Chapter 152: Group fucking hug

Everyone settled down to wait.

The whole situation was so surreal - the empty and endless expanse of the demiplane, the fact that they were accelerating into a black hole, and that they’d been sent on this missions by bona fide aliens - that James found it hard to feel immersed in the moment.

The crew stood around for a bit, then folks sat in small groups and spoke quietly amongst each other. Kimmie remained standing, alert, a vertical line between her brows. Olaf stood protectively beside her, occasionally offering words of encouragement.

“Listen, everyone,” said James at last. They were about to head into battle. He had to say something. “Mavthua made something pretty clear at the end there.”

Everyone looked his way.

“We’re well and truly deviating from acceptable norms here. The System’s designed to accept node breaking, skipping levels in the Pit, even teleporting into unsanctioned areas. All that’s in good fun. But now we’ve hacked our power system and are heading into a strictly off-limits facility. This isn’t part of their game anymore. And while things have always been lethal, they were dangerous in a formulaic and carefully planned manner. This? What we’re going up against? There’s no calibration. No intention to make sure the right percentage of our crew survives, levels up, and keeps going. The gloves are coming off. We’ve no idea what we’ll find in the facility, but it’s going to be tough and it’s going to be pissed.”

“Excuse me,” said Serenity, raising her hand. “Is this meant to be a motivational speech? Because if so, it sucks.”

“No.” James snorted. “More like… a reality check. I was thinking. We’re used to as a team getting served a warm-up before the real fight. Mooks we can wipe out before facing the Nem Queen, that kind of thing. I’m worried we’ve grown to expect that. An initial fight that’s easy and lets us flex before we face the real threat. An on ramp, whatever. But there might not be one this time. We may be thrown right into the main fight the second we arrive. So what I’m saying is, bring your A-game. Don’t hold back. Don’t expect a ramp-up. It’ll be life and death from go.”

“Agreed,” said Jason quietly. “There’s a feeling of… finality? to this. I don’t see how the Eluthaarii will let us go back to playing ball after this heist. This feels… big. I don’t know what’s coming, but I doubt it’ll be working our way through the remaining level of the Pits.”

“It could go well,” said Kimmie. “We’re taking them by surprise. If we acquire a bunch of Reservoir Cubes we can grow even more powerful. Should we… I mean, we initially agreed to return to Arkhos so they could help us absorb the cubes, right? Should we still do that?”

“I don’t think so,” said James softly. “With Mavthua dead, I doubt the others will be pleased with our kicking the ant’s nest. We’ll have to do this alone.”

“I can teleport us back to Earth,” said Jason. “We can go into hiding and work on absorbing the cubes.”

“And then?” Denzel sounded tense. “Anybody have a sense of the endgame here? What are we working toward? Anybody? Show of hands who thinks we can actually fight these Eluthaarii after a couple more cubes.”

Kimmie raised her hand then quickly lowered it when she saw nobody else do the same.

“All right, all right, fine.” James put his hands on his hips and stared at the floor. He had to change their train of thought. Get them back on track. “Fine. I’ll give you a proper motivational speech.”

“Yay,” said Serenity, clapping her hands with faux-excitement. “Speech!”

“Look.” James grimaced. “We’ve been defying the odds for so long that impossible victories have started to feel normal. Who here felt like they were qualified to represent our species in the final endgame of a demon invasion?”

Yadriel sneered and raised his hand. “Obviously.”

“Other than Yadriel,” said James, and everyone else grinned. “We know better, smarter, faster, tougher people who didn’t get this far. Call it luck, call it random, but whatever has brought us this far didn’t pick us because we were Olympic athletes or members of Mensa. I don’t know why it was this crew that ended up being here now, and not anybody else.”

“Boo,” said Serenity. “Speech sucks again.”

“But while I can’t explain it, I feel something. I can sense it. There’s something magical about our team. Some weird dynamic, some force that allows us to keep on winning where everyone else falls apart. Luck, sure. But there’s more.” James met each person’s gaze as he looked around the group. “I don’t know that I’ve ever had much truck with notions of destiny or fate, but now I can’t think of any other reason we’d all have made it this far. And not just made it, but made it as a team. A family. I’d lay my life down for any of you, and I think you’d do the same for each other. We’ve been forged in fire. We’ve suffered. We’ve lost. But we’ve persevered. And now? Now we’re going to push that luck to an extreme. If we’re to survive what’s coming, we’ll need more than luck. We’ll need it to be fated. We’ll need this to be our destiny.”

“Ooh,” said Serenity, turning to nod approvingly to the others. “This is getting good now.”

James ignored her. “So I want you to think on this: we’re here because we were meant to be. Whether it’s God’s will or impersonal fate, whether it’s karma or destiny, we nine were chosen by some force that has protected us and shepherded us this far. So - no - I can’t guess at the endgame. I don’t know what’s going to happen after this. But after all we’ve been through, I’ve got faith. Faith that we’ll figure it out. That our destiny will carry us through. I believe, to the depths of my soul, that we’re going to succeed. That if we give this our all, if we fight with everything we’ve got, we’ll win through. Don’t ever bet against Crimson Hydra. Don’t ever count us out. Because we’ll always win through. And whatever’s waiting inside that black hole for us? It’s about to have a really, really bad day.”

Folks grinned, sat up straighter.

“Hell yeah,” said Denzel. “I can get behind that. Fate. Yeah.”

Jason nodded and turned to Miriam, whose eyes were glimmering with tears. Olaf inhaled and puffed out his chest, his expression resolute. Even Serenity couldn’t help but grin.

“Man, good speech, Kelly. Really not bad.”

“Heh.” James swept his hands over his hair. It’d started to get long. His beard, too. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten a trim. “Thanks.”

“What about you, Kerim?” Yadriel stared at the professor. “You don’t believe in any of this shit, right? So what’s your take?”

Kerim took off his spectacles and wiped them thoughtfully on his shirt. “Do I believe that it’s fate that has brought us together and to this moment? Or God’s will? No. Do I think we’re destined to succeed? Also no.” He put his glasses on and smiled apologetically. “That being said, I do believe in incredible runs of luck. The alignment of every necessary factor to produce the most improbable of successes. In fact, I think such luck is necessary to life, to existence. For example: did you know that one of the four fundamental forces of the universe, the strong nuclear force, is what holds quarks together to form protons and neutrons?”

“You lost me,” said Yadriel.

“One of the key features of the strong nuclear force is that it has a very short range. It only operates over distances that are on the order of the size of a proton or neutron. This means it only affects subatomic particles that are very close together. But it is also very strong compared to the other fundamental forces. It’s 100 times stronger than the electromagnetic force, which is responsible for holding atoms together in molecules.

“The fact that the strong nuclear force is so strong and has such a short range is what makes it possible for protons and neutrons to beheld together in the nucleus of an atom. If it were just a little weaker, or had a slightly longer range, the protons in the nucleus would be pushed apart by the electromagnetic force. This would make it impossible for atoms to exist.”

Kerim looked around the group, eyebrows raised to indicate appropriate amazement. “Is it luck that the strong nuclear force is precisely as strong and has the exact right range so that atoms can exist? The tiniest deviation and the universe would never have coalesced. Some say that’s evidence of a master architect, of God. Was it fate? Destiny? There’s no wrong answer, but I believe it was luck. The most incredible luck. And I believe that we are manifesting that same, universe-altering luck. You know that expression: the harder I work, the luckier I get? Well I believe this group has given its all to every challenge we’ve faced. Talent, sweat, blood, and tears. And as a result we’ve been ready to make the most of every lucky break. This is just another example. We’ve done everything we can to get ready for what’s to come. And when our luck presents us with what would otherwise be an impossible opportunity, we’ll be ready to seize it.”

Everybody stared at Kerim.

“I preferred James’s speech,” dead-panned Serenity.

“So what you’re saying…” Yadriel squinted. “Is that we should be called Crimson Strong Nuclear Force?”

Kerim laughed. “It would be poetic.”

“Crimson Strong Nuclear Force,” mulled Yadriel. “CSNF. Crimson Strong. Eh. Doesn’t really work. Let’s stick to Crimson Hydra.”

Kerim smiled warmly. “That’s fine, too.”

“We’re starting to accelerate,” said Kimmie. “It’s been a drift so far, but now we’re picking up speed.”

“Any sense of how long?” asked James.

“Sorry, no. I can’t tell where the black hole is, so I can’t tell how much distance there’s left.”

“It’s all right. Keep us appraised.” James blew out his cheeks. “Anybody got a drink?”

“Or a cigarette?” asked Serenity. “Note that I’m not asking for an 8-ball here. No? Nicotine gum? Nothing?”

“I love you guys,” said Olaf, his cheeks flushing. “You are the best people. I am proud to stand with you in battle. You are…” He ran out of steam, his blue eyes glimmering with emotion. “I love you guys.”

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“Aw,” said Denzel. “Olaf, I love you, too. I love all of you, except for Yadriel.”

“Hey motherfucker,” growled Yadriel. “That’s rude.”

Denzel took Kerim’s hand and stared flatly at Yadriel. “You love me?”

Yadriel scowled. “Shit man, ‘course I do.”

Denzel’s eyebrows rose. “Oh. I thought…”

“Pssht. So fucking judgmental.” Yadriel’s scowl deepened. “And if we’re gonna do a group hug, I’m out. This is getting way to fucking emotional already.”

“Bring it in,” grinned Denzel, spreading his arms.

“Nah man, get away from me.”

“Group hug is good,” said Olaf, and began to crowd in behind Yadriel.

Kimmie clapped one hand against the Bifrost and stepped in as well. “Group hug, yay!”

Jason and Miriam grinned and crowded Yadriel in from the other side, Denzel and Kerim closing his other exit.

“Dude, let me the fuck outta here, I ain’t group huggin’ shit!”

“It is your destiny,” intoned Serenity, voice sepulchral. “Your fate, Yadriel. You must accept it.”

Yadriel hugged himself defensively and stuck out his chin. “This is happening under protest, y’all. This ain’t cool.”

“Aw, c’mon you big softy.” Serenity stepped in and wrapped her arms around Olaf and Kerim’s shoulders. “You know you love it.”

James was the last to join the group. They wrapped their arms around each other, forming a ring around Yadriel, heads bowed. For a moment they just stood thus, standing close.

“Ah, fuck it. Fine. Group fucking hug.” Yadriel uncrossed his arms. “You pussies.”

“Language,” warned Denzel.

“You… female anatomies.”

“Still misogynistic.”

“Bah!”

James expected the hug to break up quickly, but nobody moved to step away. They remained thus, holding onto each other, and warmth and love arose within James’s core. These were his people. His crew. He felt grounded by them, felt… right.

“Oh, watch out,” said Kimmie, and everyone immediately stepped apart. “Here we go. I think we’ve hit the exponential curve bit of the acceleration. We’re starting to really zoom here.”

“Everyone together,” said James. “Olaf, get that Circle ready. Miriam, get ready to boost him. Kimmie, you ready to protect us on the substrate?”

“Aye aye, captain,” said Kimmie tensely.

“Whoa,” said Denzel. “Look at that.”

The pearlescent sky had begun to warp. It was still the same setup, the same floor and endless sky, but now it felt as if James were looking at it through a curved lens, so that everything curved down at the edges of his vision.

“Should that be happening?” asked Miriam worriedly.

Nobody answered.

“Super fast now,” whispered Kimmie.

The demiplane was shrinking, the curvature growing more extreme, even as James intuited that the actual infinite expanse of the floor remained the same. He felt his body grow heavier, more dense.

“Urgh,” said Denzel. “I want that Corporal Perfection back.”

His voice sounded strange, muted, as if it were coming from far away.

“Any second now,” said Kimmie, her voice echoey and hollow as if she were speaking through a long tube.

James’s heart was pounding, and not in the smooth, effortless manner of before when he’d been rocking Corporal Perfection 125 and Stamina of almost 300. No, this felt labored, almost frenzied. His chest was tight, his mouth dry, his gut clenched.

This was it.

The final toss of the die.

James looked around, took in each of his friends’ faces. He wanted to think of their best moments, their highlights, but all he felt was a slurry of fear and anticipation, anger and resolve.

Serenity reached out and took his hand.

He squeezed hers back.

“Bonnie and Clyde,” she whispered.

“You know it,” said James softly. He thought of Jessica, then, a brief, momentary pang of remorse that they’d never had the time, the chance to move things forward.

Then bright light filled the demiplane, washing away all details, and James felt his body turn inside out as he was ejected into the heart of a black hole.

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