Take Off

Starred Point #4 from Hermann's Black Notebooks.

A VR-IRL Translate is not a robot. They are essentially human, but are enhanced with artificial powers infused in them through the power of MetaCode.

...… 

The deeper the sun set, the more I curled up into my shell of loneliness. I tried to think of Rumi's smiles to keep me sane, but even those memories were twisted with guilt. 

I should have gone to the hospital. 

A hand touched my shoulder and I shook it off, "Leave me alone."

The hand didn't go away. Instead, it set on my shoulder as the person knelt down next to me. It wasn't Adrien, I knew that even though my head was buried in my legs. Adrien's touch didn't feel like that.

I looked up in confusion and saw Saye staring at me. She had removed the bandages on her forehead and re-applied some antiseptic onto it. 

"You should have stayed in bed…" I croaked, seeing her state.

"Not when my partner is going through hell herself." 

I noticed how she didn't use the word 'friend.' Of course. I don't deserve to be called that. 

"What happened?" was all she needed to ask and I told her everything, right from beginning to start. 

"And…I told him that he had hit his head on a sink. But he actually didn't, I made that up. When he went to check the washroom however, the sink was cracked and there was blood on the floor. It can't be a coincidence, can it? I don't know how my excuse and the scene in the washroom matched up," I rambled on and she listened calmly until now. That's because she hadn't heard what came next yet. 

She frowned at what I said, "How could that happen? There is no way the excuse could have matched up. It's completely illogical."

I nodded, "Right."

"Okay, is that it? Anything else happened?"

I hesitated a bit, terrified of how she would treat me after I told her this. But I was already on the path of being broken, so eventually, I thought it didn't matter what she did to me. I was a dumb girl either way.

And so I told her. She listened all the way throughout, her eyes glinting with frustration by the time I caught up to the present situation.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, "Idiot," she whispered. 

"Plan B?" I asked, shrugging helplessly. Why wasn't she hitting me? 

Saye looked up at me, "Couldn't you have been a little more careful? What is wrong with you?"

"I don't know," I mumbled back, "You can hit me if you want. Take out your anger. I don't care. I'm doomed to be dead anyway. So is Systema Games." 

She slapped me lightly on my face, "Idiot, idiot, idiot! If Systema Games is gone, who will I have to fight with? If you're dead, how will I pass my time in school?"

I looked up at her, the pain of her light slap fading away, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Idiot. Do you want me to say it out loud?"

I sighed, "Yeah, maybe that's what I need right now." 

Saye leaned forward and hugged me and I tensed up in surprise. "Wha-"

"I care about you, Ashe. You're like a sister to me now. We're humans, we make mistakes. I did too before and I'm going to forgive you for this just like how you forgave me for my mistakes." 

Where was all this coming from? I didn't know what to say. 

"Why are you being like this?" I asked instead and she pulled back and looked me in the eye.

"You'll know soon," she said and got up, pulling me up with her. Before I could ask anything about that, she spoke, "So what exactly is the problem between you and Adrien now?"

"Um…two problems. One, he might tell the others about the Romeo incident and two, he won't talk to me, leading our plan into failure."

Saye laughed, "That's it? If I'm not wrong, Adrien not talking to you makes this plan even more amazing! Actually," she yelled in happiness, "This is perfect!" 

"And how's that?" I asked really not getting it. The plan required Adrien and me to be friends first. How did our current scenario help?

Saye said quietly now, like she was sharing a secret hidden from the world, "Haven't you heard? Distance makes the heart grow fonder." 

She wiped the tears off my eyes and she looked at her wet fingers in disgust. I laughed at the reaction and she wiped her hands on my shirt laughing with me.

She stopped laughing when she saw the blood on my shirt. She looked at me in concern. "Did he…"

I shook my head, "No, he hasn't bitten me. Not yet, at least. I wonder how he escaped the forest though."

We both looked up at the second floor when we heard a strange screeching noise from above. 

"What's that noise?" Saye asked, walking closer to the foot of the stairs.

The screeching started again. Something tumbled and fell to the floor. 

"That's coming from Adrien's and Kai's room right?"

I nodded my head and frowned. 

Whatever the thing was, it screeched one last time and then there was silence followed by satisfying moans from Adrien.

Saye widened her eyes and turned to look at me as if to ask me what she was hearing.

I returned the same look and slowly it dawned upon me. 

Those screeches. I had heard them before, back in the forest. 

"Squirrel…" I mumbled and looked back up at the room where Adrien was feasting. What have I gotten myself into? 

"Oh God…" Saye said before checking in on Ethan in the room on the ground floor. "You said that Blood Sucker was Adrien's skill. Doesn't that mean these guys might have also gotten their skills activated too?"

"Yes, you're right. And I can't de-activate it like I did with Survival Mode. Whoever is accessing them remotely is doing it from Systema Games headquarters, for sure."

She glanced back at Ethan who was sleeping calmly, his stomach falling and rising slowly, "Must be the same traitor that let these six out."

I nodded. Maybe. That was Darren's problem now, there was nothing I could do about it from inside this house anyway. 

I stood next to Saye. "So, are you ready to carry out your part of the plan?" I asked, glancing at Ethan. This part was my idea and it was bad. But it looked like the only way.

She looked pained when I asked her that and hesitated to reply.

I gasped, "Wait, don't tell me. Do you already have a boyfriend? Is that why you are hesitating?"

Saye scoffed, "What? No!" she dragged, looking to the other side. I wasn't very good at spotting lies back then so I didn't even realize what she was trying to hide. "I wonder if I'll be able to pull it off, though."

I chuckled, "You're the best actor I know. One second, you're pulling at someone's hair, the next second you're the best girl in the class when the teacher comes in."

She side eyed me, "Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?"

I shrugged, smiling. I never imagined I'd be able to talk so casually with Saye like this. "Your choice."

We both broke out laughing as we watched poor Ethan sleep. He had no idea what was in store for him.

That's when he opened his eyes. Saye went silent and I followed.

Seeing him about to turn around to look, I patted on Saye's shoulder twice, "Good luck. You can do this." 

She smiled at me and whispered, "And you too. Do the same to Kai."

I halted in my tracks and looked at her, "K-Kai?"

She nodded, "Trust me, everything will work out," she pointed to herself, "Major manipulator award, remember?" 

Before I could ask more questions she walked inside the room and let the door swing close, leaving it slightly ajar. 

I looked up at the room where Adrien and Kai were in and gulped. 

Oh, I didn't tell you what the plan was, did I? 

Well, buckle up. I'll tell you now. 

....

Definition #3 from Hermann's Black Notebooks.

MetaCode is a special computer language that converts the invisible, seemingly useless dark matter around us into real matter and molding them into a combination we choose. MetaCode is a basic fundamental property of VR-IRL Translates.