[ You have defeated Borklevore! ]

  [ +5 EXP! +$300! ]

  Rozinante sat in front of me, smoking. She'd smashed Borklevore into a bloody pulp against the concrete wall, but at great cost: the front had crumpled, the windshield had shattered, and Baz was slumped into the airbag.

  [ LAIR CLEAR ]

  [ Killing Blow: baaaaaaz

  Most Damage: baaaaaaz

  Top Contributions:

  1. baaaaaaz and Udon Quixote

  2. VVVVVV and Mall Minotaur

  3. Mike and Healo Feelo

  4. WillT and Khan Zoomer

  5. Harm and Fryvern ]

  [ Participation Rewards: +20 EXP

  Contribution Bonus: +$300, +2 Silver Lair Crate

  Boss Contribution: +1 ZETTAMALL? Harsh Boss Crate ]

  [ Bad Dog!

  Clear a Wogar Lair.

  Reward: +1 Bronze Shoplin Crate ]

  As I watched, the bus returned to normal. The destination indicator above the windshield sparked and fell. Reg and Manaia stepped out from behind the bus.

  I was stunned for a moment, but the leaderboard snapped me out of it. Mike's name was struck out, but Val's wasn't. I got to my feet and hurried over to her.

  She hadn't gotten up. Borklevore had crushed her torso, and one of her arms was bent the wrong way. She was bruised and bloody and only had a sliver of health left. But she was breathing.

  I looked around at the others. "I'm out of cans."

  "I gave mine to Mike," Kara said worriedly.

  "Pretty sure we all did," Red said.

  Awkward replies from the other survivors suggested that the group's remaining cans were indeed with Mike. It wasn't just Val who needed one either—everyone who'd faced Borklevore in the cube was paying for it. Chaz was bloody and limping, and Harmony couldn't even stand without Reg lifting her.

  Lex reached into Snakpak. "Hold on!"

  She still had a healing drink stashed in Mister Bottle, plus the Ultratonic she'd poured out of it earlier. Val didn't seem conscious enough to activate the bottle, so she was fed the Ultratonic.

  Its health regeneration effect kicked in. Val's flesh writhed as her bones tried to figure out how many pieces they were supposed to be in. Her eyes fluttered open.

  "Is it over? Did we— hooooly shit!"

  The Ultratonic wasn't fast-acting, and it would be a while before all her ribs stopped screwing around and got back to work. It did wake her up enough to feel it though. I winced in sympathy.

  "We got it," I said. "You did good."

  Val nodded and switched to Zettachat, where talking felt less like being hit with hammers.

  VVVVVV 2:15 PM

  Hell yeah! If you wanna keep doubting us because we're young, you can keep it to yourself!

  But everyone else is okay, yeah?

  Baz pried themselves out of the bus. Harmony had borrowed Mister Bottle; she stood on her own two feet and gave us a thumbs-up.

  "Good work," she said. "Now let's never do that again."

  "I'm gonna go, uh, check on Mike," Reg said. "Well, you know what I mean..."

  The others started following Reg, or returned to the terminal. I stayed and approached the bus. Khan didn't wait for me to ask.

  "I believe it is time to claim your spoils," he said. He wriggled underneath, and came back moments later with my orb.

  < Essence: Shopping Worg [Mini] >

  +4 Adaptation, +4 Hair Thickness, +4 Speed, [+4 Free], Power: In-Aisle Skates ]

  [ Power: In-Aisle Skates

  You can create a set of wheels around your feet. When using them, your speed increases. ]

  I rolled the essence in my hands while I considered it. Lex did call me a skater boy...

  Screw it, why not? It seemed useful, the regular shopping worgs would have the same essence but worse, and I had a use for the Free points anyway. Plus, that raid had pushed me to level 4. I was at 308/500 to level 5 now, but it was possible to get another essence slot before the tutorial was over.

  "I'll take it," I said. "Can I get Accuracy?"

  "Regular, Diagnostic, or Historical?"

  "...Just regular Accuracy, thank you." My aim would improve with practice, but most of my opponents weren't going to be huge targets. I needed to be better right now.

  Khan gulped the essence down. My fingers twitched, and my hair itched. Nothing else changed immediately.

  I tried mentally activating the skates, and sets of rubbery wheels popped out of my shoes in a burst of voxels.

  I almost fell. "Woah!"

  "You're fine," Khan said encouragingly. "Give them a test run."

  I steadied myself and started skating. It was no skateboard, but I could speed up and slow down with a thought. Soon I was zooming in circles around the car park.

  As a test I swung past the Burger Kong billboard, aimed at its purple ape mascot, and—

  "Wait, I'm not shooting your best friend or anything, right?"

  "No, you're fine."

  With Khan's approval, I fired off a few shots. I could reliably hit the torso from a decent distance and the head if I wasn't moving. That was good enough for now. Unfortunately, I was now out of excuses to avoid confronting Mike's death.

  "Thanks, man," I said. "I'm gonna check on Reg."

  I skated after the others, passing through the original tunnel on the way. I was completely unsurprised to see that the paths outside were sealed in concrete.

  What did surprise me was the carnage Reg had found.

  The space where Mike had landed was a bloody blast zone. Dead worgs littered the floor, fur smoking and cybernetics sparking. In the center, Reg and Lex had draped a sheet over a roughly human-shaped lump.

  The other survivors stood at the edge of the mess, mourning.

  I switched off the skates before I started tracking blood everywhere. "What happened?"

  "See for yourself, cuz," Reg said, holding out a book. "I opened the Death Daddy crate and got this thing..."

  I took it. The book's cover was mottled black, with a portrait of Mike set into it.

  [ A Death Daddy Mementome: Michael J. Sutherland. The story of Michael, now in collectible book form! ]

  Michael Jackson Sutherland was born on May 14, 19...

  The book covered Michael's life, from the formative events of his childhood to his studies at Macquarie University to the people he saved as a doctor. The chapters at the end covered his stay at the Zettamall in detail. There was even an index. It didn't take long to work out what had happened.

  Michael had never believed he'd survive the Zettamall. It just didn't seem realistic. So last night, while everyone was messing with the altar, he'd discreetly obtained a Fragger's Co-Operative explosive from another survivor. It was his backup plan, a way to ensure that whatever finally took him out would go down with him.

  And when he was thrown to the worgs...

  Michael groaned. His ankle was fractured. He could see the worgs approaching. He would be their appetizer, then they'd hunt down the kids on the bus.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Fragger's Co-Op Kaboom Fruit Seed he'd been saving.

  "Sorry, Healo," he said, putting the seed in his mouth.

  "Don't be," his OddBot said. "I'm proud of ya, dude. See you on the other side."

  The worgs surrounded him. Their riders dismounted and drew their daggers, grinning. They were going to enjoy this…

  Michael bit down, triggering the seed's hyper-growth. Vines burst out of the seed and wrapped around his body, spiraling up his arm. A hefty pitaya-like fruit with a short fuse blew up like a balloon and dropped into his hand.

  The fuse lit. The fruit glowed.

  Though we can't know Michael's last thoughts, our personality profile suggests he was thinking of Earth. He knew there was another version of him who'd never come here, who was probably home right now. Perhaps he hoped that Michael's day would go better.

  He definitely flipped the shoplins off.

  The shoplins stared at the fruit in confusion for a couple of seconds, which only left them half a second to scream.

  The last spread listed Michael's full stats at time of death and his "final score", which also appeared in a tooltip when I examined the book.

  [ Mall: NG_Brockdale-24, Season Thirty-Six

  Time: 21 hours, 43 minutes

  Killed By: Heroic Suicide (Kaboom Fruit)

  Posthumous Achievements: Corpse Carry; Out With A Bang; You're Welcome; Pentakill!; ULTRA KILL!; HOLY SHIT!!

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Grade: C ]

  I wasn't sure what to say. "Jesus."

  "You said it, cuz," Reg said, taking the book back. "He went out like a badass."

  "We should do something for the dead," Harmony said. "Just leaving them here doesn't feel right."

  "Especially Mike," Chaz said. "Viking funeral in Rozinante, maybe."

  While they debated, I received a notification. Someone had pinged me in our Zettachat server.

  Daddy_Big_Pants 2:21 PM

  William Tombaugh.

  "Does he have to do this now?" I complained, loud enough that the others checked the server too.

  "Someone nearby must have told him about it," Kara said. "What do you wanna do?"

  Daddy_Big_Pants 2:22 PM

  Your people killed my cousin Cal.

  If you want forgiveness, you and your little crew in here can hand over your loot, stay in your safe zone, and behave yourselves until the end. Then I'll consider it.

  Even think of doing anything else, and I'll make you pay.

  Is that clear?

  burger haven wifi 2:22 PM

  Wow, okay.

  "Oh, fuck this guy," Val said. "Lemme—"

  I held up a hand. "Wait. Don't say anything yet. He sucks, but he lost someone, just like us. If we go easy on him and give him some space, maybe he'll relax."

  Val was in too much pain to protest. "...Fine."

  WillT 2:23 PM

  Hey. I'm sorry about what happened to Callcium.

  Your group already killed the guy who shot him. He acted in what he thought was self-defense, and he's already paid for it.

  Nobody planned to kill anyone, it was a tragic accident. We've all lost people today.

  How about a truce?

  "There," I said. "If that doesn't work, we can just warn him to stay away without being dicks about—"

  Daddy_Big_Pants 2:23 PM

  You think begging will help you? Pathetic.

  I don't give a shit about whatever losers you've lost. You'll lose more by the time I'm done with you.

  I'm coming for car park bitch that travels with you too. I have some friends who'd like to talk to her. I'm sure she knows why.

  Maybe I'll even let her live? But you sure won't be around to see it.

  Get ready. I'm coming for you.

  That struck a nerve. Michael's death was too raw in my mind to put up with that shit. I replied at the speed of thought.

  WillT 2:24 PM

  Oh, fuck off. If you want to scare me, don't set your name to Daddy Big Pants.

  You attacked us and your cousin paid for it. That's on you. Go bother somewhere else.

  Daddy_Big_Pants 2:24 PM

  The best you can do is bring up my gamertag? Weak.

  WillT 2:25 PM

  Fine. Did you notice we stole his corpse?

  I have these milkshakes that let me ask dead people questions, but I have to drink it and then throw it up on them. Guess how I know your OddBot is Casso-Wary.

  Here's a hint: I defiled your cousin and looted his corpse.

  Come near my friends and the next shake is going right up your arse.

  I stopped replying, because I'd noticed everyone else had gone silent. They were just standing there, staring at me.

  "What?" I asked.

  "So, what's being a dick look like?" Kara asked innocently.

  I sighed. "Sorry, sorry. I got too heated."

  "No, this is great," Chaz said. "Can we join in now?"

  I shrugged. The "don't piss off the PvPer" ship had sailed, I guess. "Alright."

  burger haven wifi 2:25 PM

  Jesus Christ, dude.

  maxbasedvapegod 2:25 PM

  YEAH MAN WHAT THE HELL

  Daddy_Big_Pants 2:25 PM

  FUCK YOU.

  You think you can mess with my family and get away with it?

  SkullGirl33 2:26 PM

  Yes. What are you gonna do, lose an uncle at us?

  Shirokage428 2:26 PM

  Who goes for a PvP build when there are monsters attacking us? Did a shoplin give you a concussion?

  VVVVVV 2:26 PM

  I just got hurt so bad I passed out, and I'd rather take another hit than read this cringe supervillain shit. Aren't you like fifty?

  Daddy_Big_Pants 2:26 PM

  What the fuck? I'm thirty.

  VVVVVV 2:26 PM

  Jesus! Don't strain your back, old man.

  Daddy_Big_Pants 2:26 PM

  Fuck all of you. You'll get what's coming to you.

  Lex raised a hand. "Do you mind if I say something? I'm the one he's threatening."

  "I think it's fine," I said. "Do what you gotta do."

  Lexy 2:27 PM

  Daddy Peepants.

  SkullGirl33 2:27 PM

  AHAHAHAHA!

  WillT 2:27 PM

  Daddy Peepants.

  VVVVVV 2:27 PM

  Daddy Peepants.

  CosmicAcai 2:27 PM

  Daddy Peepants?

  It's Reggie 2:27 PM

  Daddy Peepants!

  Shirokage482 2:27 PM

  Please, Peepants was my father's name. Call me Daddy.

  baaaaaaz 2:28 PM

  It's Mister Piss.

  Daddy_Big_Pants 2:28 PM

  ALL OF YOU ARE DEAD.

  That eased our tension. We shared a laugh, united by a common enemy, and got to work giving the dead what respect we could.

  I stepped away a little early. I had something to check.

  I probably shouldn't have. It was like picking a scab: you know it's a bad idea, you tell yourself "this is a bad idea so I am not going to do it," and then you watch yourself do it. Today, my scab was Murray's death crate.

  The bars around the entrance to the terminal had vanished when the Lair was cleared. I went back upstairs to the food court, sat at a corner table, and popped Murray's crate. As promised, I got a Death Daddy item and a Mementome.

  [ A Death Daddy Spell Scroll: Canned Body! Tear this scroll and select a corpse to compress it and anything it's carrying into a portable can. While inside the can, the body is preserved and cannot become Expired. Can lasts for one week or until you pull the tab, whichever comes first. ]

  I opened Murray's tome and flipped straight to the back. His death had basically gone the way I'd guessed: he'd seen Callcium looming over me, assumed I was in danger, and fired.

  Murray made a snap decision. Given the human propensity for violence, it is perhaps unsurprising that he chose to shoot an arrow. His eyes indicated that he intended to strike the man's center of mass, but his aim was off; instead, Murray shot him in the throat.

  His allies didn't take it well.

  [ Mall: NG_Brockdale-24, Season Thirty-Six

  Time: 18 hours, 55 minutes

  Killed By: Player Kill (Boris Bogdanovi? — Crossbow)

  Posthumous Achievements: Player Kill; Turning Problems Into Solutions

  Grade: F ]

  I don't know what was different about Murray. Maybe it was because Michael died while we were executing Val's plan, so I felt less responsible. Maybe Murray being mad old triggered some bad memories. When my heart started to pound, it didn't really matter why.

  Michael was out of my hands, but Murray? I could have taken things slower. I could have moved in a larger group. I could have noticed the intruders faster. I didn't, and Murray died trying to save my ass.

  A man was dead, and I couldn't see how it wasn't my fault.

  I threw the book down and put my head in my hands. "Fuck!"

  One of my hands moved on its own accord, sliding and extending under the table. Khan's body popped out of the other side and coiled in the seat.

  "Might I enquire as to the source of your distress?"

  "I could have done something," I said to the table. "I didn't.

  "Ah, I know this one from my previous partners," Khan said. "I believe this is what Earthicans call 'survivor's guilt'—"

  "Not this again," I sighed.

  "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be telling you how you feel," Khan said. "But I'd like to know. We're partners now, and if I can be of assistance in any way at all... wait a minute. What do you mean by 'again'?"

  I looked up. Whoops. "Uh."

  "This is the first time anyone has broached the subject of guilt in the time we've spent together," Khan said carefully. "Do you speak of something that happened on Earth, perhaps?"

  An awkward silence followed.

  "Uh, well, that's not..." I began. "Wait, what do you mean previous partners?"

  "We're returned to the pool of available OddBotz when our partners die." Khan said. "It's nothing to be concerned with. Might I request a return to the original subject?"

  Goddamn it, he got me. "Does it really matter right now?"

  "The wellbeing of my partner always matters, William."

  I snapped. "For fuck's sake! My granddad is dead because of me. Okay? You happy now? That clear everything up?"

  I immediately regretted it, but if it bothered Khan he chose to let it go.

  "It explains several things," he said carefully, "but I won't push the matter."

  "Sorry," I said quietly, rubbing my face. "It's just—"

  A sneaker squeaked. I turned around.

  My party was nearby, along with Val. Lex had been in the process of awkwardly leaving when her new shoes had betrayed her on the food court tiles.

  "Er..." she began awkwardly. "Hi. Sorry. We just wanted to tell you we found an altar downstairs. We didn't mean to, you know..."

  "Yeah," Val said, eyes wide. "I should, you know, go use it. With my crates. Yeah."

  She literally ran from this situation.

  "...Hey," I said. "Any chance you can pretend you didn't hear that?"

  The others shrugged and joined me at the table instead.

  "I already knew about it," Chaz said. "And I still think you're full of it. I should probably talk to Val, actually."

  "And I believe Chaz," Kara said. "Do you wanna talk about it? I'm kind of an expert when it comes to this stuff."

  "No," I said firmly. "...Maybe later."

  She patted my hand. "What do you wanna do, then? Scout out the porcs? Daddy Peepants?"

  "Should we find out what happened to Jerry?" Chaz asked. "We haven't even found a body yet."

  "We could explore more of the mall?" Lex tried.

  I stood up. That gave me an idea, and I really wanted to change the subject. "Let me try something."

  My party followed me back to the terminal stairs, and the elevator beside them. It hadn't let me in earlier, but if the bars were gone...

  I pressed the button. The elevator began to move.

  "Oh, damn," Chaz said. "We can take this straight to the roof, right?"

  "Yeah," I said. "I think I need some air."

  respectful C.