The Emperor growled a little. "That sounds suspicious to me."
"What the hell am I going to do? You have the power to just flip a switch and end mankind," Van said. "I just want a chance to drive alone for a bit, and say goodbye to my mom and grieve in private. Is that too much to ask for?"
"I suppose grief is a necessary part of being human," the Emperor said. "Or at least, that is what I have read. Fine. I will send for a car for you. Be as quick as you can. If it takes more than a week, I will destroy this planet."
"Four days, tops, I promise," Van said.
"Very well," the Emperor said. "Just note how much I'm willing to risk for your trust."
"Of course," Van said as he brought up the log-out screen. "And, thank you."
He logged out of the game and promptly climbed out of his chambers. This was going to be a pure work of art. He walked out into the lobby where Cindy was sitting. She was doing a crossword puzzle and looked to be positively bored out of her mind.
"What are you doing here?" Cindy asked. At that exact moment, a man appeared inside of the lobby holding some car keys. The man walked up to Van and gave him the keys.
"Oh, I was just going to run out real quick and grab some snacks," Van replied as he walked toward the exit to the base.
"You can't leave!" she said.
"I can do whatever I want," Van replied, "because I’m the star here. The Draco leadership said I can do whatever, so I'm going to drive to the nearest gas station I can find and get a frozen drink. Did you want anything? You probably haven't had anything decent in a long time."
Cindy's jaw was almost hanging to the floor in response to Van's words. He could see the pure contempt mixed with agony on her face. "They're… they're letting you go to a gas station?"
"Actually, they said I could do whatever, so they're letting me leave and I'm going to a gas station," Van corrected her. "But hey, don't worry about it. Anyway, I'll bring you a Snickers or something." And with that, he strolled out of the base. He chuckled to himself as he heard the torrent of screams and swears coming from behind him. This was perfect.
Van strolled up to his pod, slurping on his frozen beverage quite loudly. He glanced up to see Cindy standing by the mess hall. Her arms were crossed and she was shaking her head at him.
"You want some?" Van asked as he held his drink up to her. She didn't reply; she merely scowled at him. Van shrugged and tossed the drink behind him. "Whatever – I was just being friendly. Anyway, I've got some stuff to do in the game. Oh, and by the way, I brought you another crossword puzzle book; I left it on your desk. Hopefully, it'll last you another five years."
And with that, Van climbed back into his pod and activated it. He was immediately transported to the throne room again. The Emperor was talking to a few subordinates – creatures who were lizard folk like King Lemuel had been.
They all stopped talking as soon as Van appeared. The royal throne room was being restored rapidly, and Van watched as the workers repaired the walls with magical spells.
"You return so quickly," the Emperor said.
"Yeah, good news actually… I called my dad on a payphone at a gas station and found out it was a false alarm. Turns out she's doing just fine."
"And I suppose you find the fact that your mother is not dead to be a good thing, correct?" the Emperor asked. Van couldn't figure out if this was sarcasm or not.
"Yeah, it's good news to me. I love my mother," Van replied.
"I see," the Emperor said. He waved dismissively at the three lizard men, who all bowed and walked away from him. "I do not understand affections such as love. These things are unique to a human, I suppose."
"I guess," Van replied as he watched the lizard folk walk away. "Can you be real with me? Do you all look like that?"
"Yes," the Emperor said. "Our race is made up of what you would call Lizard Men."
"I guess those crazy conspiracies were right," Van muttered.
"Are you ready then, to stop wasting my time?" the Emperor asked. "We must go to the mothership and prepare you for the future."
"Of course," Van said. "Let's get going."
"This way," the Emperor said as he waved Van over to a small floating disk in the center of the room. "Stand atop this and it will take you to the ship."
Van nodded and climbed atop the disk. He felt it bob a little underneath his weight. The disk began to vibrate and pulse then, and he could feel a powerful sensation of energy wrapping around his legs. The hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up as the disk flew upwards at full speed.
"Whoa!" Van shouted as the disk rocketed through the ceiling of the castle. He expected to break through the wall, but instead he merely passed through. He was flying through the air, going straight up. He could feel the friction of gravity as it resisted his movement into space. Still, the disk continued moving upwards, unfettered by the laws of physics.
Soon Van found himself in space, moving toward the large mothership that was hidden by the moon. The mothership was enormous, almost half the size of earth. There were three large circular windows on the front of the ship and Van could see dozens of lizardmen working on the inside. He didn't have time to gaze at the sheer beauty of space, however, because the disk whisked him over to a window and promptly threw him into the ship.
The window opened up just in time for Van to sail through and land on the deck of the ship.
"Whoa, what a trip," Van said as he stood to his feet. The bridge of the ship was like that of an old navy movie that Van had used to watch all the time. There was a chair for the captain, along with dozens of consoles where people were working tirelessly. They were speaking to each other in their own language and no one paid Van any mind.
"Did you enjoy the view?" asked a familiar voice. Van turned around to see a Draco standing behind him. This Draco was wearing a military-type uniform, complete with hundreds of medals and badges upon his vest.
"Are you the Emperor?" Van asked.
"Indeed, I am," the Emperor replied as he gestured to his own body. "This is my true form. I rarely return to the ship, however. I prefer to lord over mankind more directly."
"I see," Van said as he looked around the ship. Hundreds of Draco were working in perfect synchronicity with one another. One Draco would report something to his ally and the other would immediately hand something over to him. They moved with efficiency and purpose.
"So what's your name then?" Van asked.
"I'm sorry?" the Emperor asked.
"Your name, what is it for real? I've just been calling you the Emperor."
"Ah, right, you humans love your names. You name everything. Even your names for species have meanings beyond simple function and purpose," the Emperor said. "They called me, before my ascension to Leader, Cleaner 39092. I suppose that was my name for all of my life."
Van wanted to laugh, but realized that the Emperor was dead serious. He shrugged. "Well, I’m not calling you that."
"You may call me whatever you wish," the Emperor said as he pointed to a door at the side of the ship. "But there are more pressing matters to attend to. Follow me."
Van followed after the Emperor, taking note of the layout of the ship. It was just as detailed as anything that he had seen inside of the game world below them.
"This ship is where all of our operations take place," the Emperor explained. "We always create one inside of the simulation so that we can work close to the game. We also use it for discrediting the media, should news of our plans end up leaked into the real world. All Draco needs to do is release photos of the in-game ship, and all claims of us being aliens become a joke." He paused and looked around to make sure no one was standing nearby. They were in the middle of a long platform that led to dozens of different rooms.
"But, most importantly, I make sure the entire ship is in the simulation; that way, I have supreme control over their lives. At any minute, I could unplug these bastards. If they ever tried to come at me or get it in their heads that I'm a threat to the mission, things could turn ugly. So by convincing them to work inside of the simulation at all times, I'm shoring up my chances of success," the Emperor whispered.