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Chapter 2: Avatar

Workers wearing hazmat suits were cleaning out the now-empty capsules the avatars once laid in.

On the other side of the glass, the avatar bodies of (y/n), jake, and Norm were inactive and currently laying on the beds while scientists performed tests.

-

"So, how much link time have you logged? Grace questioned as the four of them approached the link beds.

(Y/n), Norm and Jake were wearing plain clothing, which was a light shade of blue, whereas Grace wore a labcoat with cargo pants.

"About 520 hours." Norm stated as he hurried next to the woman. "That's good. You're in here." She gestured to a link, and Norm wasted no time in getting inside.

"What about you, (y/n)?" Augustine turned her head towards the girl. "The same for me. 520 hours." She explained.

"Great! you're in this one." She pointed at the one next to Norm, and the girl immediately inspected it.

She exhaled and explored the link, feeling around the different pieces.

"You ready?" The man asked her.

"Of course. I've waited years for this." She smiled and took a deep breath.

"Here we go." She hoisted herself up and lay with her back flat against the spongy material. She looked up at the screen the scientist next to her was working on and saw an inside camera of the link.

She saw a scan of her brain present on the screen and heard the link whir loudly above her head. "Now, just empty your mind and close your eyes." The man next to her instructed.

She nodded and swiftly shut her eyes before the metal cage was closed around her, the lid being pulled down not long after.

-

"How much have you logged?" Grace asked Jake as the two made their way towards the link next to (y/n)'s.

"Zip. But I read a manual." He replied as he peered inside the link.

Upon hearing that, Grace turned around with a look of disbelief plastered across her face. "Tell me you're joking."

Jake didn't acknowledge her and poked the material of the bed. "This is cool." He smirked.

"Let's go." Norm smiled widely, and the lid was pulled down on him.

Jake grunted as he used his arm strength to pull his entire body up. Grace went to assist him, but he stopped her. "Don't. I got this."

He placed his legs on the bed as the older woman began speaking. "So you just figured you'd come out here, to the most hostile environment known to man..."

She activated the link, and a whirring sound started up. "...with no training of any kind and see how it went? What was going through your head?"

"Maybe I was sick of doctors telling me what I couldn't do." He looked back at her as she glanced at him.

-

"Biometrics are good." A woman stated as she looked at the projector screens.

"Link three is ready." Max announced.

-

"Keep your arms in, hands in, head down." Grace instructed as she pulled the metal cage over Jake.

The man held his head up to see what was going on, but the woman pushed it back down. "Down. Just relax and let your mind go blank. That shouldn't be hard for you."

Jake chuckled at her comment. "Kiss the darkest part of my lily white..." His sentence trailed off as the lid was pulled down.

"Initiate link." Grace ordered, and the three links began moving into the wall.