Chapter Fourteen: Perversions Of The Past
August 1st, 2032
Edmond sat up. The world around him had no color. He looked around to gauge his surroundings. He saw a vast ocean, spanning out as far as his eyes could see. The ocean, like all other matter in this strange existence, had no color. Edmond thought of questioning this phenomenon, but he realized that it would be as fruitless as trying to figure anything else in this universe out.
'What floor am I on?' He thought in his mind as he stood up, feeling the millions of tiny grains of sand give way under his hands and feet. He turned around, away from the ocean, to check the rest of his surroundings. The landscape behind him was far different than the aquatic seascape he'd awoken to. In the middle of the floor was a giant tower; the teleport gate, most likely. Beyond that there were three other environments.
Directly across from Edmond was an enormous mountain range. Edmond could see that it was covered in snow, despite the lack of color in the world. To his left, Edmond could see that there was a dense forest area. There were so many trees that it seemed one would get lost as soon as they entered. Finally, to his right, Edmond saw something that made his stomach bottom out.
Before Edmond could be sure of what he was seeing. He took a deep breath and began to traverse to his right. After twenty or so steps the sand ceased, and a cobblestone road, much like the one in the Town of Beginnings, took it's place. This road completely encircled the tower in the center, and led to the different paths of each environment. Edmond wished the stones would never end. He had no desire to confirm what he was headed towards.
When Edmond finally came to a stop, he felt a cold chill sweep over his body. This time it wasn't just his mind, either. As soon as Edmond had stepped off of the final cobblestone, a bone-chilling breeze began to linger in the area. A fitting atmosphere...for a graveyard.
Edmond looked around. Headstones stretched out for what seemed like miles. Each stone had only one thing written on it; a name. Some of the names were written with numbers in them. Some names could be considered just normal first names. Edmond had a hunch as to where these names had come from, but he couldn't stomach the thought. Instead, he began walking through the rows of stones...they never ended. Eventually, after walking for what must have only been ten minutes, Edmond stopped in his tracks. Something very odd had happened to the stones; there were no names on them anymore.
'That's odd...' Was all Edmond could think. He just stood, frozen, looking down at the empty grave markers, wondering why they were blank. He let out a deep sigh, and could see colorless breath coming from his mouth. The air seemed to get colder the further he went. Edmond looked at his arms to see if he was wearing his combat armor. He was. Immediately a horrifying thought rose through his mind.
'Am I dead? Did the skeletons get us? Oh no...Klein.' Edmond swiped his hand; nothing. There were no menus to access, no way to contact another player, either. Maybe he was dead. Edmond could feel himself start to breathe faster, and he could see his breath in the air come out much more frequently.
"You're going to die, you know?"
Edmond immediately grabbed for his dagger, but it wasn't there. Instead he threw up his fists and whisked around towards the sound of a very young, yet familiar voice. There, about ten headstones away was a short figure. The short figure was just staring down at a headstone. It didn't move, nor was it holding any items. It was dressed in what looked like a hooded sweater, and a pair a jeans...something Edmond thought he'd only see in the "real" world. Then again, he had no idea if he was even still in the game world.
"Who are you? What do you mean? What is this place?" Edmond held his composure well this time. His voice was low and stern, and showed no signs of fear or distress. But the figure didn't answer. After a minute or so, it looked in his direction; it was a child, from what Edmond could see from his distance. Edmond pleaded in his mind that it wasn't the same child he'd slain, not once...but twice. He inched towards the being, fists clenched and on guard. But just as he was about to get close enough to see the figure's face, it vanished, leaving nothing but the echo of a child's laugh. This chilled Edmond even more.
'What is this?' Edmond muttered under his breath. He continued to inch forward, towards the headstone that the child had been standing in front of. When he reached it, he slowly looked downwards, afraid of what he might see. But all he got was more confusion. The stone was blank.
"It's just a matter of time now, Edmond." The voice returned. Now, it seemed to be right over Edmond's shoulder.
Edmond swung around and punched at the air. He didn't hit anything, and instead he saw something that disturbed him even more. The child was standing on one of the headstones, balancing. Edmond stared deep into the child's eyes, not believing what he was seeing. It wasn't the child he'd killed on the wall...it was himself. Edmond was staring at a childhood version of himself. He was speechless.
"Why don't you just give up? You know you have no chance," the child said and then laughed. It disappeared and reappeared on a different headstone. The child did this several times before disappearing and staying hidden. Edmond looked around, keeping his guard up, angered at what his younger self for its patronization.
"You can't save her, Edmond. You're a liar..." The voice was behind him again. Edmond turned around slowly, not giving the tiny figure the pleasure of seeing him scared again. Edmond looked down into the eyes of his past self, not questioning the ridiculousness of the situation. The two stared each other down for a while. Then, the younger version of himself smiled before disappearing again. This time, it didn't return.
Out of nowhere the sound of an extremely loud bell began to toll. Edmond nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked back, up to the top of the teleport gate. He hadn't noticed it at first, but there was, in fact, a very large bell that was now ringing. Edmond felt sick to his stomach as fear seized him. He looked down at the headstone in front of him; his eyes shot open as wide as they possibly could. The stone was no longer blank. Now, the stone, like all of the others had a single name on it: Edmond.
Then, the bell tolled again, and beside Edmond's stone, the next stone read another name: Thatch. Each time the bell tolled a new name appeared on a blank stone. Klein's name appeared, then Susan's. The list went on with each and every loud toll. Finally...the name Edmond had been fearing would appear, finally did...Kitami. Edmond slammed his eyes shut. Immediately the tormenting images of the past week began to assault him. In his mind he could hear the screams of the dead and dying players, as well as the burning mutations from Khale. The bell kept tolling.
"Why? Why is this happening to me? I don't deserve this!" This time, Edmond screamed aloud. After he yelled, the world around him fell eerily silent. He opened one eye, slowly. The black and white world was gone. Everything was gone, and Edmond was in a lonely black expanse. Edmond knew this expanse, he expected Kayaba to come floating into view at any second. Instead, he got something entirely different.
A giant screen appeared before Edmond. He stared at it, head cocked to the side in disbelief. On the screen appeared words that players throughout the game only wished they could see.
"Would you like to log out?"
Below it were the two obvious options of Yes or No. Edmond just continued to stare. He knew this had to be some kind of cruel joke.
"Go on, Edmond...press it. We both know you want to."
Edmond froze again. The voice was demonic...But Edmond knew exactly who it belonged to. It continued. "Leave them behind, Edmond. You can't save them anyway. Deep inside your soul, your pathetic conscience pleads to you. Your inner child, your most truthful and vulnerable state, knows that you are doomed...but I can save you Edmond. I can do whatever I want to you..."
Khale. A voice that could never be mistaken. Was he serious? Was he really offering him a way out of this place? Edmond knew he could never trust Khale. This must have been some kind of elaborate and tormenting joke to further drag him away from his sanity. Edmond didn't give Khale the honor of a response. Instead he stayed motionless, staring into nothingness. Dark laughter began to echo all around him.
"You're a fool, Edmond! Forget about them! Forget about her. Nobody is worth your own life. Get out while you can, and let what happens to them, happen."
"Why? Why just me, Khale? Why try and get me out of here? I'm the thorn in your side, remember? Why let me go to the outside and expose you?" Edmond let these words escape without even thinking. His tone was flat, and his interest wasn't there. His level of care had fallen, and was now replaced by anger. Edmond continued, against his better judgment. "You don't know what they've done for me...you don't know what it's like to care for people...you find emotion to be a product of weakness." Edmond punched the air, sending his fist through the No option. The screen disappeared.
There was silence, and darkness for about thirty seconds. Khale's presence in the area was no longer present. Edmond looked around. Then, directly in front of him, Khale was there. The same flaming eyes, the last thing Edmond saw before he lost consciousness, stared deep into his own. Khale was smiling the same sinister smile he always smiled. Then, he spoke.
"Have it your way then, Edmond!" Khale stuck a dagger through Edmond's stomach. Edmond took a deep breath, stunned, as the breath escaped him. Then...
Edmond shot up. He was laying in his bed in the inn. Thatch, who was sitting in a chair beside the fireplace, immediately jumped up and ran over to him. Edmond was breathing heavily and immediately started feeling of his abdomen. There was no wound...it had all been a nightmare.
"Edmond! You're awake!"
Edmond ignored Thatch's jubilant cry of happiness to see Edmond had recovered from his exhaustion. Was what just occurred really a dream? Or was Khale really able to haunt Edmond's dreams? Edmond feared the latter. Thatch could obviously see that Edmond wasn't well.
"Edmond? Hey, Edmond! What's wrong? Calm down!" Thatch put a hand on Edmond's shoulder, but in his intense fear, he slapped it away. Thatch was shocked. "Edmond...what happened to you?"
Edmond took deep breaths and started telling himself that he was fine, and that he was only dreaming. He took one last deep breath and swiped his hand. Like clockwork, his menu appeared, presenting his stats, his healthbar, and the other various menu items. He looked over at Thatch, who was staring at him in disbelief.
"Thatch, i'm sorry. I guess I was having a nightmare. I didn't mean to lash out like that..."
Thatch sighed, and then smiled. A welcome sight. Then he spoke, after crossing his arms. "Yeah, that will happen in a place like this. But you've just got to take a deep breath and remind yourself that you're okay, and that your mind is yours to control, not the other way around."
Thatch had yet again dispelled wise words. If only they were that easy to follow. Edmond simply nodded and stood up from his bed. To his delight, his avatar no longer felt clunky or groggy. His character was completely rested, despite his nightmare. He swiped his hand again, and equipped his combat gear. As he turned toward the door to leave with Thatch, he stopped and immediately remembered Narok.
"Thatch...what happened to Narok?"
Thatch nodded as if he were expecting Edmond to ask this question. "He's fine. He barely made it out with any health left, but we got him. He's locked himself in a room...he isn't speaking to anyone..."
"And...the Hounds?" Asked Edmond rhetorically. In his mind he already knew the answer.
"Dead...all of them. Not a single one, other than Narok, survived. Narok ran for it; he saw that the situation was hopeless. He's taking it hard, as i'm sure you can imagine."
Edmond could image. Narok, as hardheaded and rough around the edges as he was, seemed to be very dedicated to his guild. The thought of losing everyone at once must have been crushing. Edmond couldn't fathom it. He still couldn't forgive himself for what happened to Relain, and that was only one loss...
"Edmond, we have to move quickly, we have to start clearing floors. The longer we wait, the more Khale has a chance to throw something new at us. Up to this point, it's as if we've been sitting by, waiting for his next move. We can't keep this up...we have to strike, and strike fast." As Thatch said all of this, there seemed to be anger in his voice. As if the thought of Narok's men being annihilated inspired deep seeded hatred for Khale. This was both inspiring, and intimidating to Edmond. Yet he agreed with Thatch. Everything on their part had been wholly defensive.
"You're right...What do we do, Thatch? What about Ratchnot? What about Narok?" In his mind, Edmond longed to blurt out what about Kirito and Asuna? It felt strange to lie by omission, but Edmond knew it was for the best.
"Susan and Klein are handling Ratchnot. He's yet to divulge anything useful. It's looking grim, Edmond." Thatch paused, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. It looked as though he were trying to relax, as well as bring himself to voice something he was dreading. "Edmond, The first clearing party is going out tonight...we're going straight for the center dungeon. Our plan is to clear a floor a day."
Edmond almost choked on his breath. A floor every day? That'd be exhausting, maybe even impossible. In addition to that, this whole 'clearing party' had come out of nowhere.
"Is that even possible, Thatch? We're talking hours of dungeon crawling, here. It would take a toll on any party to do even one dungeon...per week. How is this being split up?" Edmond asked respectfully, but it was obvious that he didn't believe in the plan.
"Six and Six, Edmond. Each day, one party will raid the floor, while the other party rests and prepares for their next shift, the next day. It's going to be tough, Edmond, I don't pretend it won't be, but it's our only choice. Khale could be watching at every turn, but the shorter the distance between us and him, the less he has at his disposal. The six on six method offers some of the gunners to "sit out" on certain raids, so to speak. They're in reserve in case...something happens to our main team... "
Edmond thought of Thatch's comments. He thought of the blazing red eyes that stared him down, both in the ravine, and in his own dreams. The sad truth given to him by Asuna and Kirito rang in his head. Things were hopeless, but there was no way to break it to Thatch. He wanted to tell him that sitting still was the only sure fire way to stay safe...but he knew he could never convince him without telling him the truth. The silent lies were agonizing. In the end, he decided to go along with Thatch's plan. After all, Ratchnot might prove to have some unknown useful information, after all.
"Who makes up the first party?" Edmond asked, trying to convince himself that everything would be solved by Thatch's plan.
"Myself, Susan, Narok, You, possibly Ratchnot, and a gunner who i've yet to determine. Ratchnot seems shaky, but we need to make him our asset as soon as possible." Thatch walked over to the window that hung over the bed that Edmond had recovered in. " Kitami and Klein will accompany four other gunners on the second raiding party. Anyone remaining here will watch over the children, pull security, and direct any players who make it through the first floor."
Edmond immediately disliked the plan. Kitami wasn't going to be with him? No. It wouldn't work. Edmond knew he'd constantly be worried about her safety, thus putting the safety of everyone else in his party in danger.
"Edmond, I know you'd rather be with Kitami. But for your own good, i'm having you separated. Trust Klein, he's the best leader I could ask for to handle this task. He's going to make sure she's fine." Thatch, as though he could read Edmond's mind turned back around and spoke with a very sympathetic voice. "She's willing to fight, Edmond. I know you are too. You're a gunner, and we take care of our own. She's in good hands. I promise."
Edmond still didn't like it. Even if she was completely safe (which he still wasn't convinced of) this plan would mean that the two would almost never see one another. It would be as if five minutes a night, to change shifts, would be all they'd get. But...and deep down Edmond knew this, the mission couldn't be clouded with feelings. A job had to be done...Edmond knew, and apparently so did Kitami. Edmond could only nod, pretending to approve.
Thatch nodded. "Edmond, I want to get every player in this world out of here. I'm willing to go to any length, regardless of what Khale is going to throw at us. Tonight, we're going to start taking our stand. Are you ready?"
Edmond considered this question. Thatch's selflessness was amazing. Here was a guy with no mobility in his arms or legs, fighting to get the ONE thing that made him feel alive, destroyed, and all for the sake of hundreds of thousands of people he'd never even met. On the other hand, Edmond knew he wasn't ready...but he was going to have to try to be.
"You and the gunners chose me to wear the mask...i'm ready." Edmond saluted Thatch, who returned it with a serious face.
Then Thatch offered something to Edmond that he'd not yet offered: his hand. Edmond looked down, slightly confused, and slowly returned the gesture with a tight grip. Then, out of nowhere, Thatch brought Edmond in for an embrace. Edmond was extremely confused, but accepted it. Then, Thatch spoke.
"You're like a brother to us, Edmond. We're all leaving...one way or the other, all of us, or none of us." Thatch then stepped back and nodded, awaiting Edmond's approval.
Edmond felt motivation and a sense of brotherhood well up inside of him. He gave a nod. This nod sealed the deal: He was going to war...with what? With who? He didn't know. But for the first time, he was starting to feel wholly confident.
Just then, the door to the room flew open. A very enthusiastic and excited Klein came barreling in. "He talked! We got him!"
Edmond and Thatch quickly exchanged glances and immediately began sprinting towards the hall stairs. Ratchnot had been cracked? Edmond felt adrenaline pumping, excitement was flowing through him. In his head be begged for Ratchnot to have divulged a plan to get them all out.
When they all reached the bottom floor, the gunners all stepped aside, leading to the basement. Thatch and Edmond immediately made their way through. Klein threw open the entrance to the basement and let Thatch go first. When the three got to the bottom, a very wide eyed and terrified Ratchnot was sitting in a corner of the room with his knees to his chest. Susan was standing with her arms crossed, with a healing crystal in one hand, and a dagger in the other. She was smiling from ear to ear.
"Do I deliver? Or do I deliver? You owe me big time for this one, Thatch." Susan said as she looked down at Ratchnot. Edmond looked at the two items she was holding, and knew that there was some extremely painful explanation for Ratchnot talking.
"Good job Susan. We do owe you." Thatch nodded at Susan and she stepped aside, allowing him to walk in front of Ratchnot. He knelt down, and stared Ratchnot in the eyes. Ratchnot had obviously been "coaxed" pretty seriously to divulging his information. He was shaking with fear as he looked up. Thatch stared him down for a second. There was no sympathy in his eyes. "So...how do we get out of here, Ratchnot?"
Ratchnot continued to shake. But then a smirk appeared on his face. "Y-you, c-can't. You're all going to die h-here!" Through his demented state he laughed like a lunatic. Thatch stepped back, looked at Susan, and nodded. Then he looked down at Ratchnot again. "We'll play your game then." Thatch stepped back and allowed Susan to walked over.
"You don't learn, do you?" Without warning, Susan slammed her fist down, sending the dagger in her hand plunging into Ratchnot's skull. His eyes went wide and started to roll back in his head, as turquoise shards began to come from the wound. He made choking noises as if he were about to choke to death. Then, without warning, Susan ripped the blade out of his skull, sending his healthbar plummeting into the red. Before Edmond could comprehend what was going on, he saw Susan slam the red health crystal into the side of Ratchnot's head.
"Heal!" Susan screamed as the crystal exploded, grabbing Ratchnot's healthbar before it bottomed out, and brining it back to green. Ratchnot's eyes were still wide open, and now he was shaking even more.
Edmond felt like he was going to puke. But at the same time, the release he felt as he saw one of Khale's minions being paid back was amazing. His fists clenched as adrenaline pumped through him.
Thatch stepped back over, taking Susan's knife as he walked. He knelt down and pointed the knife at Ratchnot, who recoiled in complete terror. "Well?"
"O-okay! But i'm being honest! Khale can't be stopped. You, me, everyone you know, is all going to die. His administrative properties are locked too tightly to be undone." Ratchnot said this in such a panicked tone that it was obvious that he was telling the truth.
"Nothing at all? So, you mean to tell me, You gave a diabolical, power-obsessed, and trustless lunatic complete and total power?" Thatch held the knife above Ratchnot's head.
"W-wait! You can't stop him! But..." Ratchnot slammed his eyes shut and started sobbing into his hands and knees.
"But what?" Thatch said as he lowered the knife.
"He's afraid of one of you...before this all began...before we locked the system...We saw a player with an extremely high data output. It doesn't mean that person can stop Khale, but it does mean that he's got the best chance."
Edmond's eyes widened. He knew Ratchnot was talking about him. If he spoke, his cover would be completely blown, and he'd have an extreme amount of explaining to do. On the other hand, though...Edmond secretly wished for this. He would be forced to tell the truth.
"Who? Did Khale kill him yet?" Thatch leaned in closer.
Ratchnot looked up. He scanned the room until he came to Edmond. He slowly raised his hand and pointed a shaky finger towards him. "Y-you! You're the one!"
Thatch turned around and looked at Edmond. The secret was out. Edmond was prepared to tell him everything. There was no other choice now.
"Edmond? What's he talking about?" Thatch sounded as though he didn't believe Ratchnot.
Edmond thought about playing dumb, be he decided against it. Khale was probably watching him right now anyway, so keeping Thatch in the dark for any longer would only endanger them all further.
"He's right. It's an extremely long story...but in short, he's right. Kayaba told me." Edmond nodded to Thatch. Thatch stood there for a while. Edmond felt the tension increase in the air. He was waiting to be called a liar. He was also waiting to be forced to give his gasmask back. There was no room for lying by omission in a brotherhood. He watched as Thatch slowly looked back down to Ratchnot.
"What do you mean? What is he the one of?" Thatch asked in a monotone.
"I mean that if the two players' data should collide in the system, the game could possibly crash. It wouldn't be able to handle the massive data output...it would kill both players, but the system would cease, and everyone's Nervegear would be disabled..." Ratchnot said as he kept his eyes on the knife in Thatch's hand.
Thatch looked back at Edmond with a confused look. Then he shook his head. "Not an option. A gunner isn't going to kill himself. There's got to be some other way." Thatch then knelt down and grabbed Ratchnot by his shirt, pulling him onto his feet. He pulled him to eye level and slammed him against the wall behind him. "There's got to be another way. Right?"
"N-no! I told you! There's no way to undo the coding that gives him his power! The only way that the overload would work is because of some glitch that not even I could figure out! Only one other player ever commanded that much data, and that was Akihiko Kayaba!" Ratchnot said this frantically as he feared for his life.
"If that's the case that means you're of no use to us, right?" Thatch said this without any emotion. "Right? you're completely useless to us?"
Ratchnot didn't answer and merely continued to shake in fear. Thatch closed his eyes and sighed, dropping Ratchnot to fall back onto the floor. He then turned to Susan. "Kill him."
Edmond's eyes shot open. He'd never seen Thatch this way. Normally he was fighting and doing everything possible to keep life preserved. But now, he was giving a command to end it.
"With pleasure, I was out of health crystals anyway." Susan took the knife back from Thatch and walked over to Ratchnot, ready to wipe him from existence. Ratchnot closed his eyes, awaiting the blow; he shook uncontrollably. Susan raised the knife.
"Stop!" Edmond yelled. Something inside of him couldn't allow Ratchnot to be disposed of. He looked at Thatch with extremely serious eyes. Thatch got the message and shook his head at Susan, giving her the signal to back off. Edmond then walked over, and knelt down by Ratchnot. "Can you at least stop him from seeing us?"
Ratchnot looked at Edmond. The two stared each other down, and Ratchnot eventually sighed deeply, as if he felt like he could trust Edmond. He nodded slightly and took a deep breath.
"...Maybe."