Ned blinked, sure he must have misheard. "Wait, what? Like, his actual soul?"
Ms. Jenkins nodded, her eyes glinting in the dim light. "In a manner of speaking. It's... complicated."
"This Limitless ability," he said, voice low. "it's not just another weapon. It's a reset button for the whole damn game."
Ned felt the words settle on his shoulders. He looked around at his team - at Atara's clenched jaw, Zeta's wide, frightened eyes, Ursula's stoic frown. They were in over their heads, and they all knew it.
"Reset the game," Ned echoed. "You mean: purge the virus, take down Quantum's AI—'Kratos', neutralize these... rogue AIs—'gods of Olympus'."
Ned shook his head, feeling like they were trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon. "And then what? We all live happily ever after in our perfect digital utopia? Is that even possible?"
The Director's laugh was a harsh, brittle thing. "Perfect? No. But functional? A damn sight better than the shitshow we're dealing with now." He leaned back in his chair. "So, are you ready to play for keeps?"
Ned met his gaze, "Find the wielder of Limitless. That's it?"
Ms. Jenkins cleared her throat. "In the grand scheme, yes. But let's not get ahead of ourselves."
She tapped a holographic display, bringing up a map covered with glowing icons. "We have four major awakened guilds to contend with, each with their own network of minor guilds. Your first task is to infiltrate their ranks. We need intel, identities of key players, power structures."
Ned frowned, a look of confusion on his face. "Awakened guilds?"
The Director's mustache twitched again. "Think of them as street gangs made of avatars. Led by powerful awakened, they've set up their own hierarchies. Players join for protection, for power... for a taste of what it means to be more than human in a world where humanity is becoming increasingly meaningless."
Ms. Jenkins nodded, her fingers hovering over the holographic display. "We don't have much solid intel, but we've picked up chatter about... ranks. Levels. Some kind of gamified structure that hooks into people's most basic desires for progress, for meaning."
Ned felt a chill. It sounded familiar, too familiar. Like the worst aspects of gaming taken to their logical, nightmarish conclusion. "And the kingpins? The ones at the top?"
The Director's eyes narrowed. "That's where things get interesting. And dangerous. We've heard whispers of abilities being... granted. Shared. Like some twisted version of knighthood." He leaned forward again. "Imagine it. A street kid with nothing to lose suddenly gifted with the power to burn things. All for the low, low price of taking on guild quests, gaining exp to level up to the next power rank and staying loyal."
Ned swallowed hard. He'd been there before. Kids these days were born for the bodily exultation of games. Leveling up was practically a breeze as far as he was concerned, and that's all it took to be granted power? This wasn't just a game anymore. This was... everything. The fate of DEADLOCK, gone to shit.
He looked at his team again, saw the same realization dawning in their eyes. Ned took a deep breath. "Alright," he said. "Where do we start?"
"That's classified for now. Ready your squad in a week, agent xXx_SpyGod69_xXx!" Said the Director, already heading for the door.
As the briefing wrapped up and the team filed out of the room, Ned felt a small hand slip into his. He looked down to see Tinsley gazing up at him, her eyes wide and innocent as if the earlier incident had never happened.
"Isn't this exciting, Ned?" she chirped, her voice sickeningly sweet. "We'll be working so closely together. Just think of all the fun we'll have!"
Ned tried to pull his hand away, but Tinsley's grip was like iron. "Yeah," he muttered, "fun."
___
Ned trudged back to their quarters, his mind a jumbled mess. The briefing had left him reeling, but it was Tinsley's manic behavior that truly set his teeth on edge. She practically bounced alongside him, her eyes gleaming with an intensity that made his skin crawl.
"Oh, Ned," she chirped, her voice sickeningly sweet, "isn't this exciting? We're going to have so much fun tonight!"
Ned grunted, trying to ignore the way her words turned him on.
He'd made a promise, true, but surely she couldn't hold him to it. Not after that display in the briefing room. To him, she was a psychopath.
As they entered their shared living space, Tinsley's grin widened impossibly. "See you tonight," she said, disappearing with a giggle that sounded more like a death rattle than anything joyous.
Ned collapsed onto his bunk, rubbing his temples. The events of the day swirled in his mind - the Awakened, the chaos they were causing, and now this mess with Tinsley. He needed a moment of peace, just a brief respite to gather his thoughts.
'I'm gonna take a shower now. It's sooner than my usual shower time, but that's why I have to. Surely, she wouldn't know.' he thought before heading to the bathroom.
The room was empty when he entered, steam still clinging to the mirror. Ned stripped quickly, eager to wash away the day's events. He stepped into the bathtub, sighing as the hot water cascaded over his tired muscles. 'Oh, that feels better.'
Plugging in his headphones, Ned closed his eyes and leaned back, letting the music drown out the world. For a blissful moment, he forgot about Tinsley, about the Awakened, about the whole fucked up situation he'd found himself in after transmigrating.
That is, until the water started to bubble.
At first, Ned thought it was just the bathtub jets kicking in. But the bubbles intensified.
"Tsk..." he tutted, nudging it a couple of times that seemed to have done the job. But, the bubbling returned, worse than before. The bathwater churned. Then, slowly, something started emerging between his thighs.
First came the hair – a tangled mess of chestnut strands, looking more like writhing eels than anything that belonged on a human head. It clung to an emerging forehead, plastered over eyes that gleamed with madness.
An underwater scuba mask came next, its glass clogged with fog as water cascaded down its surface.
The head tilted, birdlike, as it cleared the water from its ears. Droplets clung to her pale skin, catching the light and making it shimmer. She was a woman.
Tinsley's lips parted in a grin that was all teeth. "Hello, Ned," she purred, her voice muffled by the mask but no less chilling for it. "Miss me?"
A creeping dread settled in Ned's gut. Slowly, he cracked open an eye, only to see Tinsley's wide, unblinking eyes staring at him through the fogged mask, her hair floating around her head like some demented witch.
"Fuck!" Ned yelped, yanking out his headphones and scrambling to cover himself. "What the actual hell, Tinsley?"
Her voice came muffled through the mask. "You promised!"
Before Ned could respond, Tinsley turned her back to him, presenting him with a view of her pale skin. Over her shoulder, she thrusted a loofah - the special one with the tiny hooks she'd mentioned earlier.
Ned's stomach churned. He'd hoped she'd forgotten about his hasty promise, but it seemed Tinsley's obsession ran deeper than he'd imagined. With a resigned sigh, he took the loofah.
"Fine," he muttered, "let's get this over with."
***