THE MOMENT
Fig couldn't put it off any longer. He'd tried every other outlet he could to get hold of someone. But none of his texts, calls, or online posts received any replies. After almost two hours he decided he only had one avenue left to try.
When Fig logged out of the game, he thought it was odd that his parents weren't home. But both vehicles and even his parent's phones were present. He called a few friends and sent a few messages. The only thing he could do was log into the AlterNet again and hope that he found someone. He knew it was a long shot; but, he felt confident that the timing didn't add up. He was sure he talked to people after everyone disappeared. Of course, they might have just been NPCs.
Fig returned to the mudroom. It was a quiet, white room with a plot of soil in the center of the room. His parents were concerned when he wanted to dig a hole in the guest room. But, after they experienced the AlterNet for themselves, they redesigned the room specifically for AlterNet access. He lay down in the hole in the center of the plot and closed his eyes to log in.
When he opened his eyes he was in his workshop on what the lore said was 'an alternate Earth'. He stood in front of a wide, wooden work table that was cluttered with long, sharp tools and multicolor glowing cubes in different sizes.
[Hey! You're back! - Turbo] Fig felt the Whisper on his wrist. And, he heard Turbo's voice in his mind.
[You at the shop? - Turbo] He asked quickly.
[Be right there. - Turbo]
As glad as Fig was to hear from someone else, he still wasn't sure he was any better off. Turbo was his most recent customer. Fig's character was an Engineer, like Turbo, and he helped him out by building a custom part. But, Fig didn't actually know anything about engineering. He was playing a game and making the colored lights match up to craft a result. He didn't know if Turbo was an NPC customer. It didn't help ease Fig's mind when a black portal opened in his shop and Turbo walked out. He wore a red robe that hung loose showing his leather armor underneath, and a red translucent visor that covered his eyes.
"Wanna see what I built with your parts?" he asked. Turbo grinned and pointed at his visor. Two golden star shapes glowed in the visor over Turbo's eyes. But, he chuckled in surprise.
"Whoa! I had no idea you were Unique," he said. Fig tilted his head. He'd heard the word before but only had a vague idea of the context. Unique Souls were the ones hopping between universes in the AlterNet; Fig assumed they were the NPCs and it worried him that Turbo thought he was one. But, as surprising as that comment was, Fig didn't forget why he was there.
"Listen...," Fig locked eyes with Turbo through the starry outlines on his visor. "I don't know if you're real or not; but, I need help, please." The golden stars faded, then the red visor disintegrated into dust when Turbo nodded his head.
"Yeah, I'm here to help. What's up?" he asked. In the back of his mind, Fig knew it couldn't be that easy. He was more convinced than ever that Turbo was just an NPC; but, he had no other hope. He sighed and his shoulders drooped low.
"You probably won't believe me...," he said. "But.. everyone is gone from my Earth and I don't know what to do." Fig cringed internally as he heard his explanation out loud.
"Oh damn," Turbo said. He placed a hand on Fig's shoulders. "Let's go take a look," he said.
"Huh?" Fig looked up in time to see Turbo throwing a black card on the floor.
"You can log out, or you can follow me with your character," Turbo said. "See you in a bit," he waved and jumped into the hole.
"My character...?" Fig had never considered taking his character to his own Earth in the game. But, now he needed to see what that would be like. He took a deep breath for courage, then jumped in to follow Turbo.
Fig landed in his own mudroom looking down at his sleeping body. Turbo stood to one side with his slate out. Fig could see text flying up his visor from the outside while his fingers moved across the slate like a keyboard.
"Yep," Turbo said aloud. "Server crashed during an update," he said. The visor disappeared and he looked at Fig. "Um.. I can fix it if you want me to.. but you kind of have to keep it a secret. I have some tech that I shouldn't...," he said.
"What are you talking about?" Fig asked. "The server crashed? This is my home. My Earth...," he said. "Real life."
"You say that...," Turbo shrugged and chuckled at the same time. "...but we're both here in character. Is that what you meant?" he asked suddenly. "When you said you, 'didn't know if I was real or not'?" Fig nodded; but, he was still confused.
"I'm real...," Turbo said with a nod. He reached forward and plucked a translucent red node from the air; a pair of white scissors were etched into the front of it. "You're Unique; so you're real," Turbo said. He slotted the node into his slate and it changed color from smoky grey to crystalline red. Turbo hit a button on his slate and Fig blinked. His phone immediately chirped with notifications. "It's everyone else you know on this Earth that's an NPC."