By the time security got there, the creep was long gone. When they found out that the guy chasing Gwen had had a ski mask and knife, they called in the cops working the Con. By the time everyone had finished asking us questions and taking statements, it felt like hours had passed. I sank into the sofa and replied to Jordan's messages as the last officer left. The lounge had been on lockdown when he got here, and security hadn't let him in.

Gwen still looked freaked out, despite the officers' assurance that they would find her assailant. She rubbed her eyes with one hand and gave a mirthless laugh. "I knew I should have packed my mace."

"Yeah, because that would totally win against a knife," I said sarcastically, putting my phone away.

A nervous laugh was her only response. I noticed her hand was still trembling when she picked up the water bottle one of the security guards had gotten her. Her eyes kept drifting back to the door as well. "So, what brings you to the convention?" I asked, hoping to take her mind off of things.

Gwen's attention snapped back to me, and I found her dark brown eyes a bit disconcerting. It was hard to tell where her irises ended and pupils began. "I'm presenting my company's new virtual reality tech at the exhibition tomorrow. It's going to revolutionize VR as we know it," She said with a genuine smile. It was obvious she was enthusiastic about the project.

"By any chance would your company have partnered with Creative Assembly?" I asked, suddenly suspicious.

Gwen grinned and leaned forward slightly. "Oh, you saw the booth! What did you think? Headset comfortable? How was the immersion? I know the cables are a bit annoying, but I already have a lighter, cordless design in testing."

I laughed at the avid expression Gwen wore and replied, "It's great! I forgot it was even there for a minute. The immersion was amazing too. I could practically smell the stench of death on the Alien."

"Wonderful! My brother kept telling me that, but I didn't fully believe him. He's been devoted to that game for years," She said with a dismissive wave of the hand.

"So, wait; have you not played the game yourself?" I questioned.

Gwen shook her head. Straight, walnut hair fell over her shoulder at the gesture. "I had a virtual meadow I tested with in production, but I haven't gotten to use one with the game adaptation."

I gawked at her for a moment. "You made a VR platform for AI and never played it?! We need to fix this," I stated, standing and stretching. Gwen looked hesitant, worry dulling her eyes for a moment. I gave her a cockeyed grin and offered her a hand. "Come on; it'll be fun."

She hesitated a moment longer before reaching some mental resolution. She nodded and took my hand. I was mildly surprised to feel a few calluses on her slight hand. After rising she withdrew her hand, and we walked out to the exhibit hall. Gwen was still a bit nervous but did a good job hiding it. If she flinched when some kid screamed and ran past us with an obviously plastic dagger, I was the only one to notice.

When we came up on the Alien: Isolation booth, a third person had joined Caden and Michael. Caden was ranting to the other two about "bloody kids and their carelessness", holding a VR helmet with a cracked panel under one beefy arm. Michael looked like he was trying really hard not to laugh, and the new person was pretending to listen while unpacking three more helmets from a rolling case that wasn't there earlier.

Michael grinned widely when he spotted Gwen and walked over to meet us, brushing past Caden. Caden turned to call after Michael but stopped when he saw us. He started to smile when he saw I'd returned, but the expression faltered when his eyes landed on Gwen. The third man heard Caden stop and looked up, grinning and adjusting his glasses when he saw us.

Michael put an arm around Gwen's shoulders and said, "Hey, little sis! You finally decide to join us?"

"You wish," She said, ducking out from under his arm, making him stumble slightly. Turning to Caden and the other game developer, she asked while pointing at the damaged helmet, "I guess the rig isn't teenager proof?"

Caden shook his head and set the equipment in the now empty case. "Nope. At least we came prepared for multiplayer," He said with a hint of bitterness lingering in his voice.

"Multiplayer?" I asked. "You didn't say anything about multiplayer when I was here earlier."

Michael answered me. "That's because Devon here accidentally packed the wrong cables."

"Hey!" Devon said defensively. "We're here, aren't we?" He continued grumbling to himself as he hooked up the helmets.

"So what brings the mighty Gwendoline here?" Michael asked, leaning against the console. "You don't leave your lair without a reason."

Gwen narrowed her eyes at the use of her full name. "What? I'm not allowed to scope out the convention the day before my speech?"

"She wanted to try out AI for the first time," I interjected, not really wanting to be around for a family dispute.

Michael looked shocked, and Devon laughed. "I knew you'd come around sometime. Let me boot up the system, and you'll be good to go."

"Yeah, yeah. You lot have fun. I'm gonna try to get this thing fixed up before the presentation tomorrow," Caden said before swinging a backpack over his shoulder and walking off with the case and damaged helmet.

Devon ran diagnostics while talking animatedly to Gwen, but my thoughts were pulled elsewhere when I heard someone call my name. "X33N!"

I turned around to find a familiar, bearded face jogging up to me. "Meza! Buddy! It's good to see you stateside!" I said, giving my friend a hug, purposely holding on just long enough to make it awkward. "How long are you in town?"

"I have to head back the day after the convention. Are you going to the Twitch party?" Meza and I caught up while Devon finished running his tests, and Meza decided to stick around to see the new VR in action, intrigued. He hadn't heard anything about it until now.

Gwen fitted her helmet and stumbled through the loading screen to the play options while we watched. She seemed to be looking for something, and after a minute found the screen to enable multiplayer, immediately turning the option on. When no one said anything for a solid ten seconds, she sighed and shouted from inside her helmet, "X33N get over here. I know you want to play too." I smiled and grabbed the player 2 helmet.

Devon loaded up the game from the beginning, seeing as Gwen had never played before. She quickly figured out the mechanics and movement in Mission #1. Meanwhile I was laughing my *ss off. The game developers still hadn't given Ripley a face, even for multiplayer. It was just...empty space. "Oh, one sec," I heard Devon say from outside the game.

The world around us rippled ever so slightly, and instead of looking like Ripley, now Gwen looked like Gwen. Glancing down, I saw I was myself in game too, accurate right down to my jeans and grey polo shirt. "That's a cool addition," I said, examining my arm. How on earth did they code this? I wondered as we moved on.

Things went smoothly, and Gwen figured out hiding and moving around hostiles pretty quick, proving surprisingly agile despite the high heels her player model wore. She was thoroughly enjoying herself as we moved through cluttered metallic corridors and claustrophobic air vents, and I was having a good time too. Why did someone have to go and invent Murphy's Law?