No more Secrets?

<South Aelio - Morning after Ren's nightmare>

Ren gently nudged Shira to hang out with Inosuke for a bit as she made her way to Pseudo, who was meditating near her equipment. Ren sat in front of her old friend and gently touched her knee.

Pseudo: Hm? She opened one eye, then opened both to look at Ren. What's up, Red?

Ren: I...got a question for ya. Remember back in the death game when I faced Itsuki and the boss bot? Pseudo looked down for a moment, then back up with a devilish smile.

Pseudo: Oh, when you destroyed it with its own attack and got to kick Itsuki's punk ass? Yeah, I remember that. She leaned back with a smug look, trying to hide her apprehension. Ren looked at her puzzled. She didn't remember beating Itsuki or anything of that nature. She rested her arms on her legs as she leaned forward. As she looked down, now more confused, Pseudo glanced at Ren with a raised brow, then rolled her eyes.

Pseudo: Okay, I'll bite. What'cha actually wanting to ask me?

Ren: She took a short breath, then looked back at Pseudo. The last thing I remember is seeing Itsuki about to shoot Kureha while my Arfa-Sys and Zeliska were held back by bots that he summoned. I don't remember what I did, but when I try recalling that memory, I'm just...paralyzed when it gets to that point.

Pseudo narrowed her eyes and muttered 'oh shit' under her breath, which Ren heard, and then sighed while sitting forward as she tried to calm her nerves. Her own expression turned to a stern one, her face now showing her reluctance and stress. She began telling Ren what happened, her speech slow and serious, that reluctance being obvious in her voice.

FLASHBACK - when Itsuki threatens Ren and her friends…

Ren: Drop the gun, you bastard! Ren snapped at Itsuki, her voice coming out shakily. Itsuki picked up on that and he smirked.

Itsuki: I thought the hero was never afraid. Come on...kill me. You have the sniper for it. He gestured to her with his other hand. He slowly began to pull the trigger and Kureha slowly began crying. Ren's hands and arms began to grow numb, her own fear building up.

Ren: N-no…stop please...no… 

???: Oh hell no! Suddenly, three gunshots were heard, causing everyone to jump in a panic. Then, to everyone's surprise, a yelp of pain from Itsuki and the sound of the bots hitting the floor were heard right after. Itsuki held his shoulder, his gun falling out of his hand, while Kureha scrambled to her feet, picking up her SMG to point it at Itsuki. She looked at Ren, and her expression turned to shock.

As far as everyone present could tell, 'Ren' was still standing there, but the sniper was nowhere to be found and she was holding two handguns instead.

Itsuki: he chuckled, clearly irritated and started. Am I not worthy of your sniper, hero? You just- his voice trailed off as his face turned to one of confusion and terror, slowly realizing that something about her was off. 'Ren's' eyes were now blood-red, her expression one of rage; even her attire was different. Kureha recognized who was standing in Ren's place, while the others didn't.

As Itsuki was frozen in confused fear, Ren's Arfa-Sys and Zeliska looked to Kureha, who was only able to say, "Pseudo." They both looked at Pseudo, now concerned as well.

Pseudo: You call yourself a villain? She scoffed. That's rich coming from the spineless little shit that used the hero's ally as a bargaining chip! You're just a pathetic fuck that's asking to die! As she finished her statement, Pseudo charged at Itsuki, firing at him once. Itsuki barely dodged the shot, but got caught by Pseudo, who grabbed him by the collar and threw him over her shoulder to the middle of the area they were all in. He scrambled to his feet, groaning in pain, and summoned his own SMG.

Kureha: Pseudo! What are you-

Pseudo: Stay back! He's hurt you three enough. Now it's his turn to walk through hell! She then started running away from the others, firing at Itsuki to keep his attention on her, who also fired at her rapidly, but randomly because of Pseudo's prior shot to his shoulder. Once she got a good distance from the others, Pseudo slowly adjusted into a steadier pace while putting a handgun away, exchanging it for her own sword.

Unlike Ren's blade, Pseudo's was single-edged, with the bottom of the hilt being seemingly broken. She blocked Itsuki's inaccurate shots as she charged him again, swinging at him with much more aggression than Ren ever showed. Itsuki blocked some slashes with his gun, dodged some others, but was still cut in multiple places, his health gradually lowering from Pseudo's assault.

After an overswing on her part, Itsuki hits Pseudo's arm with his gun, knocking her sword out of her hand. She then, more pissed off, turned into a roundhouse kick, followed by a right straight to his face, causing him to fall on his back a few feet away. While he tried to shake off the shock, Pseudo picked up her sword and jumped at Itsuki, attempting to stab him, but he turned to the side at the last second and skirted away from her in a slight panic as she slashed at him again. He tried to shoot her, but Pseudo cut the gun into two.

Pseudo paused for a moment, pointing her gun at him as he staggered to his feet. Ren's friends noticed that Pseudo stopped, then all but Pseudo looked up and around as the area around them started flashing red while an automated voice alerted them that an automatic log-out command had been activated.

Arfa-Sys: Master! You have to stop! We're all about to be logged out of here!

Pseudo: I'm not done with that shitstain yet!

Kureha: Pseudo, please! She ran next to Pseudo, putting a gentle hand on hers, slowly lowering the gun. He's not worth it. He's unarmed and we're all going to be safe. Isn't that what Ren would want?

Pseudo paused and looked at the three of them, then back at Itsuki, sighing softly as they all were logged out. Pseudo: Yeah...that is what she would want.

As soon as she finished her sentence, all five of them were logged out of the death game. Ren sat up in her bed with a yelp, nearly tearing the NerveGear off of her head as she threw it to the end of her bed. She was sweating and her body was shaking from anxiety. She quickly turned to her bedside table and grabbed her phone, trying to get to Kureha in her contacts and call her.

Ren: Come on Kureha, pick up! After a moment, she heard a familiar voice on the other end.

Kureha: Ren? You okay?

Ren: Holy fuck! Kureha, thank fuck you're alright! Where's Zeliska? How did we get out?

Kureha: Yui got us out. It happened while we were all fighting that giant robot Itsuki spawned in. She got to your Arfa-Sys and she was trying that whole time to get us all out safely. Looks like she did it in the nick of time. She chuckled lightly, clearly still shaken from the entire ordeal. Ren sighed softly, feeling her eyes brim with tears as she sniffed a little.

Ren: I can't...so, what? Y'all are okay then? Her voice then lowered a little. What about Itsuki? Did he…?

Pseudo: Don't worry about him, Red. She looked up, puzzled, for a moment, then refocused when she heard Kureha again.

Kureha: Just...try to relax and we can all meet up in ALO, and hey. Get something to eat too. I know that's always helped you calm down before. Call me back after you do that, okay?

Ren: She sighed, then wiped her eyes. Alright. I'll get back to you later. She hung up, then ran her hands over her face and through her hair.

END OF FLASHBACK - Present Day

Pseudo sighed as she watched Ren's expression, expecting to get chewed out for not saying anything. Part of her wished she mentioned something sooner, but for her, protecting Ren from that kind of trauma...and keeping her best interests in mind...were her top priorities.

Ren: Pseudo...why didn't you-

Pseudo: How could I? All you wanted once you logged into that hell-hole was for everyone to be safe. How could I let you see that they nearly died?

Ren: You couldn't tell me that you dealt with Itsuki? You couldn't have even been vague about that and just...told me the details later?

Pseudo slumped back, realizing that she was right.

Ren sighed softly, trying not to show her irritation and put a reassuring hand on Pseudo's knee. Hey. Next time, just let me know about that kind of shit, even if it's a generalization, ok? You're my friend, and I need to know about these kinds of things.

Pseudo: Yeah...I'll do that. I-I'm sorry Red. Ren smiled softly, then got up to go check on the others. Pseudo gulped hard, knowing that there was another major thing that she kept from Ren. But rather than drop that on her tonight, Pseudo decided to bite her tongue.

Written 8/06/2021