Haley stared at the symbols on the screen. For some reason, she felt a sinking dread deep in the pit of her stomach; some detached part of her wondered why she should feel like that. So Gage had lied about his age – plenty of people do that online. Hell, people did that in real life too. But no, she couldn’t just let this go: this felt like a betrayal.
Another part of her protested reactively. Someone’s age didn’t bear any real significance; especially with all of the cosmetic procedures around these days, one could enjoy the perks of youth well past what was natural. The fact of the matter was Gage had been a real friend for a long time now, someone who she enjoyed spending time with and who she felt she could trust.
Trust. Hadn’t he broken that trust by lying about his age. If their bond was truly as strong as she thought, Gage wouldn’t need to do that; why had he done that? Was it something she had done?
Haley shook her head in an attempt to clear her frantic thoughts. No – Gage was still her friend. This oversight, while it felt… weird, didn’t change anything. In fact, she would just keep the whole thing to herself. He must have his reasons for not telling her, and it wasn’t her place to snoop around. Gage would tell her when the time was right.
“Is everything all right?” Haley looked up and saw the receptionist giving her a concerned look.
“Oh!” she started. “Yes, everything is fine. I think I’m ready for my little nap,” she added, forcing cheeriness.
“Okay then, please follow me.” As they walked, the receptionist gently tried to explanation the safety and simplicity of the procedure, mistaking Haley’s consternation. “It’s really very simple; you just sit in a modified VR pod for as long as you specified. A feeding tube and other bio-facilitators will make sure that your body comes out feeling safe and sound once your time is up.”
Haley nodded absently, her thoughts still on Gage. Somehow, after the dust had all settled from her recent revelation, she cared about him more than before. She would do everything she could to show him that she was there for him, and maybe then he would feel comfortable confiding in her. As she closed her eyes before being put under, one last thought occurred to her: what could make a 42 year old man just leave his life forever?
…
Charis took the now familiar route back to Rima’s apartment. Rima had programmed the elevator to recognize Charis, so she no longer had to ring a doorbell and be let in. However, maybe that would’ve been better, because the sight that greeted her definitely caught her off-guard.
“I’m gonna get you, you little bug!” cried Rima as she dashed around her penthouse. She occasionally threw a kick at a miniscule figure, presumably Gage, but she never once connected with her target – unless her goal was to destroy all of her furniture.
“Haha, I’d like to see you try you big cow!” crowed the little man as he moved at quite impressive speeds. As Gage fled his gigantic pursuer, he would send fiery red arcs from his sword towards Rima, who actively tried to avoid them.
Charis watched with morbid fascination as Rima charged around her home, destroying everything in her path as she gave fervent chase. Her rueful smile quickly changed to a look of alarm as Gage abruptly changed directions – straight towards her. Charis couldn’t be sure, but she thought he spotted a downright devilish expression on his face as he led an over-focused Rima towards an imminent crash.
The collision seemed to play out in slow motion. Rima, so intent on crushing Gage, only noticed Charis’s presence when she saw the little guy dart between a pair of feet. She had just enough time to swivel her look upwards before barreling directly into a shrieking Charis, sending both of them to the floor.
“What the Hell is going on?” she demanded, her voice exasperated.
“Gage has made a real breakthrough with his training,” explained Rima, her attempt at a calm, even demeanor marred by her breathlessness and obvious excitement. “He’s improved drastically in just a few hours. Even at his size and proportionate level decrement, I have to exert considerable effort to beat him – with just my feet of course.”
“Speaking of feet,” said Charis with a mischievous smile, nodding mischievously towards a small figure transfixed to Rima’s right sole, “I wouldn’t mind having a go with our little stress reliever. It’s been a long day.”
Rima looked down and laughed at the miserable Alicia, her face pressed up against the sweaty sole. “Oh, I had completely forgotten about her,” she said, peeling the tiny woman off nonchalantly. She held the woman up to her face, but scrunched her nose immediately at the stench. “Wow, you reek! Not unexpected, obviously, but still,” she added with a laugh. “Now I’m going to give you to Charis now, and you know she’s not gonna be as nice to you as me. Still, if you can prove to her you’ve had a change of heart as well, maybe things will get better for you.”
With that, Rima tossed the limp woman to Charis, who snatched her out of the air and began to squeeze mercilessly. “I don’t know what she’s talking about, worm, but don’t think for a second I’ll ever forgive you for what you did to us,” she snarled, finding it surprisingly easy to take her anger out on the tiny girl. For her part, Alicia seemed too wore down to resist or even respond to Charis, so with a shrug, she slipped off her boot and dropped Alicia inside. As she put her undoubtedly rancid boot back on, she cast a questioning look towards Rima.
“Oh, well since you’ve been gone, Alicia has participated in our training as well,” explained Rima. “Ostensibly, she’s doing it in order to give you an even better chance of winning the tournament and therefore leading to her freedom – she hopes. I obviously haven’t made her any guarantees.” Rima’s expression turned thoughtful. “Either way, she doesn’t have much to do under our feet all the time but try to work on her jailbroken abilities – so if you happen to feel her push up on your foot a little extra, it means she’s making progress.”
“Really?” asked Charis, casting a look down at her boot. She grinned wolfishly as she imagined the suffocating heat Alicia must be experiencing underneath her toes, which proceeded to wiggle, bashing the little woman in the face with the sweaty digits. “How’s she coming along?”
“Not well, actually,” replied Rima, “but as a sign of good faith, I stopped wearing her inside of shoes and just let her stick to my sole barefoot. It’s only marginally better for her, but she seemed to like it.”
“Well she’s not gonna get anything like that from me,” spat Charis, stomping her foot just to emphasize her point. “Although I am hoping that she figures out how to increase her strength a little bit – that way she’ll be a better insole!”
“Anyway, we should get down to business,” said Rima. “Where’s Gage?”
A quick search turned up their diminutive friend fast asleep on a table. They exchanged silent laughs, and crept away, allowing him to keep sleeping. Still, Charis couldn’t help but look at Gage’s youthful features and think back to his real age. What else was he hiding from her?