on the ground five feet from Marie. ¡°You¡¯re probably wondering why you¡¯re here.¡±
Marie nodded. ¡°I am.¡± Mark my words: They¡¯re going to use that against me somehow. I just don¡¯t understand what¡¯d be so suspicious about saying that.
Or maybe they¡¯ll twist my words. This is a reality show, after all.
¡°Well, not to worry. It is merely a regular confessional you¡¯re here for. It¡¯ll just be one glorious and perfect conversation between the two of us, if you let it remain that way.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll bite. What do you want to ask me?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s start with last week¡¯s ceremony. Even though you scored a 94 last week, you still threatened to volunteer as tribute for banishment.¡±
¡° Volunteer as tribute?¡± Marie snorted. ¡°This isn¡¯t The Hunger Games.¡±
Well, to be fair, the Hunger Games were televised. Maybe they¡¯ve got more in common with this than I¡¯m willing to admit.
¡°That does not matter¡± Samuel stated testily. ¡°Why did you threaten to volunteer?¡±
Marie felt as though her veins were filled with poison. She could extract some poison from within them, but this would come at the cost of possibly infecting Samuel. Then again, for running such a show without the contestants¡¯ consent, maybe he deserved it.
Even now, anything I say might be used against me. If not by the production crew, then by the audience.
¡°At the time,¡± Marie began, ¡°I didn¡¯t see how I could handle another mission. The electric sounds were just too loud. They reminded me of¡ things ¡±.
The Lucario stared at her. ¡°What did they remind you of?¡±
¡°It¡¯s too personal for me to answer,¡± she responded, though Marie was shivering by now in the nondescript temperature of the ravine.
¡°Well, I suppose I cannot force that answer out of you. This is Jet Force Isekai, and we¡¯re not going to torture you to obtain such information. We have to keep things humane.¡±
Samuel surely knows that we¡¯re aware we¡¯re on camera. He¡¯s probably viewing the feed at all times, just like the more terminally online viewers on Nexus¡¯ surface.
¡°Thanks¡± Marie mumbled, but she didn¡¯t really feel that thankful.
¡°It¡¯s no problem¡± Samuel said, but again, the way he raised an aura-sensing organ on end made it look as though he felt otherwise. ¡°So you return to the cabin after Judd talks you out of quitting, and then what happens?¡±
¡°Well, you¡¯ll have to be more specific,¡± Marie replied. ¡°A lot happened that week, it¡¯s just that very little of it mattered until we had our next mission.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve had plenty of time to get to know one another¡± the Lucario told her in little more than a whisper, almost as though getting to know one another was an innuendo.
¡°We have. But we¡¯ve fought constantly, and Sophie thought of a reason why that might be. And said reason was just confirmed back in the cabin.¡±
Samuel held his paws up. ¡°Whoa, ma¡¯am. Slow down. You¡¯re getting a little ahead of the game, you know?¡±
¡°No. I didn¡¯t know. But thanks for clarifying¡± Marie muttered sarcastically.
¡°So what did you fight about?¡±
¡°Well, Jessica complains a lot,¡± Marie replied, letting her simmering annoyance boil over just a little. ¡°I think she¡¯s used to getting what she wants in life - is that accurate?¡±
Samuel shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s information that you aren¡¯t entitled to, ma¡¯am. Unless and until Jessica decides to divulge it, that is.¡±
¡°But that¡¯s not fair. Don¡¯t they have laws against rigging game shows like this one? The audience knows everything about Jessica¡¯s past, and I know nothing about it! ¡±
¡°Maybe you don¡¯t know anything about Jessica¡¯s past,¡± Samuel said, ¡°but that doesn¡¯t make the game unfair. As far as I¡¯m concerned, as long as you have all the same information as one another, or have earned such information through skillful play, the game remains fair. Besides¡¡±.
Marie glared at her interviewer. ¡°There¡¯s a catch, isn¡¯t there?¡±
¡°No, there is no catch¡± Samuel stated simply. ¡°But you do have to remember that you¡¯re not in the United States anymore. The same laws do not always apply here as they do in your country of origin.¡±
Marie grimaced, then recoiled as she realized what Samuel was implying here. She did not want to believe her own ears, but rejecting what your eyes and ears told you was, to paraphrase Toriel, straight out of one of those novels Jessica (and probably Sophie, given how much of an intellectual know-it-all she was) read. When she neglected that ¡°advice¡±, it didn¡¯t take long for her to piece together the implication.
¡°So you¡¯re telling me that you are rigging the game?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not saying we are, I¡¯m not saying we¡¯re not,¡± Samuel told her.
Marie raised an eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s not exactly a denial.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll just leave you with this, and then we can move on to the next question: Sometimes things aren¡¯t as they appear, but sometimes they are.¡±
Marie rolled her eyes. ¡°What sage philosophical advice you just imparted upon me¡± she muttered. ¡°Truly an inspiring quote, isn¡¯t it?¡±
¡°It does not matter,¡± Samuel replied, this time more coldly. ¡°What does matter is the next question. How do you feel about your bunkmate, Jessica Petty?¡±
With a deep sigh, the young lady tried to figure out how to field this question. Eventually, Samuel started using his claws to count upward, snapping them every few seconds like Lucas did, and that really made Marie feel compelled to answer.
¡°I don¡¯t like her,¡± Marie stated. ¡°But she seems to like me. I think she¡¯s¡attracted to me. And there isn¡¯t anything wrong with that?¡±
Samuel raised one of his aura organs. ¡°Why isn¡¯t there anything wrong with that?¡±
¡°I mean, some people are straight, some are gay, some are bi or ace, I don¡¯t care. That¡¯s all fine. And really, I like to think I¡¯m good-looking, but¡¡±.
¡°But what?¡± Samuel responded. ¡°If there is to be a showmance in Jet Force Isekai, the audience will eat it up. It always adds to the drama.¡±
He¡¯s not even bothering to keep up any pretense. We¡¯re on a reality TV set, and they¡¯re using us to put on a show. That¡¯s just a fact, an axiom of life.
¡°That¡¯s the thing, though,¡± Marie responded. ¡°It isn¡¯t mutual. I¡¯m sick of the flirting, and not because Jessica might really be attracted to me. It¡¯s because it brings back bad memories.¡±
¡°What sort of memories?¡± Samuel asked. ¡°Tell me as much as you¡¯re willing to.¡±
¡°You already said you¡¯d respect my boundaries, and now you¡¯re trying to chisel through them again. I¡¯m not crazy about that, Samuel.¡±
¡°Again, Marie, this is completely confidential. Nobody will know but you and I that we had this talk.¡±
He has the AUDACITY to say that when I know it¡¯s not true. Hell, HE knows I know that. So why not just admit that millions of Nexus residents will see the broadcast?
Marie clawed at her scalp for a while, then said this: ¡°If you must know, being flirted with doesn¡¯t exactly make me feel great. It brings back memories that I¡that I would rather not think about.¡±
¡°Do you mind elaborating?¡± Samuel inquired. ¡°What is the nature of these memories?¡±
¡°That¡¯s a bit personal,¡± Marie replied firmly. ¡°But I will say that there¡¯s a reason I object to the flirting itself beyond the bad memories.¡±
¡°Why is that?¡±
¡°Because I¡¯m taken. Or at least, I was taken during my Earthly life - maybe he¡¯s forgotten all about me.¡±
¡°Why do you say that?¡± Samuel asked her.
Suddenly Marie knew why a certain person banished two weeks ago had carried himself in such a manner. Why he¡¯d visibly shaken as he presented his torch to the guildmistress for snuffing.
¡°He hasn¡¯t forgotten about me,¡± Marie told Samuel.
¡°Okay, so a total 180¡ã. But why do you suddenly think that he remembers you?¡±
¡°Because he¡¯s been here as long as I have. Or at least, we started at the same time - he was banished two weeks ago.¡±
The rest of the trip on the Miner¡¯s Train passed at a Goomy¡¯s pace.
Every so often, Mizar would feel the urge to check his watch - or rather, his phone, since nobody wore a watch anymore when smartphones were the norm. It didn¡¯t matter that all such items were confiscated upon arrival at Jet Force Isekai; he would still have loved to possess one.
All he knew was that every so often, the train would swerve to negotiate a curve in the tunnel, and Mizar would be thrown against his seat. At one point, he became convinced he¡¯d lightly bruised a rib as a result of an impact with the metallic floor. After that, he didn¡¯t dare stand up again - it simply hurt too much to move his chest.
His stomach also hurt, but from hunger rather than any physical trauma. Over and over, Mizar pictured the moment when he¡¯d jumped into the last car, and the backpack had slipped off his shoulders and out of the train. That knowledge was worse than any physical pain, since Mizar was well aware he could only blame himself for that.
Every so often, the train¡¯s conductors (probably Lucario judging by their gruff, grunting voices) would announce that a dust storm was coming, so they were advised to close their eyes and mouth. And Mizar would obey these instructions, for he invariably had just a handful of seconds before the wind picked up, carrying with it enough sand to create an artificial city beach.
The tunnel seemed to slope gently upward, and Mizar tried to remember what he¡¯d learned about the composition of the Earth¡¯s interior. He was pretty sure there was an inner core beneath the outer core, beneath the mantle, beneath the crust, with each layer getting hotter than the one above it.
But if that¡¯s the case, why is it getting hotter the higher we go? I guess this is Nexus, not Earth¡oh boy, I must really have lost my marbles.
In his defense, it¡¯s not like Mizar had much to do besides think. During the journey of seventy-seven hours and 45 minutes (which was equivalent to about 3.24 days if his mental math was correct), he had ample time to ponder his past and how he¡¯d ended up here.
It didn¡¯t take long for the topic of Mizar¡¯s ¡°internal conversation¡± to turn to religion. Now, perhaps this was only natural considering that he¡¯d died and his consciousness had not ceased. However, he found himself reflecting on the answers he¡¯d been given from an early age.
The sort of questions all religions tried to answer were very important indeed. Where did we all come from? What is the meaning of life? What happens after we die? Those were good questions, and one of the things the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had offered was answers. Perhaps they were not the right answers, or at least not the ones supported by the most evidence, but they were easy answers.
Whenever Mizar grew tired of thinking about religion (or just tired in general), he nodded off into a short nap. However, any shut-eye was invariably fleeting, for the train would jolt him abruptly awake within the hour. Because he slept and woke so many times, the journey felt far longer than it really was.
I just want to get off this train. I don¡¯t care if what happens next is worse. I don¡¯t care if I jump out of the frying pan and into the fire, as it were. I just want this ride to end.
Eventually, after so many sleep-wake cycles, the engine seemed to quiet down, if only slightly. And Mizar allowed himself to hope that maybe this was it. Maybe the Miner¡¯s Train was about to reach its destination at long last.
I don¡¯t believe it. I must be hearing things¡there¡¯s no way it could actually be over!
And yet the decreasing volume of the engine wasn¡¯t the only evidence that the train was slowing down. Each bump in the tracks no longer felt quite so dramatic, and Mizar could believe that there were fewer of them.
Finally, the gruff Lucario voice sounded over the train¡¯s sound system. ¡°Welcome to the Eternal Night Mine, where the local time is approximately noon, not that it matters when it¡¯s always dark. Thank you for choosing Miner¡¯s Train Ride 1, the flagship route. Weather here is approximately thirty-five degrees Celsius, or ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit for those insufferable Yanks who insist on using Imperial units.¡±
Mizar snorted at that, and jubilation filled his veins as he got to his feet in order to disembark the stopped train. No matter what happened next, he¡¯d gotten his wish. Of course, he would soon learn that you must always be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it.
Along with the seven other banishees, Mizar climbed off the train. Admittedly, staggered might be a better word here, because his muscles were simply not used to the effort after three days of being allowed to atrophy as he lay there. Additionally, his bruised rib still cried out in protest with each step. It would be painful for some time.
¡°Everyone has arrived!¡± a booming tone exclaimed. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see that the journey went smoothly!¡±
Mizar, as well as the other banishees, turned in the voice¡¯s direction. The source appeared to be a hulking Emboar who wore a hard hat and carried a scythe. Despite the equipment he carried implying the risks of the job, the Emboar smiled brightly from ear to ear.
¡°Who¡are you?¡± one of the banished, a young woman, wondered aloud.
¡°I am Master McGann!¡± the Emboar announced, as though introducing himself as a famous actor. ¡°I am the owner of the Eternal Night Mine!¡±
¡°This doesn¡¯t look like much of a mine,¡± Mizar remarked. There were no signs of industry here other than Master McGann¡¯s equipment. Except for the light created by the Emboar¡¯s flame, there was no way anything else could be seen in the deep, dark cavern.
Master McGann snorted. ¡°That¡¯s because the mine hasn¡¯t started yet! It¡¯s about a mile through the tunnel, and I won¡¯t waste any time leading you there! And remember - speak only when I speak to you first!¡±
Noted. Honestly, I don¡¯t know if I have anything else to say to this Emboar.
¡°So I¡¯ll give you all some background. Because I am your boss in this mine, I can be either your best friend or your worst enemy. The choice is yours. And I don¡¯t mess around - I¡¯m sure one of my assistants could tell you the story of Jim Goff. Hell, maybe Jim himself could tell you.¡±
Well, what happened to this Jim Goff chap?
¡°The job entails digging atop these platforms of rock and dirt within the main cavern. Every so often, the ground will give way and the worker will fall to their¡¡±.
¡°D-death?¡± another young man asked worriedly. ¡°They die?¡±
¡°They fall to their belay point!¡± Master McGann bellowed. ¡°Again, don¡¯t say anything unless I address you directly! In any case, the rope catches them, and they are belayed down to the floor of the next cavern like they¡¯re in what you humans call a climbing gym. And once they¡¯re on the level below, they must find their way back here. And if they don¡¯t, they¡¯ll be taken and ex¡I mean, brought back to the mine!¡±
He really wanted to say ¡°taken and executed¡± there, didn¡¯t he? Come to think of it, we¡¯ve already faced death once before. I did it without any expectation of an afterlife - as far as I¡¯m concerned, the last twenty months have been a bonus.
¡°Anyway, one day, as Jim Goff was shoveling his way through the dirt, he ran across a premature hole and fell through. We let him down, but it took an hour for that clueless Jim Goof to find his way back! And then when I gave him his next meal, he was a cracker short - do you want to know why?¡±
¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±
¡°I docked him for the time after he fell from the sky. Of course, there is no sky down here, but you get the idea.¡±
Wow. That¡¯s just gratuitous cruelty right there, isn¡¯t it? You dock the poor guy some of his pay after he falls through the hole?
The Emboar led the former members of Jet Force Isekai through a series of tunnels. Every so often, there would be a torch or flashlight to light the way. (Of course, to someone from Britain those words¡¯ meanings were one and the same.) Aside from that, the only source of illumination in these caverns was Master McGann¡¯s flame, and for such a portly creature, he could move pretty fast. Even Mizar practically had to jog to keep up.
Eventually, they reached a cavern roughly the size of a football stadium, where the sounds of grunts, shovel impacts, and more could be heard, but very little aside from the walls could be seen.
¡°Your goal,¡± Master McGann stated, ¡°is to dig up as many precious metals as you can find. It doesn¡¯t matter what color they are - amethyst, ruby, sapphire - whatever it is, just polish it off and place it in the bucket. You¡¯ll work six hours before a ten-minute breakfast break, six hours before a ten-minute lunch break, and six hours before a ten-minute dinner break.¡±
¡°Correct my math,¡± a young lady inquired, ¡°but does that mean we only have five and a half hours to sleep?¡±
The Emboar scoffed at that. ¡° Sleep? You can sleep when you¡¯re dead!¡±
¡°Uh,¡± Mizar remarked, ¡°aren¡¯t we already dead?¡±
¡°I suppose you are. I guess that saying doesn¡¯t make sense here. I¡¯ll let you guys have a quick lunch - ten minutes. Then you have to harness up and start working!¡±
Mizar looked at the leather harnesses on the ground. Normally, strapping into one of them would have felt freeing. It would have been a reminder that he was in the mountains, an environment in which he felt he belonged, since he had to wear one for technical climbs. He associated it with what he enjoyed most.
For obvious reasons, this was quite the opposite.
Chapter 12: Forever Young
That night, Marie¡¯s unconscious reality centered around one person, and one person only. That person was Clancy.
She found herself back in the past, as though she were her past self. There was nothing distinguishable whatsoever between her mind and the body of 14-year-old Marie Emerson of South Carolina.
The alarm woke her at 6 AM, and 14-year-old Marie rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She could not remember anything specific about her dream - she rarely did. But the fact remained that she was sure she¡¯d dreamed about something.
I guess it¡¯s like a dream WITHIN a dream, huh? Because I¡¯m dreaming about my past, and my past self had a dream. This is just like that movie Inception, isn¡¯t it?
Marie¡¯s 14-year-old self (scratch that, Marie herself) gradually rose from bed and silenced her alarm. After reaching her arms upward and yawning, she remembered why she¡¯d been required to set the alarm in the first place. The reason was quite simple.
It¡¯s my first day of ninth grade. The first day of high school!
Marie quickly got dressed and worked her way downstairs, where the family dog was watching a rerun of a rally from the 45th President of the United States. Quite frankly, Marie didn¡¯t care too much for the dog - cleaning up after him was a lot of extra work for the Emersons. But then, some jobs just needed to be done, and as long as Marie lived with her parents, chores were a way to stay in their good graces.
After a bowl of cereal and some fruit, Marie donned her backpack, making sure it still held all the school supplies she¡¯d bought a few days ago from Staples. There was no real reason to suspect anything had been stolen, but you could never be sure when the crime rate was allegedly skyrocketing.
The teenage girl then bade her parents goodbye and made her way down to the bus stop. The main high school in her small South Carolina town wasn¡¯t more than a mile or two from home, but the distance between consisted of nothing but strip malls and McMansions, with very few sidewalks to speak of. And people wondered why American children had a reputation for being fat and lazy!
Marie did not acknowledge any of the other students as she boarded the yellow school bus, instead choosing a seat that seemed deliberately out of the others¡¯ way. However, if she¡¯d been trying to avoid her peers, she did not succeed, as a tall, lanky boy stood over her.
¡°M-most of the other seats are t-taken¡± he said. ¡°C-c-can I sit with you?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t see why not,¡± Marie replied. Even if she¡¯d rather be alone, it would¡¯ve been very rude to insist that the boy not sit next to her. She wasn¡¯t from a religious family, so Marie saw no need to believe in traditional gender norms that dictated boys and girls who weren¡¯t dating to sit separately.
¡°Thanks,¡± the boy replied. ¡°Y-you¡¯re going to R-rockabilly High School, aren¡¯t you?¡±
Marie nodded, narrowing her eyes. ¡°If I weren¡¯t going there, would I be on this bus?¡±
¡°You n-never know. Maybe I m-made a mistake.¡±
¡°Well, you didn''t,¡± Marie assured the boy. ¡°At least, not if you¡¯re trying to get to Rockabilly High.¡±
¡°Wonderful¡± the boy responded, scratching the trace amount of beard scruff on his chin. ¡°My name is C-Clancy. And yours is?¡±
¡°Marie Emerson¡± she replied, running a hand through her blonde hair.
¡°That¡¯s a l-lovely name,¡± Clancy mumbled. ¡°I hope you d-don¡¯t think I¡¯m f-flirting with you. I¡¯m just saying that because it¡¯s t-true.¡±
Marie smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, Clancy. You¡¯re not making me feel uncomfortable.¡±
This boy seems quite nervous around me. I guess that makes sense - talking to others can be frightening at first in high school. Especially when he probably moved to this town recently.
¡°I haven¡¯t seen you around before¡± Marie told Clancy. ¡°Did you move here from somewhere else?¡±
¡°I¡¯m f-from C-C-Connecticut originally. But my parents moved us down here so that they could pay lower taxes.¡±
Being that she was only 14 years old at the time, Marie would be lying if she said she understood the minutiae of tax policy. All she could really do was nod along and pay lip service, a skill that Clancy probably didn¡¯t feel he excelled in.
¡°I¡¯m a lifelong South Carolinian,¡± Marie replied. ¡°But that¡¯s pretty cool that you¡¯re from up North. It would be nice if it didn¡¯t get so hot down here.¡±
¡°Well, you know what they say. You can plan that p-pretty p-p-picnic all you want, but if the weather doesn¡¯t c-cooperate, there¡¯s only so much you can d-do.¡±
True.
¡°So wh-what are you interested in?¡± Clancy inquired. ¡°My b-biggest interest is P-P-Pok¨¦mon.¡±
Marie forced a smile. ¡°That¡¯s pretty sweet, Clancy.¡± She had to be careful not to infantilize this guy. But the truth was, Clancy seemed like what the other students in her town would call a ¡°big softie.¡± Indeed, that was probably the nicest thing they¡¯d call him. (Of course, the mockery wouldn¡¯t happen in person - school bullying had mostly been relegated to the online realm since the advent of social media.)
¡°There¡¯s this one P-Pok¨¦mon,¡± Clancy told her, ¡°that I think m-my p-parents would love. They¡¯re called Braviary, and they look like eagles. Would you like to see the card?¡±
¡°I¡¯m good,¡± Marie said. ¡°I don¡¯t do well when I read in a moving vehicle - it makes me feel carsick. I¡¯m sure you understand.¡±
¡°Of course,¡± Clancy replied. ¡°But can I still tell you about Braviary, at risk of sounding like I just swallowed a Pok¨¦Dex?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡±
¡°Well, their average height is four feet, eleven inches tall. Their average weight is 90.4 pounds, or 41 kilograms for those who prefer the metric system. Its abilities include Keen Eye and Sheer Force, and their base maximum HP is 100.¡±
¡°Wonderful, Clancy,¡± Marie told the boy. Truth be told, she¡¯d never been too interested in all those trading card games kids played. If you were seen playing such games, you were likely to be branded with the scarlet letter N for Nerd. And nerds were frowned upon in middle school.
Maybe now that we¡¯re in high school, things will be different.
¡°Another fact about Braviary is that, like all Pok¨¦mon, its entry in the Pok¨¦Dex varies from game to game. According to the entry in Ultra Sun, the more scars a Braviary has on its front, the more heroic it¡¯s considered to be. It means that they don¡¯t back down from a fight.¡±
¡°That¡¯s pretty cool. What if it has scars on its back?¡±
Clancy¡¯s eyes lit up to no small degree. ¡°If a Braviary has many scars on its back, it¡¯s frequently mocked by the rest of its flock. Maybe that¡¯s because it means they didn¡¯t see an enemy coming from their blind side.¡±
¡°Do you think that¡¯s fair?¡± Marie asked her new friend. ¡°To be ridiculed just because you didn¡¯t have eyes in the back of your head?¡±
¡°In my opinion? No¡± Clancy stated, fidgeting. ¡°But this is a purely fictional world we¡¯re talking about here. You know that as well as I do.¡±
¡°I sure do,¡± Marie acknowledged, thinking about how, in the words of some people, Clancy was the sort of teenager who refused to bury that castle. He was the epitome of that saying: Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is not.
The bus arrived in front of Rockabilly High, a two-story brick building that had been partially taken over by invasive kudzu vines. The students then disembarked one by one, during which time Clancy kept info-dumping about Pok¨¦mon.
¡°They say that there¡¯s a whole new generation of Pok¨¦mon coming soon. There¡¯ll be so many creatures to talk about - and you¡¯ve gotta catch them all, don¡¯t you?¡±
¡°Why, yes,¡± Marie said. ¡°You do need to catch them all.¡± But she said this with a raised eyebrow, which carried the intent of making Clancy pay attention to why they were at this building. It wasn¡¯t to hyperfixate on their favorite multimedia franchises.
¡°My l-locker is r-r-right next to yours¡± Clancy noted. ¡°It¡¯s in this h-hallway.¡±
¡°Huh¡± Marie stated, looking at the key she¡¯d been given and finding that her locker was indeed adjacent to Clancy¡¯s. They¡¯d be seeing a lot of one another between classes.
¡°One l-last question,¡± the fidgety boy told her, practically bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. ¡°Marie, c-can we b-b-be f-friends?¡±
It¡¯s clearly taking a lot of his nerve to ask that question. It¡¯s like he has a hard time doing it in general. I really feel for him.
Marie snorted. ¡°Clancy, you know that only works in elementary school. You don¡¯t just walk up to someone and ask to be their friend.¡±
Clancy clasped his hands together, his teeth chattering as though they were somewhere far colder than South Carolina. ¡°R-right. M-my b-bad. I g-guess we should get to know one another f-f-first.¡±
Marie smiled. ¡°I think we are friends already. It just worked out that way - you sat next to me on the bus, and we talked about Pok¨¦mon for a while. You seem quite interested in it, and I showed interest too.¡± Or at least, I tried to.
¡°R-really?¡± Clancy responded, sounding almost as though he couldn¡¯t believe what Marie had just told him. ¡°W-we c-c-can be friends?¡±
¡°Of course! But we both have to head to our homeroom now! You can¡¯t be late for class on the first damn day!¡±
Clancy chuckled nervously as he looked at his schedule. ¡°It-it seems we have our homeroom together today! M-mine is with Mrs. Franczak!¡±
Marie glanced at the sheet of paper constituting her schedule and found that, in fact, Clancy was correct. Her homeroom period was with Mrs. Franczak as well!
The pair wasted no more time getting to the correct room, and by a stroke of ¡°coincidence¡±, they ended up sitting pretty close to one another in the back row. Perhaps that made it less likely they¡¯d be called on, which was perhaps why Clancy had selected this seat.
As Mrs. Franczak started talking about the expectations for her homeroom, as well as some of the units her Civics class would entail, Marie couldn¡¯t help but notice that Clancy¡¯s attention wasn¡¯t all there. He still nodded along to what the teacher said, but his right leg was constantly shaking as though he needed to get some energy out in a context-appropriate manner. Additionally, he had his notebook open to a blank page, which was no longer blank as he¡¯d started drawing creatures on it.
Huh. It¡¯s like his brain isn¡¯t wired to sit in this chair for six hours a day going through all sorts of lectures. Maybe he just wants to draw Pok¨¦mon all day, in which case maybe he should bury that proverbial castle. Because that¡¯s not how the real world works.
To state the obvious, second period came after first, and it was math with Mr. Claymorton. As with Mrs. Franczak¡¯s Civics class, Marie shared this one with Clancy, and just like before, they ended up sitting next to each other. But that was totally a coincidence, not because they were friends.
During second period, Marie saw Clancy evidently drawing a number of equations in his notebook that had nothing to do with the lecture at hand. On the bright side, he was not the student who folded up a paper airplane and launched it toward the chalkboard at the front of the room.
The teeth-grinding sound of the chalk against the board ceased abruptly, and Mr. Claymorton swiveled around with a scowl on his face. Laughter sounded all around the room, too.
¡°Javier, knock it off!¡± he exclaimed.
Marie half-expected that awful song about a boy letting a girl wear his sweatshirt to start playing. But instead, Javier just kept laughing for what seemed like forever. Even Clancy was giggling nervously, haltingly, like he didn¡¯t know if he should be expressing any amusement.
Mr. Claymorton then started writing equations on the board. ¡°I¡¯ll call on students at random based on a list I¡¯ve prepared. This is just so I can tell where y¡¯all¡¯s heads are at. The first student on my list is Clancy Coventry.¡±
At the mention of his name, Clancy perked up, but also looked as though he wanted to put his head in his hands. Nonetheless, he was rapt to attention now.
¡°Clancy, can you tell me what the length of a right triangle¡¯s hypotenuse would be if the other two sides were 8 feet and 15 feet respectively?¡±
¡°Uh¡¡± Clancy mouthed. ¡°T-the h-h-hypotenuse is the l-longest side, right?¡±
¡°Correct¡± Mr. Claymorton responded sternly. ¡°It is the side opposite the triangle¡¯s 90¡ã angle, which means there¡¯s a specific theorem for determining the length of that side. Do you remember that theorem?¡±
Clancy scratched his beard scruff. ¡°It¡¯s t-the one involving square roots, right? A-squared plus B-squared equals C-squared?¡±
The math teacher raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yes. So how long would that make the longest side of the triangle?¡±
¡°S-seventeen f-feet, sir¡± Clancy replied haltingly, to the applause of several other students. The clapping, however, only seemed to annoy him, and he proclaimed the following: ¡°Just because I t-talk slowly s-sometimes d-d-doesn¡¯t mean I think slowly.¡±
¡°No, it doesn¡¯t¡± Mr. Claymorton muttered. ¡°You can think pretty quickly when you want to.¡±
After that, the rest of the day passed relatively uneventfully. Marie and Clancy did not share any more classes, but Marie had seen all she needed in order to appraise some of the boy¡¯s personality.
One thing she thought fascinating was that Clancy clearly lacked confidence whenever he spoke to someone new. Of course, to some extent, that was normal for just about anyone, even if most people didn¡¯t stutter as much as he did. But whenever Clancy got a chance to talk about his preferred interests (such as Pok¨¦mon), he suddenly had all the confidence in the world. He could go on and on about that topic with no stuttering whatsoever.
Over the next few days, Marie found herself spending more and more time with Clancy. At first she did this without realizing it, either sitting next to him for lunch in the ratty old cafeteria that seemingly hadn¡¯t been cleaned in months, or else selecting a seat beside him on the school bus yet again. The pair opened up to each other about their proudest moments, their greatest fears, and other matters.
One thing led to another, and by the end of that first week, they considered themselves friends. A few weeks later, Marie became convinced that they were in fact more than friends, and she began to imagine in realistic terms what it would be like to ask Clancy out on a date, or to tell her parents that she and this painfully awkward boy were in fact a couple.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
As it turned out, in the middle of October (when the summer heat haze had finally begun to die off and Marie could feel that the weather was about to get a little better), Clancy made the first move. This occurred one afternoon after they got off the bus and were walking to their respective homes.
¡°M-Marie,¡± Clancy began, ¡°I have s-something t-t-to t-t-t-t-t-tell you.¡±
¡°What might that be?¡± Marie replied. On some level, of course, she figured there had to be a reason why Clancy was raising this question now as opposed to before school. There were no other Rockabilly High School students to be seen.
Clancy sighed, neglecting to continue making eye contact with Marie. He sighed and then said the following:
¡°I t-think I l-like you¡± he stammered.
Marie formed a small smile on her face. ¡°I like you too, Clancy. You¡¯re a great friend.¡±
¡°N-no,¡± he responded. ¡°By l-like¡well, you know w-what I m-m-mean by like, d-don¡¯t you?¡±
¡°I think I do,¡± Marie responded. ¡°And honestly, Clancy, I feel the same way. At least, I think I feel the same way - I can hardly read minds.¡±
Clancy looked ready to jump for joy, but he walked the rest of the way to Marie¡¯s house unsteadily. He smiled brightly, however, as his friend walked up to her home and waved goodbye. They would see one another again tomorrow, that was for sure. And probably the day after that.
From that point forward, Marie Emerson and Clancy Coventry were officially a couple.
Of course, when you were in a relationship at age fourteen, you experienced many of the benefits without many of the drawbacks. There were no debates about whose job it was to do which chore, or any questions related to managing money, or any arguments about whether or not to have children. (From what Marie¡¯s parents told her, kids were one of the few things you couldn¡¯t really compromise on in a relationship.)
For the most part, the relationship between Marie and Clancy was what some would derisively call ¡°puppy love.¡± Perhaps it was puppy love, but that didn¡¯t make it seem any less real.
At least once a week (and often more than that), one of them would go to the other¡¯s house. This was strictly to hang out, not to play, since they were in high school after all. Still, as the weeks passed, the relationship continued to blossom.
After the first day when they¡¯d declared their relationship (which was an odd word - it wasn¡¯t like ¡°declaring¡± goods in the customs section of an international airport), the days blended together into weeks and months. And every time she saw Clancy, Marie smiled even more deeply. Looking at it in years to come, she¡¯d view specific moments they spent together as memorable snapshots in time.
For instance, there was the time in early December when Clancy came over to bake Christmas cookies. Marie had a set of typical shapes to cut the dough into; stars, candy canes, pine trees, snowflakes, snowmen, you name it. However, her boyfriend had a different idea, because he showed up with a container full of shapes that Marie didn¡¯t recognize.
¡°Are those¡Pok¨¦mon shapes?¡±
Clancy nodded vigorously, pointing to a few outlines and naming them as he went. ¡°This one right here is Squirtle, then there¡¯s Charizard and Ivysaur. Those are in fact the three Pok¨¦mon that you can play as in Brawl when you select Pok¨¦mon Trainer, though it¡¯s quite silly that they make you play Classic Mode three times to get all the trophies.¡±
¡°Wait a minute,¡± Marie inquired. ¡° Brawl?¡±
¡°Yes. Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I know most competitive players don¡¯t like Brawl because it¡¯s a slower game and has the tripping mechanic, but it also contains lots of Pok¨¦mon and fun Pok¨¦mon stages.¡±
¡°That¡¯s wonderful, Clancy¡± Marie stated, holding his hand as she grabbed a star shape and drove it into the flat expanse of cookie dough.
¡°Yes, it is!¡± Clancy exclaimed. ¡°They even put Lucario in the game, which was quite something considering that at the time, he didn¡¯t have quite as many furries simping all over him. He can use this substance called aura, meaning that he can sense emotions and see what others are thinking!¡±
¡°That¡¯s pretty cool.¡±
¡°Why yes, it is. I wish I could do that in real life, though. I hate when I don¡¯t think about what I say before I say it, and then the other person thinks I lack empathy.¡±
Marie didn¡¯t know how to respond to that, so she did the logical thing and kept cutting out wedges of cookie dough. The rest of the conversation (indeed, of the ¡°hangout session¡± in general) faded into the background, and Marie wouldn¡¯t remember it in specific terms later. What she would, however, recall was Clancy¡¯s bright smile whenever he got to use the Pok¨¦mon-shaped cookie cutters.
Winter (to the extent that it existed at all in South Carolina) soon passed, followed by spring and then summer. Soon enough, a whole year had passed since they¡¯d started dating, but it seemed to Marie that it had been just yesterday that Clancy had asked her out. And she was determined to make sure her boyfriend didn¡¯t regret his decision.
Another year passed, then two. Soon, the pair were walking over to the podium in their caps and gowns as they graduated high school. They were handed their diplomas, then smiled and waved for the cameras. And when the cameras stopped rolling, Marie took Clancy¡¯s hand yet again and kissed it. (There was, of course, no point hiding their relationship when it was common knowledge in their small town. News traveled fast in rural America.)
Just over six years to the day when Clancy had first asked Marie out, the young lady was preparing to walk a different sort of aisle.
As she stood there in a white gown, as that old Scottish song ¡°Marie¡¯s Wedding¡± played in the background, Marie reflected on the day she¡¯d proposed to Clancy last year. Much like the initial decision to start dating, it had come out of nowhere, and that was the point. If her parents¡¯ marriage had taught her anything, it was that a partnership did not require two identical personalities, just two compatible ones. And that ¡°C-word¡± certainly described how Marie viewed Clancy.
It had taken some work persuading her parents (and Clancy¡¯s, for that matter) that they should be allowed to get married at age twenty. Marie¡¯s mother had insisted for the longest time that the only reason she and her father knew they were right for one another was that they¡¯d literally grown up together. Marriage was, after all, a decision that carried very real legal consequences.
¡°Clancy isn¡¯t just my boyfriend, he is my best friend¡± Marie insisted multiple times.
¡°But you don¡¯t know that for sure,¡± her mother had replied. ¡°He could always be the sort of boy who becomes an abusive jerk once you¡¯re married to him.¡±
¡°Mom, we¡¯ve been dating for six years. If he was going to show his true colors in that regard, wouldn¡¯t he already have done so?¡±
No matter how hard she tried, Marie¡¯s mother could not convince her daughter that the wedding was a bad idea. She just didn¡¯t understand why Marie felt endeared to Clancy¡¯s unique, geeky personality. He might be a nerd, but he¡¯s MY nerd!
Despite the fact that it should have been a joyous day, however, Marie¡¯s heart sank as she thought about what she was about to do. As she stood beside the mirror in the church¡¯s bathroom, she argued internally with herself.
I¡¯m going to do this. I¡¯m going to marry Clancy.
But you never know. Something could happen - maybe he¡¯ll fall out of love with you. Maybe he¡¯s just trying to use you for your money.
Nonsense. If anything, I¡¯m the one you¡¯d think is a gold digger - his family¡¯s certainly better off than my own!
Still. Some men don¡¯t show their true colors until you can¡¯t leave them as easily.
As soon as Marie stepped away from the mirror, however, she was greeted by Clancy. He was dressed in a tuxedo, but his hazel eyes were the main attraction. Marie may not have been devout, but she¡¯d heard others say that the eyes were a window into a person¡¯s soul. If that were true, then Clancy¡¯s soul seemed pure enough.
¡°Hello,¡± Clancy said awkwardly. ¡°We¡¯re really doing this, aren¡¯t we?¡±
I think we are.
¡°Yes¡± Marie stated, forcing a smile. She couldn¡¯t ditch her man at the altar - she¡¯d come too far to get cold feet now.
¡°I love you,¡± Clancy replied. ¡°You know that, right? I love you with all my heart.¡±
¡°I love you too, Clancy. So much so that I agreed to have this wedding be Pok¨¦mon-themed.¡±
Indeed, right then, the lines of music about heel for heel and toe for toe ceased, to be replaced by a song Clancy had shown her on one of the retro video games he played. He always insisted that gaming these days just wasn¡¯t as much fun, that none of the modern developers were willing to take risks anymore.
¡°This is the Saffron City theme, isn¡¯t it?¡± Marie inquired.
Clancy nodded with a grin. ¡°Yep. Isn¡¯t it so energetic? It makes me feel like I could run a marathon in this suit.¡±
Marie snorted. ¡°Well, you certainly seem to have the energy to run a marathon. You¡¯re always shaking one of your legs - literally.¡±
Clancy didn¡¯t look so happy all of a sudden - maybe wistful is the right word for the expression he gave.
¡°Just because I move a lot doesn¡¯t mean I can do anything practical with it. Like, stimming won¡¯t help me catch a ball or run a marathon. I was mostly joking when I said that.¡±
¡°Could¡¯ve fooled me,¡± Marie replied.
In any case, as the Saffron City music switched to the next song, ¡°Good For Me¡± by Amy Grant, Marie took Clancy¡¯s hand in her own. The pair then walked down the aisle, flower petals being thrown on them from all sides as Marie glanced at the Porygon balloons against the ceiling, as well as the wedding cake that had the image of a Pok¨¦ball painted on it with frosting.
The pastor stood at the altar. Even though neither the Emerson nor Coventry families went to church regularly, it was really only religious buildings that officiated weddings in this part of the state. As such, they¡¯d gone with a Unitarian Universalist congregation, the most progressive and relaxed religion of those found here.
¡°Good evening, everyone!¡± the pastor announced. ¡°I will first turn toward Marie Emerson. Marie Emerson, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?¡±
Marie forced a smile, though it felt like there were chains on her gut dragging her mood down. Still, that was hardly Clancy¡¯s fault - she knew that no matter what that foreboding sensation may have told her, she was going to marry this man.
¡°I do.¡±
¡°Very well. Clancy Coventry, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?¡±
¡°I do,¡± Clancy responded, and suddenly Marie noticed something else. Despite Clancy¡¯s frequent stuttering (which he¡¯d apparently gone to speech therapy as a child to correct), her betrothed no longer seemed afraid to speak when he was around Marie.
Maybe our marriage can help him. As long as he¡¯s brave around me, I¡¯m a good influence on him. I think we can last a lifetime.
¡°You may kiss the bride.¡±
The pair engaged a long, gratuitous smooch, during which much of the audience moaned cutely. Then, the party was allowed to start.
As a playlist set by both Marie¡¯s parents and Clancy¡¯s Pok¨¦mon hyperfixation kept blasting in the background, the cake was cut, and sparkling apple cider was poured into wine glasses. There was a lot of clapping as the bride and groom embraced on the dance floor, delinking their arms at one point to perform the ¡°Hot To Go¡± dance.
Marie¡¯s earlier doubts washed away as though by a waterfall, and she practically beamed with jubilation. This might well be the best day of her life.
Soon, however, the dream faded, and Marie sat upright on her rigid cot in Cabin Gemini. The cold, hard reality hit her seconds later, colder and harder than the bed on which she¡¯d been sleeping.
The ¡°best day of Marie¡¯s Earthly life¡± had turned into the last day of her Earthly life soon thereafter. She¡¯d tried to block portions of it out of her memory, but it still came rushing in like the tide came in to destroy a meticulously-built sand castle.
They¡¯d driven to the nearest city for some more dancing, having selected a club that favored newlyweds and anyone else currently in their honeymoon period. They¡¯d danced all night to songs both romantic and hedonistic, neither of them wanting that night to end. Getting married was the easy part, whereas staying married took effort every single day.
But they¡¯d made their vows. In sickness and in health, they would be there for one another - that was what the pastor had told them to recite. And now they were bound to that promise.
Their Earthly marriage did not last long, however. As the newly-married couple walked back to Marie¡¯s vehicle, the unthinkable had happened - the sort of tragedy that is both too horrible to imagine and yet all too common in modern America. It was the sort of thing that you expect to happen to somebody else, but the unfortunate reality is that we¡¯re all ¡°somebody else¡± to somebody else. The proverbial fear roulette hung over all of their heads, and sooner or later it was going to land on you or someone you cared about.
Then Marie had woken up in the afterlife, Lucas the Lucario had been there to administer her personality test, and the rest of the process needed no further explanation. After a handful of Isekai missions with Jessica and/or Sophie by her side, Judd had joined the group, and the constant bickering (all part of the plan) had resumed.
Marie would spend some of every day either trying to forget the sounds of those bullets that had rung out from one of South Carolina¡¯s gangs, arguing with her bunkmates, or dreading her next mission. But the biggest question of all was: What happened to Clancy?
The night after the first mission Judd had been present for, she¡¯d received her answer. Poor, painfully awkward Clancy, whom Marie hadn¡¯t even known was at Jet Force Isekai, had failed his mission with a pitiful score of 22.
Marie had gasped loudly, but it hadn¡¯t been enough for her husband to notice her evident anguish. In Clancy¡¯s defense, his jitters were probably through the roof at the implications of being banished.
I¡¯ll never see him again. That is, unless I get banished too.
But Marie couldn¡¯t bring herself to volunteer that night. Even the following week, Judd had talked her out of it, but it had required knowing that if she threw her torch under that snuffer, she¡¯d be throwing her bunkmates under the bus too. And she just couldn¡¯t stomach that idea, as frequently as they were at loggerheads.
Even so, after their lives had both been ripped away from them, so had one another¡¯s company in the afterlife. And Marie would not accept that.
One day, she resolved, I will find Clancy once more. And we¡¯ll begin the marriage we never got to experience.
It¡¯s pretty stunning just how quickly you can grow accustomed to something that was at first unthinkable.
Judd recalled the analogy of how to boil a frog. You didn¡¯t put it in scalding water right away, because if you did, it would simply leap out. Rather, you were supposed to place it in pleasantly warm water and slowly turn up the heat. That analogy was also used elsewhere to describe an authoritarian regime, but that¡¯s one reason Judd was proud of his country¡¯s freedoms.
By the same token, it seemed notable that when Sophie first laid down the facts, Judd had been dumbfounded. It had been hard to believe that they were actually on a reality show. And to think that an audience of many millions had watched him pray, argue, go to the bathroom, brush his teeth, and of course go on missions¡at first, it was an indignity. An indignity of the highest order, no less.
Don¡¯t I have the right to privacy?
However, as soon as Toriel and Lucas had left Cabin Gemini the night Mizar was banished, Judd found himself focused on other things. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t worry about the audience¡¯s perception - whenever he entered or left the cabin, his senses felt hyperaware, as though he had eyes in the back of his head.
Rather, it was that he couldn¡¯t worry about this. Simply put, he had bigger Magikarp to fry.
Judd and his bunkmates had been told they were on probation. If any of them scored under seventy on their next mission, even if they weren¡¯t in the bottom three parties overall, then all four of them would be sent to the Eternal Night Mine right behind Mizar. Knowing what fate awaited the banished added another degree of pressure.
In a perfect world, this would have galvanized the quartet to work together more cohesively. However, it should come as no surprise that the controlled environment of Jet Force Isekai was hardly a perfect world.
On the Thursday night six days after their confrontation with Toriel and Lucas, a familiar scene took place within the cabin.
Stop me if you¡¯ve heard this one before: Judd had been praying, trying in vain to get the Good Lord to listen, but he¡¯d accidentally said a few words aloud. Sophie had accused him of wanting to rely on Jesus for future missions, and the confrontation had escalated into a full-on verbal brawl.
¡°Judd, I don¡¯t know how many times I have to tell you!¡± Sophie bellowed. ¡°It¡¯s never a good idea to let Jesus take the wheel, especially now that we¡¯re under so much pressure!¡±
Judd narrowed his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s my afterlife, and I can do what I want to.¡±
¡°But if you get less than 70 tomorrow, all four of us are working in the mines! And I don¡¯t think you want to put that on us!¡±
This war of words roused Jessica from her slumber, and the red-haired woman looked from side to side as though watching a tennis match. Perhaps that was what the audience saw this fight as - just another tennis match. Easy enough for them to think that when they don¡¯t have to face the consequences of this group going south.
¡°Arceus, Judd!¡± Jessica exclaimed. ¡°It¡¯s hard enough to sleep here when you¡¯re quiet! Whenever you two are fighting, it¡¯s far worse!¡±
Sophie grimaced. ¡°You¡¯ve got to grin and bear it, Jessica! Life isn¡¯t fair!¡±
¡°This isn¡¯t life, though! We¡¯re all dead!¡±
Sophie rolled her eyes. ¡°Then after life isn¡¯t fair. But it doesn¡¯t matter, because we have to play with the cards we were dealt. We don¡¯t have a straight flush, we have a pair at best.¡±
Judd snorted. ¡°This isn¡¯t poker, Sophie.¡±
¡°Oh yeah, because your God is totally against gambling¡± Sophie retorted.
¡°Whatever¡± Judd stated. ¡°But you do realize that we¡¯re only giving them more ammunition! You said it yourself, Sophie - nothing¡¯s private here, because this is a TV set!¡±
¡°Like it matters at this point. We cannot get complacent, we must be at the top of our games tomorrow, and that won¡¯t happen through prayer or wishful thinking. It¡¯s going to happen with action and cooperation!¡±
On that cheery note, Judd barely slept the rest of that night.
Although he¡¯d been praying constantly since he¡¯d arrived at Jet Force Isekai, the act seemed more fruitless than in the past. God was still listening, of course - He had to be. But the warm, fuzzy feeling of joy Judd received from prayer had all but vanished. No longer did it seem like he was experiencing the Holy Spirit, just a dark void where that Holy Spirit had been.
I¡¯m being tested here. I¡¯m like Jesus on the cross. That¡¯s why God seems more distant, because He¡¯s making sure I¡¯m a faithful Christian. Just like I¡¯ve always been, and just like I always will be.
Still he prayed and prayed, but at this point it seemed to be more out of habit than anything else. Maybe one day an answer from the Lord would be forthcoming, but until then he had to keep going.
The next mission, which entailed exploring a cavern full of spiders with Sophie and Jessica, went surprisingly well. The pressure to perform brought on them by probation must have actually helped, because the complex task ended with a score of 83. In an academic context that score was far from ideal, but anything that kept them from the mines for another week was very much welcome.
Another week went by, during which each of the Cabin Gemini tenants gave interviews once a day. Much like God, Judd believed that the Lucario assistants interviewing them were trying to challenge their subjects. It seemed like the nature of the questions had gotten more personal and touchier ever since Sophie¡¯s revelation, as though they were deliberately trying to stoke drama. (Well, more drama.)
Nothing I say here is private. The line about it being a ¡°confession¡± is a damn lie.
So Judd tried to evade as many questions as possible, but he had to give one thing to the interviewers: They were highly skilled at what they did. Their inquiries were homing torpedoes that would not rest until they found their targets, and they¡¯d chase you around in a ferocious attempt to make you divulge what they wanted to know.
The next mission came around - this one placed Judd with Marie again. Fortunately, it did not involve cross-dressing. Despite their earlier tension, the pair worked surprisingly well together, coming away with a score of 89. Once again, they escaped banishment (or, within the bounds of a reality TV show, elimination.)
As the poor saps who received the three lowest scores had their torches snuffed and were led Elsewhere, Judd couldn¡¯t help but be satisfied. Two down, one to go.
Mission four had been challenging. Mission five had also been challenging, but he¡¯d scored higher than in mission four. Judd and his bunkmates had survived the first two weeks of probation. After they passed the next mission, they¡¯d be back on the same footing as everyone else, graded on a curve. They wouldn¡¯t need to do well, just better than three other parties.
How bad could mission six possibly be?
Chapter 13: Too Many Cooks In The Kitchen
When Judd woke on Friday morning, exactly thirty-six days to the day when he¡¯d arrived in this ruined land, it took some time for him to realize why he felt so excited. His muscles were tensed up in anticipation.
And then when he opened his eyes, he remembered.
Here we are. Today¡¯s the day!
Butterfree flew around Judd¡¯s stomach, boring tiny holes in his esophagus as he pondered what that meant. But any nerves he might have possessed were short-lived when he reminded himself that today was the day.
If all four of them passed their missions today, the tenants of Cabin Gemini would return to the same status as the other players of this most dangerous game. All they had to do was make the grade.
So Judd got up and brushed his teeth, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he did so. Sophie soon followed him. Despite the row they¡¯d had last night about prayer, she moved with a sort of levity, even smiling, as though she felt just as relieved as Judd did.
¡°I wonder what they¡¯ll assign us,¡± Marie remarked as Judd walked out of the bathroom.
¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Judd responded. ¡°But whatever it is, we¡¯re going to crush it. How bad can it possibly be?¡±
Of course, Judd knew better than to jinx the universe - excuse me, God . If you showed too much confidence that God wouldn¡¯t mess up your plans, then the Heavenly Father would only have more reason to throw a monkey wrench into the machine. After all, the road to hell was paved with good intentions.
Judd and his bunkmates left the cabin and trekked uphill to the dining pavilion. During this walk, the forever-young man kept glancing at the ceiling, something he¡¯d been doing repeatedly ever since that fateful night three weeks ago.
We¡¯re being watched. Maybe not by everyone, maybe not for very long. But the whole world of Nexus is going to know how we do on this mission.
The Butterfree were now carnivorous, boring giant holes into the lining of his stomach. Before long Judd would have massive internal bleeding and collapse to the ground, soon fading into the post-afterlife.
I shouldn¡¯t be so nervous. My optimism is justified. I¡¯m not crazy; I¡¯m confident.
But something about the stakes being so high really got to Judd, and he found his legs quaking as he sat down at the picnic table near the spot Mizar had selected until three weeks ago. At this point, much like the prayers he sent to God above, Judd knew Michael Rainsford wasn¡¯t going to come back. Unless he got banished, Judd would never see Mizar again, and maybe not even then. It certainly wasn¡¯t worth deliberately getting evicted just to see him.
Still, I wonder how Mizar is coping in the Eternal Night Mine. I hope he¡¯s okay.
Judd didn¡¯t have much time to wonder, because breakfast sausages, strawberries, and a raspberry cream cheese croissant appeared on each plate. After processing that this selection of food would have likely made his old friend flip out, Judd scarfed it down like a wild animal. And once everyone else had finished, the slips of paper were passed out like always.
I wonder who I¡¯ll be with. Hopefully it¡¯s Jessica - as annoying as she can be when she flaunts her privilege and complains about the conditions here, I think I work best with her.
Judd was too afraid to look at his paper until his partner(s) showed up next to him. And show up they did - three young women.
¡°I¡¯m with all three of you? ¡±
Marie nodded. ¡°It would appear so - that¡¯s what our papers say.¡±
¡°But that¡¯s pretty¡I just wouldn¡¯t think the four of us would get along when we¡¯re all in the same party. That sounds like a surefire recipe for having too many cooks in the kitchen.¡±
Sophie rolled her eyes. ¡°Judd, you know this as well as I do - that¡¯s the point. Didn¡¯t I lay it all out three weeks ago?¡±
Of course, Judd realized with a sickening feeling in his lower intestine. They¡¯re not going to let us pass too freely just because. They want drama, and they¡¯re going to get it.
¡°They want us to bicker,¡± Marie said softly. ¡°Let¡¯s not play their game.¡±
Judd glared at her. ¡°Uh, Marie, we¡¯re literally in a game.¡±
¡°You know what, Judd? It doesn¡¯t matter that this is a reality show. Just because things are a certain way doesn¡¯t mean they ought to be that way. You might want Jesus to save you from your sins, but that doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s going to. He didn¡¯t when he had the chance.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t remind me.¡±
In any case, the drinks were once again distributed. The ones handed to Judd and Jessica were bright green, whereas the ones meant for Marie and Sophie were fiery orange.
Judd frowned. ¡°I guess I¡¯m going to be a Grass-type today.¡±
¡°Hey, at least you¡¯re not going to drink the Fire¡± Sophie responded coolly. ¡°You¡¯ve gotta look on the bright side, Judd.¡±
¡°Right,¡± the young man responded. And really, it could be a lot worse - the taste of the Grass drink reminded him of that time he¡¯d tried eating grass when he was four or five years old. Luckily, an adult had stopped him from doing so before he ate enough to necessitate getting his stomach pumped. At least the drink didn¡¯t burn his throat or electrify his insides.
The ruins soon faded from view, to be replaced by the instructions for the mission. No matter how many times Judd had been Isekai¡¯d, he still needed to read the directions carefully - that would not change, especially not now.
SYLLABUS FOR MISSION 6: SEARCH & RESCUE
YOU ARE: JUDD ASGARD (LEAFEON)
YOUR PARTNERS ARE: JESSICA PETTY (MEOWSCARADA), MARIE EMERSON (PONYTA), SOPHIE FREY (CHARMANDER)
OBJECTIVES:
- TRAVERSE THE FOREST AND DEFEAT BEARTIC (20 POINTS)
- CLIMB THROUGH SLIDE ZONE WITHOUT LOSING ANY MEMBERS (36 POINTS)
- SUMMIT THE MOUNTAIN (12 POINTS)
- RESCUE MISMAGIUS FROM ITS CHAINS (32 POINTS)
ADDITIONAL STIPULATION: FOR EACH TEAMMATE LOST IN THE SLIDE ZONE, 12 POINTS WILL BE DEDUCTED; IF ALL FOUR TEAMMATES ARE BURIED, THE MISSION ENDS.)
SAY MISSION NAME TO CONTINUE.
Well, that wasn¡¯t too complicated, was it? All they had to do was make it through the forest, climb a mountain, and release a Mismagius from its chains. Simple enough on paper!
Of course, on paper was the only place in which the mission seemed ¡°simple enough.¡± After Judd said ¡°Search and rescue¡± and his surroundings came into view, he realized that this landscape was no place for a Grass-type or a Fire-type. In fact, no grass was visible, and any fire would have been snuffed out almost immediately by the howling wind.
Judd found himself as a quadrupedal creature in the middle of a winter wonderland. The deep blue sky contained a weak winter sun, but soon the Leafeon realized that this was a curse, not a blessing. There was, after all, a reason why skiers were told to apply sunscreen under their eyes before the day¡¯s first run.
The snow was blindingly white, and Judd was forced to squint. Despite the brightness, the temperature was absolutely freezing, and the frequent wind gusts didn¡¯t help matters.
As Judd¡¯s teammates, a fellow Grass-type and two Fire-types came into view, he understood more than ever why they were assigned these specific Types. Some would say it was ¡°super-effective¡± at creating drama!
¡°Okay, guys,¡± Judd announced. ¡°Follow me.¡±
Sophie the Charmander grunted. ¡°I don¡¯t know who elected you the leader, but it certainly wasn¡¯t me!¡±
¡°Well then,¡± the Leafeon responded, ¡°who wants to be the leader if it isn¡¯t me?¡±
¡°Nobody,¡± Marie the Ponyta growled, ¡° because we¡¯re a team. We don¡¯t have all day to argue about who¡¯s the head of the quest!¡±
¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re doing now¡± Sophie observed. ¡°We should just suck it up and climb the damn mountain.¡±
Sure enough, a mountain of probably two thousand vertical feet or so stood in front of them. It wasn¡¯t terribly impressive by the standard the Rockies set, but it was still a very steep face that would require plenty of stamina to scale. The tree line ended about three-fifths of the way up the mountain - after that it was just snow, ice, and rock.
¡°Okay then,¡± Jessica replied. ¡°Have it your way. I¡¯ll lead the way if nobody else will.¡±
Sophie grumbled a bit, but nonetheless they got in line behind the Meowscarada. But then¡
¡°Actually,¡± Sophie said, ¡°I¡¯m the slowest one here, since they gave me such stubby legs. I think I should go in front to set the pace.¡±
The Meowscarada didn¡¯t exactly look happy, but she at least seemed to understand where the Charmander came from. Sophie took the lead once more, seemingly neutering Marie¡¯s opinion that there shouldn¡¯t be a leader.
Judd sighed as he glanced at the nearby forest. If Cabin Gemini was already at it again, engaging in a verbal melee with one another over something so trivial, then they were in trouble. Early trouble. Which, of course, was just what the audience wanted to see.
Well, we¡¯re here now. We have to succeed at all costs, because if we don¡¯t, we all know what happens.
The trek continued through the increasingly deep snow, and soon the sun was thrown behind the curtains of the pine forest canopy. Judd was panting before long from the effort of stepping in and out of the white stuff - at some points it was more like swimming than walking.
There¡¯s another step in the middle of the forest, though, Judd recalled. There was that species¡a Beartic, was it called?
After about twenty minutes (though Judd wasn¡¯t the best judge of time without a clock), the world stood still. The air seemed to grow artificially silent, as though some unknown force were suppressing all the noise in the forest.
¡°Did you hear that?¡± Sophie asked.
Marie glared at the Charmander. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything! What was there to hear?¡±
¡°That¡¯s the thing. It seems like these woods are a lot quieter than they should be. And that¡¯s just not right! Usually there¡¯d be all sorts of critters chirping and making the forest seem alive!¡±
¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± Jessica muttered. ¡°I¡¯m cold already, and I¡¯m only going to get colder if we stand still.¡±
Suddenly, a tree fell to the ground about fifty yards in front of the group, making a dull thud as its landing was cushioned by the abundant snow cover. Even though he knew it was no threat, Judd still flinched.
Marie shivered. ¡°We could have been¡right under that.¡±
¡°No shit, Marie!¡± Sophie exclaimed. ¡°But we weren¡¯t! We¡¯re safe now!¡±
As it turned out, however, one of the dumbest things you could do on a quest was to proudly proclaim that you were safe. Simply put, that could be seen as ¡°tempting fate¡±, which was never wise.
Because at that very moment, a giant bear-like creature with white and light blue fur came barrelling out of a nearby clearing, holding a small log in its right arm like a sword.
¡°It¡¯s a Beartic!¡± Sophie shouted. ¡°Yell as loud as you can!¡±
Judd tried to remember why Sophie was giving that instruction. Apparently making your voice heard (literally) was the best way to make an ursine creature fear you, and therefore render it more likely that the creature would flee rather than chase after its would-be prey.
So Judd reached within himself and let out a yelp. However, this was not enough to dissuade the Beartic from charging at the party, lashing out with its claws.
¡°Sophie, use Fire Fang!¡± Marie yelled. ¡°That should be its weakness, right?¡±
The Charmander readied her arms, taking a stance common among someone who was about to throw a Frisbee. But when she lashed out, only a very small flame exited her paw.
¡°Let me handle this!¡± Judd exclaimed, trying to remember what moves Leafeon could use. Unfortunately, a lifetime of neglecting Pok¨¦mon cards was unexpectedly taking its toll right now.
¡°Use Leech Seed, Judd!¡± Marie shouted. ¡°Clancy would know!¡±
Why does she still care so much about Clancy?
Judd did not know how to conjure a Leech Seed, nor precisely what that move did. He could at least guess, though, and circumstances forced his hand. He needed to trust Marie.
Hopping out of the way, Judd readied what he thought was a Leech Seed. Meanwhile, the Beartic jabbed the small pine tree at Jessica, who dodged just in time. Marie wasn¡¯t so lucky, and she was bowled off her Ponyta hooves to land in a heap in the white stuff.
Judd wasted no more time, launching a Leech Seed into the Beartic¡¯s back. The ursine Pok¨¦mon clearly hadn¡¯t expected this, because the move hit its target with ease. The Beartic stumbled, then turned around and began slashing wildly at Judd.
The Leafeon could move quickly when he needed to, but even Judd¡¯s agility had its limits. His legs ached before long, and with every abrupt leap he needed to make, they felt even more jelly-like. But it would all be worth it, since the cost of failure was so steep.
I must defeat this Beartic. I must avoid banishment. Anything else is secondary.
Slowly but surely, however, the ursine creature¡¯s movements slowed down. He was still swinging his tree sword wildly, but every motion looked almost sluggish, as though they were all underwater.
¡°The Leech Seed is working!¡± Marie exclaimed. ¡°Good job, Judd!¡±
Can¡¯t rest on my laurels yet. I need to close the deal first!
Judd used Tail Whip on the Beartic, but the creature dodged with ease. Even so, it seemed that their enemy would not be able to keep this up forever. It now lumbered around the clearing, moving like someone suffering from severe arthritis. But it wasn¡¯t done yet.
The Beartic leaned back and unleashed another attack. Only later would Judd learn that this was Frost Breath, a move that had the potential to freeze an opponent to the spot if sufficient power was used to unleash said move.
A giant cloud of teal-colored gas enveloped the clearing, and it was only Marie yelling ¡°DUCK!¡± that saved three of them from being encased in a giant block of ice.
Sophie wasn¡¯t so swift; she understood too late. An icy stalagmite grew from the ground, rising high enough to contain the Charmander, whose eyes were still wide open. As soon as it finished unleashing this attack, the Beartic collapsed to the ground, the Leech Seed evidently having worked exactly as intended.
Unfortunately, so had the Frost Breath.
Judd rushed to Sophie¡¯s side. As stated above, the Charmander was encased in a block of ice, totally still. She stared unblinking, possibly unseeing, at Jessica.
The Leafeon¡¯s heart sank. There was usually only one reason why someone¡¯s eyes would be open yet not acknowledge you. And that reason was because¡
¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s breathing!¡± Judd gasped.
¡°Then light a fire, you idiot!¡± Jessica shouted at Marie. ¡°Get her out of there!¡±
The Ponyta reared its hind legs and spat out an Ember at the ice block. Despite the fact that fire should have been super-effective against ice, it still took far too long for the stalagmite to melt. As soon as said ice block had become nothing but a puddle in the midst of already-wet snow, Sophie fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
¡°That¡is¡not¡fun¡± she wheezed.
¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t warn you sooner,¡± Marie muttered, ¡°but next time, maybe you should be a little faster at ducking to the ground!¡±
Sophie rolled her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s¡quite¡the non-apology there¡± she said in between gasps.
¡°Yeah, don¡¯t blame the victim¡± Jessica responded. ¡°Or rather - don¡¯t hate the player, hate the game.¡±
¡°This game sucks,¡± Sophie stated, catching her breath once more. ¡°If I¡¯m being honest, I want out - ¡°.
¡°No, you don¡¯t!¡± the other three exclaimed in unison.
The Charmander narrowed her eyes. ¡°I know I don¡¯t want what being out entails. I¡¯m just saying, this is the worst mission I¡¯ve been part of in my almost seven months here.¡±
¡°Stop complaining, Sophie,¡± Marie retorted. ¡°That¡¯s Jessica¡¯s job.¡±
Jessica raised her voice as she responded thusly: ¡°Leave me out of this.¡±
¡°We can¡¯t, as much as we might like to,¡± Marie told her. ¡°We¡¯re a team. All four of us were put together today, and all four of us are going to destroy our high scores. We. Will. Be. Okay!¡±
¡°Do you want today¡¯s mission to be the highest-rated episode of Jet Force Isekai this season?¡± Judd muttered. ¡°Because that¡¯s exactly how you make it that way.¡±
The three female Pok¨¦mon looked as though they were about to continue arguing, but they quickly backed off, probably realizing that such an argument wasn¡¯t worth it.
¡°Anyway,¡± Judd pointed out, ¡°we¡¯ve completed one of our objectives. That Beartic isn¡¯t going to wake up anytime soon, if at all.¡±
That¡¯s one down. But the next thing we have to do is get through the ¡°slide zone¡±...does that mean what I think it means?
The quartet trekked through the forest for a few more minutes before reaching a steep slope with what seemed to be loosely packed snow. Judd had never been skiing in the backcountry - he¡¯d always stuck to the resort, simply because he did not have the fancy equipment necessary. However, he knew without needing to think too hard that the thing he¡¯d dreaded had come to pass.
¡°We should be careful when we walk up that slope,¡± Judd told the group. ¡°I think you all know why, right?¡±
Jessica nodded. ¡°My sister Rachel went on many off-piste ski trips, and she always told me about how they needed to wear these transceivers - she called them beacons. If she got buried, it would make it easier for one of their companions to locate her.¡±
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the Leafeon told the Meowscarada, nodding in turn at his other two teammates. ¡°Once you¡¯re beneath the fallen snow from the avalanche, it¡¯s basically impossible to dig yourself out. Surviving it comes down to luck, and whoever tries to dig you out had better be quick.¡±
¡°Well then,¡± Marie muttered, ¡°I think it¡¯s better if we avoid setting it off in the first place.¡±
Judd peered toward the sunny sky, surveying the path and noting that it was devoid of trees, gates, or anything that could stop the river of snow if it came. On some level, he acknowledged that it was viscerally satisfying to have knowledge his bunkmates didn¡¯t for once. Just because I¡¯m from the Midwest doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m an airhead.
¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s possible to avoid triggering the avalanche¡± the Leafeon stated grimly, providing a stark contrast in mood between the air and the ground. ¡°Instead, our goal must be to get out of the way whenever you hear a rumble, and if we can¡¯t escape the path, try to swim through it!¡±
Judd glanced at Sophie the Charmander, who, come to think of it, hadn¡¯t spoken for a while. Her gaze remained fixated on what lay above them.
¡°Well?¡± the Leafeon said. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to do but climb. And we¡¯ll be ready for whatever comes barreling down at us.¡±
So climbing is exactly what the team did, choosing to make zigzag motions to conserve energy on the steep slope. Before long Judd¡¯s entire body was caked in sweat, and the rough part about sweating with fur was that the perspiration wouldn¡¯t leave your fur. Ew. And because it was still cold out, he¡¯d be shivering before long due to the moisture.
Still, they were making progress. Slowly, but it was progress nonetheless. As Judd¡¯s legs turned to the consistency of a Ditto¡¯s gelatinous body, and his lungs felt like he¡¯d been playing the bagpipes for an hour straight, he glanced down and realized they were more than halfway up.
As nice as it would have been to have Mizar the alpinist with them, the Leafeon allowed some hope to spring within him. He was not na?ve to the dangers of this environment. But if they¡¯d come this far without much trouble, maybe the avalanche wouldn¡¯t happen at all.
And then the rumbling started, sounding as though a beast that had been sleeping for many years had suddenly woken up and wasn¡¯t thrilled about it. This time, there was no question - it wasn¡¯t a Beartic in the forest.
¡°Run!¡± Judd shouted, but it might have been too late. A tidal wave of snow came rushing down the mountain like a waterfall. Anything in its path would be swept away without a second thought, just another piece of flotsam amid the sea of ice.
The Leafeon scampered out of the avalanche¡¯s path, just barely able to reach the edge before the cascading snow swept him off his feet. He closed his eyes and mouth, determined not to swallow any of the white stuff or suffer from snow blindness, apparently a thing when the sun was this bright.
I¡¯m going to be pinned to the ground! I¡¯m going to a snowy grave!
Wait! I still remember that phrase! ¡°Search and rescue¡± is all I need to say, and then I¡¯ll be out of here! That would be the selfish thing to do¡
¡which is why I can¡¯t do it. I can¡¯t abandon my teammates like that. Would I want them to treat ME as though I¡¯m disposable? Besides, this is just a simulation, but if we fail, the Eternal Night Mine is very real indeed!
Almost as suddenly as the avalanche had begun, the snow settled into a firm consistency. And as a familiar Meowscarada ¡°sprinted¡± frantically toward Judd, the Leafeon knew time was of the essence.
¡°We have fifteen minutes at best to find them,¡± Jessica panted. ¡°If we don¡¯t, then we¡¯ll probably fail, and I don¡¯t plan on failing.¡±
The avalanche path was now blanketed in enough snow and ice to probably form a glacier. It occurred to Judd then that Marie and Sophie might be anywhere in that expanse of white stuff, and as Jessica had already said, they didn¡¯t have much time.
¡°We¡¯d better start digging!¡±
A Leafeon may have been a poor choice for such terrain, not that Judd had been given any choice. That being said, he was amazed at how quickly his Grass-type paws carved through the snow like it was half-melted butter. Before long, he¡¯d excavated a hole probably three feet deep and three feet around on all sides. (Jessica, meanwhile, selected a space ten feet further down the mountain.)
I see a hoof there!
Far from resting on his laurels, this only galvanized Judd to keep digging, faster and faster, uncovering as much of the Ponyta¡¯s body as he could find. With every speck of fur that became visible, the Leafeon¡¯s paws scavenged even faster.
Finally, Marie¡¯s face was visible. It had turned a mild shade of periwinkle, but she was still conscious and breathing.
But her face was far from happy.
¡°Why couldn¡¯t you have¡uncovered my¡face first?¡± Marie remarked in between gasps. ¡°It was¡so hard¡to breathe!¡±
¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking,¡± Judd admitted. ¡°But there¡¯s no time to waste - we¡¯ve got to get Sophie now!¡±
Ten feet down the mountain, the Meowscarada had uncovered what looked like a Charmander¡¯s tail, its flame having been extinguished by the snow. It was then that Judd¡¯s throat grew hot as he raced down to assist.
¡°She probably can¡¯t breathe!¡± the Leafeon all but wailed. ¡°God can never forgive me!¡±
¡°Shut up and dig, you idiot!¡± Jessica jeered.
Maybe Jessica and I don¡¯t get along as well as I¡¯d hoped. Oh well, it was nice clinging to that fantasy while I still could.
Judd unleashed all of his physical power in the effort, which bore fruit when they¡¯d unearthed enough of Sophie¡¯s body to fish her out of the snow. Somehow, the Charmander was still breathing, though her face was blue from the lack of oxygen in that icy crypt.
¡°Yeah,¡± she gasped, ¡°I¡¯d rather not do that again.¡±
¡°The good news is,¡± Jessica announced, ¡°that we don¡¯t have to. We¡¯re almost at the top of the mountain, and then we can rescue Mismagius.¡±
¡°Wait a minute, though,¡± Marie pointed out. ¡°Mismagius is a Ghost-type, right? That¡¯s what Cl-...what my friend taught me back on Earth.¡±
Sophie shot Marie a slight glare, clearly taking note of that Freudian slip. But she didn¡¯t say anything else.
¡°The point is,¡± Marie continued, ¡°I¡¯m sure Mismagius can teleport out of here just like us, except that he isn¡¯t part of this mission, so he wouldn¡¯t go back to Jet Force Isekai.¡±
¡°Why should that matter?¡± Jessica wondered aloud. ¡°Does it mean that we don¡¯t need to rescue him?¡±
Marie¡¯s next expression defied clean categorization. She didn¡¯t look happy at all, but there was a slight trace of¡was it hope? (To be clear, the main word associated with that frown was despondent.)
¡°No, we still need to¡± Marie stated. ¡°There¡¯s been something preventing it from teleporting away from the mountain, which is why we have to save it.¡±
On that illuminating note, the trek continued, Sophie leading the way for the last few hundred vertical feet before the summit. Judd tried to step more carefully from this point forward. Maybe it wouldn¡¯t prevent a future avalanche, but part of the Leafeon just wanted to avoid facing another one.
¡°Here it is,¡± Sophie wheezed after a while. ¡°Here¡¯s the summit.¡±
After one final push, they were there. The summit of this mountain was a simple platform about half the size of the small-town church sanctuary at which Judd had worshiped his Lord and Savior. From this vantage point, the view was incredible - forests and meadows and even a few frozen lakes could be seen. There were, however, no signs of civilization.
¡°This is a real place, right?¡± Judd asked. ¡°It¡¯s not computer-generated, is it?¡±
Sophie swiveled around and glared at the Leafeon. ¡°How should I know? But more importantly, why do you even care? We have a job to do here!¡±
Sure enough, on the far end of the mountaintop, there ¡°stood¡± a Mismagius tied down by a set of chains. The Ghost-type¡¯s ¡°hat¡± hung loosely on its head, rather like the cap of a mushroom. Additionally, its eyes were closed as though it were asleep or unconscious (probably the latter.)
¡°So we have to undo these chains?¡± Jessica wondered aloud.
Marie nodded. ¡°How else would we free the Mismagius?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know, but this is going to hurt my paws - I might even break a nail!¡±
¡°So?¡± Sophie bellowed. ¡°Does the thought of breaking a claw really mean you should be too scared to try?¡±
¡°Well, no,¡± the Meowscarada admitted. ¡°But still - it¡¯s going to hurt!¡±
¡°Not nearly as much as the hard labor in the Eternal Night Mine will¡± Sophie retorted. ¡°We¡¯ve got one last task, and then we can wake up in the ruins as though none of this happened.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll try a Fire Spin!¡± Marie exclaimed, doing a pirouette atop the snow and sending a burst of flames toward the chains.
For a brief, wonderful moment, Judd thought the chains were going to catch fire and explode, allowing them to free the Mismagius. However, this did not happen - if anything, the dark metallic material that comprised the chains seemed resistant to the flames, like it could just snuff them out without warning.
¡°Well then,¡± Judd mouthed. ¡°I guess that didn¡¯t work.¡±
¡°No shit, Sherlock!¡± Sophie exclaimed. Then, turning to Marie: ¡°I think we have to do this by brute force. Sorry, Jessica.¡±
The Meowscarada, seemingly remembering that her species contained the subtitle ¡°Magician Pok¨¦mon¡±, held her arms out to produce a Seed Bomb. She then chucked the bomb at the chains, causing Judd and Sophie to gasp.
Well, the bomb exploded, taking with it a chunk of snow and revealing the rock that comprised the summit. But the chains remained totally intact - if anything, they seemed to have clicked even more tightly against the unconscious Mismagius.
Sophie grunted. ¡°What did I say about brute force, Jessica?¡±
¡°That we had to use it?¡±
¡°Exactly! Don¡¯t be all wishy-washy about what we need to do here. Our paws might bleed, but we¡¯re going to do this if it takes all night!¡±
After a series of groans by Jessica, the Cabin Gemini quartet set to work on the chains. Unlike the Fire Spin Marie had used, however, there wasn¡¯t even a second¡¯s worth of hope in this process.
The chains did not budge. If anything, any attempt to untie the shackles from around Mismagius¡¯ limbs and body only seemed to make said restraints heavier and more ironclad. In other words, the more they tried, the more impossible the task seemed to become.
Jessica was the first to give up, quickly stepping back from the chains. ¡°This is impossible!¡± she exclaimed.
Sophie frowned. ¡°You dug me out of the deep snow less than an hour ago, but you¡¯re saying this is impossible?¡±
¡°Yes! I can¡¯t make any headway!¡±
¡°Then try harder! If you were in Mismagius¡¯ position, wouldn¡¯t you want to be freed?¡±
¡°Yes, but that doesn¡¯t matter if we can¡¯t free him!¡±
Judd sighed. He could sense where this was going. However, in hindsight, he realized he should have figured it out sooner. His stomach sank to the bottom of Nexus.
¡°Ladies,¡± he said, ¡°I think Jessica might be right.¡±
¡°Well, she isn¡¯t!¡± Sophie all but shouted. ¡°This is Jet Force Isekai, and they¡¯re not going to give us anything we can¡¯t possibly do!¡±
Judd shook his head. ¡°Jessica told me that five weeks ago when I did my first mission on that farm. And yeah, it¡¯s a nice thing to believe, but there¡¯s only one problem.¡±
Sophie rolled her eyes. ¡° It¡¯s not true? Judd, considering that you believe in a virgin birth and that bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Jesus Christ, you¡¯re one to talk!¡±
¡°Well, that doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Judd replied curtly. ¡°Believe me, I didn¡¯t want to think this any more than any of you did. But it all makes sense when you think about it for more than a few seconds.¡±
Marie narrowed her eyes. ¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°I mean that this mission is impossible, and there¡¯s a reason for that. We were given three weeks¡¯ probation, and we were told that if we passed all three missions with a score of 70 or above, we would be taken off the probation list.¡±
¡°Right¡± Jessica mouthed worriedly. ¡°So that means¡¡±.
Judd nodded. ¡°Again, I don¡¯t like this. But I believe they made this mission extremely difficult - in fact, probably impossible - on purpose. They knew we wouldn¡¯t be able to complete the damn challenge, and they set it for us so that we¡¯d have no choice but to fail and get banished.¡±
¡°But we¡¯ve completed everything else,¡± Jessica pointed out. ¡°None of us were lost in the avalanche after we beat the Beartic, and then we climbed this mountain to the top. We¡¯re only losing out on the points we would have gotten by rescuing Mismagius. It¡¯s out of a hundred, so we could afford to lose thirty here¡¡±.
¡°That¡¯s if we did everything else perfectly¡± Sophie reminded her. ¡°And they deduct a point or two for the smallest things - you know that!¡±
¡°Right.¡±
¡°But that¡¯s not all,¡± Judd replied. Again, it was gratifying to explain something to his bunkmates, even if he wished it were under better circumstances. ¡°As you said, Jessica, the maximum score you can get is 100 if you complete all the objectives correctly.¡±
¡°Right,¡± Jessica said again.
¡°Rescuing the Mismagius was worth thirty-two points¡± the Leafeon continued dejectedly. ¡°That means that if we can¡¯t save him, and I¡¯m pretty sure we can¡¯t, then we¡¯re guaranteed to score under seventy. They set us up to fail, on purpose.¡±
And to bicker all the way, all for the audience¡¯s entertainment. Arceus, this is just like the Hunger Games, except that we the ¡°tributes¡± already suffered our violent deaths.
The truth seemed to dawn on Marie. ¡°They knew this¡was impossible?¡±
¡°I¡¯m afraid so. But just to be safe, we should try a few more minutes¡¡±.
Jessica shook her head. ¡°Who are you kidding, Judd? You just told us this is impossible! What will a few more minutes of this painful effort accomplish?¡±
Judd sighed. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that the answer to that question was ¡°nothing.¡±
¡°Well then,¡± Marie stated, ¡°we might as well head back to Jet Force Isekai. It¡¯s probably our last day there, after all - maybe we could make the most of it.¡±
Somehow, she doesn¡¯t sound as upset as most Pok¨¦mon would be when they¡¯re told that they¡¯re going to work in the mines. I¡¯d say that raises question marks for sure.
Judd took a deep breath. ¡°I guess we¡¯re really going to give up, aren¡¯t we?¡±
Sophie the Charmander shot Judd the Leafeon a glare. ¡°You¡¯re the one saying we can¡¯t do this.¡±
¡°Okay then,¡± the Leafeon responded with more courage than he¡¯d thought he possessed. ¡°Search and rescue.¡±
Immediately, the summit faded, as did any hope of Cabin Gemini fulfilling the terms of their probation one more time. Rather than black with white text, the screen Judd faced now was scarlet, with a blaring siren in the background suggesting that he had something to worry about.
MISSION 6: SEARCH & RESCUE
YOU WERE: JUDD ASGARD (LEAFEON)
YOUR PARTNERS WERE: JESSICA PETTY (MEOWSCARADA), MARIE EMERSON (PONYTA), SOPHIE FREY (CHARMANDER)
OBJECTIVE 1: 20 OF 20 POINTS - PERFECT!
OBJECTIVE 2: 36 OF 36 POINTS - PERFECT!
OBJECTIVE 3: 12 OF 12 POINTS - PERFECT!
OBJECTIVE 4: 0 OF 32 POINTS - TOTAL FAILURE.
TOTAL SCORE: 68 OF 100 POINTS - MISSION COMPLETE.
Judd recoiled at the final score. Not because he¡¯d expected anything better, but because he¡¯d thought for sure it would be worse. Most of the time, that 68 would have been high enough to stay another week, but the terms of their probation said otherwise.
However, it wasn¡¯t just that. Aside from their total inability to release the Mismagius from his chains, they¡¯d scored perfectly in everything else. That C- (which might as well have been an A from his perspective) was so close and yet so far away. The red carpet of escaping probation had been yanked out from under them, to be replaced by a bed of thorns.
This may have been just Judd¡¯s imagination, but he felt certain that the red screen and giant block letters hung over him longer than the black screen usually did. It was almost as though the creators of this simulation game were deliberately mocking him for his failure.
I didn¡¯t fail! You made it impossible! There¡¯s a difference!
When Judd opened his eyes to find himself back in the ruined dining pavilion, he saw that most of the other contestants (for once the implication had been assigned to the other residents, it could not be lost) still had their eyes closed. Every once in a while, one of them would grimace, but for the most part they gave no indication that they were conscious.
They¡¯re still in the simulation. I guess that makes sense - we ended early.
Lucas the Lucario strode over to the tenants of Cabin Gemini. His mouth was curled into a smile - there was no mistaking it for anything else.
¡°There¡¯s still almost two hours left before dinner,¡± Lucas told the group at large. ¡°You had more time.¡±
Of course, the Lucario used the past-tense form of have very deliberately. For him, it was easy enough to play the ¡°Monday morning quarterback¡±, because he didn¡¯t need to live with the consequences of their failure. He¡¯d probably squeeze them down the drain like they were molten toothpaste, swiftly to be forgotten about.
And then Judd remembered: Lucas rigged the simulation.
At first, he didn¡¯t feel comfortable confronting the Lucario openly. But then it occurred to Judd that he and his bunkmates had nothing to lose - they were going to be banished anyway, so he might as well wear his heart on his sleeve.
¡°We couldn¡¯t do the mission,¡± Judd snarled. ¡°You said there were two more hours. But it wouldn¡¯t have mattered if we had ten more hours.¡±
Jessica gazed concernedly at Judd. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is the best idea¡¡±.
¡°Jessica, we¡¯ve got nothing to lose. This is my banishment ceremony, and I¡¯ll do what I want to.¡±
The Lucario raised an eyebrow. ¡°So you were unable to complete the task. Some in your generation would call that a skill issue. Why would your inability to rescue the Mismagius result in blaming me for your failures?¡±
¡°Because you rigged it,¡± Judd snapped. The girls gazed at him skeptically, but Judd jabbed a finger toward Lucas¡¯ chest spike. ¡°And I don¡¯t care how much trouble I get in. As far as I¡¯m concerned, I¡¯m already in maximum trouble.¡±
¡°You¡¯re willing to take one for the team, aren¡¯t you?¡± Lucas sneered. ¡°Well, Judd, playing missionary isn¡¯t going to save your friends in this case. Tell me, who was responsible for the defeat?¡±
¡°You!¡± Judd bellowed. ¡°You made sure we couldn¡¯t save the Mismagius! The chains were ironclad!¡±
Lucas wiggled one of his aura-sensing organs, and then the pain began.
Here was the pattern: At first Judd¡¯s joints ached as though he had the flu, then the dull pain gradually grew sharper over a period of ten seconds. Then there was a burst of inconceivable, white-hot agony for another twenty seconds, during which Judd could barely keep from screaming - he had to close his eyes in order to tolerate it, and even then, I use the word ¡°tolerate¡± loosely. And then he¡¯d get a handful of seconds of ¡°reprieve¡± before the discomfort escalated into pain once more.
This torment continued for what must have been several minutes, though it might as well have been several hours. When it finally stopped, Judd once more opened his eyes, scared to glance at his body for fear of seeing how it had been mangled by the invisible knives.
¡°Don¡¯t bother looking for scars,¡± Lucas snapped. ¡°There aren¡¯t any. Aura Torture doesn¡¯t leave any physical marks on the victim. But that¡¯s not why I used it.¡±
Jessica gritted her teeth. ¡°So you¡¯re trying to make an example of him?¡±
Lucas shrugged. ¡°Why the hell not? He just accused me of rigging the mission!¡± (Notably, Lucas did not use the word game. Did that mean anything? Maybe, maybe not.)
¡°But,¡± Judd gasped as the residual aches from the Aura Torture finally receded, ¡°you¡¯re already going to get rid of us. Are you going to nail me to the cross like Jesus?¡±
¡°Not everything is about Jesus, Judd Asgard¡± Lucas muttered. ¡°Stop thinking that you¡¯re some sort of martyr, because you¡¯re not. You¡¯re going to be sent Elsewhere and people here will forget about you. You¡¯ll meet with the fate you deserve, quite frankly.¡±
The Lucario did not say this part aloud, but Judd knew without needing to ask that the fate they deserved was a terrible fate indeed.
The human quartet and Lucario stared one another down for a solid minute before Lucas finally sighed.
¡°Look,¡± Lucas said more calmly, ¡°I said you four had some extra time. Which is true. You should feel free to go back to your cabins and¡do whatever you need to do.¡±
¡°You mean, put our affairs in order? ¡± Marie wondered aloud. ¡°And by the way, the forgetting part isn¡¯t true. I haven¡¯t forgotten about Clancy.¡±
At the mention of Clancy, Lucas stiffened up, but he ultimately sighed once more. ¡°I suppose you could say that. Of course, it¡¯s not like you have many affairs to put in order. But whatever.¡±
On that cheery note, the quartet elected to leave Lucas behind for the time being. They did not, however, go back to their cabin - staying near the pavilion was Judd¡¯s idea. ¡°They¡¯re going to toss us out anyway, so we¡¯ve got nothing to hide ¡± was his exact reasoning.
¡°So what¡¯s going on, Judd?¡± Sophie asked with an eye roll. ¡°Are you going to come up with some cockamamie plan to sacrifice yourself to save the rest of us? Or save all of us?¡±
Judd sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve got a concept of a plan, you could say¡¡±.
Marie shook her head as she interrupted him. ¡°Nope. I don¡¯t want to hear it. If you don¡¯t have a concrete plan, you could just be honest with us. And an idea doesn¡¯t count as a plan - there¡¯s a difference.¡±
¡°Okay then,¡± Judd admitted. ¡°I was kidding. I don¡¯t have a plan; I don¡¯t even have an idea.¡±
The girls appeared morose but hardly surprised, and Judd grew convinced that he was about to experience the longest hour of his afterlife.
Chapter 14: If We Were Vampires
I don¡¯t have a plan. I don¡¯t even have an idea.
That had been a painful admission to make, but it was true. Judd knew that as much as he knew anything. There was nothing he could do about the fact that they¡¯d all be banished in a matter of hours. He was just as powerless to stop it as he¡¯d been to rescue that Mismagius.
¡°So you don¡¯t know a way to escape?¡± Sophie wondered aloud. ¡°I¡¯m shocked, let me tell you! I¡¯m shocked.¡±
¡°Softly, Sophie¡± Marie chastised her. ¡°They might hear us at the pavilion.¡±
Sophie did not lower her voice. ¡°We don¡¯t need to worry about being overheard anymore. That¡¯s what Judd said, isn¡¯t it?¡±
¡°There are worse fates than banishment, Sophie¡± Marie insisted.
¡°How could there be when we all know what banishment means? That Elsewhere isn¡¯t heaven the way Judd thought it might be?¡±
Judd scoffed. ¡°Leave me out of this.¡±
¡°Whatever¡± Sophie retorted. ¡°The point is, what could be worse than ending up in the mine indefinitely? That¡¯s the fate we¡¯re already facing, all four of us!¡±
Marie sighed. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll fill you all in, I suppose. But there are in fact worse things that can happen to a person. You see, when I lived the first time, I didn¡¯t believe in an afterlife. I was fairly convinced that once you were dead, that was it.¡±
¡°Clearly that¡¯s not true,¡± Judd remarked, which made Sophie roll her eyes as if to say, No shit!
Marie then waxed philosophical about the nature of death. ¡°If you die young, and your lover also dies young, I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d worry about being apart from my lover for all of eternity. As far as I was concerned, that was the end for both of us, and we wouldn¡¯t even realize we were dead.¡±
Jessica hunched her shoulders over. ¡°I noticed you referred to yourself there. Are you speaking from personal experience?¡±
¡°I¡¯m afraid I am,¡± Marie told the others. ¡°On the day of my death on Earth, I got married to the love of my life. Both of us were killed in the crossfire of a gang-related shooting.¡±
Sophie turned her nose up in the air. ¡°Of course, the sort of thing that only happens in America. Have you ever wondered why your country has such a problem with gun violence and mine doesn¡¯t?¡±
¡°That hardly matters now that I¡¯m dead,¡± Marie snapped. ¡°You know why? Because I¡¯m fucking dead.¡±
The four of them were silent for a good minute, but then Marie spoke up again. She crossed her fingers over one another as she evidently weighed how best to deliver this news.
¡°You see, when I woke up here, I thought I¡¯d never see him again. In a way, it was easier to accept that ¡®fact¡¯ rather than learn that it wasn¡¯t actually a fact. Because I learned the hard way that it¡¯s a small universe.¡±
Judd furrowed his brow. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t follow you.¡±
Jessica, on the other hand, seemed to get it right away. ¡°Marie, what was your husband¡¯s name?¡±
At the mention of the word husband, Marie pulled strands of her hair back as though it pained her to remember this. Honestly, given the information she¡¯d already given her bunkmates, Judd wouldn¡¯t blame her in the least for being upset whenever she recalled her husband¡¯s name.
¡°Clancy Coventry.¡±
Where have I heard that name before?
¡°Wait a minute,¡± Sophie began, ¡°he was banished the week Judd got here! He got the lowest score, a 22!¡±
Marie nodded. ¡°Yes. He scraped by the first couple of times, but I guess he got something he couldn¡¯t overcome.¡±
¡°But it¡¯s still quite a drop from a passing score to a 22, isn¡¯t it?¡± Judd remarked.
¡°Clancy was always nervous about one thing or another. Yes, he was fascinated by Pok¨¦mon - he was probably over the moon at the idea of becoming one. But he also had the capacity to choke on an important task; he was by no means a skilled test-taker, for instance.¡±
¡°Then why did the pressure get to him that time rather than the first time?¡± Sophie wondered aloud.
¡°How should I know? Yes, we were married briefly, but that doesn¡¯t mean I can read his mind! Hell, I barely knew what he was like in the - ¡°.
¡°We get it,¡± Judd responded. ¡°No need to talk about such intimacy.¡±
¡°Judd, we were married. Even to those of your faith, it¡¯s permissible between consenting adults. Anyway, he¡¯s been in the mines without me for five weeks. That¡¯s probably pretty hard labor - I shudder to think what he¡¯s been through since being banished.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t remind me,¡± Jessica snarled. ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯ll be experiencing pretty soon!¡±
But then something else occurred to Judd. ¡°The second week I was there - four weeks ago - you volunteered to leave. You were willing to quit. Was that¡was that so you could be with Clancy?¡±
Marie glanced blankly up at the sky. Admittedly, ¡°sky¡± was a bit of a misnomer given how foggy the area was and how low the cavern ceiling probably hung over the ravine. Nonetheless, she balled her hands into fists and sniffed.
Slowly, she nodded.
¡°I wish you would have told us that sooner¡± Sophie said curtly. ¡°That way we wouldn¡¯t have had to worry ourselves half to death that we¡¯d all be banished with perfectly good scores!¡±
¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Marie all but wailed. ¡°I just¡I guess I was too embarrassed to admit the truth.¡±
¡°And that¡¯s why you seemed so shell-shocked during our Cameran Palace mission¡± Judd surmised aloud. ¡°The crackling of the electricity reminded you of the gunshots that¡that killed you and Clancy.¡±
¡°Yes¡± Marie replied, probably barely suppressing sobs. ¡°Again, I was too self-conscious to tell you the truth, Judd. But the thing is? If I had to do it all over again, I¡¯d probably make the same decision. I mean, we barely knew each other at that point.¡±
¡°Do we know each other better now?¡± Judd asked rhetorically. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that.¡±
Over the next hour, however, this problem was rectified. One thing led to another, and soon the other three members of Cabin Gemini had spilled their hearts out to one another.
From the sound of it, Jessica¡¯s Earthly family had money. Lots of it. Truth be told, Judd could have guessed that anyway, because Jessica was the only one who gave any indication how much she minded sleeping on those brutally thin cots. She spoke as though she were used to something very different - Judd now knew that to be true.
Jessica mentioned having a sister named Rachel who studied at Harvard, taking courses that contained some social justice focus. Rachel had even taken exams in Critical Race Theory, a graduate-level curriculum that many politicians loved to demonize. By contrast, Jessica had, by her own admission, preferred to appreciate the finer things in life, not stopping to think about her privilege.
As for Sophie, she was from British Columbia, Canada, a province that looked beautiful in the few pictures Judd had seen. While he didn¡¯t have a passport, those mountains looked well worth the effort it would have taken Judd to acquire one. She¡¯d studied physics in college, and was also trying to learn Finnish (which, she proudly proclaimed to her bunkmates, was one of the world¡¯s hardest languages for a native English-speaker to learn.)
¡°It¡¯s not related to most other European languages,¡± Sophie explained. ¡°It¡¯s in the same family as Estonian and Hungarian. But that¡¯s why I wanted to learn it - I did it because it was hard, not because it was easy.¡±
Judd perked up. ¡°That¡¯s what JFK said about landing a man on the moon. Man, that¡¯s one moment that makes me proud to be American!¡±
¡°Why?¡± Sophie remarked. ¡°Were you there?¡±
¡°No,¡± Judd admitted. ¡°But were you there for¡whatever happened when Canada gained independence?¡±
¡°Judd, this is not a pissing contest concerning who¡¯s the most patriotic,¡± Marie snapped. ¡°Anyway, Sophie, how did you die?¡± She asked this as casually as an elementary school student might ask a classmate their favorite color.
Sophie grimaced. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that the Beartic encounter today was a bit triggering for me.¡±
She was right. She didn¡¯t need to say anything more.
¡°Look,¡± Sophie continued, ¡°we should probably head back to the pavilion now. They¡¯ll probably serve dinner soon.¡±
¡°Why does it matter if we eat?¡± Jessica asked. ¡°It¡¯s like those requests death row inmates make for their last meals. Does it really matter?¡±
¡°The death penalty is barbaric, but okay¡± Sophie snapped. ¡°Actually, no, it¡¯s not okay. We¡¯re going to eat with the rest of them, and then we¡¯ll have to go to the banishment ceremony. Since Judd couldn¡¯t even come up with a concept of a plan, I guess we¡¯re going to be evicted tonight no matter what.¡±
Unfortunately, Judd could not argue with that. Again, he had not even a ¡°concept of a plan¡±, so they would all have to face the consequences of their failure.
No. Not our f ailure . They failed us.
Dinner, a steaming plate of chicken pot pie with a biscuit on the side, would normally have cheered Judd up. Knowing, however, that it was the last meal before his banishment ceremony made it taste like cardboard. More than once he spat out a piece of the biscuit, but he nonetheless forced it down eventually.
During the meal, the four soon-to-be-former tenants of Cabin Gemini sat together. They did not speak to one another, nor to any of the other contestants. If anything, the rest of Jet Force Isekai avoided them as though they had the plague. It was only once the last of their food had vanished that they were forced to walk single-file to the brazier and each grab a torch.
The torch Judd carried tonight seemed to be made of lead. When he lowered it into the brazier¡¯s flame, he felt certain he would collapse under its weight. Maybe that¡¯ll be an excuse not to work in the mines¡
No. Who am I kidding? They¡¯re not going to show mercy just because I¡¯m a temporary invalid. I might as well just suck it up, like Jesus on the cross.
Despite having used that analogy internally, Judd realized that for once, he had absolutely no drive to pray. Really, what was there to pray for? Was he supposed to ask Toriel and Lucas to grant him amnesty from the snuffer? What would that even accomplish?
Cabin Gemini sat together for the ceremony this time, prepared for the worst. Judd¡¯s heart started pounding as though it were trying to get many years¡¯ worth of beats in before his torch was snuffed. He could hardly breathe as Toriel started giving her speech.
¡°Good evening, everyone¡± the guildmistress announced. ¡°It seems that all of you have dipped your torches into the brazier and acquired fire. As always, this is part of the ritual of the banishment ceremony, because here at Jet Force Isekai, fire represents your life, and when your fire is gone, so are you.¡±
And that¡¯ll be the case for me in just a few minutes. The numbers will speak for us, and our time in the game will be over. Sophie said it¡¯s just like this on that show Survivor, but that¡¯s none of my business.
¡°I would like to once more thank all of you for taking part in the missions. Most of you will have made a difference in the world of Nexus, but crucially, not all of you. For those of you who failed today¡¯s task, your time at Jet Force Isekai will come to an end. And we¡¯ve got a lot to cover tonight, so it¡¯s best we start right in.¡±
Judd gulped. A lot to cover sounded pretty ominous, even if he already knew what Toriel most likely meant. Quite frankly, he shouldn¡¯t have been so worried about what might happen as opposed to what he knew would happen, but nobody¡¯s mind is perfectly rational all the time.
¡°That is because we have an additional banishment to perform today¡± the guildmistress announced.
Oh shit. We¡¯re dead meat, aren¡¯t we?
¡°As all of you are no doubt aware, if you partake in any transgressions against us, your cabin will be placed on probation. If you are unable to meet the requirements of that probation, every member of your cabin will be banished in addition to the three lowest-scoring parties.¡±
A larger grave tonight. They¡¯ll have to toss more people in, after all.
¡°For their offenses three weeks ago, every member of Cabin Gemini was placed on probation. Per the terms of that probation, each party consisting of Cabin Gemini tenants was required to score at least 70 in each of the next three missions in order to stay here. Unfortunately, today Cabin Gemini¡¯s members scored a 68. Too bad, so sad, tough luck, what have you.¡±
Such Tauros excrement. There¡¯s no way she¡¯s actually sad about our failure. After all, she played some role in making it inevitable!
¡°Marie Emerson, you need to bring me your torch.¡±
Marie got to her feet and yanked her torch upward. She then strode with surprising confidence toward the guildmistress, placing her torch beneath the snuffer.
I guess she¡¯s not entirely upset. She¡¯ll get to see Clancy again - or at least, she THINKS she will. And who am I to tell her she¡¯s wrong?
¡°Marie, the numbers have spoken¡± Toriel stated as she snuffed the torch. ¡°Time for you to go.¡±
The blonde woman obediently walked away from the amphitheater to a nearby spot where Lucas was waiting. Escape was probably impossible here, but she didn¡¯t even try.
¡°Okay. Next up, Jessica Petty - you need to bring me your torch.¡±
Unlike Marie, Jessica seemed scared shitless. The red-haired lady practically used the torch as a walking stick, which made Judd wonder how she¡¯d manage to keep her balance once she no longer had it to use as a crutch. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t need to wonder for long.
¡°Jessica, the numbers have spoken. It¡¯s time for you to go.¡±
Jessica¡¯s jitters were practically audible from the bench at which Judd had planted his ass. Speaking of which, Judd reclined as far back as he possibly could, savoring his last few moments here.
Everything happens for a reason, he assured himself. Everything happens for a reason.
The only problem was that he¡¯d begun to have trouble believing it. Yes, everything happened for a reason, but sometimes the reason was that you got cheated out of the score you deserved - in those cases, you had no recourse.
¡°Sophie Frey?¡±
With a deep sigh, Sophie got to her feet and carried her torch down to Toriel. She fiddled with the torch a bit, probably trying to find the best place to put it. In Judd¡¯s mind, she was overthinking this unless she were going to attempt an escape. Which, again, just didn¡¯t seem feasible.
¡°The snuffer will reach it anyway¡± the guildmistress snapped. ¡°Just set that damn torch down.¡±
Sophie finally did as she was told, and then Toriel delivered the line once again.
¡°Sophie, the numbers have spoken. It¡¯s time for you to go.¡±
Once the torch¡¯s flame was extinguished, Sophie pushed it over, which resulted in a clattering noise Judd could hear from his seat. Speaking of Judd, he clenched his hands into fists as though he were preparing to fight his way out of this.
It doesn¡¯t even matter. If Sophie was telling the truth a few weeks ago, there¡¯s a force field around the whole TV set. And if I were running a reality TV show, you can bet that I¡¯d do the same thing. Nobody is entering or leaving without my permission.
¡°And finally, Judd Asgard.¡±
Toriel¡¯s voice snapped Judd out of his fantasy. He was never going to run a reality show, nor was he going to see this amphitheater again. He cast one last look around, realizing he¡¯d never have expected to appreciate the sight of this ruined world. Then again, you never really knew what you had until you were about to lose it.
The other forever-young contestants (all of whom likely had no clue they were even contestants ) looked toward Judd, and he at last got to his feet and carried his torch down the slope to the guildmistress¡¯ side.
When he set that torch down, Judd felt a weight off his shoulders. He knew, of course, that the ache from carrying said torch paled in comparison to what he would go through in the Eternal Night Mine. But at least he didn¡¯t have to worry about being banished anymore - the worst outcome here had already happened.
Toriel hovered the snuffer over the torch¡¯s flame, and Judd forced a smile. The guildmistress¡¯ face was a picture of slight confusion as she brought the snuffer down and extinguished the fire.
¡°Judd, the numbers have spoken.¡±
¡°Thank you¡± Judd muttered sarcastically.
¡°Always. It¡¯s time for you to go.¡±
Without taking any more time to try and interpret Toriel¡¯s words, Judd headed down the path to where his bunkmates were waiting with Lucas. The Lucario was snapping his claws in a hurry up gesture.
¡°We¡¯ve got to get to the station!¡± Lucas exclaimed. ¡°We don¡¯t have a second to spare! What¡¯s taking Toriel so long?¡±
¡°When does the train leave, anyway?¡± Jessica asked, clearly not caring about making it on time.
The Lucario glared at her. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter when it leaves. But it¡¯ll only depart when you four are on it, along with the others who get banished.¡±
The other victims of banishment, numbering six this time, eventually made their way to Lucas¡¯ side. Then the Lucario spoke up again.
¡°All ten of you will wait in the Halfway Cavern for the train to arrive. During that time, there must be no side conversations between any of you - you all understand me, correct?¡±
The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
The group nodded, because Lucas¡¯ terms had certainly been nothing if not clear.
¡°Very well. Follow me.¡±
They trekked in a single-file line for about half an hour through the nondescript, monochrome landscape. During that time, Judd tried to resist the sensation that stones were filling his lungs. It was just like when people in some faiths practiced the stoning of the devil, except Judd himself was the one being ¡°stoned.¡±
I can¡¯t believe this. Why was I so relieved earlier?
The inability to talk to his bunkmates didn¡¯t exactly help matters. As acrimonious as their relationship may have been, at least it would have served as a distraction from their fate. Instead, during the trek to the Halfway Cave, all of them had more than enough time to think.
¡°Here we are,¡± Lucas muttered eventually. ¡°We¡¯ll be here for about eighteen to twenty hours before the train arrives.¡±
¡° That many hours?¡± Jessica bellowed. ¡°What was the point of getting us here so quickly, then?¡±
¡°Well, you were going to be banished either way,¡± the Lucario grunted. ¡°At least this way you don¡¯t have to wait by the amphitheater any longer.¡±
Sophie snorted. ¡°What sort of at least qualifier is that?¡±
¡°Were you spoken to?¡± Lucas snapped. ¡°I thought not. So just accept that nothing is about you, Sophie Frey. In any case, like I said, I don¡¯t want to be hearing any sounds other than snoring until the train pulls into the station. Got it?¡±
After the ten banishees nodded, the Lucario snapped his claws again. ¡°Very well. Now sleep!¡±
Sleep was elusive for Judd nonetheless. The floor of the cave was rock-hard (in fact, it was literally rock), but that wasn¡¯t nearly as troublesome as the fact that he¡¯d failed.
No. Again, I didn¡¯t fail. They cheated me. There¡¯s a difference
Even then, Judd could have done something - anything - to formulate an escape plan. Anything would have been better than nothing, just acquiescing to Toriel and Lucas. The contestants had all been played like a fiddle - indeed, they were still being played like a fiddle, because Judd couldn¡¯t resist the urge to lash out.
That¡¯s exactly what they want. I¡¯m only making their show more lucrative by getting angry. Really, I should just try and relax.
Of course, there was no relaxation to be found in this context. Judd ended up rolling back and forth like a pencil on a desk. There might not have been a desk to fall off of, but that hardly mattered.
He was standing at the edge of a void with the suction power of a miniature black hole. A rope was around his ankle, pulling him downward. He could fight all he wanted, but ultimately, not even light could escape a black hole. Only the Lord Above could help him now.
Judd clasped his hands together as he rolled onto his back once more. It was impossible to get comfortable here, but that didn¡¯t stop him from trying.
My Lord, I want to express how sorry I am for having neglected to pray the last few days. It¡¯s been a few weeks, in fact, since I¡¯ve communicated with You. Perhaps I was preoccupied with matters on Nexus, but that is a reason, not an excuse.
Even though it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve sought Your guidance, I cannot undo the past. I possess no time machine. However, I can move forward. Please have mercy on my soul. I am a sinner, but also a son of yours, and I wish to do You proud in whatever realm comes next. Amen.
Judd repeated this prayer every so often as he kept scrabbling around for a position that would be less awkward. He knew that he¡¯d likely be in awful pain when morning came - but in such a dark cave, did ¡°morning¡± have any meaning at all?
However, the prayers were starting to feel increasingly useless. Maybe it made Judd feel better to be doing something, even if it were merely quietly mumbling to himself and wishing for his desire to happen. As he pondered such thoughts in that cave, it occurred to Judd that Sophie didn¡¯t sleep too deeply even on a more comfortable bed, so she might have heard him praying. He could already picture her deploying one of her favorite sayings, one she¡¯d used multiple times during their recent arguments.
Judd, you know what they say about prayer. It¡¯s like chronic gambling - you never talk about your losses.
Such a saying might have been easy enough to dismiss when things were going well - after all, Judd could have said that he was so successful in the missions because he prayed before most of them. But if prayer had been his strategy that day, it had failed him. Not just him, but his whole group.
Of course, there were plenty of others whose prayers went unanswered. Maybe it was part of a plan from the Good Lord, but what sort of plan involved God forsaking His most faithful who begged for deliverance from their problems?
There¡¯s a reason for it. There¡¯s a plan somewhere - I just don¡¯t understand it yet. It¡¯s something I can never understand until I end up in the Kingdom of Heaven and get the chance to ask the Lord Himself.
For many hours, Judd tossed and turned in a vain effort to fall asleep. Every time he thought he was about to drift off, one of the small rocks on the cavern floor would jab him in the back, and he¡¯d scrunch his eyes in pain, rendering him wide awake once more. It took him a while to accept that he wasn¡¯t going to get any rest here, and when Lucas finally snapped his claws again, Judd wanted to jump for joy - knowing something was about to finally happen was almost better than a hallelujah.
¡°The train has arrived!¡± the Lucario barked. ¡°All aboard!¡±
With no other option than to comply with Lucas¡¯ demands, Judd bit his lip and followed the other banished contestants onto the nearby railcar. The dingy, dusty vehicle seemed practically designed to create discomfort, whether through dust allergies or the fact that each surface was apparently covered in sheet metal.
As Judd selected a spot where he probably wouldn¡¯t be jostled around too much, the conductor¡¯s gruff voice (suggesting that of a Lucario) announced their destination.
¡°All aboard Miner¡¯s Train Ride 1, our flagship route, with service to the Eternal Night Mine. Travel time is roughly seventy-eight hours, sixteen minutes, so make yourselves comfortable. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!¡±
Judd snorted. Like that¡¯s ever gonna happen.
Within seconds, the engine jerked into life, and Judd was forced to brace himself against the nearby bench so that he didn¡¯t suffer brain damage. The Miner¡¯s Train accelerated rapidly, going from zero to probably sixty in less than ten seconds. If it would take seventy-eight hours to reach their destination, more than three days, they must have thousands of miles to travel.
How big can this planet even be? Regardless, it¡¯s going to be a very long three days. I wanted something to happen when Lucas woke the others up, but not like this¡
With every curve in the tunnel, the train almost swung right off its track, and Judd was forced to picture himself being flung out of the railcar and crushed by the wheels of the next one. Additionally, the constant jolting made his stomach churn. He didn¡¯t mind that this train probably had no dining car, for he would lose that lunch instantly.
¡°This is gonna suck¡± Judd mouthed. ¡°Actually, forget that - it already sucks.¡±
Judd felt the urge to pray again, except that he didn¡¯t know what to ask for. Besides, would the Lord even listen to Judd if He hadn¡¯t already?
He¡¯s testing me. He has to be. I just wish He¡¯d give me instructions - at least those ghouls at Jet Force Isekai were kind enough to give me a syllabus for each mission!
As the harsh air of the tunnel blew past Judd, the forever-young man leaned back against his seat and sighed.
Toriel grew up in a city much like any other historic settlement in the Pok¨¦mon world. The city was referred to as the Colony, and it contained Rapidash-drawn carriages on cobblestone streets, buildings constructed out of simple materials like brick and stone, and old-fashioned street lamps. To many people who longed for a simpler time, the Colony might well have been seen as a utopia.
However, it was only a ¡°utopia¡± if you didn¡¯t like the sun. The sun never rose in the Colony, because the city was contained within a gargantuan cavern that was almost too much for the average person to process. Said city was deep underground, well within the crust of Planet Nexus.
Like many of the children in the Colony, Toriel suffered from a hacking cough most days due to the air pollution that accumulated within the cavern. There was nowhere for the emissions from the city¡¯s industry to go in the sky, so all the smog and soot constantly hovered in the city. According to her father, asthma rates were incredibly high.
To make matters worse, medicine was constantly in short supply here. Only the very wealthy could afford the inhalers that were necessary to open the airways during an asthma attack, and consequently, the public health situation in the village was dire to say the least.
Toriel constantly had one question for her father: ¡°Why did you move here?¡±
Her father smiled. ¡°There are some questions that nobody knows the answer to except for Arceus.¡±
¡°But that doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡± Toriel insisted. ¡°You chose to move down here. Arceus didn¡¯t select it for you. And quite frankly, the Colony is a horrible place to raise a child!¡±
Toriel¡¯s father winked at her. ¡°Again, there are some things you don¡¯t know yet. And I don¡¯t either. I suppose I¡¯ll be able to ask Arceus about it one day; that is, if I get to heaven and am with your mother.¡±
Silence would always hang in the air whenever Toriel¡¯s father brought up her mother. Toriel¡¯s mother had died giving birth to her. According to Zandari (Toriel¡¯s father), she¡¯d been pointed the wrong way in the womb (what was referred to in medical terms as a ¡°breech baby¡±), and a Cesarean section had been required. Down here, a C-section wasn¡¯t the sort of thing a mother survived.
Toriel could have asked any number of questions - indeed, her childish curiosity might well have compelled her to. She might have asked why her father had seen living in the Colony as being more important than his wife¡¯s life, or why Zandari seemed so convinced he might not get to heaven. But even as a child, she knew there were some questions that she just couldn¡¯t ask and expect to have answered.
When she was nine or ten years old, a sudden outbreak spread through the village. The disease was referred to as ¡°brain fever¡± and, while it rarely killed its victims, it was known to make a child scream as though they were being tortured. Not only was a high fever guaranteed, but the sufferer¡¯s neck and back would be stiffer than a board. This discomfort was only exacerbated by the absence of painkillers in the Colony.
For the first few weeks of the outbreak, Toriel stayed in her room as much as she could to avoid getting sick. This was quite a lot - school was closed, after all. But before long, she felt the invisible ice pick slamming her right in the cranium. Not only that, but she was burning up with fever.
Toriel spent a delirious few days in her bedroom, conscious of almost nothing except for the apocalyptic pain that threatened to make her head explode. Sometimes she wished her head would explode just so that it could be over. And yet, she remembered something her father had told her many times: I¡¯ll always be there for you.
Well, owing to how contagious the illness was, Zandari stayed out of his daughter¡¯s room throughout her recovery. He could have worn a mask, for Arceus¡¯ sake, even if the more advanced PPE used in the Colony¡¯s only hospital was hard to come by. Still, it was hard to blame him too much for his decision to remain safe from the contagion - that is, until Toriel recovered thoroughly enough to pose a question.
¡°Father, why did you avoid my room this whole time?¡±
She¡¯d expected a selfish response, but the actual words her father used were, if anything, worse than that.
¡°Because you are hardly a child anymore, Toriel. You don¡¯t need me to watch over you all night when you¡¯re sick.¡±
It would have been so easy for him to say that he wanted to avoid getting sick himself. That wouldn¡¯t necessarily have reflected well on him, but it would have been better than the excuse he ultimately gave.
Eventually, the outbreak was over, and normal life resumed. Or, for that matter, as ¡°normal¡± as one¡¯s life could be when one lived so far underground.
One day, a few months after Toriel¡¯s bout with the brain fever, she ended up talking to her father once more. This time, the topic was rather philosophical, rather abstract for a ten-year-old to tackle. But nonetheless, Zandari elected to raise it nonetheless.
¡°Have you ever wondered what happens when you die, my child?¡± Zandari asked.
¡°Well¡you said that when you die, you hope to see Mom in heaven. And you¡¯ll see your other loved ones as well. But I¡¯m not sure if I buy that.¡±
¡°Why not, my child?¡±
¡°Because have you ever gotten to talk to anyone on the other side? Have you been there? I doubt it!¡±
¡°There are some things you just need to have faith in, I suppose,¡± Zandari replied simply. ¡°But for what it¡¯s worth, I¡¯ve had my doubts as well. I just can¡¯t accept it.¡±
What Toriel¡¯s father was probably thinking there, but left unsaid, was that it didn¡¯t matter if he thought he could accept the reality of whatever came after you died. What mattered was that he¡¯d need to accept it one day.
¡°Well, my child, I don¡¯t know if I will need to accept it.¡±
Toriel frowned. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±
¡°Lately, I¡¯ve been thinking about this. I think your illness a while back reminded me of just how fragile life can be. Sometimes people die young, and there were a few horrifying hours when I feared that might be you.¡±
Toriel shivered at the implication, but her father wasn¡¯t done yet.
¡°I want to live forever¡± Zandari stated simply, as casually as a child might say what their preferred occupation is for when they grow up.
¡°Cool,¡± Toriel said. Of course, it was one thing for her father to say he wanted to live forever. But was immortality even possible? It seemed absurd.
¡°I mean, we only get so many years on this planet, or in it. Some of us are granted more years than others. But in the end, we will all return to the soil, or to Arceus, or whatever you believe in.¡±
¡°Right.¡±
¡°But wouldn¡¯t it be nice if we didn¡¯t have to worry about that? I want my impact to remain extant for as long as possible after I¡¯m gone. In fact, if I have any say in the matter, I¡¯ll never be gone.¡±
Toriel could practically picture Arceus sternly reminding her father that he didn¡¯t actually have any say in the matter, that his desire only mattered so much in the face of the Creator¡¯s. That being said, Zandari seemed pretty certain that his stated objective was at least conceivably achievable.
¡°I mean, your memory is still going to be there if you¡¯re dead¡± Toriel pointed out. ¡°People won¡¯t forget the things you did for them.¡±
¡°Yes, but what¡¯s the point in that? I don¡¯t want to watch things happen in the distant future, my child. I want to make things happen in the distant future. And I can¡¯t make them happen if my life is over.¡±
¡°Maybe not, but won¡¯t people still be happy with the legacy you kept in life? I know you won¡¯t be there to keep making that legacy, but that¡¯s what your life now is for.¡±
Zandari shook his head, scratching his thinning hair. ¡°I don¡¯t believe that death is the ultimate motivator. I don¡¯t want to cower in fear of my ultimate fate - I want to do something about it while I can.¡±
The conversation ended shortly thereafter, and for the longest time, Toriel didn¡¯t pay it too much mind. After all, plenty of people would like to be immortal. But many people who desired living forever, in Toriel¡¯s mind, wanted it for the same reason they wanted Donnie Phantump to be Mayor of the Colony: They didn¡¯t think much about what that would actually mean.
When Toriel was in her early teens, however, her father had an unorthodox idea for her ¡°summer vacation.¡± As there was no sky in this cavern, there were also no seasons, but for whatever reason, the students were given two and a half months out of school in the middle of the calendar year.
¡°We¡¯re going on a trip, my child,¡± Zandari told Toriel. ¡°Feel free to pack heavily, because we¡¯ll be there for a while.¡±
¡°Where are we going, Father?¡± the girl wondered aloud. ¡°Somewhere far away, like the surface?¡±
Zandari shook his head. ¡°Farther. We¡¯re going to take a train there, though.¡±
Toriel¡¯s younger self would have been entranced at the thought of riding on a train. Apparently, such a journey was often romanticized by those living on the surface, just sitting in a compartment by a window as you watched the world pass you by. Indeed, she¡¯d been told that in some parts of Sinnoh there were luxury trains that existed purely for deep-pocketed tourists to view the Coronet Range.
Indeed, for a brief time Toriel allowed herself to bask in the anticipation of that journey. However, once she was actually on the train, it occurred to her just how disagreeable the travel was, crammed into a cold hard seat in a very hot environment.
¡°There¡¯s also the Miner¡¯s Train that leads to and from the central ruins,¡± Zandari told his daughter. ¡°That one¡¯s far less comfortable than this one.¡±
¡°The central ruins? Are they at the center¡of the planet?¡±
Toriel¡¯s father nodded. ¡°Perhaps one day there will be plans for them. But right now, we¡¯ve got a vacation planned. We¡¯ll reach our destination in just over a day.¡±
Toriel recoiled at the thought of spending a whole day in this dingy old railcar, but now that she was on it, she might as well accept it. Besides, if her father was to be believed (and she had to trust Zandari, as eccentric as he might be), there were worse trains on which to be a passenger.
Still, she hoped that somehow this would be worth it. Would they end up at some gorgeous tropical resort with an all-you-can-eat buffet, lush landscapes, and crystal-clear water? That¡¯s probably what it would take for the train ride to ultimately be worthwhile.
After just over a day, the train pulled into the station, and the gruff voice of the Lucario conductor announced that they¡¯d arrived at the Eternal Night Mine. As soon as Toriel stepped off the train with her father, she felt certain something was wrong.
¡°Where are we?¡±
¡°The Eternal Night Mine, my child¡± Zandari told her.
¡°But you said we¡¯d be going on vacation. This doesn¡¯t look like a resort.¡±
¡°Well, I never said we were going to a resort,¡± her father pointed out. ¡°Because we weren¡¯t, unless you consider the Eternal Night Mine a resort.¡±
Besides Toriel and Zandari, the only soul near the station was an Emboar wearing a hard hat and carrying a scythe. ¡°Good morning, Zandari¡± the Emboar told the human male, as though the pair were old friends. (Toriel didn¡¯t ask how her father knew this Fire-type; that answer would probably amount to more trouble than it was worth).
¡°Good morning, Master McGann,¡± Zandari replied.
¡°This young lady must be your daughter,¡± Master McGann replied.
¡°That is correct. She¡¯ll be working here for a few days to get a taste of¡some things we need to figure out.¡±
Well, that doesn¡¯t sound ominous at all now, does it?
¡°Sounds wonderful,¡± the Emboar replied. ¡°In that case, Toriel, follow me into the mines.¡±
The girl of fourteen had a pit in her stomach as she obeyed Master McGann¡¯s instructions. Quite frankly, being told to work in the mines at such a young age amounted to child labor, did it not?
After traveling a ways through a series of very dark tunnels, Master McGann showed Toriel to a cavern illuminated only by the occasional torch or headlap. Based on the grunting sounds emanating from all over the place, both humans and Pok¨¦mon were hard at work, toiling away on slabs of dirt.
¡°Okay,¡± the Emboar told Toriel. ¡°Wait here.¡±
The girl didn¡¯t even consider trying to make a break for it. It probably wouldn¡¯t get her anywhere, and besides, the thought of navigating her way through the maze of pitch-black corridors alone was more than enough to make her shiver.
Instead, she stood there for a few minutes before the Emboar came back holding a series of straps. A harness, not unlike the ones they used for rock climbing.
¡°Step in¡± Master McGann instructed curtly.
Toriel put one leg in each hole, and then the Emboar tightened all the straps. However, she felt the irresistible urge to ask this question: ¡°Why is the harness necessary? I¡¯m working in the mines; I¡¯m not washing a window¡±.
¡°Well, that¡¯s true,¡± the Emboar told her. ¡°But you¡¯ll be picking away in your search for gems of all colors, and the floor of this cavern is what you¡¯re going to mine.¡±
Toriel gulped as she pieced everything together. ¡°So I might¡fall through?¡±
Master McGann nodded. ¡°But you wouldn¡¯t fall very far. You¡¯d fall to the belay point, and then you¡¯d be gently let down to the floor. Then you¡¯ll follow the signs back up to this cavern and keep working.¡±
Without further ado, the Emboar clipped a very strong-looking rope to Toriel¡¯s harness, then handed her a gardening shovel and headlamp.
¡°The more gems you find, the more you¡¯ll be paid,¡± he explained. ¡°You can say a lot of things about me, but I pay my workers a fair wage, don¡¯t I?¡±
How should I know? I just met you.
¡°Anyway,¡± Master McGann remarked, ¡°let¡¯s get going. Dig, girl, dig!¡±
Toriel knew very little more disagreeable than being referred to as a girl in such a condescending manner, but she didn¡¯t think about that too long. She had a job to do.
So she began picking away at the dirt. Despite the stuffy temperatures in the cavern, the soil beneath her had not softened at all, meaning that it took a lot of effort to get deeper into her plot of dirt. Within minutes, she was soaked in sweat and felt like she hadn¡¯t made any progress.
Toriel dug deeper, both internally and externally, and eventually she found a rock of sorts. When she used her headlamp to shine some light on the item, she found that it was a dark blue gemstone. It was only about three inches long, but it sparkled quite a bit, a thing of extravagant beauty that would be a jeweler¡¯s dream.
¡°I found something!¡± she exclaimed, trying to sound excited about it. To some extent, after almost an hour of work, she just wanted something to show for it, even if she wouldn¡¯t get to keep that ¡°something¡±.
Master McGann raced over and gazed at the gemstone. ¡°That is a sapphire. It¡¯s incredibly valuable, and it looks like it''s 80 carats!¡±
Toriel frowned. ¡°Carrots?¡±
The Emboar snorted. ¡°No, Toriel. Carats with an A instead of the second R and O. It refers to the weight of a gemstone, one carat being equal to 200 milligrams. This stone alone could sell for tens of thousands of Pok¨¦!¡±
¡°That¡¯s insane¡± Toriel mouthed. ¡°Who¡¯d pay tens of thousands for this?¡±
¡°Clearly you aren¡¯t much of a jewelry connoisseur¡± Master McGann remarked. ¡°But for those who get married and want to wear wedding rings, they¡¯re very much sought-after. I mean, isn¡¯t it beautiful?¡±
¡°I suppose¡± the girl responded. ¡°It¡¯s just¡¡±. She tried not to cry as she trailed off.
The reason the thought of a wedding ring got her so emotional? Simply put, it was because Toriel¡¯s mother had died giving birth to her, ending the marriage between her and Zandari. That raised other questions about why Zandari seemed so enamored by the thought of immortality, but that was neither here nor there.
¡°You do not need to elaborate any further¡± Master McGann responded. ¡°So dig, girl, dig!¡±
Toriel resumed her work, and before long she¡¯d found two more gemstones. One of them was a ruby, the other an emerald. According to the Emboar, both of them could retail for well into the five figures, and Toriel would be given some cut of the profits. It was, of course, hard to get too excited about that when her father likely wouldn¡¯t allow her to spend that money.
The other thing the girl noticed was that she began to ache more and more every few minutes. To some extent, of course, this was to be expected - digging through such firm dirt was an exhausting task. Some might even call it backbreaking. But somehow, Toriel felt even more tired than she believed was warranted. Weirdly enough, the biggest dips in her energy reserves seemed to come when she found a gemstone, but maybe that was because it served as another reminder of how long she¡¯d been working.
Several hours into the job, Toriel was so soaked in sweat that she probably looked like she¡¯d just gotten out of a swimming pool. In between shovelfuls of dirt, she considered asking Master McGann how long she was expected to work. She was flagging to no small degree, and nothing of importance seemed to occur other than acquiring the occasional sapphire, ruby, or emerald.
That is, until the dirt gave way beneath her.
Toriel¡¯s heart stopped as she plunged through the hole and into the darkness (well, more darkness - the work site was already quite dark). She had a second to realize that she was falling from a great height - the Emboar¡¯s promise that she wouldn¡¯t tumble far seemed to have been an empty one.
And then, with a jerking motion that nearly made her neck hurt, the rope snapped taut and arrested her fall. Now Toriel was dangling in the darkness, with no clue how far she¡¯d fallen or how high up she still was.
¡°I¡¯ll toss you a rope - catch it and hook it into your harness, and then I¡¯ll let you down!¡±
The voice sounded like an Emboar¡¯s, and seemed to come from below; far below. So it couldn¡¯t be Master McGann; perhaps it was his brother. Even so, it was audible enough that Toriel¡¯s very long goatlike ears could pick it up.
When the rope was tossed up at Toriel, the girl did as she was told, her shaking hands making the task difficult. She also couldn¡¯t help but worry she¡¯d unbuckle herself and fall to her death by touching the wrong clip.
Eventually, however, she was able to clip into the rope, and Toriel was gently lowered to the floor of the cavern. It must have been a few hundred feet from where she¡¯d ¡°landed¡± in midair, because it took a while before her feet were on solid ground again.
¡°Okay,¡± the Emboar voice instructed her. ¡°Now follow the signs and you¡¯ll be back at the worksite.¡±
For a moment, it was difficult for Toriel to find said signs. This lower cavern was if anything even darker than the ones above. But at last, she was able to locate an orange arrow.
That¡¯s nice to know. Now all I have to do is follow the arrows like this is a hiking trail. And then I¡¯ll keep doing this until the workday is over.
So why was her father making her do this? To teach her the value of hard work at an early enough age? Somehow, she didn¡¯t think so.
Chapter 15: Life In The Mines
A month had passed in the dark, stuffy atmosphere known ominously as the Eternal Night Mine. That¡¯s how long it had been since Marie, Jessica, Sophie, and Judd had boarded the train bound for what was to be their workplace.
During that train ride, Judd hadn¡¯t bothered asking how long he¡¯d be there. He might have had ninety-nine questions in his mind (honestly, probably more), but he knew there was no point in trying to have them answered. That would only invite further punishment - the sense of liberation that had come from believing things couldn¡¯t get any worse was subsiding.
Instead he¡¯d spent those three days curled up against the seat, slowly getting weaker and weaker from the lack of food. They were offered water every so often, a welcome reprieve from how parched his throat had become. Especially given how much hotter the tunnel was getting with every passing hour. It wasn¡¯t like Earth, whose temperature rose the closer one was to its center.
With every degree the temperature climbed, Judd¡¯s heart had grown heavier. He was being whisked away down the drain, and those remaining at Jet Force Isekai would never think of him again unless they were banished themselves.
Really, it¡¯s more like when they¡¯re banished. Sophie did, after all, say that everyone is bound to fail eventually; you can¡¯t prepare for every challenge your afterlife throws at you.
The waiting was difficult, but it was not the hardest part; that ¡°honor¡± went to the work. As soon as the Miner¡¯s Train pulled into the Eternal Night Mine¡¯s station following its three-day journey, the banished contestants had been fitted with harnesses, helmets, and shovels. The first two items excited Judd at first, because it brought to mind those high ropes courses he¡¯d taken part in during the church camps he¡¯d attended as a kid.
Unlike that sort of activity, however, mining was a job. Moreover, it was one of the most physically demanding jobs one could take on, and by the end of the first hour Judd¡¯s back, shoulders, and arms were crying out for mercy.
He dug into his plot of dirt. He dug some more. Every so often, he found a gemstone, which their Emboar supervisor by the name of Master McGann would want to examine in order to appraise its value. Judd never learned what the gemstones were for, and quite frankly, he could hardly bring himself to care. Instead he kept working until such time as he broke through the floor and fell to the belay point. He¡¯d then be lowered safely to the ground and forced to navigate the maze of tunnels back to the work site. And this pattern endured until his next break for a meal.
The scheduled demands on the miners were great. They had a six-hour digging session prior to breakfast, then six hours before lunch, and finally six hours before dinner. Each meal was only ten minutes long, and didn¡¯t count toward their work hours. In other words, each miner had to work eighteen hours a day, with only five and a half hours to sleep. That is, if you could sleep on their bedrolls that made the Cabin Gemini cots look like king-sized beds at a five-star hotel.
Of course, for someone as exhausted as Judd swiftly became, sleep wasn¡¯t too difficult to attain. He rarely remembered his dreams here, but whenever he would wake, he still felt like his sleep had been deficient somehow. As though it hadn¡¯t healed his tiredness as much as it should have.
With every night that passed (not that the words ¡°night¡± and ¡°day¡± had much meaning in this environment), sleep seemed to lose its effectiveness over time. Every day Judd¡¯s grip on his trowel was a little weaker, and the blisters he¡¯d sustained took longer and longer to heal. And still, there was no end in sight.
It was during their periodic ten-minute breaks that Judd got the chance to speak to the others. The rest of the time, he was unable to communicate with his fellow miners, because the plots of dirt were just too far away. Judd couldn¡¯t even tell how many workers there were, so vast and pitch-black was the cavern.
But the breaks offered the opportunity, and given how meager and tasteless their food was, Judd seized this opportunity by the reins. As the days blended together into one long stretch of time, these conversations allowed Judd to remain grounded. They were the only thing that gave him any idea how many days he¡¯d spent here.
¡°Judd,¡± Marie told him one day, possibly a week after their arrival, ¡°I¡¯d like you to meet Clancy.¡±
The young man standing next to Marie, evidently Clancy, had probably once been handsome, if in an awkward, rugged way. As it was, his face was covered in dust and soot, and it seemed incredibly pale. He¡¯d grown a wide beard, and judging by the way he kept scratching it, he probably wasn¡¯t happy about it. (Come to think of it, in the absence of a mirror, Judd could only imagine how he looked himself).
¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Clancy,¡± Judd offered, making the first move to shake hands.
Clancy fidgeted a bit, but then held Judd¡¯s hand in his own. ¡°Y-you t-t-too, J-Judd¡±.
Something about Clancy¡¯s behavior made Judd wonder about him. The most notable part of it was the stutter - Judd surmised that Marie¡¯s once-fianc¨¦ got nervous whenever he met someone new.
¡°You don¡¯t have to be nervous, Clancy,¡± Judd told the other man.
¡°W-why d-do you say that?¡±
¡°Because the way I see it, the worst thing that could happen to us has already happened. What do you have to lose by being more open with us?¡±
Clancy sighed. ¡°I w-was already open. When I f-first got to the r-ruins, I thought being among Pok¨¦mon was the c-coolest t-t-thing in the world. I figured that if there w-w-were a heaven, that¡¯s what I w-wanted it to be.¡±
¡°Well, you got one of your wishes¡± Judd pointed out. ¡°There are Pok¨¦mon in this afterlife.¡±
¡°Yes,¡± Clancy admitted, flapping his left arm. ¡°But clearly my a-afterlife h-h-hasn¡¯t gone quite how I w-wanted. Even w-with my h-h-hyperfixation, I only lasted a few weeks down there.¡±
Judd considered saying something like be careful what you wish for, but he elected against it. There didn¡¯t seem to be a way to get that message across without blaming the victim. Because Clancy was a victim, even if Judd was as well.
¡°So how do you feel being with Marie now?¡± Judd asked the other young man.
Clancy looked as though he couldn¡¯t decide whether to laugh or cry. He made only fleeting eye contact with Judd as he replied.
¡°I¡¯m h-happy we¡¯re r-reunited. There¡¯s just one p-problem.¡±
¡°What is that problem? Besides the obvious one?¡±
Clancy gave a sad laugh. ¡°It is the obvious one, Judd. I get to s-spend the rest of my a-afterlife with M-Marie - that¡¯s nice. But it has to happen in the w-worst w-way p-p-possible, both t-toiling away in the m-m-mines!¡±
Judd didn¡¯t respond for more than a minute - the pair instead focused on their pitiful lunches of crackers and beef jerky. Finally, Judd spoke up.
¡°I can¡¯t imagine what that must be like. You finally get to be with Marie again, and you have to spend your time in the mines. That¡¯s not a very romantic honeymoon, is it?¡±
¡°We c-could have gone on our h-h-honeymoon to a city with a Pok¨¦mon Center¡± Clancy told Judd morosely. ¡°Instead, we¡¯re here!¡±
¡°Master McGann really had to ruin things, didn¡¯t he?¡±
Clancy narrowed his eyes, then spoke in a careful whisper. ¡°S-softly! I d-d-don¡¯t want that Emboar to h-hear us!¡±
¡°Fair enough. But our break will probably be over soon anyway. We¡¯re only given ten minutes.¡±
The other man snorted. ¡°D-d-don¡¯t remind me¡±.
After that conversation was over, they were swiftly hustled back to work. While Judd would not memorize everything that had been said, he at least used that conversation as a landmark in his new life. Between these landmarks, Judd knew time would crawl until he finally got a reprieve.
Judd didn¡¯t see Clancy again for the next week. Neither did he have any chances to talk to Sophie, Marie, or Jessica. Those short breaks were far too valuable, as was the limited time they were given for sleep. Rest had been sacrificed on the altar of one thing only - work.
Unlike his faith, which Judd never questioned for fear of offending the Heavenly Father, there were plenty of things within the mines that raised some red flags. He¡¯d expected that once he were banished he wouldn¡¯t need to worry so much - he¡¯d been wrong.
For one, why were these gemstones so important? Yes, they were beautiful, and that meant they could be sold at high prices. But was there anywhere down here to sell those gemstones, and if so, where would you even spend that money?
One day, roughly a week after meeting Clancy, Judd came face-to-face with a familiar figure. His dark brown hair was now significantly longer and dirtier, and his face was gaunt from what this laborious life had brought him, but he would have recognized him anywhere.
¡°Mizar!¡± Judd exclaimed.
For a brief moment, Judd worried Mizar wouldn¡¯t answer. But eventually, the former climber sighed and smiled. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me,¡± he said.
¡°I thought I wouldn¡¯t see you again!¡± Judd exclaimed. He knew he only had seven or eight minutes to talk to his old friend, and he wanted to make the most of any second. Best to cut to the chase as quickly as possible.
¡°Eh, I figured that if they could banish me, they might banish you eventually too¡± Mizar sighed. Words like these would normally have been delivered with an arrogant demeanor, but that wasn¡¯t Mizar¡¯s style. Besides, Judd realized that his friend might have been too weak to show any more emotion.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
¡°What do you mean?¡± Judd asked, afraid of the answer.
¡°I haven¡¯t spoken to you in weeks, but I¡¯ll tell you one thing I know for a fact - they rigged my mission¡±.
¡°Your last one?¡± Judd replied, to which Mizar nodded.
¡°I fulfilled all the objectives set before me. Yes, I wasn¡¯t perfect - I rarely am. But I had to have gotten at least pretty damn close to a hundred¡±.
Judd wondered then if Mizar had reached the conclusion that Sophie had come to. Maybe he possessed an inkling about Toriel¡¯s secret, or maybe he didn¡¯t. But if not, Mizar had gone to his proverbial grave (in terms of his time on the show) without knowing he was, in fact, on a show.
¡°Why do you think they¡¯d rig it against you?¡± Judd remarked, before realizing that this was a stupid question. After living two weeks of his life in the mines, he¡¯d practically forgotten about how he¡¯d ended up banished in the first place.
¡°My best guess?¡± Mizar replied. ¡°Honestly, I have no idea. But maybe it was punishment for what you said to Lucas about him being a loser and sucker.¡±
A few weeks ago, if you¡¯d asked Judd if he regretted that outburst at the Lucario, he would have given a resounding no. After hearing Mizar¡¯s story, however, a metal fist seemed to squeeze Judd¡¯s heart, and he felt sick to his stomach.
If I could have kept myself from lashing out at Lucas¡that might have saved Mizar from this fate. It¡¯s the fate that came for all of us, I suppose.
Judd didn¡¯t have the guts to talk back, to suggest that Mizar was unfairly accusing him of something. If the other man had yelled, Judd would have felt better, because then he¡¯d at least have felt justified in defending himself.
¡°Look, Judd,¡± Mizar continued. ¡°The last few weeks here - has it been a month?¡±
Judd tried to remember how many days had indeed passed. This was easier said than done, but eventually he recalled the date of his banishment relative to that of his friend.
¡°I was banished three weeks after you¡± Judd stated. ¡°And I feel like I¡¯ve been here for¡two weeks?¡±
¡°Then I¡¯ll have been here for five weeks,¡± Mizar grunted sarcastically. ¡°That¡¯s nice to know.¡±
Judd¡¯s muscles felt positively jelly-like by now. With every passing day, they seemed to take more and more time to recover from each backbreaking shift atop his dirt pile. And while he was no expert on bodybuilding, Judd felt pretty sure that workouts were meant to build muscle; the soreness meant that you were making progress toward an Olympic gold medal.
In other words, two weeks here had been brutal enough. He shuddered to think of what would happen if you added three weeks to that number.
¡°Let me tell you something, Judd¡± Mizar continued softly as though reading his friend¡¯s mind, ¡°it doesn¡¯t get easier down here. Not with time. I feel weaker than I did last week.¡±
Judd didn¡¯t bother making a joke about the homophone. Instead he just sighed. ¡°You¡¯re telling me¡± he whispered, taking off his helmet to wipe some sweat off his scalp.
¡°In fact, I would say that working in this Eternal Night Mine is like climbing a mountain. Only we¡¯re now above eighteen thousand feet, which is roughly five thousand, five hundred meters. Do you know what¡¯s so important about that elevation?¡±
¡°I wasn¡¯t much of a mountaineer,¡± Judd admitted. ¡°So no.¡±
¡°That¡¯s the elevation at which it¡¯s impossible to permanently acclimate¡± Mizar explained. ¡°No matter how much you train at sea level, or even at a higher altitude like Colorado, you can¡¯t get used to it. I couldn¡¯t have prepared for this.¡±
Judd wiped more sweat off his brow. He then sniffed his armpit, only to realize that it didn¡¯t seem to smell as bad as it had the first few days. Perhaps that was because they all smelled so awful at this point that they were immune to one another¡¯s BO. A long shower sounded heavenly, even if it only had cold water like the cabins at Jet Force Isekai.
¡°You should¡¯ve seen us when we got back from Aconcagua¡± Mizar remarked with a snort. ¡°We practically had to bathe in deodorant - we didn¡¯t shower during the whole expedition!¡±
¡°I assume there are no showers here?¡± Judd asked in vain.
Mizar shook his head. ¡°If there are, I haven''t found any. So there might as well not be.¡±
¡°On a more serious note, Mizar, you said you couldn¡¯t have prepared for this.¡±
¡°Well, of course not. This is harder than climbing Everest, and trying to climb Everest literally killed me! But we only have a few minutes left, Judd - haven¡¯t you eaten?¡±
Judd nodded. ¡°I ate everything they gave me.¡±
Mizar raised an eyebrow. ¡°I kind of doubt that, but whatever. You¡¯re an adult; you can take care of yourself.¡±
They were silent for many seconds after that. Then, Mizar spoke up again.
¡°Judd. I know you probably feel guilty for getting me sent here. But I shouldn¡¯t have phrased it like I did - I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t mean to earn any punishment¡±.
¡°I didn¡¯t care at the time¡± Judd replied morosely. Even if I really should have. I¡¯m supposed to protect others with the power of Jesus, not the other way around.
¡°Well, it¡¯s water under the bridge now,¡± Mizar told Judd. ¡°I just refuse to believe that I only scored a 45. If it wasn¡¯t because they were punishing you, then there must have been a mistake.¡±
¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they don¡¯t make mistakes, Mizar. I¡¯d give it a three percent chance at best. They¡¯ve got a pretty tight production going there, and¡¡±.
Unfortunately for the man otherwise known as Michael Rainsford, he never found out what Judd was talking about, because Master McGann then rang a bell to announce that lunch break was over and everyone had to return to work.
I¡¯m pretty sure they don¡¯t make mistakes.
That¡¯s what Judd had literally just told Mizar. Either they were making a genuine mistake, or the ¡°mistake¡± had been intentional. There were no other options - it was totally binary. And if the production team at Jet Force Isekai truly only had a 3 percent chance of making a mistake, there was a 97 percent chance that they¡¯d meant to punish Mizar for something.
But why him?
Judd would struggle with that question over the next few days, even though he didn¡¯t see Mizar again during that time. If the ¡°powers that be¡± were trying to make Judd pay, then why not just banish Judd instead?
Regardless, following his talk with Mizar, Judd found that his friend had been right about one thing. The Eternal Night Mine did become more tiring with every shift that passed, and each sleep felt less useful than the previous one. How long until Judd lost the strength to go on? And what then?
Draining. That was the right word, because it seemed to him as though some unseen force were sapping his energy. In a way, it felt deliberate, but who was Judd to make such a wild assumption?
Another week passed, and then another. It got harder and harder to get out of ¡°bed¡± each ¡°morning¡±, and the only thing that kept Judd doing so was the knowledge that he simply needed to. It didn¡¯t matter how exhausted he may have been, or how fervently he wished he could have kept sleeping. If he didn¡¯t go to work each day, Master McGann would come down on him like the wall of a castle.
Occasionally, during their meal breaks, the Emboar would walk around and ¡°entertain¡± the banished contestants with anecdotes about past workers. At some point, you had to wonder if this was meant as part of their punishment, or if it was intended to keep them in line by warning about what would happen if they stepped out of it.
Regardless, as Judd¡¯s strength waned, he found it more and more difficult to pay attention to these tales. All that mattered was the next shovelful of dirt, and the next, and then the next¡
The next oddity Judd noticed was just how many people were arriving on the Miner¡¯s Train these days. While the days may have blended together into one giant blob of time, the young man still felt fairly certain that company was arriving more often than it had in the past. Indeed, each day seemed to bring with it a handful of people set to work in the dirt.
That¡¯s none of my business, Judd told himself as he dug up another gemstone, this one a purple amethyst. I can¡¯t care about anyone but myself anymore. I can¡¯t sacrifice my life, not when I don¡¯t have a life to give anyway.
It had been quite a few weeks since the personality test, so much time that it felt hazy in his mind. However, Judd could remember that he¡¯d given his Vulpix ¡°life¡± to protect that little girl from the Growlithe. He would have been burned to a crisp if that simulation had not, in fact, been a simulation.
He¡¯d been so quick to play ¡°missionary¡± that time. So why was he so hesitant to take one for the team now by striking?
Because I¡¯m too weak.
As Judd placed the amethyst crystal in a basket, prepared to ring the bell so that the Emboar would notice and appraise the gemstone¡¯s value, he realized something.
The mere act of putting the crystal in its basket seemed akin to carrying a dumbbell. The crystal didn¡¯t feel heavy itself, but it was as though it were leeching Judd¡¯s strength from his exposed, blistered hand.
There¡¯s no such thing as magic crystals, Judd. That¡¯s some New Age bullshit - it¡¯s insane to think you can use magic. The crystal is not stealing your energy, that¡¯s ridiculous.
Nonetheless, Judd persisted, simply because he had no other choice. It was quite remarkable, really, just how much you could grow accustomed to when you had no other choice. You had to draw as much strength as possible from within yourself in order to ¡°keep on keeping on¡±, as they said.
It was times like this that Judd fell back on his old habit of praying to his Heavenly Father. It did not matter that he had no privacy here, or that God hadn¡¯t answered his prayers thus far. If it gave him comfort during these difficult circumstances, what was so wrong with an appeal to heaven?
So Judd clasped his hands together and said some silent prayers. My Lord, I am certain You have a plan for me. I may not understand it yet, but I know that one day I will. One day I will be by Your side in the Kingdom of Heaven, and I simply need to get there first. Please show me the way. Amen.
He prayed during most of his ten-minute breaks once he was done with his meager rations. Every time, the prayer was shorter, and it wasn¡¯t long before Judd stopped asking God to deliver him from these mines. He instead asserted each time that the Lord had a plan and Judd just needed to follow it. God wouldn¡¯t show him the way - Judd had to figure it out himself.
Occasionally, Sophie would notice that Judd was praying. Each time, Judd weakly braced himself for the forthcoming argument, knowing that his former bunkmate did not approve of his faith. He steeled himself for the inevitable war of words that he¡¯d grown so accustomed to during his five weeks in Cabin Gemini.
But it never came. Instead Sophie merely sighed before readjusting her hard hat and returning to her food. She ate a lot more slowly than Judd, and it wasn¡¯t hard for the latter to imagine Sophie scoffing at him for his poor manners. Ultimately, though, the outburst did not occur, possibly because Sophie couldn¡¯t work up the energy for it anymore.
About a month after he¡¯d arrived at the Eternal Night Mine, Judd got onto his bedroll and found that he just couldn¡¯t sleep. Normally during the five-and-a-half-hour rest periods, he was out like a light as soon as his heat hit the pathetic pillow. Not this time.
Before thinking too long about why he couldn¡¯t sleep, Judd decided he wouldn¡¯t even try. He got to his feet and searched the ¡°sleeping cavern¡± for a familiar face. It didn¡¯t matter if said familiar face was one of the people he¡¯d been preordained to despise by the game show overlords. Judd merely wanted company, and he was going to get it.
As it turned out, though, Judd got exactly the conversation partner he would have chosen down here: Mizar.
¡°I can¡¯t sleep,¡± Mizar admitted with a nod and a sad smile.
Judd sighed. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of that going around, isn¡¯t there?¡±
Even though toiling in the mines was the sort of work that would normally be expected to build muscle, Judd noticed that Mizar¡¯s arms were not as thick as they¡¯d been at Jet Force Isekai, nor his shoulders as broad. Even the man¡¯s posture was far from perfect.
That raises the question of what I must look like. Mizar was in better shape than me during our Earthly lives, but does that even matter down here?
¡°It¡¯s like a night in the death zone,¡± Mizar muttered. ¡°I mean, I didn¡¯t quite reach the death zone on Everest, but you can¡¯t sleep above a certain elevation. At least, you won¡¯t sleep well.¡±
¡°How long have you been suffering from insomnia?¡± Judd inquired, realizing he probably sounded very much like a doctor here. But he didn¡¯t really care.
¡°It¡¯s been¡a week? Maybe two? Time is difficult down here.¡±
Judd snorted. ¡°You¡¯re telling me.¡±
¡°Look, Judd, I don¡¯t know how much we should be talking at night. Someone¡¯s bound to hear us, and our colleagues won¡¯t appreciate being woken up like that.¡±
¡°But¡¡± Judd protested, though he couldn¡¯t really think of the best way to phrase his protest.
Mizar shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I want to hear it. Quite frankly, Judd, it¡¯s probably best if you forget about me.¡±
¡°You¡¯re the only real friend I have down here, Mizar. I don¡¯t know if I can forget about you.¡±
¡°Maybe not,¡± the other man muttered. ¡°But mark my words, Judd: One day, you will wish you forgot about me sooner.¡±
¡°Trust me,¡± Judd replied. ¡°I won¡¯t. We can still talk, can¡¯t we?¡±
Mizar sighed. ¡°We can hope, Judd. We can hope.¡±
At first, Judd didn¡¯t think much of such a response. Mizar was probably just being pessimistic, and a healthy degree of pessimism was always warranted in the mines. To some extent, that was normal.
But as he lay awake for another several hours before Master McGann sent them back to work, Judd couldn¡¯t shake the belief that Mizar¡¯s words would somehow come true.
Chapter 16: The Pact Is Sealed
You can either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
Zandari used that phrase often when talking to his daughter these days. On some level, Toriel wondered if he was alluding to how his wife had died in childbirth. Maybe her premature death was a blessing in disguise, because then she might have ¡°become the villain¡± otherwise.
But the more Toriel thought about it, the less it made sense. Wasn¡¯t her father obsessed with the idea of living forever? Coming from Zandari, such a line seemed to imply the opposite.
Of course, during her time working in the Eternal Night Mine, Toriel had nothing but time to ponder that quote. Maybe her father was trying to defy that supposed law of nature, to live forever and yet be seen as valiant in spite of that. Or perhaps, because of his eternal life.
All Toriel knew was that working in the mine was wearing her down quickly. This was no vacation - this was more like boot camp. Her palms were soon blistered and callused to high heaven, and what was more, her back ached from bending over so much. Her posture might never recover from this stint.
Occasionally she would find a gemstone, but she never got to keep it. Again, though, it¡¯s not like she would have used it for anything. When she finally returned to the Colony covered in dirt, nobody would want to go out with someone who appeared that grimy.
Every time she woke up, the previous night¡¯s sleep seemed to have been less potent. Eventually, she stopped believing altogether that she¡¯d even drifted off, and that broached the question of how long one could survive without sleep. Toriel felt she¡¯d read that the record was a week and a half, which seemed like nothing given how long it seemed she¡¯d been here.
At last, Zandari approached his daughter and announced that their vacation was over. ¡°We¡¯re going back to the Colony¡± he told her. ¡°The train will be arriving soon.¡±
Toriel¡¯s muscles cried out in relief. After such an ordeal, she could hardly believe that it was finally over. Even the train ride would be a relief, because at least then she wouldn¡¯t have to keep shoveling the damn dirt.
¡°So how did you enjoy your vacation?¡± Zandari asked once they¡¯d boarded the train again. He could barely be heard over the engine, but Toriel was able to make out the words at least.
The teenager snorted. ¡°It didn¡¯t feel like much of a vacation, Father.¡±
¡°I know. And I am so, so sorry about that¡± her father insisted.
Toriel gave her father a ¡°judgy side-eye¡± expression before looking back at the railcar¡¯s floor. Somehow, she didn¡¯t buy that her father was truly sorry.
¡°There was a reason I had you work there, though,¡± Zandari told his daughter. ¡°It was for your own good, you know.¡±
Toriel grimaced, feeling a jolt of indignation as she realized that the classic statement a family member gave when about to mete out an abusive punishment was exactly that. It¡¯s for your own good.
¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± she muttered. ¡°How can it be for my own good?¡±
¡°It will make sense eventually¡± Zandari insisted. ¡°But for now, you shouldn¡¯t question it. Your father knows best, after all.¡±
¡°Yeah, because ¡®the best decision¡¯ was to chuck me in the mines for a month!¡±
¡°You¡¯ll thank me one day¡± her father asserted matter-of-factly. Like it wasn¡¯t even up for debate - he just stated it as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Toriel barely slept during the train ride back to the underground city she called ¡°home¡±. It didn¡¯t help that the journey was just as turbulent as it had been on the trip down, maybe even more so. More than once she felt as though she were going to throw up what little she¡¯d eaten the last few days.
When the train finally pulled into the station, Toriel confronted her father once more.
¡°I don¡¯t know why you had the nerve to call that a vacation, but it¡¯s no way for a father to treat his daughter!¡±
Zandari didn¡¯t come up with some elaborate, impressive defense, but what felt particularly jarring to Toriel is that her father didn¡¯t even try. He just shrugged and gave a sad chuckle. ¡°You¡¯ll understand eventually.¡±
The rest of summer vacation passed in a blur, as Toriel dreaded seeing her classmates again and wished to cherish every hour that she did not need to see them. Whenever the calendar moved to the next day, she kept a mental note of how many days remained until she¡¯d need to show her probably-still-grimy face to the other students. There were twenty-nine days left, then twenty-eight, and soon twenty-five (because it felt almost like two days were skipped over). Time ran like a sprinter on a moving walkway, and then one fine morning Toriel woke up and it was time for school.
Before heading to the schoolhouse, she put on as much deodorant and makeup as she possibly could to mask the residual dirt. Truth be told, it was probably overkill, but if someone pointed out how dirty she looked in front of her other classmates, the consequences would be unpleasant enough that Toriel wanted to avoid them at all costs.
Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t enough to avoid the jeers.
¡°Look at you!¡± a pretty, pale girl exclaimed. This was not in a good-natured manner like ¡°look at your accomplishments¡±; it was the sort that made Toriel want to head for the hills.
¡°Daisy, I don¡¯t have time for this,¡± Toriel muttered. ¡°I just don¡¯t.¡±
¡°Well, too bad!¡± Daisy all but shouted with what seemed like glee. ¡°I¡¯m curious - it seems like you¡¯ve got something to hide !¡±
¡°Why¡why do you say that?¡± Toriel wondered aloud. In the back of her mind, she knew she was making a mistake. They always said that you shouldn¡¯t talk back to a bully and show how bothered you were, because that is what they wanted. Already, she¡¯d given them too much attention.
¡°Because you put on so much makeup even though we¡¯re just at school!¡± Daisy bellowed with a handful of chortles attached. ¡°Nobody needs that makeup unless they¡¯re trying to hide something!¡±
¡°We¡¯re not in elementary school anymore, Daisy. Nobody¡¯s obsessed with how many freckles the other students have.¡±
¡°Yeah, but you look all dolled up like a Mr. Mime! And I just want to know why!¡±
¡°Does it matter?¡± Toriel wondered aloud.
¡°Why shouldn¡¯t it? You should know that appearances are everything in ninth grade! I don¡¯t make the rules - I just enforce them!¡±
¡°I¡¯m¡I¡¯m going to tell the teacher!¡± Toriel insisted. Once more, even as she emitted those words, she knew she shouldn¡¯t have done so, because it would only show her tormentor that their torment was having the desired effect. If Daisy saw any sign of success, she was likely to continue.
Daisy rolled her eyes. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re going to tell the teacher? That¡¯s really cute, Toriel, it is!¡±
Eventually, one of the teachers broke up this argument before it could escalate into anything physical. Still, Toriel kept replaying the verbal battle in her mind, analyzing what, if anything, she could have done differently around Daisy.
I shouldn¡¯t have caved so easily. I gave her what she wanted.
Fortunately, her first period was math class, an easy enough course to become engrossed in. Although it was mentally demanding, it was also comforting, because there was always a right answer, and the evidence invariably pointed toward said correct answer. It wasn¡¯t one of those deep philosophical matters like how best to deal with a bully, or whether or not it was desirable or possible to live forever.
Nope. Instead, she could engross herself in the land of numbers, the sort of creatures who weren¡¯t always your friends, but would never lie to you or treat you differently from anybody else.
If I wore one of those gemstones as jewelry, would they respect me more?
It was a moot point, seeing as Toriel hadn¡¯t been allowed to keep any of the artifacts she collected, but that thought still turned up every so often during class. Naturally, it intruded during those times when it was most important to focus on coursework, because that was just how her luck went.
She pictured herself teleporting back to the Eternal Night Mine with the help of one of the Colony¡¯s few Psychic-types, then stealing one of those stones while Master McGann wasn¡¯t looking. And then she¡¯d just have to teleport back and weave the stones into a metallic band to create the jewelry. It sounded easy on paper, but would it really impress her peers?
¡°You shouldn¡¯t focus on what others think, my child,¡± Zandari told Toriel one day. ¡°You only have to be happy with your own actions, because those are the only actions you have control over.¡±
¡°But they¡¯ve got so many questions, Father!¡± Toriel protested. ¡°And honestly, I have those questions as well!¡±
Zandari raised an eyebrow. ¡°What sorts of questions, my child?¡± he replied, scratching his beard.
¡°Well, what¡¯s the point of the work? It doesn¡¯t seem like we need any more energy to power the lamps here, so what gives?¡±
Her father sighed. ¡°I told you that you¡¯d understand eventually that it was for your own good. I knew I¡¯d need to have this conversation eventually - I just didn¡¯t expect it so soon.¡±
¡°Well?¡± Toriel replied, a pang of anticipation hitting her in the chest. ¡°What is the reason?¡±
Zandari glanced up at the ceiling as though he expected to find a camera there. Toriel couldn¡¯t help but look in the same direction; maybe her father was about to discuss something highly illicit that he¡¯d rather the authorities not know about.
But eventually, he glanced sheepishly at Toriel like a child caught doing something naughty. Then, and only then, did he answer his daughter¡¯s question.
¡°I¡¯ve mentioned on multiple occasions that I wanted to live forever. To be clear, I still want that. But¡¡±.
¡°But what? You found out that it was impossible?¡± I mean, I think most people knew that already. We have one finite chance at life, and that¡¯s all we¡¯ll ever have.
Zandari grinned. ¡°On the contrary, I have a plan. A plan to live forever. And I¡¯ve had it for quite some time. The mines, you see, have been found to hold the key to immortality. Not everyone can share it, you see.¡±
¡°So it¡¯s eternal life for me, but not for thee?¡±
¡°Well, perhaps. You see, as you were collecting those gemstones, I felt stronger each time you found one. I¡¯m a middle-aged man, but I didn¡¯t feel a day over twenty-five by the end of our vacation!¡±
Toriel gasped. Given what she remembered about how collecting the stones had made her feel, increasingly rendering her weaker with every gemstone acquired, it didn¡¯t take a rocket scientist to realize what had happened.
The gemstones had been draining her, and that energy had gone to her father.
¡°That¡¯s insane!¡± Toriel all but bellowed. ¡°That¡¯s just so¡¡±.
¡°Wrong?¡± Zandari replied with a snort. ¡°Quite frankly, Toriel, there¡¯s only so much room for right and wrong in the underlands. In this world, you¡¯re either a winner or a loser. And both of us will be winners - in fact, you might get sick of winning before long!¡±
Toriel snorted. ¡°Did it take you all day to realize that?¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. The point is, I can make both of us immortal if we take energy from those in the mines. The condemned, of course, would be guilty of heinous crimes - we wouldn¡¯t be so brazen as to send innocent people down there.¡±
¡°Well, that¡¯s comforting.¡±
¡°In fact, they say that the souls of some dead people from a planet called Earth end up at the center of our planet, Toriel. Legend has it that if you¡¯re between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four and lose your life in a sudden, violent manner, you¡¯re eligible to be sent there.¡±
Toriel frowned. ¡°You sound crazy, Father. But if you insist you¡¯re not, what happens there?¡±
¡°At the center of Nexus? Nothing, at least not to those souls. That¡¯s another Flying-type we can kill with this stone. We¡¯d give these souls something to do during their afterlife. Perhaps they can compete for a prize.¡±
¡°So you¡¯re suggesting that we set up a game show down there?¡±
Zandari¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡°Well, I hadn¡¯t thought of that before. But yes, that¡¯s a brilliant idea, my child! We could create a game show at the center of the planet, and those who lose could be sent to the Eternal Night Mine to make us immortal!¡±
¡°That¡¯s insane,¡± Toriel stated. ¡°That¡¯s really freaking insane. It¡¯s sick and twisted.¡±
Toriel¡¯s father ignored her misgivings. ¡°If this is a game show, we¡¯d have to find a way to broadcast it on the streaming channels on the surface. What¡¯s the fun of a competition if nobody¡¯s watching?¡±
When Zandari¡¯s daughter did not respond, he continued instead. His voice picked up like someone discussing one of their greatest hyperfixations.
¡°There¡¯s a tropical world elsewhere in the Underlands, my child. We could build a resort there and furnish it for the guests. And the guests would be the winners of the show - the souls who are still left when such time arrives as you decide to terminate the competition.¡±
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°You¡¯re insane,¡± Toriel told her father. ¡°That idea is just¡insane.¡±
Zandari smirked. ¡°The man who invented the Pok¨¦ball was also called insane. They told him he¡¯d never amount to anything, and now he¡¯s one of the most revered scientists in history. To this day, his papers are required reading in so many college courses.¡±
¡°Yes, but the Pok¨¦ball was an innovation within reason¡± Toriel asserted. ¡°This is just ridiculous. You¡¯re suggesting that the souls of the dead would be better off competing on a game show than¡doing nothing?¡± Come to think of it, that didn¡¯t sound too ridiculous, especially if you were talking about eternity. Eternity was, after all, a very long time to spend doing nothing.
Zandari ignored his daughter¡¯s objection. ¡°I propose that the game show be called Jet Force Isekai, and it would involve Isekai missions as the main objective.¡±
¡°What is an Isekai mission?¡±
¡°It means you¡¯re sent to another world, potentially as a character in that world. With the money we¡¯ve gotten from your mining efforts, my child, we can commission a team of the underland¡¯s best scientists to find ways to transport players to the surface of our world. And we wouldn¡¯t make these missions be in vain either.¡±
¡°Why wouldn¡¯t they be in vain?¡± Toriel wondered aloud. Truth be told, she wondered why she bothered humoring her father¡¯s weird fantasies. That was the best word for them - not ¡°evil¡±, not ¡°insane¡±, just ¡°weird¡±.
¡°Well, we can make these people believe that they¡¯re doing the right thing. And they would be. We can make the missions moral tasks that must be performed to result in a positive outcome for those on the surface.¡±
¡°So it would be a contest in doing the right thing?¡± Toriel asked. ¡°And that would determine who gets to go to the resort?¡±
¡°The losers would be sent to the Eternal Night Mine¡± Zandari muttered. ¡°There have to be stakes to this game show, or nobody¡¯s going to bother tuning in. Maybe there can be eliminations every week - banishments, if you will - until such time as the remaining players are taken to the resort for their eternal reward.¡±
Toriel pieced everything together. ¡°So you¡¯ve got a plan to put together a game show¡and the losers will go to the mine¡and that¡¯ll make you immortal from all the gems?¡±
Zandari nodded. ¡°Yes! And you can share it too! Your mother would be so proud of us!¡±
It still sounded like a pretty ludicrous idea, which made it all the more jarring that her father was proposing it. Yes, Toriel had known her father was somewhat ¡°eccentric¡±, but surely not this eccentric?
¡°I¡¯ll have to think about it¡± the girl stated, staring off into space. She wanted to pay lip service to her father¡¯s idea, because it was at least conceivable that he¡¯d make her do it anyway. Parents, of course, had that coercive power over their child that nobody else did, and to underestimate that power would be a fool¡¯s errand.
Marie heaved another pile of dirt out of her plot, creating a hole about the size of a dessert plate. Her heart pounded as she braced herself for what was likely to come next.
Nope. I think I¡¯m good.
The dirt had yet to give way, so Marie took that as an indication that she should keep digging. That¡¯s exactly what she did as she reflected on the mixed blessing that the last month had been.
She wasn¡¯t blind to her own suffering. Far from it. Marie¡¯s muscles felt as though they were being melted, and every day was more difficult than the previous. There were many instances when she just wanted to curl up and go to sleep; only the knowledge that this wouldn¡¯t be allowed, that Master McGann would crush her like the Great Wall of China, stopped her from doing exactly that. Instead, Marie gingerly placed a gray opal into the basket before resuming the labor.
However, the last month hadn¡¯t been all bad. She had at last been reunited with her beloved Clancy, even if she wished it were under better circumstances. They ate most of their meals together, and they slept next to each other basically every night.
Sometimes, when Clancy couldn¡¯t quite drift off, Marie would reach out a hand for him to hold. Clancy would grasp that hand, and the couple would lie silently there listening to one another¡¯s heartbeats. There may have been more romantic ways to spend their afterlives, but at least they were together.
Marie was soon snapped out of her reverie by the snapping motion of the rope she¡¯d been attached to, tugging on the belt attached to her waist. Dangling in the darkness, she figured out exactly what had happened. Really, it had occurred more times than she could count.
The rope was tossed from far below, and Marie hooked it into a loop on her harness. She¡¯d gotten pretty good at this over the past month, even if it took some getting used to. And then she was slowly lowered down to the floor of the next cavern, told to return to the worksite, and did so.
When the tunnel opened onto the working cavern, however, Master McGann was blocking the doorway.
Marie gazed puzzlingly at the Emboar. ¡°I thought you wanted me to work!¡± she exclaimed. Not that that¡¯s a good thing.
¡°Well, usually I do,¡± Master McGann replied. ¡°But right now is an exception. There¡¯s something really important happening.¡±
Marie half-expected to see rocks falling from the cavern ceiling. That would certainly constitute something really important, an emergency that needed to be addressed.
But that was not what happened. Instead, the Emboar blew a whistle, a shrill noise that basically filled the whole cavern.
¡°Everybody come here, right now!¡± Master McGann bellowed before blowing the whistle again.
Are we about to be punished? But what would we even be punished for? We¡¯ve been working hard for a month, so I should think we¡¯re doing everything they want us to. Apparently not.
About a hundred miners staggered rapidly toward the Emboar. Most of them had vacant looks in their eyes, and their faces were covered in sweat and grime. Marie briefly wondered if that¡¯s how the others saw her too.
¡°W-what¡¯s g-g-g-going on?¡± a familiar, stuttering voice wondered aloud. ¡°W-w-we¡¯ve been w-w-working!¡±
¡°Some things are more important than work,¡± Master McGann told Clancy. ¡°This is one of them. I¡¯ve gathered all of you here for an assembly, for there is an important announcement that needs to be made.¡±
An important announcement? That sounds ominous.
Suddenly, a plump, long-eared woman wearing an indigo dress strode confidently into the cavern. Marie may not have seen this woman for several weeks, but she recognized her nonetheless. For someone who appeared so sweet at first glance, she¡¯d been responsible for so much suffering.
¡°Guildmistress, take them away¡± the Emboar told Toriel, who nodded in turn.
¡°Good afternoon, everyone¡± the guildmistress announced. ¡°I hope all of you have had a pleasant, productive day here at the Eternal Night Mine.¡±
She sounds pretty chipper considering what she¡¯s put us through.
¡°Now,¡± Toriel continued, ¡°I¡¯ve just been on the phone with Mr. Kipper.¡±
The ragged voice of Judd Asgard sounded from elsewhere in the crowd. ¡°Who the hell is Mr. Kipper? Your affair partner?¡±
Wow. I¡¯ve never known Judd to speak like that.
Toriel¡¯s eyes gleamed with deadly anger. ¡°I don¡¯t know where you get off insulting Mr. Kipper like that. But for the record, even if I were involved with him romantically, I¡¯m not married and neither is he. If he keeps acting the way he does, he¡¯ll never be married. But that¡¯s beside the point.¡±
So why did she bring up Mr. Kipper anyway?
¡°In any case,¡± the guildmistress continued, ¡°I was talking with Mr. Kipper. He sure seems impatient - he wants his guests to arrive sooner rather than later.¡±
Marie glared at Toriel. ¡°What the hell are you talking about!¡± she yelled. It was an exclamation, not a question.
Toriel sighed. ¡°I owe you all an explanation before I do the honors. So I¡¯ll give it to you. After all, I once called all of you my children, didn¡¯t I?¡±
As far as Marie was concerned, the next time Toriel used that phrase, she was ready to hurl. Quite frankly, the guildmistress had no right to speak as though she cared one iota about the contestants at Jet Force Isekai.
¡°The first thing you all need to know, for those who remained unaware,¡± Toriel continued, ¡°is that Jet Force Isekai is a game show.¡±
The general outcry was abundantly audible. Most of the other miners didn¡¯t seem to have pieced it together. For as much as Marie found Sophie Frey a know-it-all who wanted to, well, know it all, she had to admit that her former bunkmate¡¯s intellect was impressive.
¡°Or rather, it was a game show¡± the guildmistress said. ¡°Those of you who have been paying attention might have noticed that more people than usual have been arriving at the mine the last few weeks. In fact, all of the contestants on Jet Force Isekai have been sent here.¡±
¡°So the game is over?¡± Sophie spat.
¡°The show is over, yes,¡± Toriel replied.
¡°Somehow I doubt that¡± Sophie replied curtly. ¡°I think you¡¯re still playing with us. It¡¯s okay to admit that you¡¯re a megalomaniac, Toriel. It really is, if that¡¯s the truth.¡±
¡°Well, you can make of that what you will, my child¡± the guildmistress responded sweetly.
Marie got down to her knees, bile rising in her throat. It did not matter that she¡¯d had so little to eat that day; it didn¡¯t matter that no stomach virus ravaged the mine. She leaned over and threw up for a solid minute.
Clancy rushed over to help her, but Master McGann grunted. ¡°She must deal with her nausea alone, Clancy Coventry.¡±
¡°But we were - we are husband and wife!¡± Clancy protested, sounding totally confident for once.
Toriel glared at him. ¡°Clancy Coventry, if there¡¯s one notion you should have dispensed with as soon as you ended up here, it¡¯s the idea that familial bonds from your Earthly life matter at all. As Lucas might say, the past is a weakness.¡±
¡°Well, then I don¡¯t wanna be strong!¡± Clancy shouted.
On some level, Marie had to admit that was endearing. At the same time, though, she knew that endearment only meant so much if both of them didn¡¯t live out the day.
¡°There¡¯s something else I need to come clean on,¡± Toriel announced. ¡°It¡¯s not something I¡¯m proud of keeping from you, but I would be remiss if I didn¡¯t present this information.¡±
A tall man from beside Judd spoke up next. ¡°Really! What could be worse than what you¡¯ve already told us? Are you and Mr. Kipper having a threesome with someone else?¡±
¡°Michael Rainsford, that is totally out of line! Like, why would you say such a thing?¡±
¡°Because, as a friend of mine once told your Lucario assistant, you are a loser! And you¡¯re a sucker, too! I could just as easily ask why you¡¯d put us through all those missions!¡±
Toriel cleared her throat. ¡°You can curse me out all you want, Michael Rainsford, but I hope you will at least allow me to speak. Hear me out, and then you can talk.¡±
Mizar grumbled a bit, but he didn¡¯t push Toriel any further toward the proverbial ledge. The guildmistress then sighed.
¡°I told you all that the Isekai missions you took on were merely simulations. You were put in the body of a Pok¨¦mon and made to complete tasks on the surface of Nexus.¡±
Oh boy. Was that a lie too? This woman¡¯s shirt is going to be on fire soon, mark my words.
¡°Well, those missions were real. The minds that possessed those Pok¨¦mon bodies were truly your souls.¡±
Toriel let that sink in for a moment, but it didn¡¯t take long for Mizar to raise a fist. ¡°What do you mean, they were truly our souls?¡±
The guildmistress shrugged, then sighed. ¡°We had some of the underland¡¯s most decorated scientists develop the serums that would transport players to the surface. It took a few decades to get right, but eventually they were able to figure it out. However, there was one problem¡¡±.
Sophie seemed to realize it first. Pushing her way to the crowd, the young Canadian woman exclaimed the following: ¡°You weren¡¯t able to get only our minds in there?¡±
Toriel nodded. ¡°That was indeed the problem. Like I said, your souls were in the Pok¨¦mon bodies as well.¡±
¡°What¡¯s even the difference between a mind and a soul, though? As far as I¡¯m concerned, everything I am is a product of my brain!¡±
The guildmistress glared at Sophie. ¡°Not everything is as it appears. But some things are.¡±
Toriel then produced a device from her pocket that looked like a primitive sort of TV remote. She pointed it at the cavern wall, and a series of neon red digits appeared on said wall stating 10:00, which swiftly began counting down the seconds.
¡°You all have ten minutes before the pact is sealed¡± Toriel stated.
Judd glared at the guildmistress. ¡°What the hell does that mean? What pact? We didn¡¯t promise you anything!¡±
¡°Perhaps pact is the wrong word. But my point still stands.¡±
Master McGann spoke up next. ¡°I have to head out,¡± he stated. ¡°Gotta take a piss.¡±
¡°Fair enough¡± Toriel stated. ¡°Come back when the assembly is over.¡±
There was another period of silence. When the digital timer said 8:42, Judd shouted the following: ¡°Just tell us! Why did you create the game show? How did you choose the contestants?¡±
¡°I thought it was no secret how the souls of the dead arrived in the ruins¡± the guildmistress responded briskly. ¡°The deceased must be between the ages of¡¡±.
¡°We know, Toriel, we know!¡± Judd exclaimed. ¡°And I know you rigged my last mission so that my team couldn¡¯t succeed! It was impossible to rescue that Mismagius!¡±
¡°Judd Asgard, as far as I¡¯m concerned, your inability to complete the mission and score at least 70 points is what those in your generation might call a skill issue. There was no fraud - you lost fair and square.¡±
¡°Yeah!¡± Sophie bellowed. ¡°I¡¯m not normally one to agree with Judd - ¡°.
Judd rolled his eyes, but his frenemy/bunkmate continued.
¡° - but we tried so hard to release those chains! It just wasn¡¯t going to happen no matter what! That mission was absolutely impossible, and you know it!¡±
Another moderately long silence ensued, after which the timer said 7:32. Toriel might not have given a satisfying answer, but it became clear she didn¡¯t really need to: She was stalling for time. But why? What would happen when time ran out?
Finally, Toriel winked. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ve admitted some things that I maybe shouldn¡¯t be proud of today, so I might as well go all the way. Sometimes we fixed things up to make the game more interesting¡¡±.
¡°I knew it!¡± Mizar shouted triumphantly. ¡°I fucking knew it!¡±
¡°That¡¯s illegal, isn¡¯t it?¡± Judd wondered aloud.
¡°Judd Asgard, Michael Rainsford, do not interrupt me. Yes, I am aware that in your United States there are laws against running a game show that isn¡¯t impartial. However, you need to stop thinking that the United States runs game shows the only possible way.¡±
¡°So you did rig my last mission¡± Judd replied testily.
Toriel nodded, but she didn¡¯t seem guilty at all. Indeed, she non-apologized in this manner: ¡°I did what I needed to do. Your cabin committed an offense against the integrity of Jet Force Isekai , which required the contestants to remain unaware that they were in fact contestants. For that, the tenants of Cabin Gemini could not remain unpunished. They could not!¡±
She¡¯s using more words than necessary, Marie realized, as less than six minutes now remained on the clock. She surely wants us to still be here when the timer hits zero.
And yet Marie did not budge. To some extent, she really wanted to know what direction their verbal feud with Toriel was about to travel.
¡°And you rigged mine too!¡± Mizar yelled. ¡°I did not get a score of 45! I did everything right! Or at least, almost everything!¡±
Toriel giggled. It was a rather obnoxious sound, much like some of the students at Rockabilly High would emit when making fun of Clancy¡¯s lack of confidence. Marie wanted to gouge her ears out when she heard it.
When the laughter ended, Toriel nodded. ¡°Yes, Michael Rainsford. You did not actually score a 45 on your final mission.¡±
Mizar took a stance that suggested he was about to attack Toriel like a lion pouncing on its prey. A fight was coming; that much was clear to Marie.
¡°Then what score did I get? Please answer me!¡±
Toriel giggled again. ¡°It does not matter what score you received. You¡¯ve been here for the better part of two months - isn¡¯t it time you moved on?¡±
¡°On the contrary,¡± Mizar replied, getting closer to Toriel so that he could pounce whenever he wanted, ¡°you are going to tell me what score I received. If you do not, I am going to make sure you regret it.¡±
Toriel shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re a naughty boy, very naughty indeed! Threats must never be the way to get what you want!¡±
¡°But it¡¯s not an empty threat¡± Mizar responded coldly. ¡°I have the guts to make it happen, and I know I could take you in a fight.¡±
Judd shifted on his feet, his mouth squirming. Marie figured he felt compelled to restrain his friend, but was also too frightened to make a move. In any case, he did not have a chance, for Toriel gave Mizar a very wide smile. A Cheshire grin, as some called them.
¡°Well, Michael Rainsford,¡± the guildmistress stated, ¡°if you get too close to me, if you try to tackle me, I¡¯m going to press the red button.¡±
Mizar winked angrily at Toriel. ¡°What happens if you press the red button?¡±
¡°The timer hits zero¡± the guildmistress responded. ¡°But honestly, Michael Rainsford, you only have about three minutes left. Does it even matter?¡±
¡°Depends what happens in three minutes .¡±
¡°You don¡¯t want to know what happens in three minutes. If you tackle me, I will press the button.¡±
At that moment, Marie noticed the intensity of Mizar¡¯s gaze. And then she understood: He¡¯s trying to figure out how to snipe that remote. If he goes, he can figure out a way to disengage the timer.
But it says 2:39 up there, and it¡¯s still counting down. He doesn¡¯t have much time¡
Mizar made a beeline for Toriel and threw himself onto her like a defensive football player taking down a running back. With seconds, he¡¯d managed to tackle the guildmistress to the ground, and then pinned himself atop her.
¡°You are going to disengage the timer,¡± Mizar told her breathlessly. ¡°And you¡¯re going to tell me my real score. Or I¡¯m going to¡¡±.
¡°How could you even threaten me?¡± Toriel snapped.
Unfortunately, Marie knew the guildmistress was correct. Mizar had no leverage, as much as he liked to pretend he could actually talk Toriel out of letting the time expire. However, Mizar did get half of what he wanted.
¡°You scored a 95 in your last mission, Michael Rainsford,¡± the guildmistress told the man pinning her to the ground. ¡°Now get off me, or else¡¡±.
¡°Or else wha t?¡± Mizar wondered aloud, utilizing his no-doubt-horrendous breath to make the guildmistress¡¯ eyes water. ¡°You have no leverage.¡±
Marie could only watch as Mizar grabbed the remote from Toriel¡¯s palm and swung around to face the timer. There was now only slightly more than a minute left. Meanwhile, Toriel took advantage of being free to run away from the scene - despite her bulk, she moved surprisingly quickly until she was almost out of sight.
¡°Well then?¡± Jessica exclaimed. ¡°Stop the timer!¡±
¡°I¡¯ll try!¡± Mizar shouted. ¡°But there¡¯s only one button!¡±
As the timer counted down from 0:39 to 0:38 and below, Marie felt the cavern shake. She then realized what the remote¡¯s purpose was, and with a panicked gasp, she shouted only one word:
¡°RUN!¡±
Marie didn¡¯t even bother looking to see how many of the other miners had heeded that advice. All she did was sprint back into the mine, in the opposite way from which Toriel had taken off. Those who¡¯d been further from Toriel when the quaking began were also running, and Marie nearly tripped over them more than once.
She heard the rocks falling behind her as the tremors continued. She heard the yelps from the other workers as they tripped, as well as the panicked shouts as they realized what was upon them.
And then¡
BOOM.
The explosion swept Marie off her feet, and she flew headfirst through the air like a superhero. Unlike a superhero, however, she landed hard on her chest pretty quickly, losing consciousness instantly on impact.