Chương 38: 36-Rules of the Dream

[Monday, 3: 38 PM: 2026/01/05] [CARLA'S REALITY] LYSANDRA: {-Ellie is doing well with the dishes, honey… -} CARLA: {-Well, she's having some difficulty scrubbing the grease out. You know I had to help with that, right? -} LYSANDRA: {-I know…: (-} CARLA: {-Hey Liz? The readers are back-} LYSANDRA: {-WHOOPS!!!: O -} {Sorry about all of that! We were so focused on Ellie that I forgot you were all there! XD XD XD … I know it sounds like I'm sounding so happy here, but uh… … Let's just say I'm praying that what I'm seeing isn't a sign that Ellie has regressed to "those days"} CARLA: {-Good news is that she was in the zone like she used to be with doing chores she kind of ignored. I made her dinner, which is the same ramen recipe from earlier, this time with steamed broccoli, lentils, and cranberry juice. Though I think Ellie is going to be pissed off at the new dirty dishes, lmao. XD -} LYSANDRA: {-Carla, just let her eat; use the dishwasher for the rest, honey. You need to tell her the thing we talked about during the hike-} CARLA: {-Right… -} [My wife smiles at Ellie, still focused on cleaning off any muck and grim, tapping her metal spoon on the pot of ramen]"Hey kid! Dinner's ready!" ELLIE: [Our daughter turns to Carla, suspicious while still scrubbing the bottom of a stainless steel pot]"Do I need to clean the other dishes?" CARLA: > SHAKES HEAD"Nah, you did good." [My wife walks over to Ellie and inspects the pot. She smiles, turning to Ellie]"Actually, you did really good, kiddo." [She places a hand on Ellie's shoulder]"And I made this dinner extra special for you." ELLIE: [Our daughter turns to Carla, smiling as she relaxes and drops the washrag in the sink as she puts the pot on the towel with the other drying dishes]"Thanks." CARLA: [My wife leads Ellie to the dining room table, to her seat. All the seats have plates, silverware, two cups (one with water and one with cranberry juice)] ELLIE: [Our daughter apparently hates cranberry juice, as she pushes her cup away while my wife shakes her head, very annoyed] LYSANDRA: {-Wait? Why do you have these plates out, honey? -} CARLA: {-Personal tradition over a century. Plus, you're technically at the table lol-} LYSANDRA: {- XD -} CARLA: Carla's meal for herself is a pan-fried beef steak, sauteed asparagus, and onions. Ellie's is eating-] LYSANDRA: {… I forgot} CARLA: {-The same ramen recipe from earlier, this time with steamed broccoli, lentils, and cranberry juice. Literally copy-and-pasted lol-} LYSANDRA: {-Thanks honey-} [There are also two artichokes on a plate with a bowl of butter, extra cranberry juice…] {-With date sugar-} [… And a fruit cornucopia with cantaloupe, apples, and grapes] LYSANDRA: {-You didn't have to overdo it, Carla. I mean, that's enough food to feed a family of 8! XD -} CARLA: {-Liz, you know as much as I do how quick my metabolism is-} LYSANDRA: {-I forgot about that… -} [Speaking of which, I forgot about the "samovar" you always had at the center of the table that's just a bucket with pipes jutting out. There are those knobs to pour out water, and a pot lid to keep the water in] {-Why didn't you throw that crap away? No offense, but that was the worst thing you've ever made, honey-} CARLA: {-It was made for Ned, and you know how pissed off he gets if something special of his is tossed; he may feel it in my world-} LYSANDRA: {-Forget I asked-} ELLIE: [Our daughter enthusiastically inspects our food, though she turns her attention to that UGLY POS in the center of the table]"What's that thing?" CARLA: > SMIRKS"A water bucket."

ELLIE: [Our daughter stares at the bucket suspiciously and then looks at Carla with a stink-eye]"That looks like a samovar mim, a shitty one." LYSANDRA: {-I TOLD YOU! XD XD XD -} CARLA: {-Still rude-} LYSANDRA: {-Sorry-} CARLA: > GRIMACES"Well, do you prefer a fancy samovar by 'you-know-who'? It could turn into one of his and he may be another guest at the table." [My wife leans in towards Ellie, her eyes glowing a violent sapphire]"… Which neither of us wants, right?

ELLIE: [Our daughter frantically shakes her head in fright] CARLA: > SMIRKS"Good…" [My wife sits down quickly and rubs her hands, licking her lips over her masterpiece she made] {-Thanks, hon-}"Hey El! Sit down and eat, girl; you don't want your food to get cold now, right?" ELLIE: [Our daughter nods and sits down. Before she eats, though, she raises an eyebrow as she stares at Carla, strangely concerned]"Uh, do we usually do something else before we eat? LYSANDRA: {-Are you going to tell her about the Angeloi? -} CARLA: > SMILE FADES {-Hell no-}"Nah, we don't…" [My wife enthusiastically smiles as she loads up a small bowl of fruit while dragging her plate of steak closer to her]"We eat, kid!"

ELLIE: [Ellie joins her mimi in enthusiastic joy, digging into her delicious ramen bowl, though my wife, of course, glares at her so she doesn't stuffle again] CARLA: [My wife smiles at Ellie's better table manners, begins taking a steak knife, cutting her delicacy with FURIOUS precision along with SWIFT STRIKES towards her asparagus] {- Last Quest 6 references again? -} LYSANDRA: {-I was trying to be funny! XD XD XD -} CARLA: {-You were hon, but you still have a bad habit of telling jokes while people eat-} LYSANDRA: {-Sorry-} CARLA: [My wife eats her steak slowly, picking up a piece of asparagus and an onion with her fork as she watches our daughter eat, who is just focused on her ramen]"Hey kid, be sure to get some fruit and greens in ya, okay?" ELLIE: [Our daughter freezes as Carla gets her a bowl of broccoli and lentils, along with a small bowl with fruit. She stares as her mimi, confused as she Carla passes her a cup of cranberry juice] > GRIMACES"Uh… I'm not done with my ramen yet." CARLA: > ANNOYED SIGH"It's for when you get bored of ramen." ELLIE: > CHUFFS"Nah!" [Our daughter waves Carla off, smirking]"I'll never get bored of ramen, mim!" > SNICKERS CARLA: > SMUG"Then why is your ramen bowl empty?

ELLIE: [Ellie's eyes widen as she slowly stares into the obvious result of her RAMENous gluttony] CARLA: > SNORTS ELLIE: [Her eyes turn quickly towards Carla, very alarmed by her sinful behavior]"Uh… CARLA: [My wife pushes the bowls of veggies and fruits, along with the cup of cranberry juice, to Ellie anxiously]"Eat your greens, kid." ELLIE: [Our daughter reluctantly picks up a piece of broccoli with her fork. She sniffs it and then eats it slowly. She shrugs, eating more broccoli and lentils as Carla takes an artichoke leaf, dips it in butter, and scrapes it with her teeth while enjoying a piece of cantaloupe. As Ellie eats, she stares around the walls containing our old hiking trips (which is a big mess since it was over the course of 50 years). She studies them curiously, taking a few sips of water (she definitely hates cranberries, honey) as she forgets the food in front of her]"Wow…"

[Our daughter squints at the photos containing the desert, almost standing up, until Carla gestures her to sit down]"I know I've forgotten quite a bit, but the desert photos remind me of Canyonlands." Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. CARLA: [My wife finishes drinking her water, sighing as she stares at those old photos with Ellie]"Your grandpa absolutely loved travelling across the states and wanted to share his love of all the places he hiked with Liz."

[My wife stands up and goes to the photos, smiling]"These photos you see were the places we all went to together." > SMILES FADES whispering "By the way, eat some fruit; you don't want to get scurvy, kid." ELLIE: [Our daughter frantically nods and begins devouring the fruit bowl] CARLA: {-More like annihilating it, lmao-} [As my wife looks at Ellie with slight amusement, she points to a few more photos]"Tundras, mountains, all of that stuff I said back at the shrine, we've been to…"

[My wife slowly turns to Ellie]"And you always-" [My wife's eyes widen as she sees the now empty bowl of fruit and vegetables (plus lentils)] mumbling "Jesus Christ, kid…" ELLIE: stuffling "Why are there no-?" CARLA: [My wife glares at Ellie, her eyes glowing a violent sapphire] ELLIE: [Our daughter rightfully swallows her food, reaches for the cranberry juice before she gags at what she sees and gets her cup of water. She attempts to sip from it, but finds it empty. Annoyed, she gets some more water from the POS as she worriedly stares at Carla while gulping down her glass. She sighs and relaxes as my wife smiles]"Why are there no jungle photos?] > NERVOUS SMILE"Maybe it was awesome and you have them in a special room?" CARLA: > ANNOYED SCOWL"We hated the jungle biomes because of how dangerous and humid they were, hence no photos." ELLIE: > EMBARRASSED"Oh…" [Our daughter takes another swig of water and returns to looking at the photos. Her eyes widen, as she notices a few photos featuring two suns in the same frame]"Uh, am I imagining things, but… [She points to one of the Fomarian photos]"Why do these photos have two suns?" CARLA:"Different world, one we all liked to visit on occasions." > CONTENT SIGH"Actually, it was our favorite. It was called Fomar; an alien world with a lot of cool things." ELLIE: > RAISES EYEBROW"We visited a physical reality?" > COCKS HEAD"Wait, if we're both bound here, then how-?"

CARLA: > CHUFFS"Ned had a loophole which stated we couldn't reveal the Eldrigital Void to other humans, but not to alien worlds." [My wife confidently shrugs, closing her eyes]"Also, Ned's a fucking idiot." ELLIE: > SNORTS"Makes sense." [Our daughter breaks out in laughter while Carla joins her] > CLEARS THROAT"Can we visit that place again?"

CARLA: [My wife shakes her head at our daughter, looking at her with sadness]"I'm afraid not, El; Ned removed the loophole, and he's especially sensitive when someone from the digital world goes there." ELLIE: [Our daughter looks down, disappointed]"Oh…" LYSANDRA: {-Do you think you should tell her about…? -} CARLA: {-Yeah, no. That'll cause a significant data backlash-} [My wife stares at Ellie, concerned as she pushes over the plate of artichokes with the bowl of butter]"Hey, try some of the artichokes, they're good for ya and they go great with butter!" ELLIE: [Our daughter nods and cautiously begins taking a leaf, nearly biting into the-] CARLA: > EYES WIDEN"Hey El! We don't eat the leaves like that!" ELLIE: > FREEZES CARLA: > SIGHS"Let me show you."

[My wife takes out an artichoke leaf, opens her mouth, and scrapes the skin off with her front teeth. She throws the leaf on the plate]"Think of it as a green sunflower seed, okay?"

ELLIE: [Our daughter nods and struggles to do what Carla showed her at first, but picks it up] CARLA: {-Her table manners are still bad, Liz, and I'm not going to joke about it-} LYSANDRA: {-Yes, and she's a lot more analytical than we remember her-} CARLA: {-Well she was like this for the first hundred years with us-} LYSANDRA: {-I know…: (… Carla, when she gets done, can you have that "talk" with her as we discussed? Put the dishes in a data cube for the dishwasher later; I don't think it would be wise for Ellie to do so herself-} CARLA: {-Sure, hon-} LYSANDRA: {-Do you remember them? -} CARLA: {-Yep. But if I slip up, correct me, okay? -} LYSANDRA: {-Sure thing-} CARLA:"Hey Ellie. When you get a sec, we need to discuss a few things." ELLIE: [Our daughter finishes an artichoke leaf and stares at Carla confused]"Something wrong?" CARLA: [My wife shakes her head and smiles at Ellie, laughing]"Nah, kid, you didn't do anything." [She clears her throat, relaxing as her smile fades]"Just a few things we need to go over." ELLIE: [Our daughter cocks her head, curious]"Like what?" CARLA: > SIGHS"Rules." ELLIE: [Our daughter rolls her eyes before Carla snaps her fingers at her, making her alert] CARLA:"It's an important list, though it's a SlipNotes version of it, kid. And it's something that regardless of which reality you're in, mine and your mom's, is something the two of us enforce, got it?" ELLIE: > NODS CARLA: > SOFT SMILE"Now, let me get out my personal rule for ya before I give the list." > RAISES EYEBROW"Are you thinking about telling your mom that I'm here, alive and well?" ELLIE: > CONCERNED"Yeah? I think it would be good for her to know you're okay." CARLA: [My wife shakes her head, staring sternly at Ellie]"El, if you told Liz, the words coming from your mouth will reach Ned." ELLIE: [Our daughter becomes flabbergasted, standing up with both hands on the table] yelling "What?!" CARLA: [My wife hushes her, standing up a bit]"One of the first rules from both of us is, use your indoor voice, which means 'speak softly'. Your brother is very sensitive to sounds, so you need to learn to be respectful of others around you. Got it?" ELLIE: > SLOW NOD CARLA:"Good." [My wife sits down, sighs]"Now, you know about the whole shindig with Ned tracking digital signals, but you telling your mom that I'm here will elicit a certain reaction from you that Nedri knows all too well." ELLIE" > CONFUSED"What exactly?" CARLA:"Familial joy." > SADDENED"Nedri, being the asshole he is, does not want the band back together. To even just mention the fact that you are seeing me to your mom will trigger that reaction. So, pretend that the you here is someone else, okay? The you here is just a figment of your mom's imagination, including your little brother." [My wife mockingly "prays", looking to the ceiling]"My holiest rule, and this is regarding the man upstairs, is not to call that bastard of a deity a 'god'." ELLIE: > FRANTIC NODDING CARLA: > SMILES"But, your mom and I want you to enjoy your time here as we help get you to where you can thrive in the Physical Layer again. John is definitely a good guy…" > GRIMACES"Even if he is an oblivious airhead sometimes." ELLIE:"Which is hiding me from Nedri, right?" CARLA: > NODS"Yeah, it will be a masking program, one similar to this world, except it will be for a person." [My wife touches Ellie's forehead briefly, giggling as she retracts her hand]"It will take a while, and I'm doing everything to program it while your mom is focused on other things." {-Like that student you mentioned? -} LYSANDRA: {-Yes. It's great to be teaching a new human-} CARLA: [My wife pauses, and then shows Ellie two fingers on her hand]"So, rule number dos is don't leave until that masking program is ready." [She then adds a finger to the count]"Rule three: When your mom or I ask you to do something, you do it." ELLIE: > ROLLS EYES"Like not swearing or playing video games in mom's reality?" CARLA:"No, kid…" > CONCERNED"I mean, when we need help with chores or we want to do something together, do it. You're sick, and a hundred years set ya back a bit." [My wife points at Ellie's left arm]"I mean, look how scrawny you got, kid!" LYSANDRA: {-That was kind of mean.: (-} CARLA: {-Liz, our kid's arms are thinner than a noodle-} ELLIE: [My daughter embarrassedly inspects her arms, turning to her mimi with a guilty face]"I uh… played too many video games." CARLA: > SADDENED SIGH"El, you got stuck with a dipshit for a century. That was not your fault." [My wife's eyes widen as she panics over that rule we talked about]"Speaking of which; rule number 4…" [My wife frantically raises her hand, showing four fingers]"Do not mention any eldrigital deity to your little brother. Your mom does not like them for a good freaking reason." ELLIE: > NODS"Okay." CARLA: > RELAXES"And rule number 5…" [My wife raises her hand again, showing 5 fingers]"Do not leave our sight under any circumstances. Neither of us wants you to end up with that asshole again." ELLIE: > SMILES"I wasn't planning on that either way." CARLA: > SMILES"Well, you always were someone who didn't like to be far from us, so it's good you still have that habit." ELLIE: [Our daughter stares curiously at Carla, anticipating some more rules]"Anything else?" CARLA: > SHAKES HEAD"Nope! That's all of them!" {-That's all of them you wanted me to say to her, right? -} LYSANDRA: {-Yes, and you did it perfectly, honey!: D -} ELLIE: > SUSPICIOUS"Why are you so anxious?" CARLA: [My wife fakes her terror while looking at all the dirty dishes]"Because I think we got ourselves in a bit of a bind…] [She slowly begins taking out a data cube from her inventory as Ellie slowly frowns] mockingly "This is such a big mess that you may need to spend some extra time cleaning the-" [She draws out the data cube; except for the POS, the artichokes, and the butter, the dishes digitize into the cube]"Do you think I'm that type of mim, kiddo?!" > HYSTERICAL LAUGHING [My wife she juggles it before shaking it to Ellie]"This shit right here is going through the dishwasher." [My wife turns in the sink's direction slightly and does an underhand toss, landing it perfectly in the sink. She clenches her throwing hand, pulls it back in triumph]"Three pointer! Hell yeah!" [She laughs, turning back to Ellie]"You've already done enough today, kid, so no more chores for tonight." [My wife's eyes widen as she digitizes the POS and points to the artichokes and the butter]"Well, except for artichokes, we need that with the butter for tonight." ELLIE:"I'm glad." [Our daughter sighs in relief, following Carla's gesture to stand up. She takes the plate carefully, making sure not to spill anything. Ellie goes up to Carla closely and then lets out an uncertain smile]"So, what are we doing?" CARLA: [My wife stares at Ellie, smirking as she places her hands on her hips]"How about we play something fun?" [She cocks her head a little, trying to make Ellie excited]"A good old racing game. How about it?" ELLIE: > RAISES EYEBROW"Racing game?" > ANNOYED SCOWL"You know they're boring, right? The only thing making them 'interesting' is their music." CARLA: > CONCERNED"Well, you never did like them, though I enjoy them." [My wife takes out a data cube with her video game library, forming the video game case of-] LYSANDRA: {- MOUNTAIN CLASH?! That will make her mad if she loses! >: (-} CARLA: {-Let the kid play it; it's also very demanding on hand-eye coordination skills, which we need to check. Also, do you mind letting Ellie describe it as I'm honestly bad with descriptions, babe? Plus, she thinks she secretly got a connection to the readers-} LYSANDRA: {-Sure… … SHE TRIED TO DO WHAT?! -} CARLA: {-Liz, she failed; she isn't that good at remote connections either way. She always had to brute-force it. Now, can you let our kid describe the game case? -} LYSANDRA: {-FINE!!! >: (-} ELLIE: [Our daughter analyzes the cover art after learning of Ellie's little treachery (I'M GOING TO UPDATE THAT FILTER WHEN SHE WAKES UP)] {Well, uh… It's certainly some interesting cover art. A FunVision 3 game (never was never a fan of game consoles). It has two mountain bikers on a snow-piled mountain going downhill amidst what I assume is the wreckage of other mountain bikes. They are attacking each other with lead pipes. One looks like they have a clown mask on, and the other to be a burly guy with a moustache and sunglasses with no shirt on. Mountain Clash? I'm getting memories of Carla… whooping my ass in that game. And it's rated M. Oh, this shit is going to be GOOOOOD} CARLA: [My wife shakes the game case]"I saved this one for just a special occasion, an old family favorite." [She shakes it a little harder, smiling ecstatically]"It also helps you expand your vocabulary a bit…" > CHUFFS"… Which your mom knew a few more words than I did…" LYSANDRA: {-CARLA YOU RAT!!! -} CARLA: {-Well, I wanted to be honest Liz XD-} ELLIE: > CURIOUS"What words? CARLA:"Really bad ones that you should never say…" > SNICKERS"And that was because Liz was a tryhard, even more than you." LYSANDRA: {-I was not a tryhard! -} CARLA: {-Then why did you stay up with me past 10 trying to beat me in the Grand Prix? Sounds like a tryhard to me, babe… -} LYSANDRA: {-I did win though.;) … Please don't make Ellie say those slurs-} CARLA: [My wife stares at Ellie sternly, sighing deeply]"And no, I will not repeat her obscenities as you'll get a lot of weird looks from people, okay?" ELLIE: > NODS CARLA: [My wife smiles widely, stomping off to the living room, clapping excitedly to Ellie]"Then come on, sit by the couch then, and let's jam until the Sun goes down, dude!" [She beckons Ellie more as she jumps over the sofa…] LYSANDRA: {-Thank god we programmed that to be indestructible-} ELLIE: [Our daughter hesitantly goes to the sofa with the plate carefully. She becomes more confused as she blankly stares at the fireplace wall]"Uh… mim?" CARLA: [My wife turns to Ellie, placing her left arm around the seat of the sofa, smiling softly]"Yeah, El?" [Her smile fades, as she gestures Ellie to place the plate of artichokes on the coffee table] ELLIE: [Our daughter gracefully places down the plate of artichokes, staring at her mimi worried]"Uh, I don't think we can play here, right? That wall doesn't look like it can fit a TV, let alone a video game cons-" CARLA: [My wife lifts her index finger, pointing to the wall as she smirks at Ellie] {GENERATING "AWESOMULATOR"… DONE} {-Check this shit out hon-} [My wife creates-] {-Let the kid explain what happens-} ELLIE: [My daughter freezes in astonishment over Carla's "home renovation" skills]"Holy shit…" {-Uh… Well, you're definitely going to be jealous now. She basically just created an opaque hologram in front of the fireplace. Actually, the fireplace is completely gone, the "samovar" (sorry mim, it looks like a piece of shit), and I think the butter bowl got refilled. Yeah, I don't think she wants to leave the couch (except for bathroom breaks)-} CARLA: [My wife stares at Ellie, ecstatic over her accomplishment] Pretty cool, huh? ELLIE: [Our daughter smiles widely, and quickly nods as she also jumps over the couch next to Carla] CARLA: [My wife snickers and faces the hologram, placing the game case on that awesome setup] {-I did, and thanks-} [The game case disappears, and is replaced with two controllers, giving one of them to Ellie] ELLIE: [Our daughter takes the controller, though she steps closer, inspecting where Carla inserted the case]"Uh… mim? What happened to the-" CARLA:"I inserted the 'disk'." [My wife points at the screen, smirking as she sits back down along with Ellie] LYSANDRA: {-Same thing like last time, Carla? -} CARLA: {-Yes please-} ELLIE: {I'm seeing the opening CG of a peaceful, mountain setting with a guy in lederhosen And he just got slammed by some guy wearing a hockey mask with a lead pipe. … I'm going to keep this brief because my mim really wants me to play (and I want to as well-so you need to buzz off a bit. The CG is playing some grunge rock music (it's so overbearing that I can't take it seriously) as there are multiple racing scenes where characters are violently murdered while racing down through several mountains (Andes, Rockies, the Alps, Himalayas-you get the idea). It's lead pipes, Uzis, frozen water bottles, a-]"HOLY SHIT! IS THAT A FUCKING BICYCLE WITH CHAINSAWS FOR WHEELS?!" CARLA: > HYSTERICAL LAUGHTER Yeah dude! ELLIE: {Sorry, uh… The cutscene ends with-} //GAME ANNOUNCER// [A man speaks from the screen with a treble, masculine voice]"MOUNTAIN CLASH!!!" ELLIE: {What he said. And it's the game menu} CARLA: [My wife stares at Ellie intensely with an ecstatic smile, clenching her controller tightly to her chest]"Alright, El; get ready for probably the best racing game that's ever been made." [She outstretches her arms (controller in hand), standing with a grand, looming presence over Ellie] boisterously "And to be facing the Queen of Mountain Clash!" ELLIE: {And I thought mom was a drama queen} LYSANDRA: {-Maybe I should tell her about your drama classes in high school? HMMM?!!!!;) -} CARLA: {-NO THANK YOU! -} [She kneels before Ellie with a "super" serious face that-I'm literally struggling not to laugh here XD XD XD]"Are you ready for high-octane violent races on the coolest tracks that have ever been made?!" ELLIE: >NERVOUS SMILE"Y-Yeah…" CARLA: [My wife smiles, sitting down next to Ellie as she snickers a little]"Well, probably not yet since you haven't played this game in a while." > FROWNS"Not to mention, that asshole locked away a lot of your memories…" LYSANDRA: {-Carla… -} CARLA: > EYES WIDEN"Uh… Forget what I said!" [She pivots her head to the screen and cycles through the menu faster than a typist, going to the tutorial screen before pausing] CARLA: {-Hey Liz, before we start, terminate that connection to those weirdos. I want this to be a mother and daughter moment. Also, we need to check up on her reactions to winning and losing. Psychology stuff, the stuff you're good at-} LYSANDRA: {-Right-} {Sorry again, but my wife has a reason behind this. So in Ellie's words, "BUZZ OFF!" XD XD XD} {TERMINATING REMOTE CONNECTION… DONE} {REMOTE CONNECTION TERMINATED} {SKIPPING FOOTAGE… DONE}