Book 2 – Chapter 65 – Relief

“Welp, I guess that’s it,” I said, hopping off my chair and stretching my humanoid arms high above my head.

“What do you mean, that’s it? There are still a few minutes left on the clock!” Chelsea grumbled, cranking her head around so she could see me over the back of the couch that she and her mother were sitting on.

“Well, that’s technically true,” I conceded. “However, that was our last, best chance at a true victory. Luther will probably gather whoever he can and try to make one last heroic charge, but since all we have is a bunch of worn-down squads. Although I have a lot of faith in our people, the truth is their chances of injuring Ramirez, never mind killing him, are exceptionally slim. The match has been decided; it’s just a matter of keeping the audience entertained until the time runs out or the judges call it.”

“Even so, don’t you want to watch to the end?” Charlotte asked.

“I’m not really a fan of the match or the after-match analysis,” I grumbled.

“Too simple for your tastes?” Bella giggled.

“Do you want an honest answer, or a polite one?” I asked sheepishly.

“Go on, get out of here,” Charlotte snorted before turning back to the screen. “Just make sure you close the door behind you so that we can enjoy the end of the match without any background noise.”

“Will do,” I replied as I slowly worked my way across the room, doing my best to avoid disturbing everyone. It was only after I arrived at the door and started pulling it open that I realized that Kass was right behind me.

I opened my mouth to say something, but she put a finger to her lips and gestured outside. After a moment of hesitation, I nodded, slipped out the door, and, once she slithered out after me, quietly shut it behind us.

“You’re not going to stick around to watch the end?” I asked curiously.

Kass shrugged. “It’s like you said, the match was practically over; besides, between my visit home and you getting obsessed with planning for the match over the last couple of weeks, I haven’t been able to see you much, so I thought now might be a good time,” she said, throwing one arm over my shoulder and another around my waist.

I blushed a little, but didn’t object.

“So, where are we off to?” Kass asked.

“First, to the cafeteria,” I said, slowly moving towards the front of the residential area. “I didn’t realize that Bea was having a victory celebration in there, and I let a certain troublemaker run loose.”

“Really? Why didn’t you take George into the lounge with you?” Kass asked, confused.

“Because he was tired and hungry after the match, I figured he’d wander into the Cafeteria, get his daily snack, then either come and find me or curl up in a corner somewhere,” I said. “I didn’t expect there to be a party in there for him to mooch food from.”

“I’m sure you don’t have to worry; everyone around here knows not to give him treats,” Kass said.

“I’m less worried about people giving him treats and more worried about him sneaking around and stealing them,” I replied. “He may normally be straightforward and clumsy, but he can be extremely sneaky whenever he thinks he can get away with stealing someone’s food.”

“I’ve noticed,” Kass laughed.

As we wandered into the Cafeteria, I quickly surveyed the area. Bea and her sisters had taken over the right side of the room, where the booths were, and a lot of the other staff had joined them in a makeshift party. Myra and the kitchen staff had set out a small buffet for everyone to enjoy and, from what I could see, a certain giant spider hadn’t crashed the party yet.

Which, knowing George, made me even more suspicious.

Just as I was about to storm over there to check under the tables, I noticed a single figure sitting alone on the opposite side of the room and paused.

Kass must have noticed me staring, because she craned her neck to figure out what I was looking at. “Why is Sylvia sitting by herself?” she asked, confused.

“I don’t know,” I replied quietly. “You want to find out?”

She nodded, and the two of us began weaving our way through the tables towards our friend.

“Didn’t expect to see you two around here,” Sylvia said, between bites of her surprisingly average-sized meal. “Thought you’d be watching the match.”

“It’s pretty much over now,” Kass replied. “Voss and the others made a valiant attempt to take down Rameriz, but they failed, and neither side really has the forces to continue.”

Sylvia nodded slightly and took another bite of her meal.

“Why are you over here?” I asked, slipping into a chair across from her. “I’m sure the others wouldn’t mind if you joined them.”

“Oh, I know,” the Windigo replied. “They actually invited me over. I just wanted a couple of minutes to think.”

“About what?” I blurted out before Kass elbowed me in the side.

“In that case, do you want some privacy?” Kass asked politely.

“No, it’s alright; I think I’ve managed to sort through my thoughts,” Sylvia replied. She looked towards me and smirked; she could probably see the curiosity in my eyes. “And to answer your question, Talia, I was thinking about the match. I’ll be honest, even though I participated in a couple of skirmishes, I still wasn’t too comfortable in the dungeon. It reminded me too much of that hellhole I grew up in, and having that bloody psychic dig around in my head and drag out my worst fears didn’t help much,” she growled angrily.

“But…” I prompted.

“But,” Sylvia continued, smirking slightly. “During the battle against Nor’Goth and the oversized lizard that came after him, I felt an immense sense of satisfaction with the fact that I could get my revenge instead of just having to sit there and take the punishment.” She took a bite of her steak and chewed thoughtfully for a second. “I’ll admit, by the time I died, I’d almost forgotten that I was in a simulation, so when I woke up in the projector chair, it was a little bit of a shock.”

“Are you okay?” Kass asked, reaching out and patting Sylvia’s hand.

“Absolutely fine,” Sylvia replied. “Better than fine, actually. Once I got over the confusion and remembered that everything I experienced was just a simulation, it was a relief. I’ve been holding back a long time, afraid that someone might get seriously hurt because of me; it felt good to cut loose finally.” She paused and looked away. “Even if I did kind of do it out of spite.”

“I can’t really blame you,” I said. “It doesn’t feel good to have someone digging around in your head without permission. I’m glad you were able to break out of it on your own. Did you use my technique?”

“Uhhh… sorry, no,” Sylvia chuckled. “I was only able to break out because the illusion was hastily done, and I think Rembrandt broke out because he was shown something he found completely unbelievable. As far as I know, your technique didn’t work for anyone.”

“Ahhh, well, it doesn’t work for everyone,” I said, a little disappointed.

“Even if it didn’t help anyone, I’m sure everyone was glad to have a technique to fall back on,” Kass said, patting me on the head. “Better to have one and need it than to need one and not have it.”

“That’s true,” I muttered before glancing over at Sylvia. “Since you’ve finished thinking, do you want to join the others? I’m sure they’d enjoy having us.”

“Sure,” she replied. “It looks like the kitchen went all out and put together a real delectable feast. We should get over there before it’s all snapped up.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” Kass said. “The kitchen will keep replenishing the table, and it doesn’t look like anyone’s being too greedy; we’ll be fine.”

Of course, as soon as she said that, there was the sound of crashing plates, gasps of surprise, and scrambling arachnid legs. I didn’t even have to look to guess what happened.

I put on a small, strained smile. “You two go on ahead; I just need to handle something first.”