And so the evening was, Warring Dimensia 2.

  What many of that day and age would call a poorman's, richman's and everyman's game.

  In the minds of teenage boys, it was everything. Battle, cammerederie, war, betrayal, trust, strategy, some modern philosophers of the day would even go so far as to call it a metaphor for life itself.

  But that was besides the point...

  Max: You've never played it before?

  Luke: Well... only once or twice at Vince's place.

  Max: Oh...

  Luke: But it's alright. I'll figure it out. (thinking: Can't be that hard, right?)

  Rose, in the meanwhile, took a look at the video game.

  Rose: Ooooooh what's that?

  Max: Warring Dimensia 2. It's the game I was telling you about the first day we'd met.

  Rose: Oh yeah. I remember.

  And then she turned to Ken.

  Rose: I didn't know you played that game.

  Ken: You didn't even know what this game was before today.

  Rose: Eh... well....

  Ken: Whatever....

  Luke held onto one controller and randomly picked a class.

  Luke: This'll do, right?

  Ken: Wrong. That would be the Dextrous class. Only people with incredible hand eye coordination can ever hope to use them.

  Luke: Hand eye coordination?

  Ken: Like Max...

  Luke turned to see a smugly smiling Max.

  As for Rose...

  Rose: So... uhh... what are you doing?

  Max: Picking a class. (to Ken) Hey Ken, how about we switch this time?

  Ken: Sure. I'm game.

  Max: Hmm? Think you can handle it?

  Ken: Heh. I may not have your reflexes, but... I'll manage.

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  And as the group chatted....

  Tiffany lay at the dinner table, silently munching on the cake.

  Rose was right, it was really good cake. Her and Mrs. Hunter really outdid themselves.

  However, that was not her main concern.

  Perhaps because she was not used to the house, perhaps because she felt that something was off, who really knew, but for a reason even she hadn't fully figured out, she'd decided that sitting in silence suited her just fine.

  After all, why join them?

  She didn't need to, at least not immediately.

  In her curiosity, she got up and started to walk around the kitchen, looking around aimlessly.

  As for the others....

  Rose: Woooooh! Go Max!

  Max was already quite a bit ahead of Ken, teamwise, at least.

  Max: Just a few more kills and my team'll win. Hmph.

  Ken: Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

  Having said that, Ken proceeded to shoot down two unsuspecting players, bringing his score closer to Max's.

  Luke: Hey, aren't you supposed to have a computer for a brain?

  Ken: Mmmmmmm... (sighs) Forget it....

  And back with Tiffany, she found herself looking at the glasses, the spoons and the utencils. Simply admiring the house.

  Tiffany: (thinking: Just a normal house...)

  And then, her eyes turned to the walls of the dining room.

  Nothing spectacular.

  So, she decided that she may as well take the rest of the evening off.

  After all, it was a video game. Just how bad could it be?

  At that point, Rose had noticed Tiffany quietly looking into the distance.

  Rose: Tiiiiiiiffff! C'mon! The game looks super cool!

  Tiffany: Alright. Im coming.

  She walked towards the sitting room and herself got seated as Max and Ken continued to compete.

  Max was still in the lead, but was slowly losing his ground.

  His character was low on health.

  Ken: It would seem that youre just about done. Huh, Max.

  As for Ken, his character was still at full health.

  Max: Mmmmmmm....

  Maximillian Hunter was not used to playing like Ken. The risky aggressive playstyle he was used to was a stark contrast to the patient and level headed playstyle required to play by the Attritious.

  And to make things worse, his avatar found himself surrounded by four different dextrous players.

  Rose: Oh no! Max, get out of...

  But it was too late, Max was promptly defeated.

  Luke: Ooof. Sorry Max.

  Ken: Hmph.

  The aforementioned Dextrous walked in to loot his equipment.

  Ken: Then I guess this match is...

  And then, before another word could be said, a massive explosion occurred from Max's avatar's dead body.

  Rose: What the... !?

  Luke: Huh!?

  Ken: Hmm?

  And Max stood up.

  Max: Booyah! Wooooh! That's right! Who's the king?!

  Rose: B... but what...

  Ken: Self destructive heart..... my strategy.....

  He turned to see a smugly smiling Max.

  Ken: Heh. Not bad, not bad at all. (thinking: Always surprises with this guy.)

  And Ken's thoughts didnt stop there.

  Ken: (thinking: So... he purposely got himself surrounded by the enemy... all to take them down all at once. Truly, a genius strategy.)

  Rose: W... wait. What just happened....?

  Max and Ken shared a questionable glance, almost as though they asked themselves, "Should you tell her, or should I?"

  The answer to that question was obvious, seeing as Max had been taken down.

  So Max started to try to explain to Rose how Warring Dimensia 2 worked, while Ken tried to make up the newly enlarged score difference.

  As for Tiffany, she watched the game in silence.

  She noted Max's eye for strategy and his adaptability, sure. She already had some idea of his capability in those areas. But at the moment, something else was bothering her. Something she couldn't shake off. Something she didn't even know.

  Her eyes strayed around the sitting room, almost as though looking for something peculiar.

  And within a few minutes, she noticed something.

  Something out of the corner of her eye.

  It wasn't something peculiar. In fact, it was something that wouldn't ordinarily perturb her.

  No, it was what that normal thing meant or might have meant that bothered her.

  The Hunter family photo.

  With mother, child, and, most alarmingly, father.