The Lost Vampire System Chapter 20 - Welcome to NYXIS
Madison snapped her fingers in his face again.
"Hello," her voice sounded of impatience. "Anyone home?"
"What?" Jareth asked coming back from his conversion with Apollo that he zoned out on.
"Where is your mind?" She asked. "I got you back and then you immediately zoned out again."
"Sorry," Jareth shyly said.
"You to work on that," Apollo suggested.
"You should eat something," Madison suggested as she grabbed his left hand, dragging him along.
She got plates and started putting food on them like he was her child. She got food from all categories of the food triangle.
"You know—," Jareth tried to say but was interrupted.
"I know you can get it yourself, but I'm worried about you zoning out." She spoke. "You didn't eat yesterday."
She put his plate in Jareth's hand and started to guide him to the table.
Jareth felt complete helpless to Madison who thought she was helping him out. I wish I could just tell her, Jareth contemplated this.
"She's not just a demon," Apollo interjected. "She's a hybrid. Now, usually, with Draven in charge, it wouldn't be a problem, but after he went down, groups formed trying to take out their enemies so when he returns, they will be by his side as the strongest group. My suggestion is to drop hints about what she is."
Jareth nodded, and Apollo could see it through his eyes as his head moved up and down.
The good thing is I don't see any Youngbloods here," Apollo stated.
"Jareth paused for a brief moment and continued to walk. That was enough to tell Apollo that there is one.
"Who?" Apollo asked.
"Damion," Jareth interjected his thought.
"You were sleeping in the same room with a Youngblood!" Apollo practically yelled in his head. Do not mention anything of what you are to him. We have to make sure of what type of Youngblood he is. I have to think."
That's when the two of them reached the table. Everyone who was in their morning group was already there. Jareth sat on Damion's left and Madison sat on Jareth's left. All of them were digging in except for Jareth who was just starring at it.
I can't eat. The Half-ling thought. I need a reason not to. He looked around the table at his sister and his new friends eating. I need help.
Madison looked at Jareth. She was in the middle of chewing, and it looked as though she was going to berate him the moment she finished.
"I have decided," Apollo said. "Mouth the word "Cambion" and wink at her."
Jareth interjected his thought, "what?"
"Just do it before she swallows."
Right before she swallowed, he made eye contact with her. After slight hesitation he mouthed the word "Cambion," followed by a wink.
Her eyes went wide open as she slowly turned back to face her food.
"Now, what?" Jareth thought to Apollo.
"Give it a moment," he replied. "She's going to want to know, but not in front of everybody else."
Like Apollo could predict the future, as soon as she swallowed, she turned again to face the half-ling.
"Do you mind if I ask you something in private?" Madison asked with a smile that made her look innocent, which sent a small shiver down his spine.
Before Jareth could even think of what to say, she grabbed his left hand, pulling him from his chair toward the elevators. Damion was about to stand up when Mia stopped him.
"What's she going to do to him?" Mia asked. "She appears to care about him as much as you do."
Damion paused, debating what to do. Ultimately, he sat back down. I can just give her a beating if she does something to him, Damion thought with a pout.
Meanwhile, Madison was dragging the poor half‑ling to the elevators. When she got there, she pushed the up button. The two of them waited, and Madison showed no sign of letting go of his arm.
"Can you just tell me what—," Jareth tried to say but was interrupted.
"Not here," she snapped. "She could be listening.
"She?"
"Not here," she said angrily.
The doors opened. The two of them stepped into the elevator, and Madison pressed floor 16. The doors closed and the elevator began to rise. They stood there in silence, Madison still maintaining a tight grip on the half‑ling. A soft ding sounded, and the doors opened. The moment they did, Jareth's jaw dropped. What stood in front of him looked like something out of a futuristic cyberpunk sci‑fi movie.
There were lights, screens, and big boxes all around the room that made you feel like you were in the future. Even though floor 16 was supposed to be one floor, the ceiling was definitely higher than two floors. The space, which was clearly bigger than the other floors, looked like a small cyberpunk type city. There were stairs in places that led up to suspended gaming boxes, the ones Jareth had never had enough money to rent. The two floors were filled with little shops and buildings, and there was a section that looked like the entrance to a mall.
"This is floor 16 and 17," Madison stated. "These are the gaming boxes floor. You told me you never had been in one of these. So, I will give you a rundown."
Madison was saying this as she was still dragging him throughout the place. She was trying to find two gaming boxes that were next to each other.
"There is a world called the NYXIS. It is a place where everyone is able to interact and play vertically anything, and I mean anything. You'll see what I mean."
She kept on dragging him across the floor, up a small staircase next to two gaming boxes with a green light above each.
"This will do," she said.
Madison pressed her Forwatch up against the control panel. A screen came on showing the number 1 with an arrow pointing up and one pointing down. She hit the up button 4 times. She hit ok on the screen which displayed 5 hours for $50. She pressed confirm and the door opened. On the inside suspended in the air looked to be a full body VR suit. She dragged him in fitting him up with the jack, gloves, footwear, and other Velcro cords that was wrapped around his body.
"What is this?" Jareth asked.
"You should know?" Madison said. "The game is a virtual reality game. It's fully immersive. Once I put this helmet on your head, it will suspend your body in a trance like state and transport your mind into the game. There is a short tutorial phase where you will have to choose your avatar, name, and appearance. The game will use the box to scan your body, copying the evolved powers that you have into the game along with your physical ability. You may adjust what evolved power you have, but it is considered taboo. My gamer tag is demonicMadison1. Once you are through, you will friend request me and we can talk in private away from her. Don't ask who she is."
"That's a lot of info—," Jareth was yet again interrupted as she placed the helmet over his head.
His body went limp as he was pulled up into a suspension, his mind being transported into the virtual reality game.
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