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“You should go and check this out.”“Is it safe?”“I don’t know, man. Haven’t seen it for myself.” Cry admits. The question came hard for him, for he wasn’t sure what answer he should give him.Then why would he even bother recommending it? Felix sighs through his nose, pressing his palm to his forehead. Knowing Cry, it’s going to be another one of those weird sites that would crash his computer. “It’s not another link to a virus, is it?”“I read this article on a gaming site, where I found it. The page is basically taboo.” the cryptic man said nonchalantly. His voice played in the background while Felix was busy looking through his account.Felix lazily scrolls down his feed. “So you decided to show it to me?”“I found it perfect for wussies like you.” a short laugh comes from the other side of the line.Felix, slightly frustrated by his comment, retorted. “That’s mean. I’m not a pussy.”“To be honest, I wasn’t planning on sending it to you. But then I figured I probably should.” he said. “I’m going to bed now. I’ll call in the morning or whatever.”He hangs up before he could ask any more questions. He hardly knew a thing about it. What he does know is that he should stay away from it.The site wasn’t safe. Cry said so himself.But why would he tell him? It might bring harm to his computer. It was probably an ad.Or is it?“One video couldn’t hurt.” he tried convincing himself to at least play a video.He finds a thumbnail with a familiar hair dye—specifically dyed in green. “Why is this here?”How did that Irish cunt’s video wind up in the deepest, darkest part of the web?“This can’t be that bad.” he chuckles brielfy, knowing how harmless Jack was. He couldn’t do so much as hurt a fly, or a person for that matter. It’s in his nature to be kind and cute. There shouldn’t be any reason for him to be scared. He hovers the arrow over the link for a bit more before finally clicking on it.It didn’t take a while for the video to load.At the beginning, he sees Jack in his tee, his hair a few shades darker in color, in contrast to his pasty complexion. Yet, something seems off about him.“Top of the morning to you, laddies! My name is Jacksepticeye and we’re here for another episode of Detention! I know it hasn’t been a while since.”“I can’t quite remember what happened the last time, so I had to rewatch the previous one.” he smiled, clasping his hands together from the face cam.“If I recall correctly, this guy goes here,” he pieces it out, his eyes trained on the screen. “I don’t remember seeing this.”Felix readied himself in case something pops out of the corner. So far, nothing came. He didn’t feel scared at all. It was calm hearing him commentate, watching him in the little box on the top corner of the video. He was thirty minutes in.All of a sudden, the lights went off. “Sorry. My bad.”“Must’ve pulled a wire.” he assumed. He ducks his head, and, upon closer inspection, a figure behind him was creepily staring into the camera. Felix gasps. “There we go!”Relieved to see the Irishman, he breathes. But his guts were telling him something wasn’t right. What was the shadow he saw moments ago? It can’t be his imagination.
“I kNoW YoU'Re waTcHING, FElix.”
A man in dark clothes held a knife to his face, smiling. What creeps him out was the fact that Jack doesn’t seem to notice his presence.He freaks a little when it glitched. Static lines were visible on the screen. Felix could only assume he had a bad signal. “Just some technical difficulties, folks. Nothing to worry about.”He adjusts the camera a bit. Jack tried laughing it off, as if nothing happened.“What the fuck was that?” he murmurs, making sure no one heard it, whipping his head around to check where the small noise came from. “God, that was creepy.”“Sure it was.” Felix mutters in sarcasm, as if Jack would hear him. He was quite terrified himself.“I think I’m going to leave the episode here. Anyway, if you liked the video, punch that like button in the face—like a boss!” he bends down to speak into his microphone. “And, hi-fives all around,”“I won’t—” the apparition abruptly came, a creepy smile reaching his ears. This lasted for about a fraction of a second before Jack returns. “—See all you dudes, in the next video!”The browser automatically closed itself and Felix was pretty sure he didn’t do it. Panic kicked in and he turned the monitor off.He grabs his phone from his desk, in a hurry to call Cry. The man answered after in a few rings. “How was it? Did it get you good?”“You should watch it. Jack was there.” and someone was trying to kill him. Someone out there wants him dead.“He was?” Cry asks, surprised. “A friend of mine said it was going to be petty, but didn’t mention anything about Jack.”“Don’t believe me? Go see it for yourself.” the Swede said.“Why the hell not?” He takes a while before responding. Puzzled, Cry gives up waiting. “And there’s nothing.”“You think I’m making this up!?” he nearly shouted into the receiver.Cry assures him. “No, no.”“Do you?” Felix repeated.“I honestly don’t think it’s possible. I’m trying, but nothing comes up.” this time, Cry sounded serious. Dead silence came after.Felix sits still, eyes wide in shock. He runs a hand through his hair, not believing what he just saw. Was it all staged? Was it real?He didn’t want to know.“That’s cool though, dude.”“There was this guy, and—”He was interrupted and there was a static before he could even finish the sentence.“Hello? You still there?”
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“So what you’re trying to say is that you’re in a computer, you can’t find your way out, and there’s someone out to get you?” the internet famous Pewdiepie asked, feeling a laugh coming out at any second. On that sunny afternoon, his old friend decided to give him a call out of the blue.“Do I have to repeat myself?” from the other end of the line, his friend, Cry sighed.“No! No. I was just making sure.” Felix snickered, relaxing into his seat.“Of what? This isn’t the time to joke around!” his fellow gamer said, growing pissed at him by the second.“Are we talking about a matter of life and death situation here?” because he surely wasn’t convinced.Felix was genuinely worried when he picked up his phone to hear Cry’s ragged breathing, the panic in his tone, but what happened next made him not take him seriously. Who would’ve?Trapped? Inside a computer?Viruses were after him?Bullshit.How did he even manage to get himself in a system, let alone a computer? “Let me get this straight,”“You want me to fly all the way from London to your place so I could mess around with your laptop?”“No need. I’m in London. I didn’t have the time to tell you since it was a last minute trip.” not that he had any chance to talk to him anymore. The man felt stupid for not telling him or anyone. Felix could hear him grunt in pain. “Someone called and asked me if I could test their new game. The game that hooks you up to a machine.”Like one of those virtual reality games? But hooks you up to it? That was new.“Then you’re probably tired from playing. You know what?” Cry must have been drunk when he called. It was the most reasonable excuse why he was acting up, and the only thing he could think of. “Call me when you’re in real trouble.”“I am! Why else would I call you?” the American nearly shouted into the receiver. He’d never heard him sound like that.“Fine. Tell me where you are. I’ll be there as fast as I can.” before he could get his location, the line started getting interrupted, and all he could hear was the static growing louder and louder, drowning out his friend’s voice.“He found me.” Cry’s voice was as quiet as a whisper.Who’s he? What did he mean he found him?“Cry? Cry!” he was losing him. He pulls his phone away to see the screen glitch, then fade into black. Did his phone die just now? The Swede puts his phone down on his desk, feeling his heart drumming against his chest from fear. Was someone really after Cry? Has someone figured out his identity? Questions started to flood his mind and he needed answers.Clearing his desk and pulling out his keyboard, he opened his browser to search for any recent game testing. He checked every single one of the gaming companies that was based within the city but with little success.“Damn it.” he lets out a curse, and another one. The results gave him nothing but a bunch of game releases.Maybe that’s it. He mentioned earlier that they were testing games. He read something about it while scrolling through his Twitter feed.He typed with an incredible speed, and the results came in. It appeared as the first one, and he immediately clicked on it. “Marzia, I’m going out.”He pushes himself off his seat, the article on the screen was the only thing on it. It read: “A GAME THAT WOULD TAKE YOU TO ANOTHER REALITY.”And another one read, “A GAME THAT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND AWAY.”Felix hurried to get into his jacket, and suit up, fitting on his favorite pair of sneakers. This might get dangerous. With small but fleeting steps, he dashed down the stairs. Surprised, the Swede jumped back a bit. “Christ, you scared me!”His girlfriend and fiancé, Marzia, was in the way. She rolled her eyes with a smile, but there was a look of concern present in her eyes. “Where are you off to?”“No time to explain.” he kissed her cheek, grabbing her shoulders to gently move her aside.Puzzled, the Italian asked. “Could you at least tell me where you're going?”“I’m off to meet a friend from the phone.” he blurted, enough for her to hear. He had already gone to the door, so he basically had to tone his voice at the right level so he wouldn’t sound like he was shouting.“Who was the guy on the phone?” she inquired.Right when he was about to open the door, he looked over his shoulders to meet with her eyes. At first, his pair of ocean blues seemed uncertain as he lingered by the door. Marzia could see the determination in them. “Someone important.”With that, he shuts the door behind him.He hopes he’s not too late.
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Hesitantly, he raised his hand to fit the key and be where Cry was as soon as possible. The seat he was on became uncomfortably cold, his breath coming out in small clouds of smoke. He couldn’t shake off the thought of his friend in actual danger—he deeply cares about him, loves the guy too much to let that happen.Sure, he hardly had any time to talk to him, much less leave a message for him because of the time difference, his job, but he’s still his friend. Cry was the first guy he ever played with and got really close to when he was starting out his channel. He could never forget how much fun he had playing games and exchanging facts with the American. He would ask him hours prior the game so they could record and play together, mainly because it was hard staying awake at the same time—one of the reasons why they suddenly stopped.Felix’s heart wrenched.He couldn’t lose him now.Sticking his key into the ignition, he thought twice about what he was about to do. Should he do it?It was a difficult question and the Swede couldn’t handle the amount of pressure he was dealing with.Judging from the way he was talking to the American earlier, his speech didn’t sound too slurred. He could only assume he had been drunk, but the way he whispered those three words—his last three words—he couldn’t be.Cry certainly was in trouble.As he started the engine, a thought occurred to him.“I better call Brad first. And probably Michael. And Ken too. Maybe Jack and Mark should also know. PJ’s away.” but they were miles away. Marzia wasn’t even an option. He definitely didn’t want to drag his girlfriend into this. He can’t tell her yet.He couldn’t call the police either. He didn’t have any solid proof, or any evidence to present them with.For someone as big as him, it would cause a huge fuss in the media, should someone found out where he was going. Everyone would think he’s nuts if this ever goes public—he could imagine it already. His face blowing up in every feed, and stupid articles about him would spread like wildfireSighing, he brush the thoughts off, snapping back to reality.The Swede scrolled through his contacts, looking for their names. “Brad and Michael it is.”One can never be too careful. He tapped the name, only to be answered by his voicemail. “Hey, Brad?”He began. “If you’re in town, I want you to come over and go into my office. You’ll find a map left open on my desktop, and once you do, head there immediately. Oh, and bring Romania with you.”He ended the call, ringing the Romanian’s next.“Michael, I need you to do me a favor. Go to my place,” glancing at his clock, taking account of the traffic, he’d say ten minutes. “Brad should be there by around ten minutes. Call me when you get there, or if you can’t, at least leave a message.”Michael and Brad were the only two people he could trust, if it ever gets drastic.On the way there, Felix breezed through the lane, getting past other cars, and beating the red lights as fast as he can.The drive to the research center was long and heavy. He’d been nervously tapping the leather that covered the wheel, many things running around his mind. Shoulders tensed, Felix’s hands momentarily dropped from the wheel. Every time he breathes, it was as though there wasn’t any air coming out of him. He had one concern that he couldn’t help but be bothered with.How can he save Cry if he doesn’t know what he even looks like?Pulling up by the front, conspicuously parking right across the warehouse, he steps out of his car. A sharp gust of wind slaps him right in the face, wincing as the crisp, morning air whipped at the nape of his neck. It seeped right through him, his nose and ears numb, his hands were particularly like ice. He tugged at the thin sleeves of his jacket to cover his just enough of his arms, pushing his collar up. “Jesus, it’s freezing out here.”Rubbing his arms to gain some semblance of warmth, he sneezes, lacking a warmer piece of clothing to protect him against the biting cold. He immediately regrets not bringing his sweater with him.Felix checks the vicinity for the familiar name of the company, for any guards stationed in the building. The coast was apparently clear. Not a single body could be seen in the area, so he could only assume that it was safe to go in. “Excuse me, but is anyone here?”“I guess I’ll let myself in.” he pushed right through the transparent doors, forcing them open with his two hands. Once inside, the Swede was surprised to find himself in an empty lobby. He was generally shocked to be met with silence. He stands there, taking it all in. In a video game, things don’t go too well if it were too quiet. Getting past their security—if they even had one—and breaching their doors had been too easy.It was as if he’d been waiting for anyone to come out and jump at him, but considering the amount of people present, it was impossible for that to happen. Unless they predicted his arrival and went into hiding, like they were having elaborate joke they were trying to pull. Felix didn’t think they would go that far.Not a breath was heard—except for his own, that is. It’s as if everybody mysteriously disappeared.He’d been wandering aimlessly through the desolate halls of the establishment, checking the doors if they were locked. To his luck, one door opened.“Damn it.” he hated going in alone.Whoever built the place had done an incredible job putting all this up. As he further enters into the office, an enormous computer was mounted in the room, the giant monitor spanning the wall, its screen taking up the entire space.At the very center of the room was a podium fixed in the middle, decorated with intricate panels which he guessed were the controls encircling around it.Startled by the sight and the odd setting, he backs away from the podium. The wires were in place, and there weren’t any stray wires to be seen.Complicated codes were displayed on the computers that were carelessly left open. He passes by them, taking a quick glance at the figures shown.“What does this thing do?” out of curiosity, he presses the button. Felix takes a few steps back, watching as the strange contraption whir to life. Felix unknowingly trips over a pile of files, over the collection of chords, sending papers flying all over the floor.Written in one of the many papers was the name Ryan Terry. “I wonder who the guy is.”The gigantic screen flashes open, abruptly starting off with a man, whose face was partially hidden.
“What’s your name?”
Settling himself down on the chair, the man eases into the single seat present in the room. It resembled a steel chair—a very uncomfortable one.
“Ryan Terry.”
He calmly answers. His voice resembled the one he was talking to earlier.“Ryan?” so that was his name. Felix tried to remember that.Cry had always been careful when it comes to his name, as he had been concealing his identity for years. It was a surprise for him to hear his name for the first time. All his life he thought Cry was his actual name, simply because he never says his at all. He tried getting it out of him, to no avail. The only one who do know his name were his family, his girlfriend, and some of his close friends. Not his internet friends.
“Are there any cameras here?”
“I’d prefer to keep my face hidden.”
“Is it really necessary to tie me up?”
The man donning a white coat didn't give him an answer. “Before we start, can you tell me what you see?”
“I see what you typically see as a grid. Lots of them, apparently.”
“Good, good. I’m sending in instructions.”
Playing before him were the fragments of what he guessed were brief memories of Cry. “This isn’t a game, is it?”
“You’ll find that out once you complete your quest, your task.”
The helmet was put on, and he was shrieking. He was in complete pain, from the way his body was twisting, trying to wrench himself out of the binds that strapped him to the chair. Sweat started to drench his shirt, and tears were flowing down his face like a river that never stops. Cry’s face started to turn red.“What the hell is this?” he managed, choking out spit.Felix flinches, his throat heavy with stones. His chest felt hard, and his body, a rock. He’d long since stopped holding his breath. The man literally couldn’t breathe.
“Make it stop!”
Ryan would scream in between the shocks that racked his body, the voltage seemingly amplifying by every second. The American’s nails were clawing at the armrest, struggling, in a pathetic attempt to get out of the chair.More screams came from him, the poor man. It’s as if he’d been subjected to a death sentence. For a second, he went limp, as if all the torture he’d been put through finally killed him.A gasp escapes his lips, clearly shocked by what he had just witnessed. Felix waited and waited—for anything, for a sign that he was alive.His head fell to one side, his mouth slightly hanging open.He has to be awake. He can’t die now that he’s here.
“The subject is not waking up, sir.”
It can’t be.Feeling heavy, his shoulders dropped, and for a small moment, his heart ceased to beat. His knees were about it give out. It was like the world came crashing down on him.This wouldn’t have happened if he took Cry’s call seriously. He was a terrible friend for letting this happen. No more collaborations, no more fooling around with the guy.Tears were hot on his eyes, and his mouth were choking out quiet sobs.He won’t get to listen to his sweet laugh anymore. The tape was the last time he would ever see or hear him.
“He’s inside. We can’t get a hold of the subject.”
His finger twitches. A tear slides down Felix’s face.Cry was alive—albeit unconscious.But something feels wrong.
“We lost him, sir.”
Can't be. They saw it. He saw it. Cry moved. He wasn’t dead. Right?He refused to think that he was. His heart sank at the thought of him gone. Felix’s eyes were practically trained on the screen. He needed proof—they can’t go around claiming that he’s dead.It rolls on for a few more seconds before it cuts off, the image of Cry vanishing from the screen.Felix pivots around on his heel. Behind him, a man had his hand on a button which he assumed was the switch that turned the footage off. His stomach lurched, thinking just how did someone get in without him noticing?“Why?” he managed to whisper. He would’ve went for a louder one, but he was too weak. He has yet to recover from the horrors he had witnessed.“The sole purpose of this test is to see if the program the creator made works.” the voice answers his question. This enraged the Swede.“And you let them use it on actual people?” he balled his fist, ready to hit anyone at any second. Felix’s blood was practically boiling, his body trembling from fear and regret. Had he listened and came here sooner, Cry wouldn’t have suffered from whatever the machine had inflicted on him. It was like a bad dream, a nightmare that he couldn’t wake up from. Everything was too real for him to bear. “You and your people are sick! Who in the right mind would do that? You’re fucking insane! That’s a real person over there and you fucking hurt him!”“We didn’t expect his body to react differently. It wasn’t intentional.” donned in a white lab coat, the man emerges from the row of empty desks, his hand in one pocket.“Tell that to my ass. You’re not fooling anyone.” the Swedish turns, his back facing the scientist.“Mr. Terry is a perfect candidate for the game. Your friend signed a legitimate contract,” the man cuts in. “He agreed to try it out for fun, as he would say. He was aware that it was all part of the deal.”“That wasn’t a game. Cry wouldn’t do something as stupid as signing a dumb agreement.” Felix managed to mutter through clenched teeth. “This isn’t a game where you involve someone—a person, a living being—and do whatever the hell you want with them.”“I’m sorry, Mr. Kjellberg.” in a soft voice, the professional-looking man offers, “If there is anything else I can do for you—”He wanted his friend in front of him, all safe and sound. He needed him to be alright. He needed Cry to be there with him. The guy was technically his oldest, most trusted friend. He needed him. He needed him to be okay, standing right next to him, safe and unharmed. What else could he ever ask for? “Bring him back.”“I’m afraid I can’t do that. I can’t do anything about your friend at the moment. He’s lost in the system.” the man approaches him, picking up a clipboard and tucked it under one of his arms.“You’re saying he’s in there somewhere?” the doctor nodded at his question, giving him this sense of hope. If it means saving Cry from oblivion, he would do it. “Put me in the machine.”“Don’t make me laugh. What makes you think you’re ready? You’ll first undergo through tests before you get in.” Felix watched as the man walks towards a seat identical to the one he saw from the video.Eyeing the piece of furniture, Felix tried to block out the disturbing footage he saw earlier. “I said put me in the fucking machine. It’s your fault why he’s in that thing. The least you could do is help me get him back.”“I’m not allowed to do that.”The sound of footsteps caught their attentions. The two men waited, only to find the Englishman with his glasses on. “Felix? Where are you?”“Good. Brad’s here.” he marches over to the computers, gesturing to the podium. “Do your thing.”“I don’t recommend that you do that.” says the man, yet stands there, doing absolutely nothing to stop the Youtuber from messing with their massive equipment. “I barely even know what you want me to do.” His Brit friend takes everything in, his jaw wide open. “Felix, I don’t think what you want is even possible.” Brad would argue. All he did was stare at the contraption. “I don’t have the slightest idea how to do whatever the hell it is that you want me to. This guy probably could, but I’m guessing you’ve pissed him off.”“He called me. I won’t let him down.” Felix bluntly said, not caring how dangerous it might be.“Alright then.” the doctor relented. “You’ll be the Antivirus. That way, you can beat him.”“By beat him, you mean catch him?” defeat him in the game, and not in real life and won’t physically harm him, right?Felix followed the doctor to the seat Cry had previously been on.“Yes, yes.” the doctor guided him to his seat, strapping him down to the machine.Felix falls down with a thump, his bottom hurting. He glares a bit at the man. “Will he return to normal if I did?”“Probably? It’s possible but I’ll see what I can do.” the scientist went to work with the machine, quickly typing in required words onto the device.“Here goes nothing.” Felix relaxes into the seat but fails miserably, despite his best efforts to, finding it too cold to sit on.“Ready when you are.” the man goes behind a screen, where the controls were. “Mr. Kjellberg, you need to focus.”“Right, sorry.” with this, he squeezes his eyes shut.The Swede sucked in a sharp breath, his consciousness fading as it gradually slips away. He felt himself slowly leaving his body, as if he was simply drifting off to sleep.In the next second, he was in another realm, a world beyond his comprehension.
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Every single fiber of his body hurt, from his head down to his toes. His temples throbbed horribly, making him wince in pain—if that was even possible.He was inside a computer.It was against the law of logic to feel. But then again, he was connected through his body. He hasn’t completely detached from reality or was he far away from it. Remove the wires connected to the chair he was on, he’s physically in the same room.It was like his subconscious was the only thing present in the realm.Prying his eyes open, he finds himself situated in an empty room, an untouched canvas. It was like an empty pad left neglected by the pen. Felix was in a world where nothing else existed, and he was pretty much stuck in that void.The Swede adjusted his vision to the lighting, which by the way, was difficult to. He didn’t think it would be this bright. “Felix, can you hear us?”The Swede tilted his head to find the source of the voice. He was equally fascinated and terrified of what the machine was capable of. Can it read his mind? Does it hear what he was currently thinking?Cry must have been so scared.It took him a second to process an answer. “Brad? I thought you stayed behind?”The voice cleared its throat and explained. “I did stay behind, and you’re technically still in the same room. Your body, rather.”“Right.” Felix wasn’t sure if he should add anything about it, knowing well how uncomfortable it would make him feel. There were thousands of things he couldn’t understand about the situation like why this was invented and how Cry even got himself involved in this mess.Another voice then inquired him. “Are you feeling any pain?”“My body does feel a little funny.” he managed to answer, pressing his palm to the ground to push himself up. Parts of him started to form, pixels moving down to his feet to give a better image of his foot. So this is what it feels like to be a character.He reached for his leg, examining it, feeling its texture. He doesn’t feel anything. He simply can’t—only one particular feeling. Needles tickled his body, shooting up his head down to his toes.The doctor was quiet but spoke through the microphone. “That’s your body getting used to the electric charges. It was shocked in the initial reaction, but you’re doing fine.”“So, what am I supposed to do here?” the Swede asked, noticing the nonexistent walls that contain him in that space. How far could Cry have gotten into the system? They were practically confined in an infinite room with nothing but stark white for miles and miles. Considering the endless stretch of emptiness, his friend could be anywhere.“The reason why you came here in the first place.” Felix wanted to rip the plug out of the machine and wake up to strangle the man in the pristine coat. Brad could handle operating the machine.“I mean, where to start? And aren’t you going to, like, show me the mechanics here?” wasn’t the creepy mad scientist supposed to know how to develop games? “Isn’t that why you’re here? Like, isn’t it your job to give me an idea or a tutorial? A bunch of long ass instructions?”Again, the very same voice answered, refusing to provide him with essential information. “You’ve been playing video games your entire life. There’s no reason for the program to explain itself, to you especially.”“Don’t you have any track of him?” he couldn’t afford to waste more time. It’s not like he had much left before he could lose his sanity. “At least give me a clue here.”Felix couldn’t tell but the developer rolled his eyes. “There might be something waiting for you in the next room.”“What room?”“Be patient. It’s loading.”Seconds pass and complicated numbers appeared out of thin air. It was like the inside of an actual computer, but impressively intricate with all the numbers running around. A portion of the wall of algorithms, however, was destroyed, leaving a huge dent in it. To his right were crumbling data, and everything else was a mess.“Would you look at that.” he heard Brad whisper in the background, perplexed by the sight. The readings on the screen loaded frantically, charts going up and down. It was going crazy.The two men occupying the seats in the lab stared at it with mixed emotions. They didn’t know if they were supposed to be amazed by the ability of this virus to harm these data or feel scared of what it could further do. “All those precious data, forever gone. Corrupted.”Nothing was left from the debris—only ruin.Felix never knew Cry could be this destructive, even as a virus. “Well, that’s Cry for you.”Static lines were visible in the damage that was done, columns glitching in the process.Behind every wreckage in the room was only one man.The Swede spotted someone standing at the end of the scenario, his head bowed.“Felix. I know you want to help him but now is not the best time.” the doctor told him through the speaker.Flickering and watching him in the distance, the figure stepped closer. The man who he guessed was Cry backs away slowly.“Pewds?” he seemed to have recognized him by his face, but it seems that he himself wasn’t sure, either. No, that wasn’t just PewDiePie. “Felix?”Cry was glowing a pale blue, his skin erupting with sparks, his veins functioning as circuits of sorts.Light burst from his eyes, and his entire body was shining too brightly.Shaking his head, he turned around to walk away. “Can’t be.”Deep down, his heart wrenched in guilt. Had he arrived sooner, none of this would have happened. He might get subdued but at least he’s there to help him out of the mess instead of letting it worsen further.Before he could blink his eyes, he was gone. Not even a cloud of dust or a trace of him was left.Worry starts to well in the bottom pits of his stomach. “How can I get to him? Where can I find him again? A small hint would be nice.”Brad snatched the microphone and spoke into it. “Whatever it is you’re thinking, don’t do it.”Felix, being Felix, tried to look around for any clue where Cry was headed.Upon looking down, he found a path that might lead him straight to Cry. “I’m going in.”“Wait a second, we don’t even know if it’s safe.” the Brit would argue.“It’s still worth a shot.” somehow. Breaking into a sprint, he followed the trail.Was he even worth going all this way just to save him? Brad didn’t know. “And, he’s off.”In the lab, the Brit couldn’t keep himself from biting the inside of his cheeks and pacing around. Whenever Felix would do something stupid, he’d get dragged along. Sure, he might have started some of it, getting in and out of trouble.This time, it won’t be easy escaping. Maybe they won’t even come out of it unscathed. Chances are, they’d wake up with a part of their memory wiped out. It may sound ridiculous, but it could happen. It was possible.Or maybe Brad was being too paranoid?“He’s a stubborn one, no?” Brad couldn't agree more.Felix hasn’t gone far off the radar. So has Cry.Apparently, the two weren't that far apart from each other. Cry wasn’t moving any faster, as if he wanted to get caught on purpose. Whether or not Brad’s theory was correct was still unknown. Why would the guy run away in the first place?The sound of the keyboard clacking would fill in between the gaps of silence that seemed to have consumed the room. Nothing was completely wrong about that, but Brad couldn’t help but feel slightly uncomfortable. He tried to think up something, forming intelligible words in his head only to fail in the end.Why did he even agree to do this? What was the point of all this? Nothing made any sense to him.“Your friend is going to be completely fine.” the doctor assured him, as if he’d read his mind. “He’s physically qualified for this, much like his friend earlier. Now we’re about to see his mental capacity, if he could last that far before turning into what his friend turned into.”“A virus?” the word stays on Brad’s lips, letting the thought of it sink in a bit longer.“Correct. My version, however, won’t let him turn into one.” the color of blue flashes on his skin, and it’s as if he was glowing. His eyes were trained on the monitor, his fingers typing cryptic codes and his eyes checking on graphs and numbers that Brad couldn’t understand.“But it won’t protect him—things won’t stay that way for long. Whatever it is you’re doing would soon wear him out.” the Brit pointed out.“The one Mr. Terry tested was designed to turn him into a threat.” the doctor types in words he couldn’t understand. “Mine would simply corrupt your friend, if he ever has any trouble going through the system. The smallest mistake could break his mind, much like what happened to his friend,”He grunts as the screen freezes. “Which developed him into a virus. In any case, Mr. Kjellberg wouldn’t.”But there was still one thing that never failed to bother him, which he couldn't help but worry about. “Will he come back?”The question finally came out. Doctor Quack might have had an idea, and was ready to give him an answer that would less likely sate his sanity. “I cannot say. They were the first ones to ever try it. And I have to admit, it takes a lot of guts to test it, let alone be in it.”“Isn’t this illegal?” Brad returned to the screen, bending over to monitor the numbers increasing and the charts gradually rising, having no idea what it meant. “Shouldn’t all this be illegal?”“Can’t tell you. It’s classified information.”“Not even your name?”He shakes his head, his eyes trained on the screen. “Mr. Kjellberg has been successful so far. He has fantastic brain activity.”“Are you saying that Cry wasn’t successful or wasn’t even near Felix’s?” Brad’s brows knitted closely. He adjusted his glasses to see the charts properly.“Mr. Terry resisted and rejected the program. He made attempts to escape, which didn’t end very well for Ryan.” going over his files, the doctor picks a folder containing Cry’s data. “It didn’t mean he failed, rather, he went against it. His was as amazing as Felix’s.”“I’ve got to get Felix out of there then.” Brad was very tempted to leave and take the headpiece off.That was, until the scientist spoke. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I'd leave that alone if I want the man to live.”“What happens if I tampered with the system?” the Brit asks, his hands cold.The doctor didn’t turn around but Brad could sense the warning in his voice. “You’ll only lessen his chance of coming back. If you interfere while the program is still running, it’s possible that it would crash and he would go down and die along with it.”“Well, that’s just great.”