Ines woke up, feeling like death. She had been in and out of sleep last night, anticipating today's challenge. She'd regain consiousness briefly, have thoughts of Ramon fill her head, and then she'd go back to sleep, repeat around four times, and she was already on the wrong foot. She was up at the awkward time where the sun was just starting to rise above the city, and the first beam would hit her directly in the eyes as she opened them.
"Ines, ya look like death." Was the first thing she heard from Glyle, who was looming over her.
"Well, can you blame me?" Ines snapped back in her groggy state. "Look, the hidden player we're supposed to talk to today? It's Ramon."
"Yeah, yeah. Ramon. Heard you and Mateo talk about him a few times." Glyle nodded with his plush face attempting a hardened scowl. "Quick question. Who's that?"
Ines looked at him in a state of disbelief, which threw Glyle for a loop.
"Woah now doll, what's with the face?"
"My brother?"
"Well, why are you on my ass for not knowing something you never told me?"
"Well, I just…assumed you already knew. Because my blood created you."
"Yeah, I don't think that's how this whole thing works." Glyle said as he shook his head. "Like, anything you create is made to protect you, and we're born with a brief synopsis of who you are. Ines Destrade, seventeen years old. Born with hypophosphatasia, so you got way weaker bones compared to the rest of the population. You want to make toys as a career. And while you really want a romantic relationship with the man of your dreams, you're completely asexual otherwise. That's the basic gist."
"So it's just me you know about?"
"Look, were you born with every detail of your mom's life in your brain when you popped out of her? No, all you knew was crying and sucking milk out of her. When you look at it from that point of view, your creations are pretty damn impressive. But enough about me, what's with your brother?"
"I don't know." Ines replied after a deep breath. "He was a normal guy. Struggled in school and kept to himself for the most part. Then I heard he got into a fight a year and a half ago and was just gone after that."
Before she got ready for today's events, she opened her phone and scrolled down her texts until she saw his number. She saw several texts asking about him from several months ago, the last one being from six months back. None of them read. She sent another text.
'Hey bro. lmk if you see this and if you got superpowers recently.'
She didn't expect much in the way of a reply, but something in the back of her brain would be biting her about not doing it if she never attempted it.
As she made breakfast, the message beamed into her head.
"Okay, folks!" Xaawo's voice rang out as it pierced her head. "You know what today's challenge is, so get your asses over to Bowler's Soup Shop in the centre!"
She took the bus over alongside Mateo, but neither of them spoke to each other. There just wasn't much to talk about. The twist was already known to them, so they just waited out the twenty minutes.
They were the last to arrive, with the other players being across the street from the soup place they were told to wait.
"So what's going on here?" Mateo asked as they approached the others.
"Owner got on our ass for loitering." Elijah replied. "I swear to god, if they don't appear the cops are gonna be on our asses."
Ines scanned the place, and it was everyone she expected, with the sole exception of Leon. He didn't need to be here, but yet he was for whatever reason. Probably to scout the new guy as an ally? Yeah, probably not going to work.
But after a few minutes, Xaawo and Halford finally appeared in a beam of light.
"Hello, players!" Xaawo announced to the near empty soup place.
"Sorry, we're over here." Mateo said calmly.
"Well, why are you-" Xaawo said visibly more pissed as she turned around.
"Owner probably didn't take kindly to them not ordering anything." Halford replied calmly.
"Stingy assholes, ruining my moment." Xaawo muttered, before she sprang back into her happier self.
"Okay, everyone! This everyone, seems like everyone. Alright, I know I spoiled the challenge yesterday, but I'll repeat myself in case your ears stopped working after Janet's…performance. Basic gist, a twentieth player was hanging around when you guys got your powers, and we think now's a good time to let them into the game. So that's your goal for today!"
"And we should mention this challenge can be seen as an extension to your break, if you play smartly." Halford added. "Nobody has to die today."
"Oh yeah, that too." Xaawo nodded with less enthusiasm. "But with that out of the way…
Leon Chai!
Elijah Davis!
Valerie Wyatt!
Ulysses Morris!
Mateo Gaspar!
Ines Destrade!
Tedros Mekonnen!
Let the next round begin!"
Xaawo expected an uproar as the players scrambled to find the next player, but there was just a sort of awkward shuffling as they got into groups and went their separate ways. Elijah and Valerie went together, and Leon in the opposite direction. Ulysses was the only person to run away. And Mateo, Ines, and Tedros all huddled together. Xaawo let out some kind of exasperated sigh through gritted teeth before her and Halford warped away.
"So where do we start?" Tedros asked.
"Well, we saw him in the centre when we had to escape the police." Ines replied, trying to contain her breathing. "And seeing as it's ignored a lot more than the rest of the city, he's probably waiting there."
"Sounds good." Tedros nodded. "Look, when that Halford guy said nobody has to die today, you think whoever finds Ramon has to fight one of the gods?"
"That sounds possible." Mateo said. For all Tedros desire to be a hero like the comic books he reads, he was learning the gods behavior quicker than anyone else was.
"So, I think we need to get another player." Tedros added. "Call them in to help fight the god alongside Ramon, and if it looks hopeless, we kill them."
Ines and Mateo stood in silence for a few seconds. For as messed up as it sounded, it was more of a plan than they had.
"Who are you thinking?" Ines asked.
"Leon." Tedros replied quickly. "Strong guy who could hopefully land a dent in a god, but he just always looks checked out. So, we can probably team up on him if we need to. Plus, he knows the centre better than anyone."
"I'll call him." Mateo said. The plan wasn't something he approved of, but there wasn't much to approve at this point.
"Hey, Leon? I need your help with something?"