『Felix Karl Grimm』
"Grimm, I know I said you sound like you are speaking nonsense, but I can't even begin to comprehend what you are trying to accomplish with this."
True, this situation was so bizarre even Lucy forgot about her crippling fear of Rogue AI and stared at me while Rebecca chortled.
"I think he just wants to get both of us in bed, amiright?"
I sighed.
"Just trust me on this, it will make even less sense if I explain it."
That's right, Me, Rebecca and Lucy were in the same bed right now, trying to fall asleep together as we held hands.
According to the Dealer's pamphlet which they could not see apparently; as long as I fell asleep alongside others and thought about going to the Inventory, I could bring them along. My hopes were that the Dealer could explain the whole multiverse business to them just as well as she explained to me.
It spoke volumes about how much they trusted me mostly about how terrified Lucy was that they were willing to entertain my idea to this level.
Thankfully, the call of Hypnos was not too far as we were all exhausted from the gig. Sleep came to all of us to rather quicky.
✧―✧―✧―✧「」✧―✧―✧―✧
"Welcome back Gambler, I see you have brought companions alongside you this time."
I opened my eyes to see the familiar scene of the Inventory again, the air so incomprehensibly cleaner than the streets of Night City that it almost felt eerie not feeling the smog line my lungs. I could see the Dealer standing behind their counter like always, polishing a glass.
"What the...?"
"Huh."
And Rebecca and Lucy were actually by my sides this time, looking around the Inventory in both amazement and some level of incomprehension. The realization that I had not been speaking utter nonsense fully dawned on them. I had already given practically irrefutable proof, but this was something they could feel for themselves.
"Do not stay standing, take a seat, may I interest you in a drink? You must be parched."
Listening to the Dealer, I sat down at the counter and she looked at me with some amusement in her eyes.
"Do you have any chocolate milk? I'd literally kill for some."
Cyberpunk had really made me miss even the simples comforts of life I was afforded back on earth. The Dealer nodded simply to my request, flooding my brain with dopamine as she reached under the counter and pulled out a carton of Chocolate Milk.
"Indeed I do, I am allowed to serve this since it barely has any karmic value. You have earned yourself a treat."
"Wait wait wait, what!? Chocolate milk? With actual chocolate?"
The dealer turned to Rebecca who was starting at her in surprise, her eyes narrowed a little in irritation.
"Yes, it is actual Chocolate. Do mind your manners. You are still a guest here."
Rebecca seemed to not hear as she continued.
"With actual real cow milk? How?"
The dealer poured me a glass and another that she slipped towards Rebecca.
"Ah, that's right, such commodities are rather scarce in your world. Perhaps you'd like a taste for yourself."
Rebecca sat down alongside me, but Lucy was still standing, more precisely, she was looking around with awestruck eyes, especially out the window while I sipped my chocolate milk in utter ecstasy. My taste buds were dancing. And Rebecca seemed to find the sensation the same.
"Holy shit this slaps!"
"Who... who are you? What is this place?"
The dealer raised a curious eyebrow towards Lucy who was not enjoying choccy milk with us and returned to wiping a glass.
"I think the Gambler has already tried to explain, but I suppose I am more fit to explain. Tell me, Miss Lucy, Miss Rebecca. Are you familiar with the concept of the Multiverse?"
"Yes." "So-so."
"Good, that makes my job easier. To put it simply. There exists almost innumerable amount of universes out there, all with their own way of development, their own physics, their own fates, their own rules. Your universe is one such world. And this is the inventory, standing between all of infinity and eternity, just slightly off center. I am the Dealer, the servant of this place, serving Lord Felix, the one chosen by our Patrons."
Lucy released a shaky breath as she sat down, in meantime Rebecca turned to me with a surprised expression.
"Wait, your name is called Felix?"
I took a sip of my chocolate milk.
"Yes? Did I never mention it? My name is Felix Karl Grimm."
She looked even more surprised.
"Grimm is an actual part of your name!? I thought it was an alias, holy shit. What do I call you now? Feli? Fey? Fifi? Karl? What kind of old ass name is that?"
"This... do you have any proof of this?"
The Dealer seemed amused at Lucy's antics while ignoring my chat with Becca.
"Is my existence, the wondrous abilities of Felix and the fact that you stand before me not proof enough? But I guess it would make sense for someone hunted by the ghosts of their past like you, Lucyna Kushinada, daughter of Takeshi Kushinada and 'Shimmer'."
"How do you know that?"
Even Rebecca turned her head at the spooked tone of Lucy, but the Dealer remained nonchalant as ever.
"It is pretty simple, I know a lot of things, things you cannot even comprehend. Looking through time is pretty simple compared to looking through the veil. I even know you had a somewhat friend called Lily before you were sold off to Arasaka that you stopped seeing. She was run over by a car two years by the way."
She rubbed her forehead while the dealer slipped her a drink.
"Here, your favorite."
Lucy grabbed it with a look of exhaustion and resignation. She downed the glass and looked at me.
"Grimm, no, Felix, just what the hell are you? Why did you even decide to tell us this?"
The dealer answered in my stead.
"He is the Gambler, the owner of the Chaos Gacha, and the chosen of our Patron. He is a traveler of the multiverse. Does that make sense? This world of yours, it is simply one of the many stops across the multiverse. His world of his origin is quite like yours, just with less technology, no shortage of crops, no corporation wars, no absolute dominance of corporations. And I estimate his departure from your world is not far."
They silently digested the information given to them, Rebecca rubbed her glass.
"So... does this mean you are leaving, Grimmy?"
Rebecca's voice was soft. The most fragile I've ever heard her. And I did not want to hear that voice from her.
"Maybe I am, that's also what I wanted to learn today." I turned to the dealer. "Dealer, say, if I finish my mission in this world, could I return to this world? Or even bring others along?"
"That's a question, alright. It's nothing beyond our patron's power, of course. Although I cannot see it happening at the moment, our patron is generous, I would not worry about it. Or you could pull a power to traverse the infinity yourself and take matters into your own hands."
That let me release a sigh of relief, I really did not want to abandon Rebecca, she was my first, and I really liked her.
Rebecca let out a chuckle.
"Phew! Thankfully, the boy I finally found is not just leaving me out on the street. You better not forget me mister, I'm not letting you go after a fucking like that, you hear?"
"Heh, yeah."
I chuckled alongside Rebecca, but I was interrupted by Lucy looking at the dealer and I with an intense gaze.
"Other worlds? Ones that corporations cannot reach? Arasaka?"
At those words, the Dealer got the closest I ever saw her to laughing.
"Arasaka? Really? Such a thing matters little, no, it does not even matter. Allow me to demonstrate the importance of your world for our patron."
The dealer held a grain of sand on her finger, so small it could barely be seen.
"You see that grain of sang?"
She smirked.
"Can you see the quarks that make up that sand?"
"Now, imagine the equivalent of a grain of sand for that quark, and a quark within that grain of sand for it, and compare to the rest of the universe. That probably is an accurate representation of how much your boogeyman 'Araska' matters in the grand scheme of things."
She cracked her neck.
"If I myself were to be motivated, I could incinerate the surface of your planet with but a snap of my fingers. Of course, not that I am allowed to leave this place or intervene in any matter. Just giving an example is all. There are worlds where people slay beasts that devour mountains just for a decent meal. Arasaka is painfully insignificant in comparison."
Lucy hung her head, she tried to reach for a cigarette only to realize she did not have any. She looked towards me with an intense expression. She got up and walked over to me before putting her hands on my shoulders.
"Felix, please take me with you. I'll do anything to get away from this dammed city and world. Fuck it, I'll drop to my knees and suck you off right here right now if you want me to."
I blinked.
"Whoa girl! Calm down! What the hell Luce? I know you got a fucked up past, but isn't that an overreaction?"
She glanced towards Rebecca.
"You wouldn't understand. I need to leave this damned City, I want to go as far away from Night City as possible. And-"
"Ahem! We got company, she told us to not be rude... 'nd all."
She glanced towards the demonic Dealer who by her own words could wipe out the whole planet and so did Lucy, remembering how bad of an idea it is to piss of an entity like that but the Dealer simply smiled.
"Oh no, do go on. As I have told you, I am a mere servant bound to this place. My entire existence depends on Felix's whim. I care not if you fuck on the floor or on the bar in front of me."
I coughed into my fist and removed Lucy's hands from my shoulders. I looked her in the eyes honestly.
Yes, I could probably bend her over right now, but such fleeting pleasures were not my pursuit. If I was getting something, I was getting it properly.
"Lucy, I don't know your past, but I can guess. And look me in the eyes."
She did, she tried to hide behind a cool facade but could not keep her wits about her as I grabbed her in the cheek and forced her to keep eye contact with me.
"I like you, Lucy. You are a friend to Rebecca and me. I'd help you leave even if you didn't offer something like that. If you want to, I'll take you wherever, the moon, my earth, or by my side. Alright?"
Lucy breathed heavily, she took my hands off her cheeks before wrapping a hand around my head and slamming her lips onto my own into an intense kiss.
"Whoa." Rebecca on the side was speechless.
Our tongues intermingled, the taste of sweet alcohol lingering on her tongue, after a while of hungry kissing, our lips left each other with a line of saliva bridging between us.
"I'll... hold you to that promise, ok?"
Seeing that face, there was not a single other reply in my mind.
"Alright."
Feat Achieved! Reveal the Chaos Gacha to Rebecca and Lucy
+1 Silver Advantage Familiar Gacha Ticket
A/N: Welcome to the inventory, between infinity and eternity, just off center. I have planned this chapter for a long time and I hope I delivered. Writing Rebecca and Lucy's reactions at the same time was a bit difficult but I'm satisfied with it. And the Dealer was fun to write here. What did you guys think?
Lucy has been hooked, how can she not be when she has the most promising future she could not get anywhere right in front of herself, but it also comes paired with a gentleman unlike any Night City has seen? This relationship is sure to bloom nicely.
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