“What’s this about a competition?”
“Wow, you really listened to nothing during the seminar,” Lee chides me. He stops playing Patty cake with Rockong after a particularly loud slap leads to him shaking the feeling back into his hands. “Tara had a wonderful idea to encourage people to test the game! She’s going to award prizes based on meeting goals like ‘who tested the combat system the most’, ‘who found the most bugs in the game’, ‘who caught the most Terrors’, and so on.”
“But the tournament champion will get a special hologram made by Tara,” Juan says. “It could be literally anything! Like your Rayment, or a custom Terror. A hover chair or special equipment are on the table too.”
“It sounds like you’ve thought a lot about this,” I raise an eyebrow at Juan. “Is there something you need help with?”
“Not if I win.” Juan quietly says.
“Even if you don’t, I promise I’ll help you. Juan, you helped me find Lee.” I had never been so scared. When Lee was taken… I may not like my little bro all the time, but the shock of his kidnapping was enough for one lifetime. Maybe two. It was worse than the unholy terror of unknown chthonic creatures bumping my legs while I was swimming in the ocean for the first time. Alone. Like an idiot. That had been a hideous experience for a three year-old. I still have nightmares. I’m lucky I chose the fish farm to say hi to the fishies.
Then, a few years later, I was alone in the ocean on a salvage dive trip, holding the makeshift air supply hose the teenagers needed for air. There was nothing but me and the waves and a hose. Then something bumped into me. I kept my cool. Then it slithered against my leg. A second forceful poke from a dark shadow in the water had me screaming. The water grew warmer around me as I panicked. Thankfully, I held onto the hose as I swam like mad toward a buoy. Reggie found me after surfacing from his dive. He calmed me down and eventually convinced me it was just a playful dolphin. Thinking back on it, dolphins don’t slither. I wonder if he saw what it really was or if he just wanted me to chill out. I’ve never forgotten Reggie’s help. He took the time to get me back in the water, face my fear, and guide me back to our boat. It’s one of the reasons I rescued Susie. No one should have to be alone. Or afraid.
Now, I owe Juan for helping me find Lee. And a Wong always repays their debts!
Juan slaps me on the back, “I appreciate it, amigo. I bet your floating city or whatever has some stuff that could help. It’s nice to have a fallback plan, but I’d really like to get a floating hover chair. There aren’t exactly a lot of intact sidewalks nowadays.”
“Are you that tired of walking? ‘Cause you got a little extra baggage my friend and exercise could help.” I joke.
“Ouch! Careful, amigo! You could light someone on fire with that sick burn. Hah, now I guess I won’t tell you about the competition.” Juan turns up his nose at me.
“Whaaaat? Not even a little bit?” I plead.
“That’s why you don’t make fun of the fat guy who knows things.” Juan taps the side of his head.
“I could tell you,” Lee smiles wickedly, “for a price.”
I glare at the little traitor. “After I fought Holos, negotiated with a rogue AI, and carried you out of unknown dangers on my aching shoulders; you’re asking me to pay you for information?”
“Only a little bit.” Lee pinches his index finger and thumb together as he squints at the tiny gap. Rockong adorably copies the gesture, and it softens my anger. A bit. The world is in danger if this cute ape learns to think like my brother.
“What. Do. You. Want?” I ask through gritted teeth. If Lee ever gets kidnapped again, I don’t know if I’ll be able to summon the energy to care. Promise or not. Once was enough.
“Summon the Driger! Rockong and I want another play mate.” I can’t help remembering those flashing claws, teeth, and the scalding heat of fireballs rushing at my face.
“How about no,” I reply.
“I promise it will help you! You need to get to know your Terror to tame it,” Lee pleads with me.
“That sounds like psycho mumbo jumbo. It’s a program. This is a game. Can’t I feed it something to make it like me?”
Juan joins the conversation, “Psychology works, amigo. It worked for my cousin Benny. The guy was super scared of spiders, but they’re everywhere in the caves. One day, mi tío locked Benny in a cupboard with a daddy long legs and said he wouldn’t get food until he could stop screaming. By dinner, Benny came out of there no longer screaming. Now he doesn’t even whimper when he sees a spider. He stays calm. Totally motionless.”
“Do you think Benny might’ve been silent because he couldn’t scream anymore?” I ask.
Juan rubs his chin thoughtfully, “He had been screaming for like four hours straight.”
“Was the spider still alive at the end of it?” I ask quietly.
“I don’t know. I only know about it because my cousin Alma was outside telling everyone what was going on so nobody would panic at his screams.” Juan purses his lips. “More importantly Rockong and I really hit it off when we started playing together. He’s better at listening to me now.” Juan whistles Rockong over to his side and gives him a good back scratch.
Lee scoffs at me, “What’s the worst that could happen, Matt? You’ve got the game designer right here, Juan can be your shield, and Rockong’s attacks can take down Driger since you haven’t recharged it!”
I pull the badge off my jacket. The badge feels cold in my hand, but there’s this slight pulse, like a little heartbeat, belying the lifeless exterior. I hold the badge in my hands while looking at the Driger emblem.
I sigh. “I still think this is a bad idea.”
“Come on, Gēgē. What’s the worst that could happen?” Lee asks me with a child’s confidence.
“I bet the little guy needs to stretch his legs. Maybe he’ll be calmer with fewer people around,” Juan encourages.
“Alright, I’ll summon the Driger. How do I do that?”
Lee pipes up excitedly, “You didn’t create a command phrase for your summoning, so it’ll be ‘Matt Wong, tamer of fire, calls forth the fiend who will burn his enemies to ash! I summon Driger the Destroyer!'” Lee finishes the line in a dramatic pose, finger pointing to the sky.
I stare at my dramatic little brother. “I, Matt Wong, summon Driger.” Lee pouts.
I look at the badge in my hands as the emblem’s lines blaze with red light. The badge gets heavier in my hands as the light forms the Driger’s shape on top. The creature feels similar in weight to a small cat as it forms. Its wings are folded behind it as it sits on my lap.
“Hello, Driger, I—” the Driger hisses and cuts me off as it pounces at my face. My Rayment immediately flares in response.
I hate being right.
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