Zoey.

  The escort from the detention facilities in the basement, back up through the greater complex, and indeed, all the way back to her very apartment was—tense.

  Oh, who was she kidding?

  It was downright awkward!

  Of the three armed troopers that were walking with both herself and the captain, not a one of them so much as even spoke while they marched from the secure underground to the much more free and openly poputed upper floors!

  Only, they weren't quite as filled with life as she'd remembered them.

  Everywhere she looked, people were terrified. Not of the guards, but of the facility itself... Moving through the halls like the pce was haunted and seeking to steal their souls for the afterlife.

  Yet, that didn't stop people from staring at them.

  Zoe felt mortified to be seen by so many people, guardsman in tow…

  It made her feel guilty.

  Like she was somehow to bme...

  And though nobody called out, jeering at her as if she were being paraded at market within a pillory, the flush of embarrassment never once left her cheeks.

  Still, by the time they’d reached her apartment, the young woman couldn't have said that her treatment at their hands had been, in any way, harsh. At least, it hadn't after the first few days.

  Afterward? Well, Zoe really did have to admit that her time spent in isotion had become a good deal more patable and a lot less distressing.

  Yes, it was true, the interrogations had been fairly miserable, but everything else around them was, at least, non-violent…

  Why, the way she’d heard people talk about the pce, hah… she’d honestly been half expecting them to start removing her nails one by one after leaving her in a lightless cell with nothing but tasteless paste as nutrients.

  Instead, her stay could have, comparatively, even been said to be 'comfortable'. I-in a certain light, of course.

  All the same, when they finally arrived at her door, Zoe had been so traumatized that she didn't even want to open it; she just stood there, silently staring at the barrier like it might somehow incriminate her, unwilling to do a thing she wasn't told to.

  Then, from behind her, a sigh arose, and a moment ter, her door was opening without her express consent.

  Zoe shifted, turning with wide and horrified eyes, wondering if, for some reason, the guard escort was to be her execution team, and her room, for some equally twisted pn, was where they pnned to do the terrible deed!

  Instead, what she got a sight of was Niomi’s exasperated and half-lidded eyes. The older woman simply gazing right passed her and 'at' the complete and utter devastation that had been wrought upon Zoe's room in the wake of the investigation.

  The pce was a mess.

  Ruined, quite honestly…

  And, though Zoe wasn't particurly happy about it, to be honest, she was simply pleased not to have her head on the metaphorical chopping block…

  “Gavin?” Niomi grunted, immediately catching the attention of a nearby man who closed the distance from their humble perimeter, at his captain's request.

  “Yes, Ma’am?”

  “Did we do this to Mrs Kiloksha’s room?”

  “We—for the investigation—” The man began, hesitating but firming his resolve shortly after. “We did as we were ordered, Ma’am. No more than what we felt necessary.”

  “No, I’d have done the same, I just needed to know if it was us.” The woman stated, receiving a curt nod from the man in understanding. "And, since all the cleaning drones have been going haywire..." Niomi paused, her head gently shaking from side, her nerves wound so tightly that Zoe could see one of her eyebrows twitching.

  “Politics are going to have a field day deciding who pays for what and 'where' the bme truly lies, but for the time being, can you ensure Mrs Kiloksha is properly indemnified for this fiasco? I get the feeling I’ll have my hands full…”

  “Y-yes, Ma’am.”

  Seeing the ‘look’ that the young woman was giving her, the captain let out a small grunt, gncing back at her man as she did so. “Perhaps it would be best to offer her the day to recover—alone. You may help her start picking up the pieces come morning.”

  The thankful look that she gave the older woman had Zoe, once more, believing that the rumors surrounding the captain were well-founded.

  Indeed, while her room was a disaster, Zoe, in every sense of the word, simply wanted to be left alone right now, even if it meant she would be spending the night amidst her destroyed dwelling.

  “Mrs Kiloksha,” The captain added, now meeting her gaze with calm intensity. The older woman waited until she clearly had her wards' undivided attention before continuing. “I trust,” she began, “that when you inevitably make your ‘report’ to the good Rabbi Nelson, that you impart upon him both the gentle hand in which your were held in custody with, as well as the efforts both myself and my team have gone through and will continue go through to ensure your ongoing comfortability in these trying times. I would, of course, consider it a personal favor.”

  Z-zoey simply nodded, entirely intimidated by the rger and muscled woman’s looming presence, yet she still eked out a small reply, thanking the captain, then her individual guards, for their, as priorly stated, ‘gentle treatment,’ so far as such circumstances could be allowed.

  Again, Zoe was merely happy it was all behind her at this point.

  Hopefully…

  When the Meadows captain departed with her security team, Zoe found herself eventually able to let out a long and exhausted breath that she felt as though she’d been holding since her capture.

  It was—finally—over.

  Thank god.

  The very first thing Zoe did was take a shower!

  Not only because she’d been forced to endure the tiny ‘her-sized’ cubicle during her attempts at cleaning herself, but also because a nice, hot, and long shower had always helped calm her down.

  She was tense. She—w-well, she needed some damned stress relief!

  Yet, the while prospect of her usual go-to for such things would normally have her already itching for the touch of her toys, Zoe, at that moment, really didn't feel like it.

  No, stepping back into her room, Zoe, despite having her freedom back and knowing she needed something to take her mind off it all, decided that she couldn't live in the chaos of another’s making and stay sane through the night.

  So, she began cleaning.

  It didn't take terribly long because her room wasn't terribly rge, but by the time she was happy enough with the result, she’d put back that which could be salvaged and made a pile of that which could not.

  Sadly, her mattress had been torn apart in various pces as well. Its Gel foam held up reasonably well. However, there were at least two dozen incisions into its firm expanse, and in some areas, its guts were already starting to force their way out.

  Hopefully, she'll get a repcement tomorrow.

  Still, she managed to find a reasonably comfortable spot after she’d thrown a few bnkets over the mess and settled herself against the cushions, reaching over to a wall-mounted panel to retrieve a familiar cable from its hatch.

  With practiced hands, Zoey plugged herself in, blinking for but a heartbeat before her true body rexed, and she woke again in a form not dissimir to the one she’d just left behind.

  Entering the Sub-verse. Css Three Neural link detected! Please wait while your consciousness is transferred—Warning! Due to continued maintenance issues, a queue has been implemented. Warning, due to ongoing investigations, all incoming and outgoing data will be monitored. Transferring—Transferring—Transferring—Transferring...

  Zoey felt a lurch!

  A swaying-like motion briefly disoriented her until, like a dreamer snapping to the waking world, Zoey blinked, her room, much like her body, left behind as she moved from one universe to another.

  Within heartbeats of the transition, Zoey found herself standing in a familiar virtual promenade, surrounded by countless other souls that all lounged, lingered, and chatted in the general concourse.

  The Sub-verse, under normal circumstances, had strict rules over one's avatar and their appearance.

  Unless one had the money to spare, the general rule of thumb was that no avatar could exceed the bounds of one's physical form beyond a twenty percent overall change.

  This meant that, for Zoe, she very much looked exactly like her true self, only she was ten percent shorter while needing to rely on the remaining ten percent to reduce her other various aspects, lest she came out looking somewhat unfortunately rounder than she was happy about.

  In effect, she was simply ‘scaled down’ by ten percent without really having tried to 'improve' anything else than her height.

  It wasn't much, but Zoe definitely had a thing regarding her stature, and, though she couldn't do much about it in the real world, at least she could look how she most desired, online.

  As it happened, ten percent was actually a fairly substantial change, and it brought her from ‘giant’ to something that was just below the average.

  In effect, it meant that 'most people' one met online were in fact very simir to how they might appear in real life. Only, here, she was surrounded by Republic denizens who were all sporting absolutely silly attire.

  Customization and personalization were a big part of things in the Sub-verse. Because things were cheaper, had easier access, and still could feel near-to-real depending on one's settings, the quantity of excess that people were willing to splurge on had far, far outstripped the pace of their regur lives.

  Truth be told, Zoe didn't really want to do too much 'here', as many people so enjoyed. While the concourse could see you dining in a high-css steak restaurant, or bring you to a casino that would let you feel 'rich' while spending paltry credits at slots, Zoey simply wasn't 'interested' in any of that.

  Of course, she’d certainly spent her fair share of time drifting through cafes and chat rooms, typically looking for topics she found interesting, the true reason she so often logged on to the virtual world was Brutal Fantasy.

  Some people, she knew, liked to just hang out online and mess around with sandbox environments or the ever-popur simutors. Perhaps learning how to fly a cargo hauler, or an old world bipne, safe in the comfort of knowing that, no matter what happened, they were simply code rather than flesh.

  Others used the Sub-verse to meet with distant friends or family who simply weren't feasible to visit in the real world.

  Yet, more still gravitated towards the vast array of online games, from ‘Terra Wars’ to the ‘Gactic Circuit.’ People could be said to spend all their free and waking hours in such boundless entertainment.

  However, the single most popur game across the republic, bar none, was, as it happened, the game that Zoey spent most of her time in.

  With a wave of her hand, she opened her interface, quickly tapping through the menu to reach a familiar portal that she immediately took.

  Her world faded, the span no more than a pulse before she was abruptly standing on a verdant green field.

  Massive white clouds dominated an infinite blue sky above, the call of distant birds creating a momentarily serene and gentle symphony that immediately set her at ease like a shot of ‘Recollection’ straight to the veins.

  Zoe smiled, closing her eyes and taking in the warm summer scents all around her!

  The flowers, the wind, the gently rolling grass… The scent of her polished leather and the subtle floral perfume she kept to hide the slight undertone of her own perspiration.

  In many ways, Brutal Fantasy, as much as it was a game, was as much a simution in of itself.

  It took everything into account. From one's personal hygiene (in the world) to the very real pain one could feel if they were struck by a goblin's club.

  Of course, things were often easier in the online world, baths, for example, not being the only means one had to clean themselves.

  Case in point, Zoe raised her hand, tracing out a familiar spellwork in the air as her finger left a burning afterimage following along in its wake.

  “Cleanse!” She whispered, nodding to herself as she felt a familiar burning tingle across her flesh, her body, clothes, and personal effects were all seared away from any form of ‘ick', and all within moments.

  God, but did she love this freaking game!

  Sadly, as much as it could be fun, Zoe didn't py BFO, 'just' for its entertainment value.

  No, as much as it might be fun to try her hand at some of the many other aspects of the infinite realm before her, the reality was that this was also Zoey’s job…

  With a quick look to make sure everything was in its proper pce, Zoe tried her best to reorient herself.

  The st time she'd been online, she'd paused right in this very spot, logging off after getting a proximity warning that somebody was in her room and close to her.

  That was when she found a sex doll waiting in her apartment, and afterward, her life became hell.

  Before that fateful decision, she’d just been coming back from a raid during the final phases of the game's current phase. Before the looming ‘demon lord invasion’ pre-expansion event, and—

  Zoey paused, her nose twitching slightly as the breeze shifted.

  Yes, she’d been on her way to the abbey, having just used transport to quickly travel to Paralis, the nearby city, when she had, as she’d said, paused to log off.

  In fact, the abbey was right there, not a five-minute walk down the hill. It's protective barrier, of which she was technically right at the edge of, having allowed her to avoid needing any number of the typical means to ‘safely’ punch out and return to the real world.

  As it happened, the wonderful smells of lush greenery that she could never truly get enough of, had become lightly subverted by the acrid stink of sulfur, ash, burning flesh, and—

  “Oh shit!”

  Turning, Zoe stared in mild disbelief, her gaze settling upon a ruined mausoleum of a once bright and vibrant starter-city that—

  “Gods damn it! My house!” She cried, one of her hands reaching up to tug on her hood as her jaw gaped at the sheer and overwhelming deviation that had befallen the proud city…

  Smoke billowed from dozens of massive fires that still raged within, the plume growing in size the higher that the dark tendrils rose, creating a truly enormous cloud of darkness that blotted the sky behind her.

  If she focused, she could hear the screams, her eyes widening even further as she caught sight of distant and small figures flying through the smog, ‘demons’ fluttering about the skies overhead in numbers that could be said to be legion.

  “Haha… Wow… that would have really fucking sucked…”

  Well, at least her house was insured, and while she’d really been looking forward to the long touted ‘invasion’ event that she’d—well, completely and utterly missed while being detained, somehow, looking at it from the outside in, Zoe wasn't terribly interested in traveling all the way back to the city to deal with—all of that…

  “Zoey!” A warm and amused voice called out, easily drowning out the distant din and causing the young woman to turn around.

  Walking up the hill, his white and gold robes fluttering around him, was her friend, boss, and when needed, spiritual advisor.

  “Rabbi!” She grinned, honestly feeling relieved to see a friendly face after two straight weeks of misery. “Sorry, I know I haven't been around for my duties, but, I was—”

  “Detained, I know.” Nelson smiled, nodding as he reached her and pced a comforting hand on her shoulder, his accent so—bizarrely calming, washing over her like the waves of a peaceful ocean. “When you didn't show up for your assignment, I tried messaging you, but found the link blocked. So, I had one of the brothers from church go and check in on your apartment, only to find that the floor was completely locked down with security forces.”

  “Yeah…” Zoe sighed, her head drooping with some dejection…

  “Worry not, my dear, I understand your absence from our work was through no fault of your own. All that matters is that you are alright and unharmed?”

  This st bit was spoken as if it were a question, his steely gaze pinning her, as much to glean an answer from her body nguage as any words that might rise from her lips.

  Zoe did squirm just a little, though not because the Rabbi was making her uncomfortable.

  Rather, she was only now putting together exactly what Captain Niomi had meant by ‘make her report.’

  “Did you—”

  “Of course I did.” Nelson grinned, “What? You don't think I would just allow the security forces to simply abscond with one of my faithful flock without having a word with them? The church does not suffer such injustice to those protected beneath the holy symbol, my girl. Thus, I ask again, was your treatment civil?”

  “It—was.” Zoey nodded, taking in a deep breath before affirming herself. “Terrifying, but they didn't—really hurt me… I got spped a few times… B-but,” She quickly added, seeing the slight frown that formed on the Rabbi’s thin lips, “It wasn't by Captain Niomi or her men! I-it was the Paradise agents, the security forces were actually quite nice, they even brought me pudding for dessert…”

  “Then, this is good.” Nelson smiled, nodding curtly and patting her on the shoulder. “Come, let us speak inside the Abbey. This—event that the gamemasters are running, it has created so much chaos within my happy little valley… I find myself unable to wait until the expansion arrives and the world goes back to a reasonable sense of normal…”

  “I—really hate that I missed it…” Zoe grumbled, following along in and after the Rabbi who held the door to the church for her.

  Inside was—well, something of a shock…

  The sheer noise and volume of all the voices and people, and, not to mention the smells, all of it smacked right into her olfactory sensors and made her face involuntarily twist with mild disgust.

  There were sickly and infected pyers far as her eye could see, characters that were just clinging to the st strings of life as an impromptu field hospital tended to the wounded by whatever means they could manage.

  Zoe frowned at the sight, unsure of exactly what it was she was looking at.

  Most of the people around her seemed to be suffering from a retively uniform affliction that, likewise, appeared to be killing them all, though, the healers that the church employed were quickly moving from character to character and, essentially, doing what their css entailed.

  It was a buzz of activity.

  With new patients being rushed in in fshes of glittering gold light while off to the side, a small contingent of ragged and exhausted-looking mages were all working with an impromptu teleportation rune to send those that had been healed, presumably, right back into the nearby battle.

  Honestly, the sheer panic and hopeless insanity of it all had her biting her lip and wanting to join in!

  It looked amazingly fun! And honestly, Zoe couldn't remember the st time she’d seen that degree of desperation and frantic energy on so many faces who were clearly trying to work together in many—many years.

  Yes, she’d had her fair share of failed raids. But, once you've seen the same boss do the same things dozens of times over, that same degree of tense energy she saw around herself just wasn't something so easy to replicate.

  Sadly, Zoe wasn't just a healer, but she was a healer within the ‘healers guild,’ or, as many more simply called it, ‘The Church.’

  Half part mercenary, half part pyer. All professionalism.

  She couldn't get involved, even if she wanted to. Not without being on leave from her duties, or being hired out.

  So, she moppily followed along through the throng of chaos, leaving those who were pying the game to their fun as she followed the abbot’s Rabbi, all the way to a back room where they could, no doubt, 'speak' in private.