The Revelers (Serial 1)

Act 1 - Chapter 14: Ari

"Livia Cerayle," I say to myself. She's one of the best tacticians on the East Coast. The WarGames community mourned about her alleged passing a few months ago, yet here she is. Livia's working with these guys as an assassin. I suppose it's a fitting occupation, considering that many of her kills in the WarGames are through stealth tactics. Still, if she wants a duel, then I wouldn't mind delivering the challenge. Besides, it's been a long time since I've done solo exhibitions. I was supposed to battle against Rayne Sahin during the championship, but, well, that never happened because Samza and Mezos became a thing.

I feel a strange tingle in my cybernetic eye. A push notification? Out here on some remote island? Normally, my eye would not get notifications except during a WarGames match, but it seems something is pinging its notification system. It's coming from my phone, which is probably somewhere in the donut-shaped building surrounding this thick tree. The thing is, I have not paired my eye with my phone. There's no way my phone can interact with my eye, unless The Doc is doing something with it.

The notification, time-stamped around 6:36 PM last night, says someone opened my mini-fridge and took something from it. My guess: Lucia hacked it open and Cleo snacked on my leftover cheesecake. It wouldn't be the first time. The fridge's security isn't that great, anyway. That and I'm sure Cithara would appreciate it if I cut back on the cake.

"I like this place," I say to Mezos. "It's such a refreshing change of scenery compared to the dorms."

"That's good to hear," the horned boy fae says.

I'll admit, I don't like my dorms all that much. It's too white and plain, but at least my teammates keep me sane. Yet, if I stick around, I suppose I'd get to know these fae folk more. They sure act quirky and energetic. For now, I need to pay a visit to the gym. I can't back down from Livia's challenge.

"Sebastian should be in the parking lot soon," Mezos says. "We'll meet him there and he'll take us to the gym."

"Who's Sebastian?" I ask, my organic eye squinting.

"He's one of The Machinesmiths' top drivers. He, along with Charles and Makoto, transports Revelers and Savants to mission areas. Plus, if you're into JDM cars, he's a total gear nut about them."

"JDM? Like Civics and Subarus?"

"Yeah," Mezos answers. "He's the only guy in the shop who's obsessed with Japanese cars, but he's a pretty cool dude. That guy enjoys racing down mountains in his right hand-drive Subie on the weekends. We'll be meeting him shortly."

Mezos and I leave The Great Tree and arrive at The Lab's parking lot where we spot a blue Subaru hatchback waiting for us. The front right door opens and out comes a tall lanky boy with warm ivory skin, short brownish-blonde hair, and little fuzz on his chin. He sports a blue racing suit with green accents and assorted sponsorship logos, one of them being the logo for NovaTech Industries, CrystalCorps' direct competitor.

"Hey Mezos," the racer boy greets with a light British accent. "Is she the girl The Doc was talking about?"

"Yeah," Mezos answers while adjusting his glasses. "Her name is Ari."

The boy extends his hand, motioning for a shake. "Hey Ari. My name is Sebastian. How are ya?"

With a firm grip, I shake his hand. "I'm doing good. Just trying to acclimate myself to this strange island."

"It's a crazy place, I'll admit, but the missions can be fun. Hop in! I'll bring you to your next stop."

Mezos takes the front passenger seat while I hop into the back. It's quite spacious, with an ample amount of leg space. Though, that might be because Mezos has his seat pushed forward a bit. Despite that, I find the ride somewhat rough and a little loud, which leads me to believe that this car has an internal combustion engine instead of electric motors like the average car.