Become The Game

Level 6

Jason escorted Stephanie to a cave off the side of the tunnels. It was actually a sort of grotto, nested deep within the lower sections of the tunnels, a small pool within a large cave room, and a strong beam of light shining down from a hole in the top. It was nighttime, but the moonlight lit up the grotto brightly. Besides, Jason had a campfire going and Steph was messing with her powers to light it up a little more. The two of them ate a bit of the bread as they talked about what was going on. Jason explained the whole mess about what happened with himself, Matt, and Chris, but Stephanie was only worried about one thing. 

"What about Matt? Is he okay?" She asked. 

"I have no idea. I kind of just... materialized in the tunnels. I've seen the speed runs on YouTube, so I already knew I was supposed to be that old guy, and I got a handle on it pretty quickly." Jason said. He leaned over and dipped his finger into the water. When he pulled it out, he stopped one of the water droplets falling off his finger and began to twist it around in midair before heating it into steam. 

"How did you do it so fast?" Steph asked, leaning forward. 

"Same way you did. I focused on the code aspect. Plus, I found that it was kind of... hard wired into me." 

"Part of your code?"

"Yep. Same as you." He said. "Did you find Chris?"

"Yeah, I did. He's just a baker in town. A friendly old man who's supposed to be my dad's best friend." Steph couldn't help but smile at the thought of Chris's behavior.

"By the way, your dad is Chris Pratt." Jason said casually.

"WHAT?!" 

"Yeah. I managed to sneak a peak at his body. I guess Chris.... Pratt tried out the game too. And now he's dead." 

"Let's just hope not for good." Steph added on quietly. "Why do you think we can remember?" 

"Well, you're the player character, right? You have the only connection to the outside world; you're an empty avatar of various codes that give real people control of this world." Jason explained. 

"True, but that doesn't explain you." 

"I was thinking of that. When I saw you glowing, I got an idea. That glow is what brought the four of us into the game. I think that it has something to do with that." 

"So... the power is leaking into the real world, and taking people into the game?"

"And it only happens if Melody dies. When she dies, this.... power is unleashed on whoever is outside the game at the time. As for me, I think because my character has a connection with the power, I can still see the bridge between our worlds." 

"You don't talk like this, Jason. What's going on?"

"Sorry, I got some of the old man's mannerisms. The point is; we both have a connection to this power that can bridge worlds. That's why we can remember. You're just a little stronger in that category."

"That's why even though you're still Jason, you're acting like the old man." 

Jason nodded. The two sat in silence for a little bit, until Stephanie stood up. "So what now?" 

"Now? Well, now, you break into the castle. As long as we're going backwards, might as well use it to our advantage. Tell me, what's the best way to get out of a game?" Jason asked. 

"Either break it, or beat it."

"Exactly. And considering that breaking it could possibly kill us, I say we try and beat it. We're going backwards, we can get rid of the easy bosses first." 

"And if we die?"

Jason looked at her, a little bit nervous. "Meh, you'll respawn."