Virtual Vagabonds

1.38 - Rocketmen

October 26, 2025 Darrell S.

“Get in back,” Kevin basically forces Kai, Daamin and myself back. “We’re just here to make a way for you.”

I try to argue but he takes off towards the front and some of the members block us from moving up. We’ve been forced into being escort characters for our own mission. It’s an amazing courtyard, massive but filled with stone statues from around the world. Large stone benches obviously placed there for cover are used to create an intricate design throughout that probably looks better from the sky. The center of the yard is obviously where the rocket or whatever is hidden but there’s a lot of places for fighting and mounted turrets. NPCs in business attire hang around chatting and drinking champagne. As Kai steps into the courtyard sirens begin to sound and turrets emerge. I shove Kai down behind one of the solid stone blocks as shots pound into it. They went right for Kai since he has the drive.

Kevin and Ashley’s gang, our gang, doesn’t show any fear. They rush forward without hesitation and engage even as more turrets, soldiers, bots and drones flood the arena. Laser guns and bullets alike start firing in unison. Some players rush into the open and others fire from cover, but nobody backs down.

Kevin rushes forward with incredible speed carrying both swords. Kicking a man in the chest before cutting clean through a combat bot’s legs sending it to the ground. He follows up by cutting into two men attacking from different directions. I never did get to fight Kevin seriously, now I’m wondering if I would have won or not? Kevin dives to the ground avoiding a flamethrower. Another member of the game puts two holes in the head of the flamethrower user before any damage can be done.

Ashley is carrying heavy machinery, something I didn’t expect. She keeps the enemies from forming groups with what seems to be a never-ending barrage of grenades, rockets and minigun fire. Even when she misses it feeds into the chaos and keeps the enemy from regrouping. Those random energetic outbursts make sense now.

Another member of the gang has arms that are covered in what look to be gold plates, components I hadn’t seen before. They must be costly if she can hide them in plain sight. She rushes from enemy to enemy delivering ferocious punches and kicks. I’ve never seen anyone melee effectively in the game outside of fight clubs but it’s effortless for her. Her afro isn’t even disturbed as she fights. I think she can be my new wife if we survive.

Despite the hard fighting and flashy spots our squad is getting overrun, and I can’t watch them get killed. I know Kevin said stay back, but he didn’t say stay out of the fight. I set up a sniper rifle and take aim. I start by taking out the turrets that are too high for the others to reach.

“Kevin said stay back,” Daamin shouts at me.

“I am back, way back. It’s a long range rifle. Can’t let them die for us.”

“They knew the risk,” he argues.

“But we asked them to take it,” I take out a drone scouting the field.

“You heard them, it’s their family. I already took one of their kids, I’m not going to take another.”

Kai follows my lead and launches some of his micro drones into the field. “I’m just going to do a little hacking then,” he sounds too eager to help.

“Fine, what can I do,” Daamin asks.

“Be my spotter, let me know if someone is in trouble or they send out a specialist.”

“I can do that.”

I don’t know if we help turn the tide of battle all that much, but the gang really picks up the pace. It could have been us just taking out remote defenses that helped them go wild. It could also have been a moral boost seeing us lend a hand. Maybe they just finally got an understanding of teamwork. Before everyone was working alone, trying to show off their best moves. Now people are pulling out combinations. I watch as Ashley throws a grenade, only for Kevin to deflect a bullet, detonating the grenade in the process taking out several enemies in the process.

The ground shakes and begins to split signifying someone has activated the launch. The fighting continues but a path to the rocket opens for us. As the rocket rises from the ground, I’m shocked and appalled. The shuttle is nowhere near finished. It looks nothing like a regular space shuttle. The body is long and thin with flimsy wings hanging from the side.

“I guess I see why the DLC wasn’t finished,” for once Daamin doesn’t seem excited either.

We make our way towards the ship joined by Kevin and Ashley to help clear a path. We all take the opportunity to take down a few enemies after being relegated to support. I stifle a laugh as the ship opens and reveals four seats and not much else. She never even finished the controls for the ship. Daamin climbs in first followed by me and Kai. We can’t seem to launch the ship with pass phrases and there are no buttons.

“I think we need to fill all four seats,” Kai shouts.

“Get your ass on the ship,” Ashley shoves Kevin in without hesitation.

The door closes behind him and he takes his seat, “I love that woman. She makes feral.”

There’s no countdown or launch sequence. As soon as Kevin sits down the door closes behind him and the ship slowly begins to float upwards. I expected all the explosive energy of an actual rocket launch, but this feels more like a roller-coaster slowly climbing the first hill. We’re not even able to look back and check on the battle because Kay didn’t add windows.

***

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1.37 - Family Reunion

October 12, 2025 Darrell S.

There’s a large commotion in the lobby, footsteps, rowdy shouts and laughs. We exit our little lounge area to see Kevin, Ashley and no less than ten people and two robots. They’re all snooping around, checking under desks. It’s video game logic, check behind the rock or in the trash for the hidden Poké Ball. Check that fallen log for a hidden treasure chest. I can’t blame them for that. I’m just curious who they are and why they all came.

“Kevin, I see you brought friends,” I shake his hand.

“No, I brought a gang. It was Ashley’s idea,” he points to her.

“If you guys failed, we were going to take a run at beating the game,” Ashley pauses, “We had faith in you, but just in case. We figured numbers and options might be good. A few of our original members even came back when they heard what we were doing. Right now, there’s just me, Kevin and he fifteen you see here behind us. When we got the call, we figured twenty is better than three. Why not push up our plan and take a run for it now?”

“What are you calling yourselves,” Kai asks.

“We didn’t have a name at first. We didn’t want to be stuck in the past. It’s a funny story how we got our name,” Ashley laughs.

“Hilarious,” Kevin joins in.

“You aren’t saying the name,” Kai points out.

Kevin smiles big, “after we saw your wanted posters, we knew what to call ourselves.”

“Please don’t say it,” Kai backs away.

The entire gang in addition to Daamin shouts in unison, “Virtual Vagabonds.”

“They said it,” I face palm. “I can’t believe they said it.”

“Dre, shoot me. Right here,” Kai points to his forehead.

“If I kill you, who will kill me?”

“I’ll rig a bomb on a dead man switch,” Kai gets excited.

Our suicide pact is interrupted by simultaneous invites to join the Virtual Vagabonds gang. Looking at the player list, Daamin has already accepted his invite and taken a role of Vice Captain alongside Kevin and Ashley. I quickly hit decline, only for another invite to pop up. I hit ignore this time, only for another to pop up.

“I can do this all day,” Kevin says with a smile.

“Just accept it,” Kai says who is suddenly a vice captain as well.

“They give you a little power and you turn on me,” I ask him.

“I’m not turning on you, I’m welcoming you to the gang,” Kai sends his own invite.

“It’s like a parasite.”

“Friend of the crew, part of the gang,” Daamin smiles. “That, or whatever they said in Pirates of The Carribean.”

“I can fix this,” Kai has an evil grin on his face. He produces the debug remote and points at me.

“Stop,” I try to move but it’s too late. A series of chimes let me know I’ve been added to the gang, then promoted to captain and finally added to a party. I’m a... Virtual Vagabond.

“We need matching gear,” Kai says.

“Yeah, this is a raid level and we’re about to go against the final boss,” Daamin agrees.

“I’ve been playing with some ideas,” Ashley adds. One of the gang members approaches her with a data pad.

I watch as Kai, Daamin, Ashley and a few members of the gang offer input and design cues on matching gear. This is why I stopped joining groups a long time ago. I don’t want to do team activities, wear matching clothes or any of that. I just like to play games with my friends.

“Done,” Kai says. My clothes change in an instant along with everyone else’s. “We came up with a combat suit based on the Jonin vest from Naruto and some game called Ghost in The Shell.”

“It’s a manga, and anime, but there are games,” Daamin chimes in.

“Now the colors, blue and white, were all Ashley. We made sure that while everyone had a uniform look, we all had unique characteristics to show we’re individuals. A whole is made up of individuals.”

I’ve got no idea what they’re talking about. I spot some players wearing tactical vests, some in just bulletproof vests. Most of the clothing is dark blue with various white highlights that pulse like small lights. I’m disgusted, this whole team idea goes against my every impulse. I don’t play well with others; they even wrote it on my report cards as a kid. Everyone else seems to love their uniforms. This is ridiculous.

“Alright folks, we’re up against a lot,” Kevin calms the crowd.

Kai presents a hologram, “outside in the courtyard we’ll be fighting to clear way for the space shuttle to take off. Someone will need to activate the control panel to launch it, and when the ground opens, move and don’t fall in the pit. Once on the space station, we’ll take it from there. Beat the security drones, upload the code and beat the final boss. Any questions?”

“Whose ass do we kick first,” a voice from the group asks which gets some cheers.

“Settle down,” Ashley commands them. “We’ll kick plenty of ass after some words from our captain.”

After some time, Kai punches me in the shoulder, “Oh, you mean me?”

“Yeah,” Kevin acts as if it’s obvious.

“Listen up, some of us might die. I hope none of us die,” that’s all I’ve got but they don’t seem inspired. “Alright, let me try to this again. Look at me, I am the captain now,” I get a few laughs. “We’re all going to die one day. The question is how and how soon. If we stay in the game and live our best cyberpunk lives our bodies on the outside will probably wither away and die. If we take on this challenge in front of us, some of us might die, but everyone else will live. At least you’ll die in glorious fashion. Not just the folks here but the million or so people trapped in the game right now. It’s a big choice to make. Risk your life for everyone else, or just wait to die,” I’m terrible at this. “I’m not going to ask you to make that sacrifice. I’m doing it because I don’t have shit to lose and if my life is going to suck, I’d rather it not be in a confined area of virtual reality where my life depends on the whims of an insane woman. I know you want some exciting words about how tonight we dine amongst the kings but I ain’t got it. All I know is I’m really pissed off, and somebody is getting shot for it. I’m sure you’re all pissed about being trapped in the game too. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come here today. So use that, and take your anger out on any CPU that gets in our way,” nobody claps when I’m finished.

“I’ve had enough of being someone’s plaything,” Kevin jumps in. “Each of us needs to be willing to die, or we’re already dead.”

Kai takes over, “I think what they mean to say is that we’ve been through some shit with this game. Pain, suffering and loss. Kay has some crazy weapons waiting for us but it’s important to remember we’ve got something she doesn’t. It doesn’t matter if we’re friends, allies, or just members of the same gang, we’ve been brought here by the bond that ties us together. She’ll never understand that.”

Daamin tags in, “The next hour or so will determine our fate. Everyone out there is trusting us, counting on us and depending on us to give them their future back even if they don’t know it.”

“Let’s go show that psycho emo bitch she shouldn’t have fucked with us,” Ashley shouts and suddenly everyone in the room is ready for battle.

“It’s so sexy when she does,” Kevin whispers and bites his lip.

I look around wondering if anyone else heard that; only Daamin has a surprised look. I make eye contact with him and slyly point to Kevin only for Daamin to nod before we both laugh. A laugh that may be our last.

***

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1.36 - Quizmaster

September 28, 2025 Darrell S.

I prop my feet up on the coffee table and attempt not to fall asleep. Daamin has taken to sitting in a corner cross-legged position and meditating. We’ve been sitting in a lounge area of AutoSoft tower as Kai manually breaks down the data on each of the four drives and reassembles it into something that can be useful. I wish I could help him, but this isn’t in my wheelhouse. The best thing I can do now is to provide him with snacks, drinks and occasional verbal support.

“Keep going Kai, you’re almost there,” I’m great at motivating people.

“I don’t think I can solve it,” Kai sighs and leans back on the couch.

“What’s up with it,” I can’t actually do anything but provide a wall to bounce ideas off.

“The actual data assembly wasn’t hard. It’s just made up of a lot of really small puzzle pieces. You find the slot and slide it in slowly. Most of it is actually just useless nonsense. It’s there to throw you off the trail of what you really need. The hard thing is that parts of it are like a trivia game or a scavenger hunt. The further you go into the data, the more difficult it gets. The pop culture stuff was easy enough. I can just hop on the game forums and read one of the dozens of threads people have made about it and we’ve seen all kinds of user created content in the game. Problem is, I’ve gotten super deep and all the questions are about game lore and I don’t know nearly enough to keep going.”

“I’m sure you can do it; you’ve never let me down before. That brain of yours,” I pat Kai’s head “is unmatched.”

Kai smiles and looks away from me, “when you compliment me like that, I swear,” he shakes his head. “It’s like I’ve been waiting to hear the words my whole life,” he sighs.

“You smart,” I lean over and whisper in his ear. “You loyal. You grateful. I appreciate that.”

Kai leans closer until our heads are touching, his voice suddenly nervous, “do you really mean that?”

“Every word of it.”

“You don’t even know what you’re doing to me right now, I could just melt.”

“Earlier you said you were lonely. Is it rude if I ask about your friends and family.”

Kai sits up, “you really know how to kill a mood and crush a guy’s dreams,” he laughs. “But would be you if you didn’t? I lost contact with a lot of people when I made some, ‘lifestyle choices’ they didn’t agree with.”

“Well, fuck them. You’re an awesome person, and I’m glad to call you a friend. We’re internet friends, but we’re good friends. That makes us real friends. On the inside, we’re all fundamentally lonely. No man or woman is an island. I gave you my phone number so you can call or text me whenever. You don’t have to feel alone.”

“Damnit Dre,” Kai punches me in the shoulder. “You’re going to make me cry again. You can’t read emotions or feelings worth a damn, but almost always know what to say.”

“Can I call you too,” Daamin asks from the corner.

“You were just listening the whole time,” Kai asks, somewhat angry.

“Nope, I fell asleep meditating. I woke up around the crushing dreams part,” Daamin stands and stretches. “What’s the status of the code?”

“Ran into a problem,” Kai responds. “We don’t know enough game lore.”

“I can do that, just read me the questions,” Daamin sounds confident.

I sit patiently as Kai leads Daamin through questions about the game. I can’t tell if they’re making progress but occasionally, they high five or Daamin fist pumps. It’s fun to watch them interact, it’s a different vibe than what I have with Kai or Daamin. Eventually Kai sits back as Daamin answers questions and trivia himself. Half an hour passes before a question finally slows him down. He doesn’t stay paused for long before he goes right back at the questions with a vengeance.

“I think I’m finished,” Daamin passes the drive back to Kai.

“Woah, he did it,” Kai seems surprised before he starts to manipulate the data again. “I’ve got it. I know how we finish the game.”

“What’s the plan,” Daamin sounds excited for a guy who didn’t want to end the game earlier.

“Well, in this building we need to launch the space shuttle, but there’s some heavy security.”

“The Space Station DLC that got scrapped? We’re going to space,” Daamin is really excited now.

“Calm down, we need to get through the security first,” I put a hand on Daamin’s shoulder.

“We can call Kevin and Ashley to help,” Daamin says.

“I don’t see why not,” Kai says. “The more the merrier for this. I wonder if they’ve contacted any of their old gang.”

“What’s next,” Daamin is wringing his hands now.

“We take the ship to the station. Up there, we take on more security. One person needs to upload the data and beam it back down to Earth. Another person needs to take out the final boss. Once we’ve got the final boss taken out and code uploaded, credits should roll, and we should be able to log out again.”

“Guys, I can’t wait, this space DLC is going to be amazing,” Daamin physically leaps out of his seat. “It was supposed to be based on an old Cowboy Bebop manga about a space prison that Spike has to escape from along with the bounty the crew is chasing. Space prisons are cool, but Kay might have put some of the stuff in from the casino episode where Faye is introduced as well.”

“You do realize we might die right,” I have to ask.

“Yes, but also, we’ll probably die if we stay in the game too long anyway. I’ve been thinking about that. Who’s keeping our bodies filled with food and water and stuff. We really do need to get out of here. Diaper rash is probably crazy. We might be just stuck in VR shitting ourselves. You know America’s healthcare is trash. We probably got millions of dollars in hospital bills waiting for us,” Daamin brings up a good point.

“They never forgave our student loans, they aren’t going to forgive medical debt caused by a crazy woman locking us in a game,” Kai stands and packs up the date. “We need to get going. Someone call those two weirdos.”

***

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1.35 - Soy Un Parador

September 14, 2025 Darrell S.

I’ve never been in the AutoSoft building or even half the buildings in this game. Most of the buildings I’ve entered were related to quests. I’m a quest based gamer, Daamin is the explorer, but he didn’t explore the city much. He preferred the badlands. Inside the tower isn’t exactly grand; well it is, but nothing I haven’t seen before. It reminds me of every building in every movie and game that houses a high-tech corporation. The walls are covered with monitors that display generic stock numbers and advertisements for AutoSoft.

“Expecting a fight,” Kay’s face pops up on ever screen.

“Yeah, we were,” I answer.

“Where are you baby,” Daamin shouts.

“I can’t believe this,” Kai looks at Daamin in shock. “She tried to kill us, multiple times.”

“Sorry honey, I couldn’t have you interrupting me while I prepare the final showdown.”

“What’s the deal Kay, I thought we had to fight security,” I try to get to the point.

“I’ve made some changes. You all weren’t playing the game fair. I feel like we need to stay here until some real heroes come along to beat the game.”

“Can you not be a psychopath for fifteen minutes? I know Daamin thinks you’re his manic pixie dream girl, but you’re nuts,” I throw my hands in the air.

“Don’t worry, you’ll still get to fight until your heart’s content, in space. I finally got to finish the space shuttle DLC.”

“Can you start the quest Kay,” Daamin asks lovingly.

“I’ll start the quest, but first I want to show you a video,” Kay vanishes from the screen.

A video titled “Eternal Loser,” begins to play. It starts with a clip of a baby being held by its mother in an old home with wood paneling on the walls. Someone behind the camera passes the mother a cigarette and she takes a puff. The baby coughs and the mother laughs saying, “get used to it,” before passing the cigarette back. The clip fades to black.

We’re looking at a birthday party for a ten-year-old girl. It’s obviously Kay, the face is a little different, but the eyes and blonde hair are the same. A few people sing Happy Birthday as tears gently roll down her cheeks. The camera pans around to show that nobody is at the party but the mother and a few other adults. The video stops on an image of young Kay before we hear adult Kay speak, “I realized I wasn’t popular when none of the kids in my class showed up to my birthday,” she’s speaking as if this is a documentary. “I wish I could say my life was changed after this, but it wasn’t.”

We switch to a clip of a teenaged Kay who looks to be at some kind of religious event. She’s dressed in white and seems to be reading from a religious book, but there’s no audio. “I tried Mormonism for a while in high school, hoping to find a family of my own. It turns out Mormons are not fond of women, or nonwhite people or gay people or people who aren’t Mormon. Actually, anyone who isn’t a straight white male Mormon. It didn’t last long. I won’t be getting my planet,” Kay laughs but none of us get the joke.

We switch to a clip of a punk rock band made up of teenagers. Kay plays the guitar and she’s really good at it. A boy with black hair sings a song and gives it his all. There comes a slow portion of the song, maybe they’re an emo band. The boy kisses the hand of a girl in the crowd. Kay stops playing guitar and slams it over his back before other band members drag her backstage. “Young love, I was invited to join a band. I thought the lead singer really liked me. It turns out, he only invited me because having a girl in the group made them seem cool. I showed him parts of me nobody had ever seen before. It wasn’t my last heartbreak, just the only one caught on camera.”

The next clip starts with an older Kay, maybe early twenties. She’s with a group of guys in a computer lab of sort. She’s at a dry erase board explaining what seems like the idea of Liberty and Strife. The men in the group laugh at her as she finishes. One of them throws a paper ball at her, as she chokes back tears before running out of the room. “Game development for independent studios was taking off when I was in college. I had joined a group that wanted to make a game. We were all pitching ideas, but when it came time for my turn, I struggled to get anyone to pay attention to me. When I finished, they laughed in my face. I’m pretty sure it’s because I’m a woman, and I was the only woman in the group. Well, that game went on to become Liberty and Strife.”

“Oh no guys,” Kai feigns shock. “Kay is a loser,” which causes the three of us to laugh.

Kay snaps, “you don’t know what it means to be a loser, to be ridiculed your entire life! You could never imagine what it’s like to be me,” she’s really upset but it just makes us laugh harder.

“Babe,” Daamin tries to calm her down. “We’re all a bunch of losers. I’ve got Leukemia, social anxiety, I missed a lot of big life events, and I annoy most people with pop culture references to the point that they never want to be around me. You were the first girl I’ve ever kissed, and it was in a video game,” Daamin starts to laugh. “I’m a loser too.”

“I hate my job but I won’t look for a new one because I feel like I lucked into a good position that I’m not really good enough for. Every girlfriend I’ve ever had has dumped me for being clingy or too distant. About a fourth of them cheat on me before dumping me. Do you know how much of a loser you have to be to get cheated on repeatedly and try to save the relationship? My mom keeps asking for grandkids and there are no options in the horizon,” I shrug. “People play RPGs so they can be someone else, because they hate their real lives. It’s a power fantasy, and you can do whatever. Well, that’s why I play anyway.”

“Well Kai,” Daamin asks, “are you a loser too?”

“No, I’m cool as fuck,” Kai burst into laughter, even holding his stomach. “I am extremely lonely. I backed out of so many invites that they stopped inviting me. These two are basically my only friends, and we’re just internet friends. Do you know how lonely I get when they aren’t available? I’m an adult who needs adult supervision so I don’t hurt myself. The person I’m in love with is completely oblivious. Playing these games is the only time I get to be myself, and sometimes, I’m still afraid to be myself or say what’s on my mind.”

Kay shouts with no words then stares angrily for a few seconds, “you’re all assholes for mocking me. You won’t even let me win my own damn game.”

“If you want us to feel bad for you, we won’t,” I shrug again, because I’m getting good at it. “We all know what you’re feeling because we feel it, but we don’t let it turn us into science fiction super villains.”

“Yeah we just lie to ourselves in the mirror every morning about how we’ll be winners one day and confess our feelings and have them returned by our true loves and that’ll guide us all to billions of dollars. We just keep saying our affirmations knowing one day they’ll manifest,” Kai nods at us.

“I don’t do that,” I respond.

“I don’t even know what an affirmation is,” Daamin responds.

“You’re all mocking me,” Kay shouts. “All my life people mock me. I will not be mocked in my own game. I can’t wait until you all die and burn in hell!”

“Even me baby,” Daamin asks.

“You too if you doubt me. If you want to beat the game so bad, read the drives and figure it out, but I won’t make it easy,” Kay vanishes from the screens.

“That went well,” I say.

“We didn’t get killed yet, and we found Kay,” Kai smiles.

“I told you she was going to betray us.”

***

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1.34 – A Long Walk

August 31, 2025 Darrell S.

Surviving a near death experience really makes you think of life in a different way. Your steps are just a little sprier and the air is just a little fresher. The park is less than a block away from AutoSoft, if we can make it there, we can make it to the building. A few people walk around, holding hands, looking at lakes that hold fake fish. A few people check out statues, examine artwork or play chess. I spot Kai and Daamin sitting on a bench with their heads covered. It might work if it was just Kai but hiding is hard for a giant lizard man. He might as well have tried hiding behind a statue or in a bush.

“Hey guys,” I approach them.

Daamin looks pissed, almost like an actual caiman. Kai, has tears in his eyes, a sign that I’ve screwed up again and now I’m feeling bad. Any remnants of adrenaline leave my body in an instant. Maybe I should have let them in on my plan before I decided to go for it. Daamin gives me a shy wave and a look that says good luck when he spots me.

Kai rushes towards me, happy to see me. I open my arms for a hug, he’s a hugger after all. Instead, his fist comes across my face forcing me to stumble.

“Do you want to die? Is that why you did that stupid shit,” Kai has never been this mad at me before. “Answer me, what is wrong with you?”

“I knew someone was planning to attack us.”

“So, you thought you would just take them on solo because we’re holding you back?”

“No, I just thought-”

Kai punches me in the face again, “you didn’t think. Do you think nobody cares if you die? Do you think we’re just going to keep going without you?” I don’t answer so Kai punches me again, and I feel like I’ve earned it. “That was the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.” Kai punches me in the face again.

At this point I wrap my arms around him in a hug. It doesn’t stop the crying but I can’t hear what he’s shouting. I just feel the warmness on my chest as he shouts into it and keeps crying. Eventually he gives in and silently hugs me back. The guy is a hugger, I knew it would work. Still, I hate it. Kai is my closest friend, and I keep making him cry.

“Don’t ever do anything like that again without me,” Kai’s finally stopped crying but won’t let go now.

“If your romantic spat is over,” Daamin calls out. “I think we’ve got a problem.”

Kai finally releases me for us to realize the park has become overcrowded with people looking for us. We are severely outnumbered. The only saving grace is that there’s a lot of low-level players. I don’t have any options coming to mind besides fighting and hoping we reach the tower before someone catches up.

“Alexandre, you’ve really shown me that you can be unpredictable lately. I hope you got one more idea in that head of yours,” Daamin backs closer to Kai and I.

I send Daamin’s sword back to his inventory, “you’re going to need that.”

“What’s the plan,” Daamin asks.

“I can’t think right now,” Kai responds.

“Alright, my plan,” I glance at Kai. “I’m going to do something crazy, is that okay,” I ask only half joking.

He wipes a few tears from his face, “yeah.”

“When I give the signal, we fight our way to AutoSoft. Anyone who approaches with guns out will be taken out by security there. We just need to put our guns away before we get close.”

“What’s the signal,” Daamin asks.

“Everyone knows that if you throw a chair, it’ll cause an all out brawl,” I respond.

“That’s stupid,” Daamin responds.

“Trust me, the chair doesn’t even have to hit anyone.”

“That’s a stupid idea,” Kai responds.

“But you’re included in this one,” I snap my fingers and point at him with a smile.

Kai tries to keep a straight face but cracks a smile. Great, at least when we die, Kai won’t be mad at me. I take the opportunity rush to one of the chess boards and grab one of the folding chairs before tossing it as high and as far as I can. The chair floats through the air spinning and gaining height as everyone watches. A chair made for sitting taking flight is an amazing thing to see. It calls back to memories of watching The Rock go to war with Steve Austin, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, Kurt Angle and Jeff Jarrett. Maybe not Booker T and HHH but they were there. How could I ever forget Rob Van Dam, that man could throw a chair. I spot Daamin and Kai giving me confused looks, but I just give them a thumbs up.

The chair bounces silently on the grass, “Ooh, I’m mad,” one of the other player’s shouts before firing a gun at another player. For a moment there’s complete silence then people begin to brawl and fire off their guns. We’re still targets but they’re fighting over who gets to kill us now. I don’t want to kill anyone, so I choose a handgun and turn to fire as a woman rushes towards me. The firing speed on the handgun is welcomed as I fire off another three shots before I take off running. I almost drop to my knees as something smashes into my back, I turn to fire two shots at a man who had taken a swing at my back with a baseball bat. A shot to the knee for a tall lanky man and one to the head as he falls over. A man comes at me swinging a sword. He slices my first shot in half, but three in quick succession is too much for him to slow down. I duck a haymaker as I quickly reload, firing one into the genitals of my attacker. I actually feel bad about that one. A quick explosion goes off behind me. I turn to see Kai flying on top of the new combat drone flying. In my distraction a woman rushes over to kick my skull in, Daamin appears out of nowhere landing a big tackle on her, flipping in the process and rushing back into the fight. As she stands, I fire a shot at her head before she can recover.

“Damn you virtual vagabonds,” someone shouts before a gunshot silences them.

A bo staff nearly takes my head off, but I manage to avoid it. Someone with panda DNA takes two shots at me using the staff, the first lands on my shin, the next on my ribs. The third shot smacks my gun hand. A random player jumps on the Panda’s back and claws at their eyes. I take the chance to recover my gun and fire shots at incoming players drawn to the madness. Panda man uses a big claw to swipe off someone’s face. For a brief moment everyone pauses before simultaneously opening fire. The Panda doesn’t fall until someone comes in with a flying kick. Soon I’m back to back with another person, firing guns and fending off enemies.

“Hey, I’m Joanne,” the person behind me says firing off a shot. “I really admire what you guys are doing with this virtual life thing. It’s so much better than my real life. If you need a 4th person to help rule the world, I’d love to help.”

“We didn’t actually trap everyone here,” I fire off three shots and switch positions with her. “We discovered how to get everyone home. The game creator is trying to have us killed before we do that.”

“You’re trying to send us home,” Joanne stops firing. I reach behind her and fire a shot at an approaching player.

“Yeah, we have to get back to the real world.”

Joanne turns to shoot at me, but I’m too close for her to get a clean shot. I kick her legs from beneath her and make sure to double tap before stepping over her. Kai does another bombing run of the field. I reach up and grab his hand he flies me over the once quiet park as I fire down with an assault rifle taking out enemies. I watch as Daamin tries to cut through a man twice his size to no avail. I drop down with Excalibur and fire a few shots dropping the man. As if they read my mind, Daamin and Kai take off towards AutoSoft at the same time. Kai flies ahead taking out anyone in front of us as Daamin and I pick off the stragglers.

“Put your guns up,” Kai shouts as we reach the AutoSoft campus.

We rush through the gate no different than we would as tourist. Sirens begin to sound and red lights flash as players approach with guns drawn firing. We turn to watch as turrets and security drones take out player after player with automatic fire. I’m sure the players could handle it in a planned raid, but they didn’t expect it this time and were caught off guard. After what seems like forever the sirens stop and the guns cease fire at the exact same time.

“Well, we made it,” I stare up at the sky.

“Remember when I say you didn’t know how to be spontaneous,” Daamin asks me.

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Please stop being spontaneous. I much prefer, by the book Alexandre. He never did crazy shit like this.”

“I think spontaneous Dre is fun,” Kai smiles.

“Not the way you were crying and punching me earlier,” I respond. “You were putting a lot of power in those punches.”

“Playing with my emotions is like playing with my money, Dre. Stop playing with my emotions. I don’t want to have to fuck you up,” Kai balls up his fist.

“Don’t hit me, they’ll shoot you. Zero tolerance for violence on campus,” I point at Kai.

“Virtual Vagabonds, at it again,” Daamin laughs.

“Don’t call us that,” I start heading towards the tower.

“It’s catching on,” Daamin follows. “I heard people call us by that name out there. We’re a top gang, or corp.”

Kai laughs, “calm down Dre, there’s a zero tolerance policy for violence on campus,” he mocks me.

“I’ll let you have that one,” I nod at Kai.

Liberty and Strife

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1.33 – Virtual Vagabonds

August 17, 2025 Darrell S.

The metro keeps a steady pace towards AutoSoft tower, and we keep our heads down. We managed to reach the station and hop on a train without any problem. Kay kept blasting songs and replaying the message everywhere we went. She’s out there watching us somewhere. I’m not sure if I’m more pissed at her for trying to have us killed or Daamin for giving her the name Virtual Vagabonds.

“Daamin, why vagabonds,” I ask. “First, we all agreed we wouldn’t make an official gang because we didn’t want to deal with all the extra steps. Second, who wants to be called a vagabond? Vagabonds aren’t cool.”

“Vagabonds can be cool,” Daamin responds.

“Name one.”

“Musashi.”

I stare at Daamin in confusion, “who the fuck is Musashi?”

“Musashi is the lead character of the 1998 manga series Vagabond created by Takehiko Inoue. He’s most well known for his series Slam Dunk being one of the best sports manga ever. He also created Buzzer Beater, a series about an intergalactic basketball association that was initially self-published as a web comic, and Real about a former track star, basketball prospect and a delinquent dedicating themselves to the sport of wheelchair basketball after life changing injuries.” Daamin is in full blown nerd mode. “While he’s known for sports manga, he started his career by illustrating an action series called Chameleon Jail and despite the lengthy hiatus, many consider Vagabond to be his best work due to the fact that he stepped away from his traditional kind of story.”

“Will you stop,” Kai shouts.

As we sit in silence, I wonder if the fact that Daamin has Leukemia caused him to miss out on some social growth. He’s idealistic to a fault at times. Sometimes I think he’s a little childish with his logic, actions or thought process. He wants to do everything in one go and names his attacks when he fights or thinks being a swordsman because it’s cooler than using guns. I used to think it was just my own thought process being focused on being logical and setting aside fun, but it’s Daamin’s actions too. I might also be blaming him somewhat because of the sleeping with Kay thing, if they slept together. Falling in love with a person who traps you in a virtual reality simulation until you beat the game because you can see the good in them is just way too positive for me. Especially when it’s probably because she has a reptile fetish. At times like this, I want to tell him to get serious, but that isn’t really my place.

After a few stops we’ve gotten pretty close to AutoSoft but we’re also starting to get a few stares. Kay just keeps raising the bounty, no doubt everyone is waiting for their chance to go after us. I know I might jump at the bounty before I knew someone might die if we killed them in the game, so I don’t blame them.

“We should get off at the next station,” Kai whispers.

“Sounds good to me,” Daamin replies. I just nod.

When the train comes to a stop we stand and move to the exit calmly.

“Hey, there’s a park near the next stop, meet me there,” I shove Daamin and Kai out as the train car closes.

I’m not the strongest in the group, that goes to Daamin. Kai, is the strategist, and the smartest. Me, I’m just good at knowing when shit is about to hit the fan. I spotted the guy behind me when we first got on the train; never moving, always watching us. He’s already got the gun trained on me, and I’m pretty sure he was just going to blast us as soon as we got off the train. Even if I can’t make it to the end, the game can still end. Kai has the ability to assemble the code, and Daamin can beat the security. I got my win in the jail; I can be happy knowing I did my part as a Virtual Vagabond to save all these players. Even the guy who is about to splatter my brain against a train door.

“I knew you all were guilty the moment I saw you so I don’t feel bad about this,” the player speaks.

“A bounty hunter?”

“Don’t feel bad about it, you won’t be my first. You can blame The Creator for making you worth so much,” is this guy monologuing?

“We’re not the bad guys here.”

“Doesn’t matter who the bad guys are or who the good guys are,” he’s really monologuing. “The line gets closer and closer every day.”

I don’t let him finish. I turn and fire a shot from Excalibur ripping through subway seats but he dives for cover in time. I make my way forward to the next car, occasionally glancing back to see if he’s still following. I fire another shot as he crosses into the next car following closely. I don’t have a plan here; I’m just winging it. Being the bad guy is new to me. A few people heard the gunshots and started to flee, blocking my path forward. Soon we’re standing face to face with guns drawn. Excalibur aimed to rip his chest to shreds, him with some kind of unique handgun I can’t recognize.

“Why don’t you shoot,” he asks me.

“What?”

“What’s wrong? Lose your nerve? You started out so fearlessly. Go on, pull the trigger.”

“I don’t think so. If I kill you in the game, you’ll die in real life. Don’t you get that,” he doesn’t know I’m bluffing. I still don’t want to send him off somewhere without a memory.

“I have no fear of death. It just means dreaming in silence. A dream that lasts for eternity,” he thinks he’s a philosopher.

There’s no reasoning with this guy. I fire a shot at his feet and duck behind a seat for cover as he returns several shots. Bigger impact that a regular handgun but nothing crazy. I wait for a pause and pop out to return fire only to be met with a kick to the gut. I try to push him away, but he responds with two fists to the face. A quick kick to the head causes me to stumble and fumble Excalibur II sending it sliding across the floor. As he approaches, he keeps his gun trained on me. I remember Daamin’s sword, quickly taking a wild swing at his ankles and throwing him off balance. I take the opportunity stab him in side before grabbing Excalibur. I could hit him again or shoot to kill him, but he didn’t do anything wrong. I fire at a window on the train, shattering glass. Just tuck and roll is all I think as I force myself out the window. I hold my breath as I land on the opposite side of the tracks and continue to roll, feeling every single bump and piece of hot metal. Lying flat on my back I take a moment to catch my breath.

Liberty and Strife

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1.32 - Come Out and Play

August 03, 2025 Darrell S.

Last night, I didn’t sleep well. I still had a lot on my mind, but Kai didn’t call me, and he didn’t ask to come over either. Without Kai to tell me incredibly boring stories, pick my brain or watch bad movies with me, sleep doesn’t always come easy. He sent a message this morning to Daamin and I stating he was up all night working on modifications and upgrades to the new drone. I suppose that’s important if we’re going to be fighting through AutoSoft security forces.

Absent mindedly, I do what I’ve done a thousand times before. I pull up to Kai’s building, a tower of luxury apartments, I give the doorman a nod and enter the lobby, taking the elevator to the 27th floor. I walk to Kai’s apartment, scan my hand and enter. Kai is curled up and sleeping on the end of the couch. I toss a blanket over him and sit on the other end. Kai gave me a key to his place a long time ago, but I’ve never given him a key to mine. I’ve always wondered why he gave me a key but didn’t press me for a key. He probably wanted to show how much better he is at decorating than I am. Color coordinated furniture, strategic placement of wallpaper.

“Wake up,” Daamin shouts through a video message.

“When did you come in,” Kai asks me.

“I don’t know. I saw you were asleep, and I guess I feel asleep,” we ignore Daamin.

“Is Kay with you,” Daamin shouts.

“Why would she be with us,” Kai asks causing me to laugh.

“This is serious, she disappeared last night,” Daamin seems to really be bothered.

“Relax, we’ll meet you at Club Zero and figure it out,” I stretch before Daamin hangs up.

***

Club Zero, where all of this started. It was the starting point for a lot of our adventures. We picked this place because it’s halfway between my apartment and Kai’s. Daamin has an apartment around here somewhere but he’s usually out in The Badlands or wandering the streets like a vagabond.

“You ever been to Daamin’s place,” I ask Kai.

“He doesn’t have a place in the city. He rents hotels every now and then. He’s a drifter,” Kai takes a drink. “I’d offer you some, but who knows what might happen if we’re both drunk,” Kai winks and lets out a big laugh.

“Guys I can’t find her,” Daamin rushes in before I get a chance to respond.

“Alright, let’s start with last night. Where did you stay,” I ask.

“Her place, but when I woke up she was gone.”

“She got any other places you know about?”

“None.”

“She didn’t say anything about hidden secrets or quests?”

“Nothing.”

“She’s gone from the party,” Kai interrupts my questioning.

Kai is good with emotions, so I let him calm Daamin while I try to figure out what Kay has done. I don’t trust her to just leave without setting us up for failure. Daamin is heartbroken but I’m not exactly sad to see her go. Luckily it doesn’t take long to figure out what she’s up to as the TV comes to life.

“All right now, for all you boppers out there in Astro City,” Kay appears on the screen dressed in the robe as The Creator again. “All you street people with an ear for action. I’ve been asked to relay a quest from the AutoSoft Corporation. It’s a special request for the disrespectful group calling themselves The Virtual Vagabonds. AutoSoft is looking for a real hit, as they’re responsible for trapping us all here. There’s an asshole with a shotgun, a lizard man and a femboy; but be careful, they’re a real live bunch. Some might say they’re warriors. Well, here’s a hit a with them in mind,” a punk rock song starts to play as she vanishes from the screen.

“Did she call me an asshole on TV,” I ask.

“She called me a femboy,” Kai responds. “I might play with gender norms but femboy is a little too far.”

“She called me an asshole,” I feign surprise.

“Yeah, but we knew that’s what she thought of you. I thought we were making progress,” Kai waves a hand in the air.

“Can we focus,” Daamin asks.

“Yes, let’s focus on the main issue at hand. We have never called ourselves The Virtual Vagabonds,” Kai responds.

“Never,” I add.

“I might have called us that a few times when Kay and I were talking,” Daamin looks guilty.

“Hey, look over there,” a man points to us as he shouts. “It’s The Virtual Vagabonds, they’ve got a 5 million credit bounty.”

“Oh god,” Kai sighs. “It’s already sticking.”

“We’re going to have a serious talk about this later,” I look at Daamin before tossing a smoke bomb in the bar. “For now, run.”

We make it outside with no issue but none of us can seem to summon a vehicle. Kay set us up, she’s locked our inventories.

“What do we do,” Daamin picks up a trashcan and throws it down.

“First we stop breaking shit and drawing attention,” I punch him in the arm. “Then we run to the subway station and get off at the tower.”

We take off running at top speed trying to avoid anyone getting a good look at us. It doesn’t help that seemingly every billboard and television is displaying our faces and calling us Virtual Vagabonds. Seriously, why would he call us that? Sticking to alleyways takes longer but there’re less people likely to spot us. If we make it to the subway, we should be good.

“Why Virtual Vagabonds,” I ask as we run.

“Because we never stay with one game too long and we only play VR games,” Daamin explains.

“You only play VR games. Me and Dre have played lots of games,” Kai argues.

“Well I’m sorry I didn’t get your approval for the merchandise,” Daamin responds sarcastically.

Liberty and Strife

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