The Game Arena - A Sci- Fi Fanfiction

II - A Strange Deal - II

With only two lives left, Hex had respawned and ran as fast as he could, catching up to his friends. He had saved Aver and it cost him something precious. Why did he do that? It was not necessary not was it, just let them die. But he had seen how close Ver was to that person and it not only piqued Hex's interest, but feel a tiny pang inside his heart. A sting. How did this happen? As he entered the fourth chamber, he instantly stopped dead in his tracks. 

"Let him go." Hex growled, stepping forward. He inched straight towards the robot, fear gripping his heart and forcing him to shudder. The sight of it made him sick. "You put him down right now." 

The robot tilted it's head, a mechanical whirr with smooth fluid movements. "Hm? And why should I do that? Cheating will only result in instant death. You players have far overestimated your abilities to hide from my watch. The Arena is under my command. "

"Oh really?" Aver challenged with a daring tone, eyeing the robot in it's glowing red pupils. "Something tells me you don't exactly have full power to everything here. Let me guess, the Arena has many more secrets that you're not even allowed to speak of." 

The Game Master let out a weird sound, as if it was mocking Aver. "Ah, that? When you've been wandering around the Arena for far too long, it tends to mess with your head. I've seen that happen countless of times over the millennia. What an awful tragedy, losing your sanity by the second the longer time is wasted here. Haven't any of you noticed that already?" Zaion blinked, stealing a look over at Kotoka who appeared unreadable. 

Above the group, Ver struggled. He choked and sputtered, feeling blood pool inside his mouth and dribble out of it's corners, making it impossible to form a clear voice. He caught Aver's eyes and flailed to catch their attention. The player saw his hands and quickly nodded. 

"Aren't you sick and tired of seeing innocent lives die every single time they come in here?" Hex asked again, persistency in his motives. "Because I know that inside that soulless body of yours, at least there should be a tiny little slither of sympathy for those that lost. The people that have been left behind......long forgotten by the winners that survived."

With a pause, Kotoka then added with a hint of curiosity. "Wait Hex.....how do you know that?" 

Ignoring the girl, he continued. "Listen, all we want to do is to just leave this god-forsaken place and seek refuge in a better place. I'm sure you would want that too, right? A break from all this chaos......getting some peace and freedom at last. Who doesn't want that?" 

"I don't understand such mundane emotions, for I see them as nothing but weaknesses in all humans." It responded flatly. "They were not necessary to me. If a rabbit were to feel extremely hungry despite it's innocent nature, that rabbit will also stop at nothing to hunt and scavenge for food, even if it goes against the natural balance of the animal food chain. Meaning, even a rabbit will result to killing other animals for sustenance in a land that's scarce and barren. The same goes for humans. When backed against a corner, death will only be nothing but their very last hope for survival." 

Kotoka was slowly losing it. Looking at the Game Master, she knew that it's words had proved a vital point, perfectly indicating exactly what she had done in the third chamber, thus digging up her emotions of guilt and self-hatred. It was all in the past, what she was trying to hard to forget. "Are you seriously trying to expose my mistakes right now, you monster?"

The Game Master beamed. "You obviously can't afford to bury away the things you have done, killing your own best friend. Everything you have said and did back there........is real. Barely even a dream, or a hallucination. Don't even bother trying to lie your way out of this." Ver let out muffled voices, shaking his head at Kotoka desperately. His face was already turning a deep shade of purple and sweat trickled down his forehead, losing energy by the minute.