Chapter 9: Worth It

Author Notes: Over 500 views? What?

Underworld, Mount Pillar

"Get back here, human!"

"Don't let him escape!"

Underworld, Ulmar's Laboratory

"...two Danian fungus fruit, and some sand from the Darkened Dunes."

"Yeah, yeah. Take your scan and get out."

Overworld, Kiru City

"I dunno how useful I'll be in this Battledrome thing. I'm a part-time barista, not a fighter!"

"I don't need a barista, or a fighter. What I need is..."

Chaotic, Beta Drome

"We're absolutely sure Code Masters can't see us in here?"

"Yeah, of course. Maybe. I think so... It'll be fine. Trust me."

Chaotic, Port Court

Jacob crossed another item off his check list. His preparations for his match in Battledrome Amzen were almost complete. Monica had just finished helping test out some battlegear, and Hank was gathering intel on the Codemaster. Earthside, he and Hank were raiding the local hobby shops for packs of cards in hopes of some rare scans.

Hank walked up behind Monica while Jacob was pouring over card lists. "Okay, I just got done talking to Loot-N-Scoot, and LagunaBlue. They both had Codemaster matches with Amzen this past month"

"Isn't Loot-N-Scoot the guy that loads his deck with underwater locations?" Jacob asked.

He nodded "Mhmm. And they both said that Amzen has a bunch of rare creatures, but what she really goes all out on is battlegear. Some of the stuff didn't even have names, as far as they knew."

"Great, a couple Iron Pillars should take care of that. Can't some Mipedians disarm battlegear?"

Hank nodded. "Ribbian, Munnari, a few others."

"Ooh," Monica cut in. "My Automatons have an attack that can turn off battlegear, do you have anything like that?"

For the next few hours they strategized and planned, until fatigue finally overcame them and they ported home to get some sleep. As Jacob settled into his lumpy mattress, he thought back to couple days ago, just a week after his last match in the Amzen Drome.

Jacob finally had the chance to go back to Kiru City and wanted to explain himself to the Overworlders that he had nothing to do with the thefts from the arsenal. When asked why he had run from the guards, he explained that they'd fired their weapons before he even knew there was a problem. "I stopped to see what they wanted, and they shot at me!" The rest of his story drew several dark looks and, after an apology from the assembled creatures, he was sent on his way.

"Oops, we almost pumped you full of sharp rocks: our bad" Hank was complaining as they walked the city. The sky was bright and clear with a nice breeze in the market where the three friends strolled, eating strange local fruit that looks funny but tasted good.

"Hey, I'm just glad I can come back without getting jumped." Jacob wiped from juice from his hand onto his jeans. "By the cops, at least."

"Still, if you were a creature, not a human, it would've gone differently." to which Monica agreed.

They were enjoying the sun at a park when Jacob's scanner started to ring. On screen was the spinnging Chaotic logo that usually dominated the center of the Battledromes.

"AirRazor," it stated in's robotic monotone voice "you have been challenged by Codemaster Amzen. Prepare your deck and report to the Amzen Drone in exactly seventy-two hours."

And now, here he was just two days later, a Codemaster match tomorrow, and a few options and strategies under his belt that would boil down to more luck in his part. His scan quests in Perim bore decent results, as well as the card run here in town; hopefully it would be enough.

He turned fitfully in bed, mentally exhausted, yet unable sleep, and it was around midnight when sleep finally came.

A dark cavern echoing with dripping water. Scuttling noises, like spikes tapping on stone. A voice in his head.

[Interesting.]

With a gasp, Jacob bolted into an upright position. A nightmare, just a nightmare. He'd had them occasionally ever since that day, brief flashes of the Coralsmithy and his captors. The same thing happened when he and Hank got caught by Danians at Mount Pillar, but this felt different.

He squinted at the clock through blurry eyes; Six AM, perfect. Jumping in the shower and completing the rest of his morning routine, he threw on what he joking started calling his "Chaotic Uniform" of tan cargo pants and a black t shirt. He found that wearing the same thing in Chaotic and Perim helped him stand out a bit more, and it was easier to describe clothes than a face. A lot of the time he'd change out of it right after sending his code to Chaotic anyways.

He could hear his dad snoring lightly on the couch, a DVD menu screen playing a loop in the background, when he entered the small apartment's kitchen. A quick inventory of the fridge showed a meager supply, and he decided to reheat some leftovers, idly mumbling "Have a good day" to himself, tapping the button on his scanner than would send him to Chaotic.

Appearing in the Transport Center, he immediately walked over to one the the Port Court serving robots and ordered a full breakfast of eggs, sausage, and toast. Savoring the flavors, he planned out the rest of his day until his match. Maybe a quick trip to the Underworld Colosseum to get hyped for his battle against Amzen, or a walk through the Riverlands, see if Rellim got that bridge fixed.

Movement out of the corner of his eye pulled him from his thoughts and he looked over to see a familiar boy looking a little anxious.

"Will" he said, keeping his tone even.

"Jacob" the boy said "I heard you got a Codemaster match today." He paused and shuffled awkwardly. "Good luck."

Jacob nodded in acknowledgement, and went back to his meal when Will walked away. 'That was weird' he thought to himself. 'Maybe he's coming around?'

With his breakfast finished, Jacob decided the Underworld Colosseum would be his next stop. The battles staged there to settle disputes between Underworlders were almost exactly like One-on-One matches in Chaotic, with each creature allowed one battlegear and one Mugic, and beating each other up until one creature couldn't carry on. Fairly brutal, but an effective way for the tempermental Tribe to settle scores. Setting an alarm on his scanner for his match, he queued up the scan and vanished in a burst of light.

When he appeared, it was in the middle of a crowd screaming Underworlders. A few creatures looked his way in curiosity or annoyance, but were quickly drawn back to the action of the arena. Following their gaze, Jacob silently cursed his timing, as two Underworlders were already trading blows with each other in the middle of the Colosseum. One he recognized as Pyrithion, a huge snake with humanlike arms, the other was a tall blue humanoid in spiked gladiator armor with a sturdy shield and long curved sword.

"BLADEZ! Jacob screamed with the crowd, thrusting his fists into the air in support of his favorite Underworlder. Pyrithion was wiping dirt or dust from his eyes, slowly circling the damaged warrior, Bladez' battlegear a crumpled mass of metal nearby. With a growl, the spiked warrior tossed his shield at Pyrithion like a discus, who darted to the side, narrowly avoiding the improvised attack. With his hand now free, Bladez thrust it outward, creating a barrage of tiny blazing spheres that somehow followed the serpent, putting Pyrithion on the defensive, slithering away at top speed.

"Extinguishing Intonation" the snake chanted, releasing a blood-red spirit into a mugic crystal. Soft, flowing notes that seemed horribly out of place in the fiery Underworld filled the area and, with a harsh sizzle, snuffed out Bladez' attack. Pyrithion face split into a wide grin of truimph, until a heavy sword hilt connected with his jaw. In the few seconds it had taken the mugic to work it's effect, Bladez had closed the distance between the two and punched out with his weapon, knocking Pyrithion out cold.

The crowd burst into raucous applause, Jacob even grabbing the arm of the creature next to him and jumping with abandon. He calmed down seeing the angry expression of the Underworlder he was holding and offered a quick apology, proceeding to push his way through the assembly to the lower levels of the Colosseum. He caught a quick glimpse of Pyrithion being dragged out so the next pair could enter, but had lost sight of Bladez. Pulling out his scanner, he brought up a list of other Underworld Colosseum scans and ported to a series of hallways underneath that were attached to several "ready rooms" contestants could use to prep for matches.

A flash of blue entering one of the rooms caught his eyes and he ran forward, calling out the creature's name. Bladez stopped and and turned to face the stranger rushing towards him, instinctively tightening his grip on his sword.

"Jacob Collins, big fan." Bladez' eyes narrowed suspiciously as Jacob held out a hand. Seeing the Underworlder wouldn't return the greeting, his arm swung back down to his side. "Just wanted to say, great job out there today, really. If you don't mind me asking, what happened with you and Pyrithion?"

Bladez had heard a bit about these humans from other Underworlders, but never seen one until now. He glared at Jacob for a hard moment, wondering if they were all so boldly annoying, before responding. "He was bothering me" in a gravelly voice.

"Oh" Jacob said in a small voice, taking a small step back. "Okay... I was just wondering if I could get a quick scan of you?" He held up his scanner hopefully. Bladez looked at the human curiously before realization came and he frowned.

"Right, that game you humans play. Not interested." He turned to leave.

"Wait!" Jacob shouted. Bladez slowly, ominously, turned to face the human. Jacob swallowed nervously. "It's just... You're my favorite creature. No other Underworlder is as awesome with a sword as you, and you're the first creature I ever won a match with because of that and-"

"Not." Bladez leaned in close "Interested."

"Well, what if we trade? Is there something you want or need in exchange for the scan?"

Bladez let a small sigh escape. Fine, anything to get this human out of his face.

"Brimflame's been working on a new shield for me; go get it. I'll be at the barracks" Bladez walked past Jacob to leave the building.

"Okay, sounds good. Where's Brimflame's workshop?" Jacob called after the Underworlder. Bladez ignored him and kept walking. "Peachy." he sighed. "Well, if it's a smith I gotta find..." Checking his Location cards, he tapped the screen and ported out of the Colosseum, and to a dark, roughly hewn tunnel at the end of which was a fiery orange glow.

Two heavily armored guards flanked a bridge just past the end of the passage leading to Khybon's Forge, blocking the path to a collection of steel platforms suspended over the Underworld's Molten River. They crossed their spears to block his approach.

"I'm looking for Brimflame, is he here?" Jacob asked. The guards shifted a bit, faceless helmets turning towards each other before one looked over his shoulder, tilting his head towards a platform where one could barely see a creature pounding away on an anvil.

"Oh, great! I'm here to pick up a shield for Bladez, is it okay if I go?" The guards had another silent conference, one of them eventually removing a horn from a loop at his waist and blowing out a series of short calls. A minute later, a small red creature with goat legs and horns trotted onto the bridge. Jacob thought his name was 'Jore...Jigger...Jiggorex!'

Jiggorex sized up the human in front of him and snapped "We don't allow Chaotic players here. There's nothing here for you. Be grateful for the chance to leave" Ever since the incident with the Phobia Mask, Khybon had put a blanket ban on humans in the forge, months of hard work melted to slag. They'd only just started to design the next version, without the prototype to work with.

"I know there's nothing here for me, I'm picking up for Bladez. A shield?"

Jiggorex frown thoughtfully. If the human was yelling the truth, it would look good for them to have the item crafted and delivered in record time. If he was lying to get a scan, he'd be sorely disappointed: the shield was an ordinary (well, maybe not ordinary, Brimflame was a master armorsmith) piece of equipment, not a wondrous battlegear. Deciding the pros outweighed the cons, he nodded and went to retrieve the package."Here you go kid" Jiggorex said with a sly grin, holding the shield out for him.

It looked impressive, Jacob thought. Dark and embedded with sharp metal spikes, much like the armor of its future wielder. Taking the shield, he almost collapsed under its weight. The thing probably weighed close to 200 pounds!

"Good luck" Jiggorex laughed, waving over his shoulder.

Eying the shield anxiously, he slid the straps onto his shoulders with a groan and ported to Underworld City.

At the barracks, Bladez had just sat down with a hot drink when the human staggered through the door, panting like he'd run a marathon. Noise and chatter around them stopped as the boy huffed and puffed his way past them and over to Bladez' table, stooped over from the weight of a heavy slab of metal on his back. Removing his burden with a grunt of effort, he dropped it on the table and wheezed "Brought...shield..." while making a thumbs-up.

Bladez' looked at the human incredulously. Picking it up with ease, he strapped the shield on and gave it a few test swings. He'd have to send his thanks to Brimflame later. Until then...

"Not bad. For a human." Bladez tone was measured, but mentally he was dumbstruck. The human was ready to collapse, how in the name of Chaor did this scrawny weak thing drag it all the way here from Khybon's Forge? No, he didn't drag the shield, there wasn't a scratch or scuff on it! There was clearly more to these humans, at least this one, than appeared. Bladez decided further investigating was in order

"You know Agitos? Chaor's advisor?"

"I know of him." Jacob clarified, wondering where this was going.

"He's on a 'diplomatic mission' of sorts to Gothos Tower" Bladez said, pulling a thick sheaf of parchment from a pouch at his belt. "Give this to him, await his reply, then come find me."

"I do this, and you'll let me scan you?" Jacob asked, doubt creeping into his mind

"Of course" Bladez said, walking away with a satisfied grin. Gothos Tower was at the edge of the Underworld, a trip that took around 2 weeks, minimum. If he managed the trip there and back, he'd deserve a 'scan'. Either way, the kid would be out of his way for a while.

Jacob looked at the packet in his hands, to Bladez' retreating form, shrugged and ported to a spot within Gothos Tower.

An hour later, Jacob ported back into Underworld City, a little singed around the edges, but otherwise alright. Strolling up to the Barracks, he easily found Bladez out in the training yard, hacking apart a dummy.

"Here's your letter. Agitos also wants to add 'Not funny'." He said, holding out Agitos' written response. Bladez bristled at the human's candor, snatching the letter away and reading over it's contents. It was legitimate: all the codes, signs and countersigns Agitos placed in long correspondence were accounted for. Bladez was stunned. There was simply no possible way.

"What are you playing at, boy?" The warrior snapped, burning the letter to ash in his hand.

"What? You asked me to take your note to Agitos, and I did. It was easy"

"How? You should've been gone for at least a month"

"Oooh" Understanding dawned on Jacob's face. "I used my sca-"

"There you are!" a voice cut off Jacob. A hulking chunk of muscle on the shape of a human was quickly approaching. The stout blue creature walked up to Bladez and they exchanged a short greeting.

"Pyrithion is lookin' fer you again" the newcomer said. "Says you fought dirty last time"

"That's rich, coming from that snake" Bladez growled. "A little dirt in the eye isn't that big a deal compared to HIS nonsense." Jacob wondered what really happened between the two besides mild annoyance.

"You, boy-Jacob, right?"

"Yeah?"

"I got one more job for you." Bladez paused. "You said you're a fan of mine, right?"

Jacob nodded. "Of course!" One more fetch quest and that scan was his!

"You do anything I asked?"

He hesitated. "I...I think so."

Bladez stepped up to Jacob, the scarred Underworlder looking down at him ominously. "This isn't an 'I think so' situation. Yes or No?"

Jacob swallowed and with a deep breath, said "Yes"

"Good." Bladez turned to the other creature and they had a hushed conversation. An object changed hands between them and they parted ways, Bladez returning to Jacob.

"How well do you know Underworld City?" the creature asked him.

"I'm not sure where everything is, not I can get around well enough. Why?"

Bladez pressed something into his hands, a glittering green gem with some kind of rune or symbol carved into it. "Pyrithion is at Chaor's palace right now. I need you to plant this in his house before he gets back.

"What."

"I've been having problems with him for a while now" Bladez explained "He accused me of cheating in a fight a while back. Apparently he had money on the other guy. Anyways, he challenged me, I won, he accused me of cheating again, and I got challenged again, this time by an associate of his. I don't mind fighting, but it's getting tiresome. I'm hoping that a trip to the Pits will break the cycle."

Jacob stared at the gem in shock. "Is this hot?"

"Hot?"

"Stolen" Jacob explained.

Bladez patted Jacob on the shoulder. "Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies"

"That's encouraging" Jacob wracked his brains for any info he could on Pyrithion. He vaguely recalled some flavor text on his card Earthside saying something about lying to get ahead. So at the very least he was immoral, maybe stealing credit for others work. That, and harassing his favorite creature. Was that enough to get him locked up?

"All I wanted was a scan," Jacob grumbled to himself, walking the streets of Underworld City to Pyrithion's home. "This is why I hate the Underworld". The windows were dark in the stone single-story building. The streets were empty except for a creature with unnaturally long legs lighting streetlights as he peeked in through the glassless window. The interior was downright spartan, just a tall desk and some stone tables, with a ramp or slide pointing downward along the back wall.

Testing the door revealed that it was sealed shut, and thick bars blocked his entry through the window. 'Locked door, barred windows, no glass' Jacob pondered. The gaps in the bars were just big enough to get his arm through. His arm, and something else.

Lines of light traced over the room, Jacob straining against the bars to get his arm as far inside as possible. With a beep, his scanner finished it's work and Jacob ported back to Chaotic to lock in his new scan. Muttering a quick prayer, he travelled back to Perim and found himself on the inside of Pyrithion's abode.

"New favorite scan strat" he mused, scooping up the gem he dropped inside the window. Porting was odd: sometimes players could bring things like maps or water from Perim and other times they would come back to Chaotic empty-handed. Jacob figured, in this case, it was better safe than sorry.

The ramp led down to a basement-like structure lit with soft glowing lamps and furnished with colorful mats, pillows, and cushions. "It looks like a red light district down here" he chuckled, looking for a place to stash the contraband.

The telltale creak of a door opening above had Jacob freeze in place, followed by the sound of something heavy being dragged across the floor. Quickly shoving the jewel into a pouch hanging on a hook nearby, he vanished just as a cobra-shaped silhouette came into view.

Bladez flinched as light washed over him, leaving him otherwise unharmed from the scan.

"That's it?"

"That's it." Jacob confirmed, taking a quick glance at his new card before showing Bladez the scanner. "Now, I can borrow your current skills in any new matches"

Bladez simply shook his head. Battles, like in the Colosseum, where humans turned into creatures. Almost too crazy to believe.

A sudden ringing from broke the silence as his scanner's alarm went off, alerting Jacob to his impending Codemaster match.

"Thanks so, so much Bladez. I've gotta go, but this is...Yes!" Activating the return function on his scanner, Jacob dissolved into motes of light, porting back to Chaotic.

Bladez gaped at the spot Jacob vanished from, wondering what other feats humans were capable of.

Jacob sprinted from the Port Court to the closest tram station that would take him to Amzen Drome. Uploading the new scan only took a minute and he still had time to spare, but it didn't help his fraying nerves. Tapping his foot anxiously, he looked out the window at the approaching building, a bright structure of yellow and blue.

End Notes:

Just a quick filler so I wouldn't have two battles back-to-back.

New Card- Extinguishing Intonation

Generic Mugic

Cost: 1 Mugic

Effect: Target Fire attack deals 0 damage.