FSE

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Chapter 3

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Drunk at Work

The company’s name was ‘AllAle’. Touted as a gateway for aspiring brewers and wine connoisseurs into the professional beverage scene, AllAle, had started out as the dream of a single man to reach out globalised the small, local and little-known brews so that everyone could get a taste of their genius while also giving those smaller brewers a chance to really hit the global market. Microbrews, unique wines and distinct spirits that couldn’t be found in any ordinary liqueur store or bar was their selling point.

As the years went by, AllAle grew. The popularity of their rare beverages skyrocketed with the rise of dive bars and the hipster revolution. So much so that, under Chief Financial Officer Kanoth Lameer, they had managed to purchase an entire building on Manhattan. After some renovations and a lot of marketing, the building had become emblazoned with the white rhinoceros that had been their logo since the very beginning. The idea was that white rhinos were rare as they were and rarely seen in North America so having one as their logo symbolised the exoticism of their brand.

Kanoth, as with every day he went to work, paused in front of the enormous feral rhino head that was planted at the plaza just before the rotating doors of the AllAle building. It filled his little gopher heart with pride every time he looked at the towering skyscraper - all fifty floors of it - and how he had been the driving force in making the purchase and creating a permanent home for AllAle. Unlike the older buildings in New York City, the AllAle building was sleek and modern while still maintaining some of it’s roots in the coppery-red facade on the first few floors. The last few floors were arranged in a slanting design like someone had taken a diagonal cut to the building. It allowed for the AllAle logo to be placed at the top of the building without looking just like another generic structure.

That was Kanoth’s idea.

His nub-like tail wagged excitedly through the little hole of his pants just above his rear. At only 5’1’’, the squat little man scurried through the revolving doors, his navy-blue suit and sky-blue tie finely pressed as was befitting the CFO of a multi-million dollar corporation. Adjusting his large, thick glasses, Kanoth scampered towards the private lifts that would carry him all the way up to the top floors where his office was. The ride to the top always caused his tiny, circular ears to pop so he had to press his paws over them a little and force a yawn so that he wouldn’t have to deal with the annoying popping sensation all day.

Ding!

It was too soon to arrive at his floor so when the elevator door sprung open, he was surprised to find Aileen Raskeil stride in with a cup of coffee in one paw and a folder in the other. The much taller pitbull hailing from the United Kingdom, gave him a pleasant smile and stepped into the elevator, he bright red high-heels clicking with every step.

“Good morning, Kanoth,” she began with her usual, pleasant English drawl. Kanoth averted his gaze, blushing lightly at the attention from the busty and very confident Aileen.

“M - Morning, Aileen.”

“I’m rather surprised to see you here on a Sunday. Banks are closed on the weekend. There’s no movement of funds.”

His features hardened as did the compact muscles beneath his suit. There had been a time when he had been a fat, rotund little man but ever since rising through the ranks of AllAle, he had taken an interest in his personal interest. Though his suit hit it well, Kanoth was stacked and not afraid to throw around his weight. “Maybe. However…”

Aileen maintained her smile even though she exuded a chilling aura about her. That was the cold, calculating power of the company’s Chief Operating Officer. Someone at that level had to be able to keep their cool to ensure that the day-to-day business went about as smoothly as possible. “Of course. Emile called us all in though I didn’t think the appearance of a single Independent would’ve been enough to warrant all of our presences.”

The gopher with the dark brown fur and greying muzzle turned towards the copper-and-white furred pitbull in surprise. “All? We’re all here?”

“Yes. Nero and Elijah arrived just a few minutes ago.”

If the Chief Technology Officer and Chief Security Officers of AllAle were here as well, it must really be serious. Then again, the presence of an Independent was worrisome in itself. AllAle’s success came when its CEO and founder, Emile Santos, had gained access to the Overworld and several basic Functions shared with him by his mentor, another CEO from. Emile had made a deal with the CEO that AllAle would cover the market for unusual and unique beers and wines while the other company would help with distribution - with a percentage of the sales going to the other corporation, of course. Marketing of the brand had to be handled by AllAle but that was when Emile was introduced to the Overworld. Back then, Emile and his officers had to piggyback of another Overworld servers for a while but now that they had their own building, they had their own server, their own legion of Corpsmen and their own Dosers. Hell, Kanoth even had his own IP.

When the elevator let out another ‘ding’, the gopher and pitbull stepped out onto the broad office of Emile Santos. The Mexican-American rattlesnake sat at his desk, drumming his fingers casually against the lacquered wood. Standing in front of the desk were Nero Greenwood the Chief Technology Officer and Elijah Marmouth. The rhinoceros and Siamese cat respectively each had their own approach to the meeting with Nero absently checking his phone while Elijah was stiff-backed and attention like a good soldier. Flanking them both were their IPs or, according to public releases, their bodyguards. Kanoth liked Nero because of his easy-going nature despite the incredible responsibility of being AllAle’s CTO. Elijah he didn’t like as much. The guy was a brown-noser and one who tried to suck up to Emile as much as possible. He was fairly sure the feline had actually changed his name legally to ‘Elijah’ just so that his name would start with an ‘E’ just like Emile.

“Now that everyone is here,” Emile hissed, his forked tongue slipping out between his scaled lips. “Let’s begin.”

With a snap of his fingers, silver flames wrapped around them all and dragged them into the Overworld. Kanoth was always overwhelmed when this happened. The Overworld, while fascinating, had always hit him with a sense of ‘wrongness’. Like he wasn’t supposed to be there or that some great force was trying to reject him. That never stopped him before, however. This parallel, greyed-out world held so much potential to make money and he was adamant about using it as just another resource.

Speaking of resources, he glanced out the window and wondered if his IP, Cedar, had parked the car yet. The green-haired rhino came about from his idea to sell organic beers. Not only would it look good in the media but it would also justify selling said beers at an inflated price. Such an innovation is what promoted him to Chief Financial Officer and that very same idea is what manifested Cedar for him. Tall, muscular, strong and possessing a long, luxurious mane of green hair that started as a little Mohawk before turning into a trail of emerald all the way down his spine to the tip of his tail like a fiery, green wall. Cedar was also always covered in mud and gave of a strong odour - something that organic beers apparently did a lot.

Everyone else had their IPs present as well save for Emile. Aileen had Decanter, Elijah had Shaoxing and Nero had Tomahawk.

There was, however, a sixth person in the room; a beaten, panting tabby that was kneeling down in front of them and chained to the floor. Above the tabby hovered a peahen, similarly chained but with her arms and feet stretched taut in four different directions.

“So it’s true then,” he whispered. “Oliver Klein.”

“Yes,” Emile droned, his voice cool and emotionless. “Mr. Klein here encountered an Independent on Friday night. Instead of calling for reinforcements as is protocol, he instead sought to engage the Independent on his own.”

Aileen just finished a sip from her coffee before setting down the cup on Emile’s desk. “What could have possessed you to do such a foolish thing, my little crumpet? You know that Independents are much stronger than the ordinary Corpsman and you’ve had at least a few years as a Corpsman to back this up.”

“As I recall, you’ve had some brushes with the Custodes Libertatis before,” chimed in Nero. “Didn’t they try and shut down your operation before?”

Kanoth felt a little bit of pity form the tabby. If this incident had occurred on Friday, that would mean that he had an entire day to wallow in his failure. Then again, perhaps he had been caught almost immediately by AllAle operatives where he was then captured and interrogated. “This doesn’t have anything to do with that disturbance at the High-Fen all, would it?” he asked.

“That’s exactly it,” said Elijah coldly. “Our agents have already disseminated the cover story that it was a combination of a flaw in the glass and an abrupt change of pressure in the mall’s interior that caused the glass to shatter. However, it was somewhat difficult to explain why Mr. Klein here suddenly went berserk while serving his beer on the rooftop, ripped open some elevator doors while it was still travelling and then launched himself at the lift. How he tore through the lift’s ceiling and then disappeared in front of dozens of people while shouting incoherently was even more difficult.”

Emile’s coppery eyes narrowed. The faint rattling that filled the air came from his tail, shaking with agitation. “I don’t need to tell you, Mr. Klein, that such a highly publicised, audacious act is likely to attract the attention of the Libertatis.”

The Custodes Libertatis. One could compare them to Anonymous. They were a loose collection of Independents who were a threat to corporations all over the world that used the Overworld. No one would believe them if they went about announcing that there was a parallel world out there built from the psyches of everyone and was supported by a series of servers much like a psychic internet. So, in an attempt to cause havoc and sow chaos to those corporations, they waged a silent war against Corpsmen and Dosers. There were even rumours that certain corporations abruptly dropped out of the Overworld because of the Custodes Libertatis’ activities. The increase in accidental awakenings of Indepedents was supposedly tied to the Libertatis.

AllAle had a few brushes with them before but thus far had managed to avoid any major conflicts with them. According to field reports, they could be easily identified by the fact that they wore metal masks on the lower halves of their faces while LED goggles wrapped over their eyes; the kind that could change how the ‘eyes’ were designed to help express emotion. But just like Anonymous, if someone lit a spark under the so called ‘Watchers of Liberty’, it would awaken.

That was the last thing the company needed.

“I was just trying to do what was right for AllAle!” protested Klein. “If I got the Independent’s Function -”

“Have you even considered the ramifications of ‘getting an Independent’s Function’?”

“It -”

“It means killing that Independent,” interrupted the CEO of AllAle.

“I could’ve done it!” protested the tabby furiously. “I just give me a chance and I will pull the trigger.”

“That’s not the problem here, my little crumpet,” cooed Aileen. She sat on the edge of Emile’s table, leaning casually across but being very careful not to obstruct the CEO’s view or knock down her coffee cup. “The cost to the corporation would have far outstripped the value of obtaining one Function. Did this Independent have any friends or family? Are you sure he wasn’t affiliated with any other corporations? Did you think of Custodes Libertatis’s reaction to the death of an Independent?” She tsked, waggling a finger and the prone cat. “Death is not to be taken lightly be dear crumpet. Far better for us to recruit him and have him willingly give us his Function than to gun him down.”

Klein ducked his head, clearly ashamed of his actions. Kanoth couldn’t say he pitied the ambitious albeit brash man anymore. The bloodlust in the boy’s eyes had ebbed but it was still there. Such boundless ambition had no place in the world of business. One wrong move, one bad scandal and AllAle could crumble. He was already doing the calculations in his mind of how much it would cost to cover up the death of an Independent and what deals would need to be made to secure themselves from a backlash from the Custodes Libertatis. Then he compared those figures with the disciplinary action required for such a grievous error in judgement on the part of one Mr. Oliver Klein.

“I propose a rebranding,” Kanoth prompted. “Mr. Klein knowns too much about the inner workings of our company and the Overworld to simply let him go.” That he was saying this overly right in front of the accused spoke volumes about his confidence in the rebranding. Though Kanoth was remiss to admit it, a rebranding was the most logical and cost-effective means forward.

“I agree,” chimed Nero. “His Doser is actually fairly decent and we’ve already spread it to multiple of our other Corpsmen.”

Aileen picked up her coffee again, that cold, calculating smile on her lips. “His brand is making some waves especially in those high-end clubs that seem to pander exclusively to the idle rich. Trust fund children quite adore it, apparently. Still, that is a very small market. I propose spreading it to a wider audience.”

Klein’s eyes lifted, filled with fear. “What? No! Summer was always meant to be exclusive! A microbrew that was just tasted good! Don’t popularise it!”

“What are we here to do but to make money?” Kanoth asked coldly. He stepped forward and turned on a heel so that he faced the pleading tabby. “I will draw up the paperwork. Let’s get him and his Doser to the rebranding department. I’m thinking a ‘bro beer’.”

Aileen’s gentle paw grazed his shoulder, making him shiver in delight. “That would work with those in college. New York is filled with pretentious, young minds who are quite anti-establishment. Give them some beer to bond around. Once it is sufficiently spread, we can work on a three-year plan to commercialise it into an everyday name.”

“No!” pleaded Klein. “Please no! Don’t turn Summer into just another beer on the wall! That’s not what I want!”

“It’s not about what you want,” Kanoth said coldly, trying to emulate Aileen’s demeanour even though the warmth of her paw kept his heart racing. “You’re part of this corporation. Your IP is ours to do with as we please and there simply is not enough growth with Summer as it is now. It needs to be rebranded regardless of this failure.”

“No! Please! Not my Summer!”

With a snap of his fingers, two Corpsmen came rushing in. They grabbed Klein, one arm each, and dragged him away. The chains holding down Summer pulled the peahen into the ceiling, he form melting into the structure amidst ripples like the walls themselves were made of liquid.

“That was very impressive, Kanoth,” cooled Aileen. She swung her long, supple legs around and hopped casually off the table. “We have preparations to make.”

“I’ll have the paperwork for your sign-off in an hour,” Kanoth replied.

“I wasn’t talking about that.”

He frowned, the momentary surprise causing him to adjust his glasses. “Then what?”

“Custodes Libertatis,” Elijah purred softly. “They will surely have heard about the attack on a newly awakened Independent. With their resources, it wouldn’t be hard to discern that Klein was working for us. They will retaliate. We need to be prepared.” He turned on his heel, heading for the door. “I’ll draft up an email to the Corpsmen for your approval, Emile. We’ll tighten our security.”

“I’ll see if I can do something about that peahen Doser we have,” Nero said, grinning brightly and casually. “I’ve got a few ideas on how we can improve that thing to help shore up our defences.”

Emile Santos straightened in his seat, his tail ceasing its rattling. “Good. Sorry to call you all here on the weekend but an attack from the Custodes Libertatis is not something to be taken lightly.” He nodded to each of his officers in turn. “And Kanoth…”

“Yes sir?” asked the gopher.

“Give my regards to your wife and kids.”

******

It was a dream. It had to be.

Because why else would Ryker Wall be sandwiched between two powerfully built men, their features hidden by the incorrigibility of the dreamscape. The one in front of him had both their cocks pressed against one another and wrapped by an immense, vascular paw. The one behind him was sliding another cock up and down the crack of his butt cheeks, pleading for entrance.

But it wasn’t just them.

No.

Of course not.

Because Ryker was a wolf and wolves were social beasts with strong pack instincts. He had his right paw wrapped around the dick of another mystery male while his left was roving the strong, muscular arms of a fourth. A fifth had managed to find a gap between the highly compressed muscles to meet his lips, tongue lapping at his own. A sixth mystery fur was gently lapping at his feet, suckling at his toes and filling his soles with warmth. It was so strange… and yet so right at the same time.

Pressure was building, he wasn’t sure from where but it all gathered towards the spire of his dick. These strong, muscular bodies pressed against his own, their own manhoods so close to his flesh, soaking his fur with their precum, their paws roving all over his body…

“Ah!”

He gasped awake, immediately sitting upright, panting and with every part of him drenched in sweat.

The dark recesses of his dream were gone and they were replaced by the morning sun shining through the window. He had specifically positioned his bed to have the headrest pressed against the window so that if he ever woke up with a start, he wouldn’t be staring straight at the sun. Never before had he been more grateful for that idea. What surprised him, however, was that he was alone on the bed. He found himself missing the crude bear and the thunderous snores. Throughout the night, he never thought he’d actually get some sleep but at some point or another, he had drifted off and now it was seven in the morning and Takoshi was gone.

Had that all just been a dream?

He glanced down at his pants which were still very much tented.

Had it all just been one, very long elaborate dream? Did he just drink so much on Friday that he was now waking up on Sunday morning after a what could only be described as his primal pack instincts driving his subconscious? His stomach growled at him. Maybe he had just been so black-out drunk that he had skipped an entire day. Since he wasn’t a heavy drinker, it was sort of plausible. Maybe he had just tried to drown his sorrows after that cease and desist notice from Syntax that he just passed out.

Shaking his head and glad that he wasn’t suffering from any headaches or hangovers, he swung his feet off the edge of the bed and sleepily made his way towards the door. The moment he opened it, he was immediately assaulted by the scent of cooking eggs… and Takoshi standing over the stove with a pair of chopsticks in one hand and a pan in the other.

“Takoshi?” he mumbled, surprising himself that the bear was actually real and not a figment of his imagination.

The bear glanced over his shoulder and upon setting those ice-blue eyes on him, broke into a wide grin. “Mornin’, sleepy boy. Breakfast will be ready in a bit.”

“Uhm… Thanks.” He noticed that the bear was already dressed in some loose jeans and a long-sleeved, black and white shirt. Whether it was the overpowering smell of the eggs or not, he couldn’t detect the bear’s musk or evidence of the previous night’s actions.

“You okay, boy? Or are you just rubbing the sleep from your eyes?”

Ryker sat down on a stool by the wood-top kitchen counter. “I… I don’t know. I keep waking up expecting you to be gone like you were just a figment of my imagination. I’m constantly surprised you’re still here.” Then he back-pedalled, realising what he had just said. “I - I mean - Not that I have any romantic feeling or put any actual value to you being here or anything! Just that after everything that’s happen, I’m still finding it hard to believe it’s all real!”

Takoshi gave him a smug smile before turning back towards the dish he was making. “Whatever you say, boy.”

“How many times do I have to tell you,” he growled. “It’s Ryker. Not ‘Boy’. Not ‘Kid’. Not ‘Son’. It’s Ryker Wall.” With no response from the bear, Ryker settled in and let out a sigh. “What are you making anyway?”

“Tamagoyaki. Japanese omelette.”

Ryker lifted an eyebrow in surprise. “Really? What makes it a ‘Japanese’ omelette?”

“It’s the way it’s prepared and a few of the ingredients. Mirin, soy sauce and sugar.”

“Mirin? Soy sauce?” he repeated in confusion. “We don’t have any of that stuff. Where’d you get it?”

Takoshi’s little, rounded tail wagged a little and Ryker momentarily wondered what it would be like to have that nub in his muzzle like another part of Takoshi that had been there the previous night.

“Your roommate, Cliff, took me out shopping this morning. He bought the ingredients for me.”

“You went out!?” he exclaimed, stunned. “Without me? That’s dangerous!”

“Not when the campus store has everything you need.” Takoshi turned around and presented what appeared to be perfectly square slabs of egg. Beautifully golden, the little squares were a little gelatinous as Takoshi carried them over and were artfully placed around a little dome of rice to make it almost look like they were the rays of sunshine emanating from a rising sun. Very Japanese.

“I never took you for the cooking type,” he admitted, regarding the meal before him.

His empty stomach growled at him and he grabbed the offered spoon and fork before starting to dig in. A scoff from Takoshi made him stop. The look on the bear’s eyes just cried ‘Philistine’ as the muscular bear in the very tight, black shirt used a pair of chopsticks with surprising dexterity to pluck some rice and one of the slices of egg and pop it into his mouth. The chopsticks looked incredibly small for the ursine and yet he was able use them like a master. Ryker just went about devouring his meal the way he wanted. The egg was surprisingly creamy and dissolved in his mouth with such ease that he couldn’t believe this was just egg with some different seasonings. It paired well with the rice which gave it volume. Before he knew what he was doing, he was already halfway through his meal so that seemed like a natural stopping point.

“That was good,” he said. “Just let me know what you need for future cooking projects and I’ll look into getting it for you.”

“Where are you going?” Takoshi asked. “You haven’t finished.”

“Yeah but I’m not hungry anymore.”

The bear shook his head and pointed at the seat, telling him to sit back down. “Nope. You’re sitting back down and finishing your plate.”

Ryker’s ears folded back in agitation. “What are you, my dad?”

“I might as well be,” came the replying growl. “Remember, you’ve got to eat more now that I’m your IP. You’re basically expending energy twice as fast as you normally would.”

“Then can’t you just eat twice as much for the both of us?” He lifted his paw and shook it a little. “That doesn’t make sense, by the way. If we’re sharing the same pool of energy, wouldn’t we have twice as much capacity for energy now as well?”

“That’s right but there’s also two people taking from that same pool. If you feel tired, so will I so it’s in both our interest to make sure we’re both recharged and ready to go at any second.” He reached forward, plucking a piece of omelette and some rice. “Now open up.”

Ryker gave his ursine IP a sour stare. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“If you’re going to act like a baby, then I’m going to treat you like one, boy.”

With a roll of his eyes, Ryker sat back down on his seat and picked up his cutlery. Though he was deeply annoyed at being treated like a child, he nonetheless went ahead and finished the rest of the meal. Generally, he preferred not to eat until he was full, just until he was no longer hungry. As a wolf, he had the instinct to gorge himself until he went into a food coma so he had decided long ago to avoid that instinct. His family had a history of being overweight because of that primal drive and he desperately wanted to avoid that. When the last piece of egg was gone and the plate clean, he rose from the stool once more.

Takoshi cleared his throat.

There was still that one piece that the bear was holding up in his chopsticks.

“Have you been holding that up this entire time?” Ryker asked.

“You bet. You still haven’t finished it.”

“Put it down on the plate and I’ll eat it.”

“Why? It’s already ready for you. You’ll save energy if you just eat it off the chopsticks.”

“You’re wasting energy by holding it up like that!”

“And you’re wasting energy by complaining.”

Ryker’s shoulder slumped and he knew he wasn’t going to move the incredibly stubborn bear. Swallowing his pride, he opened his muzzle and let his eyes drift off to the side. Takoshi was surprisingly gentle as he dropped the last bite of the meal onto his tongue. He chewed it a couple of times, trying not to savour the sweet and salty contrast of the egg that was complimented by the warmth of the rice too much. Once he swallowed, he opened his muzzle, rolling out his long, flat tongue just to show that he had eaten every last bit.

“Good boy,” Takoshi taunted.

“Whatever,” Ryker grumbled, slipping off his chair. “What do you plan on doing today?”

“Whatever you’re doing,” answered the bear. “In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t have any money, I don’t have an identity and I don’t really have anything to do. I suppose I could workout but that’ll only last for an hour or so.”

Ryker gestured towards the big TV they had sitting in the lounge room. A big, fluffy, anti-static couch sat in front of it while two beanbag chairs flanked the couch. Cliff had insisted on the beanbag chairs simply because Arthur was over often and the tiger found them far more comfortable than the couch. “Then watch TV or play some of the games we have.”

“What are you doing today?”

A quick glance at the microwave clock told him that he would still have about an hour or two to get to work. “I’ve got my job to do. Someone has to pay for rent and food.”

“Then I’ll come with you.”

His hackles rose, ears perked in surprise. “What? No! You can’t just come with me to work! You can’t just waltz right up to the counter at the KFC I work at and ask for a job!” One ear folded back. “KFC isn’t one of those…?”

Takoshi shook his head. “Most international corporations don’t use the Overworld. Those that do became international because of their use of the Overworld.” His guardian bear waggled a finger at him. “The Overworld is a warzone. You’d have to spend resources and risk people to fight in it. Even ‘heartless’ corporations like big banks, fast food outlets or big brand stores wouldn’t really risk sending people they spent money to train and retain into a war zone. No matter what people say, war is costly.”

On that, he could agree. The Overworld likely provided a lot of advantages to any corporation that could tap into it but it likely also opened them up to several vulnerabilities. He could imagine that the use of the Overworld redefined the term ‘corporate espionage’. Just going by how they had travelled through the Overworld the previous night, some Corpsman could easily use the Overworld to sneak into some corporation’s headquarters, drop back into the Realworld, steal whatever they needed, then make their escape back through the Overworld. As Takoshi had mentioned before, that was likely how leaks happened.

“My point still stands,” he said firmly. “You can’t just ask for a job.”

“I wasn’t planning on it. I’ll probably just hang out at the store.”

He gave the polar bear an exasperated stare. “Really? You’re going to just sit in the store for the five hours that I work just waiting for me to get off work? What are you? Some lovestruck puppy waiting for me to come back home?”

For a second, he was sure there was a light blush on Takoshi’s cheeks. “I’m just thinking practically here, boy. Shit can happen and in case you haven’t heard, the shit that went down at the club has made the news.”

That sent a bolt of lightning through Ryker and he immediately reached for his phone. A quick look at Twitter and his news feed revealed that the ‘mystery air pressure disturbance at High-Fen Mall’ was still trending. Naturally people were calling bullshit on that explanation while others chose to believe whatever the ‘experts’ said. Contention was rife with the two parties as experts and authorities were trying to piece together what happened or how one employee somehow managed to disappear before the explosion. There were already rumours that the tabby was a ‘ghost’ of some sort who had been trying to warn them of the impending eruption.

“If this is making the news…” he began, heart pounding in his chest.

“You can bet that whatever corporation that Corpsman was working for is likely looking for you,” finished Takoshi. “It’s best if I stick around you for a little while so that in case something, does happen, we can fight them off.”

Ryker’s heart was pounding hard in his chest. This meant that he was effectively a fugitive. A multi-million-dollar corporation wanted his ass. Panic was streaming through his mind just like it had when Syntax had issued that cease and desist order. The only difference was that now instead of burying him in legal paperwork, he would be literally buried in the ground, likely dead. Likely because he imagined that these Overworld users were kind of like mobsters that a penchant for burying people alive. Just imagining himself trapped inside a coffin, all by himself, in the dark and with his air rapidly being depleted sent his imagination running wild. The walls were closing in, his air supply was running short and there was nothing but endless darkness around him while the icy grip of death slowly stilled his heart.

Then a warm pair of muscular arms wrapped around his waist and the back of the wooden coffin became a solid wall of muscle barely contained by a thin, black shirt. The steady, calm heartbeat of the bear pounded through the thick wall of muscle and resounded within Ryker.

“It’s going to be okay,” soothed Takoshi. “Whatever comes our way, we can take care of it. ‘From inspiration, comes an idea. From an idea, comes change.’”

Ryker calmed, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “‘Let’s change the world together,’” he finished. He glanced upwards, resting his head right between Takoshi’s pectorals. “Where does that come from, by the way? I mean, I know I said the words but they sort of just came to me.”

The bear gave him a soft smile and just shrugged helplessly. “I honestly don’t know. Some say that it was the words that the first person who invented the Overworld uttered when it went live. Others say that when the first IP bonded with their Host, they made that as a sort of pact between them. It’s just sort of what IP and Host say whenever they form that bond.”

“You think that over the course of history, that the first ever Corpsman implanted that into our minds and that’s why we can suddenly recall it whenever we make that covenant?”

“Maybe. I dunno.”

Ryker let out a soft hum of contentment. The embrace brought back to mind that warm, comforting dream of being sandwiched between those enormous, muscular men. With a resigned sigh, he peeled away from Takoshi and headed back towards his room. “Alright. I’ve got to change and get ready for work. You can come with. Just don’t make any trouble, okay? We need this job to be able to live.”

Takoshi gave him a smile and a little salute. “Aye-aye, sir.”

******

The smell of fried chicken was everywhere and made Takoshi’s mouth water as he side-stepped and ducked under the door to the local KFC. Located in the middle of a mall parking lot, the restaurant was moderately big with at least twenty tables. Being in New York City, he imagined that this place could get quite busy during lunch or the holidays. As it was only early morning and before lunch, there were only a few people milling about. No one came to KFC for breakfast, after all. Ryker gave him a few more instructions to make sure that he doesn’t get into trouble before heading off towards the kitchen. It was rather cute seeing the little guy in that red and white uniform, grey tail with the fluffy, white underside swaying back and forth.

His mind went back to the events of the previous night and just how determined and inspired his Host was to save the other IPs. It was a foolish endeavour and there was no way they could all be saved but he admired the young lupine for trying. That kind of naivete and childish ambition reminded him of kinder, innocent times when he had just been the young IP, bound to George Samson Drell that was still being forged. He was one of the luckier ones. Drell had a penchant for making action movies so he was an IP that had an inherent fighting ability. Certainly not as powerful as he was now but it had helped him survive when Drell had abandoned him.

A woman and her cub passed him by with said cub gawking up at his size while shouting ‘Big!’, he realised he was blocking the only entrance to the store. Mumbling an apology, he found a booth where he could keep an eye on Ryker as he worked the counter. It was amazing how, despite all that had happened, Ryker was able to put on a smile and act in such a friendly way to the customer. That was his job but there was a genuine shine in his eyes that made it clear that the wolf had put aside the problems of the past two days for the moment and was focused on the job at hand. That ability was certainly something to admire.

Takoshi tried not to stare too much at his Host and settled in the booth for the next five hours. His ice-blue eyes drifted off out the window towards the mall. While he had certainly seen parts of the Realworld through the Overworld, it was still a warped and twisted version thanks to the corruption of the corporations. It was something else entirely to actually see it in reality. The colours were brighter, cleaner and everything was in greater focus.

His keen ears perked up as Ryker approached with a rag and a squirter bottle filled with some strong, lemon-smelling detergent. The wolf quickly slipped him a twenty.

“Buy something. It’ll look weird if you just came in here and sat down.”

It was a fair point so he gave Ryker a short nod and waited a few moments, pretending to squint at the menu from where he sat. After a few minutes, he got up and padded over to the counter. Ryker wasn’t the one serving him. Instead, it was a spunky little armadillo with both of her ears pierced.

“Welcome to KFC!” she exclaimed, batting her eyes at him. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll have the Wild Wings Boxed Lunch, please,” he said.

“Would you like that with extra Wild Wings, fries or a Zinger Burger?”

He glanced back up at the screens and mentally cursed himself for missing that the ‘Boxed Lunches’ needed some ‘assembly’ so to speak. “I’ll get the burger please.”

“Coleslaw or potato gravy?”

More selections. Times certainly had changed if the average fast-food patron was so spoiled for choice.

“Coleslaw, thanks.”

“What drink would you like with that?”

“Just…” he began with a growl, frustration rising from his chest. Calming himself down quickly, he said, “Just a Coke, please.”

“Thanks!” the armadillo exclaimed. She gave him the price which he handed the twenty over and received the change. A receipt and number was handed to him and he went back to the booth to wait. Exactly seven minutes later, his number was called. He picked up the bright red tray with the food laid out for him all in a little box. The aroma of all the spices was very strong as was the slightly sickening odour of oil. He wasn’t too worried however. Ryker seemed the kind of kid that was a little too overzealous about how he maintained his weight and as such carefully watched whatever he ate. Not exactly a healthy habit in Takoshi’s opinion but he didn’t want to impose his views on the pup so soon in their relationship. They had just met a few nights ago, after all.

He ate his meal in silence, marvelling how even though he had just eaten less than an hour ago, he didn’t feel at all full as he gobbled down the wings, burger and drink. Everything he ate was digested and pooled into the energy pool that he shared with Ryker. Sure he’d have to work out a little to make sure that he maintained his figure and didn’t let his combat skills get rusty but it was better than fighting Dosers, possibly putting himself in danger, and then adding their strength to himself. If having to choose between fighting a Doser per month in a duel to the death or eating three square meals a day followed by exercise, he would easily pick the lifestyle he benefited from now.

That was something he reminded himself to tell Ryker the next time the pup was free to chat.

Once his meal was finished, he sighed contentedly and rested back in the booth, one arm draped over the back of the plastic-covered cushions. He mused at just how different the Overworld was to the Realworld. His home dimension was so barren with so little people to interact with. Here, as the day wore on, more and more customers came into the store and slowly, the place began to fill up. His trek from California to New York City back in the Overworld was mostly met with crushing loneliness and the desolate landscape of the Overworld. Here, he was a little curious what wonders he would discover on a similar trek.

“Hey there!”

He turned his gaze without shifting his head at the source of the voice. The owner was a tall, powerfully built gorilla sporting a red and white letterman jacket. He looked to be of Ryker’s age and judging by his build alone, he was an athlete. There was a tray in his massive hands stacked with three burgers and complementing fries.

“Mind if I sit here?”

Seeing no harm in it, Takoshi shrugged and gestured towards the opposite side of the booth. “Go ahead.”

“Thanks, man! This place gets really busy around this time.”

It was just approaching noon which meant Ryker still had about another four hours before he got off work. Takoshi was sure he could keep watch for that long alone but the extra company never hurt.

“My name is Hayden Okonjo, by the way,” said the gorilla, holding out a big hand. The young, muscular man had a short buzz cut of blonde hair contrasting against his darker fur but judging from the strands of brown hair on his forearms and the back of his hands, that was not his natural hair colour.

“Takoshi Kumareigi,” Takoshi replied, taking the hand and giving it one, firm shake.

“You’re from Japan?”

“Sort of.” He nodded towards Hayden. “You on some sports team?”

“New York Institute of the Arts Roaring Lions!” Hayden exclaimed proudly, sticking a thumb against his well-developed chest. While definitely big, the gorilla wasn’t as well-defined as Takoshi and had a little bit of a gut that prevented his abdominals from being perfectly ‘cut’. That added a bit of roundness to his features and softened what would otherwise be a rather intimidating figure. “What about you? You clearly workout.”

“Hard work and persistence,” was all Takoshi said.

“Damn. You’re huge, man! You’ve got to tell me your secret!”

Just thirty years spent hunting down Dosers, adding some of their qualities to his own and living every day like it was his last. Though he had to admit there was some part of those thirty years that was spent selfishly hunting specific Dosers to make himself more appealing. The porn industry had quite a rich collection of corporations with access to the Overworld. Those Dosers were naturally well-endowed and more than a few had genitals there were ridiculous in proportion. There was a time when Takoshi would have seriously considered consuming a Doser and adding their hyper-dick to his own just so that it would attract some teenager or horny middle-aged woman to be his Host. That was why he had a well-above average cock.

It saddened him how many newly abandoned IPs went down that road. Many would turn themselves into grotesque, heavily sexualised beasts that were a far-flung contrast to what they had originally been. A lot of imaginary friends took this route in an attempt to reconnect with their original Hosts as said Hosts reached puberty; all an attempt to get back into their lives. Many held on to the hope that there was still some deep connection between them and, one day, the Host would sense their IP in distress and call out to them. The reality was that almost never happened. Sometimes it did and sometimes there were touching reunions where adult Hosts would pass on their imaginary friends to their children but those were rare and far between.

He shook himself free of the depressing thoughts and glanced back towards Hayden. “Just never gave up and kept an eye on my goals.”

“To get big and huge, eh?” chuckled Hayden as he dug into his meal.

To survive, Takoshi mulled darkly.

“Something like that.”

In three quick bites, Hayden finished one of those burgers. It was an impressive feat, even more so since the gorilla was already unwrapping a second. “What do you do for a living?” asked the ape.

“Currently unemployed,” he grunted. “Though I have got some prospects as a personal bodyguard.”

“You should come work for me.”

He arched one eyebrow. “Come again?”

“I own a gym not too far away from campus.” Hayden shrugged absently. “Well, it’s not really a gym right now. It’s this apartment building that my dad made me the super of and I converted the first three floors into an actual gym.”

“At the expense of the residents?” Takoshi asked, his paws curling in annoyance. Hayden was starting to sound like a spoiled rich kid that was the product of corporate corruption.

“Nah, the whole place was going to be demolished,” said Hayden taking a sip from his drink. “But it’s this big, beautiful, old building! They were going to take a wrecking ball to it! It’s got history and guts, man. I didn’t want it to just go down like that. So I convinced my dad to give me until I graduate to get it to turn a profit. I’ve basically got three years to make sure the place makes some money and I’ll save the building.”

Slowly, Takoshi’s fingers uncurled. That was actually a rather noble endeavour. Certainly still tainted by the desire for profit but still quite endearing.

“So how’s that going?” he asked.

Hayden laughed, blushing lightly while offering a cheesy grin. “Kind of terrible. You kind of need staff to man a gym…”

“You… Don’t have staff?”

“And residents. Remember how I said the whole place was going to be demolished?”

Takoshi ran a paw down his face. He was very wrong about Hayden. This was not some corporate stooge with cunning business acumen that could contribute to the growing corruption of the Overworld. This was a moronic, idealistic meathead who didn’t have the first clue on how to run a business and was set up to fail by his father. On some level, that was actually kind of pitiful but it seemed that the gorilla was actually taking it very well… or at least was blissfully ignorant of the situation.

“So… you just walked up to a guy you didn’t know and asked him if he wanted a job at your gym?” Takoshi asked bluntly.

Hayden shrugged at him while smiling innocently. “Why not? You’re a big guy. You clearly take care of yourself. No harm in trying.”

This broadly grinning, blue-eyed ape sort of reminded him of Ryker except instead of sating his innate curiosity, the gorilla just went into a situation without considering the consequences.

“And what exactly would I be doing? How do you expect to pay me?” Takoshi asked. “You’re meant to turn a profit so I doubt your father would be willing to pay my salary.”

“How about free room and board in exchange for working at the gym?” offered Hayden with a grin. “Once the gym actually starts making money, I can start actually paying you.” He waved his hands to allay any concerns Takoshi was formulating. “And you don’t have to worry. I just had all the apartments renovated. Bills will be footed by me. At least power and water. If you want cable and stuff like that, you’d have to sort it out yourself but everything else, I can take care of.”

He wasn’t sure where to begin. “Okay… Kid, this is clearly not the first sales pitch you’ve made. I could be a serial killer for all you know. Are you so desperate that you’re just picking up people off the streets?”

Hayden seemed unconcerned and just shrugged again. “I have some standards. But I just choose to believe in the good in people. If you do good by a person, they’re bound to do the same for you, right?”

The genuine smile and authentic tone of his voice just made Takoshi want to hold the gorilla and tell him that he will protect the innocent flower from all the ravages of the world around him. It was clear that in this picture, Hayden’s father was tired of the gorilla’s charming innocence and was trying to get him to face the harsh truth of reality. On some level, Takoshi was hoping Hayden would fail so the kid would wake up from this fantasy that everyone had some good in them but on the other, he wanted to protect the kid from the heartache that was sure to follow.

“I’ll think about it,” he sighed.

“Great!” Hayden exclaimed, reaching into the pockets of his jacket. He retrieved a card and handed it to Takoshi. “My number is on that. Call me if you want to work as a trainer.”

“Don’t I need to have qualifications to be a personal trainer?”

Hayden shrugged again, maintaining that innocent, almost child-like smile. “I don’t know.”

If Takoshi took after the anime cartoons that his supposed home country produced, that would have been the time when he collapsed to the ground in exasperation. What frustration he might have mustered was quickly dismissed when a loud clatter erupted from the kitchen behind the counter. Leaning past Hayden and craning his neck to look past the crowd of people that had gathered with the lunch rush, he noticed that a beagle that was a few inches shorter than Ryker was yelling at his lupine charge.

“I don’t need this right now, Wall!” barked the canine. “Fifteen minute break. Now! Then when you get back, you better have your head screwed on tight! Go!”

Ryker, ears folded and head ducked, quickly scampered out of the kitchen while what Takoshi could only assume was the manager took up his post at the register.

“Excuse me,” he quickly mumbled to Hayden and rose from his seat. He left the store and worked his way around the back of the restaurant to the walled off area at the rear of the structure. There was a large trash bin that was already filled with all waste of previous night ready for pickup. A single, locked door meant that employees could leave the security of their restaurant, toss the trash out and then quickly slink back in. This meant that if anyone were to try and break in through the back door, they would have to first traverse the fence.

Easily done given that Takoshi was above average in height and easily grabbed the top of the fence and vaulted over with ease. Ryker jumped in surprise as the bear landed deftly with a loud thud.

“Takoshi,” stammered the wolf. “What are you doing here?”

He hiked a thumb over his shoulder in the general direction of the store. “I saw your manager yelling at you. What happened?”

“I was just distracted.” Ryker couldn’t meet his gaze. “I’ll be okay. Just give me a few minutes to compose myself.”

“This doesn’t have anything to do with me, does it?”

“Of course it does!” was the growly reply. “I keep freaking out about some Corpsman realising you’re not normal and attacking you! Then Hayden Okonjo, son of Damian Okonjo of Okonjo Packaging Solutions approached you and…”

“Wait…” Takoshi said, holding up a paw. “His father is the CEO of a corporation?”

Ryker pinched the bridge of his nose, brow furrowed his muzzle wrinkled. “A fairly successful one. Nothing as big as FedEx or UPS but they specialise in sending packages with the utmost care and are fairly cheap. Haven’t expanded past New York but that just makes them all the more qualified to be a corporation with access to the Overworld!”

A keen observation and Takoshi could see how his Host could get rather wound up by concern over Hayden potentially being a Corpsman. He was touched that his Host was so concerned.

“I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

“Why!?” demanded Ryker. “Why shouldn’t I be worried? That guy is your stereotypical trust fund baby!”

“Yeah but he’s dumb as a brick.”

The wolf’s expression fell. “I’m sorry, what?”

Takoshi pulled Ryker towards his chest, allowing the young man to rest his head against his powerful pectorals. “He may have all the money behind him, but that boy is dumb. Don’t bother telling me that it’s an act either. I have gone through my fair share of deceptions, ate a few Dosers built specifically for corporate espionage and others that were meant to be actors. I know that kid is genuinely dumb.” He thought about their conversation for a moment before correcting himself. “Well… Okay. Not dumb. Maybe just far too trusting and way too hopeful. You have nothing to worry about.”

Ryker pulled away and sighed. “You sure?”

“I’d stake my reputation on it.”

His lupine ward gave him a thin smile. “Okay. I guess… I guess that’s fine.” He puffed out his cheeks and let his breath out slowly. “Alright… I’m calm. I’m good. I can do this. I can make it through the rest of my shift.”

Takoshi clasped his paw over Ryker’s head, squashing that little hat of his. “That’s my boy. Now get back in there.”

“Thanks. You better get out of here too. Employees only.”

He clucked his tongue and turned back towards the wall. “Right. I’ll be back in shortly.”

With relative ease, he hoisted himself up on the fence, vaulting over the wall and landing with a short huff. What he didn’t tell Ryker was that he was now seriously considering Hayden’s offer. What was that old adage? Keep your friends close but your enemies closer? Perhaps it would pay off to have a ‘friend’ like Hayden close. Other corporations were less likely to strike out at the son of a CEO especially a corporation that had access to the Overworld. Living with said son would actually be a very effective camouflage.

“Something to consider,” he rumbled softly to himself.

******

At four in the afternoon, Ryker’s shift ended. There were no other mishaps even though he constantly threw cautious looks at Takoshi. Thankfully, after Hayden Okonjo left, no one else accosted the big bear even as he remained in that same booth for the entirety of his shift. When he was at last done, he changed out of his uniform, scampered out and met Takoshi outside the restaurant.

“Got any plans for the rest of the evening?” asked the bear.

“Was just going to go back to the apartment and keep working on my program for an hour or so,” he admitted. “Make dinner around seven and -”

“Nope!” declared Takoshi proudly, slapping his back. “We’re going to that sports bar right there!” He pointed at the mall where the aforementioned sports bar sat.

“It’s too early…”

“It’s never too early to get sloshed!”

Before he could protest, Takoshi was pushing him forward. “W - Wait!”

But Takoshi was a very determined fur and within a few minutes, he was pushing Ryker right through the doors, picked him up with ease by his waist and then sat him right down at the bar. The sheer strength of his IP made him blush and absently wonder where else that might could be used.

Thankfully, at 4 PM on a Sunday, the bar was still very much dead. Though the various sports channels were at full blast, drowning down what little chatter from the few patrons there were, it was mostly a ghost town. Probably the best time to have one beer before heading back to the apartment. Because Takoshi had eaten two meals for breakfast and then lunch, he wasn’t feeling that hungry but that only meant his stomach was empty and would likely be affected by alcohol more readily.

Then again, Takoshi did mention that one effect of having him as an IP was a higher tolerance for alcohol.

“Hey bartender!” Takoshi shouted, holding up two fingers. “Two beers here!”

The bartender turned from where he was perched. “Coming right -”

Ryker’s heart immediately stopped. Even Takoshi’s easy-going grin faded.

It was Klein. Oliver Klein.

“Please tell me you have an identical twin named Oliver Klein…” Ryker mumbled.

The athletically built tabby dressed in a simple black shirt, immediately reached into the pocket of his denim jeans and took out his phone. “You wish! Boot Sequence! Summer!”

Takoshi immediately grabbed Ryker’s paw and yanked him away from the bar just Klein vanished from view. “Quick!” he demanded as they bolted out the door. “Activate your Independent App!”

“What? Why? He can’t really do anything to us from the Overworld, right?”

One of the barstools was abruptly yanked out of the ground, the steel bolts bending and groaning in protest as it was hurled through the air and crashed right into the bar’s doors. The few patrons and other staff turned in surprise and then screamed in horror as other pieces of furniture were abruptly flung in all directions.

Takoshi immediately threw his body over Ryker, covering him as shards of wood and steel rained around them in a dizzying storm. “Oh right…” Ryker muttered, recalling that even from the Overworld, Hosts could still have an effect on the Realworld. He pulled out his phone and immediately pressed the big, blue icon.

The floor felt like it was yanked right out from beneath him as a wave of negative colours washed over him and Takoshi. His IP’s civilian clothes vanished with the passing of the wave, immediately replaced by his traditional, albeit torn, samurai garb. With the return of the Overworld, Ryker was again thrust into the vast grey landscape with the ghostly images of what few people were around him. He just prayed that no one noticed their disappearance.

Takoshi, still crouched protectively over him, suddenly tensed.

“Fuck…” growled the scarred bear.

He followed the gaze of those icy-blue eyes and realised exactly what had shaken the resolute, polar bear.

It was Klein’s Doser, Summer.

Except it wasn’t the Summer that he had encountered mere days ago. What stood inplace of the elegant if blank-staring peahen was a hulking mass of muscle barely contained by deep brown - almost black - feathers and a crown of white feathers around its head. The golden beak was permanently twisted into a scowl even as he - for Summer was now a male - chewed some gum very loudly. Black smears were placed under his cold, blue eyes while a faint tuft of blonde hair stuck out of the hole in his reversed baseball cape. He wore a traditional baseball player’s jersey coloured green and white with the number ‘39’ on his chest. In one feathered hand, he held a huge, black bat. The pants he wore were torn at the knees to add to his intimidation and instead of cleats, he huge, clawed talons were exposed.

“What happened…?” Ryker asked.

“Summer was rebranded,” Takoshi snarled, slowly rising to his feet while gripping his wakizashi. “I’m guessing the corporation that your friend worked punished him by turning his IP into something else entirely. It’s what happens to Dosers. They’re subject to the whims of the market and that means if a product just isn’t selling, the first thing they’ll try to do is rebrand it and resell it. Cheaper to change a product and pretend it’s something else than to give up on it entirely.”

He could only imagine that kind of terrible pain and agony both the IP and Host must have gone through with that process alone. Not only had the elegant if emotionaless Summer had been turned into a male, but she had been turned into a brutish, baseball player that was the exact opposite of what she had been.

“Why…?” was all he could muster.

“Why?” spat Klein, his brown eyes filled with fur. “Why?” He pointed an accusing finger at them both. “Because of you two! Summer!”

The eagle lifted his bat. Orbs of water about the size of a baseball sprung up from the ground and he immediately smacked it with his bat. Takoshi seized Ryker by the waist and took the young wolf with him as he rolled to the right. The bullet-like projectiles tore right through the glass and wood of the bar’s walls.

“Holy shit!” he cried. “Oliver, we didn’t do anything to you! You attacked us!”

“And you wouldn’t die!” countered the tabby.

Takoshi was immediately on his feet, drawing the shorter of his two blades and holding it with both paws. “Listen here, you corporate shitstain. You can’t blame us for what you did. You attacked us. You wanted to kill us. Just because we defended ourselves and won, doesn’t mean you get to blame us for your failings!”

Klein was not listening. “Fuck you!”

Summer summoned more balls to hit. Takoshi prepared to counter, bands of wind immediately gathering around his blade.

Then Klein lifted his phone, pointing it directly at Takoshi. “Pau -!”

Ryker was already moving while all of the feline’s attention was on the bear samurai. He yanked one of the stools from where it had fallen and moved just into Klein’s blindside. The moment Klein shouted the first syllable of his command, Ryker closed in and swung the stool.

CRACK!

The wooden stool shattered, sending shards and splinters scattering everywhere. The feline crumpled to the ground, clutching his head from the impact, dropping his phone in the process. Summer didn’t move, having never received the command to fire. Ryker kicked the phone towards Takoshi and the samurai dismissed the howling winds that had been gathering along the length of the blade.

“Why?” he repeated. “Why did you even want to kill me? Was my Function work killing someone else?”

Klein shot him a fiercely defiant look. “My brand, Summer, would never have survived against AllAle and the rest of the corporations out there. Just because I was born here in Manhattan and had dreams of making my own microbrew, they swooped in and bullied me into making my Summer into a Doser and forcing me into servitude under them.”

“That’s not my fault.”

“No. But you did stop me from getting Summer back!”

Ryker flinched in surprise. “There’s a way to turn a Doser back into an IP?”

Oliver Klein turned onto his back so he was fully facing Ryker. “Jesus. You really are a noob.” He spat as a trickle of blood made its way down his forehead. “An IP is turned into a Doser through a Contract. If an IP is still bound to a Host, that Host can sign a Contract to turn over that IP to a corporation. Usually, the Contract has terms for redistributing the IP. Basically, all the rights to the IP is handed over to the corporation.”

“And they lose their will in the process…” concluded Ryker. “So why are you blaming me for the Contract you signed?”

“I’m getting to that!” Klein spat. “If I can be a Chief Officer or even a high-ranking part of AllAle, they might let me resign my Contract! I might be able to get Summer back!”

A picture was starting to form. One where this waiter/bartender wasn’t just some corporate stooge who was doing the bidding of a capitalist overlord but who genuinely loved his idea, his brand, and wanted to own it again even if it meant doing so from within AllAle’s confines. He just really wanted Summer back.

“And you thought that if you could bring down an Independent and get a new Function, you might get that promotion.”

Klein scowled at him. “Think of me how you will but you’ll never understand the joys of seeing your own idea take on physical form only to have it stolen from you.” He pressed a paw against his chest. “Summer was like a part of my soul. She was all those hours taste testing. She was all those days spent researching! She was those years I spent trying to make a name for myself before AllAle swooped in and gave me no choice but to submit to them!” He threw a dismissive gesture in his direction. “You… You just plucked an IP off the streets. You have no connection with him. I mean, what’s your synch rate right now?”

Ryker glanced at his phone -

Then Takoshi was suddenly beside him, blade lifted and levelled at Klein’s throat. At the same time, Summer’s bat stopped just inches away from Ryker’s head.

“Uh…”

“You don’t need your phone to command your IPs or Dosers,” Takoshi explained. “Bastard was going to distract you for a second then get the birdbrain to cave your head in.”

He shot Klein a foul look but he couldn’t be mad for long. Everything Oliver was doing was for the love of his own brand… for love of Summer.

“My synch rate with Takoshi probably isn’t the highest right now,” he admitted. “But you’re wrong. I do know what it feels like to have my idea, my intellectual property, stolen from me. I had a corporation threaten legal action against me if I kept developing my game even after I put four years of my life into it. I don’t know where my IP is right now or if Ione ever fully materialised. But I know where you’re coming from, Oliver. I know the hurt and desperation you feel. You want to do anything you can to get Summer back.”

Ryker held out his paw towards the tabby, surprising both Takoshi and Klein at the same time.

“When I made my pact with Takoshi, I swore I’d never let anyone’s hard work and effort just get turned into a husk of what it was originally. I’m going to amend that.” He against reached forward, pushing his paw closer to Oliver. “I’m going to try and save as many Dosers as I can as well. Give the people the right to their IPs again without some corporation abusing them.”

Oliver stared at him for a long moment… then scoffed. “You must be joking. Do you hear yourself right now? Do you think it’s that simple?”

“No. Of course not. I’m just one kid vowing to go up against multi-billion-dollar corporations. Of course it’s not going to be easy. That’s why I need your help. There’s other ways to get Summer back than just working your way up the corporate ladder. We can fight.”

“Fight?” spat the tabby. “You want to fight AllAle? They’re the premium microbrew distributor in the state and are quickly spreading up and down the east coast! You want to fight them!?”

“Do you just want to leave Summer like this?” He gestured at the massive eagle with the permanent scowl. “Didn’t you have a dream about what Summer would be? A vision? Something that you would have been proud to call your legacy?”

Klein’s features lowered and he averted his gaze. “I wanted a beer that would invoke the taste and feelings of summer. That sensation where after a hot day in the sun, you pop one of my beers and just feel the cool drink rush down your throat, wash over your body and lift your spirits. I wanted it to be readily accessible. Not super expensive and exclusive. That’s why I chose to make a beer instead of a wine or a champagne.”

And AllAle had Oliver selling his beer at one of the most exclusive clubs in New York City. That was certainly a kick to the tabby’s ego.

“Isn’t that worth fighting for?” pressed Ryker. “Shouldn’t you hang on to that dream? I mean, our ideas change. It’s just the natural evolution of all ideas.” He lifted his gaze towards Takoshi, a smile on his lips. “When I was making my game, I had this dream of making this revolutionary game that would redefine the genre or even make its own. As time went on, I had to limit myself because of current technologies, my own knowledge and my other responsibilities.”

“When dreams meet reality, you’ve got to make a compromise,” Takoshi rumbled. “Doesn’t mean you should give up on them. Look at what works and what doesn’t. Choose your path based on that.”

“Clearly working for AllAle isn’t working so…” Ryker prompted.

Oliver snorted and shook his head. “If only you had given me that speech yesterday…”

“It’s not too late.”

“Yes it is.” Klein gave him an apologetic look. “The reason AllAle reprimanded me wasn’t because I was trying to kill you. They reprimanded me because I didn’t follow protocol. I attacked you without calling backup. And now…”

Both Takoshi and Ryker turned around. There were lights flashing off in the distance, rapidly approaching the parking lot. Some of those lights were even coming from above.

“AllAle will be here soon,” sighed Klein. “I’m sorry…”

Takoshi gripped his sword tightly. “Fuck…”

They were trapped. Surrounded. There was no way out. Maybe they could jump back into the Realworld and flee that way but there was no guarantee that AllAle had people coming for them in the Realworld too. This was it! They were screwed! Takoshi would be taken in, probably turned into a Doser and… and he might end up like Klein, forced to work for a beer company of all things!

“Takoshi…” he whimpered.

“I’m thinking! I’m thinking!” growled the bear.

Then, another voice came in, cutting through their panic like a cool, crisp, icy blade.

“Save.”

Prismatic light erupted from the far corner of the bar, crawling along the floors, ceilings and walls. The light rapidly encased the entirety of the bar before letting out a soft chime and abruptly vanishing. Just in time as the doors to the bar burst open. Several Corpsmen all wearing the green and gold badges emblems of AllAle came charging in, each of them with their Dosers.

“Spread out!” shouted one of the men. “They must be here somewhere!”

Ryker cocked his head in surprise as one of those very same Corpsmen walked right past him, even looking directly into his eyes but passing him over. He reached out to the man only to find his paw slide through the figure as if he were just another of the mental images that representing the people in the Realworld.

“What the…?”

Klein rose to his feet, in awe as one Corpsman actually stepped through him in the process of examining the bar. The tabby turned towards the corner of the bar where the light had originated.

There, leaning against the table of the corner booth, a phone in a big, striped paw, was another fur. He was dressed in a rough military-esque utility jacket with a black short-sleeved shirt beneath. Camo-style pants covered his powerful legs and were tucked into his immense boots. Though clearly a tiger by the colouration of his fur, Ryker couldn’t recognise his features because of the big, metal mask he wore over his features. The mask was marked with a rather devilish grin that was almost a caricature in its design. The top half of the mask over the eyes appeared to be made of an LED display which currently had large, expressive, cartoon-eyes displayed on it. Most distinct about his attire was the emblem on his shirt; a silhouette of a five-point crown with the middle point being the tallest with two, sinister eyes right beneath it supported by a similarly mischievous, toothy grin similar in design to the one that was marked on the male’s mask. Two, large, cartoony hands hovered beside the figure, one pointing directly forward while the other was pressed against the ‘forehead’ of the eyes with its thumb and index finger outstretched to form an ‘L’; the gesture for ‘Loser’.

“Custodes Libertatis…” Klein whispered.

“Who?” Ryker asked.

The tiger stepped forward and spoke, his voice distorted and heavily altered. “A group of Independents that share Functions, protect IPs from corporations and, when we feel like it, bring down those corporations for abusing the Overworld. We’re the foil to the corporations, bro. We are the Custodes Libertatis.”

Bro.

Just the way the tiger had used the term ‘bro’ sparked a sense of familiarity in him.

The young wolf tilted his head in the other direction. “Cliff?”

The big tiger’s shoulder suddenly sagged and he tore off his black, metal mask.

Takoshi’s jaw dropped in surprise.

Oliver just stared in confusion.

Summer… Summer just looked pissed as always.

“Aw man,” whined his roommate. “Come on, dude. You couldn’t have given me this?”