Leaving my body behind

"And there we have it! Clear beautiful skies for the next week here in Australia Regional B! Which is perfect for the 11th Anniversary of the Sci-Axium Accord, and only a month away until The Day of Mourning, Celebrations for the accord will-"

"Change channel please!"

< Channel changing >

"The latest in animatronic animals right to your doorstep! That's right call us in the next 20 minutes and receive an upgrade on your purcha-"

"Next one please"

< Channel changing >

"Due to the reported sighting of larger and more aggressive than usual animals in the outer regions, Sci-Axium have started building defensive walls, named the sanctuary projec-"

"Change please."

 < Channel changing >

 "Sci-Axium workforce, be the best and brightest you!" 

"Ugh... please is there something... anything!" 

< Channel changing >

 "EXTRA BIG ENERGY GULPER!!! GET YOUR GULP AND GET IN THE ZOOONNNNEEEE!"

 "Off please…"

< 'VRKingsly' Stream announcement incoming >

< Initializing stream as per settings request >

Oh thank fuck finally something to watch!

A dark-skinned androgynous figure in their 20' leans back seductively on a chaise lounge, their undercut hair is brushing against the side of the leather, a fireplace is crackling in the background, their purple silk loungewear brightens with every spark, smirking at the camera, they put down their brandy glass.

"Hey, hey, hey! Yall its ya boi Zak Wilson, Aka VRKingsly, Aka Ya Boi, Aka I was at your house last night and damn you cute sleeping!! We here today for the release of the most awaited title for the last 2 years, I personally got my invite cause of a cute intern, SHOUT OUT TO JASON, I hope that don't get you fired, but if it do, come work for me with that cute ass! Goddamn! where was I... WE AT WAR, WE IS WAR, WHAT IS WAR!? World Asunder Reality, as in, fuck reality we going to war with it!, y'all know I was a Beta playa, I showed you all I could and you's ate up my crumbs like that one mad hottie that dresses up as a chicken for that ad y'all know the one, we got all the latest goss and we ready to be the best up in here, today is the day of release, and it will be sweet and spicy with everything I got, where y'all putting your points?! cause oh boi you get one shot and that's it! Bad Build Bad Time I always say, check out my channel for all your sad fucks without first release wave! for the rest of you smokin! spicy! firsties! see y'all in the war zone, this is VRKingsly Peacing out, I got a hot momma to customize!"

They blow a kiss to the camera, pick up their brandy glass and lie there as if waiting to be painted like one of those French girls.

< Stream End >

The stream was too quick… over within minutes… I could only lay there in silence with the ticking of the clock as my companion. My capsule would be arriving soon, leaving me stranded and waiting until it decided to get here. All the channels had nothing on, it's just easier to lay here in silence.

The corner with all the wires and piping has been cleaned around, not that I had much in my apartment to make clutter. I moved in 2 years ago and spent most of my time in recovery, out with Zelia and her family, training, sleeping or just waiting for something to happen.

The corner with all the wires and piping was cleaned around, not that I had much in my apartment to make clutter. I moved in 2 years ago and spent most of my time in recovery, out with Zelia and her family, training, sleeping or just waiting for something to happen.

I'd somehow won the raffle for the first wave of releases; each wave was assigned 100 million players around the world and thankfully my best friend and I were able to get in the same wave together. It allowed the purchasing of the capsule, with delivery and installation included, as well as a newly conceived A.I. companion. I'd used up all my savings, so it better be worth it.

Buta lays lavishly on their princess bed, watching my movements, waiting for the inevitable feeding time, we are both waiting, just for different things. All I can do is hope that I have enough time to get used to the thing before it all starts, nothing is more exciting that the race of being on first, or at least that's what Zelia always tells me, the few MMO games she's introduced me too always ended in either heartbreak or boredom.

Pushing myself up my muscles strain and a familiar sharp ache runs through the left side of my body. That building of tension, the screaming through my veins, I try to dash for the shower knowing the usual sequence of events my body goes through before the panic sets in and then the pain. Tearing the clothes off my body the best I can, I plead at the bathroom system to turn on the hot water, stumbling over the bath's rim I let it rush over me, hot water drowning out the feeling of the left side of my body ripping itself apart as the agonizing pain raced through my nervous system. Clutching my side, I can only hold in my tears, grit my teeth, and try to hold in the moans and screams.

Through my delirium i can hear the doorbell going off, fuck fuck fuck! I can only scream in my head, pleading.

Please don't come in please don't see me like this! 

< Door Access Code Accepted >

The door opens and I can hear voices through the wall, I try to be as quiet as possible, the heavy trudging of workers and words directing them to the same spot that every capsule was installed in in the basic housing units. 

After what feels like forever, holding back my muffled half delirious moans, the trudging of boots indicates the workers leaving. The bathroom door is hesitantly pushed open, and a head looks around the corner staring at me with tears in her eyes, I never like her seeing me like this, it's why I pushed for us to not move in together, be independent... more so I could suffer alone like I deserve. 

She sits to the side of the bath and strokes my wet hair, the hot mist swirling around her, it must be boiling but I couldn't really feel it anymore, the system would have adjusted it once I got in so I shouldn't have any extra damage, at least not more than I already had. I couldn't even feel the embarrassment of her seeing my naked body with all the pain I was feeling.

"Lilia, you dummy! you just have to call out and I'll come running, why do you have to keep doing this alone?! They installed it at my place first, so I came over to help and hang out before launch. Have a pre-start party but look at you... why don't you ever let me in..."

I could only nod in acknowledgement that I was listening, at least physically, the pain washed over me again and again, Zelia's soft hand a new distraction, sending me off, the pain dulled enough that I was able to pass out.

I have the same nightmare again; it happens all so fast. The match. The crowd. The cheering. The helmet strap. The veiny fist. The grin of anger. The dilated pupils. The lights spinning. The feeling of the ground. The sound of screaming, as all the lights in the world were extinguished.

Waking up she was by my side again, in the hospital, and even now. looking out the window the sun was a lot higher in the sky, I guess we missed the start of WAR, I fucked up again, it was always me ruining everything...

Moving gently as possible to try and flex out my body i feel a pressure on my side and accidentally wake up the sleeping dark clothed beauty next to me, her silver jewelry of moths and cats' jingle and brush up against my skin as she moves up to meet my eyes, they were puffy, she looks away when ours meet.

"I moved you to the living room... I just wrapped you with your towel, I didn't want to try to move you too much unless you had another attack... You know you're like twice my weight, right? at least you didn't lose all that muscle from before, but that means I get my own workout I guess..." talking to distract herself she mumbles and moves away from me slowly before getting to her full height, "you forgot to take your injections again, didn't you?" taking my silence as confirmation she nods sadly.

Moving her wrist upwards the time displays across it, "I'll head back to my apartment, games already started an hour ago so we are lagging behind, Buta has been fed but I'm sure they will try to tell you otherwise" They motion at the fat orange chonker of a cat lying in their pink puffy princess cat bed, they turned towards us and yawned realizing attention was all on them and tried to act cute, only managing to show off how big its belly had grown and sliding backwards off its bed like a big derp.

The demure witchy woman strolled out the door, but not before planting her face first in Buta's belly for good measure and waves at me as she strolls out to start up her own capsule. 

"Thanks, Zel" I whisper at the closing door, feeling sorry for myself and for her having to deal with that again, she hasn't had to see me since after I got out of the hospital, the whole reason I moved out was so that I didn't have to see the pain in her eyes again as I struggled uselessly in absolute pain. I would always survive, even if I was alone.

Lying there in thought, a message pops up on my holopad from her before I can even get up, "My capsule numbers #2849DA so make sure you add me before you forget!". Chuckling that she remembered when I'm usually the one having to push her about such things, I lean up wearily tensing my left side and move towards the capsule, looking at the codes on the side I spot my tag and send her my details. I lean over the dark metal and blue egg-shaped capsule and set inside, the cushions push up to greet me.

Snuggling into the plush cushions of the capsule on my back, the device detects I'm in position, a mask gently forms over my face, and I feel oxygen and other chemicals pushing into my lungs instantly turning me drowsy. The metal and glass casing closes over the top as the cushions of the capsule turn into a blue, fluorescent mush around my body and start to cover me, forming a cocoon over my skin, it's the perfect temperature and my body seems to accept it as I drift off into the void.