THE MOMENT
"I am ready," Dread nodded at Jenny. The two teens stood outside an abandoned warehouse in the industrial section of town. The sun fell below the horizon and a deep shade of purple painted the sky.
"Thanks again," Jenny smiled at Dread, then she started forward. "Finn, you take care of Dread; start as soon as you can, okay?" she asked her assistant on the way to the entrance.
[O.K. - Finn] She felt his reply on her wrist. Nanos created the sensation of the letters. With enough practice, it was easy to read them by touch even without the voice component that usually accompanied a Whisper. Finn swam along in the ground as if it were water. As they entered the building a pink shark fin rose out of the ground next to Dread and swam alongside her like Finn.
Jenny spotted the pale woman with platinum blonde hair wearing a crimson dress. She stood in the center of the warehouse alone seemingly waiting for someone. Her attention was on her node when the teens entered; but, she immediately looked up and at them.
"Well, who do we have here...," the woman asked with exaggerated amusement. Her question was punctuated by a deep masculine voice filling the air.
[Power-up: Bubble] the voice echoed around the mostly empty warehouse but no one commented. The two girls were expecting it and the woman could not hear it.
"Hi, I'm Jenny," she stepped forward to introduce herself. "I'm an engineer," she added. The woman's eyes sparkled with mischief and she stepped closer.
"An engineer! How exciting; I bet I can guess what you're here for," she giggled. "The question is, what are you willing to sacrifice to get it?"
"My friend," Jenny replied instantly. She gestured at Dread behind her with a thumb. "I'll sacrifice her." The woman turned her attention to the tall, pale teenager. She approached and walked a circle around the girl in appraisal.
"Very well," the woman in red nodded. "Sacrifice accepted!" At her proclamation, the woman's body seemed to disintegrate. Her form lost cohesion and she became red mist that enveloped Dread.
"FINN!" Jenny panicked slightly; she wasn't ready to see more than half of Dread's HP bar disappear on the first hit. Even as she panicked she remembered her own part in the plan and flicked her wrist upward to summon her Slate and a blue visor appeared over her eyes.
[Bubble] the deep voice announced the activation and it was instantly followed by another one being queued.
[Power-up: Bubble]
A clear bubble formed around Dread and blocked out the red mist; but, it was only a temporary measure. The swarm pulsed an attack every few seconds and after two pulses most of the armor provided by the bubble was gone.
"Why is she hitting so hard!?" Jenny complained to herself as her fingers danced across the Slate's surface. The woman was a living swarm of nanos and Jenny was trying to hack her. The hacking itself was little more than a mini-game that required her to manipulate number patterns. She normally found them easy; but, this was her first time facing one so complicated. It did not help that she kept dividing her attention between Dread's status bar and the hacking screen. The bubble shattered with the sound of glass and Dread took another big hit.
"Not ready yet!" She informed Dread that the power-up needed more time and Dread nodded.
[Shark Skin] the voice said. The pink fin next to Dread disappeared and pink energy washed over her. Her pale skin darkened to grey and turned jagged and rough. She gained enough armor to have some left after the next hit; but not the one after.
"AHAHAHHAHAH!" The mist laughed as soon as Dread's health bar turned black. The teenager dropped; but, disintegrated before she landed on the warehouse floor. The red mist coalesced into the woman again and she had a broad smile. "You have earned no reward. Your sacrifice is not worthy; maybe you should find better friends."
[Sorry. - Dread] the Whisper came in as the woman mocked Jenny.
[Omw. Ready to try again when I return. - Dread]
Jenny knew from experience what death was like in the AlterNet. The sensitivity could be adjusted to a certain extent; but, it still mimicked reality. Even on the most gentle setting; that had to hurt. She wasn't going to ask Dread again until they got some more help; but, Dread volunteered. She was hesitant to take her up on it; but, she wanted to defend her friend. Even if the woman's opinion meant nothing, the comment rubbed her wrong.
"Nah, Dread's the best," Jenny replied to the NPC. They were so lifelike it was easy to treat them like they were real. "I couldn't ask for a better friend."
