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Published at 22nd of January 2019 08:20:29 PM


Chapter 56

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Q stood with his elbows resting on the railing, he was watching the amazing transformation of his living room. He looked toward his left, in order were his dad, pops and grandpa. "Looks like we were all run out?"

Gus nodded, "soon as the furniture was taken out and the tables assembled, that was it."

"Used for manual labor." Pops clucked his tongue.

"Louise just pointed up the stairs like I'm a cocker spaniel," Mike Obreen scowled.

Quinn noted that his most of his living room and kitchen furniture was now on the grass in his front yard. Replacing it were two long tables with bench seating. They had to activate the VR Mappers downstairs again to account for the new layout.

Tal caught his eye from below, she was holding a bottle of brandy and four glasses. She let Quinn come as far as the landing, gave him a quick kiss and then sent him away with the brandy.

Mike Obreen smiled as he relieved Quinn of the bottle and started pouring. "She's the best."

Gus nodded and accepted a glass, "definitely a keeper."

Pops drained half of his glass straight away, "an angel from heaven."

Q laughed at the other three, "yep, she'll do in a pinch. Hey Pops, is there a way to connect our market hub at HQ with the Songbird Tavern?"

Pops nodded, "already done. We won't have to worry about resupplying. We also have access to the Exodus market."

"The Songbirds are all going to work there, but I'll have to hire a manager." Quinn noticed that Tal and Leah were often working together as the banquet was prepared.

"Hey Quinn,whose that?" Pops pointed to a dark elf that was arranging name plates.

"Shit balls... it looked like Mojo from up here." As if sensing his gaze, the dark elf looked up at him. "That's Serli Jol."

Pops smirked, "Looks to me like that's your name plate she just moved."

Quinn's face seemed to suggest he was entering panic mode. "I think we should segregate, let's demand a men's table and a women's table."

The three older men laughed at him causing Quinn to scowl.

"Why's that funny?" Quinn scratched at his neck, "I think I feel a rash coming."

"Quinn?" Leah looked up at him from the living room.

As soon as the NPCs arrived, they had apparently agreed to call him by his given name. "Yes?"

"What will you be having?" Leah didn't really know what a cheeseburger was, but Quinn had told her it was the best thing ever.

"Cheeseburger." Quinn grinned at her, that mean he'd be a virtual guest. He glanced over at his companions, "pardon me gents."

Quinn walked into his room and shut the door. He decided to use the VR chamber and slipped into the bathroom to grab the VR suit that he kept hung on the door. A few moments later the door shut with a hiss.

"Log On Exodus. Tap Hub."

The TAP hub was still very crowded. Quinn couldn't imagine the amount of credits having a TAP hub in Exodus would bring in. "Edit Tap Kit, blue jeans, light blue V-neck tshirt, blue suede shoes."

Exodus System Message: Tap Kit altered.

"Designate current kit setting as 'dinner casual.' "

Quinn glanced around the TAP hub, to his knowledge only him and Jangles were the only TAP players who managed to snatch up an Exodus property. The rest of the shops were owned by corporations or rich people.

"Well played Q." A feminine voice caused him to turn his head.

Quinn wasn't surprised to see Eraphia in the Exodus Hub, he was surprised that she would be so close to the TAP gate and that she would speak to him directly. They had never spoken while he was using his Q avatar. He had talked to her on a few occasions when using the Quinn avatar on fodder raids.

"He got rid of me you know. Even though I only followed his directions." Eraphia looked like a supermodel that spent too much time pumping iron, at the moment her sad expression made Quinn feel a twinge of guilt.

"Mistake on his part. You can always play TAP." Quinn didn't have anything personal against Eraphia, she was a gamer and a damn good one. "Hey, know where I can get a haircut?"

Eraphia nodded, "you can get avatar haircuts at the Martial Law Hub, a barber shop opened up last month."

"Thanks." Quinn started walking toward the Martial Law Hub, it was only a few minutes walk. He was surprised when Eraphia followed along side him.

"We've met before right?" Eraphia felt that there was something familiar about him, although she was positive she hadn't encountered this avatar.

Quinn shrugged, if she was digging for information, his fodder work would be incredibly easy to find. That didn't mean he was going to be accommodating, "not sure."

Shortly before they arrived at the Martial Law hub, Eraphia grabbed his arm and stopped him. "I'm headed to Civil Unrest to try and salvage some of my belongings, good luck in the tournament Quinn."

Quinn nodded, "thanks. Cya Phia."

She stared at him as he walked away. "Phia?"

Quinn was grinning when he arrived at the Martial Law hub, "that really works, it even rhymed."

********

After Quinn matched his avatar haircut with his real one, he opened up his hud and accessed his home's hub. "Should be fun."

When Quinn brought up the home hub, there were a few arrival options. His bedroom was one, but it was grayed out. "Activate bedroom gate." A moment later it lit up and he arrived back in his bedroom.

Curious, he peeked in the chamber door, "Im logging in right next to my actual self, mind boggling." Quinn grabbed a blanket from his bed and draped it over the VR window. Tal was laying on the bed, ceramic discs in place, she must have logged in while he was gone. "It's the cheeseburgers, everyone wants them."

Just about everyone was seated by the time he came down the stairs, he noticed that both Jinn and Ro-Ro were using their TAP avatars. They both waved to him when they saw him.

Quinn smiled he saw he had been placed at the head of one of the tables. On his right was Talia and Mojo, on his left was Leah and Serli. Quinn waited until everyone found their seats, they all looked at him expectedly. "Please join hands." He grabbed Leah's and Tal's hands.

"Thank you for the food."

"And god bless Quinn." Tal added it, just like she always did. There were several smiling faces at both tables.

Quinn watched Leah try to figure out how to properly assemble her cheeseburger. "Need help with that ?"

Leah nodded, "yes please."

"Watch carefully." The burger with melted cheese had been placed on the bottom bun. The top bun lay next to it. There were two pieces of lettuce, on top of the lettuce was a large slice of tomato. None of the condiments had been added. The plate was finished off with a generous helping of fries.

Quinn looked up, noticing that he had a large audience. "First grab the red squeeze bottle, this is ketchup." He made a smiley face design on the melted cheese, he heard Tal laughing next to him.

He frowned at her before continuing. "Next place the lettuce down, with the tomato on top of it." He looked around and waited for everyone to catch up. "Now grab the white squeeze bottle, this is mayo, and the top bun." Quinn made a swirly design and held it up for everyone to see. "Then place the top bun on the top."

Tal was smiling widely as she watched him, she had eaten a real sandwich before she logged in. Virtual food might taste great and give you a sense of being full, but you'd wake up hungry if that's all you ate. She took a bite of her cheeseburger, "very well done Quinn."

"Thanks." He grabbed the red bottle again and covered his fries with ketchup. He noticed his empty glass. "Um, what we drinking?"

"Lemonade, but I forgot it on the island." Tal started to stand up, but Quinn stopped her.

"I'll get it Tal."

*Blink*

Quinn arrived in the kitchen, and grabbed the pitcher of Lemonade.

*Return*

He sat back down, and poured lemonade for himself and the ones around him. He was aware that everyone was staring at him.

It only took a moment before everyone started trying out their TAP abilities. Jinn turned into the white Spider Queen and turned the ceiling into a starry night sky. Everyone immediately started clapping. Anna, who was there as Jaded Ice, had skeletons dancing around the tables. It became loud and crazy very quickly.

Quinn scoffed at them, "show offs!"

"I hear there are preparations being made for a wedding?" Serli was wearing a blue dress, that clung to her slim figure, she had a fry in her hand, casually dipping it in ketchup. "Hmm.. really good."

"Two weddings." Leah added, her bright eyes were shining.

Serli nodded casually, "Quinn... I really like that name. Very manly. It would be a great day if our two families could join also."

Quinn felt like a bug under a magnifying glass, he looked toward Tal and Leah for help, conveniently they chose this time to rearrange the food on their plates. Mojo merely stared at him with her lavender eyes, a small smile on her face.

"Um.. well Serli." 'Shit.. think, think.' "You are quite beautiful and my father is unmarried, perhaps I could arrange something for the two of you."

Remmy, who had been listening in on the conversation, spit half of her lemonade on Onion. Her cute face instantly turned red, "I'm so sorry!"

Instantly Quinn accessed his inventory. The lemonade that covered Onion reversed itself and found it's way back into Remmy's glass.

Remmy stared at the glass in wonder.

Quinn grinned at her, there's no way he'd let Remmy feel bad. Beside he learned something important, it was single target activated.

Yayia's Time Piece

Jewelry: Primal

Description: Eight second rewind.

Uses: 2/3

Yayia immediately got up from the other table, Quinn looked around, there was no place to hide. "I'll recharge that for you Quinn, when I get the chance." She wasn't mad at all, she grabbed the pitcher of lemonade and walked back to her seat.

"Thank you Quinn." Remmy took a sip of her lemonade. "It's still good!"

"Which one is your father?" Serli wouldn't easily let go of something she wanted.

"That's him, at the head of the other table." Quinn pointed out his dad, and secretly apologized for sacrificing him in such a heartless manner.

"The one with the great hair?" Serli looked at him with an appraising eye, "I shall consider it."

Surprisingly Serli eased up on the subject, and Quinn spent the rest of the meal in relative peace, chatting with Leah and Tal.

"I definitely think we should put Cheeseburgers on the menu at the Songbird Tavern." Tal finished off her last bite.

"They are very good, I like this mayo stuff." Leah had put mayo on her fries, Quinn had frowned at her, but Jinn cheered her on. Supposedly the Brits did a similar thing.

**********

After several hours the guests finally started to leave. Mojo and Leah had stayed the longest. Quinn had logged out so that he could help with the real dishes, Anna was giving him a hand.

"It would be easier to just have the entire party virtual next time." Quinn didn't mind doing dishes, Anna laughed hard at his soap beard, although she had seen it before.

By the time he had finished, Leah and Mojo were ready to leave. They both hugged him close before leaving. Tal smiled at how reserved the two women were in front of her. She assured Leah that Quinn would follow them in a few hours.

Quinn lay in bed, it had been a fun day. Tal was laying against his chest. "You tired or anything Tal?"

"Nope, not really." Tal knew he was asking because of the pregnancy. "I did check it you know."

"Hmm? Check what?"

"It's an easy check with any hud, definitely pregnant Quinn." She propped herself up so she could see his face.

"Guess I'll have to keep you then."

Tal nodded at him, "yep, suppose so."




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