Ned couldn't sleep.
He'd sent out a couple job applications that day, hoping to hear back from one of them so he could start earning his own way and start at least some sort of career. His life hadn't gotten off to a great start, what with failing a grade and having a delayed graduation and all that.
While he'd been looking through the web for job postings, Sawyer and Courtney had been discussing Team Chaos's recent activity. Video footage had surfaced of a fight between Rose and Shell, which Courtney had texted Cleo about.
Cleo had responded saying that Rose had it handled, though everyone had been worried for a minute before Rose pulled out that giant flower that looked ready to eat someone. She'd texted Courtney two minutes later to say that Cold Snap was out of jail and would be doing a simultaneous attack with Corrosion the next day. She'd told Courtney the approximate time and place Cold Snap would show up (the Legion would handle Corrosion), but Cleo had said she wasn't sure she could help with this one.
Sawyer and Courtney had had a strategy meeting afterward, during which Odin had interjected to mention that Cold Snap had escaped from prison. That meant she was fair game for him to kill now. Courtney had managed to negotiate a stay on execution until Ferry was dealt with, and Odin had finally offered a three strike system.
Three strikes and they were dead.
Now Ned couldn't get it out of his head. These games of life and death, supernatural Miracles...
He was just a normal kid. He'd thought Joey was a normal kid too, but apparently even he'd been pulled into it. And had been in the thick of it for longer than Ned knew.
He wouldn't say he resented Joey for not saying anything. He understood where his brother was coming from. Feeling trapped by his power, obligated to help even though he wanted nothing more than to run far away and never think about Miracles ever again.
Finally, around 2:00, Ned groaned and gave up on sleeping. He got up and ran a hand through his hair, then headed for the kitchen.
He didn't notice the light was on until he was standing in the doorway, blinking to get used to the light. Darius was standing at attention behind a little girl who was sitting at the table eating a sandwich. A giant glass of juice was in front of her as well, and Ned just stared in confusion for a bit. The girl was mumbling something, though whether to herself or Darius, Ned couldn't tell.
"But the collision just won't work for me. I don't know what it is with this new engine, but every time the player character smacks the boss, it falls through the floor. It doesn't die. It just falls through the floor and stays there, soft locking everything. And since it's a boss, it's not like you can just teleport out and reset it. The really frustrating part is that it only seems to happen about 35% of the time. What are the triggers? If I can find out why it's happening, I can fix it, but right now it's reminding me of - "
It was about there that she seemed to see Ned standing in the doorway like an idiot.
"Damn it all to hell, why are you up at this hour? You're supposed to be asleep, you stupid chicken." She slammed the sandwich down on her plate with a growl and hopped off her chair. Ned was a little worried she'd hurt herself from the height, but she seemed fine.
Then something clicked in his head. Was this Ida?
She looked like she was maybe seven years old? Tiny, skinny, with fury burning in her dark eyes. She stomped up to him and gave him a bit of a shove. Ned was surprised at how much force she could muster.
"Sorry?" he asked, looking to Darius. "Uh, Darius, are you normally up at this time?"
"We've had a recent adjustment to our schedule. Ida wishes to avoid you and the others."
"Shut up, Darius!" The girl - now definitely Ida - whirled around and stomped back over to the robot.
"Why do you want to avoid us?" Ned asked, frowning. "Are we inconveniencing you?"
"Shut it, Chicken," Ida snapped. "Darius, pick me up and put me back in my chair."
"Of course, Ida," Darius replied, reaching down and plunking her back in her seat with her half-eaten sandwich.
Ned stood there for a good few seconds, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do. Ida silently chewed her sandwich, ripping the bites off like it had personally wronged her.
Finally, Ned walked towards them and sat at the table.
"Darius, could you get me a glass of water?" he asked, trying to break the tension somehow.
"Of course, Ned. One moment please. Would you like ice?" Darius walked away from Ida and grabbed a glass, then headed for the filtered water tap.
"Two cubes please," Ned replied. Darius opened the ice drawer above the sink and plopped two fat ice cubes into his glass.
The sound of water coming out of the tap melded with the standard humming that seemed to characterize the Underwing as Ned tried to figure out what to say. Was Ida mad at him?
"I couldn't sleep," Ned finally said, taking the glass of water from Darius. "Got too much running through my head. People are dying up on the surface. There's nothing I can do about it, but I feel like it's all a lot closer than it was a couple weeks ago."
"Join the club," Ida muttered through a mouthful of sandwich. "There's only so much a single person can do."
"Right. Sorry. You're...maybe too young for that," Ned said, his words trailing off as he looked away awkwardly.
"I can handle whatever you say, dumbass," Ida replied coldly. "Don't hold back on my account."
Ned blinked a few times before responding, staring at Ida the whole time.
"Joey said you were a little girl. And, I guess you look like a little girl, but..."
"But what, genius?"
"I dunno. You seem mature for your age I guess. Sorry. When I got here, you were talking about something. Some kind of game bug I guess?"
"Eavesdropping is bad manners."
"Sorry. I didn't mean to. I didn't expect anyone to be out here. I was just as surprised to see you as you were to see me."
"Whatever. I guess I'll tell you that I'm a game dev. Sometimes ranting to Darius about stuff helps me sort it out."
"You? A game dev?" Ned frowned. "How big is your team?"
"Me myself and I. And sort of Darius."
"No way."
"Yeah, I'm joking. No way a tiny kid like me could be a game dev, right?"
"Right," Ned chuckled, looking away as Ida finished her sandwich. She was joking, right? But what if she wasn't?
"As for the insanity upstairs, don't worry your pretty little head about it. Nothing you could really do without putting yourself at risk. And you're here as a hostage, so we need you nice and alive to keep Jumper Queen motivated. Just leave everything to him, Cleo, Courtney, Sawyer and Big Boss Odin."
"That really doesn't help," Ned said with a frown, staring at Ida as she started on her juice.
She drank about half of it before she put down the glass.
"Then do you want something practical to do?" Ida asked, looking at him. "Convince the others to let Odin kill a few freaks. Dead people don't cause problems. Just the living left behind who wanna avenge them out of some twisted sense of justice."
"I can't do that," Ned replied. "I don't know what the right answer is, but I want to think about it for myself. Figure it out one day maybe. I don't want to make any assertions until I've got my own answer."
"Fine. I can appreciate the conviction." Ida finished her juice, then put the glass down with a solid thunk.
"I just feel so useless, I guess," Ned said. "I can't even find a job. All I'm good for is doodling. I did terribly in school in basically everything. Joey...Joey's so much more capable than me. I wish I could do something, anything."
"Darius, pick me up." Ida lifted her arms and Darius picked her up with his usual confirmation statement.
Ned glanced at them and raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Now bring me to the mopey sad sack."
"Mopey sad sack?" Darius asked, tilting his head.
"Ned. Bring me to Ned. Right in front of him."
"Of course." He walked forward until Ida was practically nose to nose with Ned.
Then she flicked him right in the forehead.
"Quit being a self-deprecating idiot, you damn mopey sad sack! Just look until you find something you can do. Hell, if you show up here again tomorrow at the same time and bring your drawings, I'll see if I can figure out something you can do. Just don't give up on yourself and throw your hands in the air! It ain't over until it's over. Fight until your face is bloody and your shirt's covered in vomit. Don't give up until you gasp your last breath. That is the strength that brought humanity this far. You can't give up without ever trying. So try dammit!"
Ned stared at her in stunned silence, holding his forehead and wincing.
"Darius, put me down. I'm going back to work. And make sure those dishes get done. Thanks."
"Of course, Ida." As soon as she was back on the floor, Ida scurried off into the off-limits area. Darius started peacefully bringing her dishes to the dishwasher while Ned sunk deep into thought.
Was there really something he could manage to do?
