Charis tugged the tongue of her boot over her squirming friend with a pang of guilt. She could feel him struggling against the top of her foot: she knew it couldn’t be comfortable in there – just imagining the smell in there made her shudder.

Her expression hardened when one of the two thugs screamed something or other at her, prompting her to spit back with equal ferocity, a move she regretted immediately. That probably killed her chances of reasoning with these idiots.

Charis stamped her boot reluctantly in an effort to secure her friend completely. Dwelling on Gage’s predicament for a split-second longer, she determined it to be a necessary evil, and then resolved to make it up to him later. After the apprehension he had put her through with his initial disappearance – when she thought he was dead – Charis refused to let him go, especially at his current size. The thought of Gage being gone forever had hurt in a way that she frankly hadn’t expected – not that she would ever let him know about that. Right now, however, Charis had a fight on her hands; she would have to sort out her feelings later.

Tightening her grip on her dual pistols, she rose to her feet and directed as stern a look as she could muster toward her assailants. At level 97, she had a very slim chance of defeating two level 99s – but escaping was a very real possibility. Sizing her opposition up, she saw that one was a spellcaster and the other a warrior. Logic dictated that the warrior had Silenced her, so she would have to target him; but first, some diplomacy.

“I’ll pay you my Bounty if you’ll let me live,” she called.

“Fuck you, bitch,” came a swift and decisive reply. Charis sighed inwardly: the internet made people so aggressive. She aimed her weapon and pulled the trigger. An ear-splitting crack issued from the muzzle, shattering the natural hush of the forest. The bullet flashed towards the warrior, only to disintegrate against some kind of greenish, translucent shield. The brute’s eyes locked with hers and he grinned broadly. Charis took off running.

Casting an arm backwards, she fired blindly in an effort to deter her pursuers, but the attempt was more symbolic than anything. Her heart beat so hard that it threatened to burst from her chest, but she used that frenetic energy to inspire her to new speeds. She dashed along roots and leapt up to branches at a breakneck pace, tearing through the foliage like a lightning bolt. In fact...

Charis threw a glance behind her, and to her surprise, she saw her enemies fading in the distance: they were eating her dust. While it was true that she had built her character around speed, she had no business outdistancing two level 99s with ease. What had changed? Well, she had switched out a piece of her equipment for her old amulet, but that should’ve lowered her speed, not raised it. Suddenly, she felt Gage wriggle against her foot, clearly angry at her for unceremoniously dumping him into her footwear.

Suddenly, Charis had an idea.

Her excitement rising, she forced her hand into her boot and grabbed her poor friend by the leg before depositing him on top of her weapon facing her. His expression panicked, he clung to her handgun precariously, all the while emanating the stench from her shoe. She really should do something nice for him later.

“What the Hell?” he asked with his eyes.

“Trust me,” her expression replied.

It didn’t take long for the two brutes to catch up, but as they drew closer they slowed and approached warily. Charis saw the warrior class open his mouth to say something, but she didn’t feel like entertaining their theatrics: she just wanted to confirm her suspicion. She pulled the trigger of her gun, swiveled her aim towards the other thug, and pulled again with Gage still clinging tightly to the barrel.

Instead of simple bullets, two volleyball-sized spheres of red energy issued forth, visible for barely a split-second before colliding with their respective targets and summarily annihilating them. In the blink of an eye, it was over.

Charis remained rooted to the spot, her weapon still raised and her breathing coming in rapid heaves. In between her exhalations, she could hear Gage’s smaller lungs working similarly hard. They reminded her that he still clung to her gun for his life, not exactly a comfortable position. Breaking out of her reverie, she stowed her other firearm and plucked her friend from his perch and let him rest on her palm.

“What just happened?” he gasped.

“I’m not really sure,” she replied, “but I’ve got some ideas. But first, let’s get out of here.”

“Good plan,” Gage agreed. “Just promise me I won’t have to ride in your boot.”

Charis’s expression softened, and she moved her palm to the opposite shoulder. “Yeah, sorry about that. Is this better?”

“I’ll take it.”

…

Not long after, the pair lounged about in Charis’s apartment. She lay on her bed, her hands folded behind her head, her eyes studying the sterile white wall above. Meanwhile, Gage paced back and forth across her nightstand, ruminating on her hypothesis.

“So you’re saying that I somehow imbued your items with my… body?” he asked.

“That’s the only explanation I can come up with,” she replied. “I mean, my speed was off the charts in that fight, and the only thing that was different about my setup was you in my boot. Plus, when I fired my gun with you on it, it basically launched a miniature sun.”

“Right…” Gage stopped pacing and cupped his chin. “Well at least I’m useful for something.”

His comment elicited a snort of laughter from Charis, who rolled onto her stomach and brought her face close to where he stood. “I dunno, your new size could open new avenues for our roleplay... maybe we could play a little cat and mouse.”

Now it was Gage’s turn to laugh. “Charis, you know it’s not really roleplaying for me anymore.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

Charis remembered back to when the two had first met. They had hit it off right away thanks to their mutual interest in serious roleplay in Perfect Dimension. Whereas most people just played to get treasure and rewards, she and Gage preferred to get in character, to treat the game like a second life. Back then, Charis hadn’t known how serious Gage really was in his desire for escape, but they had developed a real friendship over the course of their many adventures. It seemed crazy that she considered him one of her closest friends and she had never even met him in real life. In fact, Charis hardly knew anything about her friend outside of his Perfect Dimension avatar; the few times she had broached the subject, he said he preferred not to talk about it. Maybe she could try a different tact.

“Gage?” began Charis tentatively. He looked at her quizzically, perhaps sensing the change in her voice. “What’s your real name?”

“It’s Gage,” he responded with a wry grin.

“No – seriously. What’s your real name?”

“I’m not kidding,” he said, trying to suppress laughter. Charis squinted at him, not able to shake the feeling that he was pulling her leg.

“So your screen name is the same as your real name?” she asked skeptically.

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “What about you?”

“Oh!” she blurted; she hadn’t considered that he would turn the question back on her. “Uhh… It’s Haley.”

“That’s a nice name,” he paused, regarding the massive face in front of her, hot pink mane and all, “but you’ll always be Charis to me.”

His words made her blush, and she quickly stood up and tried to look busy in order to hide it. “So what now?”

“We’re going back,” Gage said firmly.

Charis turned around and gave him a long look. “Are you sure?”

“Of course,” he answered. “Plus, now that we know my body can imbue your weapons, we’re safer than ever.”

Charis sighed. “Have it your way.”

…

Once again, Charis and Gage stood in the colossal forest. “Pretty soon they’re gonna start making us pay rent,” she joked, but Gage didn’t respond. She cast her gaze downwards and could barely see him around her nose, perched on her amulet and deep in thought. Paradoxically, seeing him so intense made her relax; it felt more natural.

“I have an idea,” Gage said.

“Yeah?”

“I say we make a signal. Put me on your gun.”

Charis did as he asked, but she didn’t like where this was going. “Okay… now what?”

“Fire it into the sky with your most powerful attack,” he said. “My body should multiply its power to absurd heights.”

“I thought we were trying to lay low,” objected Charis. “Pulling a stunt like that will attract too much attention.”

“Don’t worry,” Gage assured her. “We’ll easily destroy any level 100s that show up, and we can just talk to any 100-pluses we encounter. We need information from them.”

“And what if the Admins get wind of us?” she asked evenly. Charis looked down at him, a tiny man sitting on her gun. He looked absolutely ludicrous, and on top of that, her cold logic had visibly deflated him. She felt guilty, but then dismissed the notion immediately: Gage was an adult, regardless of his size. Charis had no reason to coddle him.

“Good point,” Gage admitted. “Christ – all we have to do is get in touch with one of these people. This is – ”

“Hello!” a voice rang out in a mocking, musical tone. Charis spun around, dreading what she already knew to be true. “Is it me you’re looking for?”

The witch was back.