Chapter 1

MC POV:

Here's the funny thing about life: Oftentimes, even the most inconsequential thing can lead to a shitload of problems.

A man sleeping in and missing work can cause a major traffic accident by not being around to stop a guy from running a red light.

A visit to a coffee shop could lead to a city-wide blackout because their coffee just happened to be

sitting right next to the important computers when it spilled.

It's called the Butterfly Effect, and it's capable of all sorts of nasty things depending on how much Lady Luck wanted to screw you over.

Or in my case, how much Sinon really wanted to ruin my day. She was GGO's deadliest sniper, the resident ice queen, and also the sole reason I was lying inside a foxhole in the middle of a scorching desert with several guns pointed at my head.

Real team player, that one. Makes me wanna spank that...

"I don't believe it," said one of the men standing over me, thrusting the barrel of his rifle in my direction like he intended to stab me with it, "This guy killed Jak? Look at him! That sniper couldn't even take half of Jak's health."

"Well, that's awfully presumptuous of you." I protested while patting the forest green rifle laying beside me, a coat of rust adorned its body, and dirt-caked its inner mechanisms. The thing couldn't even kill me with how low level it was. But they didn't need to know that and I had to sell the act for as long as possible.

"Yeah, real cute. But you're not fooling anyone with that thing," the man said as his rifle came dangerously close to whacking me right in the face with how much he was waving it around.

He motioned his rifle to either side of me and the rest of his friends broke off, searching the area for anyone else, there wasn't much to look at, unfortunately. Just a few overturned cars, burnt spaceship debris, and the endless waves of sun-baked sand. The perfect place for people to hide apparently and with that my non-existent comrades were sure to be caught, according to them at least.

"Hey, that guy I killed with my sniper, a bit buff and tan, had his face stuck in a scowl. Jak, that was his name, right? Ya know a lot of people wanted him dead because he had some kinda rare keycard on him. Something the top-level players were itching to get their hands on. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would ya?" I asked nicely, as I reminded myself to be polite because people like being asked nicely, well most people do and I work with the majority.

"What's it to you?" the man narrowed his eyes.

That was the question, I asked myself, probably a thousand times by now, maybe even more. The truth is, I didn't really have a stake in this fight, nor any obligation to be here. Sinon just dragged me along for it and she had apparently taken on a job to recover an item from an unknown player.

The aforementioned keycard. Supposedly, it was essential to open a secret vault holding all kinds of treasures; Exotic weapons, credits, and end-game mods. All the bells and whistles needed to dominate the leaderboards.

It took her a long time to find out who had it. The only reason I was here was that I made the mistake of asking what she was up to the moment she discovered the player's identity.

That's what I get for being curious. Something, something, killed the cat and in this case 'me'.

"I don't want to make a scene, all I want is that item. I got someone wanting to pay a lot of credits for it, and I need money for some new equipment so, ya know, be a pal? I'll split it with you fifty-fifty. That's fair, right?" I offered.

"Hah! You're going to have to do better than that," he said and then continued, "The way I see it, you're in no position to be negotiating with me."

"I strongly suggest you reconsider. Look, that keycard is worth a fortune to the right people. The kind of people that don't forget favors they owe, or people that cross them. Just trust me on this, you'd be helping yourself as much as them," I said.

"How do I know you're not lying?" he asked.

Well, he had me there. I shrugged, "what if I said please?"

"Ain't happening."

"Pretty please?"

"You serious there mate?"

"You drive a hard bargain, fine, pretty please with the cherry on top. I don't give that to just anyone." I tried to close the deal.

"Ah fuck it, I'll kill you just to shut you up." The man screamed pointing the gun at my face again.

A pop echoed in the air and a second later, a sniper round punched through a grenade the man had strapped to his belt and he disappeared in a violent explosion, poofed out of existence, cool, right?

The shockwave threw me to the ground, dirt and shrapnel rained all over me. The hot air had choked the moisture from my throat, leaving me gasping for air, the ringing in my ears nearly drowned out the shouting of the other players amid the cacophony of destruction that was happening just a couple of feet away.

The pops came faster and gunfire erupted after. I cursed under my breath and pushed myself up into a sitting position. Getting tossed around by explosions was never pleasant, no matter how many times it happened. In real life, I would have been out of the fight.

My energy would have been sapped like I had endured the world's worst exercise regiment. Even in-game, it took a monumental effort to roll onto my stomach and crawl towards the edge of my foxhole.

Just then, my earpiece buzzed to life and a familiar girl's voice came through. Cool and smooth. just as it has always been.

"Keep your head down, There's more coming your way," Sinon said.

"Yeah, yeah, have fun over there," my voice came out hoarser than I would have preferred. I reached into the waistband of my pants to touch the cool metal of my revolver.

A Colt Python .357 with a six-inch barrel, polished wood grip, and a custom modification that significantly increased the frequency and damage of critical hits. My all-time-favorite gun and the first Exotic weapon I ever owned. 'Charon'.

I climbed up to the edge of the foxhole, peeking over the top and only a few of my would-be members were still alive. One of Sinon's shots blasted through a guy's skull the moment

I saw him and he collapsed in a heap before exploding into a shower of red pixels. Next to him, a guy in a beige combat vest and his hair tied back in a ponytail noticed me and aimed his SMG square at my chest.

I yanked Charon, <my revolver> and fired. The recoil kicked in my hand, and the bullet buried itself into the man's gut. His whole body jerked, throwing off his aim and his SMG fired into the ground next to me. I didn't give him a chance to retaliate. The next shot on his head dropped him for good.

The familiar whistle of Sinon's shots passed by my head and landed in another player's chest and I finished him off with another shot to his head.

I felt a stinging burn on my shoulder, the brief stinging sensation warning me that I had been shot. I hissed out of pure instinct and fell back down in the foxhole, clutching the wound, "Sinon! Please tell me they're thinning out!" I yelled into the earpiece.

"Sinon, I wish you would lie to me once in a while," I complained.

"I won't. came the curt reply.

"Ugh," I fired my last two rounds over the lip of my hidey-hole and ducked down as they returned fire. The air grew thick with the acrid smell of gun powder. I clicked my tongue and discarded the spent casings from my revolver's cylinder, muttering to myself, "My job is to be the bait to get shot at and your job is to lie and tell me sweet nothings."

"On your right!"

I took the warning in stride and grabbed a fistful of sand. The moment a man popped his head into my hiding spot, I chucked it and nailed him right in the face. He cried out and stumbled back, rubbing his eyes furiously and I seized my chance. I reloaded my revolver and put a bullet in his head, and watched him crumple to the ground.

Sinon fired three times in rapid succession, the faint sound of glass shattering, signaling more players falling to her deadly aim. For all the times she and I had our little disagreements, I had to admit that she was far more skilled at GGO than I was.

She had a lot more experience and it showed itself starkly in the field.

"Three heading in your direction! Right in front of you! They're making good use of cover. You might have to take care of them." she said.

My back pressed against the dirt slope of the foxhole, my heart pounding against my chest as I held my revolver in both hands, holding my breath with my finger less than a hair's breadth away from the trigger. But nobody came, silence...

For what felt like hours, nothing happened. Air left my lungs as I waited and watched, "Sinon, are you sure someone's coming?" I asked without moving my sight away from where my gun was pointing.

"Yes. Keep your guard up, they may be planning something."

I racked my brain trying to figure out what they were planning. If they all ambushed me at once, they'd take me down no problem. I could kill one, maybe two if I was quick, but the foxhole I was hiding in was out in the open.

They'd be sitting ducks for Sinon, who they couldn't even find. They wouldn't risk exposing themselves like that. As long as she was there, I was safe for the most part.

I heard a soft patter next to me. Like someone dropped a rock into the sand. I looked over and felt my heart stop.

It was a frag grenade, missing its pin... "Well, shit," was my succinct response.

I heard a soft patter next to me. Like someone dropped a rock into the sand. I looked over and felt my heart stop.

It was a frag grenade, missing its pin... "Well, shit," was my succinct response.

I shot up to my feet, if adrenaline was a thing in this game, it would be flooding my veins by now. I climbed out of the foxhole with the fury of a madman and stumbled when bullets sliced through my legs and side.

I could scarcely hear Sinon shout my name before my whole world was consumed by a flash of light.

It felt like I got clobbered by the fist of God, my innards shook like a violent earthquake. Every inch of my body felt like it was on fire, I lost all sense of direction and I felt weightless, searing hot air blowing in every direction. Then without warning the ground came at me and I face-planted into the dirt.

My health dropped to almost nothing, just four firm slaps could have killed me. I rolled onto my back and looked in horror at the dozens of tiny bright red holes covered with shrapnel. Some jagged pieces were still jutting out of my arms. I fought the urge to panic and swallowed, trying to soothe the tight dryness in my throat.

"I got him!"

Three men were hiding behind a burnt-out car, covered from head to toe in ballistic armor, sporting LMGs that could shoot off every hair on my head and still have ammo left over.

One of them was short, but built well and sported a buzzcut while the other was a tall and handsome man around my age. His brown hair was swept to the side to show off facial features that would make a model jealous. Both of them aimed their Minimi's straight at me, a single twitch of the finger and I'd be dead before I had a chance to flinch.

The closest one wore grey lobster-like armor and a helmet with a streak of red paint over one eyehole. He leveled a belt-fed machine gun at me. A Heckler & Koch MG4 from what I could make out. His mouth, the only thing not covered, twisted into a smug grin.

"You're annoying to kill, I'll give you that," he said.

"You wouldn't be the first person to say that," I grimaced.