"Huh?" At an unknown location, Ayumi suddenly opened her eyes, having awoken from a long slumber. She glanced around and was surprised to find herself laying on a couch in what looked like a gaming center.
"Oh come on! Who designed this!? This level's unbeatable!"
Ayumi arched her head, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the incredulous sight of James Shouyou kicking a Pacman arcade game with competitive anger in his eyes. The man's coat jacket hung off the machine as he pounded the controls with rolled up sleeves. Fortunately, the strange sight triggered her memories, causing her to recall her decision to leave home, the VTOL, and most importantly, the strange syringe.
Having recalled the purple liquid and the terrifying accompanying pain, Ayumi quickly sat up and rolled up her sleeve to check her right arm. Shockingly, there was no puncture wound to indicate she had just taken an injection. Just as she began to suspect her memories, James playfully called out.
"Catch!"
Ayumi turned, and instinctively caught the black mass shooting towards her face. She frowned, but then her eyes widened in surprise in recognition of the black ball in her hand. Without thinking, Ayumi softly squeezed. To her shock, though she felt some resistance, the ball clearly depressed under her fingers. In disbelief, she squeezed with all her might.
"How?" That was all the confused teenager could muster as she observed the fully deformed ball, with swollen part popping out between her fingers.
"Don't doubt it. It's the same ball," said James as he looked over. He then beckoned as he picked up his jacket. "Come on, we're burning daylight. It's time for the great reunion."
Ayumi hesitantly stood up. She reflexively moved to tie her hair, but then remembered she didn't have her hairband. So, she instead, asked as she walked up to James, "Where are we?"
"This is my office," James proudly said, but then stifled a chuckle at her deadpan gaze. He led her out of the room, as he explained, "Fine, fine. We're at an island owned by a shell company. Genaco uses it for more~ clandestine experiments and research."
"A whole island?" Ayumi raised a brow in disbelief. "And you haven't been found yet?"
"We have our ways of deceiving satellite imagery. We will not be discovered that way."
"So, you're saying there are other ways we might be discovered?"
A strange glint sparked in James' blue eyes as they stepped into an elevator. "Perhaps. No place is perfectly hidden forever. You are part of our preparations for such a contingency."
Ayumi softly chewed her lips, but ultimately decided to move onto more immediate matters. "Alright. I am here now. What exactly are my duties while under your care?"
"I really love working with intelligent, diligent people." James took out a phone from his inner jacket pocket and handed it to Ayumi. "First things first. This is your communicator from here on out. I have taken the liberty of adding my number should you have any questions. Our network is fully encrypted so feel free to go online whenever you'd like, but do keep in mind that all communications are monitored by Charlie, our security A.I. You can chat sweet nothings with whomever you wish but giving classified information to uncleared individuals has severe consequences, including imprisonment."
Ayumi nodded as she tapped on the screen to turn on the device. "That much is a given." As she went through the relevant security features, the elevator came to a stop. James led her into a hallway that branched into several more. Several signs were posted atop each corridor reminiscent of railway destinations.
Sure enough, at the end of the corridor James chose was a platform beside a rail line. James pressed a button on a wall, and then looked at Ayumi. "This is our underground rail system. There's some things we can't risk regular employees like you coming into contact with so we built these railways to transport those to whatever section we need. The design isn't exactly the most efficient, but it works as intended."
Soon, a train consisting of one car and one cargo hold rolled into the station.
James and Ayumi stepped into the train, and it rolled back the way it came after the doors shut.
Ayumi took a seat and looked at James who had remained standing. "You were saying about my duties..."
"Ah, yes, your duties." James nodded. "You have two primary duties. The first is not optional, and the second is likewise if you choose to join Suzuki. The first duty is to continue playing L.N.E as is. Discover new secrets, grow stronger and research new ways to manipulate mana like you've been doing."
"Why? What is the purpose of doing all that?"
"Well, most of that is classified. You'll need Level 3 clearance for that. By the way, you're currently Level 7 based on what you've accomplished in Line."
"Understood. What can you tell me then?"
"An increase in strength in-game is directly proportional to how strong you get in reality."
Ayumi frowned in thought. "The syringe?"
"Exactly. We've hooked up all capsules in the compound with our solution. Overtime, you will be exposed to increasing quantities to boost your strength and latent potential. You can think of it as our super-solider serum."
"Is that... safe? Or legal?"
James chuckled. "Legality depends on who you're asking, when. However, regarding safety, I can assure you that it is 100% safe as long as its intake is controlled." The young man paused and then added, "If it makes you feel better, we are not the only ones with this serum. Many nations have something similar. Otherwise, none of their pilots would be able to handle the rigors of Mobile Suits."
"I can tell from your smug gaze that you feel your serum is superior. Am I cleared to know why?"
"No, you are not. But, I am in a good mood imagining Su-chan's annoyed expression. He's so cute when he's angry, you know." James quietly laughed. "But, yeah, ours is superior. It's the only one that allows constant growth. The other countries' serums grant a lot of strength, but then the individual's power is fixed at that level with little chance for growth. Furthermore, our serum not only affects physical strength, but also mental acuity. If you weren't already a genius, you would be hard-pressed not to become one after taking out serum."
"That all sounds to good to be true. What are the side-effects?"
"Should I say as expected?" James shrugged and then admitted, "Fine, it's not all randy dandy. The drug is too strong, so we must administer it in tiny doses. A large dose could cripple the subject, cause madness or in very rare cases, death. Furthermore, if the subject is not used to handling such strength, they could harm themselves or worse."
Ayumi stared pointedly at James.
The man shivered under the deathly stare. "Hey, I know what you're thinking, but I would never risk your life like that. You think Razznik is scary? I would never want to be on the receiving end of Suzuki's vengeance. No, the solution we gave you is one of very few we've been able to create."
James held up two fingers as he explained, "There are two major points of concern when injecting the serum. First is the organs. Our bodies are used to functioning under certain conditions. When something happens that severely disrupts those conditions, it can result in disastrous consequences such as commonly going into shock. The serum, aside from destroying and reconstructing the body, pushes the heart to pump far more blood than usual. However, because your brain knows this should be dangerous, it intervenes, slowing this down to protect you. Unfortunately, this results in less blood going where it should when it should during the reconstruction process, often resulting in atrophied organs or death."
"I see. You fixed this by letting us get used to having advanced bodies while playing L.N.E," mused Ayumi with a thoughtful frown. "Even if it's not supposed to be real, our brain memorizes what it's like to have hearts that are much more forceful than normal to support our inhuman strength."
"Exactly," acknowledged James with a delighted grin. He so loved dealing with intelligent people! He continued, "Secondly, most human brains cannot handle the immense pain that accompanies the reconstruction. Usually, a regular sedative would be enough, but the serum forcefully keeps its recipient awake for the process. We have tried countless times but have only successfully produced a handful of serums that successfully sedate the subject during operation. Despite our best efforts, our success at creating such serums stand at .000001%. It's a game of luck for the most part, so we have no choice but to resort to small doses injected whilst subjects are immersed in L.N.E. The subject is still awake, but they are cut off from their body unless external stimuli exceed a certain range."
As they spoke the train came to a halt. James alighted with Ayumi and led her to the elevator at the end of the corridor. After pushing the button for the seventh floor, he took out his phone and inputted some commands. Soon, a Gladiator hologram hovered above the phone. "Now that we have covered your first duty, let us cover your second. You are required to learn how to pilot these Gladiator suits. One day, they will be all that stand between humanity and extinction. Do not worry. There are no complicated button configurations you must learn. Like your Virtual Drives, these function using Neural Links. Your ability to pilot them will come from your ability to sync with these machines and control them like you would your own body. We measure your synchronization ability in NS, or Neuro-Synchronization. The higher your NS levels, the easier it will be to pilot these machines."
Tut-Tut. Ayumi looked at her phone, which notified her that she had received a file from James' saved contact.
James smiled. "I've sent you the relevant files you'll need to get up to speed on everything you need to know. Knowing you, you would have knocked it all off by this evening."
Ding!
"Ah." James looked up as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. "That's enough exposition. Time to meet your soul mate."
"I meant to correct you earlier." Ayumi looked at James as they walked down the corridor. "You seem to have the wrong impression. I share no romantic feelings towards Suzuki."
"Oh?"
"I am indebted to him, much more than you will ever realize. He was the first person who saw me for who I am, and proved I could create a path outside the one already paved for me. That... has more meaning than any fleeting romantic emotion. Besides," Ayumi added with a thin smile as they stopped in front of a door, and rang the doorbell, "He is not my type."
Clack!
"Crazy Heads Residence, How may we..."
The door opened, and a soft smile spread on Ayumi's lips as she watched a familiar pair of emotionless eyes widen in shock.
"Oi! What's got you so spooked?" Before she could speak, a silver-haired young man stuck his head asked as he peeked over Suzuki's shoulder. The man grinned as he gave her a once-over. "Whoa. What brings a beauty like you to our doorstep?"
The man's words were like a summoning spell as three more people rushed to the doorway to gawk at the visitor.
Ayumi's heart filled with warmth as she looked at the men and women surrounding Suzuki. She knew better than most how much Suzuki loved his personal space. He would never let these people crowd around him if he did not have a measure of trust toward them.
Thus, she instinctively regarded them with acceptance before even confirming their identities.
Ayumi then looked back at Suzuki, and then asked with a teasing smile, "Well, are you going to let me in or not?"
"Ah. Ah, yes," Suzuki absentmindedly answered as he stepped aside to give her room to enter. As she passed, her familiar perfume tickled his nostrils, confirming she was not an illusion. The young man then looked at the other figure outside his doorway who was munching on popcorn he got from who-knew-where.
"You..." Suzuki growled, unable to articulate his rampant thoughts into a coherent sentence.
"Totally worth the price of admission," James gleefully chuckled as he patted Suzuki's shoulder and walked into the apartment. "Come on, she traveled a long way to meet you. Don't just stand there slack-jawed. Show her to her room."
"Her... room?" Suzuki furrowed his brows in confusion. As far as he knew, there were no extra rooms in the apartment. What was the weirdo talking about?
"Ah, yeah. Forgot I haven't told you yet." James hummed as he walked along the wall adjacent-right to the entrance. He stopped after a few meters and then softly tapped on the wall with a rhythmic pattern.
To everyone's shock, a light suddenly seeped out of the wall as never-before-seen seams appeared, revealing a door. A small section slid away, and a door handle pulled out of the wall along with an ID reader.
James beckoned Ayumi over, who placed her phone against the reader. Beep. The card reader turned green after confirming her identity, and the door subsequently slid open.
"Whoa." Jade exclaimed after seeing the revealed room.
"So white," Taiga shared Jade's shock, but for a different reason.
Ayumi's room looked like it belonged to a regal snow princess. A beautiful, soft white rug carpeted the floor. A quaint, twin-sized bed took a corner of the room, leaving most of the space for a beautifully organized library of books and portraits. Most strikingly, was the meticulously organized workstation with three white monitors, and a stack of business textbooks. A pair of beautiful curtains adorned the balcony, seemingly like the entrance to a royal palace.
"How?" Ayumi's eyes widened in equal parts fear and amazement. How in the hell did they get her room so accurately!? Not even Suzuki had entered her room. She quickly strode over to the shelves and was stunned to find that the books exactly mirrored those she had at home. Were Genaco that terrifying?
Suddenly, Ayumi elevated whatever entity Genaco considered a threat to maximum consideration!
"Your room's really something," Taiga's voice returned Ayumi to the present. "I'm thinking I'd better work on mine now."
Ayumi looked up, her cheeks turning red in mortification as she realized they were looking into her room. Even worse, she saw Suzuki, whose eyes were fixed on a particular figurine standing atop the PC tower on her workstation.
Ding! "Attention all teams..."
Fortunately, a timely chime from their phones seized their attention. Ayumi took the opportunity to leave the room and shut the door as she awaited the announcement.
"Attention all teams. Please be aware that the date for the first assessment has been set for Wednesday, 1st July 2043. You currently have seven days to prepare. The first assessment will be a virtual extermination mission. You will be required to work as a team to eliminate a target in a specified environment. Marks will be rewarded for Speed, Teamwork, Adaptability, Kills, and Resourcefulness. Please be advised that bonus marks will be awarded to the team that scores the final kill. Good luck in your preparations."
Ayumi's brows furrowed. She looked at Suzuki and was not surprised to see the recognition in his gaze. The old partners simultaneously acknowledged the uncomfortable truth.
"It's a trap..."