CHAPTER TEN: NAME OF THE BEAST (i)
"Aaron. Aaron!" Edmund said, running to catch up with him in the corridors. It was the next day, and the Truth Sayers had fully recovered from their last match. They had also begrudgingly agreed that Edmund is the leader. Edmund had beaten them all fair and square. Or so they thought. But Edmund knew the truth. He knew that something was very wrong with him.
Edmund opened his eyes to see the Rita lying sprawled dead in front of him. It was more than he could take. Edmund had given up. He had seen enough bloodshed. He wanted to stop. He wanted to die.
Sud stepped out of the shadows holding a sniper rifle.
Edmund thought to himself, "Shoot me! Shoot me now! I give up. I don't want to fight anymore."
But the words that came out of his lips were different. The voice was his, but not the words. "I am so unreal."
Against his will, his hands picked up the assault rifle again and reloaded it. Edmund's inner self screamed in frustration as he lost all control of his body. So it was true. Edmund was possessed.
"No, no. Put the gun down please. I don't want to fight anymore. Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?"
"I am so unreal. Edmund, Edmund. You cannot give up now. You must fight. Your destiny is still bright. Your end is not now. Your purpose is not fulfilled."
"What do you mean you are so unreal? Oh god. Please. I am not your tool! Release me! Let me go!"
"I am so unreal, Edmund. I cannot let you go. If you will not fight, I will fight for you. Do you understand? I need you here, in the Unreal Tournament."
"No, no. Please. Please..."
"You must fight Edmund."
"No...please..."
"Then I will do it for you..."
The first bullet from Sud's sniper rifle struck against Edmund's shoulder. But Edmund felt no pain. He had no longer any control over his body. He was only a spectator in this bloody battle.
"Run! Run Sud. Get away, I'm possessed! Run!"
But his lips refused to obey his command to speak. Instead, his hands continued to prime the assault rifle.
The second bullet smashed through Edmund's thigh. The force of the bullet caused him to stumble as the bullet destroyed his thigh muscles.
"Get away Sud. While you still have a chance! Find another way to defeat me! I don't want to fight anymore!"
Sud began to panic. The third shot struck Edmund's chest. His whole armor was now bathed in his blood. But it didn't matter, for after being teleported back at New Earth, everything will be healed. Or else, the medics would take care of him.
The assault rifle was raised up and aimed at Sud. Sud was visibly shaking.
"W-What the hell are you?"
Edmund's lips moved, but the answer was not his own. "I am so unreal."
The rifle chattered. The hail of slugs tore Sud apart and drove him into the ground. Edmund felt the presence leave, and these were its parting words. "Seek out the Smasher. You will need him. Seek me out"
"Aaron, I need to talk to you!" Edmund caught up with him. Aaron turned around. Was that just a tinge of fear in his eyes? "Yes kid? What can I do for you?"
Edmund looked around him, "We need to talk...somewhere private. Its very urgent."
Aaron looked disturbed by this. "Right. My quarters is just nearby."
Edmund followed as Aaron stalked down the hallway towards his room. Aaron palmed the door open, and motioned Edmund in. He then closed the door and set it to lock. He turned to his leader.
"That beast told you to seek me out, didn't he?"
Edmund thought he heard wrong.
"W-What?"
"Him. So unreal. He's back, isn't he?" Edmund grabbed at Aaron's shirt.
"You knew about this? Since when?"
Aaron swatted Edmund's hands off him, and looked away. "I knew about this creature before you even came. I knew that he had chosen you when I killed you once in the qualification rounds but you instead had a perfect score."
Edmund sat down heavily on Aaron's bunk. "Tell me...everything."
"It happened before you came, about three years ago, when my brother and I, Marx came into the tournaments. We wanted to have a go at the games, but instead got much more than we bargained for. In Marx's first match, he came into contact with the creature in the Unreal matrix. The same creature you came into contact with."
"According to Marx, the creature was not alive, rather can only exist inside the Unreal Tournaments. Marx became quite a star then. No as big as Malcolm or any of the other champions, but almost."
"For a whole year this went on, until according to Marx, the creature told him to seek out the Unreal Core itself, supposedly home of this beast."
Edmund gulped. "What happened?"
Aaron sighed. "I...do not know."
"What?!"
"The core, Edmund, is one of the Liandri's most guarded secrets. No one is allowed near it. No one even knows where it is. Maybe the Liandri got him, thought he knew too much and killed him, or the beast betrayed him to his death, I do not know. But he disappeared, never came back. That's all I know."
"That's it? The beast told me to seek you out. There's got to be something more. An instruction? Anything!"
Aaron shook his head. "There's only one reason the Beast would want you to find me Edmund, and I fear for its implications."
He leaned forward and whispered softly to Edmund. "I know where the core is."
Edmund felt his hair stand on end. Did he have to go in search of the core to get this beast off his back? "You do? Where? Tell me!"
"I'm telling you Edmund, no good will come from this. I suggest you run Edmund. Quit the games. They can't make you fight. Escape."
"I...I can't. I can't get my freedom unless I win the grand championship. I cannot run. Where do I go?"
Aaron nodded in understanding. "Fine, I will tell you where the Core is. But on one condition." Edmund agreed. "What?"
"I'm following you. Period. I lost my brother to this thing. I can maybe find out what happened this way."
Edmund considered. He was new to this Liandri world. Aaron probably knew his way around better than he did. Sighing, Edmund agreed.
"Okay. The core is right here. In this very building, at the bottommost level. It's in the basement. I believe the core is there. But the security's bloody tight. And...there's only one main way down there. The elevator."
Edmund's heart sank to his feet. "How the hell are we gonna get down there?" he hissed.
Aaron held up a finger. "I said one MAIN way to get in. But there are others, more secret and hidden and unknown." Aaron whispered surreptitiously. "My brother mentioned something about the sewers Through one of the man holes I saw him go. I have one of the maps for the sewer. There really is a way down there. It's a long journey though."
"As long as we don't lose our way..."
"Then it's all set then. I'll go gear up and we'll get going."
"Gear up?"
"Yeah. We need a shielded helmet so at least if we're seen, they won't know who we are. And we'll need armor and some weapons in case we need to blast our way out. I can get them by pulling some favors."
Edmund considered it for a moment. It didn't seem much different from the covert drop operations he had participated in as a marine.
"Right. Go get the gear. We're gonna pay this... thing, a visit."
"Aaron. Aaron!" Edmund said, running to catch up with him in the corridors. It was the next day, and the Truth Sayers had fully recovered from their last match. They had also begrudgingly agreed that Edmund is the leader. Edmund had beaten them all fair and square. Or so they thought. But Edmund knew the truth. He knew that something was very wrong with him.
Edmund opened his eyes to see the Rita lying sprawled dead in front of him. It was more than he could take. Edmund had given up. He had seen enough bloodshed. He wanted to stop. He wanted to die.
Sud stepped out of the shadows holding a sniper rifle.
Edmund thought to himself, "Shoot me! Shoot me now! I give up. I don't want to fight anymore."
But the words that came out of his lips were different. The voice was his, but not the words. "I am so unreal."
Against his will, his hands picked up the assault rifle again and reloaded it. Edmund's inner self screamed in frustration as he lost all control of his body. So it was true. Edmund was possessed.
"No, no. Put the gun down please. I don't want to fight anymore. Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?"
"I am so unreal. Edmund, Edmund. You cannot give up now. You must fight. Your destiny is still bright. Your end is not now. Your purpose is not fulfilled."
"What do you mean you are so unreal? Oh god. Please. I am not your tool! Release me! Let me go!"
"I am so unreal, Edmund. I cannot let you go. If you will not fight, I will fight for you. Do you understand? I need you here, in the Unreal Tournament."
"No, no. Please. Please..."
"You must fight Edmund."
"No...please..."
"Then I will do it for you..."
The first bullet from Sud's sniper rifle struck against Edmund's shoulder. But Edmund felt no pain. He had no longer any control over his body. He was only a spectator in this bloody battle.
"Run! Run Sud. Get away, I'm possessed! Run!"
But his lips refused to obey his command to speak. Instead, his hands continued to prime the assault rifle.
The second bullet smashed through Edmund's thigh. The force of the bullet caused him to stumble as the bullet destroyed his thigh muscles.
"Get away Sud. While you still have a chance! Find another way to defeat me! I don't want to fight anymore!"
Sud began to panic. The third shot struck Edmund's chest. His whole armor was now bathed in his blood. But it didn't matter, for after being teleported back at New Earth, everything will be healed. Or else, the medics would take care of him.
The assault rifle was raised up and aimed at Sud. Sud was visibly shaking.
"W-What the hell are you?"
Edmund's lips moved, but the answer was not his own. "I am so unreal."
The rifle chattered. The hail of slugs tore Sud apart and drove him into the ground. Edmund felt the presence leave, and these were its parting words. "Seek out the Smasher. You will need him. Seek me out"
"Aaron, I need to talk to you!" Edmund caught up with him. Aaron turned around. Was that just a tinge of fear in his eyes? "Yes kid? What can I do for you?"
Edmund looked around him, "We need to talk...somewhere private. Its very urgent."
Aaron looked disturbed by this. "Right. My quarters is just nearby."
Edmund followed as Aaron stalked down the hallway towards his room. Aaron palmed the door open, and motioned Edmund in. He then closed the door and set it to lock. He turned to his leader.
"That beast told you to seek me out, didn't he?"
Edmund thought he heard wrong.
"W-What?"
"Him. So unreal. He's back, isn't he?" Edmund grabbed at Aaron's shirt.
"You knew about this? Since when?"
Aaron swatted Edmund's hands off him, and looked away. "I knew about this creature before you even came. I knew that he had chosen you when I killed you once in the qualification rounds but you instead had a perfect score."
Edmund sat down heavily on Aaron's bunk. "Tell me...everything."
"It happened before you came, about three years ago, when my brother and I, Marx came into the tournaments. We wanted to have a go at the games, but instead got much more than we bargained for. In Marx's first match, he came into contact with the creature in the Unreal matrix. The same creature you came into contact with."
"According to Marx, the creature was not alive, rather can only exist inside the Unreal Tournaments. Marx became quite a star then. No as big as Malcolm or any of the other champions, but almost."
"For a whole year this went on, until according to Marx, the creature told him to seek out the Unreal Core itself, supposedly home of this beast."
Edmund gulped. "What happened?"
Aaron sighed. "I...do not know."
"What?!"
"The core, Edmund, is one of the Liandri's most guarded secrets. No one is allowed near it. No one even knows where it is. Maybe the Liandri got him, thought he knew too much and killed him, or the beast betrayed him to his death, I do not know. But he disappeared, never came back. That's all I know."
"That's it? The beast told me to seek you out. There's got to be something more. An instruction? Anything!"
Aaron shook his head. "There's only one reason the Beast would want you to find me Edmund, and I fear for its implications."
He leaned forward and whispered softly to Edmund. "I know where the core is."
Edmund felt his hair stand on end. Did he have to go in search of the core to get this beast off his back? "You do? Where? Tell me!"
"I'm telling you Edmund, no good will come from this. I suggest you run Edmund. Quit the games. They can't make you fight. Escape."
"I...I can't. I can't get my freedom unless I win the grand championship. I cannot run. Where do I go?"
Aaron nodded in understanding. "Fine, I will tell you where the Core is. But on one condition." Edmund agreed. "What?"
"I'm following you. Period. I lost my brother to this thing. I can maybe find out what happened this way."
Edmund considered. He was new to this Liandri world. Aaron probably knew his way around better than he did. Sighing, Edmund agreed.
"Okay. The core is right here. In this very building, at the bottommost level. It's in the basement. I believe the core is there. But the security's bloody tight. And...there's only one main way down there. The elevator."
Edmund's heart sank to his feet. "How the hell are we gonna get down there?" he hissed.
Aaron held up a finger. "I said one MAIN way to get in. But there are others, more secret and hidden and unknown." Aaron whispered surreptitiously. "My brother mentioned something about the sewers Through one of the man holes I saw him go. I have one of the maps for the sewer. There really is a way down there. It's a long journey though."
"As long as we don't lose our way..."
"Then it's all set then. I'll go gear up and we'll get going."
"Gear up?"
"Yeah. We need a shielded helmet so at least if we're seen, they won't know who we are. And we'll need armor and some weapons in case we need to blast our way out. I can get them by pulling some favors."
Edmund considered it for a moment. It didn't seem much different from the covert drop operations he had participated in as a marine.
"Right. Go get the gear. We're gonna pay this... thing, a visit."
