Chapter 90 - The "Breaker" Returns
"Hi holy thief...am I interrupting you from your chat with a mortal?" Lamia asked.
"..." the female teen replied with looking back with a neutral face. Blinking, she answered with a calm tone.
"Hi Lamia...I'm just talking with my...boyfriend...can I help you?"
"Hmm...maybe both of you can help me," the water demon stated sweetly then pulled a chair. Placing it right beside Rogue's chair, she sat down to be touching shoulder to shoulder with the junior.
"I'm looking for someone," she began then turned to the female teen. Smiling and leaning her head on her right shoulder, she continued.
"I know you know who that person is holy thief...does your mate know? Or should I ask?"
"...are you speaking about the breaker...or someone else?" Renee asked feeling goosebumps rattle all over her skin. She could see the nails on the water demon grow slowly and look dangerously sharp.
"I don't know anyone else other than the girls I am with...so it is the Breaker."
"...I see...DK...doesn't know who the Breaker is."
"Well...I'll just have to let him in on the loop," Lamia mentioned then turned to the window monitor. Giving the same perky smile from before, her eyes were less intense.
"Hi there! My name is Lamia. I'm a friend of Rogue. It is nice to meet you!" she said cheerfully and gave Rogue's arm a playful squeeze.
[...Hi. I'm D.K., short for Dark Knight. It is nice to meet you too] Juan replied smiling with interest.
'...don't get charmed you blockhead...this is obviously a set-up,' Renee thought while keeping a straight face.
"Both me and Rogue have a close friend that we are trying to find named the Breaker. Last we saw of our friend was around Aero-Island dressed in all black and was a gunslinger. Have you seen anyone like that being in Hell?"
[A gunslinger? No. There isn't someone here that uses a gun...but if I see someone that matches your description, I'll let Renee know. Unless you want to know too, I can message you if I had your messaging ID]
"Sure!" she said then just blinked. Both females saw his eyes turn to the left and accessed his menu screen. Seeing something, he stared for a few seconds in what looked like surprise. Blinking and looking back at the monitor, he seemed motivated.
[...got it. I'd be happy to help find that friend of yours. Let me go inform my guys on what we'll do next] DK stated. Turning around, he walked confidently toward a group of players nearby. The video monitor stayed on and followed him.
"...what did you just send him...?" Rogue asked in a stern low tone looking forward.
"Something along with a direct line to communicate to me," Lamia answered back in the same tone but was smiling more. She hadn't let go of her arm, but the sharp claws were retracting.
"Define something."
"Men become so persuaded when offering something that motivates their head with no brain...you should know thief."
'...damn her...and damn him too...' Renee thought frowning hard for a couple of seconds. Mentally shaking her head, she tried to calm down.
"What are you...a succubus now?"
"No...but you could say...I need the gunslinger more than ever."
"Why? So you can be a whore to him too?"
"Heehee...are you jealous? Want me to give you a good time too?" Lamia asked amused. Moving her head up off the female teen's shoulder, she pressed her cheek against hers.
"No...I'm not...I don't swing that way," she replied coldly.
"Awww...but Rogue...it could be so much fun," the water demon whined a little. Rubbing her cheek back and forth against the Renee's, she looked seductively back at the video monitor.
"Don't you guys agree?"
'...she didn't just...' Rogue thought looking back at the window.
All five members of Juan's team and himself were staring hard at the video screen. Seeing all of their intrigued and focused faces made her irritated. Frowning, a couple of the members caught on and cleared their throat. It seemed to make the other males come back to reality. The ax wielding leader gave a small fist pump and looked confident at the window.
[Of course we all do. My team will scout the Hell terrain. We'll let you know if we find anything]
"Hee hee. Thanks guys! You're all the best!" Lamia cheerfully stated. Seeing all the boys react to her perkiness, the thief closed the video screen. At the same time, she pulled something out and pressed something against the water demon's neck. It made a small sizzle on her skin when Renee pulled the long knife back a tad.
"...start talking...or I will slice your head off," Rogue threatened quietly. Staring at the demon unamused, Lamia just gave tighter smile.
"If you point that nasty weapon of yours away...I might be willing to let you know a thing or two."
"...fine..." she said then pulled her blade away. As she was holstering it, the water demon scooted her chair over to be facing each other. The small perky smile came back which made Renee want to scowl at her. Instead, the female teen sat quietly and waited.
Reaching the other side of the rift, Jin was still being pulled by the grappling tool mechanism. His eyes instantly saw the vastness of crimson bedrock and heat from Hell fire in thw background. Looking below him, he was up probably three stories. Glancing up and seeing where the hook was attached to, there was a small platform above where it was. Reorienting himself to impact the towering thick pillar with his feet, he landed hard.
Immediately, he pulled himself up and grasped the edge of the platform. Climbing up, he rolled over onto his back on the flat surface. Staring at the ceiling, it seemed to be multiple stories up or more to even reach it. Feeling the scythe begin to move again, the sophomore slowly got up. Feeling mild aches and pains, he stood up and dusted himself.
When the weapon was finished with its morphing, it changed back to being a scythe. Putting the bottom of the silver handle on the ground, the black blade grew out from the top end. Once complete, Jin made sure he had a firm grip. Look around his small space, there was nothing indicating a way to get down. Glancing over the edge in four directions, there were smaller floating islands that descended. Looking at how far it went down, it continued through a valley that seemed to go deeper into Hell's domain.
"How deep does Hell go to?" Jin asked as he leaped to the first island. Landing, he prepared to jump to the next one.
'...more than you can fathom...' his reaper self answered.
"..." the male teen replied after landing the next island. "Figures."
'...'
"If you have something to say, say it."
'...as a reaper...you can hover down...without acting like a mortal...'
"...I see...would you prefer that?"
'...what would you do if I gave an answer?'
"Depending on what it is, I'll either agree or disagree."
'...why this feeble display of agility?'
"...well...I assume demons can detect demonic power...as well as warriors that are trapped in Hell...I rather not be seen by either," Jin explained.
He heard it hiss then give a long pause of silence. After going down some islands, he was almost near where the first ground or floor landscape was. However being in the center of the valley, he couldn't jump the distance. Taking another glance at how deep the valley went, it looked like a massive hole in the earth. Sighing through his nose, he continued.
'...statement...makes sense...but unsure reason is to avoid detection."
"...you think too much..."
'...you think too little...'
"Shut up."
'...heeeee...what name have you decided?'
"...well..." he stated before leaping down. Landing, his legs started to feel a little numb.
"I thought of shortening the name of this...weapon I am using...so Scy."
'...Scy...a name to symbolize our tool of Damnation...I don't oppose.'
"...yay..." Jin responded with an eyeroll. Looking down again, he leaped to the next small platform.
Driving to the town, Derek made a left on a street. Getting onto the main road used to go in and out for the locals, he headed for the Ainsleys household. Sitting in the passenger seat was Ami. Glancing at her, she looked forward with an anxious, but determined expression. Seeing his daughter starting to display more emotions made him feel that recovery was working.
"I am still curious on how you will find him my daughter," he stated slowing down to a stop at a red traffic light. Seeing cars pass by perpendicular to them, he glanced at her.
"If he has left the house and does not answer his phone, how are you sure you know where he will be?"
"...I just have...a feeling where he is currently..." Selbith answered though didn't look at him or change her expression. "I understand it is irrational...however...it is the only thing that allows me to be poise at the moment."
"And what if you didn't have that feeling? Would you see that what you are doing is folly?"
"..." Ami reacted with frowning at the windshield. "Despite your claim that I am being emotional...I do not appreciate your opinion."
"So you do see that you are not acting with a sound state of mind," Derek commented. Seeing the green light, he moved the car forward.
"Regardless of what you say mor...father...you and the family agreed to my proposal," she corrected herself.
"...yes...I, as well as your mother and sisters, agreed to your deal," her father began then gave a small smirk. "It was...very favorable to us...but what I want to know...is why you are playing just a high stakes on this."
"...playing...a high stakes...?" Selbith asked to buy more time.
"From what you are betting on...and to what you will lose...you are giving up living with that boy."
"..." the female teen replied continuing to frown. Turning her head to the passenger window, her face went into a scowl.
"And because of that...and when he is recovered...he will have no job left."
'...foolish mortal...we shall see who lost this deal already...' Selbith thought feeling her face relax.
After several minutes of driving, they passed through the suburbs. Going through the rural area and coming up to the street where the Ainsleys live, Derek turned right. Getting on the road and seeing the first house on the left, he pulled to the curb. Stopping the car and turning off the car, both got out. Wondering if his daughter would rush to the front door, she walked calmly around the car.
Following her to the porch, he looked to see who was in the driveway. Seeing that both Samantha and Alex were home, he could talk to them about the change of plans. Focusing what was in front of him, both walked up the steps. Getting to the front door, she rang the doorbell. Hearing someone walking to the front door on the other side, it opened.
"...?" Mr. Ainsley reacted seeing who was there. Blinking and staring at them for a moment, he spoke.
"Derek...Ami...what an unexpected surprise."
"Afternoon Alex...may we come in?" Mr. Felmort asked.
"...my home was invaded by shooters and my son is missing again," the man mentioned sounding stressed and tried. "I was going to call to suggest that your daughter stay at your home for a while."
"...well now...what a strange coincidence," Derek mentioned with a small smirk. "Part of the reason for visiting is on the same subject matter."
"...?" Alex responded with a look of confusion. All three heard a voice.
"Alex? Who is it? Is it the person to fix the door?" Samantha called from the living room.
"It is Derek and Ami," he replied turning around to look at her. Seeing her stiffen a little, she blinked. Instead of saying something, she started heading towards the door. Reaching it, she saw them and internally did not want to be bothered by either of them.
"Hello Samantha...how are you feeling?" Mr. Felmort asked with a neutral expression.
"Could be better," she commented with an antsy look on her face. "Something the matter? Are you finished with your family day?"
"...you could say it revolves around your missing son and the aspect of my daughter staying here."
"May I go into that room to look for something?" Selbith asked tensely. She pointed at the guest room which caused both Ainsleys to blink and look left. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, they turned back.
"Is there something inside that you need?" Mrs. Ainsley asked.
"Yes."
"...sure...I guess," Alex answered scratching the back of his head.
Seeing the female teen give a small nod, she walked with stride toward the room. The three adults watched as she reached the door. Pushing the open door a little and stepping inside, she closed it quietly. Samantha turned to Derek and saw him have mild smug look on his face. Remember that same look made the mother frown.
"What's going on Derek?" she demanded. Without hesitation, he rose his hands up in defense.
"Please...I am not the one that demanded to come here...Ami did."
"What? She got tired of you already?" she asked with a small smirk. All it did was make Mr. Felmort snort.
"On the contrary...my daughter proposed a deal that would make her...move out of here and stay with my family...starting today," he commented with a smirk.
"...?" Alex replied with a lone eye brow raise.
"...she what!?" Samantha repeated quietly with surprise.
"Yes...that is the same expression my family had...though more pleasantly surprised."
"...what about you?" Mr. Ainsley asked curious.
"..." Derek answered and spowly lost his mirth expression. It changed to his neutral one.
"To say the least...suspicious."
"...?" both Ainsley responded blinking a couple of times.
"May we discuss this topic...further in your kitchen...instead of at the door?" he asked.
The other two adults blinked again then slowly backed up. Stepping inside and closing the door, Derek noticed that the handle and lock mechanism were holed. Assuming that the shooters broke in by firing a gun at the door, he looked for something else to secure the front door. Samantha stepped forward and grabbed a chair nearby. Seeing her place it underneath the handle, it seemed to be sturdy enough.
"I'll get everyone something to drink," she stated then turned around. Both men followed her into the kitchen.
Once Selbith was in guest room, she immediately noticed something different. A fair sent of black powder was in the air in which a window was open. The bed had a few black marks that were scattered. Getting close to one, it was a burnt hole that seemed to go to the floor. Standing up and glancing to her right, the closet doors had the same markings.
Shaking her head, she looked for the helmet that would take her to the E.D.E. world. Finding it on the dresser, she grabbed it and went back to the bed. Seeing the power charger and cord was still in the same place, she plugged it into the head gear. Setting it on the bed and standing back up, she walked a few steps away before turning around. Watching it and waiting for Eve to lash out again, a couple of minutes went by with nothing happening.
'...if Jin has already traveled to the other realm...then the others will be distracted...' Ami reasoned in her mind.
Approaching the bed and sitting down next to the VR head piece, nothing happened. Seeing the interior glow inside the helmet be a soft sky blue, no change to red came. Picking up the helmet with her hands and lying down on the bed, she stared at its inside. Feeling her inners tighten and remembering almost being captured, she shook her head. Frowning at it, she put the head gear on.
'I have a feeling...that thief will try to find him first,' Selbith thought disliking that sensation. '...I...will be the one...that will hunt him down.'
The glowing lights slowly faded away as she felt her vision blur for a couple of seconds. Blinking what seemed like time slowed down, she slowly opened her eyes. Within a couple of moments, the gray mist started to come from the ground and around her. Reaching her, the black background became half filled with the dense fog. Seeing the floating icons come up, she immediately selected the one that represented the access into the game.
'...when I find you Jin...' she thought gravely as the environment slowly changed to white. Waiting for several seconds, the sensation of free falling came. Tilting her head down to look, Ami saw that she possessed the character she created. Glancing at and seeing the town below, she gave a determined expression.
'You will never...ever...separate from me,' she mentioned in her mind. Slowly landing in the town of Stratnum, the female gunslinger stood up straight. Observing her surroundings, she didn't change her expression despite what was occurring.
'Now...where are you Jin?'
"...really...?" Rogue asked looking at Lamia with a deadpan face. "Is that an actual reason?"
"...mmm...maybe," the water demon answered with a sly smile. "Do you think I would actually tell you when you are seeking the Breaker as well?"
"Is this a competition or a threat?"
"Threat is such a nasty word," she began than leaned forward. "I prefer...friendly advice."
"Ha. That's a laugh," the female teen remarked and frowned. "And what will you do if I-"
"..." Lamia reacted with immediately turning her head and body 135 degrees left. Staring at something ahead of her, Renee didn't see anything other than a bookcase next to a wall. Seeing the demon turn back to her, she stood up.
"If you don't take my advice...then have eyes at the back of your head," she threatened with intense glowing eyes. Blinking, she went back to her bubbly personality. Stepping forward and giving the thief a hug, she stepped back.
"Something came and I got to run. Let's do this again soon! Bye holy thief," Lamia said cheerfully and headed out of the pub.
"..." Rogue commented watching her leave. After the water demon left, she let out a tired and irritated sigh.
'If Lamia is this intense about finding Jin...and is acting independent...I think she is acting on her own...then what are the others doing?' she thought then shook her head. 'Not getting side tracked here...time to find where you are.'
Accessing her menu again, she went to the messaging section. Seeing the screen show what looked to be a blend of email, instant messaging, and texting options, she looked at her contacts. Scrolling though the handful see had, she didn't have one that was named Jin. Thinking about it, she never added him to her contact lists in the game. Sighing to herself again, she went to the search tab.
'...okay...let's do a general search of gunslingers,' Renee thought selecting the category. To her surprise, there were a dozen or so players that were that character type.
'...well...I am sure Jin's playing display put interest back into that warrior type...anyway...he should be on here...' she continued. Reaching the end, she blinked and veered back a little.
'What the...where is he?' the thief questioned in confusion. Going through the list again, the same result came. Trying to figure out what that meant, her eyes widen a little.
'...does that mean...he isn't in the game?' the female teen pondered feeling a sudden rush of anxiety.
'No...that doesn't make any sense!' she semi-yelled in her mind and thought hard about the brainstorming paper she did.
'He wouldn't run away...if his buttons were all pushed to no return, he would go and permanently resolve it.'
'But what if he isn't a gunslinger,' Rogue pondered and selected the character type. 'Did he create a different character all together?'
Just before she changed it, the gunslinger list refreshed itself. Seeing that one more was added, she looked at it. Feeling her eyes widen a little, they then narrowed.
'...you...' Renee stated gravely in her mind. Frowning, she selected the person and began to make a message.
"...?" one the of the monitor techs said. Blinking and looking at what appeared, he looked baffled.
"...uh...Rodger?" he called out.
"Yeah?" the programmer said after standing up from his seat.
"Something...really odd has logged in into E.D.E."
"Define odd."
"...well...you remember that gunslinger character you and Mr. Adam deleted?"
"Yes. Why? Has he logged in and created a new player?" Rodger asked rather surprised. He walked around his desk and headed toward the monitor's station with a quick pace.
"...not exactly..." the tech spoke with confusion. Turning to his computer screen, the lead programmer got next to him and leaned forward. It only took Rodger a few seconds in looking at character before he recognized it. It made him dumbfounded.
"...what...?" he commented in a quiet shocked voice.
"Normally when players try to get back their character that got deleted, the avatar is given a banned mark for us to know and deal with it," the monitor started to say then pointed at the screen. "But...there is no marking here...not only that...he changed the gender and name of his avatar...how is that possible?"
"...I...I don't know...I've never seen this before," Rodger mentioned and stared at the character.
"Is it a new type of hacking?"
"...it is possible...it is also possible that the viruses are digging through trashed character profiles and retro-activating them to new and existing players," the lead programmer replied then stood up. "...though that sounds far-fetched."
"I agree. There hasn't been any cases of deleted profiles coming back completely...except for this one. Do you think it is actually the same player?"
"...it has to...it just has to be," Rodger repeated quietly then looked at the tech. "Monitor that avatar and track anywhere it moves to. That is the only thing I want you to do from now on."
"Got it," he stated. Turning around and minimizing a couple of windows, he brought up a live feed. Putting up screen indicators, he was setup for stalking the gunslinger and anywhere it moved.
'...I wonder how Adam got the gamer to play again...' the lead programmer thought. Turning around, he went back to his desk station.
'...but he said that he didn't convince him...and we deleted his account and banned him from being able to play the gunslinger type.'
"So...how?" he said to himself. Looking at his computer, he started typing and entering various administration management sections of E.D.E.
After several minutes of jumping down floating islands and small platforms, Jin stopped and was out of breath. Sitting down and just breathing, he could feel the scythe morph itself. Converging into a silver ball in his palm, it floated up and down at its leisure. Thinking his reaper self would come out to mock him, it didn't separate from him. Focusing back on his breathing, the environment around him sounded odd.
In the distance, there were soft screams and the sounds of fire burning as in a fire place. In his immediate surroundings, the deep valley had hot air moving around. It created howls that would change in pitch and duration. Tensing up, the Breaker felt that something was around him. As if reading his thoughts, three phantoms materialized around him.
"W...h...y...a...r...e...y...o...u...h...e...r...e...r...e...a...p...e...r...?" one asked.
"Y...e...s...w...h...y...?" another spoke.
"L...o...s...t...y...o...u...r...w...a...y...r...e...a...p...e...r...?" the third said in a mocking tone.
'...how will you...answer them...breaker?' Scy asked with a demented hiss.
'...mmm...' Jin replied mentally grunting. 'I am not going to hiss.'
Before his double could speak, the male teen stood up. Hearing the phantoms move around more and giggle, he glared at one. Clenching his hand into a fist with the orb, the scythe rapidly changed back to its original blade form. Without hesitation, the sophomore winded up and slashed them in three quick movements. The wraiths wailed in agony as they were split in half.
'...I approve of that answer...those insects don't deserve a translucent body.'
'...whoopie...' Jin thought and rolled his eyes.
Standing straight, he looked at what was ahead of him. Seeing a large platform, he observed what was between there and where he was. The small platforms continued to descend to unknown levels. Between the small and large island, it was a ravine with no bottom. About to think how he was going to get across, his reaper self gave an airy cackle.
'...let me show you...a fraction of what we can do...' it stated.
"...?" he said feeling something icy cold beneath his feet. Blinking and looking down, there was a circular symbol on the ground. Seeing it was a Satanic design, it glowed a deep crimson. Hearing a deep and slow hiss, movement slowed down. Not even blinking, everything in sight was a solid red with no depth or texture.