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[In Communications. A Fix Lights sabotage is ongoing.]
PLAYER
God, I can't see anything. Better turn on my flashlight.
[Player turns on his flashlight.]
PLAYER AND VETERAN
AAAAAAH! Wait. Shhh. Don't you know that Novisor's on the loose? He'll kill us all! Hey. Quit saying everything that I'm saying. Me? You're the one who's copying. Okay. I'm gonna say something totally random to get us out of sync. Jellyfish. Angelica Houston. Blacksmith statues and contract tournament restitution 2012-2013. Wow. I'm not even mad anymore. This is just insane at this point. But seriously, stop. No, you! Seriously. Dude, stop!
[Both of them stop.]
VETERAN
Fine. But mostly because I'm terrified of Novisor hunting us down and trapping us in this game forever.
PLAYER
So the rumors are true, huh? There really is a ghost wandering the halls of the Skeld looking for new victims?
VETERAN
Yeah. And not some regular ghost that helps do tasks and stuff. A real legit ghost. A forgotten soul that wades here between our world and the afterlife.
PLAYER
That's too spoopy, man.
VETERAN
Thing is, he wasn't always that way. Novisor used to be like a regular guy just like you or me.
PLAYER
Really? I've never heard that part of the story before.
[Flashback starts as Veteran narrates the story. Aiden strolls and stops at a shop-stall where a laptop is displayed.]
VETERAN
It all started with a young college student named Aiden that was doing some shopping out at a flea market. See, this guy didn't have a lot of money, but he needed to find a working PC for homework and other stuff.
PLAYER
Like video games?
[Aiden wipes off the dust on the laptop's cover.]
VETERAN
Right. He thought that he might be able to find something for a decent price there. Too bad in the end, he paid the ultimate price.
AIDEN
Wow. Look at this piece of junk.
[Duncan appears from the back of the stall.]
DUNCAN
It may not look like much, but this thing has many of the latest advancements in gaming technology.
AIDEN
Uh, cool. So you're the guy that's selling this thing? What kind of computer is it? I don't see any branding.
DUNCAN
That's because there is none. It's 100% custom-made. I tinker on the weekends, you see.
AIDEN
Hmm, that's cool.
[Duncan opens the laptop with its screen shown to Aiden.]
DUNCAN
Yes, it is. Go ahead, try it out. Play the new hit game Among Us.
AIDEN
Among Us? Never heard of it.
[Player interrupts him.]
PLAYER
He'd never heard of Among Us before?
VETERAN
This was 2018, Player. Nobody had.
[Flashback resumes.]
DUNCAN
Yes, yes. It's going to be big one day. The biggest game in the world. Go on, put it up and play it.
AIDEN
Uh, sure.
[The laptop shows the menu screen.]
AIDEN
Huh, this looks cool. Kinda violent though.
[Duncan closes the laptop cover.]
DUNCAN
Of course, it is. Among Us is a game about deception and murder. Someone plays as the Impostor, trying to eliminate all the Crewmates one-by-one, while the rest of the players work together to figure out who is responsible.
AIDEN
So it's multiplayer? That's pretty sweet.
DUNCAN
It is, it is. You know what? You seem like a nice young man. Why don't you take it?
AIDEN
Wait, really? You're just giving this thing to me?
DUNCAN
Of course, go on. You'll have much more use for it than I ever will. Please, consider it a gift.
AIDEN
Wow. Well, thank you mister-
DUNCAN
Duncan. Duncan Swearinger Cortez O'barclay Gottenheimer.
[The two of them do not speak.]
DUNCAN
I was raised by a polyamorous quadruple.
AIDEN
Cool. Well thanks again, mister...uh...Duncan. Guess I'll see you around.
[Aiden walks away from Duncan's stall. Duncan remains in the scene. His stall gradually disappears as he spoke.]
DUNCAN
Oh, I don't believe you will, Aiden. In fact, I don't think you'll be seeing anyone ever again! [he laughs maniacally]
VETERAN
So Aiden takes the laptop back to his dorm, right? He was supposed to go to some crazy party that night, but he got so excited to get his rig set up that he ended bailing instead.
[In Aiden's dorm. Aiden's roommate is spraying his mohawk with a hair spray while looking to himself at a mirror. Aiden arrives moments later and places the laptop at the desk.]
AIDEN'S ROOMMATE
So you're seriously not going, bro? It's the biggest party of the year. Gotta be a lot of hot babes there.
AIDEN
How can you even tell? Everyone looks exactly the same in these space suits, dude.
AIDEN'S ROOMMATE
Bro, you can tell.
AIDEN
Well, I guess I'm just not feeling it tonight. I'm gonna hang inside and play some video games.
AIDEN'S ROOMMATE
Alright. Whatever you say, man. Don't wait up for me. My band's gonna play tonight, and we're gonna kill it.
[Aiden's roommate leaves the room.]
[Aiden is left inside. He tries to change his in-game name.]
AIDEN
Alright, time to finally check this game out.
AIDEN
Hmm, better change my name. What kind of noob scrub idiot would keep their name as Player?
[The flashback stops.]
PLAYER
Okay. There's no way you actually know that's what Aiden said.
VETERAN
Dude, would you let me finish the story?
PLAYER
Ugh, fine.
[Flashback resumes. Aiden's game name changes to No-Visor.]
AIDEN
No-Visor? What kind of name is that?
[He tries changing his name to Aiden. It keeps changing to No-Visor.]
AIDEN
Weird. Must be some kind of glitch or something. Eh, whatever.
[Aiden enters the lobby.]
AIDEN
Wait, this can't be right. What's going on here?
[He checks the game's character customization options. Everything's X-ed out.]
AIDEN
No cosmetic options? Pfft, lame.
[Six in-game, visorless characters joins Aiden's lobby. He opens the chat. They communicate with the words "No Visor".]
AIDEN
What the? Okay, something is seriously messed up. I should just exit and restart in a different lobby.
[Aiden clicks Settings. "Return to Game" is the only available option".]
AIDEN
This game has voice chat?
[He hears whispers repeating the name of "No Visor".]
AIDEN
Okay, that was a mistake. Great.
[The game starts and it assigned his role as Crewmate. The laptop taunts him by making the screen glitch with drippy red words spelling "Novisor".]
AIDEN
This place is freaky, but at least my model is fixed.
AIDEN
Looks like I need to go over here for a couple tasks.
[He ends up in the same hallway.]
AIDEN
What the-? How did I-? Ugh. Let's try this again. So this is some kind of loop. Is this part of the game?
[The hallway are stained with splatters of ink on the walls and floor.]
AIDEN
No, no, no, this isn't right! How do I get out of here?
[He exits the hallway. Shackles are chained in his feet.]
AIDEN
Huh? What are these?! Get them off of me! [he grunts]
[No-Visors surround him.]
AIDEN
No, no, no. Come on! Not like this!
[Aiden closes his laptop just as the No-Visors covered the in-game version of himself.]
AIDEN
I think that's enough for tonight. Mr. Duncan didn't tell me this was a horror game. And it doesn't look like I've missed too much of the party... Guess I'm heading out tonight after all.
[Aiden arrives at his roommate's concert. Aiden sees him at the stage, holding a microphone in his left hand.]
AIDEN
Oh yeah, this is much better than that stupid Among Us game. I should've come out earlier!
AIDEN'S ROOMMATE
Thank you, thank you. Now, before we play our next jam, I have a very special surprise for my best friend and roommate. [he points] Come up here, Aiden.
AIDEN
Wait, really?
AIDEN'S ROOMMATE
Yeah! Why do you think I was being so pushy about you coming out earlier? Come on up!
AIDEN
Uh, yeah...sure. Okay.
[Aiden goes up the stage. His roommate pulls out an envelope and gives it to Aiden.]
AIDEN'S ROOMMATE
Here you go. Read this to all the people out there.
AIDEN
Dude, what is this?
[Aiden's roommate holds down the microphone away.]
AIDEN'S ROOMMATE
Just open it up and read, man.
AIDEN
[opens the envelope] Wait...
[The piece of paper inside the envelope has the words "No Visor" written in it. He looks at the audience, who are now turned into No-Visors. His roommate, who is now a No-Visor, pushes him off the stage. Aiden screams as No-Visors swarm him.]
[The flashback stops, going back to the present time.]
PLAYER
Wait a minute, he was still inside the game? He never left?
VETERAN
That's the big twist. According to the legends, he was in the game the entire time.
PLAYER
Whoa.
VETERAN
Yeah well, they say some sort of missing code that has been left in the game since its inception. Innersloth keeps trying to patch him out, but Novisor finds a way to survive, and to kill.
PLAYER
What do you mean?
VETERAN
Well, it's rare to see him. Nobody's figured out what causes Novisor to show up. But if you're playing on the Skeld, there's a small chance that he's lurking about, stalking you like prey. And if he catches you, he turns you into a hideous Novisor and curses you to haunt these halls just like him.
PLAYER
Hey, look at that. The lights are back on.
VETERAN
Oh, thank God. I can't believe we got so worked up over that story.
PLAYER
Yeah, I know, right? I mean, I'm not scared of some silly ghost that's probably not even real.
VETERAN
Yeah, me neither.
[Novisor appears to Player and Veteran.]
NOVISOR
You should be.
[Player and Veteran run away. Novisor grabs them and drags them through a wall.]