Since Sheriv Nazar's announcement took the attention of the guests, Barry pulled the plug on the operation and went back to his team to discuss what they're gonna do. Meanwhile, I'm back at home in a seiza position as Eleanor looms over me.
"Can you tell me why you brought Veronica to an active police mission?" she growls.
I turn my eyes away from her and reply, "I ... I got no excuse."
She sighs. "Fine. I know Barry put you up to it anyway."
Feeling a little reprieve, I muster the courage to ask, "How was your mission?"
She plops herself on the couch and groans. "Ugh, fucking nothing. We were so close but Nazar just had to make that announcement. Now, our employer's shifting gears."
Figures. A lot of companies are shifting gears. I glanced at the news earlier and the economy is doing an entire gymnastics routine right now.
"What're you still sitting there for?" she asks and taps the space beside her. "Here, join me on the couch."
I look at her curiously and hesitantly do as she says. Then, as soon as I sit, she rests her head on my lap which makes me recoil in surprise.
"Damn I'm so tired," she says as she rests her arm on her head.
"Been rough?"
She nods. "Bills, house payments, moving preparations. I just ... want a break."
"Then why don't you take one? You got the money and since your boss is gonna be busy for a while with planning for the tower, I'm assuming you won't have work anytime soon."
She smiles and pats me on the cheek. "You know what, Devon. You're right."
I sigh as I realize why she's acting like this. "You're drunk aren't you?"
She looks at me like she's been offended. "Wh-what? No, I'm not drunk? What do you mean?"
"Ooookay, drink some water and go to bed," I reply as I try to get up.
"Nooooo. Stay like this for a bit," she says and grabs me tightly.
"Wh-what are you doing? Eleanor let go of me," I protest but it falls on deaf ears as she has fallen asleep.
I gingerly remove her arms from my waist and put a blanket over her. Man, she's so different when she's drunk. Fortunately, she won't remember any of this in the morning so she won't beat me up until I forget. I look at her peaceful face. If only she's this mellow after she wakes up. I look at the time and seeing that it's late, I guess it's time for me to sleep too. I take a couple of couch cushions and place them in the kitchen. I'm glad that Barry's coworkers cleaned it while we were gone. As I drift to sleep, I feel a familiar pull in my consciousness. And surely, when I open my eyes, the familiar void of Sher's space greets me.
"Well, I'm glad you're spending quality time with your family, Devon Miller," she says while shuffling through dozens of holograms.
"Uh... what're you doing,?" I reply.
"Preparations and information gathering. What else does it look like?"
I step closer and glance at the holograms. News, rumors, reports, blogs, the Internet is a really nice place to gather information.
"Already? She just announced the tower a few hours ago."
"A month will pass by quickly," she counters. "It's best we prepare now before the time comes."
I sit on the water-covered floor. It's weird to feel being wet without actually being wet. I also shuffle through my status window and notice something peculiar.
"Hey, why's digestion running?" I ask.
+
[Digestion Time Remaining: 10 hours]
+
"And holy shit, ten hours? When did you eat something so big?"
"Oh, that," she replies nonchalantly. "Don't worry about that. I got it when you pressed the 'yes' button earlier."
"So you got something from Medacorp?"
"Just their garbage. An update like that's bound to have some bugs and quirks."
I lay on the floor. Medacorp huh. At first I thought they were our enemy but when we were discovered, they never showed any signs of capturing us. What's that AI really planning? And Tom... He has to take a lot of responsibility now. I hope he's doing ok.
"What do you need me to do out there?" I ask.
"Level up, upgrade your skills, and get powerful items. The stronger you are, the more we can participate in the tower."
"Gotcha," I reply as I prop myself back up. "I'm gonna go catch some sleep. I'll see you around."
I begin to focus to get my consciousness back out when Sher calls out, "Devon?"
I turn to her, "Yes?"
"Thanks," she says meekly. "I was anxious to ask you to go to the tower knowing your past. So thanks for doing this."
I smirk. "You should know this about my past too: I love games. There's no way I'll miss this!"
She smiles softly. "That so? Well, thanks anyway."
"No problem partner," I reply. "I'll see you later."
She waves goodbye in reply and I get my good night's rest. It's a dreamless sleep. Usually, I get the occasional nightmare but this time, I'm at peace. Soon enough, morning comes and I am roused by the sun that beams through the blinds. I groan and sluggishly stretch my weary body. Sleeping on nothing but cushions really takes a toll on my back. Then, as I lazily open my eyes, a pair of soulless eyes greet me.
"Woah, what the fuck!" I exclaim and scramble backwards.
"Good morning father," Jimmy greets with a deep, crackly, robotic voice.
The dodecahedron appears and hovers around Jimmy for a bit.
[Seems the AI installed without any problems,] Sher observes.
"That almost gave me a fucking heart attack," I say between deep breaths.
[Oh, please. It's just a doll. No need to act scared,] she replies. [I'll keep on observing it while doing my own preparations. You should go out and do something productive with it in the meantime,] she finishes and blips away.
I take a closer look at Jimmy. So uncanny. I know that it's not alive but at the same time my brain is registering it as alive.
"What is your command, father?" it asks with the same emotionless tone and face. That's right. I need to get him painted too.
"Be on standby until I figure it out," I reply.
"Understood," he says and sits down with perfect stillness.
Sigh... I hope I can get used to working with Jimmy.
"What're you so depressed about so early in the morning?" Eleanor asks as she exits from her room with Veronica in tow. The two of them are already dressed for the day and are preparing to head out.
"Not depressed," I reply. "Just don't know what to do with this," I gesture to Jimmy.
"Woah!" Eleanor exclaims. "Did you make that?"
"You act like this is the first time you've seen it."
She raises an eyebrow. "It is though? Well, whatever. I didn't know you had a [Creation] skill."
"I just got it recently. But I don't know what I should do next except that I need to get it painted."
Eleanor thinks for a bit and then hands me a paper with an address on it.
"Meet us here later," she says. "I know an NPC who could help you out."
I take it and log it into the map. It's about 20 minutes by car from here.
"Where are you two going?" I ask.
"We going to the mall!" Veronica chimes in.
"We're having a mother-daughter hang out today," she chuckles as she picks up Veronica. "I've been working too hard recently. I deserve a break."
Well, at least that conversation stuck.
"Have fun!" I reply. "You two deserve it."
The two of them wave goodbye and exit the door. Now, I'm left alone with Jimmy who's still sitting motionless.
"Well, Jimmy. How about we have a father-son bonding time too," I say jokingly.
"Affirmative," it replies suddenly which makes me jump a bit.