Path to the Apocalypse

Convincing Matt to give him some free accounts was fairly simple, but Chris could not figure out how to get a better internet connection. At least, not in any way that wouldn't have investigators knocking on his door asking questions he didn't particularly want to answer. So far they were dealing with it by having everyone play in shifts, but if Chris wanted to bring in more subordinates, they were going to need more than a household internet connection. “What we need is an office building.” Chris explained as he talked it over with the squad. “But I have no idea how to get an office building.”

“Well, money would be a good start.” Derek commented.

“Yeah, but how do we get the money?” Chris asked. “I don't think we can sell much more gold before it becomes suspicious, and we don't have any other way to make money over here. Unless we want to go public, that is. But then we can just ask the people already playing the game to search for us, so would we even need an office building at that point?”

“The problem is that any big move is going to attract attention, and bringing in enough minions to make a real difference is going to be a big move.” Beth sighed. “So the question becomes if having more people working on this is worth our presence in this world being revealed, and if it is… our best bet is to go public ourselves. The reaction we'll get if it looks like we're trying to hide will be much worse than if we just come out and tell people.”

Nadia nodded. “Okay, let's start with the worst case scenario. What's the worst that could happen if we go public?”

They all thought about it for a second. “We could all die? Except for Chris, obviously.” Zack offered.

“If we're absolute idiots about it, sure.” Derek snorted.

“No, he has a point.” Nadia retorted. “If we go public, certain groups could become unreasonably violent out of fear or ignorance and try to take our lives, which is something we need to take into account. Now, what else could go wrong?”

“We could lose access to the game.” Carmen replied. “Either by cutting off our access to it or by shutting the game down entirely. Which would make it a lot harder to stop the war.”

Nadia nodded. “Right. Anything else?”

“No, I think that's it.” Chris muttered. “The only things we really care about in this world are the game and our lives, so those are the only things that would matter if we lost them.”

“Okay, then what's the worst case scenario if we don't reveal ourselves?” Nadia asked.

“We don't find the information we need to stop the war.” Beth immediately replied.

“People find out anyway and try to kill us or cut off our access to the game.” Chris added with a shrug.

“So pretty much, if we go public, we'll either definitely find the information we need to stop the war, or we'll definitely not be able to find it, while if we stay hidden, it's maybe we will, maybe we won't.” Carmen summed up for everyone.

“I think the biggest factor here is time.” Beth commented. “The thing is, even if we get all the information we need to stop the war, it's pointless if we don't have the time to act on it. Even if we can find everything out on our own, if it takes us months, it doesn't really help us. Worst case, we waste all that time and find nothing. However, even if we get locked out of the game, at least we already know something is going to happen, so we can spend the remaining time focusing on preparing the City. But if we get the other world on board, we could both focus on preparing the City and get the information we need! So by trying to stay hidden, even our success could be wasted, while if we go public, even our failure is productive.”

“Unless we die.” Zack interjected. “There isn't much we could do if we die.”

Beth rolled her eyes. “Right, so let's make sure that doesn't happen.”

“So… we're going public then?” Chris asked, cocking his head.

Beth nodded. “That's my vote, at least. I think it's the option that gives us the best chance of actually stopping this war. But I think this is something we all need to agree on, so what do you guys think?”

Nadia grimaced. “I don't like the fact that we don't know what time frame we're actually working on. As far as we know, the event that sparked the invasion could have already happened!”

“Or it could never happen.” Carmen added. “Who knows how accurate the game actually is? Yes, it's very similar to the City, eerily so, but that doesn't mean everything it predicts is true.”

Derek paused. “Hey guys? Do you think any of this might have something to do with the person who shot Chris?”

They all froze. “Fuck!” Nadia cursed. “Why didn't I think of that earlier!?! The generals told us the shooter could be enemy action! It could absolutely have been the elves!”

Beth crossed her arms, frowning. “That doesn't exactly make sense… if the elves had someone like Chris on their side, then the Conqueror wouldn't be as much of an issue for them, right?”

“Unless the Conqueror beat them…” Derek muttered. “If the elves sent their most powerful warrior to the City to send a message, and then that warrior was killed… that could absolutely start a war! The whole war could be about the elves trying to get revenge on the Conqueror!”

Chris scratched his head. “But then why would the Conqueror attack the doppelgangers too?”

“Because they're trying to take over the City?” Derek offered hesitantly.

Zack groaned, rubbing his temple. “This whole thing just gives me a giant fucking headache.”

Beth sighed. “This just makes me even more certain we should go public. If we are too late, then it's even more important that our focus is the City and not the game. Anything that draws our attention away from the things that need to be done back home is a problem. Does anyone disagree?” Everyone shook their heads. Even if they weren't exactly comfortable with it, they agreed that it was probably the best option they could take. “Okay, then the question becomes how are we going to go public?”

“I think the simplest method would be to have Chris start showing off in the middle of some public space.” Nadia commented.

Beth shook her head. “No, I mean should we do something like that, where we essentially tell the whole world we're here, or should we try to go through the government instead?”

Chris's expression twisted. “Going through the government seems like it'd get very… political.”

“It's going to get political no matter what.” Beth countered. “It isn't like the government is going to just ignore us. The question is if we can get more benefits by going through official channels. Do we just want random citizens helping us out or do we want dedicated government support?”

Derek raised an eyebrow. “Why not both? I mean, it's unlikely we can get the public on board without dealing with the government anyway.”

Beth sighed. “Yes, we're obviously going to have to deal with the government, that's a given, but what I'm asking is whether we want to partner with them. Random people will help us just because they can, but if we want government support, they're going to want something from us in return, and the question is whether that support is worth it.”

“In this case, I think our best bet is the random internet nerds.” Chris commented. “I don't think the government has a dedicated gaming division, so the amount of support they could give would be limited, while the random internet nerds have probably been playing the game since the beginning and may even already have the connections necessary to get us the information we need.”

“But they could get us a location with a good enough internet connection to support however many minions you want to throw at them.” Carmen pointed out.

“True…” Chris muttered. “And that would also let me train my minions through the game…”

“The question is what are they going to ask us for in return.” Nadia interjected. “What if they ask us to fight their wars for them?”

“Then we turn them down.” Beth answered firmly. “We aren't going to get involved in this world's politics.”

“That kind of answers your question then, doesn't it?” Chris replied. “If we want political support, they're going to ask us for political favors.”

Beth paused, before letting out a sigh. “Right. Public it is then.”

Chris nodded. “Then I think we should talk to Matt about this. He has plenty of experience dealing with the media and publicity in this world, so he can probably give us some good advice.”

“True.” Beth agreed, hesitating for a moment. “We should also talk to my dad… he's good at dealing with this kind of thing as well and we need to tell someone with some kind of authority about all this.”

Chris frowned slightly. “You aren't wrong… but we should probably have the conversation in my space. I trust your dad, but if this information gets out…”

“I know.” Beth grimaced. “If people learn about the doppelgangers, then it doesn't matter what we do… there's going to be war.”

*

Matt was hesitant at first, but once they got him on board he quickly got his marketing team workshopping ideas for them to come out to the public, though he had them under the impression that they were designing it for a special event in the game. As for David… “This- is troubling. Very troubling.” David muttered, frowning seriously.

Beth nodded. “I know, but our squad is doing everything we can to figure out what's going on and what we need to do to keep the City safe.”

“Yes, I'm sure, and I'm positive you're doing a fantastic job.” David smiled, before leaning forward, his expression turning hard. “However, there's one thing that bothers me.”

Chris cocked his head. “Only one?”

David's eye twitched slightly. “Christopher, please, I'm trying to do something here.” Chris raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt as David refocused on Beth, taking her hand. “Tell me Beth, when did this happen!?!” He exclaimed, pointing at the ring.

Beth froze, flushing in a mix of shame and outrage. “Dad, I just told you the City could be on the brink of civil war, and this is what you're worried about?!?”

“Pfft.” David waved dismissively. “The civil war can wait. I'm not going to be able to do anything about it any time soon. Never mind all that, I'm so happy for you two!” He beamed, getting up and pulling the both of them into a crushing hug, before pausing as he pulled back and gave Beth a look. “You are engaged to Christopher, yes?”

Beth's flush deepened. “Yes! Who else would I be engaged to!?!”

“I don't know! Apparently my daughter doesn't tell me things!” David retorted in mock outrage, the effect somewhat ruined by the fact he couldn't keep the happy smile off his face.

Beth groaned. “Dad, please, we need your help!”

David nodded. “Right, yes, of course. I know some of the best wedding planners-”

“Dad!” Beth stomped.

David chuckled, shaking his head. “Beth, you and your squad seem to have this matter well in hand, particularly once Christopher starts bringing in more of his minions, and despite your understandable distaste for the subject, you're more than capable of navigating the politics yourself. I couldn't give you any advice that you wouldn't already know.”

Beth blinked, hesitating for a moment. “Are- are you sure? This isn't- I won't be dealing with teenagers leeching off their parents authority, I'm going to be dealing with real politicians!”

David rolled his eyes. “You'll be amazed by how similar they can be, but I think you're missing my point. In the City, my only advantage is the connections and reputation I've developed over the years. In a completely novel environment, the only thing I'd be able to bring over would be a familiarity with the nature of politics, the same as you. I can't tell you what to do, because I don't know the players well enough to guess how they'd react, beyond basic human nature, which your own understanding covers just as well as my own. Admittedly, it'd probably be better to bring in an expert if we could, but unfortunately the City doesn't have an expert at making contact with a new society on peaceful terms, which means it's up to you to become that expert.” He smiled at her. “I know you'll do great.”

Beth frowned. “So you're just going to leave it all to us?”

“Well, the stuff on Earth.” David replied, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes. “As for the City… I have some infiltrators to hunt.”

*

Matt took a deep breath as he stepped up to the podium, looking over the crowd of reporters and trying very hard to ignore the man standing behind him. A large part of him had been hoping that everything had been a delusion or some kind of joke by Gaia, which would have been concerning in its own right, but when he'd picked this man up in his private plane and he'd demonstrated his ability… well, there wasn't much room for doubt anymore. Matt shivered slightly at the cold darkness he'd felt after that woman had melted his brain. But he couldn't deny he felt amazing afterwards…

Matt coughed, refocusing on the reporters as he smiled. “Welcome members of the press, and thank you for arriving on such short notice. I'm sure many of you are curious about the nature of this announcement and what it might mean for The Maze. To start, I would like to assure you all that The Maze is still perfectly functional and will remain open to all who wish to participate in the wonderful world we've created! However, there have been some recent revelations on the nature of that world.

“Earlier this week, I was alerted by Gaia that an achievement I'd thought impossible was awarded to a player. The achievement could only be earned if the player completely ignored the character creation process, showing an utter disregard for what their character would look like and what they would be capable of. I'd assumed that someone with that little interest in the game would never actually play it. So, when I was notified that the achievement had been earned by someone, I had to check them out, to either determine if they had somehow cheated or to see what could possibly have drawn someone so disinterested into the game. And what I found was this man, Christopher Vincent.” Matt gestured to Chris, who nodded and waved at the confused looking reporters.

“Now, you're probably wondering what's so significant about this achievement that I had to call a press conference to reveal the player who earned it. Well, the achievement does make him the most powerful player in the game, but the achievement isn't why I brought him here today. No, the reason I brought him here today, is because this man, Christopher Vincent, is not from Earth.” Matt paused, looking out over the reporters with a serious expression. “He's from Azza. The real Azza.”

“You can't be- shit!” One of the reporters began dismissively, cutting off as Chris transformed into his combat form.

Chris stepped up to the podium as Matt stepped aside, returning to his human form as the reporters watched him nervously. “As Matt said, I'm from Azza, from the actual City. My world is currently about two years behind the timeline of the game, in the period before the Conqueror rose to power and the elves invaded. I entered the game hoping to find answers for why the elves invaded and the war began, but… it appears it isn't a task I can undertake on my own, or at least not with the time I have to try and prevent the war from happening in my world. And so I'm calling on everyone who currently plays the game, asking, no begging you for any information you know about why the war began, in the hopes that we can prevent the same thing from happening in my world. Matt has graciously created a page on the official site where anyone can submit anything they know. I'm grateful for any help you can provide.” Chris finished, opening a portal as he turned and walking through, closing it behind him, leaving the reporters standing there in a stunned silence.

Matt returned to the podium. “I will be acting as the Azzans contact during their time on Earth, as they wish to remain as removed from our politics as possible. They're simply here to find the information they need to save their people from a long, bloody war. I know I'll be doing everything I can to help. I hope you will be too.”