Only a blink passed before the door opened again, revealing them to the Second Floor.
The second floor had no traces of the shady nightclub atmosphere that Asher expected. It was just a buffet.
A black-clothed attendant tallied their numbers, gesturing to Mei questioningly.
"Yes, five people."
The man bowed, walking them to one of the hundreds of tables laid out.
Asher was seated at one of the middle tables, not too close and not too far from the food aisles. The attendant gave them a few instructions before disappearing.
"If you need anything, press that button in the middle and an attendant will assist you shortly."
Pete and Aiko nodded. They looked around themselves silently, taking in the scenery that they ignored while they walked here.
Not to mention a buffet, none of them had even seen such ornate decorations before. A glittering glass chandelier hung above each cluster of ten tables, casting radiant rays of light onto them.
The leather seats and white tablecloths were embroidered with gold, as well.
Asher could see a few people in here already stacking plate towers on their tables.
They looked at each other for a moment. Mei smiled.
"What're you guys waiting for? Let's go!"
Mei was excited to try out just what this 'buffet' was, too.
...
Pete, Mangchi, and even Aiko - contrary to Asher's expectations - rushed to fill their plates with meat. A few white-uniformed chefs stood behind the meat counter, taking generous slices out of huge chunks of roast beef, prime steak, chicken, among other things.
A simple smell test assured Asher that it was not human meat.
Since all the food his Fixers wanted was concentrated on one counter, they also went back to the table sooner than Mei and Asher did.
Mei simply followed Asher, grabbing whatever he did. Asher got a bit of everything, including seafood, noodles, meat, and pizza.
Mei could cook just fine, but some foods were still too expensive or unpractical for her. For example, cocktail shrimp.
Veggies... Sushi... Asher pointed at a few things for Mei to get, the food that wouldn't fit on his plate no matter how much he tried.
When Asher came back, he had made a tower of food so high that he could never possibly finish it.
And so an hour or so passed in blissful consumption.
After everything was done, they topped it off with a single bowl of ice cream. Two strawberries, two vanilla, and one mint, one for each. Mangchi liked mint for some reason.
Asher glanced around him. It was around nine o'clock now, and the buffet was veritably packed.
It may have been a byproduct of living in the Backstreets, but many people were unwilling to stop eating.
One kept shoving food inside his throat with disgusting pleasure until an attendant had to come up to them and warn them of the dangers of overconsumption.
And those who didn't hear the warning were taken away. Pitiful.
Still, the glimmering chandeliers and Soldato guards kept the peaceful atmosphere on the buffet floor relatively high.
But this wasn't the reason why they were here.
The 'delicacy' part was done, and perhaps the 'relaxation' too. However, 'socialization' lied in the floors above.
To the third floor!
But much to Asher's dismay, it seemed like this was going to be where they parted ways. Pete and his friends really wanted to test out their luck in the 'Game Center' and capitalize on their free credits, but Mei strictly forbade Asher from going there.
He looked at them, then looked at Mei. She didn't budge.
Aiko sensed the disharmonious atmosphere, shaking her hands placatingly.
"No no, it's alright! We'll just cash in our free credits at the end, that's more than enough!" Pete shot her a dirty look, but ultimately gave up the dream of becoming a gambling god.
Third floor, skipped.
When they arrived at the fourth floor, their day at Vivi truly began. The Arcade's dark carpet, coupled with the dim lights, created an atmosphere of... something. Something pleasant.
This was where Asher and his Fixers truly separated. Their enjoyment would take a hit if everyone had to follow each other around everywhere, so they decided to wander their own paths from here. Pete promised to text him if there was any trouble.
Asher looked at Mei as well.
"Mei, you should enjoy yourself, too. I don't want to hold you back."
Mei opened her mouth to disagree, but then she stopped. Rather than holding herself back, if she followed Asher, wouldn't she be the one holding him back instead?
"Okay~ Have fun, dear! Text me if anything happens, too." She hugged him tightly. Mei's sated stomach lessened her suspicions of Vivi slightly. Perhaps this place was just as the Thumb described it, a place to relax.
Asher smirked as Mei turned to the elevators, praising his good call. He imagined that she had other things she wanted to try here, more so than following him around.
Now he was alone to do whatever he wanted in this vast place.
The Arcade awaited him. He saw his Fixers in the distance, with Pete playing air hockey with Mangchi. Aiko stood by the side, egging them on.
All these people having fun, forgetting where they were in the City just for one moment...
It was like they were in an entirely different universe, where the woes of the Backstreets did not exist.
Their joy withered bodies fervently soaked up any happiness that they could find from this place.
Asher wasn't interested in these games though. 'Laser tag' interested him more. A huge neon sign loomed in the back of the floor.
"Yo! You going to the laser tag arena too?" a boyish voice rang out behind him. Turning around, Asher was greeted by a child about the same age as him, with unruly black hair like his as well.
The boy wore a reddish brown shirt, with the words 'Punished' drawn over it, in a font that could only be described as hardcore. A picture of a stylized demon's skull rested on its center, with a simple design except for a set of wickedly detailed serrated teeth.
The boy walked up to him, raising his fist for a fistbump.
"Yeah, these other games seem so boring, right? Wanna join me?"
Asher hesitated a bit, but the boy's wolfish smirk exuded a sort of confidence that he couldn't help but be dragged into.
"Sure. What's your name?"
"Heh... It's Boris." An emotion flashed past the boy's face.
Asher bumped the boy's outstretched fist, replying with a smile.
"Asher. Hey, do you know how this 'laser tag' work?" Asher spoke as he walked along with the boy to the back of the arcade.
One of the advantages of being a child was having the capability to make friends in an instant. He didn't know the other boy at all, but it already seemed like they were quite compatible.
"Bruhhh, so you don't even know what it is? ...But-" he scratched his cheek, "I don't know, either, haha! You made a mistake asking me!"
Boris let out a cackling laugh, and Asher couldn't resist the infectious laughter, joining in as well.
They reached the laser tag arena in a few minutes, which revealed a lot about the sheer size of each floor.
At this early time of day, no one was waiting in line. A single Soldato guarded the place, glancing at the two of them.
"The first tournament starts at noon. Do you wish to set a practice match?"
Asher and Boris blinked. Eh? Tournament? Practice match?
"Man, tell us what's this about, first." Boris put his hands in his pockets disdainfully.
The Soldato explained to them without a fuss. Laser tag was a game where each player was given a faux laser gun (which shot out harmless beams of light), and a sensor vest. Teams consisting of multiple players were each assigned a unique color, shown by the color of their lasers and vest.
Shooting an opposite teamed player's vest would earn points to be tallied at the end of the match.
Usually, two teams could enter the arena at a time and shoot at each other until the time ran out. Being just a game, having one's vest shot would only result in a 'time out' before their vest reactivated and they could join the game once more.
Boris's eyes lit up. He whispered an 'awesome' beneath his breath.
"But there's no one here right now..." Asher was excited too, but he could see the absolute emptiness of the line behind him.
The Soldato chuckled, making a negative gesture.
"Since there's no one else, how about a one-on-one? See who's the best, right?"
The two boys looked at each other, competitive spirit flashing in their eyes. They nodded simultaneously.
"Hell yeah!"
...
Soon, they were all suited up. The vest was heavy, but snugly so. And the faux rifle fit well in Asher's hands. It was an old-timey, bayonet looking device, even built with a shiny rubber blade on the tip. How realistic.
Boris studied the texture of the gun, running his fingers past the grooves. A glimmer flashed past his eyes.
"A-ha-ha. Y'all here modeled this from the standard? Niiice." The boy spouted seemingly nonsensical words from his mouth, to with the Soldato responded with a light glare.
"Alright, you're all prepped. Go to opposite sides of the arena, and the timer will start at the signal. We'll call you guys back when time's up."
The Soldato opened the door to the arena. It was dimly lit, darker than the arcade. Various obstacles were strewn onto the playing field.
Fake buildings, hard foam rubble, and all sorts of things to vault over or hide in laid across the playing field. Asher wasn't able to see it before, but now he realized the laser tag arena easily took up half of floor four.
Boris stood at the front of the arena, with Asher volunteering to walk to the back.
Asher admired the dark atmosphere of the abandoned buildings and rubble. The scenery reminded him of Mei's apartment after Elena killed almost everyone in it, dark and desolate.
Of course, the neon lights above made it so the atmosphere wasn't too dark. Instead, the assortment of buildings made his blood race.
He could see so many ways to jump and leap, hide and crawl in the faux city's maze.
The end of his thoughts was punctuated by his arrival at his destination. He looked up, and high above him was a Soldato overlooking the place.
Asher gave the man a thumbs up. As suspected, the Soldato whispered to a device in his hand, giving the all clear.
"Three... Two... One... Begin!"
Asher dashed forward a step before he stopped.
Boris wasn't a Fixer like he was; using all his strength wasn't going to be fair.
'Let's just have fun,' he thought-
*Beep Beep*
His thoughts were interrupted by a beep on his vest as it flashed red.
'What the-' Asher's gaze met Boris's across the arena. The boy had scaled one of the tallest buildings in an instant, and shot him from over two hundred feet away.
The boy was only a dot in the distance in his vision.
"Still wanna hold back, sucker?" Boris shouted, waving to him sardonically.
Asher put aside his surprise, grinning as well. Oh, this kid was just asking for it.
...But seriously, how did he move so fast?
Asher's smile was replaced with a light frown.