Through the darkness you could make out what Link was referring to: aisles and aisles of video games. You had been impressed with Neo's store but this took it to an entirely new level.

Link rushed forward and picked a game off the shelf. "Dudes, this one doesn't come out until next week!"

"Put it back," Neo said simply.

"What, why? You've been wanting to play this one, too. Whose going to know if we—" The case in his hand started to glow, flashing red faster and faster. "Huh, that's weird. What's up with—"

"Link!" Neo rushed forward and knocked the game out of his hand and pulled him to the ground, right as the case exploded in the air.

"Holy shit!" Link yelled, visibly shaken.

"How did you know that would happen?" asked Jetta.

"I didn't." Neo got to his feet and brushed stray pieces from the explosion off his coat. "I just knew that the stuff in here can not be trusted. I think it goes without saying now but... don't touch anything."

"You got it, boss." Link jumped back onto his feet, fully recovered. "And... thanks."

Neo patted him on the back.

"Now," he said, "I think any element of surprise we had is effectively shattered."

You look ahead and, sure enough, an army of the shadowy employees filled the aisles.

"Link, if you would?"

"You got it, bossman!" Link leapt in front of the group and aimed his Nunchuck at the group, flicked the control stick back and charged up a shot as the monsters closest started to shamble their way toward your party.

"Link is going to split them up, then we'll split into two groups. Jetta, you and Link go right. Zero, you're with me."

You fall into step behind him and pick your second card. A single sword card this time... it would have to do. You toss it and retrieve the blade.

"Ready?" Neo asks you.

You nod.

"Here we go!" Link shouts as he releases the charge shot and it blasts through the employees and knocks over two of the shelves.

The party separates immediately and you follow behind Neo as close as you can.

This is the first time you've seen Neo fight up close. Besides when the two of you fought but since he wasn't serious you hardly count that. He was a blur of motion as he sliced through each attacker. And he could definitely control the chain, it whipped around in tons of different directions, disarming (literally, their arms were torn off) opponents or pulling their feet out from under them.

"Zero!" Neo called, snapping you to attention. Somehow, one of the employees had slipped past Neo's impressive offense and was shambling its way toward you.

You bring your sword up, slicing off its arm in a puff of smoke. Next, you stab it in the chest and it follows its arm to wherever they go in death. Neo nods, satisfied, then turns back to focus on the rest up ahead.

Did he expect a single enemy to be a challenge to you? He was still vastly underestimating you. Time to step it up a notch.

Your hand goes to your deck and selects the second card. It's a new one: a single Wand. You activate it and snatch it up, surprised with how big it is, more of a staff than a Harry Potter sized stick. You hold up both your weapons and feel overwhelmingly like Gandolf. The urge to leap in front of Neo and shout "You shall not pass!" at the approaching hoard was strong. But you resist and instead swing the staff, hoping for something cool to happen.

It does. Fire shoots from the tip of it and rages forward.

"Neo, step to your left!" You didn't think it would hit him but the extra distance wouldn't hurt.

Neo looks around at you, sees the fire and jumps further out of its range. The employees notice it, too, and for the first time they actually look a bit lively as they scramble to run away from it. But they're too slow and the flames devour five of them, finishing off the hoard.

"Whoa," Neo says as he stops running, admiring the damage the spell had done. "Nice."

The Wand in your hand suddenly shatters, startling you. The pieces drift through the air for a bit before disappearing. Apparently it was only a one time use.

"Thanks. See, I can hold my own." You twirled your sword around for extra show but lose your grip on it and it spins off to the side, thankfully vanishing before it hit anything.

Neo laughs. "Yes, you certainly can. Now, let's watch the other two finish off theirs. I don't think you've seen much of their bags of tricks, you're in for quite a show."

And what a show it was. First, there was Link with his Wii remote and Nunchuck combo, firing off all different kinds of blasts with a flick of his thumb. There were charge shots, fast firing rounds, and even a couple long ranged sniper bursts. And all the while the light saber like energy from the remote cut through employees as fast and smooth as Neo's scythes.

Jetta's abilities were just as flashy. She wielded her guitar like a club, swinging it for heavy hits that sent enemies flying and bashed in many a skull. When she wasn't cracking heads, she used the guitar as it was actually intended, and started jamming out. At first nothing happened and you started to run to her aid as the employees crowded around her.

"Wait," Neo said, halting you with a hand on your shoulder. "Just watch."

Sure enough, the attackers closest to her were suddenly blown off their feet. By what, you couldn't tell at first until she turned her guitar toward you and then you saw it: visible sound waves radiating from her instrument. Each flick of her fingers brought a fresh wave of them, blowing apart the closest of the employees. Then she pulled the guitar back, leaning it over her head, and arcs of lightning burst from the tip of the guitar, frying employees brain as it hit them in arcs.

"They're amazing," You say as you continue to watch them destroy everything in sight.

"I know. Certainly more flashy than me."

"Yeah, but you beat our half of them almost totally alone. And you finished twice as fast as them. You're pretty amazing yourself."

Neo smiled. "Why thank you for noticing. I don't get much credit from those two. By their second trip here they became convinced that they didn't need me anymore."

"I'm sure they do. Without you none of us would be here."

You meant it as a compliment, but Neo's face tightened into a serious expression that you couldn't quite understand.

"You're right," he said simply.

You started to say something else, to apologize, but the other two defeated the last of the employees and the overhead lights clicked on, confirming it.

"What the hell?" Link said as he walked over to where you and Neo had been watching. "How long have you been done? You look way to cozy over there."

"Oh, not very long." Neo lowers his sunglasses enough for you to see him wink.

"We kicked ass!" Jetta exclaimed as her and Link high-fived.

"You guys really did, you were amazing!"

"Oh, you were watching?" Link looked very pleased. "Did you see when I sliced that dude's head off and then sniped two more through the space between the decapitated head and the neck?"

"Uh, yeah, I saw that," you say, a little disturbed by how happily he described that scenario. "I think you guys told me before but... we're sure these things aren't real people?"

"We don't know what they are," Neo said. "But we're pretty certain they aren't real people."

"Do you know real people that pop into smoke?" Link asked.

"No, but I also didn't know people who could kill things with a Wii remote and a guitar."

"She has a good point," Jetta said.

"Hey, people have been chucking Wii remotes through TVs and family member's heads since the beginning of the consoles life."

"He has a good point," Neo said.

Everyone shared a laugh and the possibility of the employees being real fell to the wayside. Link was right, real people didn't poof away.

"Well... is everybody ready for floor two?" Neo asked with a grin.

Jetta and Link instantly perked up. "We can keep going??" They both exclaimed.

"Yes, I think we can. That is, if Zero is open to it."

Everyone looks at you. Talk about pressure! But you just smile and say, "Let's do it!"

#

Jetta cheered and led us all toward the next staircase. I was about to run ahead and join her when I saw something out of the corner of my eye—a flash of motion darting between two aisles.

"Guys, did you see—" No one was looking, all three talking amongst themselves. I didn't want to alarm anyone from what little I'd seen so I went to investigate.

I aimed my nunchuck ahead, flipped the control stick and started charging up a bast—just in case. Halfway down the aisle, the thing darted back the way it had come and took off out of sight, dropping something in the middle of the floor. I aimed my weapon at the thing on the floor, determined it wasn't a threat, then rushed to the end of the aisle, following after the blur. I went a few aisles over, checking everywhere but finding nothing.

I killed the charge and returned to the object it had dropped. It was a piece of paper... with a phone number written on it and a kiss mark from some chick's lipstick.

Confused, I looked around some more but found no one.

"Link? What are you doing?" Neo asked, Jetta and Zero coming up behind him.

"Uh," I panicked and closed my hand around the paper, trying to hide it. "Nothing. I, uh, thought I saw something."

"You should have said," Neo's voice was stern. "It's dangerous to go off alone."

"Right. Won't happen again."

Neo nodded. "Let's get going."

Zero looked at me funny but didn't say anything and followed after Neo and Jetta.

I did, too.

After looking at the paper one more time before slipping it into my pocket.