Chapter 2: The Devil On Your Shoulder

<p>"The makers of Life and Life Too like to present Life Plus!" As the disembodied voice ends, images flash across Niya's eyes. She can make out a few of them. One might have been a star imploding, then molten rock cooled by violent rain. Another image showed a tundra, then many phases of what the earth could have been, ending with her arriving in a clearing with an alien-looking deer with an extra set of eyes and green fur that seemed to acknowledge her presence.<br/><br/>  She can make out the quick inhales of the beast trying to gain information on the creature that just appeared in front of them before fleeing the area because of a boom over Niya's shoulder that forces her to duck and turn to see a figure in the distance holding an orb of energy before hurling it in her direction the heat of the sphere was immense. Niya swore it was going to erase her on the spot. She closed her eyes before the impact that never came. After a moment or two, she felt safe enough to open her eyes to a black void with the words reading Life Plus. <br/><br/>"Life Plus! Are you ready for more?" The announcer said, ending the game trailer, Niya felt the release of the brain dive helmet, and she quickly removed it, freeing beautiful strands of pink locks that flowed down her back.<br/><br/>"What ya think!? Crazy fucking biz we're working with, and the launch is just a few hours away! And imagine we get to be the Netrunners for this project." Keenan was a young Netrunner which meant his excitement was immense, but he hadn't seen the darkest these corporations had to offer. <br/><br/>"y-Yeah, that was crazy biz. I can't wait to be these gamers' shoulder angel." Niya replied, attempting to hide how sick she had gotten. Niya was a fantastic Netrunner, probably one of the best in Neo York City, but she never got used to procedurally generated reality games. She could use a brain dive all day to search the old and new web but felt disoriented trying out any of the new Reality Games. <br/><br/>"Ah, man, and we get to be Shoulder Angels for the new functionality Pivotal Moments! I can't wait to see what comes from the free will engine." Keenan beamed while staring at the deep dive helmet. The sturring of the nearby player marked Keenan's cue to leave. He quietly exited the room through the sliding door giving excited waves and grins as he returned to his room. Fia shifted her weight uncomfortably on the table before her eyes slowly opened. <br/><br/>"Morning, sleepy head. We're a couple hours from launch, and everything is almost ready." Niya informs a drowsy Fia, who's struggling to sit upright, still reeling from the effects of the preparation cocktail they give all the gamers before the game launch. <br/><br/>"Is everything set up with ais-" Niya cuts her short, peering over her shoulder at the camera in the room. Her eyes light up bright gold as the camera seems to enter a standby phase. <br/><br/>"There, it was difficult enough getting this job, let alone being your runner for this. Let's not botch it this far in." Niya's soft smile made every day easier for Fia. The past five years had their hardships, but now they were just reaching the base of this mountainous task. <br/><br/>"Is Aisling ready?" Fia asked, stretching out the stiffness from lying on the game chamber bed for so long. <br/><br/>"Almost, I gotta just run this chip to her, and then she'll be able to follow alongside you while replacing the simulacra they created for you." Niya pulls up a holo-keyboard, types out a few lines and a chip pops from the gaming chamber that she catches. <br/><br/>"I'll take this to her. You rest and prepare for the long haul." Niya reassured as she approached one of the room's corners. Fia watched as Niya knelt, pressing on the floor around the corner until an access panel revealed itself to her. Messing with a few cables within the access panel made a hidden hatch slide open on the floor that led to vents full of cords and cables. <br/><br/>"You be careful, Niya." Fia said as she watched Niya descend into the vents. Niya replies with a reassuring smile and a nod of her head as she drops into the vents below. She crawled, following the cables deeper into the center of the facility until she came across another access hatch deep within the ducts of the facility. Entering the access code slides it free, allowing her to slowly lower herself into an isolated room without any exits beside three other hatches occupying their wall of the room. <br/><br/>In the center of the room was a Netrunner set up with a woman lying in a tub of Ice with wires running in every direction. Her crimson hair freely flowed over the edge of the tub, brushing along the ground. Niya made her way over to Aisling. She was in mid-deep dive, so she waited for her to surface. While they did, she slotted the chip and ran the program on it, which seemed to get Aisling attention. She stood up in her Ice bath. She wasn't wearing anything at all. Niya watched as beads of water raced down her pale skin. Aisling figure was incredible, and Niya couldn't help but admire every inch and curve.<br/><br/>"Do you want a runner suit?" Niya asked, not taking her eyes off her. <br/><br/>"No, it's too restricting, but I'll take a towel if you don't mind." Aisling removed the helmet, placing it to straddle the tub's edge. Niya grabs the towel and holds it hesitantly. <br/><br/>"And if I do mind?" Niya teased, holding the towel out of Aislings reach. Aisling, dawning a devious smile, exits the tub and closes the distance between them. Even though she was just in a tub of ice, Niya could feel how hot she was running. She smelled of cinnamon which always intoxicated Niya tempting her to bury her nose in her hair and breath deep. Niya was a head shorter than Aisling with a more athletic build. She was blessed with dimples on her cheeks and long, messy pink hair that swung freely around her wide hips. She by no means ever felt petite until being with Aisling, who with ease pulled her in by the small of her back, pressing her still dripping body against hers before planting a passionate kiss on Niyas pillowy lips. <br/><br/>"I know this is how you prefer me, but there's work to be done." Aisling says, pulling away with the towel in hand and wrapping it around her body, and making her way over to the screen and holo-keyboard to check the program running on the chip. <br/><br/>"Your sister, is she ready?" She asks while running diagnostics on all the programs, shielding them from security.<br/><br/>"Yup, she's up there, preparing for the launch." Niya replied, still flustered by the display of affection she had received.<br/><br/>"Good... good, soon we'll steal the title of God in this world." Aisling said, finishing her diagnostics and returning to the side of the tub. She stepped back inside, removing the towel while keeping eye contact with Niya as she did. <br/><br/>"You'll visit me later?" Aisling asked, her tone heavy with implication causing Niya to affirm wordlessly, shaking her head nervously. Aisling retrieves the dive helmet slips it on, and slides back into the tub. Fia watches, and Niya returns from the hole in the corner, closing it up and returning to her runner station.<br/><br/>"Why are you wet?" Fia asked, noticing her sister's clothes sticking to her body Niyas face reddened at the question. As she attempted to avoid eye contact, she typed away at her holo, trying to ignore the question.<br/><br/>"y-Ya ready to make your avatar!?" Niya stammered, steam pouring from her ears.<br/><br/>"Yeah, sure." Fia chuckled to herself, lying back in the dive chamber, not enough energy to tease her sister. Niya typed in an activation code, causing the chamber's lid to close as Fia placed the dive helmet on her head.</p>