Chapter 14: Losing Control

The Laughing Coffin member was very compliant, but considering that he obviously valued his pitiful life, that much came as no surprise. Getting him to talk didn't look like it would be too difficult, but then again, there have been stranger things. We dragged him to the teleporter under cover of night and returned to our mansion as discreetly as was possible with a hostage. He may have been a criminal player, but others wouldn't exactly understand why we were taking him back to our mansion, and not to the prison that the Army had on floor 1. All things considered, it was best that no one knew of what we were up to.

"So, we're really doing this then?"

"Of course. How else do you suggest we get what we want from him? It may be low and underhanded, but he's not exactly a model citizen. Would it have been better if we had simply killed him along with his companions and been on our merry way? That seems wasteful to me."

"Abaddon's right Lucifer. It may seem wrong, but it's for a greater good. We knew that we weren't going to be heroes, or that we could do this without soiling our hands. We weren't meant to be the heroes, after all, the Reaper is never cast in a light of admiration or heroism. The Reaper is a symbol cast in the light of fear, hatred, and defilement. Such is the path we have crafted for ourselves."

"Right. Let's do this then."

I lead the way through the door connecting the conference room to the armory, which we had retrofitted into a sort of torture chamber upon returning with our 'guest'. The man in question was tied to a chair and gagged for no better reason than the effect considering no one would actually be able to hear him from outside of the room. Lucifer and Caine leaned against the side walls and I approached our captive.

"Hello there. I hope you've had time to arrange your thoughts and get your information in order so that we can do this quick and easy. Please tell me that I'm not just wasting my breath."

I removed his gag and allowed him to sit for a moment and collect himself.

"If you think you can scare information out of me, then you're crazy. There's nothing you can do that would make me talk."

"You're right. The pain receptors aren't high enough for us to authentically torture you, but then again we were really only relying upon your desire to live to give you that boost of confidence. We may not be able to bring on pain to make you talk, but if you continue to be obstinate and otherwise useless, then we'll simply kill you and find another, more willing informant. Tell me, would you die to protect the members of your murder guild? Is your loyalty that strong?"

"Listen, if I tell you then I'm dead, and if I don't you'll kill me. Either way I'm dead, so I'm not going out a squealer."

"So noble for a piece of slime. Tell me, did your leader inspire such notions, or have you always been devoted to such disgusting acts?"

"You don't know who you're messing with. Our leader is merciless and cunning. He'll make your life so miserable that you'll take your own life or beg him to do it to escape the pain."

"Sounds charming. Tell me, who is this wonderful man?"

"You've met him, Reaper of Earth. His name is PoH."

"Son of a…"

"Was he the one who attacked you back in Ronbaru?"

"Yes. The bastard was more bloodthirsty than the most hellish monsters we've fought in Aincrad. He made me sick and what's worse, he's no pushover in a fight. He fights on the same level as we do, and he's dirty. I barely beat him when we fought. I'm certain that he's been figuring out ways to beat all three of us since we've pretty much declared war on all criminal guilds."

"That sounds like loads of fun. Why the hell do we always get ourselves into these messes? Regardless, I say we just cut this guy's head off and be done with it. He obviously won't spill on his good buddies. There's no point in wasting our time. I'll do it."

Lucifer kicked off of the wall and drew his axe. He approached the man and poised his axe for an attack.

"I'll take it off in one quick swing, no problem. Ready?"

"Go for it."

Lucifer reared back for his attack and began to swing his axe when the man began to cry out.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!"

"Oh?"

"I'll tell you. I didn't think you'd actually kill me. You just have to make sure that the others can't find me, otherwise they'll kill me for sure."

"Okay. We'll tuck you away safely in the prison on floor 1. Sound good to you? We won't let anyone know and you can remove yourself from their friends list to be certain they can't find you."

"Are you sure they can't get me in there?"

"Of course. The Army guards that prison and no one has escaped, or been killed once imprisoned. You'll be fine, now tell us what we want to know."

"Okay, here's what I know. Our—"

Suddenly there was a loud banging on the front door and it sounded like the person was about to break the door down. I growled in irritation and went to see who was at the door. I glanced at Lucifer and he nodded back. He would take over while I was out. The banging on the door persisted as I continued down the staircase. When I reached the door, I ripped it open as violently as the game would allow me to.

"What the hell do you want!?"

"It's about time. Why haven't you responded to any of my messages?"

"What messages? Oh, I turned off my notifications, I was busy and wanted no distractions."

"Well guess what? You've really screwed things up this time."

"Just get to the damn point already. I'm busy."

"The boss raid on the floor 50 boss is going on right now and most of the fighters have fled leaving only Heathcliff and a few other KoB fighters to take on the boss alone."

"Why the hell are they taking on the boss? We weren't told about this plan."

"The plans were made yesterday and Asuna couldn't get ahold of any of you to let you know what was happening. I've been trying to get in contact with you guys for two days now. You have to get to the dungeon on floor 50 and help them."

"Son of a bitch! This always happens."

I didn't bother to shut the door or say anymore. I merely turned on my heel and ran up the staircase back to the armory. I burst through the door and found Lucifer and Caine interrogating the captive.

"Time to go. The KoB has stirred up a shit storm they can't handle. Floor 50 boss raid has gone south. He'll have to wait."

"You're kidding right?"

"Does it look like I'm kidding? Heathcliff is holding the frontline against the boss alone right as we speak. Let's go!"

"What about him?"

"He's told you things right?"

"Yeah."

"Then if he leaves he'll be hunted by both us and his former guild. He will stay put, right?"

"Yep. I'm not going anywhere."

"Fine. Let's go bail out the KoB."

The three of us closed up the mansion then sprinted to the teleporter to go to floor 50. Lisbeth waved us off and sent a message to Asuna to let her know we were on our way to help. I was livid and as the floor 50 scenery materialized, I didn't hesitate to sprint to the dungeons at full speed and ignore every person along the way. As far as I was concerned, every player not in that boss room was dead weight and useless to me. It took much longer than I liked to reach the room and as we reached the large doorway, we were met with a horrid scene.

There was an enormous six-armed statue brutally attacking Heathcliff, but what was truly obscene was that only a half dozen other players were present. It meant that many players died by the boss or fled like cowards. I don't remember drawing my staff or charging in, but the next thing I knew, I was leaping onto the statue and aggressively assaulting it. Lucifer and Caine followed my lead and we were able to pull the boss's attention away from Heathcliff and onto us. We did not know how long he held off the boss, but he did a wonderful job.

The boss had already lost a health bar and half of the next. The RoA would now finish what the KoB and other no name cowards started. Our attacks were coordinated and required no verbal communication in order to properly function. The main issue was that the boss had so many limbs to avoid while fighting it.

"Lucifer, Caine, I got this bastard. Go make sure that the wounded get help or get out. No one else needs to die today. Have Heathcliff regroup the remaining fighters and bring everything they have as soon as possible. Go!"

They left without a word and followed my instruction. I kicked off the statue and stood facing it, sizing it up while it gathered itself for another assault. The three of us were able to polish off the health bar it had and take a chunk out of the next bar. I stared at its cold face and a wide grin broke out across my face. I could feel how terrifying my face must have looked.

"Alright you ugly bastard. You've caused me far too much of a headache, so I'll tell you what. I'm going to finish you off quickly before anyone else can come and steal the pleasure of killing you from me. Deal?"

The giant statue charged at me, seemingly in agreement of my terms. I was grinning like a mad man, and as the statue drew closer, my staff glowed brighter and brighter, slowly charging my strongest attack. The statue was mere feet from me when I leapt forward and unleashed my attack. My staff swung in a deep upward arc and slammed into the statue's stomach. The impact sent the statue sprawling backward before it fell onto its back. I wasted no time and was already halfway to the monster before it even began to fall. As it hit the floor, I brought a powerful aerial attack down, effectively maximizing the fall damage and dealing the attack damage simultaneously.

The last health bar glowed a bright red. The statue began to stir in response, but before it could manage any fruitful movement, I began my barrage of rapid jabs to its face. The statue actually released wails of pain as I beat the monster's health out of it. The rush of the moment was more than I could stand and I activated another attack as my barrage ended. With my staff tucked between my back and arms, I leapt upward and began to spin like a top. I was spinning so fast that my staff became a saw and each attack followed the last so rapidly and seamlessly that I began to cut into the statue's surface.

"Now you die!"

The end of my rapid rotation gave me the proper momentum to sail high into the air and prepare my final aerial attack to finish the monster. I began to rotate my staff faster and faster as I reached the apex of my flight and began to fall back toward the grounded statue. Once my staff reached its maximum rotational speed, I brought it down and around over my head before slamming straight down onto the statue's head. The head shattered and the boss sputtered before disappearing completely. I was crazed, my rage uncontrollable and I began to attack the floor where the boss had been. I didn't even feel the hands grab hold of me and stop me.

"Abaddon! Stop! It's over!"

My staff fell from my hands and I fell into a heap in what turned out to be Asuna's arms. My whole body was shaking as Asuna gripped me tightly and called out my name. Lucifer and Caine were at my side as well, attempting to calm me, but before I could completely gain control, my eyes were filled with tears. I broke down and lost control. It took some time before I calmed, but even then I was unresponsive to their calls. Between the three of them, they carried me back to the mansion and got me into my bed.

The next time I regained consciousness, I found Asuna asleep in a chair next to my bed. I didn't know what time it was, let alone what day.

"Hey there. Didn't realize you had time to be laying around doing nothing."

"It's about time you woke up, and I wouldn't be laying around if a certain someone didn't go crazy and lose control like a mad man. How do you feel?"

"Like I've been out of it for a while. I'm also confused as to what exactly happened. I think I know, but the details are fuzzy."

"Well after you defeated the floor boss, you went crazy and started attacking the floor before I got to you. Then you just collapsed in my arms and started to cry uncontrollably. All the while you refused to say anything to us. Then you just lost consciousness. You've been out for a day and a half now. I've never seen anything like it."

"I've never heard of anything like this either. I feel strange, but what I know was clear at the time was how angry I was, and how much I just wanted to kill that thing. I lost control."

"Yeah. Abaddon, it's a good thing that there were so few of us there."

"Why?"

"Well, when you fought, your face was…disturbing. Most people would be confused or get the wrong idea about you if they saw, but everyone there knew you to some degree, but that only made it more disturbing."

"My face? I do remember smiling at some point. Now that I think about it, it felt scary when I thought about how my face must have looked, but that didn't really matter to me at the time."

"Yeah, well it's probably best if you refrain from doing that again. If others were to see that, they may be frightened. I know that Lisbeth would be devastated if she ever saw you like that. It would terrify her."

"You're right. I don't know what happened, but the rage started to build once Lisbeth told me what was happening. The whole way to the boss, my anger and rage built up. It was intense, but I couldn't suppress it. What did Heathcliff have to say?"

"He thanked your brothers for your help and ignored your breakdown. He attributed it to the stress of the frontlines and your guild's obsession with being the best."

"He's probably right, but how did he take to his second in command staying with me? Sounds like that wouldn't be very favorable considering we just moved onto a new floor."

"He understood the necessity. Your guild is invaluable to the frontlines, and therefore invaluable to the KoB. We value you and your brothers more than any other players outside of our guild."

"That makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. On another subject, think I could coerce you into making me some food? I know I can trust you to make something good."

"Making me serve you food because you're sick? That's low, even for you Abaddon."

I could hear the smile in her voice as she left the room. I stared up at my ceiling and let my mind drift. What happened? Why did I lose control? I was at a loss for an answer as my mind wandered through possibility after possibility. I was deep in thought when the door opened and a form rushed toward me and dived on top of me.

"What the hell?"

Fists began to pound on my chest relentlessly. I managed to look down and make out the identity of my attacker.

"Lisbeth, what the hell are you doing?"

When she looked up, tears were streaming down her face and her eyes were screaming out to me. She had been worried the whole time and now the tension had finally broke.

"You idiot. I didn't tell you about the raid so you'd go and lose your mind. What happened to you? I've been worried sick because of you. Riza and everyone else has been coming in and out for the last two days to make sure that you were alright. You have a lot to answer for mister."

"Well I can't answer anything if I can't breathe, now can I? Look, I'm fine. There was just some weird thing that happened and now it's all better, nothing to worry about."

Lisbeth slapped me, and even though I couldn't feel the pain, I got the message.

"You really are an idiot. We're all worried to death about you and you just push it off and say that nothing's wrong. Stop doing that already."

"Lisbeth, listen, I'm serious about you guys not worrying. I'll always be in danger and sometimes I will be hurt, but being worried will only make things harder on you. I understand that you all care, but it's causing a burden on you that I can't allow to persist. I can handle myself, so please don't worry so much. Besides, I don't deserve your concern."

"What does that mean? Of course you do. No you're just spouting off nonsense."

"No I'm not. If you knew what I've done, then you wouldn't be so quick to hand out your sentiments. Damn it."

"What do you mean by that? What have you done?"

"Never mind. Forget I said anything."

I got up and started to leave.

"No, I won't just forget what you said. Explain yourself Abaddon."

"I don't have to explain myself to you. Just leave me be and mind your own business. I didn't ask for your concern and I told you to drop it."

"Abandon, talk to me. What is wrong with you?"

"I told you to leave me alone. You want to know what is wrong? You are what's wrong. I can't breathe without you questioning and badgering me over and over again. I told you everything was fine, but you just kept pressing and pressing. I'm done!"

I turned and stormed out of the mansion, then sprinted to the teleporter, ignoring the calls from behind. I didn't know where I was going, but I just wanted to be anywhere but there. Why did it have to turn out this way? Why did everything always have to go out of control? What was wrong with me and why was this happening? I found myself on floor 11 staring off the edge of a vast cliff and into the nothingness beyond. The height and breeze helped me clear my head.

Things began to calm down inside of my head as I stared out at the sky and the expansive emptiness of the drop off in front of me.

"Maybe it's time Abaddon. We figured the time would come sooner or later."

Lucifer and Caine were standing a few feet behind me.

"You might be right. Maybe it is that time. It'll make things easier, though it would totally throw out everything we've been working for."

"It's necessary. We can't do everything, so focusing our efforts is the best thing for us to do. No offense, but you were an example of why we have to do this."

"I know. I realized why soon after I came to. We'll have to do it without telling anyone, otherwise they'll try to stop us."

"They can't know, that much has always been obvious. So are we doing it then?"

I turned to face Lucifer and Caine. My face resolute and my mind made up.

"Yes."

(A/N): What could they be talking about? You'll have to wait and see. :) Review and let me know what you think of Abandon's breakdown as well as their session with their 'guest'. More excitement and craziness to come. Until next time, see ya!