23 Mistakes (2)

The summer house was ironically bright and made you think of spring and everything nice even during rainy days. Newly bloomed flowers curled through the windows almost completely covering it. Sunlight streamed in through the many holes as well as from the skylight above them.

The colored glass of the skylight let tinted light seep through, turning Adrien's light hair into shades of purple and blue. Darren's brown hair reflected no color however, he just stood inside glaring at the robot boy.

"Are you done staring at me?" Adrien mocked him unkindly.

When Darren didn't say anything still, Adrien spoke again, "You better let us out in o more than two weeks."

My brother narrowed his eyes, "Why are you in such a hurry? Do you think your family misses you?"

Adrien winced at the word family. He knew what family meant but for some reason…he couldn't remember what a family felt like. Almost like…he had never had one.

"We need to go back to the game."

"What?" Darren was surprised now. "Back to that hell hole? You of all people know how hard it is in there. We worked so hard to bring you out of there and now you're saying you want to go back in?" Darren ranted, acting as if Adrien was a real human with a real life.

"We have done everything we could in that game. Slayed the worst monsters. Won the major battles. Filled our inventories with all the good things. Acquired all the skills. But despite all that, we hadn't achieved one thing."

"And what is that?" Darren couldn't pin point why he wanted to go back.

Adrien looked at Darren with a set jaw.

"Final Level."

Darren's eyes widened. He shook his head, "No. No. Don't go back into the game just for that!"

"Why not?" Adrien cocked his head. What was Darren hiding?

"I…look," my brother sighed, "I've gone through my father's notes. The Creator of Breakfire Online?"

Adrien nodded. They six of them knew who Mr. Hermann was. The person…the devil, who had trapped them all inside. But for some strange reason, he didn't feel anger towards my dad, nor did the other five boys.

Last night when Ethan went to bed, he had thought of it too. He remembered wanting to kill Hermann.

"If not Herman, then his blood," he had said. But why had he said that? Even though Hermann did trap them in the game, why did they go as far as to kill him? Ethan didn't remember anymore.

My decision to change their programming had changed everything. What was once there, was now nothing but forgotten codes. Non-existent like the wind.

Darren's tone went serious, to convince Adrien that he was telling the truth, which he was. "There's nothing in Final Level. It's empty."

Adrien frowned. "No way. All the in-game monsters fight to open it. The other players have spent nights in the game in hopes of being able to break down the doors leading to Final Level. How can there be nothing in there?"

Darren shook his head, "You didn't know my father. He was a very eccentric man. He liked to play games with people when he got bored of online ones." I'm pretty sure my brother didn't like publicizing this side of our Dad.

But he wasn't wrong. Dad did like to play with humans. And I know how sadistic that sounds. But Dad was a good man.

[Are you saying that just because you are his daughter?]

No. No. Dad was really good man.

Moving on, Adrien refused to believe Darren. "We're going back to Final Level anyway. I found the key."

"You what??" Now that was new. There was no key mentioned in any of the notes. "Where did you find it?"

Adrien was silent.

"You punk! You better tell me!" Darren screamed but then Adrien calmly raised his eyebrows and placed a finger on his own lips.

"Shhh…Darren. Some secrets are meant to be kept don't you think?" One side of Adrien's lips turned upward. "I'm pretty sure what went down inside your car was a secret too," he whispered.

That's when Darren gave in. He was trapped. "Fine. I get it. But if I hear one person other than you mention it, I'll cut you." Darren threatened.

Adrien laughed softly. "How are you going to do that, let me hear."

Oh, Darren remembered, they couldn't hurt each other. He sighed in resignation. "Just keep it in your pants, boy. Or I'll make sure you'll never go back into the game."

Adrien nodded, "Noted. Just get us out of here."

Before Darren left he turned around one last time and looked at Adrien. The images of the way his sister looked at Adrien that night flashed inside his mind. Sadly, he didn't know how much I hated him now.

So he stepped forward and threatened one last time, "And lay a hand on my sister, I'll cross dimensions to kill you."

Adrien smiled, "There's no need for that. I'm pretty sure she herself would have killed me by then." I would have laughed at that if I had been there at the summer house. Damn right he was.

Darren finally decided to leave. He passed in front of the mansion and saw Saye 'getting to know' me and the other boys with ramen in her hands. He didn't have the courage to go up to her right then. Especially since I was there.

So that coward just left.

Adrien was unknowingly smiling at that comment he made about me when he reached the house's front door. Before he got in, he pulled his stone face back on and stepped inside.

...….

Lucas had his hair tousled neatly and was waiting in front of Darren's office for his first day at Systema Games.

Darren's eyes widened when he saw the familiar face. He halted in his steps and pointed at Lucas in both fright and astonishment. "YOU!" he screamed, "You are Saye's half-brother! Nice to meet y-"

Lucas looked up and his jaw dropped as he saw the CEO. He stood up, not to greet, but to be at his eye level.

"I am most certainly not. I'm her real brother," Lucas corrected, and Darren's face turned as if he had seen a ghost, "I came to your house with my step-dad. Saye said you allowed me to intern here. I was quite surprised when I heard that…" Lucas ranted on in nervousness.

'Finally my sister does something good for me,' he thought all the while.

On the other hand, Darren heaved a breath and clasped his mouth. 'Shit. Shit. Shit. What did I just do!?' he cursed himself and turned around to find Tasha, leaving Lucas hanging.

Darren pulled at his hair in frustration as he threw Tasha's office door open and strode in.

"Darren! What is it?"

Darren walked left and right, going crazy repeating over and over again, 'I messed up I messed up I fucking messed up I messed up again.'

Tasha held him by the shoulders, urging him to calm down.

"I can't!" He screamed back, throwing his hands in the air, "Just kill me already!"

Tasha calmly asked him to explain. No wonder she was calm. She didn't know what Darren had done yet.

Darren was wheezing in fright and frustration now, "I freaking let him work here."

"Who?"

Darren looked up at Tasha apologetically, "The real son of the Evertech's founder."

Seeing Tasha's crestfallen face, he tried to explain, "I didn't know, okay? I let Saye send her brother here. But I thought it was her half-brother…who, along with her step dad Professor Martin, isn't in the business."

Tasha put a hand to her head, "You're the daftest person in the world."

"Don't remind me," Darren sighed in defeat, falling into the secretary's chair.

"Well then, just tell Saye you can't take him anymore then. Why did you have to strike a deal with her anyway? She is our rival. What did you get in return?"

Darren hadn't told anyone about sending Saye to Lordes Mansion yet. Now didn't seem like a good time either. With a new conviction, Darren stood up, suddenly calm.

"You know what?" Darren asked, his face suddenly plain.

Tasha immediately sensed something wrong. "What….?"

A pause.

Darren took in a breath and made that spontaneous decision, "You're fired."