*Ding,* marking 16:00 on the clock, '-it's over,' a sigh of relief later, students stood and headed for the door. 'That wasn't hard,' thought whilst walking, Sayer checked the SCHD.
"Don't just stop in front of the doorway," shoved asides, the nervous group of students pushed through. Some with smiles, some with frowns, '-impossible,' staring at the device, [Warning: Elise Asce's health in critical condition. Current status, requires immediate surgery, Morpit factor has grown out of control] heart raced as if it were to stop, the body shook, fear settled in. 'T-this c-can't b-be,' furiously gawking at the students and professors, many gave unpleasant side-glances.
"Sayer," a girl's voice pierced through the cacophony of chatter, "-we need to talk," marching with anger, Sophia beelined for him. Glancing at her, he bolted with a frightened face.
'I need to get there as soon as possible,' running to the nearest transportation service, "-to the hospice," he ordered, a robot designed to take people around the city turned and spoke, "-240 Bits." The roads were without cars, in the background, Sophia sprinted, "-wait you asshole," she yelled.
"Take as much as you want, I need to get to the hospice right this instant," urgent with eyes on verge of crying.
"Get in," said the robot, "-Urgency detected, an additional fee of 240 bits will be charged," on that, the car warmed up since the power used was solar.
"Why do you run away?" grabbing his shoulder, Sophia stared whilst panting, "-am I that irrelevant?" she asked in an angered tone.
"Don't get in my way," shoving her hand aside, "-let's go," he entered the car.
"Yes, let's go," forced, she sat as well. Dashing down to the highway, the scenery changed fast. Greenery to clean, man-made structure bearing grey colors, the roads were well maintained with no bumps nor feeling of uncomfortableness.
'Elise's Morpit factor���s out of control. This is bad, the Morpit factor is what makes Celestials and humans different. Something to do with Celest's project of making robots human – Morpit's factor is best referred to as a Celestial's lifeforce. Unlike humans, which is intangible, theirs affect how they live. The main difference is that the Morpit factor can be interacted with given the proper tools. Not that it's necessary since it's the same as human conscience – with the ability to fix itself. Some Celestials, after a major accident, suffer damage, the factor is affected. Given what I've learned, the only way to treat any disequilibrium is to either let it heal itself or send Elise to Celle's Laboratories. The latter costs a lot of money, though the Celestial is assured to be cured. Operated by scientists and Celest's side-program – the lab is constantly evolving.'
"Why do you look so petrified?" cold hand grasped the left-arm.
*Boof,* without warning, "-I'm s-scared," whimpered Sayer, the body unconsciously reached out to hug the closest person.
"Are you alright?" from angered to concerned, the voice, the look in his eyes, and change in attitude, "-I'm scared," was the only response she got.
'Calm down,' eyes closed, '-get yourself back together,' feeling warming hands patting his back, "-thanks, mother," mumbled, the eyes reopened. 'Black hair?' confused as to why he was in a hug, "-I'm sorry," letting go with tears falling, "-Sophia!" staring him square on, the girl who he had begged to leave him alone. "Why are you here?" he asked whilst blowing into tissues. Outside, the road grew to be familiar, the hospice came in view.
"I came to g-give you a piece of my mind," trying to hide, a single tear shed, "-sadly," wiping eyes, "-I guess I caught you at a bad time," rare was it for a guy to cry, and twice was it when said guy remained alone with a perpetual look of distress. "And to answer your question, I saw the same look in a friend's eyes before well…" her eyes turned to the front, "-it doesn't matter."
"We've reached the desired destination," a card scanner popped out from the roof, *beep,* "-payment received."
"Let's go," opening the door, "-you have something urgent to do, don't you?" paying for the car, Sophia got out and glared.
"T-thanks," not bothering to process what she'd done, '-I'm coming,' sprinted inside the building, minutes turned into hours.
Inside an office with a doctor opposite, "-Mr. Sayer, I'll be frank, Elise has four months at best. Her situation is being handled by the best specialist we have. The Morpit factor is fluctuating way too much, I've said this before if she isn't moved to Celle's Laboratory, she'll die."
"D-die," eyes on the floor, "-just like that, four years of not seeing her smile let alone speak. She dies as if nothing happened, no goodbyes nothing – I swear," from woeful, he laughed, "-that's just like them. Leaving me alone to deal with their bullshit," eyeing the doctor, "-isn't that right?"
"I know it's hard to be made painfully aware that a loved one might die. I'll step out for a while till you can recover," trying to get up, "-WAIT!" Sayer interjected.
"How much will it cost," filled with determination, "-how much will getting Elise to Celle's Laboratory cost?"
"Around 350,000 Bits," the words reluctantly came out the mouth, "-the faster the better," truthful, an awkward silence settled in the room.
"350,000 Bits, by the first of August," pushed against a wall, "-I'll arrange the money somehow. Please do your best," standing, "-I'll bring the money, just make sure my sister doesn't suffer more than is due."
"We'll try our best," a handshake later, the doctor stepped out leaving Sayer behind.
'350,000 Bits, I'm barely living with my meager pay.' *If you're ever low on cash, give me call,* memories from this morning flashed. 'Never thought I'd have to rely on that shady man so quickly. I don't care,' standing, '-that's the job of a big brother. To protect his little sister, I'm your family, it's a vow I made to father – don't worry Elise, I'll get us out of this mess one way or the other.'
"How did it go?" waiting in the hall, Sophia stood.
"…" no response, he walked by without noticing, "-wait," grabbing his hand, "-I hate repeating myself," she gritted.
"Egh…" averting her gaze, "-pretty good," scratching the back of his head, "-a f-false alarm. I-I have to get going, e-exams take importance," bowing, "-t-thanks for paying for the car. I'll return the money tomorrow," without another word spoken, '-this is my problem to deal with. Put on a fake smile, laugh your way out of trouble, I don't want anyone to interfere,' reaching inside the pocket, '-you're my only hope.' Dark-out, the streetlights turned, the roads were less frequented by vehicles. The sky lit with stars unbothered by clouds – a full-moon.
*Screech,* stopped, a red car, "-get in," urged a boy with blond hair.
"W-what are you doing here?" confused, Sayer took a step back.
"Just get in," reaching out to open the door, Jay's determination forced a response.
'Awkward,' he thought and scanned the dashboard, gear, mirror, and more, the seats were leather, and interior screaming of rich.
"Don't you have something to explain?" taking a hard left, up a hill popular by couples, the car stopped with the city in view after a few minutes.
"Explain what?" playing the fool, '-this place sure brings back memories.'
"Explain what?" following behind, "-are you that dense?" standing shoulder to shoulder and peering off the edge, Jay's voice seemed intimidating. "Elise's condition has worsened," the side-glance he gave told everything.
"Must be nice to have a father as the director of the hospital. Is there not a law to safeguard patient confidentiality?" refuted with a serious tone, they stared one another.
"It doesn't matter," Jay turned to the scenery, "-I hacked into the system to get access to her file. Man," shaking his head, "-you're an idiot."
"The kid I knew grew up to be a meddler," a disrespectful comment, "-mind your damn business. We're not friends, that relation broke the moment I lost everything."
"Stop being selfish," *boup.*
'My stomach,' fallen on his knees, "-why would you do that?" barely able to speak, a punch in the stomach.
"Had to put some sense into that head of yours?" looking down, "-Sayer, it's hurtful that you'd say that. We're not friends because you lost everything. Given that I don't understand how it feels to lose someone precious, I sure heck know how it feels to watch a friend become a stranger whilst his alive."
"What's your point," calmed, "-is this the part where we become friends again? Are you going to lend me 350,000 bits to save my sister? You've read her file haven't you."
"What do you mean, 350,000 bits?" confused, Jay's confidence faltered.
"I knew it," sighed Sayer, "-you bluffed," *Cough,* "-still as someone who wants to meddle, I'll tell you. In no fucking way are you ever going to hack into the hospice's file, using sly tricks again. Elise's Morpit factor has grown out of control," staring the nightlights of the city, "-you understand what that means, she has four months to live," turning, "-unless I find the money to get her to Celle's Lab, she isn't surviving."
*Bap,* returning the punch, Jay could but standstill, "-I've told you this since I admire you as a person. Don't try to get more involved, the reason I shut myself off was to pay attention to what is important and not get sidetracked. I'm sorry, but Elise's condition takes precedence. I was left alone with my father's debt – part of it was forgotten whilst the other was seized. I've got a house in the south, a heritage left by my mother. It should help to cover some of the fees – so you see," a glare, "-I'll make the money on my own and save my sister. I won't be indebted again to someone else, my problems are mind, please Jay, try and understand." Echoed down the path, the sound of branches and leaves being stepped on.
'What a pain,' taking out the SCHD, Jay's red car drove by as if nothing happened.
"Hep here, how can I help ya?" the call answered.
"I'm the student from earlier this morning. I need money, can I come by to see just what sort of deal I'm setting myself for?"
"Awesome," the tone felt cheerful, "-don't move from the hill, I'll send a pick-up, can't afford to let you see the location, not just yet anyway," the call ended.
'He'll send a pick-up?' stood at the foot of the hill, with the road splitting in two, the only thing for miles were forest and lights. 'How far did Jay drive, did I doze off in the car?' no sound nothing, perfect solitude with mosquitos buzzing about.
"Sayer?" a black van stopped; two men stepped out.
"Yes, that's m…" blackout.
*Fight, fight, fight, yaaaaaaaaaaaaay,* cheers blew from every angle.
"Where am I?" suffocated as he felt a wall, he banged on the surface.
"Don't hit the frame, if it breaks, you're paying," in came a girl's voice through the speakers, "-don't panic, but you're fucked. I'm going to virtualize you and your opponent – this is a game of life and death, you lose, you die. Good luck, newbie, make sure to not piss yourself out here. I don't want to clean the shit-stain off that pod again."
"W-what do y-y-ou mean?" agitated, he yelled for more answers.
"Aye, brother, don't worry. You've played Mantis, haven't you? This is a copy of the game. It's one-versus-one with your life on the line, win and you're admitted, lose, and you're dead. The one you're going against is a student similar to you – a girl, desperate for money, this is a battle of will," the voice grew closer, "-there's only one rule, Kill or be KILLED."
*Initializing Virtualization,* "-wait," the pod scanned, "-DON'T."
*Host-Game link established,* "-welcome to the Mantis version 0.3 [Death Battle]"
"What is this," spawned harshly on a simple map with five kilometers separating the opponents. Buildings replicating one another on each side, an arsenal of weapons on the floor, with enemy-voice chat enabled. In the middle, a river, a few trees, and nothing else – a classic one-versus-one map with skill as the only requirement.
"Hello?" Sayer spoke through the chat.
"Hey," a reply came through, "-this is your first time isn't it?" laughed the girl, "-Hep sure is an idiot. I'm not a newbie, this is your last chance kid, either kill or be killed. Either way, you're done, forget you're human. Accepting to join this sick game is the last thing you want. Arm up, you have three minutes – if none of us is killed, each player will die."