Wakefulness came in spurts and was gone just as fast.

His sense of time was muddy, occasionally glimpsing white light or darkness. He heard muffled voices, some low, some high, some painfully familiar, but just as many foreign ones.

Those voices were joined by a cavalcade of mechanical noises that he couldn't really place. Pings, screeches, beeps, and boops rose and fell, creating a chorus that provided an oddly sounding background music to his wakefulness before descending back into the waiting arms of Morpheus.

He didn't really know how long this fitful existence lasted. Time, as it was, became a foreign concept to him, images and sounds mushed together into an unidentifiable dream.

Feeling like he forgot something, he tried to reach out, to call for help, to ask questions, to try to figure out what was happening. But every time he tried to move his arm, fatigue like nothing else struck him, and the darkness reclaimed him once more, only to repeat the same thing, who knows how many times…

Still, those moments, punctuated by fewer and fewer sounds, came less frequently until he knew nothing but the silky smoothness of darkness and the cold embrace of rest.

Opening his eyes, the first thing Sam saw was the unmistakable sterile white of a hospital ceiling.

It appeared that, no matter what dimension or which decade, hospitals were eminently recognizable.

Wondering how he appeared there, he let out a groan and tried to sit up.

Naturally, this resulted in his throat creating a sound akin to a rusty spoon scraping the side of an equally rusty bucket while his body refused to cooperate.

However, that small movement (or noise) was enough for some kind of sensor, as a device near him began to beep with the most obnoxious noise known to man, making sure that it would be heard. A moment later, he heard a door opening and the clacking noise of someone's shoes before a gentle voice reached him.

"Please, stay calm, sir. You're in the hospital and I'm here to help!"

Not seeing any reason to act otherwise, he followed the directions.

'And if this is some kind of subterfuge by one of our enemies, it's better, I play along…' he mused as he tried to stay as still as possible.

The possible nurse just let out a chuckle. "There is no need to be stiff, sir. Just don't try to flail as I check the instruments. Then we will get a little liquid in you and soon you will be right as rain!"

Relaxing, he tried to smile, but even he felt that it came out as more of a grimace. Still, as the nurse began to check said instruments, he used most of his energy to turn his head a little, trying to see his new conversation partner.

It was a woman, matching her voice, dressed in a futuristic but still recognizable blueish-green scrub. The only odd thing was that the material looked extremely high quality. Then, as the nurse turned around, he saw her face. Freshly applied mascara, almost no stress lines, and none of the characteristics of the overworked healthcare providers. Hell, even her hair was in a practical, but elegant bun. No jewelry, but a small and compact watch on her slender arm.

'Private hospital then…'

She finally finished her review, and seemingly happy, she turned back to him, focusing all her attention on him. Reaching next to the bed, she filled a small cup with what was supposedly water before gently placing it at his lips.

"Drink slowly, please…"

Despite being acutely aware that his throat was more parched than the desert, he tried to heed her words. After all, you don't argue with nurses if you know what's good for you…

As he drank, he felt like it was manna from heaven, nourishing his throat and providing him a boost of energy. As soon as the nurse removed the cup, he cleared his throat and began to speak.

It took a few tries, but he finally managed to croak it out.

"H-ow…?" Before he could finish, the nurse reached over and ran a cold cloth over his forehead, causing him to involuntarily lean into the cooling feeling, before she chuckled a little.

"Don't worry, it wasn't long. Thanks to the advanced medical sensors, the team was at your side within minutes. As far as we know, no permanent harm has happened, but I think you should speak about that with someone else," she explained with a gentle smile as she made sure the pillows were comfortable. "Oh, and you have been out for a week or so."

Sam felt a knot of tension release in his body, hearing all that.

The nurse glanced at something he couldn't see, then looked back at him with a small smile.

"But I think it's time for a healing nap…"

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He tried to disagree, with before he could even open his mouth, he felt a wave of exhaustion and sleepiness sweep through his body. It took all his energy just to keep his eyes open.

The nurse, not knowing or not caring about his feelings, simply turned away and began to arrange something.

Sam tried to call out, signal her with his eyes, but as the darkness began to creep from the side, he felt every last dreg of energy slip away, before he finally succumbed to the familiar murkiness.

His last, semi-coherent, thought was: 'Damn, that's some strong stuff…'

The next time he woke up, his mind was much clearer, his body lighter and less stiff, and even his memories were clearing up.

He remembered finishing the task in the game, then leaving…then redness?

'Fuck…did I overdo it?' he pondered as he looked around.

The room was the same, but the light coming from the windows was much stronger, indicating that it was near midday.

As before, the moment he made his first movement, the beeping began. However, this time he had the energy to slowly move himself into an upright sitting position, resting his back on the backboard with a pillow between it and his back.

Focusing slightly, trying to ignore his tiredness, he reached for an already filled small cup and slowly began to sip it, calming his parched throat.

Before he could even place his cup down to reach for the jug for a refill, the door opened, and the familiar clacking sound filled the room, suppressing the almost quiet hum of the devices set up to monitor him.

The same nurse, with the same smile, but with a different hairstyle, emerged, bustling over to examine him. Knowing that resisting was futile, he just leaned back and let the private medical care wash over him.

Half an hour later, the nurse finished noting down her notes before turning back to him.

"Thank you for your patience, sir. I rarely get someone so calm…" she told him with a smile. "So, as a reward, I think a visitor is in order."

With that, she reached over to a screen on a stand, touched a few things, then went to the door. "I'll be right back!"

Sam leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh. He expected to spend some time in a hospital, but if he was honest with himself, he hoped it would be for getting into fights with gangsters or protecting pretty women from commandos trying to kidnap them. Not for accidentally frying his brain while playing a game…

"Man…What a stupid way to go…" he mumbled.

Sadly, it was not quiet enough, as at the same moment, the door snapped open and he made eye contact with a frazzled Lucy. She looked tired, with heavy bags under her eyes, in contrast with the perfect-looking nurse.

"I'll leave the two of you alone. Press the call button if you need anything…" she said before carefully closing the door behind Lucy. Sam wouldn't say she was running away, but the footsteps he heard were definitely hurried…

He raised a hand and waved. "Hey! What's up?"

Lucy took him in, before her eyes returned to looking directly into his as she practically stalked closer to him.

"What's up?" she whispered. "What's up? Are you seriously asking that? I found you surrounded by EMTs, bleeding out of your face, and you dare to ask what's up?" she ranted, almost yelling by the end.

Thankfully, she was close enough to Sam for him to act. He reached out and caught her hand and dragged her closer, guiding her into a convenient chair left there by the helpful nurse.

"I survived, didn't I?" he asked gently.

Lucy reached up with her unoccupied hand and rubbed her eyes a little. "As soon as you're released, I'm going to kill you."

"I wonder if I can get them to rig a pod up for me here then…" he replied with a grin.

"With the amount of money we're paying the hospital, you could ask for daily lap dances…" she replied, relief visible in her eyes as they roamed over his body. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired, exhausted…"

"Headaches?" she asked worriedly.

"None."

"Good."

They lapsed into silence for a few minutes, only the hum of the machines being heard, plus the occasional movement of their clothing or Lucy's shuffling on her chair.

"Do they know what happened?" he asked finally, not being able to contain his curiosity.

Lucy just let out a sigh. "Some kind of intracranial hemorrhage. The brain-software interface that Future Unknown uses overloaded something there, causing the stroke. They already pushed out an emergency patch."

"Funky…"

"Do you know what happened?" Lucy asked in turn, looking at his face with uncharacteristic seriousness. "Was it some kind of…"

"I doubt it was enemy action, Lu," he replied while rubbing her hand. "I simply overextended myself while trying to learn a spell. You know how the advanced control works… apparently my brain was not ready for that."

"You're not doing that again!" she declared.

However, Sam just let out a groan. "Lu, it's not that easy…"

She just shook her head. "We have been holding up without you slinging around doom lasers or whatever the fuck you were working on."

"Oh, yeah… How is the city?"

"Radiant… We already have an underground crime syndicate and somehow acquired several mysterious orphanages…"

"Damn fey…"

"Exactly…"

"Blood mages?"

"Still working on setting up an effective army. I managed to make contact with several small guilds that are doing their best to sabotage their efforts, but I doubt it's going to last long…" she explained with an apologetic look. "Especially if people find out you're incapacitated."

Sam just waved it away. "With the way people are paying attention to me, I doubt it's a secret to anyone."

She nodded before giggling a little. "Poor Tim barely had time for his harem…"

That caused Sam to break out into loud laughter. Lucy looked at him for a few seconds before she also began to laugh.

They were quietly talking, mostly organizing things, until Sam returned to the game, before Lucy let out a frustrated huff.

"I still don't understand how that spell gave you a stroke. The developers said the device was safe to use!"

Sam didn't want to mention that he was learning spells that were way out of league of anyone currently playing the game, using techniques from far into the future, thus the game, the system, the AI ruling over the system didn't have enough time to perfect their interface, thus causing the issue.

"Maybe I'm too cool for the game?" he asked with a smile, only to be interrupted by a new voice.

"A potent hypothesis…"

Both of them looked up, toward the door, where a man stood in a lab coat, blazer, and khakis, his face covered in stubble, and his eyes surrounded by enough bags to make him look like an eternally exhausted raccoon.

To Sam's surprise, Lucy seemed to know the man.

"I thought you said you're going to wait until I'm finished!" she exclaimed, glaring at him.

The man simply ignored it. "Couldn't wait any longer…"

"You know him, Lucy?"

"Sure. Some muckitymuck from the game company. Vetted him and everything. Here to ask questions."

The man nodded, closed the door behind him, headed toward the bed, dragging another chair with him, and sat down with a heavy sigh. He reached into the pocket of his lab coat and brought out a heavy-duty tablet, turned it on, and looked at Sam with rather intense eyes.

"Let's have a chat, hmm?"

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