Chapter 40 #2
They all create a clear path between us. He’s not bleeding, and that bruise doesn’t look all that bad, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t terrible injuries underneath all that. So, I decide that Heal Minor Wound won’t do the trick.
Lifting my staff, I say, “Heal Major Wound.”
Nothing. I tap my staff with my palm like it’s an old TV set that will work if I give it a good smack. Then I lift it again and repeat the spell. Absolutely, nothing.
“Maybe my staff is damaged,” I say.
I put my staff back on my back and bring up my menu. I tap the Heal Major Wound spell. Still, nothing.
“Is he alive?” I ask Cait, who’s standing closest to him.
She presses two fingers to his neck and then nods her head. “He’s got a pulse. So, I assume so.”
Joshua doesn’t look convinced by this answer. “You know how sometimes NPCs will still twitch and stuff after they die? What if his pulse is just a glitch?”
I hate that his answer makes sense. Alexander is a level two NPC.
Some players here are high enough level that one hit could actually kill him.
Fuck, if he’s dead, we’re all screwed. He’s the only one who can communicate with me about what Aphrodite needs regarding this message to Khione.
She’d even said I needed to keep him around just for this.
If Alexander is dead, there’s only one thing I can do, and it terrifies me because if I’m wrong about this, it may mean someone else dies and stays dead for no good reason.
“I’m going to use one of my Kisses of Life,” I say.
“How many do you have?” Guy asks.
“Two,” I answer. “One after I kiss him.”
Sylvia comes over and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure about this, Lauren? After being stuck in that nothingness, we both know what Zeus is capable of. We might need those two kisses for players.”
She’s right. There’s a solid chance that one or more of us will die trying to get this message to Khione. Even if we survive that, who’s to say Zeus won’t try to get us afterward?
“You know Alexander started showing signs of sentience a while back,” I say. “I asked him if he knew what he was, and do you know what he said?”
Sylvia shakes her head.
“He said he did.” I swallow, remembering how easily I dismissed that moment and how important it is now. “He said he was a player like us. Alexander thinks he’s one of us. He cares about us. Deep down, he wants to be one of us.”
Tears well in Sylvia’s eyes, and she nods. “Do it.”
I look at Alexander. When I played Legends of Sacrifice in my old apartment, I longed to kiss him then.
I have no interest in him now, not with real people like Cait and Guy to love.
But as I press my lips to his, I channel old Lauren, the one who swooned for the romanceable NPC.
I’d rather think of it like that than as a gamble on a vital and limited spell.
Alexander’s skin starts off so cold and stiff, but as my lips brush against his, his warmth returns, and his mouth softens. I pull away slowly, wanting to make sure he’s really alive before returning to Sylvia’s side.
His eyes flutter open, and he smiles at me. Cupping my cheek, he says, “Lauren, you’re alive. I was so worried about you.”
I can’t believe the immense relief those words bring. It’s not just that he’s alive when I need him. For the first time since Sylvia and I came back, a friend remembers me.
Alexander winces and removes his hand from my face so that he can clasp it over his bruise.
I stand up and whip out my staff. “Heal Major Wound,” I say.
A long sigh escapes Alexander, and he smiles. The NPC sits up and takes a good look around. Then his eyes land on Sylvia, and he screams.
“Eidola!” he shouts as he points at Sylvia.
I shake my head and push his arm back to his side. “No, the eidola is gone. It’s really her. Zeus punished her just like he did me.”
Alexander squints at me with disbelief. “Truly?”
“Yes, I promise,” I say.
“Then I won’t shoot her.” At that, Alexander pats his pocket and gasps.
“Oh!” Doug hands the shotgun over. “I was making sure you didn’t have any other injuries and found it.”
As Alexander puts it away, I say, “Look, Alexander, we need to get to Khione now before Zeus throws anything else at us.”
“No, you need to get to level six first,” he responds.
“What? Now I have to get level six?!” I throw my hands up in frustration. “First it was I needed to do all the quests on the way to Ismarus. Then it was complete the Orpheus quest. Now, I need to level up again?”
“You could die if you—”
“I almost did!” I shout. “Because I got caught coming back from the temple. Zeus planned on having me killed over and over again as a monster! Me and Sylvia both!”
Alexander lowers his eyes. “Then, I suppose we can do no more to prepare for this, except pray to Aphrodite we all survive.”
“How dangerous is this mission?” Miko asks.
“Apparently, more dangerous than anything else we’ve done,” I say. “Which is really saying something after defeating that chaos dragon.”
My friends share looks. I know what they must be thinking. Why should they help some woman they just met with the mess she’s landed herself in? For Cait, this is probably like one of those horrid escort quests.
“You don’t have to come,” I tell them. “I offered in the past to do this on my own. It’s a big ask to put your lives on the line when I can’t even tell you much about what this mission even is.”
“No, I’m coming,” Cait says. “I…I don’t remember you, but I feel like I do.”
Guy nods. “I feel that way, too, and I couldn’t let you do this in good conscience.”
Miko crosses her arms and looks down at her shuffling feet. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve stuck my neck out before and pissed off a god.”
“Then you understand better than any of us just what Lauren is risking right now,” Joshua says. He moves to stand by Cait and Guy. “I plan to help my friends, even if I don’t remember some of them.”
Miko nods. “You’re right. I’m just…I’m just scared.” She reaches over and squeezes Joshua’s hand. “I’ll help.”
I look at Doug, the man I’d dated since our high school days. Even as angry as I was when we broke up, he’s still someone I share years of memories with. Except all of his have been erased, and he’s already done plenty to help me already.
“Are you coming?” Sylvia asks him.
Doug scoffs. “Of course I am. You think I’d be the lone coward of this group?”
“Okay, let’s go!” I say and walk to the door.
Guy grabs my arm. “Not after all you’ve been through today. It’s late, and we all need to get as much energy as possible. We can do this tomorrow.”
I cast my eyes at the window. Sure enough, the sun is setting. “Fine.”
“I’ll head downstairs to get everyone dinner after we sort out our sleeping arrangements,” Doug says.
“Well, last time, I shared the same room as Joshua and Miko and Lauren slept with Cait and Guy,” Sylvia says.
The four people mentioned look at their partners with disappointment.
“Maybe this time, we do something different,” Joshua suggests.
Doug shakes his head. “No, this is better. This way you’re not keeping each other up all night with your mo—” He winces and holds his hand up to his head.
Then he looks up at me, his mouth slightly open in surprise.
“I-I remember something. Something vague but…I think I remember hearing you, um…” He swallows, visibly uncomfortable.
“I remember you making noises from Guy and Cait’s room. ”
My face is a thousand degrees right now. Of course, the one memory that all this prodding has unlocked are my loud orgasms. Not any of the nice or interesting things I’ve done. Just how loud I get when I come.
“What kind of noises?” Miko asks, a curious, almost mischievous, spark in her eyes.
Doug glances down. “I-I don’t want to say.”
The looks Cait and Guy are giving me burrow right into my soul.
“What does that mean?” Cait asks. “Are you saying she—?”
Cait groans in pain and clasps her head, burying her fingers in her red hair.
She crumples sideways onto the bed, next to Alexander.
Guy rushes to her to comfort her, but when he touches her, he looks at me, and it’s his turn to shriek in pain and slump over.
These reactions are by far the most dramatic of them so far.
“Jesus, what kind of memory did they touch up against?” Miko asks.
I look at Sylvia and shake my head. I don’t want them to know. If she tells them and Cait and Guy still don’t remember me or study me like I’m an alien, I won’t be able to handle it.
“The three of them are in a relationship,” Alexander says.
God fucking damn it.
“They love each other,” Alexander clarifies. “That’s why she was in their room. So that they could—”
“Okay, that’s enough of that!” I interrupt.
Cait pulls herself to a sitting position, panting as she recovers from the pain she just endured. “But…you’re a woman. I’m—” She winces again, then blinks and looks me up and down, realization lighting up her features. “Okay, yeah, I’m into that.”
“Do you remember her?” Guy asks. “Because I don’t, but I can see why I would be interested in her. I just don’t recall anything happening with the three of us.”
Cait shakes her head. “No, I just remember feeling that way about a woman.”
“Maybe Sylvia should sleep in Cait and Guy’s room instead of Lauren,” Doug suggests.
Cait and Guy protest as one. “No, no, we’re fine with—”
“I really don’t want the two of you suddenly remembering everything while Lauren is in there,” Doug says. “Not when I’m trying to sleep next door.”
Cait pouts, and Guy sighs.
“Fine,” Cait says. “Sylvia can stay with us. Let’s get dinner now.”