(A/N): Hello everyone, I did not forget to post this past week, it's just that Mother's Day was a little involved, and as a result I was nowhere near my computer this past weekend. I am here though. I'd also like to address something in regard to the storyline. I know it's been intensive for a while now, and there are some other aspects that need to be fleshed out in terms of relationships and character development. I will be shifting to focus on those soon, just need to finish this little arc while I have it all in my head. So hold in there for me, and enjoy.
Chapter 28: Dissention in the Ranks
The following days found us training incessantly, and true to my orders, no one made any moves against PoH or any other criminal players. After clearing Floors 60 through 64 dungeons, we decided to finally rejoin the frontlines and partake in the search for the Floor 65 boss room. While we were still behind, our progress and recovery was astounding by comparison to those who were fighting alongside us. For consistent frontliners, their skills were lower than I expected, though I had to admit that my guild's standards were higher than most. The funniest part was watching Asuna's face as she tried to pull her men out of the trance our fighting put them in.
It was like they had never seen a coordinated assault by a three-man team, or a strategic attack by a one-man army. More often than not we attempted to attack as a group in order to abate any potential ill will towards us for showing off or making them feel inferior, though they all knew what we were capable of full well. Kirito even decided to join us and with him jumping into the fray every now and then, it was quite an entertaining dungeon clearing. Challenges and bets were thrown around quite a bit between the four of us as we played with the monsters in the dungeon, though that didn't seem to make the Lightning Flash too happy. Not in the slightest.
"Are you going to keep playing around like this is some kind of game?"
"Well technically…"
I narrowly dodged the right heel that struck right where my own right foot had been.
"No need to get feisty, come on you'll make Kirito jealous."
Asuna and Kirito began to stutter and both blushed brightly while Caine, Lucifer, and I began to laugh hysterically. It really was too easy to get under their skins, and it was almost cruel of me to take advantage of that…almost.
"Anyways, what's the point of fighting tirelessly unless you try and get some satisfaction out of it? Besides, you know stress kills almost as much as monsters. Uh huh, that's right."
Asuna was so stunned by my response that she simply stared at me while Kirito just shook his head. I began to laugh while the rest of the frontliners moved past us and further into the dungeon. Caine and Lucifer moved forward, having not shared in my humor. The rest of the dungeon proved to be more of the same and after another three hours of clearing, we stopped to rest at a safe zone in the middle of the labyrinth. I decided to study the map data I had acquired while I mindlessly ate the food I'd brought along. The layout was more or less like one of the mazes you'd find in a puzzle book. Which meant plenty of dead-ends.
"Find anything interesting?"
I looked up to find Asuna gazing down at me with some kind of sandwich in her hand.
"Not really. I'm just trying to see if I can't get a feel for this dungeon. I would love to know how much of it we've covered so I can figure out where the boss room is most likely located, but that isn't info I can readily come by, so I guess I'll have to rely on my gut."
"You say that like you're the only one looking for it. You do remember that you're with a whole scouting party, right?"
I shrugged and looked back at my map as I took another bite. It wouldn't do for me to tell her that I only considered the party to be of five people. The rest were just distractions, for us and the mobs. This, however, was not the attitude a guild leader should have, let alone express aloud for others to hear. Instead, I received a kick to the shin by a slighted swordswoman.
"What the hell was that for?"
"For ignoring me. Geeze, you can be such an ass."
"Doesn't mean you need to kick me so much. Why aren't you bothering Kirito or anyone else for that matter? I can't be the only one you have eyes for in here."
Asuna blushed for the millionth time, and I rolled away before she could decide on how she'd retaliate.
"I'm going to scout on ahead. You go on and enjoy your meal here."
I walked away waving over my shoulder while Asuna fumed. Moments later I sensed Lucifer and Caine following and we made our way down a path I thought was promising. After so long in the dungeon, the mobs had become tiresome and we no longer toyed with them, instead electing to dispense with them as soon as they spawned. After half an hour or so, I got a feeling that we were close, and no sooner did we round the next corner then the boss door stood before us, as sinister as the 64 before it.
"I'll notify Lady Second and mark the location, let's head back."
"You don't want to take a look inside? We're already here and it's going to have to happen before we assemble a raid party."
"I'd rather err on the side of caution with these rooms. Sooner or later we're going to be unable to scout ahead, and I'd rather not get screwed just yet. We'll assemble a raid party first and have a tentative plan before we scout it out in case we can't make it back out of the room."
"Seems like overkill to me."
"It would be Lucifer, but we've been out of the raiding game for quite a while, so I think it's best we leave the scouting to those who've been doing it thus far."
Lucifer shrugged and started heading back toward the safe zone. Caine lingered in front of the door. I was a few feet away before I noticed, and as I turned back to call for him, he reached forward and pushed the door open. Before I could process what he was doing, he walked through and activated the boss room.
"Damn it all what did I say? Lucifer!"
He turned and rushed after me as I followed Caine into the room. By the time I entered, the lanterns had already lit the room and revealed the ancient looking throne room. At the far end of the room stood a ten-foot-tall knight clad in thick armor and bearing a nasty looking broadsword. Above his head stood the four health bars and title: Atorus of Stenholm. His eyes lit up red as he started to lumber forward toward Caine. I groaned in frustration as Lucifer and I aligned ourselves on either side of him.
"What's your next bright idea? You know we can't take this guy on all by ourselves."
"No, but we can assess his fighting speed and initial tactics. Notice that there aren't any starting mobs? Very important info. As far as I can tell, it also looks like he might have another weapon on his back, so there's an attack pattern switch at some point. Here he comes."
Atorus swung down with his massive sword and decimated the area we had occupied seconds prior. From what I could tell, he was a heavy hitter, but that came at the expense of his speed. Caine was right about the second weapon. As it turned out, there was a spear running the length of his back that promised speed and range. The only issue now was when he'd pull it out to use.
"Alright! I think we have enough, let's bail."
No argument arose from my order, and moments later we were standing on the other side of the boss door while it slowly closed on Atorus. Without any discussion, we turned and headed toward the safe zone while I wrote up a summary for Asuna. Though Caine had been right about our need for information and it saved time and manpower for us to take care of it, his disregard for my orders was irritating. He hadn't said a word since the encounter and walked a few paces ahead of us, lost in his own thoughts. Asuna's response came soon afterward in almost all caps and using every insult she could think of. I barely skimmed it.
"Leave him for now Abaddon. He's still having issues with your last set of orders. Not that I blame him."
Lucifer and I looked at one another for a few moments before I turned to look at Caine. I knew neither of them were in favor of my decision to leave PoH be, but I would not have expected Caine to so openly display his anger. It was unlike him.
It didn't take us long to reach the safe zone and find only Asuna and Kirito waiting for us, the former barely containing her distressing rage. I took a moment to consider using a teleport crystal, but before I could allow the idea to settle, a fist was connecting with my face. I flew clear across the room and into the wall with a resounding reminder that the wall was, in fact, an 'Immortal Object'. If we hadn't been in a safe zone, I'm sure I would have been close to dying, if not dead.
"What the hell is your problem? You were supposed to just scout ahead a bit, not take on the boss all by yourselves."
"Wait a second, I can almost make out your face through the stars circling my head. Holy shit woman, give a guy some warning next time."
Asuna looked like she was about to punch me again before Caine spoke up.
"Knock it off Asuna. It wasn't his intention to enter the boss room. I entered it myself and they followed. It was a waste of time for us to simply return and set up another scouting party for the boss. We were already there and more than capable of doing it ourselves."
Asuna turned and looked at Caine with a face of confusion and disbelief. Other than passing comments and random conversations, I couldn't think of a time when Caine had ever addressed her directly like he had. Let alone with such anger and distaste.
"I don't need you to cover for me Caine. All actions taken by the guild are my responsibility. Regardless, it is far out of line for a player to reprimand me for doing exactly what we came out here to do. I can fight my own battles."
Asuna's head whipped back to me looking just as stunned as before. Kirito approached and put a hand on her shoulder, then shook his head. There seemed to be a silent conversation passing between them and in another moment, Asuna sighed heavily and allowed Kirito to lead her away. With that irritation taken care of, all that was left was Caine. Looking at him, I could feel the intense desire to speak up.
"Go on Caine. Let's hear it. This pouty silence has gotten old."
Lucifer groaned and sat on the ground as Caine stared at me.
"You want to know what the problem is Abaddon? The problem is I don't know if I can trust your judgement or follow your orders. I think what happened in Ronbaru got under your skin and is making you scared."
"You think that watching PoH slaughter five people right in front of me made me scared? That experiencing absolute helplessness has made me complacent? That every single fucking moment I'm not resisting the urge to scream until my throat bursts? Is that what you think?"
I don't know when I climbed to my feet, or when I crossed the room to close the distance between us, but we now stood toe to toe, glaring into each other's eyes. My rage was searing and uncontrollable, making my body shake.
"Then why not fight? Why aren't we out there hunting that bastard down right now? Explain this to me Abaddon."
"Damn it Caine. How stupid are you? What the fuck do you think my first priority is? Think hard and as far back as you can. What are we to each other? Above all else, you and Lucifer are my little brothers. The rest of the people in this game be damned, I'd do whatever it took to make sure you two made it out of here. We're not out there because right now I know one or more of us will die if we do. Your anger is blinding you so completely that you are ignoring basic commonsense. How can I expect you to fight in a manner that won't get you killed?"
Caine looked as if I had slapped him.
"Believe me, if I had the opportunity, I would reach down that twisted son of a bitch's throat and rip his heart out to show it to him. There is no end to the rage that fucker makes me feel, and I would love nothing more than to run blindly into battle against him, but there are other things that matter. Every single person in this game has instilled their trust in us, all of our friends in here and our family outside have gifted us their love and support. If we ignore these things and throw away our lives, we violate the very purpose we serve."
I rested my hand on Caine's shoulder before cupping his neck and pulling our foreheads together. Tears formed small rivulets down my face as I smiled.
"Little brother, I have failed you both in the most horrible fashion. I allowed you to sacrifice a piece of yourself and experience a darkness that will remain with you forever. For this, I can never atone, but please don't force me to make a mistake that outstrips even that. If I were to issue the orders you want so badly, I'd be spitting on the pain and suffering you two have endured. I've had one task, one mission since landing in Aincrad and that is bringing us all out of here together, and if I were to lose either of you…"
Caine had diverted his eyes and looked at the ground in shame. Lucifer was looking at a spot a few feet in front of him, but his gaze was far away. Caine fell to his knees staring at his hands while tears fell heavy from his eyes. My tears flowed freely as I beheld what I had turned my own brother into. I robbed him of a piece of himself and turned him into an amalgamation of pain, vengeance, and sorrow. I lowered myself and embraced Caine while he allowed himself to cry. Lucifer slowly walked over to us and we huddled together in our joint pain.
"I will bring all three of us out of here. PoH will die in here. We will be happy again. These things I will make a reality even if it takes everything I have and then some. I will not allow this world or the people in it to take anything else from us. Now tell me you two, who the hell are we?"
Caine's hands clenched as we all stood.
"We're the Reapers of Aincrad. The most badass three-man team in this world."
"I don't know about you two, but I'm the most badass in every world."
Caine and I burst into laughter at Lucifer's ridiculous claim.
"Yeah sure, whatever you have to tell yourself."
"Screw you guys, I'm leaving."
We continued out of the dungeon laughing and joking like we didn't have a care in the world. It was pleasant to finally have it all out in the open and there was now a lightness about us that had long since been missing. We were certain we'd find Asuna and Kirito waiting for us at the dungeon's exit, awaiting an explanation for what had happened. To her great disappointment, they would receive nothing more than:
"Not much."
Of the Floor 65 boss fight, there was not much to report. A raid team was assembled in short order which was a slight surprise to us, though a small wonder when considering that the frontliners have been doing little else while we were hunting, moping, and playing catch up. While the fight was typical of what we expected, I found that for the first time in a while we were humbled. Heathcliff demonstrated leadership that utilized the strengths of every member at his disposal and for once we weren't as awesome as we led ourselves to believe we were.
There were continued reports of increased red player activity arising on several floors. My prediction proved correct much to my distaste and my guild's increased irritation, but despite this we held fast and awaited the report that would lead us right to PoH. He was fishing for us, but this time we weren't going to be lured, it was his turn. Unfortunately, he wasn't rising to the bait as easily as we had hoped. It wasn't easy ignoring so many pleas for help and allowing so many people to be hurt or killed, but finding PoH was the only way to stop it all.
"It's taking all of my patience to not start screaming. When is that little bastard going to show himself? I thought he wanted to play another game or some shit like that."
Caine was pacing back and forth through the living room while Lucifer and I sat watching with similar irritation, though not entirely for the same reason.
"Would you cut it out already? We're all tired of him hiding out, but at least we aren't acting so damn annoying."
Caine directed a glare at Lucifer, and though I would have to break them up, it had at least stopped his incessant pacing. I groaned to myself as I got up to stand in between them.
"Guys, cut it out alr—"
The front door burst open and the Lightning Flash barged into the living room panting.
"I guess manners are below the likes of the great Lady Second. We humble peasants welcome you so joyously."
Asuna took the time to show me just how irritated she was before catching her breath.
"We don't…. have time… for this. We've received intel on PoH."
None of us moved as the information sank in. Then a grin broke over Lucifer's face as he jumped up from the sofa. He cracked his knuckles while my hands clenched.
"It's about time that little shit slipped up. Let's kick some ass."
"The Commander is calling a meeting of all the top players. With the red player activity being what it is, we can no longer ignore this. It's time we put a stop to it all."
Lucifer and Caine both turned to me, determination burning in their eyes as they awaited my command. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, allowing myself to relive every moment I've ever interacted with PoH and the rest of Laughing Coffin. To the endless months we spent hunting them across so many floors. This time, we were going to take them all down, once and for all.
"Reapers of Aincrad, gear up. We're going hunting."
(A/N): So I'm thinking another three chapters or so until I shift into some character development and relationship stuff, as well as some other stuff I have in mind. Hope you all liked the chapter and continue to follow along. Rate and review please. I love your feedback. Until next week.
