Like the Viper, Stella prefers the dark.

Every night she descends into the depths of her unfinished basement and keeps a silent vigil in front of a montage of holographic screens. Usually watching VR streams comforts her. But every time her brother fights in the gaming arena, Stella fears for his life.

Her only companion is a stray calico she's found starving in the streets. Now the purring feline rests upon her lap after dinner, kneading on her fleece jacket. As Stella scans the array of images in search of her brother, she pets the cat to keep calm. Even her hypnotic purr can't ease the guilt that burns deep inside her.

A vengeful boa constrictor wraps its body around her heart, squeezing until her chest aches. You should have taken his place.

Stella wishes she could. 

All she can do to find redemption is to rescue her brother from his digital hell. Only the Viper can set him free, though. Stella will etch away at her mind for as long as it takes to convince her to release him.

In the meantime, Stella can only watch while her brother prepares to face his foes. In the virtual gaming realm of Arcadia, Rainer_the_Barbarian warms up for tonight's battle, sparring with his counterpart, Ironheart720.

"Harder," she says. "Don't hold back."

When he throws punches like a whirlwind, Ironheart absorbs them all with a smirk. She's strong as hell. Not even Kevlar armor can hide her gorgeous curves and powerful muscles. It's amazing Rainer has resisted her charms for so long.

"I never hold back," he retorts through clenched teeth. "You're just a flicking tank."

"Damn straight."

When they swap roles, Ironheart punches like she's a warrior on a mission. Perspiration drips from her brow, soaking her dark bangs. Each punch and kick comes with a series of grunts and heavy breaths that makes Stella blush. Their sparring is like a vicious dance. 

In some ways, fighting is more intimate than fucking.

He takes all she can give, never once breaking eye contact. In an instant, he can interpret Ironheart's every ruse and meets every strike.

"You don't have laser vision, ya know," quips Ironheart. "Or X-ray vision."

Rainer laughs.

Ironheart catches him off-guard, flipping him onto his back. In a few deft moves, she straddles him and pins his wrists down. At six foot six and almost three hundred pounds, he's definitely letting her win. Unless she's hacked her muscles to gain the advantage, of course. 

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" whispers Ironheart in his ear.

"Maybe."

Stella casts away her gaze, her cheeks burning. Enough, brother.

Fight first, fuck later.

Ironheart gets to her feet, reaches down, and offers Rainer her hand. He grasps her forearm and hauls himself to his feet.

"Ready to kick these rich motherflickers?" he asks.

"Hellz yeah!" Ironheart clasps his hand as they cross forearms. She gives his shoulder a firm slap. "Let's go vacuum some loot."

If Rainer's life wasn't at stake, no way in hell would Stella watch. This game isn't the worst, though. Dragon Fire: Reincarnation blends the genres of martial arts and wrestling.

At least it isn't laser sword fighting or a first-person shooter. Those matches make Stella sick with worry.

Maybe it's the choreography, the laser effects, or the epic electronic dance music, but this game comes closest to art. In the ring, the fighters execute moves with the agility and grace of wildcats. The Kevlar meshed with faux-leather make their uniforms intimidatingly cool. 

It's like violent ballet with bonus blood.

Or maybe it's how Ironheart and Rainer work as a single entity, anticipating each other's moves without words. It takes not only practice but also intuition. Along with the other more ninja-like AG warriors, they mow down dozens of rich ledge players like two Panzer tanks with half a dozen sharpshooters scurrying along the top.

Or maybe it's how her brother wipes the accounts of his enemies. After each ledge falls prey to his powerful fists, losing a huge chunk of their life savings, Stella's heart soars. Thanks to their insatiable greed, the rich finally get a taste of the loss and shame she feels every day.

The Schadenfreude is real.

Rainer sucker punches his last enemy to the ground to a flurry of love and hate comments from the digital spectators. Half of them want to ride him in bed. Half of them want to punch him to death in the ring. Stella can't help but wonder if those are two sides to the same coin.

Ironheart gives Rainer a burly hug, clapping his back with a cheer of victory. They lock eyes. The comment section goes wild as hearts flutter around the screen from the spectators.

RainerForEvaaa: Kiss!!!!

RainerxIronheart: Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!

IronMyHeart: Nooooo kiss meeeeee, Iron!!!!!!

DragonFireRoxanne: G'won and kiss de girl!

DieForRainer: Kisssssssssssssssssssss!

PunchFlickinRainer: f*** Rainer Ironheart! Kiss me!

RainerForEvaaa: ya want her to do him before or after she kisses ya?

PunchFlickinRainer: that's not what i meant

DragonFlames: hey can i join? foursomeeeee

Reincarnated_Five_Times: just watch the fight jeez

Stella waits with bated breath.

Both Rainer and Ironheart exchange wide grins. Reaching over their shoulders, they grasp their vacuum guns and suck up the holocoins scattered inside the ring from the digital carnage.

They spill gold, not blood.

Stella watches with awe as the prize money increases faster than the average consumer debt clock. In one single fight, they've earned two hundred thousand holocoins, enough to feed the entire digital slave population for a week.

Her heart swells with pride. Stella reaches out to her little brother, the 3D projected image distorting as her fingers run through it.

I miss you, Rain.

Her brother grabs Ironheart's hand and punches the air in victory, holding his vacuum gun in the other. His massive arms flex with the action, prompting another flurry of comments.

PixieDust18: if Ironheart doesn't want him, I do

screwAGsohard: great AlphaGalaxy wins again. screw rainer!

GloboticsSux: just f*** already and have superbabbiesssssss

JusticeForZeros: screw rainer? you idiot! they hate AG. their slaves.

DragonFireRoxanne: MARRY MEEEEEEEE!!!

Prime_Wrestler69: Rainer c*m here I'm freeeee to f***!!!

DragonLover415: they're* slaves

LuvURainer: ♥♥♥ he'z so hot! look at those arms! ughhhhhh! ♥♥♥

JusticeForZeros: ahhhh shut it, grammer nazi. always missin the point!

FreeTheSlaves: FREE THE SLAVES! FREE THE SLAVES! FREE THE SLAVES!

AlphaWolf25: Yet another conspiracy theorist. Rainer and Ironheart are programs, people.

PixieDust18: yeah they just programs. chill free.

IronMyHeart: don't remind me they ain't real </333333333 i love iron so much id die 4 her

PunchFlickinRainer: yeah this ain't marvel or dc sh*t. its a game.

screwAGsohard: the flick drugs you on, free? we all hate AG but get real

RainerForEvaaa: If they're humans, I'm a unicorn who can barf rainbows and poop holocoins

That's the real tragedy.

AlphaGalaxy not only uses Rainer and Ironheart as slaves but also markets them as ultra-sophisticated artificial intelligence. No one believes they're real. No one knows they're humans trapped inside a digital hell.

It doesn't help that AG hacks their digital bodies to give them superhuman strength and speed. It's a curse. Every mod means fewer people believe that digital slaves exist. If they refuse to use the skills, they die. Her brother can't win. No matter how often he achieves victory.

Meanwhile, Niners pour money into AG's coffers thinking they've got the best console out there. One that far surpasses most AI.

Lifelike algorithms, my ass.

The vengeful boa constrictor wraps itself tighter around Stella's heart, squeezing until her chest hurts. Only one tonic will cure her pain.

Revenge.

She rises.

As stealthy as her calico stalking a mouse, Stella walks to the the whirring digital coffin. It emits a pale-blue light, which casts an eerie glow onto her ivory skin as though she's a living corpse.

It's the Viper.

Her captive. Her slave. Her prisoner.

The authorities have searched for weeks to locate her body before giving up. All the while, Stella has kept the Viper locked inside her lair. Unharmed. At least physically. Her victim lays in the VR pod, sleeping like an innocent babe, while the ingenious poison runs in her veins.

Stella's reset her six times. Each time the Viper starts afresh, a never-ending Groundhog Day until she finally gets it right.

It's not cruelty. It's justice.

The Viper has already reset her brother over twenty times.

Every time this bitch takes the cowardly way out and refuses to fight against AlphaGalaxy, Stella kills her off. She basks in the euphoria. The power. The poetic justice of it all.

But this seventh reincarnation has changed her. For the past few weeks, the Viper has shown a level of courage and a resilience that makes her almost...human.

A new Viper has arisen. One worth saving.

___

Word count: 1,462
Total word count: 6,679/8,000

Thank you so much for reading! ♥ I hope you like this little twist/insight into Stella's POV. We'll see more of her later on if you like. If you enjoyed this part, please let leave a comment or click the little star in the upper right. It helps to know I'm on the right track.