Aero groggily tried to turn over, only to hear a grumble.

“Hang on, idiot…”

Sitting up, Aero saw Hero and finally remembered what was going on.

Feeling a certain threat wanting to slide…She immediately moved off Hero’s lap and sat still for a moment…

“Oh…”

Hero didn’t know what to say, as he fixed himself up too.

It had been the best sleep he’d had in ages…Now…Now he had to try and deal with Aero in a way that she’d never leave…

Hero stopped for a moment and looked down…Right, he had to…Deal with Alex…

Aero probably didn’t know that she had let the cat out of the bag, hence why it was always good to find out secrets in those times just before Aero fell asleep…

 

Before he could stop himself, Hero smiled to his memories and then looked at Aero…Alex…

“Stop smiling, you…This is your fault!”

Losing his smile, Hero bowed his head, “I’m sorry.”

“No sex for a week!”

“What!” Hero almost yelled, already looking up and back at her.

That’s so…Harsh!

Aero saw how put out Hero was and smirked, serves you right! “You can pay for the pill too!”

Hero raised his eyebrows, not having thought that far, and then nodded. “…Ok.”

 

Looking back at Hero, Aero felt better. Now that that had been sorted, it felt all good. “Good!”

Hero smiled happily at her again, thinking that Aero really had changed.

Taking a deep breath, Hero pushed her into him from the side and clasped one of her hands in his. Without a word he looked out the window yet…All he thought about is how Aero had acted so far this time…

That’s right…When Aero had heard his name…What had she looked like?

 

“Hero?”

Looking back at the present Aero, Hero smiled, “What?”

Aero knew, it wasn’t hard when she had been with Hero so much…That Hero was happy…

Already so happy with Alex…Uh Hero? Did you really find so much happiness, so quickly with someone that isn’t Aero? What are you thinking Aero? Of course, he’s happy, he’s just gotten laid! Don’t be a bloody female and look too deep into things!

“Nothing.” Aero stated, unclasping their hands and getting up, “I’m going to pee.”

“…Oh…” Hero answered back.

Back in the day he’d have stated that she lacked womanly virtue but in today’s world…It was starting to look normal…

 

 

Aero sat in the small toilet and swore silently.

Already, we went out of control!

Silently, she didn’t know what to think because, it had just felt so perfect and so right.

She had lost her virginity, she had not even used protection, why the fuck is she saying and feeling that it was perfect!?

Putting her head in her hands, she felt useless. Her heart was really beating hard for this man, why can’t she stop it? Why can’t she just give him up? Over so many years, so many life’s, you think you could just…Forget…

Sighing, Aero breathed out and finally started paying more attention.

With numbers going through her head, she figured that she should be pretty safe, as she was due for her period in just two days.

What great timing then!

It was like she had already known and said no to sex for a week on purpose!

 

Letting out a small chuckle, Aero finished in the toilet and went back to Hero, who immediately took her hand in his once again…

What...You think you own me now bucko?

This is stupid…I’m getting jealous of myself!

Looking at their hands, Aero frowned and closed her eyes. It’s ok, she told herself, let it out. Let it all out and then when we are finished with one another, we won’t have to see each other again.

Fine!

Looking up, to see Hero looking out the window, Aero suddenly wondered what he was feeling, or had felt…All these years…

“Maybe a game that helps people with…Their emotions…Maybe…” Aero muttered, still staring at Hero.

If she could understand him more through the game, perhaps see if he would attempt to kill her again, even if it is accidental, it might help…

She also couldn’t help but be curious about what he had done all these years…All these decades…Centuries without her.

 

Hero looked back at her, thinking the same about her. He desperately needed to know how to obtain Aero’s forgiveness. Perhaps this so-called game, that probably wouldn’t make it to a real game anyway, could help him figure out how he can talk to her properly. “That sounds good…As long as you can fight!”

Aero finally smiled again, shaking her head, “It just…How do we put in fighting?”

Hero smiled back, “Well, like you said before, we obtain a body, so that we can fight. It’ll be…Like blood and gore and blood…”

“Oh, shut up!” Aero said.

The game was looking quite...Empty right now!

“Well, you can’t help it right? Humans want to fight, animals want to fight…It’s what we do.” Hero then shrugged.

 

You may have not come up with many ideas, Hero, but you did say some good stuff. Aero thought.

“…Animals…Natural…” Aero went into thought again and Hero leaned his head on her.

It was nearly just like old times…

“…Ok, say we can add in animal and natural instinct type of things into the game…Somehow, but…Oh! You said it before right, with the body and gaining it to fight right?” Aero said, suddenly energetic, as she kneeled on the seat.

Hero looked up at her and nodded, “Yeah.”

Aero smiled back and had stars in her eyes, “What about we do the senses!”

Blinking…Hero stared at her. “…Senses?”

Aero nodded, “You know, like they start, start the game, and they have to obtain the senses to play properly or something!”

 

Hero almost wanted to laugh, “So, you mean we won’t be able to hear or talk or…Or um.”

Aero hit Hero and said, “Is that all the senses you know!?”

“…No! Smell, there’s smell too!” Hero added.

“Right, and smell, but hey, we gotta look this shit up, so write it down!” Aero pointed a finger at his head…Just like she had always.

Taking that finger, Hero bit lightly on it and just like always, she pulled back and gave him a look.

Even as men, Hero had done that, he was the tease…He showed his desire, she on the other hand was the one that tipped him over the edge!

Dammit…

Now all she wanted to do was take this man’s clothes off and ‘tip him over the edge’!

 

What were we talking about again?

“I remember, don’t worry.” Hero said, knowing full well what Aero was thinking.

She hasn’t changed drastically, she's still an opened book for me to read.

Again, Hero took her hand in his and made her sit down properly, as they were getting a strange look from the bus driver.

You should have looked earlier mate, Aero thought, you woulda seen some porn!

Aero nearly blushed but knew she had been in more embarrassing situations then this, instead, she was going to do something that the bus driver was not prepared for.

“Sir…Bus driver…How long until we reach Newcastle?”

An answer didn’t come straight away…

“An hour.”

Loudly, Aero said, “Thank you!”

 

Hero pulled her back to him again and said, “An hour…What do you want to do in an hour?”

Obviously, it was written on their faces upon what they both thought of, but they both shook their heads.

Hadn't she only just come up with the rule of no sex for a week...What's wrong with them!?

Time starts now!

“Then we’ll just have to talk more about the game then.” Aero stated, almost like it was the most boring thing in the world.

Hero looked at Aero, and said, “So how are we to add in emotions, instincts and senses into a game?”

“…Well, you’d probably start with nothing…What is nothing?”

“A ghost?”

“…But what if we want ghosts in the game as like bad or good guys?”

“Nothing? Noth…ing…” Hero looked around and saw signs, “As in like soulless stuff right? Like a sign?”

 

Aero raised her eyebrows and suddenly became excited, “No, wait, the opposite! A soul…A soul and that’s it! You start the game as a soul and you have to obtain a body, smell, touch, um…um.”

“Sight.”

“Sight!” Aero repeated.

“Taste? Is that…”

Aero interrupted, “Taste! Or speech…Dam, is that what it’s called?”

That was my line! Hero silently told her.

 

Excitement was clearly seen as they had come up with the idea of a soul obtaining the features of a human. The game would somehow contain emotions and instincts.

And, it didn’t mean that they didn’t know about stuff, as they’d been here in prison for a long time, perhaps even coming up with a few things themselves but…The ‘new age’ was a bit different, from even just ten or fifteen years ago, so hence looking up a few things…But neither of them had internet right now, so that became there next step.

They started talking about some other games and what they liked or disliked about them so…An idea was formed!

The game they had come up with, that still has no name, they want it to have a 'uber' spell, or whatever, called something like ‘Freeze Time’. 'Freeze Time', as it's called at this point of time, would then freeze time on something like a bag holder, so that when you get heaps of mats, you can freeze time on them so that they will never disappear, even if you use them…The name of it is still subjective but that’s all they got before the bus suddenly stopped…

 

***

 

“I feel like I lost IQ points by being out in woop woop.” Aero stated, her sad mood showing.

Hero thought she was cute, and said, “It’s just like the stock market, planes and how much and whatever…It changes all the time. There never used to be a town there...Now there is...Remember how Alexandria started?”

For a short second of time both of them suddenly stopped and remembered...Remembered the past Alexandria and that time in the past...They didn't think about how the city has changed from becoming into being and changing over time but thought instead about a particular life that brought them there...After a certain death at a temple...

 

Shaking her head, Aero didn't want to think about the past...If anything, the future and...A future here in Newcastle didn't imply much at all!

“I want to go!” Aero said, wanting to fall to the floor like a child.

“Well, we can just work for a bit and catch a plane later.” Hero said…What, did they urgently need to go somewhere? Even if they worked for the remainder of this life, they’d only come back again.

“Wait, a stash, did I leave a stash here?”

“Stash?” Hero was interested in this ‘stash’.

“Yeah…For later…No…Not Australia…Dam!” It helps knowing that you reincarnate, because if you are filthy rich in a life, you can ‘stash’ some of your money around and hopefully help another life down the track.

Right, Hero thought, Aero was someone that looked towards the future…Prepared.

“Why not Australia?” Hero asked.

“Pfft, why Australia!?” Aero answered back.

Hero shrugged and thought for a moment, “…Australia has many things to offer. They did come up with pretty cool stuff. You picked up their accent easy enough, ‘hey mate!’”

 

Aero went silent for a while, and Hero watched and also went quiet…

He had missed Aero…Missed Aero thinking, missed Aero being prepared and ready for what was coming…

Hero had never thought life without Aero would be so painful and unbearable. He had not been prepared for it at all! Aero used to make sure he ate properly, that they kept themselves entertained…

When he had been alone, he didn’t think much, he had just…Done…Done whatever.

His life’s without Aero hadn’t made much sense, even know…He had just done what he did and lived. He…He lived…Empty…

 

In the past, not giving it too much thought, Hero had answered to the Unigal 'approach' and so, very quickly, other Unigals knew that Hero was a prisoner. They had used him and even though Hero knew it, he still went along with it.

They used him like a slave, making him work hard with others to build what is somewhat known now as ‘The Great Library’. But…The biggest thing that they made him do, was act the part of ‘Jesus’.

If Hero had not felt so desolate inside himself and lost, perhaps he would have said no, or cared more, but…Having acted out so much as this ‘Jesus’, there was no going back in some aspect.

Oh, and what a problem that became…

On days where he wasn’t acting and just had nothing better to do, he would help some people, trying to help himself in the process, but then there were days that they told him that he had to look like he’s walking on water, when in fact he wouldn’t be.

 

Never did he think that so many people would come to him and…And think that he’s some sort of awesome person!

Ah, no I'm not some son of 'Heaven', I'm just acting...I'm not someone that helps with sins and whatever, I mean, I'm here in prison because of sins! Do the people really believe in this load of bullshit?

Hero…Had wanted to break down. He had not wanted a part of the acting anymore, so he had told the Unigals that talked him into it that he was out, that he no longer wanted to ‘act’!

So…They told him to act out his death then, so that it was ‘over’.

Oh, and it was at this time that he found everything was getting written down…

Those other prisoners were crazy!

Nuts!

They were using people and things, cheating…To make what…What was it? They had wanted a religion that would take away the people believing in the Greek gods. Some…Some people, or person, was at war with someone in Greece and this was the…The outcome…

It was just a competition…It was stupid…

And Hero had been caught right in the middle of it!