Psycho Pt. 1

Alex had graced the studio flat for the first time on a seemingly normal afternoon. But along with cheese pizza and microchips, he had come with scalpels and sanitary cottons. In other words, all the little things to do a surgery (or an intricate murder).

By the time the seagulls on the beach outside started flying home and the sun slowly descended to touch the horizon, Alexander washed his scalpel.

"It didn't hurt that much right?" He chirped like it was nothing. "I even applied anaesthesia for you, Percy. Tiara didn't need it because that arm is still paralysed."

"You're a psycho," Percy said through gritted teeth. Sure, the implantation of the chip didn't hurt, but he literally couldn't move his arms now. Everytime he tried to, pain shot up through his veins. He looked at his arm like it wasn't his own. "Are you sure you did the surgery correctly?"

"Excuse me? I have been working in operation theatres since I opened my eyes on earth. Your arm will be just fine, do you want painkillers?"

"No thanks," Percy replied immediately and Alex was relieved to hear that answer.

"I'll stay over for the night then, just in case you guys need anything."

"What do we do now?" Tiara asked meekly, glancing at her tricep. Her arm didn't hurt, but she had watched the surgery take place on Percy's arm and hers with open eyes and what she had witnessed in the past few hours hadn't been pretty.

Percy thought her eyes now looked like a winter forest.

"The microchip will be active by tomorrow morning. It's currently releasing the liquid into your bloodstream and brain and it will stay there until we remove the chip. Now, everytime you sleep, you can be transported into the game!"

"Huh?" Percy snapped again. His mood really wasn't the best today. "So we can't even sleep properly?"

"Of course you can, you can control when and where to dive into the game, with subsequent levels of training of course. I hope you have found a teacher or something like that? I really don't know much about the game itself."

"We haven't," Tiara whined. "But we sure as well found some enemies."

"Ah man, that sucks," Alex wiped his hands with a tissue. "I really hope you guys achieve something though, generations of hard work have gone into perfecting this liquid itself. Letting your Qi soul travel into another dimension is no easy task."

"What's a Qi soul?" Tiara asked, images of the gruesome surgery now slowly fading away. Talks of the Qi and all that got her weirdly excited.

"It's what makes you, you. That's what Professor Huang used to say, at least. The reason you like some things and dislike some things. The reason you talk like that, and also the reason you love another person with a Qi soul that's compatible with yours. The Qi is something the eyes can't see but the heart can feel." Alex nodded to himself, convinced that was what the Professor had told him at one point.

"Dr Zha Huang really said all that?" Tiara asked in awe.

Alex nodded. "He was the truest believer in the goodwill of the world. Maybe that's why he had his eyes on you, Tiara."

"Me?"

"Yeah, you. You always stood up for the other kids in school, while me and my gang just minded our own business. You even… you even showed Goren's true colours to his own friends. He dropped out of school because of that later you know. Well good for the victims-"

"Wait what?" Her eyebrows knotted in concern. "Goren Cheng dropped out of school? Because I made the others avoid him?"

Alex waved his hand, "No, no, you didn't make everyone hate him. We just saw him for what he truly was. And he dropped out because he realised that trash doesn't belong in school."

Tiara felt deeply disturbed by that. Bully or no bully, she couldn't believe he stopped his education midway because of what she instigated.

Percy slapped her other arm and Tiara looked up at him in slight anger.

"Don't overthink it, Tiara. You know what Goren is now. He is a blood sucking monster, remember what Mitchell said he witnessed in the hotel? Don't feel sorry for him."

Tiara looked down at her lap and sighed. She nodded. "Yeah. You're right. But I am glad that the other kids were able to breathe without fear because he was gone."

"You're damn right about that. 8 years without you in this world had indeed been bleak."

"Can you stop?" Percy rolled his eyes at Alex. Alex's occasional glances at Tiara and words like this was making him want to kick this dude out of their studio flat. Percy tried to not get annoyed, knowing very well that it was probably the System that was making him feel this protective over Tiara.

Alex gave him the dirty look. "Dude, what has been your problem ever since I stepped in here? Did I offend you in some way?"

Tiara looked at Percy too, she was thinking the same thing.

Percy was caught red handed, he glanced between Alex and Tiara in frustration and then lifted his head up to the ceiling, biting his teeth in annoyance. "Nothing. What are we ordering for dinner?"

After they bought and finished 5 packets of noodles for dinner, Alex went to take a shower. The moment the bathroom door closed, Percy sat next to Tiara and whispered.

"Are you okay with two men in the house? Should I call Mitchell and tell him to send a lady instead? If that makes you feel comfortable."

Tiara smiled, "Percy I might be new to this new world, but I'm not dumb. You're trying to look for an excuse to get Alex out of the house. Why? All he has ever done till now is follow the Project's orders and help us. He even brought pizza."

Percy picked at the lint on his shirt and let out a shudder, "No it's just that, I get an uneasy vibe from him."

"Oh… Oh Percy!"

"Hmm?" Percy looked up at her.

"Did your abnormality show you something? You saw a glimpse of his past didn't you?"

Percy nodded slowly. She had hit the point. "Yeah. And it's not good."

…...

Alex sat on the floor the moment he had shut the door. He sighed and thought of what all had just happened. He felt like his body was his, but there was something wrong with the things he was doing and thinking. He stood up suddenly and looked in the mirror.

'Ah I still have my handsome face,' he smiled cheekily for a second before that uneasy feeling settled in. 'I felt completely okay after stepping out from the Project headquarters… but started feeling nauseous after getting pizza and driving here. It feels like someone is grabbing my throat and making me do things. Like how I started mentally taking notes of how Tiara looked like, which parts are paralysed, suggesting to stay the night and how the Converter cylinder worked etc.' He scratched his neck.

It was like someone else was inside him, monopolising his thoughts.

(That's right, Alex. You have another Qi soul inside you, that's why you feel heavy and nauseous now. But don't worry, you'll get used to it.)

Alex saw his eyes widen in the mirror as this strange voice started talking to him. He whipped his head around and tried to see where the voice was coming from. He looked at the floor, at the ceiling. Nada. "Who are you?" he whispered in fear. "Shi- am I hallucinating?" He held his head and stared at the floor, trying to push the voice out.

(You aren't. Just let me borrow your body for a while and I'll leave when I have gotten what I want.)

"Who are you?" He asked, more strongly this time. He met his eyes in the mirror. They looked strained. His head hurt intensely.

(Will you figure out a way to stay in this house for one more week?)

Alex furrowed his brows and gagged. The more this soul talked, the more he wanted it gone. His body was reacting negatively to it too. "And if I won't?" he mumbled.

(I'll make you do it by force. And that'll be even more painful for you.)

Alex gritted his teeth.'What did I just get myself into?'

"F…"

He couldn't say it. He looked down at the sink and vomited, his body reacting more strongly as he refused to agree to the soul. 'Stop this, please stop.'

"Fi…"

He still couldn't say it. "No I can't, I can't help you, whoever you are," Alex said, his veins popping from his neck as he tried to resist. He had pledged his loyalty to the Project and he wasn't letting a random voice break that.

A stabbing pain crossed through his abdomen and he coughed, mucus dripping out of his mouth gruesomely. He felt his intestines contract, a feeling he didn't know existed. His hair now dripped with the sheen of sweat. He looked at his horrendous self in the mirror.