"Opal would make a great girlfriend for Achilles!" Millie said.
Junior was confused. Her words sounded cheerful, but there was an edge to her voice.
"What do you mean?" he asked slowly, head cocked to one side.
"Because, seems like they're a real b-!" Millie started to reply with a cheeky smirk before Junior finally caught on and interrupted her.
"Okay! Okay! I get it!" He chuckled, shaking his head. Millie laughed.
It was late evening, and they were in Millie's condo. She'd called Junior on her return home from work and offered to stop by his unit, but Junior had suggested meeting at hers instead. Millie already knew what had happened in the forum, so Junior didn't need to bring her up to speed.
They were seated in her living room, discussing what had happened with patiently waiting beside Junior.
"Still, asking where you live?" Millie continued. "That's messed up. If I were the GSC, I would've done a lot more than ban them." Millie's eyes narrowed.
Junior couldn't see her change in expression, but he could hear the seriousness of her tone just fine.
"Yeah, not gonna lie I was pretty scared for a second and regretting going on the board at all," Junior admitted. "But I've calmed down since then. Don't get me wrong, I still don't like that it happens but realistically, it's not like Opal can actually track me down." He hesitated, then asked more tentatively. "Right?"
"No, the GSC has good security on the forum," Millie shook her head. "They use next-gen zero-trust and latticefire protocols — kits only a professional codebreaker could crack."
Junior hesitated. "I don't know what that is, but sounds…difficult, I guess?"
"Yes," Millie laughed softly. "So don't worry about it."
"Okay," he said somewhat dubiously. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you about the direct message I got from delta.eel. They're still curious about the techniques you taught me, but I wasn't eager to reply after everything that happened."
"Understandable," Millie said. She leaned toward him. "Go on, tell me."
Junior quickly summarized delta.eel's message. "Delta wants to learn more about lucid dreaming, so what should I do? Call me paranoid, but I can't help but think maybe they're a bit too interested?"
Millie shook her head. "I can see why you might think that, but it doesn't sound likely. So far Delta's been straightforward with their interest in improving themselves. They don't brag about it, but they're in the top spot in Apeirosis. Probably be the first to break 10%, at least in Galatea."
Junior frowned at the reminder of his previously slow progress. Millie reached over and patted his hand sympathetically.
"Hey now, don't stress my dude. With my awesome training techniques and your pal Achilles, you'll blow the competition away!"
"Thanks, Millie. You're a good friend." Junior said it without thinking, but realized he used the 'f' word. He always found it a little awkward being the first in a new relationship to attach a label. What if she didn't consider them to be 'friends' and only 'neighbours' at best, or 'acquaintances of circumstance' at worst?
Then his heart felt like it skipped a beat as an even worse thought occurred to him. He felt the warmth of Millie's hand on his. She wasn't pulling it away…was she lingering on purpose? What if she thought they were more than 'just friends' already, and he'd just offended her?
As Junior's thoughts raced, Millie finally spoke.
"Just a friend?"
Junior picked up on a faint note of disappointment in her voice. But also…maybe a hint of restrained humour?
Any burgeoning suspicion flew out of his head and his mind blanked when she added:
"And here I was going to invite you to sleep with me."
Millie managed to watch Junior's open-mouthed shock for only a few seconds before she lost it.
"Oh come on," Junior protested over her laughter. "That was a low blow!"
Junior grumbled until Millie calmed down enough to speak again.
"Sorry, my dude, I just couldn't resist."
"Hmmphhh," he mumbled grumpily. "Maybe Opal's not the only potential girlfriend for Achilles."
"Haha, okay I deserved that," Millie agreed good-naturedly. "But I was sorta being serious too. I do want to sleep with you. For science!"
"What are you talking about?" Junior asked, confused.
"Your trick or whatever it was with Achilles. I want you to try it on me!" Millie revealed excitedly.
"Ahhh," Junior said as comprehension dawned.
"I get it, you have no idea if it was real or not and Achilles is your soulbond. It probably won't even work. But imagine how cool it would be if it does!"
"Yes, all of that," Junior agreed with a small smile. "When do you want to try?"
Millie thought for a minute before answering.
"Maybe a few days or weeks? I don't want to rush anything. We both agree it's a long shot that isn't likely to work." She paused, and her eyes grew distant. She clenched her fists at her sides, eyes filled with unwillingness as she gazed at something perhaps only she could see. "I need to get stronger," she said under her breath.
Of course, Junior couldn't see Millie, but he caught her whisper.
"Stronger?" he asked. "What do you mean? For what?"
Millie broke off her unfocused stare and coughed into her hand.
"Ahem. Don't worry about it," she said. "Just something I like to say to myself sometimes. You know. Ahem. Motivational slogans. Like: 'I'm a good person. I need to get stronger. People really like me.' Self-help stuff!"
Junior tilted his head. "You are so weird sometimes."
Millie laughed awkwardly.
"Anyways…how about we reply to our good friend Delta. Don't want to leave them hanging!"
Junior didn't protest the obvious subject change, while Millie looked anywhere but at him.
Together, they crafted a response to delta.eel. Millie tapped away at her laptop while Junior offered his opinions on the different techniques.
"So far, I think the most help has been from your 'MILD' intent setting and recording my observations when I wake up," Junior said. "Also, Athena had just woken me up for 'wake-back-to-bed' not too long before the nightmare, so it maybe made me more aware. I can't tell for sure."
"Fair enough," Millie said as she typed. "To muddy the waters, I'm making it so that you write your dreams down rather than dictate to an AI. And I'll pick something other than music as your 'MILD' cue."
"How about seeing blue," Junior said dryly, with a glance at his impossible blue screen.
"Perfect!" Millie finished the message and sent it.
With that done, they turned to another topic.
"After the Opal incident, I was thinking about the Coast Guard and Seaman Tran," Junior started. "It's likely she's the one who banned Opal, since the alerts came from Administrator Tran."
"Could be a different Tran," Millie cautioned, "but yeah, I see what you mean. What of it?"
"You remember we have a monster corpse hidden in your storage unit?"
There was a pause that went a bit too long.
"...of course…who could forget such a vitally important fact?"
Junior chuckled. "I think it's time to take Seaman Tran up on her offer to dispose of it. I'm just worried that she'll think we've kept it for so long. What should we tell her?"
"Hmmm," Millie hummed as she thought. "Well, in most LITRPG, the monsters either disappear when killed or can be harvested for materials. I could say I was studying it."
Junior smiled. He didn't fail to notice Millie's use of the pronoun 'I' as she once again fell into the role of protecting his identity without even seeming to think about it.
"Why would a corpse just disappear? That doesn't make sense."
Millie waved a hand dismissively. "A mechanic from videogames. Helps reduce the inconvenience and mess of dealing with mounds of monster carcasses after another epic battle. Like inventories and dimensional bags."
Junior sighed and shook his head.
Millie just grinned. "But that brings up a good point. We should totally study it! What if it did have some kind of harvestable loot inside?" Her wide eyes seemed to shine at the thought of loot, and her fingers began to twitch in greedy anticipation.
"...it's been dead for over a week. It smelled bad enough when it was alive."
Millie's eyes dimmed and her fingers stopped twitching. "Gross," she grimaced. Then she brightened again. "Definitely a job for Seaman Tran!"
Remembering Millie's dislike of the coastie, Junior just shook his head again.
The two of them spent the rest of the evening discussing the plan to call Seaman Tran. Then Junior and Achilles left to go to sleep.
Without Millie.
\ - / - \ - /
The next day saw last night's efforts bearing fruit.
delta.eel replied to their message. They'd started the lucid dreaming techniques that very night.
"Delta says their 'MILD' cue is seeing a four-legged animal," Millie was saying. It was morning and she'd already joined Junior in his condo for breakfast. "You think they're a crazy cat lady living in a tiny apartment with a hundred mangy breeds, knee-deep in cat…nip?" she joked.
"A crazy cat lady with weapons training and magic. Sounds like a public menace," Junior replied dryly.
"We could be blamed for enabling a new cat-pocalypse," she quipped.
Junior groaned.
"Let's just get the call to Tran over with. Please."
Millie pulled out her phone and called the number on the card that Tran left with them. But not without another quip about cat monsters.
Despite their worries, Seaman Tran took the request to retrieve the monster corpse in stride. All the coastie asked was where and how the body had been stored.
"I'll be there in 20 minutes," she said in a cool, even voice before the call ended.
"Well, that was easy," Junior said finally after a short pause.
"I bet she's plotting something," Millie grumbled to his amusement.
It turned out she wasn't.
As promised, twenty minutes later, Seaman Tran and a second coastie arrived at the building in a grey Coast Guard Manta. The same police officer, Sergeant MacDwyer, also showed up in a GPD cruiser. Millie, Junior, and Achilles were all waiting at the ramp to the building's underground parking lot. Curious passersby watched the proceedings from the sidewalk.
It was Millie who asked why the sergeant was there, too.
"Keepin' the peace," the bulky man replied simply. Millie shrugged while Tran watched in silence.
After some discussion, Millie got into the police cruiser with the sergeant while Junior and Achilles joined Tran in the open-cab Manta. It was just a short drive down the ramp to where the underground storage units were located. The vehicles were parked nearby while they all got out. Millie led Tran and her colleague down the short corridor to the storage units while Junior and Achilles remained behind with Sergeant Dwyer.
There was a moment of (to Junior at least, though the sergeant seemed unbothered) awkward silence. Then Sergeant Dwyer spoke.
"How are you holding up, son?" The man asked in his deep, gravelly voice.
Despite himself, Junior startled a bit before he collected himself to respond.
"What do you mean, sir?" he asked nervously. He wasn't prepared to be grilled by a seasoned police officer, and his thoughts raced with all the things he did not want to talk about.
"I ain't no sir, sir," Dwyer chuckled. He quietly noted Junior's nervousness but didn't comment. "What I mean is: all this System nonsense and blue screens. I heard tell even visually impaired folks such as yourself can somehow see the screen. Just wondered how you feel about all this, if you don't mind my asking."
Junior briefly debated lying but decided to tell the truth. His genuine feelings about the Failsafe System were believable, whether he was a Reclaimed or not.
"I feel like I should be a lot more freaked out than I am," he admitted honestly, "and that's plenty freaked out as it is."
The sergeant chuckled. "I can tell you're a smart one, son. You're right; this is an honest-to-gods existential crisis. There should be riots in the streets and crashing stock markets. Instead, most people just picked up and carried on with their lives as usual."
Junior felt his heart begin to beat a little faster.
"Why do you think that is?" he asked, lowering his voice as if wary of someone listening.
Or something.
"Hells if I know. And as a police officer with more than a few years under my belt, I know that should worry me a lot more than it does."
Silence settled between the two as Junior considered what Dwyer had said.
Was this more evidence of the System's tampering? Not just with blue screens and nightmares, but with thoughts and emotions? Of everyone? At the same time?
Junior could hardly begin to imagine the power it would take to do that. He thought of his Uncle Orestes, his talk of gods and ancient magic.
He was finally beginning to realize he should be putting a lot more stock into those ideas than he had.
Near Junior's feet, Achilles' head suddenly perked up. The dog scrambled to his feet and looked around. Then he whined.
"What is it, Achilles?" Junior asked at the sound of his dog's distress. But almost before he finished speaking, something happened.
The ever-present blue screen hovering in the corner of Junior's vision changed for the first time in a long while. Not to update his Apeirosis score, but to display a new notification:
Apeiron Barrier Failing . . . Reinitializing Failsafe System.
Junior was too stunned to react, but Sergeant wasn't. Some instinct to protect, or perhaps, reassure, made him reach out to Junior.
"Don't worry, sir. It'll be ok-" he started to say.
Just as the sergeant's large hand touched Junior's shoulder, they lost themselves to a flash of light.