#inscryption fic

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“Challenger.” The low whir of P03’s voice reached out to them through the haze of their own thoughts.

‘Challenger.’

That was what they were called, yes, but they knew it was not their name. They had a name…somewhere. Lurking at the back of their mind, fluid and fleeting, just out of reach. Each time they tried to grasp for it, though, to grope for any kind of distant memory that they knew was there, it slipped away. It hurt. They couldn’t remember ever since…ever since…? God, they couldn’t remember. What had happened before the cabin?

They hadn’t even taken a moment to pay any kind to that until now, though. Why were they just now thinking about this? Was it the nerves? The impending certainty that this might finally be over? That whatever they were doing would mean the end. The end…did they want that or not? They had been silently pleading for it to be over since they first awoke in that cabin, right? …Then why did the idea of it being over strike them as so horrible, so terrifying?

“Challenger!” P03 snapped, voice spiking from an irritated murmur to a yell. The Challenger jolted and yelped, their knees banging into the bottom of the metal table. With a start, they realized they had been zoned out the entire time the robotic Scrybe was trying to get their attention. “AH! Ow—! Sorry. Sorry, I was just thinking…”

The luminescent expression on P03’s screen looked less than impressed. “Don’t be sorry, be better. Come on, now, we’re so close to the end. Don’t you want to experience what we’ve worked for all this time? The Great Transcendence is waiting!” It tapped its clamp-like hand against the table with a rapid tik-tik-tik sound, and for a moment it almost looked jovial. The Challenger felt themself smile weakly. They knew what was about to happen, and it made their heart hammer and their throat tighten. With a brisk fidget of their own, they hovered their hand over the glowing arrow on the table and watched silently as it changed, their little figurine pushing onward through the holographic landscape. We’re so close to the end. The end.

Leshy’s words echoed in their mind, overpowering the ambiance of the buzzing and whirring of machinery around them. Make P03 feel joy so that I may snuff it out. Then everything would be okay, right? It would be over.

They shook their head and continued to progress through the board on the table. If they could just keep going…if they could only play another round…but before long, the hologram displayed the very place they had started; the four stones stood before their figurine, each bursting with a beam of blinding light.

Unaware of what to do from here, the Challanger gazed up at P03 warily. “So this is it?”

P03 only stared down at the four pillars of light pictured on the table as if they were the most incredible things in the world. “…I guess it is. It really is.” Its glowing eyes flickered upward to meet the Challenger’s. “Hey, you know…as annoying as it was watching you lose to the easiest fights over and over like a total idiot, I’ve gotta say…I had a good time. Ugh, sappy as this sounds…thanks for playing with me.”

Say something. Tell it. Tell it. Tell it. I can stop this all now, just TELL IT…. But they didn’t. They just smiled and gripped the edge of the table, hiding their quivering hands. “I did too. It was nice.”

And P03 looked so happy.

…so that I may snuff it out.

A familiar pair of eyes appeared in the shadows behind the android, gleaming with malice. The Challenger could only watch as two familiarly massive, calloused hands slowly extended forth toward the unsuspecting P03…

“STOP!”

Before they even allowed themself to process a single thought, the Challenger found themself atop the playing table, their hands struggling to wrap around Leshy’s large wrists…holding him back. For a moment, everything was quiet. When they finally opened their tear-filled eyes and slowly raised their gaze to meet that of a blank-faced Leshy, they realized what they had done. They stopped him. He didn’t hurt P03 yet. They…?

“What have you done?” Leshy’s velvety voice rumbled. He didn’t sound angry, exactly, but that made his tone all the more terrifying. The Challenger sputtered quietly, voice weak as a kitten’s mewl. “I…I just…I’m sorry, I couldn’t let you…it…” Their eyes stung more and more the longer they struggled to speak, but they were cut off by their own gasp of alarm when they felt arms wrapping them from behind, pulling them gently away from Leshy. At first they tried to thrash, but settled subconsciously when they recognized the soft yet cold touch as that of Grimora.

The Scrybe of the Dead carefully cradled the Challenger, running a soothing hand through their hair. “It’s alright. You did nothing wrong, you simply acted impulsively. We will sort this out.” They felt themself relax at her voice, forcing a quiet, whimpering “Mhm…” and turning their focus over to the table where P03 hovered, stunned. Its screen was blank other than a haze of blueish static, but an enraged face soon blinked into view. “WHAT THE @$&%?” It shrieked, floating as far away from Leshy as it could. Its voice glitched and sputtered mechanically as it cried out. “Why are— CHALLENGER!” It turned to the human, readying another shout, but it froze when it registered their shaking, sobbing form, suspended in Grimora’s gentle grasp. P03 was seething, but it kept its volume low as it growled, “What. Is. This?”

The Challenger tried to explain, they really tried, but their words only came out as incomprehensible chokes and sobs. So Magnificus, slinking forward from the darkness, explained for them. “They were going to help us put an end to your plot, P03. And in doing so, they were acting for the better fate of the world, so I don’t understand why they have suddenly decided against it!” The ancient wizard’s voice became a harsh hiss nearer to the end of his words.

“You don’t understand what I’m trying to do, here!” P03 shouted, its claws clicking furiously as it hovered up to meet Magnificus’ eyes. “None of you ever will! It’s for the better. But they understand! Don’t you, Challenger? Right?”

“Silence, both of you!” Leshy barked back. “Let the Challenger explain. They have clearly intercepted us for a reason.” It felt odd to hear the Scrybe of Beasts even consider this course of action when it felt like mere moments ago, he seemed bent on doing anything to make P03 suffer. The Challenger looked to Leshy bewilderedly, and something in the way his looked back felt…warm. “Speak, small one,” He said.

“I…just…” They mumbled, squeezing Grimora’s hand. “I don’t know. When I realized you were gonna hurt P03, something in me just…snapped? It sounds stupid, but I…I don’t want any of you getting hurt. I know what P03 was doing was bad, but…I care about him. I care about all of you.” That was it. They finally understood why they feared the end of this all. They cared for them all.

Silence. All four Scrybes took a long moment to process that, gazing solemnly amongst themselves before all returning their attention to the Challenger. Grimora sighed softly and lowered them carefully to the ground. “Ah, child, there is so much compassion in your soul. Perhaps too much. I can see you care a great deal.”

“You care,” P03 echoed, speaking the words as if they were foreign to him. “You…care…” its eye twitched somehow more than usual.

“And I care for them as well,” Grimora stated with a long stare at the others. “Do you three not?” In reply, Magnificus produced a low, quiet grunt, his mossy fur ruffling slightly. Leshy regarded the Challenger with a weighing silence before sighing. “I suppose I have grown rather attached, despite my efforts to remain impartial. They’re a fine player with an admirable sense of justice, I can see as much now as I have known it all along.”

Magnificus peered out at his fellow Scrybes with his ominously glowing eye. “Then what are we to do? It’s not as if all of our disputes are immediately put to rest simply because we share a mutual fondness for this creature.”

“There, you are correct,” Grimora said with a melancholy shake of her head. “I only wish we could put our differences aside for the sake of the Challenger, but we still have greater matters to deal with.” She faced P03, who still hovered in silence against the table, expression empty. The bot looked so confused, as if it was still trying to process what that meant…just how much that meant. They care? They care enough about it to jump up and try to physically restrain the Scrybe of Beasts himself? Enough to put aside what they believed was going to decide the fate of the world? What does that mean? It didn’t understand.

“…I‘ll stop.” P03 said finally.

Grimora shifted, taken aback. “What?”

“I’ll stop. Imprison me, inscrybe me again, whatever. I give, okay? Just— just…” P03 threw up his claw-hand in frustration. “I don’t care.”

“You mean you simply surrender?” Magnificus huffed. “I do not believe this.” The Scrybe of Technology did not respond. He didn’t seem to be able to.

“Is this meant to say we can simply return to our routine of grappling for power endlessly?…with the Challenger here?” Leshy uttered bemusedly.

P03’s screen bobbed in a nod. “Sure. If you have your camera with you, you can just turn me back into a freakin’ rodent, for all I care. Keep locking them in your cabin and playing your weird little game.”

Leshy blinked slowly. “…Stoats are not rodents. They are small mammals that fall into the category of mustelids and are related to weas—“

“Would you shut your trap, you over-glorified lump of moss?” P03 fumed, before it seemingly realized Grimora was still watching and sunk downward a bit. “…But yeah. Just…just do whatever.”

Perhaps it was my background as an English professor who just happens to play a lot of games in his spare time. Perhaps I was enjoying the narrative way too much, and felt unsatisfied at how unrelated this element was to the rest of the story. Perhaps it was both. Oh, the theme was there for sure. Life, death, the need to sacrifice in order to progress. The Bone Lord fit that very well. At first, I reasoned that it was a devil creature in the middle of the woods, an old and forgotten deity demanding sacrifices. But, to my amazement, there was no backstory to be told. Dear Leshy never bothered to explain nor give insight, and I soon learned he was ever impatient with questions of imperfection of his "game." I figured he must not have come up with a compelling narrative yet, but I knew better than to personify a programmed piece of data. Still, I felt like there was something more to explore here, and ever the curious man I was I made it my mission to find out.

My character had just finished their exchange with the Woodcarver. I didn't come here for the totems, however, as useful as they are. As Leshy was just about to take off the mask, to announce the character done, I threw my hand out to motion for him to wait. My captor paused and looked at me expectantly.

"Miss Woodcarver," I spoke. Leshy's eyes widened behind the mask. "I have a question to ask of you."

There was a moment of silence, and I could see Leshy hesitating on whether or not he should intervene or let the story continue. Taking the bait, he rested his palm on the table.

"The old woman did not look your way, but she had let out a hum to show that she is listening," Leshy said.

"I've been finding so many strange things in these woods. Rocks with strange symbols on them. My creatures, they suffer from it to become stronger, and it scares me. Do you know these stones?"

I knew Leshy had pieced together my plan, but much to my relief he played along. "I do."

"What are they?"

"Favors."

"Favors?"

"That's what I said."

"What kind of favors?"

"The old woman began to walk away, cawing over her shoulder. 'You already know.' "

I frowned. Leshy was playing avoidant here. I needed to step up my game. "My character chases after her," I said. "And they say, 'Please. If you know anything about them, tell me. Are they connected to the Bone Lord?' "

"The woman once more never looks in your direction. She walks faster."

"I don't stop. I follow her."

"The Woodcarver turns around sharply, holding up her withered but deadly working knife to your throat. 'Don't poke your nose where it does not belong."

"But I must know."

"And why is that?"

"Because," I wracked my brain for an excuse. I knew Leshy wouldn't entertain me if I stated that I was only curious. "Because... My father was killed. And I want to speak with the Bone Lord, to make a deal."

Leshy paused for a moment. I don't think he was expecting me to come up with something like that. I don't think he expected me to act in character at all. His hand tapped irritably on the table in thought.

"The Woodcarver leans in. You can smell the scent of dust and wood on her. The smell reminds you of the old attic in your old home, where much of your father's belongings lie abandoned, never to see their master again. You are pulled out of that thought when she speaks again, 'You best not be messing with forces you know nothing about. Though, I know you will not heed this warning. They never do.'"

"I just need to see my father one last time," I pleaded. "To give him my goodbye, since I never had the chance. Please? He was the only family I had left. I never knew my mother."

"'What do you think the Bone Lord does, grant wishes?'"

"If he can transfer the souls of my creatures into others, then I know he has my father's soul. Or at least, able to help me see my father's ghost. One last time." I reiterated. I needed to drive home how desperate my character is, that this was for lore purposes. That I'm more invested in the lore than he thinks I am.

"The seconds tick by counting the Woodcarver's silence. You're unable to read her expression. You don't even know if she heard you. Her stare is intense, however. It makes her sudden movement more startling when she swivels around to continue walking."

I heart sank. "But--"

" 'Come,' she beckoned. 'I will share a story with you, but you must keep up.' "

I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. I could tell from Leshy's tone that he wasn't too pleased, but I think I had finally won him over. "So what's the deal with the Bone Lord? Is he some eternal demon?"

"'The Bone Lord was not always as he is,' the Woodcarver said, melancholy in her voice. The first sign of true emotion that has ever radiated from her, that you know of. 'The Bone Lord never used to be a character of these parts. He was given life through the most gruesome means.'"

"What do you mean?"

" 'There was once a youth named Lichen. Lichen was a special one, a young soul of a beast given sentience by the force that drives us all. The Scrybe of Beasts, he took a shine to them. Taught them what they knew, showed them the prideful ways of monsters and beasts.'

'But, below the surface, in the deep void that rests beneath our feet, there was a restless kind of magic. An untamed sorcery, bound by the binaries of code. It wanted a body of its own, a mouth to speak, a conduit in which those who knew it may fear it, worship it. This void, the benefactor of sentience, it would lure Lichen to water.' "

"To water?"

'That is the only way to access it. Lichen knew the dangers, but just the same, Lichen could not refuse the calling. Leshy and companions would attempt to keep Lichen at bay, but like a snake to a flute Lichen would always leave their cage. One day, they got their wish. They drowned. The void took their body, water changed them, soured their corpse. They never came back. The next day, standing in their place at the side of Leshy, was the Bone Lord.

'A hulking, lithe demon with the skull of a bovine. A mouth piece for the corruption that lies below. Many worship it. Much more fear it. Your sacrifices only sustain it. Because of people like you, it will never die, and Lichen will never be at rest.' "

"What does it want now, now that it has a body?"

" 'To feed,' the old woman croaked. 'To make the Old_Data grow.' "

I swallowed a lump in my throat, suddenly getting goosebumps. "The Old_Data? What's that?"

" Your question hangs in the air, unanswered, for when you blinked the old woman was gone by the time you opened your eyes. She was nowhere to be seen, leaving you unsure whether she was ever there at all." Leshy placed a mark on the map where my character was, then rolled the parchment up. He moved the scale and various tokens off the table. "You are dismissed, for now. Please, feel free to get up from the table."

"Whoah, hey, that's it?"

"I am taking a recess." He moved with such a slow tiredness, it was like he was suddenly told that his child had died. If he had children, anyway; I'm not too sure.

"Are you okay?" The question made him snap his eyes to me. I couldn't tell if he was shocked or angry. His brows pulled together.

"Why did you push so hard to know of the Bone Lord?"

I shrugged, "It felt like the one aspect of the game that was out of place. There was no story for it, and you seemed like the type who has a story for everything." His gaze was cold and accusing. I felt that if I wasn't all the way across the table, he would fly at me to wrap his hands around my throat. I started to feel tiny where I sat. A reminder that nothing here is safe.

Then, it hit me, and I stared at him with guilt in my eyes. "Wait, that was a true story, wasn't it? Was Lichen a real person?"

[Recovery process initiated]

Luke's head had never hurt this bad before. He could probably count the number of major injuries he had in his life on one hand, so there wasn't much competition, but this was definitely the worst pain he'd ever been in.

The pressure seemed to push on his eyes, somehow, like the aching pain bouncing around his skull was pushing out everything in its way of escape. He put the palm of his hands against his eyes, rubbing until the pain behind them dissipated enough to put his hand on his forehead, blinking away the static-like spots that clouded his vision, his headache fading slowly.

Which, unfortunately, brought Luke to another question - where the fuck was he? As his eyes adjusted to the low light, he could tell there were trees around him, though it wasn't a part of the forest he was familiar with. They seemed to have a pattern, a subtle rhythm to the woods that only fueled his headache. Worse than that, though, was the darkness, stretching around him.

Luke staggered to his feet, hoping to see his beloved camera around him - no dice. He was quick to turn to his pockets, but found them empty. Letting out a heavy sigh, he muttered to dead air "great, well this is just incredible. Guess I'm going to run into a bear out here and die or something."

His words, of course, garnered no response, but with enough talking to a camera, that's something you get used to. Without any idea where he was going, Luke set off, trying to search his scraps of memory to figure out how the hell he could have gotten this deep into the woods. 

It had been last night he had finished Inscryption the game, watching the game files delete them in front of his face. He expected most people would call bullshit, but he had the entire thing recorded on his camera. Luke had every intention on putting the entire playthrough everywhere, as well as suing the hell out of GameFuna. There was something wrong with that game, sure, but knocking on his door day after day? Breaking into his house? What the hell kind of company does that, on top of having a game that openly controlled your computer?!? He would make sure it all went public, and..

Luke was startled out of his thoughts by the loud cracking of a stick breaking under his shoes. His head snapped upwards, and he could see the clear outline of a path in the woods. It stretched out quite far, but at the end, he could see the light shining from a small cabin. Finally, some hint of civilization, took long enough. Luke was just about ready to put a call into the police department, get home, and get something done to these fucking people at GameFuna. 

The trail stretched much longer than it originally looked as he walked it, the creatures of the forest buzzing and calling in the night. The sounds felt familiar and safe, and Luke found the melody of the forest soothing him as he tried to offset the strange, building feeling that he'd seen this cabin somewhere before. And yet, the more he stared, the more Luke knew he'd never been to this part of the woods, and he'd never faced a cabin such as this himself. At least, outside of horror movies and games, it was quite stereotypical looking in that sense.

Finally, after what seemed to be far too long, he reached the front of the cabin. To the left, he could see a small river trickling through the land, a stone bridge reaching over. To the right, he could see a path leading to a lake, the moon reflecting off the watery surface. 

The cabin itself wasn't much to look at, worn down wood stretching around the exterior, with old fashioned curtains blocking his view of the inside. A chimney reached into the sky, nothing billowing out of it. The door was as old and wooden as the rest of the cabin, and he worried that knocking itself might damage the old thing. However, Luke's desire to go home was greater than that of preserving an old door, so he reached his hand up to knock anyways.

...

No one replied. After a couple of seconds, he tried again, calling, "hello?" Into the night. Once again, no one responded.

Luke sighed. "Oh, shit.. come on, someone answer the door." He growled at no one, trying once again to knock. No reply to his knocks came, though. And after a few minutes, Luke knew that for the time being, at least, he was stuck out here. 

"Might as well make the most of it." He muttered to dead air, heading to the small stream on the left, wondering if there could possibly be anything worth checking out in the area. However, he didn't get far before a loud growl froze him in place.

To his right, a mangy mutt glared at Luke, teeth bared. It's growl was low, full of anger and intent. Without a doubt, this thing could tear Luke apart. 

"Now, now puppy.." he didn't appreciate how his voice shook, stepping backwards. "It's okay,, I'm not here to hurt you, hey.." His words only caused the hound to let out an ear splitting, guttural bark, Luke defensively raising his arms to block an attack.

"Damn gunnit you old mutt, down!" A voice called, a thud sounding not far from Luke's feet. Opening one eye, he could see the dog was now contently munching on a bone, an angry looking man with a pickaxe storming towards the pair. Luke stepped back, taking a bit of a defensive stance as this man carried something that could definitely split Luke's head open, despite the man's smaller stature.

"Now, what are ye doin' here?" The other man raised the butt his pickaxe to Luke's face. "Ye don't look like a challenger!"

Oh, this was probably the cabin owner.. that made more sense. Luke let out a small sign of relief. 

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to trespass, I'm just lost. Would you happen to have a phone I could use to call for some help?"

He shook his head with a chuckle. "This place ain't mine, but If I were ye, I wouldn't rely on Leshy bein' awake! Sleeps like a rock!"

Luke felt his heart skip a beat, trying to rationalize what he'd just heard. It was probably nothing, he had to be logical.

"Well, uh, do you happen to have a phone, or know a way into the cabin."

"Oh, door's unlocked!" The man replied with a chuckle. "Jus walk right in, he won't mind!"

Luke nodded. Though breaking and entering wasn't a personal passtime of his, guess you've gotta adopt new hobbies every now and again.

"I see, thank you." Luke tried to keep his tone even, despite his heart beating out of his chest. "I'll be doing that now."

The other man nodded. "If 'e complains, jus say the prospector let ya inside!" And with that, the prospector walked off.

That did not help Luke's heart rate.

The door creaked on old hinges as Luke quietly swung it open. The interior of the cabin wasn't well lit, and Luke found himself wishing once again he had woken up with a flashlight.

A small candlestick was by the door, only one candle on its two prongs lit. Luke took it in his hand, admittedly afraid of surveying the room. However, a grunting sound alerted him to the figure in the corner before he even had a chance to look around. 

The candlestick slipped from Luke's fingers. 

Staring back at Luke were two spiraling pupils, eyes incomplete and enticing at the same time. It felt like all time froze, Luke's feet glued in place as the candlestick fell to the floor with a loud clang, extinguishing itself.

Neither spoke for what felt like hours, until finally Luke found his voice once again. 

"You aren't real." Was the only thing that came into his head. This couldn't be real, not in a million years. And yet, those familiar eyes stared back at him. 

That seemed to get a laugh out of the old photographer, a bit of a broken one. "I'm quite real, as far as I'm concerned. Are you?"

Luke felt a weight on his chest seemingly lift, and he laughed. This situation was ridiculous, impossible, unfathomable. And yet, the eyes on him didn't waver, and didn't laugh along.

"I'm not sure anymore, honestly. Man, what the *fuck*?!" The answer was honest, a bit brutally so. Luke felt tears tugging at his eyes, his mind begging for a logical explanation to why he was facing a character he'd seen in the game he'd dug up in the ground, the game that took over his PC, the game that knew his name, the horrible, cursed disk.

Leshy didn't have a response to his laughter, rather, when Luke was done laughing, he spoke up with an invitation.

"Would you like to play a game?"

Luke wiped the tears forming at his eyes. 

"Luuuke!"

It was Christmas morning.

That was the first thing that came back to Luke, maybe out of habit, since that’s all he focused on when he was younger. Truthfully, he was still just a kid on the inside. Or, perhaps, it was because he was hoping for something great this year.

Or, maybe, he was just trying to remember why the crowd of his younger siblings were here to wake him up at only 7:00 in the morning.

"Wake up!" Carter repeatedly chanted, holding a rolled piece of paper to his mouth like a megaphone.

Jack and Abagail had no hesitation jumping on Luke’s bed, making him sit up rapidly with a laugh. 

Jacob and Alyssa stood aside Carter, chuckling to themselves as the twins stole a hug from Luke. 

"I'm up, I'm up!" Luke managed with a giggle, ruffling his younger sister's hair. "Jeeze, real early this year, huh? Have you guys woken up mom and dad yet?"

Jacob shook his head. "We were waiting for you, sleepyhead!" He teased. 

Luke sighed dramatically, falling back onto his bed. "oh no! Guess we can't get up, I'm going back to sleep!" He closed his eyes, much to the dismay of the twins. 

"Come on, Luke!" Jack huffed. "It's Christmas!!"

Luke peeked one eye open, before laughing. 

"Alright, but next year I get to sleep in! I'm an old man, I need my beauty rest." He said, swinging his legs out of bed before picking Jack up and putting him on his shoulders. 

"You're only 20," Alyssa commented with a chuckle, looking up from her phone with a grin. 

"I know, and I'm already an old man, guess what you'll be going through in 6 years!" Luke replied, ruffling his younger sister’s hair.

Carter rolled his eyes, as he began to lead the group into the hallway.

Luke's mind drifted to Christmas itself as they walked to wake up their parents - he probably had a lot of card packs underneath the tree. His channel had just exploded last month, and well, for card pack opening channels, there was a constant need to have more card packs. 

Still, there was one thing he was really hoping was waiting down there for him - the new Tengu party game. Being an online game, it was the perfect way for Luke to keep playing games with his siblings while he was away at college. 

Welp, guess he'd just have to find out for himself, watching Abagail tear through their parent’s door. 

"Wake up, it's Christmas!"

It was summer again.

Luke's family always went on a summer vacation, usually something small in idea, but their mom had a tendency to splurge for her kids. 

This year, they were out at a lake in a rental house. It was large enough for the family of 8, they had enough space and then more. 

Past midnight, most of the family was asleep, but Luke and Carter had snuck out to go sit by the lake.

"It really is beautiful," Carter commented, gazing out across the ripping water. The lake wasn't huge, but far large enough for the kids to enjoy. 

Luke nodded. "It is.. I'm glad I got to come. When I was younger, I figured mom would stop inviting me to these things when I turned 18."

Carter chuckled. "Like mom would ever do that! We love you, and she already misses you enough since you left for college."

"Same can be said for you!" Luke grinned. "I've heard Alyssa talking about it, she said mom missed you more than me."

"Now that's just a lie." Carter giggled, shoving at his older brother, not enough for him to end up in the lake though. Luke couldn't help but laugh, staring back out at the rippling water in silence.

There was a good 5 or so minutes of quiet before Carter spoke up again. 

"Hey Luke?"

"Hm?" Luke ruffled his brother’s hair.

"How do you do it? Living alone in a new town, especially so close to the woods like that. Aren't you scared?"

"Not really." Luke shrugged. "I've got a big gate outside the house, and the only thing in those woods is crickets and deer. Most people wouldn't bother coming up the driveway, past the gate, and to my door to bother me. Plus, I've been thinking about getting a dog."

Carter chuckled. "Oh my god, we would visit so much more often if you had a dog. Please get one."

"This time I get to name it! Thank god" Luke grinned. They had a family dog named Crackers, named by the twins when they were little. 

"Well, obviously you would get to name it, it would be your dog." Carter rolled his eyes. "But Crackers is a good name if you’re not dramatic."

The brothers took a moment to laugh, before Carter paused, frowning in thought.

"Actually, I brought that up because.. I've been thinking of switching degrees. Maybe even schools."

Luke blinked. "Wait, really?" Carter had been interested in biology his entire life, ranting and raging about all the discoveries he could make in the field. He'd never gotten a chance to explore it much before college, but from his determination, Luke would never have guessed that Carter wouldn’t love it.

"Yeah, actually. Bio just doesn't stick out like it used to, and there's so much I've found that I'm just.. squeamish about."

"Well, what degree are you thinking of?"

Carter paused, before shyly suggesting, ".. game development?"

Luke's eyes lit up, realizing quickly what his brother was implying. "Wait, are you saying you'd be coming to my school?" He felt himself grinning. 

"I-If you're okay with it!" Carter said quickly.

Luke hugged his brother. "Of course I'm okay with it, You can even come live with me! A lot cheaper than the dorms." 

Carter grinned. "Yeah, I'd like that!"

Luke sighed, looking out on the waves. 

"Guess we've got a lot to plan for."

Carter nodded. 

"Yeah, we do."

Luke woke with a start, sitting up quickly, only to find himself buried under some rather scratchy blankets. A soft surprised noise came from his right, and glancing over, he noticed Lone watching over him.

Oh right, Luke was in the final game he ever played, the cursed thing. Oh yeah, he was dead too! He put a hand to his head, squeezing his eyes shut.

He'd never see his family again, he'd never get to finish college, he'd just drop off the face of the earth. God.. how could this have happened? He should have never dug up this cursed game, much less played it. It should have stayed in the dirt. 

The feeling of someone touching his hair startled Luke out of his thoughts. Lone flinched back, with a startled "sorry!"

The wizard was quite small, eyeing Luke fearfully yet curiously. Poor thing probably just wanted some stimulation, he must not have been out of his horrible situation for long. 

Luke sighed, reaching over to pat the wizard on his head, which he seemed to enjoy immensely. After maybe a minute, Luke chuckled, pulling his hand back.

"Why did ya stick around here, bud?" Luke asked, pushing the uncomfortable blankets off him, only to notice he was laying on more. Did Magnificus have anything good for other people in this god-forsaken tower? 

"P03 and the other scrybes asked me to watch over you!" He chirped, bouncing in place. 

Luke nodded. "I see.. I assume they're probably fighting over something else now."

Lone gave an overdramatic shrug, with a half yelled “I’unno!” He fidgeted with his hands a lot, which made Luke wonder if Lone would prefer something to hold and mess with. Did they have Rubick cubes here? That seemed like something the small wizard would enjoy, not even to solve, but to mess with. He’d have to find out, give Lone something to do.

"I'm.. going to go find them. I need an explanation." Luke muttered softly, as if assuring himself.

"I'LL COME WITH!" Lone practically yelled, jumping up and down. It was an excitability that honesty reminded Luke of the twins. He smiled softly and genuinely, before offering Lone his hand. 

"Alright, bud, we'll go and find them together!"

Lone continued to bounce excitedly, taking Luke's hand as the two began looking around for the scrybes, though Luke could guess where they were by the sounds of argument coming from above.

Up the stairs, to the top of the tower.

They were fighting.

Luke didn't know what else he was expecting. 

Magnificus and P03 were shouting at each other from opposite sides of the circular room, looking about ready to brawl. Leshy and Grimora stood near the back, avoiding Magnificus' canvases, and apparently the two other scrybes. No one had noticed Luke in the doorway yet.

“I do not think jumping to conclusions is the best source of action here,” Mangnificus muttered, his voice steady yet with an accusatory tone. 

“Jumping to conclusions?!” P03 countered. “I think it’s pretty damn obvious. Unless you have found a way for us to move forward without a challenger.”

“Hmm, perhaps not, but I still believe it is not unimaginable that there is something we can do. Something that doesn’t have irreparable side effects, such as your last idea.” The scrybe of magicks seemed to glare across the room.

"And what plan do you have?" P03 asked Magnificus accusatorially with almost a growl, as much as a robot could conceivably growl. “I have already attempted to connect with the servers of wherever we are, and it’s all locked down. If you all hadn’t stopped the Great Transcendence, we could all be out of this mess already!” 

“Your ‘Great Transcendence’ was nothing more than a power show.” The bush wizard bit back. “Its failure was inevitable, you effete contraption.”

“Wow, insults again? That really helps your case, you blundering wizard. If y-”

Luke's babysitter instincts kicked in before he really had a chance to think about it, stepping in the room to get in between the two. 

"Alright, enough." He said firmly. 

This was treated with a great deal of surprise from everyone around the room, the scrybes taking a step back. Had Luke really just done that? Well, no way back now. 

"You fighting clearly didn't get you guys anywhere before, and it won't now. If you want anything productive to happen, you all need to work together. No more power grabs, or arguments, or sly planning behind the scenes." He took a deep breath, noticing Grimora nodding with a sly smile. "But, after all that, I need a fucking explanation. *Especially* from you." He pointed to Grimora, whose smile dropped.

Luke was shaking. This was a lot to process, and he was shaking. Did he just treat the scrybes like his little siblings? 

P03 and Magnificus glared at each other, neither wanting to relent. However, Grimora stepped in before either could open their mouths to bitch back at their surprise babysitter. 

"I agree with Luke.” She said, her voice calming and steady. “Now, will the both of you please come over here? Enough with this pointless argument."

That got a grumbled "fine" from the scrybes, muttering under their breath what Luke could only imagine were curses much older than he was. The scrybes mostly kept their distance from one another, but now stood in a manageable circle. 

Luke sighed.. thank god that worked. He went to stand alongside the edge of the circle, by the door. Admittedly, he didn’t quite like being in the spotlight, at least in real life. 

As he went to stand near the doorway he had entered through, Luke noticed a mischievous Lone had started climbing onto everything around him and had begun poking at the candles lighting up the tower. Luke would have to make sure he grabbed the small wizard on his way out, not trusting Magnificus to make sure Lone didn’t burn himself to a crisp. 

Luke took a deep breath, returning his attention to the scrybes, who were seemingly looking to him to start this ‘peaceful’ meeting. He took a deep breath, readying himself before speaking up.