3 . 6 . 14

Completely Irrelevant to Story Ish ~ Chapter 35

(Astrid's P.O.V.)

My face felt warm. I guarantee you it is red. My eyes were widened in shock. What? What did he say? Did I hear that right? Am I deaf? Am I hallucinating? Is this actually Percy I'm talking to? Has he gone wacko? Have I gone wacko? My mind resorted to mental panic.

"I mean...I did...that doesn't mean I do now though..." Ashton attempted to cover up what he just said.
"What?" I asked, my mind remained confused and dumbfounded.
"Oh whatever...what's done is done...I said what I said...I mean it was before before though like...I'm sure you don't remember...whatever."
"Hey!" Kathrine glared pointedly at Percy. "No fair! What did he say!"
"N-nothing." I stuttered.
"Woah, woah, woah- is this for real? Astrid's stuttering and really pink! This is a once in a lifetime experience!" Tiberius chimed in.
"Mhm, mhm, I couldn't agree more." Clint nodded in agreement.

Agent Poop raised his hand, calling the attention of the Eldest Elder.
"Uh. Excuse me, sir. If I may, I would like to speak with Astrid first and help her regain the memories she lost as they are crucial to our mission's execution."
The Elder nodded gruffly. "Indeed you may. For the sake of this mission, anything necessary will be allowed."
"Thank you, chief, but while I'm at it, could you please explain to the others the rest of the information they might need to know? Such as the spells under each type, their uses, mana usage and limits? I can take care of Agent Agent for ya."
"It is our pleasure as the Elders to pass on our ancient wisdom to the youth. Do as you please, young lad."

His right hand grabbed mine and yanked me out of the crowd. Suddenly, he faced me again, and nervously, he told me to sit down beside him on some rock as he was to explain everything. Everything.

Or so he says.

"Uh..." he started awkwardly. "So...about what I said...how much do you remember?"
I searched my head for answers, but I only remembered one thing: "'She reminds me of someone I know.' That is what I remember."
"Ah...okay..." he scratched the back of his head. "Well this'll be a lot to explain. Well it's about time...I finally mustered up my courage to speak anyways..."
I nodded silently.
"Uh...can you maybe talk a bit more like you normally do? This is a little awkward for me y'know..."
"Correction: very." I replied to him.
"More or less..."

"Well back to square one. You know this: I had a crush, was rejected, etc, etc. But now...I want to talk more about why I created what I originally wished to in the first place."
"Pretty much...I think I remember at least that."

"So...when I was a shut-in, I played a crap ton of video games...did a bunch of coding and more...There was this girl I played with. I just remembered recently- her username was 'fourteen_triads'."
My head rung. A distant memory was right there underneath my tongue...
"It was a little odd, so I checked out her account in the game I was playing. It shocked me. She topped the rankings for the number one shooter in the entire nation.
"I then got an invite from her to play a match, and so I did it. It was a close match, but I don't remember who won. That was the beginning of everything. That was the beginning of the end.
"Ya see, Astrid, we're all doomed right now. We have no idea what's gonna happen to us humans here. We don't know how to get out of here, and heck, we don't even know if we'll survive in here long enough to get out."

"Yeah..." I looked down. "I know."

He continued, "We played together...went on quests in the game...coded together...talked to each other day in and day out on calls without ever revealing our true identities. But then, who said that the feelings welling up inside me weren't real?"
My heart pounded in my chest. I think I see where this is going.
"She was a genius. She was a prodigy. She was everything to me. But then again...how can this all be true when I didn't even know her name....