A tower-- bold, beautiful, and black, rose from the smoke beneath it. A building rose behind it, creating a darkened church with Celtic art carved into its black stone walls. The sun came out from behind a cloud, illuminating the tan cathedral, making each of its intricate details glisten and shine.
The voice behind her startled her. "What is it with you and churches?"
Destiny walked up the steps and closed the large red doors, then stepped back to gaze at her creation. "I like churches. They usually have one unique piece of structure or another. My mother often took me to church as a girl." She turned to look at Ace, standing behind her. "When did you get here?"
"Just now. I saw a large black silhouette rising from the ground and I started to become worried."
Destiny reached out and pinched her mentor. "Why? Are you worried I might create a monster to eat you?" She laughed to herself.
"No, I was scared of your subconscious." Ace felt the soft stone of a carved angel with wings reaching over the doorway to the church.
Destiny began creating a tulip flower bed beside the front sidewalk. "Why would my subconscious be something to be scared of?"
Ace created an eight-sided rubix cube in his hand and began playing with it. "The subconscious is the only unpredictable part of the human mind. It's extremely insecure."
"But you said that insecurity makes things predictable."
"It does, but the subconscious is so radically insecure it's almost impossible to tell what it's going to do next. As a result of its insecurity, it searches for security against whatever scares it. These securities are often seen in dreams. Usually in the form of a mob or a thug gang."
Destiny created a bridge to a tiny island in the middle of a crystal blue lake. She began creating a pavilion with hanging rose pots all around it. "So people just appear and start attacking you? How come you haven't been attacked as a result of my insecurities?"
By the time the dreamer finished her question, Ace had scrambled and solved his rubix cube again. That made three times since he had created it. "Because you are a rare person. You were not intimidated to find me in your dream."
"
My dream? Isn't this your dream too?"
Ace sighed. "No. Just yours. You wouldn't survive in my dreams."
Destiny scoffed. "Oh yeah, I'm sure of
that! I could just create an army and fight off your mob."
"No, the more you create things in someone else's dream, the more the subconscious becomes insecure, remember? That's why I had you create things in your first dream." Ace stood inside the pavilion where Destiny was still working on making things look nice. "Let me show you."
A cup dropped from the ceiling and shattered on the floor, causing Destiny to jump. Before Destiny could speak, Ace pointed behind her. "Who's that?"
Destiny turned to find a college-age girl with black hair walking down the street behind the church. "Oh, that's Gloria, she's friendly." She turned again to see Ace shake his head slowly while he glared. "She... she's... a part of my mob?!"
"One small part. As I create more, more people will show up and begin to surround me, waiting to attack. These are people you involuntarily create, so you already know them. But the subconscious creates them to expel me from your dream."
A man walked outside the fence to the church, glaring at Ace. "I'd better go. You have about 20 more minutes in your dream to work on your church before your stop on the subway."
"I set my alarm so I won't miss it. Come again, Ace."
Ace headed off the subway before Destiny woke. It was a relatively short but quiet walk back to his basement. He opened his door to the sound of gunfire and groaning on the television. "Hey Evan. How was the trip?"
"Just a sec, I'm on level 112."
Ace set his pack on his bed and put the Cx3 back in his safe. There were two 2-liters of Mountain Dew on his kitchenette table. "What went wrong?"
Evan played innocent. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not stupid, cousin. Code Red Mountain Dew and Sour Cream & Onion Pringles on my table and you honestly want me to believe that nothing is wrong?"
Evan found a safe place to save and pause his game. "Well, I actually had a question for you, kid."
Ace twisted the cap off his soda and took a swig. "Shoot."
"Did you do it?"
It was now Ace's turn to play innocent. "Do what?"
"Did you enter that one girl's mind?"
Ace turned to look in the fridge. He wasn't hungry, but he just felt guilty that he actually considered lying to his closest friend. "With the Cx3? Nope!"
"Don't give me that, kid! I know you can do it without the machine."
"Yes."
Evan dropped his head. "Does she know it was you?"
"Yeah. I've been teaching her how to work through her cognitive processes and enhance her mental computation. She said she got a bonus last Tuesday for finishing three-and-a-half times as much work as she was supposed to on one shift."
Evan stood shocked. "She's... she's... actually accepting and developing?!"
Ace took another swig to let his answer hold effect. "Faster than I did."
"And what about the mobs?"
Ace sat on the sofa to explain. "My theories were correct. Her subconscious created minions to engage me. But I escaped in time."
Evan sat on the adjacent sofa. "What happens if they kill you in the dream?"
"My theory would be that you simply wake up. But I think it's worse."
"How much worse?"
"In the real world, things that happen around us are taken in by sensors and then translated in the mind to electric signals. But I do the translating before it gets to my brain. If circumstances in a cooperative dream caused me to die, it could send my brain into shock and... well. You know."
The first tear Ace had ever seen Evan shed escaped his eyes. "And what happens when they find the only family I have left, dead on a subway as a result of his own experimentation?" His voice cracked as more tears started to follow.
"People need to know the potential that lies within their own minds. I don't know how else to do this."
Evan stood and headed for the door. "Keep the snacks. I can't afford your funeral."
"I don't want one."
"Destiny, please report to my office immediately." The voice always startled her, but she wasn't sure how to turn the loudspeaker volume down. She had finished this week's work already, but decided to take on Anna's work since she had a wedding this week out of town. She saved her document, took the final sip of her Lipton black tea, and strode for the office at the end of the hall. The short, bald man who used to yell and scream at her last month now greeted her with smiles.
"Oh, miss. Please come in!"
Destiny confidentially took a seat, but said nothing.
"According to this file here, you completed the Anderson, Huck, Menson, and Caulbrick cases in half a week. Is this correct?"
"Yes."
The man let a look of doubt escape him. "Full reports, lists, insurance claims...?"
"...along with car payments, new rates for the mortgage, and proposed food & gas plan all the way into the end of January, all taxes included," Destiny interrupted.
The man just sat back in his seat, shocked. "Are you going to college or something? Your efficiency rate has gone from 72% to 266.9% in the past three weeks. Anna is the best I've got and she only clocks out at 102.4% on a good day."
Destiny couldn't hold back the smirk that crept across her face. "I'm taking night classes with a friend, yes."
"Then someone needs to pay him better. Our district manager saw your completed work and wants to elevate you to corporate headquarters where the weekly paycheck weighs more than my car does. I've signed the papers already and we only need your signature."
Even though she knew she was excelling at her work, she forgot that perhaps she'd be recognized for her performance. "May I have some time to think about it?"
The man was surprised. "I didn't think a matter like this would take thinking. But sure, you have until the end of this week."
"Thank you, sir. May I be dismissed?"
"Certainly. See you tomorrow."
She wasn't entirely sure she'd have her mind made up by tomorrow. She really wanted to talk things through with Ace first. Since he was the only person who knew her mind had been trained to compute four different processes at the same time in mere seconds, he should get a say in where this would take her. Plus, accepting the job would involve moving to the new location, preventing her from seeing Ace again to continue her lessons.
She finished her work early, as usual, and left before the elevators became crowded. The subway station was cold and empty. Usually, Ace would be reading a science magazine from the stand that stood behind the waiting benches, but he was nowhere to be seen. The sub pulled up and Destiny stepped aboard.
Ace was already on the subway, seated in his normal spot. "Sorry. I boarded at an earlier stop. Since Evan told me to take the day off, I worked at 7/11 today."
Destiny set her purse and jacket down on the empty seat beside hers and sat next to Ace. "It must be nice, being able to switch jobs as you please."
Ace was pulling apart and solving a nail puzzle in one hand. "Not always. Evan usually lets me work, 7/11 will only let me work weekdays when they're shorthanded. But how was your work? You're about due for a promotion, aren't you?"
Destiny almost bounced in her seat with joy. "Yes! I was offered a transfer to corporate headquarters today!"
Ace pretended to be excited for her. "That's great! When do you leave?"
The sub conductor strolled by. "All right, we have our sleepy lovebirds, we're ready for takeoff!"
"Huh?" They said in unison.
The conductor laughed. "Every time you guys get on my train at this time, I always find you asleep holding hands."
Ace blushed but Destiny laughed. Neither of them thought about what their image might have on other people to always be asleep while "holding hands" on the train. There was usually no one who shared the subway with them. "Well sir, we have busy days, and this time is usually the only time we can..." Destiny looked at Ace with a loss for words, "...catch up."
The conductor put a toothpick in his mouth. He was trying to quit smoking. "Well, dream on, lovebirds. For tonight I shall take you home in style! ...just like every other night."
"Thank you, sir." Destiny replied. "Gosh, I had never thought of that, Ace. We must be sleepaholics to other people."
Ace put his nail puzzle back in his backpack. "Well at least my mother still doesn't know that I've been sleeping with a woman for the past three weeks."
Destiny went cherry red instantly. With all her might, she refused to laugh at that comment, but it did take effort. "Speaking of which, where is your mother?"
"She works at the hospital. She practically
lives down there since she's never at home.
I try to see her on every holiday -- and even invent some holidays! -- but her health is slowly deteriorating."
"I'm sorry to hear that. What does your father think about that?"
Ace shrugged. "Not much. He could be running a string of McDonalds in Arkansas and weigh 500 pounds for all I know."
"I'm sorry. I know your pain." Destiny said. "My father is a mechanic in Germany and my mother works for a type of German Red Cross."
"You don't see them much?" Ace asked.
Destiny stared at the floor. "Christmas. That's about it."
"Wow." Ace thought for a moment. "Maybe it'd be better if you
did take the job at headquarters."
Destiny turned to look at her mentor. The subway seats were so tight that her arm was literally resting on top of his. "But then I wouldn't be able to see you anymore."
Ace shrugged again. "There's nothing wrong with that. You're well taught. With what you know, you could reach above and beyond what my mind could ever achieve."
"But... but..." Destiny struggled to find words. "What about just sharing dreams? You're really the closest friend I have. I've never been myself around anyone else before."
"Neither have I. But I've completed my purpose in life and taught someone how to be the most that they can be." Ace said with empty confidence.
"But you've never... wanted to... you know,
be with someone before?" Destiny asked.
"No. I don't know what the connection is there."
Destiny was appalled. "You've never
loved before?!"
Ace ran his fingers through his hair. "'Love' is a cute word my mother used to tell me before bedtime."
Destiny fell short of breath for a moment. Her best friend had never loved anyone before. And now she was honestly debating whether she had any affection for him. She began to sweat as she knew her heart bled for her dear friend.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, why?" She wiped her brow.
"If you're mentally unrested, then strange things can happen in one's dream."
"No, I'm fine. Let's go."
Ace loaded two shells into a double-barreled shotgun. "Let me show you something. You can manipulate physical reality in dreams to fit your fancy. Hand me that empty box on that table over there."
Destiny turned and picked up the empty cardboard box to her mentor. She noticed small RC planes flying around the canyon ahead. Ace set the box on the shooting stand before promptly dropping it, whereupon several shotgun shells spilled onto the floor.
"Whoopsie." Ace joked.
Destiny bent over to pick them up but Ace stopped her, "why are you picking those up? That box was empty a moment ago."
"But... how?"
Ace grinned. "The same way I can do this!" Ace fired three shots from his double-barreled shotgun. "Now how did I fire three shots from a two-shot shotgun?"
"I'm not sure. How?"
Ace set the gun down. "As long as you don't see the miracle happening, you can usually get away with it. But if doubt enters your mind, it won't happen. Let me show you one more thing."
Ace led Destiny to a large pavilion with punching bags hanging from the ceiling, weapons on racks, a blue mat for floor, and a fresh breeze accompanying the shade. "I am going to punch you in three, two, one."
Nothing happened.
Destiny started to ask innocently, "Why are you going to...?" She was interrupted with a flying arm headed straight for her face, which she promptly dodged. She was terrified, but curious. "What was
that about?"
"In reality, your body cannot move that fast. You can predict what's going to happen almost as fast as it happens. Punch me."
Destiny spared him a light tap with her fist.
"No, no!
Hit me!"
Destiny tried to hit him as fast as she could, but Ace countered her attack and responded with a fake punch to her neck. "Do you understand now, Destiny?"
She smiled and jumped on the mats a little. "I think so," she said with a mischievous wink.
Ace took a fighting position. "Then hit me, if you can."
Destiny walked around her opponent with an innocent smile on her face, as if to distract him. The moment she was behind him, she attempted a piggyback tackle, to which Ace responded with a Judo flip, knocking her to the ground. She responded with a kick to the face, then kicked his legs out from under him. The following fifteen-minute fight was the most intense that Destiny had ever heard of. Kicks and punches hurt as if they bruised her, but never broke bones or inflicted serious injury. She swiped his legs from under him a second time and this time she threw herself on top of him as if to say 'I won.'
"Nice fight!" Ace's rare but gorgeous smile showed again.
Destiny let a short giggle escape her. "Thanks!" She leaned forward as if to let him up, but she didn't want to. She leaned closer to him. He wasn't breathing heavily, nor was he turning away. The heart she had for him screamed to be free, to let him know how she really felt about him. Perhaps he could learn to love through her. But had
she really loved before?
If she hadn't, then what she was about to do would make no difference. She granted Ace her first kiss. It wasn't as real as it would've been in real life, but it still held meaning, in this world or the real one.
He didn't turn away, nor struggle. Instead he placed his hand on her head and caressed her hair with his fingers, careful not to damage a single strand. When she lifted her head, it was all she could do to smile. Ace smiled back, but it was quickly interrupted when Destiny looked up from her tutor beneath her and her smile disappeared.
"Um, uh... it's okay guys. I've got it! Don't worry," Destiny began to panic. Ace turned his head to see the crowd gathering around.
Destiny stood and held her hands out. "Guys, it's okay. Really. He's not a threat."
Ace stood beside her. "I'm sorry, Destiny. I should've known."
"Should've known what?"
Ace quietly grabbed a spear from the rack beside him. "I imported an extreme emotion into your mind that your subconscious did not expect to find there. It found a threat," he whispered.
Destiny took out a small sword from the rack. "But you're not a threat."
"The subconscious doesn't know that."
Destiny held her sword with both hands, ready for anything. "Well then I'm glad you taught me combat."
"You can't fight them as you create them, Destiny. I have to escape."
No sooner had the words left Ace's mouth before the mob yelled together, "get him!!!"
Neither Bruce Lee nor the Matrix had anything for this fight. It was truly unreal! Ace had taken on four mobs before they could even raise their clubs, purses, or golfing clubs. Destiny acted as if she knew exactly how to handle every situation perfectly. As a result, her own mobs responded to what she predicted they were going to do, and she eliminated them with extreme ease. But she felt something else. Something that told her that her subconscious would be successful in eliminating this threat, as if it had already won the battle. She wondered how this could be since they were losing, but her curiosities ended when an old farmer from the shooting range raised his rifle and shot Ace through the upper chest.
Destiny startled awake from her dream with a short scream. She was breathing heavily and cold sweat was making its journey down her pale face. She wiped her head with her sleeve and chuckled. "Let's not do that again, Ace. That was way too much excitement for me."
She turned to watch for Ace's response, but he still was still sleeping. This can't be. It was
her dream, and she knew it. He couldn't still be asleep in her dream if she was awake. Ace had explained that this was impossible last week.
"Ace, c'mon. Wake up!" She demanded. She was starting to become very nervous, and began hitting him lightly. "Ace? Ace? Please wake up!" She began slapping him across the face as hard as she could. "Ace! Ace! Answer me, please!"
The conductor came from the pilot console. "What's wrong, miss?"
Destiny held on to Ace's collar with white knuckles. "I... I don't know. He's not responsive, sir!"
"I'll call an ambulance to meet us at our next stop. It'll be about three minutes." He volunteered.
"All right. Please hurry!"
Destiny rose from the waiting room bench to meet the familiar man walking in the door. "Hey, are you the computer repair guy?"
"Yeah, I'm Ace's cousin. You must be Destiny."
"Pleased to meet you, regardless of the circumstances." She shook his hand.
"Speaking of which, how is he doing?"
Destiny began leading him down the hall to an observation room with a large window to his operation room. "He's been unresponsive for the past four hours. They gave him an MRI earlier, but that didn't tell anything. They put him under this fancy infrared scanner with a big name I don't remember. That deduced that somehow, one part of his brain is attacking the other part of his brain, like an allergy. The rest of the mind wasn't sure how to handle the stress and it shut itself down."
Evan stared with hoping eyes through the window. "His mind is in shock." He didn't see Destiny nod but he was sure she did. He turned to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Destiny, please, I need you to tell me everything you know about this."
Destiny turned to look at Ace through the glass. His heart rate was almost non-existent. "We were dreaming. He was teaching me how to cheat physics. I kind of lost myself and kissed him without thinking about it. Then the mob showed up and killed him."
Evan facepalmed. "I told him this would happen. Not two days ago, I told him this would happen."
"What do we do, Evan?"
Evan shook his head without removing his hand over his eyes. "I don't think there's anything we
can do."
Tears began pouring out of Destiny's eyes for the third time since the subway. "I'm so sorry, Evan."
Evan began walking for the door. "You didn't know what you were doing. No point in yelling at you for that."
A doctor came in the door before it had time to shut from Evan's departure. "There's nothing more we can do, miss. We can only move him to a room and wait for him to wake up."
"I understand, doctor. Thank you."
The doctor shifted his weight. "I'm sorry, miss. This is a bit embarrassing to ask at this time, but are you his next of kin?"
"Yeah," she lied.
"Would you mind looking after his belongings he was carrying during the incident?"
"Not at all."
The doctor led her to a room prepped for Ace. They moved Ace in and she was permitted to enter. "His belongings are in the closet."
"Thank you." She began looking through his backpack, finding mostly munchies and science magazines. But at the bottom, wrapped in satin, she found a soft, dense machine that looked like a number eight. Etched into the side of the odd machine were the symbols "Cx3."
She left the machine in the bag and found Ace's doctor. She inquired to the possibility of her spending the night in the same room as Ace so she could look after him. The doctor agreed.
That night, Destiny slid into the hospital bed beside Ace and hooked the machine from her wrist to his. Her hands shook, because now
she would be hunted. And if Ace is already battling himself to be free, she could be caught in it and then she'd end up like Ace. She must not fail. She wasn't sure what she was even looking for, but he's in there somewhere, and she was determined to find him. The machine numbed her arm and she drifted off...
Destiny began walking down a dark hallway. A man in shaggy, long hair and a black leather jacket was just a few paces ahead of her. Destiny grabbed her knife from her back pocket and killed him without a single sound. She held him so he wouldn't fall on the ground with a thud, but as she did, she felt a pistol strapped to his ribs. This was going to be a lot harder than Destiny thought if Ace's conscious is militarized.
She ran up some stairs to find a guard in a black sleeveless shirt and camouflage pants carrying an M16 pacing the next hallway. Destiny ran forward to attack him as well. Due to his strength, she needed to stab him twice, but he fell anyway.
An alarm went off and red lights all along the halls started flashing. Destiny broke out into a sprint and started running down the halls as fast as she could. She almost ran into two more guards, but she eliminated them with her knife before they had time to lift their rifles.
She turned a corner of the strange building to be met with an explosion, sending her flying into the wall behind her. Men in black suits and advanced assault rifles charged in the hole in the wall. Two of them responded to a radio call, saying they had the hostage, while the other troops shot at incoming hostiles. Destiny tried to fight back, but she felt numb from the explosion, and couldn't move her limbs at all.
The men hauled her into the back of an armored light tank and set her on a bench. The remaining black troops retreated to the vehicle and shut the door, then the vehicle sped off.
"Why haven't you killed me, yet?" Destiny inquired.
"That's not our objective. Our objective is to take you to our leader, and he's very upset." The commanding soldier replied.
Destiny wondered what part of Ace's mind she was being taken to, and if he would know she was there. But if these are subconscious troops, then they are taking him to the unpredictable side of his own mind, which may not be like him at all.
The truck stopped and the troops ran out the door once again. They led Destiny to a bunker with a large metal door while fighter planes soared over head. The guards unlocked the door and pushed Destiny through before promptly closing it. Destiny walked to a map in the middle of a large dark room with glowing buttons and dials lining every wall.
"Destiny?! Destiny! Son of a biscuit! What are you doing here?!" Ace ran from behind a large white screen.
"I came looking for you!" She replied. "Are you okay? Your mind is in shock in the real world."
"Yeah, no kidding. We've been at war with mob rebels for almost a year now."
Destiny gasped. "A
year?! You've only been in shock for six hours!"
Ace leaned forward over the map table like a war commander. "When under panic, the mind works almost instantly for a very long time. Which makes time in the dream world extremely rapid compared to time in the real world."
"Then how do I get you out of here and back in the real world?"
Ace pointed to a star on the map. "I've been able to materialize the emotion and thought process of the problem. I've condensed the problem to the subconscious generator, here. What we have to do is reset the generator to convince it that we're actually asleep. Right now it's warring with us, trying to convince me I'm dead."
Destiny's heart dropped. He's trying to tell himself he's not dying. For a whole year he's been trying to tell himself he's not dying. "So what stops you from getting the generator to reboot?"
"Two things. First, the subconscious generator keeps sending armed militia and armed forces at us from that location. Second,
I cannot be the one to reboot it, otherwise the subconscious will take the rebooting for a lie. I could send one of my own created mob in to do it, but there's no guarantee he'll succeed, or even do it right."
Destiny stared at the map for a moment. "Then send me in there."
"I can't, Destiny. This is the same ball game. If you're shot then you begin to be at war with yourself. And we'll still be hooked together." Ace looked up at her from the map. "Wait, how are you hooked up to me?"
"I found the machine in your backpack, it's called C-3PO or something."
Ace sat down and took a deep breath. "...and I'm in a hospital?"
"Yes, why?"
"When doctors find us hooked together and pull us apart from the machine, it could easily kill you, me, or both."
"But if six hours equals a year down here in your dream, then we have plenty of time. Almost another year!"
"No, Destiny. You're not in shock panic. When you entered this dream, you slowed down my cognitive processes to match your speed. We have the normal amount of time."
Destiny stood closer to the table to examine the map more carefully. "So we have just over a day." She picked up a pen and started drawing access routes to the generator. "It looks like you're stuck with me, AJ. Either I save your life or we both die."
Ace walked over and stood beside Destiny. "I don't want to lose you."
She looked into his eyes and smiled. "You won't."
Destiny followed Ace past a sea of large cylinders with one dial on them each, and they all went back and forth at the same time. They entered a room with a few knobs and dials and a screen showing the fluctuation of the substance in the tubes. "I can cut my breathing down to 50%. Any more than that and I risk accidentally suffocating in my sleep. But this will make my entire mind work less, so the generator will spawn less mobs. But I won't be able to offer you any military support, because I, too, will be able to preform less work. So you'll be on your own."
"I understand, Ace. I'll take care of it for you." She slid her hand behind Ace's back and squeezed him closer to her. Ace responded with the same gesture.
"Just remember: Be careful!" Ace leaned forward and gave Destiny a kiss.
"Why did you do that?!" She asked.
Ace just smiled. "What's my subconscious going to do? Go to war with me?" He winked at her.
"You stay safe too!" She turned to walk out the door to find transportation to take her to the generator, but she stopped at the doorway. "I love you," she said, then she disappeared.
"I'd love you too, if only I knew what it meant." Ace whispered.
Night was falling and the atmosphere was getting colder. Ace must have begun the slower breathing cycle. The chopper landed on a hill with an overlook of the generator. It was a large blue cylinder with electrical current running through it.
"You'd better get going, miss. The mobs will see our chopper and investigate. Being as part of the mind, they know we have a plan and that we're executing it. But the plan is too complex for the subconscious to understand. The subconscious is an impulsive reactor, like a computer. It's not a processor. So you have that advantage over them. But if you're discovered or captured, every mob in our universe will come looking for you where you were spotted." The chopper pilot explained.
"Can I kill mobs without the subconscious knowing?" She asked, checking her silenced rifle.
"Only if the mobs don't know they're being killed before they're dead."
"Copy that, good luck," she said.
"Good luck to
you, commander. You're going to need it." The chopper pilot replied.
Destiny slid down the hill to a fence with barbed wire over the top. She created a little pair of wire cutters and cut a door for herself in the fence. She had to be careful what she created, lest the subconscious realize that there's a foreign mental intruder nearby. The doors to the main entrance were locked, but she thought that maybe the door on the left would be unlocked. The physics obeyed and opened the door instantly.
She ran down the concrete hall leading to the generator. Mobs were grunting to themselves at the end of the hall, grabbing weapons and ammunition before running out the deployment door. Destiny waited at the end of the doorway, and as the air in Ace's body decreased, so did the number of spawning mobs. Soon there were only three men in the hall, all lined up at the weapons table. Destiny didn't hesitate to lift her rifle and put a bullet through all three of their heads at the same time.
She ran into a large room with engineers monitoring the screens and dials that lined the walls. There was no way to sneak past the engineers without alerting them. Nor could she kill them without their notice. Nonetheless, she tried her best to sneak under machines and behind shelves and snipe engineers as silently as she could. But on the third kill, the engineers took notice and caused Uzis to appear in their hands. Destiny tipped the selves over and began firing back at the engineers. She killed two more, but the rest were closing in. And she knew every mob in the dream state was after her. She was out of time. Hopping over a desk, she shifted her position to the left, flanking some of the engineers, she had two clear shots, but more engineers were appearing from the spawner. Well, if every mob knew she was here anyway, what's the hurt in confirming what they already knew? She created grenade after grenade and began throwing them into the spawner. Finally it shattered with an explosion. But that only created and triggered an auxiliary spawner. The new spawner began to start the spawning processes.
Destiny sprinted as if her life depended on it for the mainframe computer. Armed mobs had just arrived inside the generator and began opening fire at her. She felt a bullet go through her leg, but it was numb for a split second.
She reached the mainframe computer, but the pin on a grenade was pulled from one of the mobs. Destiny typed "{
S-C primary: initiate system reboot.}" as the grenade dropped behind her. She wasn't sure if she hit enter, because the deafening roar of the grenade exploded behind her.
~/*\~
Beeping noises caused Ace to impulsively hit the snooze button on his alarm. But no alarm was found on his nightstand, and his alarm didn't make beeping noises like that. He opened his eyes to the scene of a hospital room around him. He was hooked to a heart monitor with wires attached to his head. His Cx3 wrapped around his left wrist. The other end was attached to the most beautiful woman he had ever seen- Destiny. His precious Destiny. He wasn't sure what love felt like, he simply knew that he had never felt this way about someone before, and it was the best thing he had ever felt.
"Destiny, are you there? Did you make it?"
She stirred from her sleep a little. "I think so," she barely mumbled.
Ace was speechless for what seemed like an eternity. "Thank you."
Destiny looked up into his gorgeous black eyes. "That's what it means to love, Ace."
