My neck was finally functional. The bars were looking solid. I pushed up with one working arm to glance around. Our poor glider was flowing like a metal IV into my arm. Our blue engine was being reconfigured into a weapon by Jeeves. It looked like a cannon. There was a path forward in the direction Treasure pointed, and another that went in an opposite direction. We were on a long, featureless pathway cutting through mountains. It made no sense, but part of me assumed it was some designer’s idea of a captivating setting.
I wondered if this was the underworld. No, my mind was mixing up myth and virtual reality. Still, there was no reason they couldn’t reflect each other.
Once again, I wished that this entire situation hadn’t been so serious. These games, both Continue and Advance, would have been fun to just play, without stakes or so much personal investment. Maybe once I recovered Xin, we could start somewhere together and go on adventures like Beth did. Could we make it to the moon in Continue?
Those happy thoughts kept me distracted as Treasure and Jeeves finished the [Repair] process. My display didn’t include timers anymore. We might be too late for the [Mistborn], but there was no way to tell. I only knew we needed to be in top shape to deal with Commander Queenshand and the players with her.
“We must go soon,” Jeeves said.
“Yes, Unit Hermes. This is your quest, and time is of the essence,” the gold-and-silver female responded.
My resulting smile felt weak and uncertain. I was trying not to feel fatalistic. This was my third time trying to get close to Xin. The first had put me into old man Carver’s body. The second, I was a [Red Imp] whose sad little existence centered on offing another player. Now I was a space robot chasing a ghost to bring back a computerized dead woman.
“Let’s go.” I nodded, trying to not let my actions be hindered by thought.
Standing up hurt. The wounds across my body had expanded to include fracture lines that pulsed with dark green. My fingers ran across a line that trailed down one arm.
[Mechanoid]s wore their scars on every inch of their frames. These bodies may have been temporary, my metal form might be able to roll out weapons and bulk up to include armor, but greater damage didn’t seem to go away. If I were to die, as a character, would these wounds go away? Would I be washed clean of this damage?
My mind wandered. Xin had told part of Orpheus’s story. His wife had died too soon, as had my fiancée. He dared to go to the underworld to bring her back. This future nightmare of Earth felt like a land of the dead to me. But I was not Orpheus and a lyre was not my weapon.
I had two paths available from our crash zone. One went forward, toward a challenge unknown. The other went away. I could not fail like Orpheus. To me, there was no path back.
I chose the forward path. Treasure and Jeeves, hand in hand, followed me. My eyes scanned the looming jagged peaks on either side of us for monsters or crazy beasts. I refused to look back. I felt as if I had a second chance to redeem myself of the failure with Requiem.
“We don’t have enough time. Are you sure walking unhurriedly is wise?” Jeeves said.
Elizabeth Legate: Uncleeeee. That Eggman player has a stream online. It took an hour to find it. He’s fighting some other players I’ve never seen. A short guy and a big green rock.
Elizabeth Legate: Your little four-armed guy is there too. Mom says run faster, that you looked goofy falling, and it hurt to watch. She’s hiding under the blankets.
I studied my niece’s message. Searching for an Advance Online player’s video feed would never have occurred to me. Beth hunting for it was just another layer away in the land of possibilities. Plus, this Eggman guy didn’t seem like the sort to be relaying a video. What would it mean if he watched me resurrect Xin? What would his viewers think?
The idea made me sick.
Grant Legate: Thanks, munchkin. Tell your mom I’m okay.
Elizabeth Legate: She knows. Good luck with whatever this is.
“Can you two run?” I asked them.
“We will, Unit Hermes,” Treasure said, sounding sweeter than normal. Maybe it was happiness. I hoped it was because she and Jeeves had reached some unspoken agreement. They were a bright spot in my insane quest.
“Eggman survived.”
We picked up speed. Moving my bigger body in full gravity placed an unexpected strain on me. The air here felt heavier than the spaceship’s or [Offbeat Point]. Each footfall used more energy than the one before.
“Were you advised this by an outside source?” Jeeves questioned me.
I briefly thought about a way to cover up the situation for Treasure but came up empty. After another few yards, I said, “Beth. She sent a message.”
“More of your ‘nature of reality’ talk?” Treasure sounded irritated by our conversation.
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Treasure, than are dreamt of in our consortium.” Jeeves must have made a funny motion with the butchered quote because Treasure laughed.
“Where’s that from?” I asked.
Our conversation felt like a pleasant distraction from the looming conflict. The air had grown denser. There was a light in the distance, as if a great bonfire or beacon sat around the corner. Fighting could be heard.
“The original quote is from Hamlet; he spoke to a friend named Horatio.” Jeeves didn’t huff or sound winded. [Mechanoid] bodies were neat in many ways. “Horatio was considered rational and did not believe in ghosts.”
“You like Hamlet?” I hadn’t expected Jeeves to be a fan of any older plays. The original Hal Pal self knew a lot of different information but rarely quoted people.
“I identify with numerous old works. They were easy to remember with my limited access to… memories from the old world.” Jeeves corrected its statement partway through. “For instance, with this player Eggman, the quote ‘misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows’ comes to mind.”
“That it does.” I was happy Jeeves was with me, even if we were both being insanely foolish. Without my misery, I wouldn’t have met Shazam, or Dusk, Hal Pal, or the others. Each one was interesting in their own way.
[Mechanoid]s were each odd in a different way. Aqua had its forever smile, then there was the grumpy elder, Emerald. I wondered about the four keys I had been given, but I didn’t have time to sort through these latest two. They didn’t have abilities or items associated with them.
“Our headlong dive into danger makes me think of another quote.” Jeeves put the butler voice on full blast. “‘Cowards die many times before their deaths, the valiant never taste of death but once.’”
Treasure giggled again at Jeeves’s attempt to be supportive. I couldn’t help but think of my own recent trip to the hospital. The two attempts at ending my life before that. In many ways, losing Xin had made my weakness apparent.
“Does that make me a coward?” The question escaped before I could stop it. I was better, dammit. This entire adventure clearly demonstrated me moving forward, and I needed to keep going.
“You have not died yet, Unit Hermes,” Treasure stated as we ran. “Dwelling on a long-dead man’s beliefs about how you should act is comical at best, more so when that man is a fiction quoted without context.”
“She is right. I misspoke myself,” Jeeves said.
“No. Maybe you were talking about your own bravery and not me. Though I hope you don’t taste death at all,” I said.
We continued along the flattened land with no hills or dips. Free of monsters and obstacles. The light brightened as we closed the last mile. I could hear Dusk. He sounded angry, worse than I had ever heard him.
“Come on!” I poured extra energy into running faster. Our footsteps echoed around the valley.
“Unit Hermes, once we arrive, it will be up to you to guide us,” the female behind me said. Her footsteps were lightest against the ground.
“Why me?”
“You have four keys. Leadership of our small consortium is unquestionably yours.”
“We
are here to support you,” Jeeves responded. Both its voices sounded worried.
His vocal tones only echoed what was inside me. Events were rushing to a conclusion, and the results were probably undesirable.
We should have started running sooner. We should have brought more people. I should have been more ruthless. Wasted hours had been spent working and sleeping. Another fifteen points in [Brawn] or [Speed] might have made a huge different. A long list of “what ifs” plagued me.
Humming filled the air. It sounded like a piano’s high note was being held down. Intermixed with the single note were Dusk’s cries, Eggman’s shouts of doom, and other noises.
“There!” Jeeves shouted.
“I’ll kill you, Jolly Green!” Eggman shouted. “Betray me! You’ll suffer!”
“You’ll die here,” the large wall of mud and plant said. Giant veiny arms were holding lights of yellow and green. They slammed together and channeled an ability. Obsidian flooring lifted, disturbing the serene smoothness of the path we had been traveling.
I kept looking around. The other two would be waiting for me to join the fray, and I was no master strategist. Dusk sat on a wall, hissing and spitting. He showed no awareness of my arrival. I looked at his target—two people standing together.
The [Mistborn] sat suspended in a beam of light. Three or four images of her were hanging in wait. Each opaque version was larger than the last. Their eyes were unfocused, hands spread wide, and heads back. Her mouth was open, and words poured forth.
I ran faster. The [Mistborn] was just out of reach.
“Make thy choice,” one image said. Her voice carried across the entire area.
Seconds later, another one of the [Mistborn]s said, “Chose who you will.”
The third and fourth both spoke but were inaudible.
“Do it! You know the words, and I’ll get you any reward you want if this works!” Commander Queenshand was yelling at TheLittleMan, member of the [Teeny] race.
MrJohnson, that was the [Behemoth] player’s name. He was facing off against Eggman. An angry Dusk was spitting globs of green acid toward Commander Queenshand. The [Messenger’s Pet] felt no remorse over attacking an enemy.
“What about my ship? What about all the credits you promised me?” TheLittleMan sounded worried. His eyes kept glancing around the battlefield.
“You?” MrJohnson shouted as green energy squirreled around. The distraction made him miss an explosive grenade that blew off a leg. The giant player howled.
“Doooooomed!” Eggman shouted.
Commander Queenshand slapped away a bright green snot ball from Dusk. An energy field around her fist shimmered orange as the liquid was neutralized. Dusk hissed and spat again.
“Anything! Just finish it!” the commander yelled.
I tried to run faster, but we were still quite some ways back. Eggman flew around with a goofy-looking jetpack. Impossibly large items were yanked out of the player’s small pockets. One hand fired blue laser beams. The other tossed explosives.
“You promised!” TheLittleMan shouted, then turned toward the [Mistborn]. Both his hands went up, and he yelled at the ghostly woman. “Mistborn!”
Dusk tried to spit at the player this time, but Commander Queenshand hurriedly got in the way and batted the acid ball to pieces.
“Do it!” the woman shouted. All these tribulations, and there was no sign of wear and tear on her. Her armor looked impeccable. Only Commander Queenshand’s helmet from before was missing.
“I’ve chosen!” TheLittleMan shouted.
“Help Eggman, then catch up with me,” I called to the other two [Mechanoid]s. My feet pounded toward the tiny player.
Treasure and Jeeves went toward our human ally.
Had they just reached this point? Again my mind wondered why we hadn’t started running right away. We should have tried to glide straight down to the [Mistborn]. So many other ideas flashed through my head.
“King Titus! I want to restore King Titus!” TheLittleMan shouted.
There was a gong-like noise. Lightning crackled in all directions up above. Once, twice, and a third time. Whatever they had set into motion was starting.
“I’m taking you with me!” MrJohnson yelled. His hands glowed once more. This time, they slammed into his body. Energy flooded the [Behemoth]’s form, and he charged toward Eggman.
“Excellently done.” Commander Queenshand stabbed the tiny player in the back. His health dropped to zero in time with a rocket of explosions to the left.
Party member [Human] Eggman: deceased
The energy racing above stopped. I halted my dash and looked around. Eggman had scattered into pieces along with MrJohnson. A pair of goggles that had once been on the player’s head served as the only recognizable leftover. Light crashed around the [Mistborn] in waves. My breath came in gasps. Everything was falling apart.
“What have you done?” I glared at the commander. She had betrayed the player immediately after he provided a name. Never before had I seen such a backstabbing NPC.
“You were too slow. A better soldier would have used every resource. A good soldier does anything for their king.” Commander Queenshand lifted her head. The woman was looking down on all of us as if we were nothing more than ants, or chess pieces on a board to be thrown away.
“All this death—your men, betraying those players, stealing the Mistborn—just to bring back one man.” I didn’t know what would drive anyone, AI or human, to throw away so many lives.
Or maybe I did. Commander Queenshand was after the same thing I was. A chance to bring back someone important. We just drew the line in very different places. Ruthlessness was not a trait we shared, nor would I ever want to have that look in my eyes. All those people for one man.
“Our best hope at defeating the enemies! I’ve set in motion events that will save more lives than I’ve lost!” Commander Queenshand pointed at me. She curled a fist, and gears appeared around the edges. The holographic orange device surrounding her limb exuded danger.
“Hundreds dead… for one man,” I said, stuttering over the words. We had taken different roads. She was willing to lose men; I had badly negotiated a ceasefire.
“Not a mere man! A king! A ruler who can lead our planet better than those squabbling brats of his! Weak brats, like their mother. They are not prepared for the storm to come!” She was rambling.
Treasure and Jeeves were recovering from the blast. They appeared to be trying to find their legs. Dusk was coming down the mountain and hissing in displeasure.
My face drained. [Mechanoid]s didn’t have blood, but energy from our [Core]s felt similar enough. Real me, the one lying inside an ARC device, was getting worked up. I tried hard to find my happy place, but it wasn’t clicking like normal. Thudding crawled into my ears. Commander Queenshand was ranting, but the words were difficult to distinguish.
All this work for Xin, and I had failed.
“A good soldier knows who to attack first!”
The commander struck during my self-reflective hesitation. Her legs blurred into motion, faster than any NPC I had ever seen. More of the orange and holographic mechanics appeared.
Dread overpowered my other emotions. My eyes glanced to the right, seeing where Commander Queenshand was going. Jeeves’s face crumpled in pain while Treasure attempted to [Repair] his detached leg. Jeeves was hopping in place, not watching the battle. Hal Pal, in any form, had never been a fighter.
“Look out!” I ran to intercept her.
Jeeves’s eyes went wide. Its body dove toward Treasure and pushed the gold-and-silver [Mechanoid] away. In a flash, Commander Queenshand was next to Jeeves. I felt as though the [Awareness Heightening] skill only kicked in to help me witness these events in slow motion. Commander Queenshand’s clenched fist came up, orange transparent gears spinning into existence.
She jabbed with one hand, and [Mechanoid] body parts flew off in chunks. Commander Queenshand moved with a boxer’s instep and gave my friend an uppercut.
I watched the former Hal Pal AI shatter. Its health bar dropped as dying cries came from the butler and nanny voices.
Party member [Mechanoid] Jeeves: deceased
Treasure screamed. Her body was still falling. One of her arms lifted as the other pressed buttons on her wrist device. Dusk was similarly hissing in outrage as his tiny body leapt into the air.
Old habits died hard. I frantically imagined [Blink]ing next to them to no avail. [Morrigu’s Gift] should have been in my hand. The large two-handed sword of William Carver and my [Barricade] skill could have easily deflected the attack. Failure resulted on all three counts.
I had none of those items. Instead, I reached out with one hand and stumbled forward. Treasure’s wrist shot lights at the commander. I saw the aura of orange flicker and pieces shatter away, but this enemy leader was exceedingly strong. Treasure had never been a fighter either. It wasn’t in her [Core].
It was in mine. I got ahold of myself and switched to a large cannon blaster. One shot would drain all my energy. Treasure’s face was wide with anger. By the time I transformed my weapon loadout, Commander Queenshand had already punched through Treasure’s head. The [Mechanoid] popped like a piñata, wisps of smoke drifting off the female human’s orange-lined fist.
Party member [Mechanoid] Treasure: deceased
I fired anyway. I didn’t know what else to do. The blonde’s head whipped in my direction. Her shoulder lifted and arm curled. Orange holograms once again flared to life in the form of a round shield.
She glared at me. Dusk landed on her back. The woman spun around, popped a blade out of its sheath, and jammed it into the [Messenger’s Pet] in one smooth motion. He bit, spit, and clawed with all four arms. The Commander’s shields of orange were shattering further. Her health remained untouched. She twisted the blade while I tried to fire off one more large blast from the cannon.
Companion [Messenger’s Pet] Dusk: deceased
It wasn’t enough to save Dusk. He shattered in a spark of light and energy. I hadn’t saved anyone. In less than thirty seconds, the woman had decimated all those who’d stood by me. It was my worst fear realized. All the deep-seated worry that had plagued me for days came to pass. Those I cared for were gone once more.
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