Flag Race

by Felipe Valente

  Little did he know that his attempts to contact Letícia were only making her distance herself more and more from him. Thiago had taken advantage of the situation to act as Letícia’s kind friend, comforting her with thoughtful messages. Though she didn’t really like the boy, she took the opportunity to complain about how stupidly Pedro had acted and what a jerk he’d been to the point of daring to stuff her inbox with messages after all he’d done.

  “Dont mind him,” Thiago texted her. “Hes a real douche now hes got a name 4 him on the neuralnet. I mean im big there and i can still see ur much more important than any other girl in my life.

  “I know i may have come off as rude,” he went on, “but thats only bc u havent got 2 know me 4 real. How about u give me a chance? What do u say about coming w/ me 2 the prom?”

  Letícia sighed. Something inside her still brazenly resisted the idea of being with Thiago. She recalled Amanda’s advice then. What did she have to lose, after all? She had no intention of being alone just because her ex-boyfriend had been a jerk. Even her dad wouldn’t have any qualms about this relationship.

  “Sure!” she finally answered him.

  Pedro wasn’t getting any answers, so he kept on chatting with his friends while they played online, asking for their help.

  “Man, it really sucks that it’s so risky for you to report Thiago to the police!” Daniel remarked. “I still can’t believe that douchebag did that!”

  “I saw you were acting weird, all right,” Luiz agreed. “Letícia’s right in being upset. It was ugly, man...”

  “I’ll try to talk to her anyway,” Pedro said. “She’ll have to read at least one of my texts!”

  But it was no good. Pedro saw night falling without a single reply from the girl. He sighed, hating himself for having acted so naively when the fake Mary had asked for his Neurolink. If only he’d been more careful, none of this would be happening.

  During that night’s practice session, he was struck and disintegrated twice by simple attacks that Asuka fired against him. The little witch questioned him.

  “Ace? Are you OK? You’ve always been so quick to dodge my lightning! I’m not letting you off easy, the final match is tomorrow already! But I didn’t think I’d get to disintegrate you...”

  “It’s not your fault, Asuka. I’ll try to focus more...” he replied sullenly.

  They were training hard. Bobby, shaped like a huge, muscled, four-armed wrestler, dueled with Dante. Mary was defending herself from Kerah’s shots. There was a certain tension in the air, because they would soon find out who their final opponents would be.

  They’d studied all there was to know about the teams they could face. They understood how strong Last Fantasy was, but they were really scared by what Warfear was capable of.

  Besides Blazkowicz, who liked to stick to the military theme and use pistols, rifles, bazookas, and war tactics, the remainder of the team was just as aggressive, since they were all Hitters.

  Nohman attacked with robots. He made whole armies of bots, all of them heavily armed, to weaken his foes, while he himself drove a battle mech to finish them off.

  Lilith, in her sexy clothing, her little horns, and bat wings, was a fiend of fire. She made flaming streams to engulf her foes, besides being nothing short of lethal with her kicks and punches.

  Seforth was the one who was most into melee combat, being a swordsman with long, white hair, who always wore light armor and a black trench coat.

  With a huge variety of tactical maneuvers, El Blacko, the ghostly pirate, disintegrated his opponents with curses, cannonballs, and even by running them over with his flying ship.

  The last member of their team was known simply as Shadow. It always took the shape of a dark version of its opponents, using their own strengths to defeat them. Each player it faced was soon beaten by a gloomy version of themselves.

  Dante’s Chaos saw as many replays as possible, trying to get themselves ready as best as they could, should this powerful team be chosen as their next opponent. After a few more minutes of practice, Ace and his friends were frightened to hear a metallic voice echoing through the court.

  “Attention all players from the official Flag Race league! Attention all players from the official Flag Race league! Please come immediately to the server area!”

  The warning was repeated several times while Dante’s Chaos left the court. Everyone was looking at each other. This wasn’t the way they expected to hear the news of who their final opponent would be. Deep in his heart, Ace hoped it would be Warfear. He wanted to have the chance to wreck Thiago in-game.

  He was further astonished to see the server had been altered. Instead of the usual bar, the server’s main area was now occupied by a stage, on which the official game play-by-play announcer was standing. He was a tall man, dressed in a brown suit and a white shirt. Above his head something like a green diamond floated. All players from the official teams who were inline gathered all around, waiting for the news to be revealed.

  “There’s something wrong,” Dante remarked. “We’re not here just to hear who we’ll be facing.”

  After the mass of users crowded around the stage, the sportscaster began, “Hello, noble players! First of all, I’d like to announce to you all which teams shall be playing in the final match! Please, ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause to Dante’s Chaos and Warfear!”

  Everybody clapped their hands, hooves, and claws, while virtual confetti fell over the players. Other players were opening up to leave enough room for the final teams, allowing the two groups to catch a glimpse of each other. Blazkowicz seemed to be trying to hold back a smile.

  “Very well, then! But that’s not the only reason why I have gathered you all here today! There’s an important announcement to be made! New rules were established in order for our game to grow even more prestigious throughout the world.”

  Mary’s hair grew pale. Dante lifted an eyebrow. Bobby crossed all four of his arms. The announcer went on.

  “This year, the Flag Race producers have been receiving complaints regarding the intensity of the game, how it might be improper for certain age ranges. That’s a problem that had bothered many people some time ago, given the anonymity granted on the Neuralnet. That’s been changing ever since new Neurolinks started arriving in the market.”

  What’s he possibly getting at? Ace wondered.

  “Since then, all users may be identified and cataloged inline, allowing a degree of control in accessing certain contents. For the sake of our wonderful game, the producers have decided to give in to popular pressure, thus obliging its users to have some of their basic information made available to the public.”

  A murmur could be heard then among all users. Everyone was indignant with this new idea of having their data revealed all around the Neuralnet.

  “Please understand, my dear friends, that your data won’t be used against you. We’re just trying to keep our game from being canceled simply for not complying with what the world requires from us.”

  “But what kind of data will be divulged?” a dinosaur asked.

  “Only what’s needed in order to keep the users from breaking their country’s and the Neuralnet’s laws. And as a demonstration of our goodwill, these factors will already be taken into consideration for this final!”

  The murmur became a mess of complaints and curses. Ace kept his eyes fixed on Blazkowicz, who began to crack an ironic half-smile. I knew he had something to do with this! But after all, what’s that going to change?

  “Do calm down, do calm down!” the announcer went on. “Remember the contract you agreed to when you first started to play Flag Race. You knew the producers could change the rules of the game if the need to do that came up. That’s all for now. You’ll receive the details regarding these changes in your Neurolinks. You may go back to your courts or hang around to see what else is new in the main screen, right here on my side.”

  Soon after that, Ace’s and his friends’ devices started beepi
ng with the following message, “The Flag Race organization requests your immediate presence at the central server office.”

  While the crowd dispersed, still complaining about the new rules, Dante’s Chaos went down to the aforementioned office, to which the announcer was also heading. Blazkowicz followed them with his gaze, while the grin on his face grew less and less discreet.

  “Very well... Good to see all the team members are here,” said the announcer after closing the office door, to keep the conversation from being heard from outside. “We need to talk.”

  “Is there anything wrong?” Dante inquired. “I mean, we fought really hard to get all the way here and now there’s only one match left, there’s not going to be any change that will hurt our team, is there?”

  “Unfortunately, it’s not my decision. I’m only forwarding what the higher-ups have determined. You’ll receive all the details in your Neurolinks. I’m here just as a courtesy to explain to you the whole situation.” He took a deep breath and paused for a long time, before he added, with a tinge of grief in his voice, “Bobby, you can’t play Flag Race anymore. At least not until you’re old enough.”

  Bobby remained silent. All other team members were bursting with questions. “What? What do you mean? What a stupid idea this is. This is ridiculous! They can’t do that!”

  Ignoring them, the announcer went on.

  “One piece of information that’s become accessible now is the players’ ages. Flag Race has been classified as improper for players under fourteen years old. For that reason, Bobby isn’t allowed to remain in the game.”

  “You don’t understand!” Ace complained. “Blazkowicz was the one who made this all happen! He wants us out of the championship!”

  “Like I said, I’m only forwarding the information. If you have evidence of that, I’m sure the game authorities will be eager to hear what you have to say. Anyway, in order to keep your team from being hampered by this new situation, it was authorized that a new player may be chosen to replace Bobby. As long as he or she is eligible according to the new rules, you may choose anyone you’d like.”

  Tears were streaming down the muscled four-armed wrestler. Ace and his other friends kept on complaining and asking question after question to the announcer, who at last broke his silence, but didn’t say anything other than, “Again, I’m really sorry and I wish you guys luck in the final match.” He opened the door and left to the server.

  Still weeping, Bobby logged out.

  The anger Ace felt made him want to blast the server into pieces, but he knew its programming laws wouldn’t allow it. All his friends were furious, but not as much as he was. He knew it was personal. He knew Thiago was involved in this, getting revenge on Bobby for helping him get his Neurolink back. He was angry at himself too, as he recalled none of this would have happened if he hadn’t stumbled into Blazkowicz’s trap. And to top it off, that same jerk had done something so awful to his girlfriend she was now refusing to talk to him.

  They remained silent while they left the room. At the center of the server, above the main bar, they noticed now there was a large screen showing a table with information about every player. Ace soon saw Bobby’s name in red. What it said about him was, “Age: 8. Sex: Male. Country: South Korea.”

  The boy’s young age explained how he could keep such a high stability value despite changing his appearance at every access. A child’s sense of self is way more malleable than an adult’s.

  A raging Ace turned to his friends and said, “I need to get back to the court.” With hasty steps he entered the closest door there was to enter a game area.

  Now free to vent his anger, Ace started shooting lightning everywhere. Meteors came crashing down all around him. He made several copies of Blazkowicz so he could disintegrate them one by one, several times over, in the most varied ways.

  Once exhausted and at a mere 6% stability, he sat down on the court floor with his back to the blue base. He couldn’t believe what was happening, couldn’t believe what Thiago had done.

  He broke down and cried.

  Despair was building up in him when he realized nobody would be an ideal replacement for Bobby. How could they choose someone in less than twenty-four hours?

  Despite all the training they had and all the victories accumulated until now, Ace knew Dante’s Chaos was no match for Warfear if they were missing one player. His willpower alone wouldn’t be enough to beat them. They needed the whole team, strong and united.

  Light-green-haired Mary entered the court. Silently she walked up to his side and sat down. She let Ace cry for a few more moments before lightly brushing her hand on his shoulder.

  “Hang on, Ace. We’ll find a way.”

  He cried some more.

  “Oh, Mary, you don’t understand! I know you’re trying to be nice, but you have no idea what’s going on with me.”

  “I know you’re thinking this is all your fault, Ace, but it’s not! Blazkowicz was the one responsible for all of this! Just like he deceived you into giving him your Neurolink, he could have deceived anyone on our team!”

  Ace nodded his head, agreeing against his will.

  “Besides,” she went on, “nothing’s decided yet. We can still find a way to win the championship! Dante and Kerah are still in the server and they’re already looking for another player. And they can tell a good player when they see one. They found you, didn’t they? I bet they’ll get to find someone who’s good enough to help us bring that jerk down.”

  “Thanks, Mary.” He dried his tears. “But that’s not all. My real life is looking like crap as well.”

  “Oh, and you think you’re the only one? I’ve got my issues too! You have no idea what I’ve been through this week!”

  “I really don’t know what you’ve been through, I’m sorry. But I bet you don’t know what’s it like to find out someone else used your body to wreak havoc on everything you had with your girlfriend. And it wasn’t just a little havoc he wreaked, I tell you that. He must have done something terrible, because I’m trying like hell to get to talk to her again, but she’s still ignoring me!”

  “Easy, Ace... That’s normal. Maybe she just needs some time...”

  “But I don’t have the time! First, because I won’t be able to focus here in the game knowing she’s still mad at me. And besides, I had to get it all settled by the weekend!”

  “But wouldn’t you be mad if you were in her shoes? If she suddenly started being rude to you? I bet you’d need some time yourself to think. And why do you have to settle it all right now? Is she going away or something?”

  “No, I don’t think so. I don’t know yet how next year is going to play out, but still, we were going this weekend to the—”

  She cut him short. “And why don’t you drop by her house, then? Why don’t you talk to her in person? I bet it’d be easier for her to listen to you.”

  “I thought of that, but her dad doesn’t like me. If he saw me coming there... You have no idea how hard it was for her to ask her dad if we could go together to the prom this weekend.”

  Pensively, Mary squinched her eyes before remarking.

  “Wow, this is some Romeo and Juliet story!”

  Ace smiled.

  “Yeah, putting it like that, it does sound pretty clichéd, huh?”

  “It does. And you do know that story didn’t have a happy ending, right?” The boy arched his eyebrows. “I mean... Wouldn’t it be better, maybe, if you just let it go? There must be tons of girls who are into you and you didn’t even realize it yet.” She winked at him.

  “Oh, thanks, but you have no idea how much I like her. Letícia isn’t just some Juliet, you know...”

  Mary’s hair flashed bright red. She looked at the boy straight in the eyes.

  “Pe... Pedro?”

  Chapter 20

  Ace’s eyes opened wide. He was so surprised he couldn’t understand a thing. Mary got up, pulling him with her. She kept looking him straight in the eyes, before remar
king, as she recalled what she’d read on the screen.

  “Brazilian, 16, male, dating a Letícia! Ace! Tell me you’re from Rio! Tell me you’re Pedro!”

  The boy smiled, feeling suspicious. It couldn’t be! Or could it?

  “Hang on! What do you mean? Do you know me?”

  “It’s me! Letícia!”

  “Hang on!” He arched one of his eyebrows. “That can’t be! The Letícia I know doesn’t even use the Neuralnet!”

  “Because my dad forbade me! I know! But he also didn’t want us together and we were still dating! Pedro, please, tell me that’s you!”

  “I am, but—” She hugged him tight. He hugged her back, still incredulous. “But why didn’t you tell me this before?”

  “I was going to! But before we were together, I always figured that if I told anybody else I was going inline, there would be more chances of my father finding it out! He forced me to get rid of my Neurolink shortly before your birthday. I convinced him to at least let me reset all its settings and then give it to you as a gift, since you’re my best friend, instead of throwing it away.

  “I was embarrassed for not having told you this Neurolink I gave you was mine before, and then the more time passed the weirder it seemed for me to tell you. Mom bought a new Neurolink, without Dad knowing, shortly after your birthday. I was afraid Dad would find out... and I was also afraid of telling you! Forgive me, please!”

  “Wow, you have no idea how often I wanted to tell you something about the Neuralnet, but I didn’t, because I didn’t want to tantalize you! Of course I forgive you, silly!” he said, holding her shoulders and staring her in the eyes. Her beautiful green eyes were truly identical to Letícia’s. He hugged her again, before adding, “As long as you forgive me for the stupid things Thiago did when he was in my body—”

  “Thiago!? I can’t believe he is Blazkowicz!”