My jaw was dislodged but it got knocked back into place by Mark’s shoulder during the struggle. It still felt loose and blood oozed through the punctures in my upper lip. Kira came to when I ripped the duct tape from her wrists. She had managed to stop most of the initial bleeding from my mouth, using cloth and tape to fashion a make shift bandage. It held fine until we found a first aid kit in a room down the hall.
Silvia was busy working on Mark. His breathing was shallow and quick and he was covered in blood. Mr. Miller’s first shot blew through the side of his cheek and the second grazed his neck. Mr. Smith got a clean shot into his right shoulder, the wound was the one that was spewing the most blood. His eyes were twitching, and his body shook from time to time. I had never seen someone take that kind of beating and continue on.
Silvia worked methodically mending each wound in turn until she had them all cleaned and bandaged. She gave him a large dosage of sedatives to keep him out. He had almost snapped Phantoms throat during the struggle. Phantom still had his hand on his neck, rubbing it back and forth, although he looked just happy to be alive. We left Kira to watch over Mark as we continued on our mission.
Silvia had convinced us there was a second server room that we all hoped wasn’t filled with an obscene amount of Sarin gas. We figured that both of the rooms were airtight or else we would have all been dead by now, unless Mark’s contraption miraculously held.
It took Silvia awhile but she eventually found a back door entrance. She was able to use her name on every voice recognition panel to get us there. Some of the panels she had to enter codes that she had known by heart. It was like she was back here with her father on a take your daughter to work day.
I could feel the hatred pouring from her. She wanted me dead and her feelings mixed with my own shame. For some reason she wanted me with her. She needed my help. After a couple more turns we came to a door that lead us back to the main server control room. We took a breath and it was clean, I didn’t convulse and no one threw up.
In the center of the server room there was a control panel suspended in midair. The problem was that any time we went near it, it turned off. It was like some kind of invisible force field was there that we couldn’t see. “This is God, as my father liked to call it... the brain of the entire VEG system. I only ever heard my dad talk about it. This is what I have spent my whole life looking for,” Silvia said in a whisper.
“How did they operate it without your father?” Knightcr@wler asked.
“They didn’t. My father gave them access to everything else. With access to God though, we can control everything.” Silvia walked around the invisible barrier mesmerized by the glowing control panel five feet away.
“I thought you wanted to shut it down?” I said.
“My father told me to never trust anyone completely, he was a smart man. I never intended on destroying it. I’m going to take control, release it to the public, and continue to be the notorious Gothamsreckoning. Except now, I will have full control of VEG and the government will be hunting a ghost. Any profits will go back to the people. VEG was meant for all of us. It was the dream, the dream that would one day transcend to reality. My father could see it and so can I. VEG isn’t a game. It’s the path back to humanity,” she said.
“Look through your Jackers,” Silvia said placing her own on her head.
“Look!” Knightcr@wler said. There was a glowing blue block surrounding the control panel. It was pulsing with energy waves and as soon as I slid my hand through it the device’s power went dead.
“It’s a VEG lock, a magic cube. Give me the sword Evo,” Silvia said. Knightcr@wler, Phantom, and I looked at Silvia puzzled. “You think I happened to find you because you were the best of the best? Apparently, while you were deceiving me I was using you. Five years ago you and your friends went on a quest that my father designed; a quest that had been kept safe due to the difficulty of even finding it. You found a sword and that sword is the only item in VEG that can break this lock. I couldn’t tell you because I didn’t trust you and rightfully so.
“Evo, the sword!” Knightcr@wler said.
“Enders Quest,” I whispered taking my rod out. “The sword had ghost stats. Not a single Spell of Identify could tell us a thing about it. We never really got to test it before...” I pressed the red button on my rod and a blue glowing blade manifested itself with an intricate solar systems engraved in its steel. I raised it above my head and slashed it through the center of the force field. Upon contact it exploded into a universe, filling the room. Solar systems radiated overhead. Shooting stars blanketed the skies. The control panel was glowing even brighter now and Silvia walked to it. It was the moment she had been waiting for her entire life. She took a deep breath and grabbed her destiny.