8
He found Emerald Buckler around the corner, about a block away from where Rick found himself, outside of his apartment. He knew his rival wasn't here for a duel – not at this time of night – so he didn't even bother noticing what stage he was on. In fact, only one thing was on his mind; someone from her Legion as responsible for what had happened to Leander.
"I have to talk to you," she said as soon as he approached. "Could you disengage your Gallery?
"Not like anyone in my Legion is even awake at this hour," he muttered as he adjusted his options in his menu. When he finished, he crossed his arms and leaned against a large condemned building. So, this was either a Century End stage or a Demon City Stage.
The angry red sky told him Demon City.
"Well, go on, 'cause I got a thing or two to talk to you about too.
Buck's head dropped to stare at the cracked road. She rolled back and forth on her wheel, trying to keep her balance. "Yeah, I kinda figured you would. As soon as I could, I snuck outta my house and took my bike across the bridge, heading near the area we usually duel. Figured you lived out here, and I wanted to you to get here quick. Just need to clear some stuff out, but I wasn't sure you'd still be up.
She was rambling and nervous.
"So, talk," Rick said. He was still angry, but a part of him was impressed that she had ridden her bike all the way over the bridge into Manhattan from Queens. She wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight.
She flinched at his smoldering tone, but rolled a little closer. "Terracotta Break is out."
"Out?" Rick asked. "Out of the Slip Circuit?"
"Out of Brain Burst. Pewter Slip used the Judgement Blow on him."
There was dead silence as Rick digested the news.
Finally, "She took... all of his points?" Rick asked.
"Yeah, but Slip don't need points being level 9, right? So, she puts 'em in little gift cards and gives 'em to people as rewards and stuff. Pretty cool, huh?"
Rick hadn't heard of that before but it was hardly the strangest thing he'd heard that day, so sure, why not? But a card with all of Terracotta Break's burst points on it? He didn't know how long Break had been level 4, but if he was anywhere close to level 5, that would be a lot of points!
But he couldn't let that distract him from the main issue.
"So?" he retorted. "How does that help Le-, I mean Mauve Dictionary? You know what happened this afternoon if you know Terracotta Break's gone."
Emerald Buckler nodded sadly. "I know exactly what happened. I was there at the fight."
Again, stunned silence from Rick. Lisa knew who Emerald Buckler was; why didn't she tell him she was there?
But of course, the answer was obvious. She knew the two of them were friendly rivals and she wouldn't want to be responsible for destroying their friendship.
"You...saw what happened?" Rick croaked. He was still trying to wrap his head around this most recent revelation.
"I swear, Tarn, I tried to stop him," she said quietly. "But he went into that battle looking to hurt the Conclave. I told him not to be stupid, that it was just a game! But he'd been Burst Linker longer than me! I can't tell no one what to do!"
"And so, you just stood there and watched him use an Incarnate Attack against a defenseless kid? Just a seven-year-old boy!" he shouted angrily. "He's in the hospital! The doctors said he could've died!"
Emerald Buckler rolled back a few feet from the outburst. "I'm sorry!" she cried. "I didn't know what to do and I was too far away to try and intercept the attack."
"Would you have if you could have?"
"Oh, c'mon! I already feel like crap," Buck replied. "Both for letting it happen and for ratting him out about it."
That stopped Rick short. She had been the one to tell Pewter Slip what had happened? Still, his anger wasn't dissipated yet.
"So now, you want me to let you off the hook?" he asked.
"Please!"
He had to admit, she did sound pleading.
"I even brought this!" she proffered her right buckler, showing him a small black card.
Even though Rick knew what this was, he had to hear her say it. "What's that?"
"The gift card with the burst points from Terracotta Break on it."
He sighed and shook his head. "Buying off your guilt with blood money won't help anything."
"It's a good first step," she said quietly. "Either way. I don't want it. I won't advance my paint total with points from a Legion member that I caused the death of. Even if it was the right thing to do. "
A confirmation screen popped into Rick's vision, asking if he'd like to receive the gift card from Emerald Buckler. After thinking about for it for a moment, he accepted it, not because he wanted to use it. Or even to help assuage Buck's guilty conscience, but because he wanted the rest of the Legion to know how the Slip Circuit was trying to make amends.
Except...
"Pewter Slip doesn't know you're doing this, does she?" Rick asked.
Buck shook her hand. "She knows but doesn't know, get it? She told me to do what I felt was right and I'm pretty sure this was what was on her mind." She shrugged.
"Guess she knows you pretty well," Rick commented, some of his rage finally leaving.
A wry chuckle escaped Buck's faceplate. "She is pretty observant, seeing as I don't really spend much time with her. Until I get to level 4 and start Enemy hunting in the UNF, I doubt I'll get too much attention from the higher-ups.
"Plus, we got something like seventy members, so Slip's gonna spend time with the higher levels that show promise."
"Promise of what?" Rick asked after a beat.
"I dunno. Legion stuff, not for outsiders."
Rick shrugged understandingly. Sam wouldn't want him spilling Legion secrets either.
"Still, I kinda envy you," Buck continued. "Your membership is so low, you get to spend a lot of time with your Governor. Learn about who she is as a person and all that."
"I know who she is," Rick said off-handedly. "I'm, uh, sorta dating her in the real."
This stopped Emerald Buckler cold. "What!?"
"Well, sorta."
"You sly pooch, you!" Buck laughed. "Never saw that coming."
"And anyway," Rick continued, "because we're so small, we've all met in the real. I know who all my Legion-mates are and I trust them."
"Wow. That's a lot of trust. Didn't you just get those two new girls on Saturday?"
He nodded looking at Buck. She looked like she was holding something back, but maybe he was reading too much into it.
"I think there's gonna be a war soon," Buck suddenly blurted.
His conversation with her the day before when watching Indigo Viper duel Orange Acorn flashed across his memory. "That why Slip wants you guys to express Legion togetherness?"
"Probably." She shifted slightly. "Hey Tarn, mind if we talk on the move? It's really hard staying in one place with the unicycle for a foot."
Rick chuckled. Even though he was still mad at what had happened, he knew that deep down, he needed to relax. A simple conversation would help. That said, he didn't really have a lot to talk to Buck about. Neither knew the other in the real, they belonged to different Legions, and Rick figured she was probably in high-school based on her voice and behavior.
They moved slowly down the cracked street of the Demon City stage the game had randomly selected for them, neither speaking for a good while. All the small houses and apartment buildings were broken and boarded up, while the Manhattan skyline was visible in the distance, each of the skyscrapers, he knew, made of solid, dark iron, harsh against the red sky and massive full moon.
Rick glanced at the timer in his field of vision. About half of their 1800 seconds had elapsed. "So. What's new?"
"Not much, kid. You?"
He shrugged. "I got to kick Yolk Glider off of a bridge made of dragon bones earlier today."
Buck burst out laughing. "Seriously? That's awesome! Bet he deserved it."
Rick laughed as well. "Apparently, he just joined the Pound Sector as Bronze Knocker's intelligence specialist. Don't know if I believe that..."
Buck got quiet, thinking. What was Rick missing here?
Finally, she looked at Rick. "So, you and Crystal Seraph, huh?"
"Yeah," he said sheepishly. "I actually asked her out the day after I learned you'd joined the Slip Circuit, if you can believe that."
"Heh. Didn't know you had it in ya, kid."
"Yeah, yeah," he shoved her playfully. "Thing is, can you really call it dating? I mean, neither of us can drive, we don't have jobs, so no real money, we don't share any classes at school, and she's super busy afterwards." He sighed. "But when we have a chance to be together, we enjoy each other's company, so maybe we are an actual couple."
Buck chuckled. "That a question?"
"Naw, I'm just venting, I guess," he said. "Our new members, Periwinkle Pigtail and Bluebell Bonnet talked to me about it when they joined up on Saturday, but it still doesn't feel like I'm doing right by Crystal Seraph as a boyfriend. I feel like I should be making more of an effort."
"Like what?"
"I dunno. I've never had a girlfriend before, so I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing or feeling. Society puts all this pressure on boys to be a man, hide your insecurities, take charge. What if you can't?"
"Did you talk to Crystal Seraph about it?" Buck asked.
Rick let out laugh. "You sound like Peri. She asked the same thing."
"She sounds smart."
"Yeah," he nodded. "And yes, Seraph and I talked during the territories while we waited for the Pound Sector to attack. We decided to make more of an effort to see each other, even if it's only full-dive calls."
She laughed and playfully shoved him back. "Well geez, Tarn! If you got it all figured out, why talk to me about it?"
He shrugged. "I just felt like telling someone outside of the Legion. Plus, I trust you. You helped me a lot when I first started Brain Burst, and it seems you trust me too, what with you sneaking out to see me and all. Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to work up the courage to ask me out yourself!"
She let out a snort. "Sorry kid, but you are so not my type!"
"So, what is your type?" he wedeled.
"You got any chest hair yet?"
"One or two I keep shampooed and conditioned."
"Come see me when you look like Chewbacca."
"Like 'em hairy, do you?" he laughed.
"I got a thing for rugged outdoorsy types; sue me."
"I could start carrying around an axe, if that would help," he said smugly.
"Aren't you dating your Governor?"
"Yeah, I'm keeping my options open. That's not a crime, is it?"
"I'm just saying; if Crystal Seraph comes hunting for me, I'm gonna be upset!"
They both laughed. It felt good for Rick to let go of his anger, well deserved though it might have been. But it wasn't productive; it didn't solve any of his problems.
There was a moment of silence before he heard Emerald Buckler take a deep breath. "Apparently, when I was little, like two or three, I broke both of my hands." She looked at the two shields that extended out of her wrists, sighing. "I don't remember it, but I guess it left a good 'ol psychological scar.
"But let me tell you, you never appreciate your hands and fingers until you don't have 'em!" She looked at her foot-wheel. "Or feet, I suppose."
Rick listened quietly. This was the second day in a row where a girl he didn't know too well was telling him about something personal. Why? Did it have to do with him personally or was it them learning he was in a relationship? Did that change how people viewed you?
He thought about asking, but Buck suddenly stopped and turned to face him. "I think there's been a kidnapping."
It was so sudden; Rick didn't think he heard her right. "I'm sorry?"
"In the Slip Circuit. I think someone is being held hostage by the Lupus Guard and that's why Pewter Slip is so focused on solidarity right now."
"But how, and... why?" There were just too many complications to work out.
"Crap, I shouldn't'a said that," Buck moaned, "but cat's outta the bag now. About two or three days after the Crystal Conclave was officially established and you took most of Manhattan as your Legion, the Lupus Guard sent envoys to all the other Legions, attempting to unite the entire Accelerated World against you, to wipe you out."
That news didn't particularly surprise Rick, but why hadn't he heard anything about it before now? Certainly, Sam had to know.
"But obviously, Pewter Slip didn't want to get involved in no politics. The Circuit's supposed to be about having fun the AW, ya know? I'm guessing it's the same for the other Legion; you're just not on their radar as a threat."
"So, when the unified army doesn't pan out, Silver Lupus decided to put a bounty on your heads. Then, when the Lupus Guard not only loses two Burst Linkers, but loses 'em to the Conclave, well... Let's just say, you guys are gonna be busy outside of your borders with the amount of burst points Lupus is offering."
She sighed. "I never asked, but I figure that's what got Terracotta Break into trouble. The points made him stupid."
"Doesn't make it right," Rick growled, growing angry again. Not just at the Slip Circuit or even the Lupus Guard, but at himself! Even at thirteen-years-old, he should've seen this coming and tried to take steps to counteract it, but he never saw it coming! He was still such an idealistic kid sometimes!
But she had mentioned something else...
"What was that about a hostage?" he asked.
"One of our Senators has been MIA for about ten or twelve days. Peach Parfait went into the Unlimited Neutral Field with a small party and nobody's seen her in the UNF since.
"She'll appear in the Gallery occasionally, but she's level 8, so she doesn't really duel anymore, ya know? She ain't saying nothing about what happened, but I get the feeling something just isn't right."
"Um, quick question," Rick interrupted. "How can she be abducted in the UNF but still able to watch fights for the Gallery?"
"Don't know about the UNF, do ya?"
He shook his head. "Nope. As is tradition, I'm hopelessly clueless and require you to explain things that Viper should've told me already."
"Well, since you're not level 4 and can't go to the UNF yet, I'll cut her a little slack this time," she said winking.
The two walked past a crumbling building that look as though a light breeze would do it in, but both knew that one of the features of a Demon City Stage was that the environment – buildings included – were nearly indestructible.
"So," Emerald Buckler began, "the Unlimited Neutral Field. For the low, low price of ten burst points, you can go there for as long as you want. The same acceleration rules apply there as well; thirty minutes equals 1.8 seconds in the real."
Rick nodded. He knew that already, but hearing it again was a good idea, since he would be level 4 probably sooner than he had ever expected.
"Well," she continued, "if there's no time limit to being there, how does one log out?"
"Uh, you can't use the 'Burst Out' command?" Rick asked before immediately clapping his hands over his mouth – or at least where his mouth would've been on his face plate. Then he remembered that while in a duel, you couldn't use the "Burst Out" command to leave the fight early.
Buck laughed at his reaction. "You know perfectly well that only works while outside of combat."
"Okay, so how do you leave the UNF then?"
"According to Legion-mates, those who care enough to instruct us newbies in the ways of the world, there are multiple Log-Out points scattered in strategic positions throughout the entire UNF. Like, the lobby of the Empire State Building has one, I'm told."
"So, you log out at one of these points l I get it. We got that on our school net," Rick said. "Now what about this abduction?"
Buck sighed. "If you're trapped in the UNF and leave via another method – someone pulling your neurolinker's connection to the global net, for example – then the next time you log into the UNF, your avatar will be in the exact same location as when they logged out."
Rick nodded. So, if Peach Parfait was in a locked dungeon, then she could leave anytime she wanted, but she'd just log into the same spot every time!
"Most high-level Burst Linkers who go on dungeon raids or hunt Wild-level Enemies will usually preset their 'linkers to automatically disconnect from the global net after a certain amount of time, that way they don't wind up in an unlimited EK."
"EK?"
"Enemy-Kill. See, in the UNF, you don't log out when you die. I've been told you become something like a ghost or soul or something like that. You can see and hear everything in your immediate area, though apparently, it's in sepia-tones and after an hour, you respawn at full health.
"But if an Enemy just sits on the spot where your party wiped, there's always the possibility that they can just keep killing you and your buddies over and over again." She shrugged. "It's rare, but it happens."
She shook her head. "The real threat, though, is other players, waiting in ambush for some level 4 or 5 players to fall into some sort of trap. Then they'll just keep killing the respawned Burst Linker until they're driven to total point loss. Those are called PKers."
Player Killers. Lisa had told him about those almost right from the beginning.
"Because of PKers, it's wise to never go into the UNF alone."
Rick couldn't argue with that logic.
I'm sure Crystal Seraph will explain everything in more detail, before you make your first trip," she said.
"I hope so," he muttered. "I doubt I'll remember all this info a week from now, much less when I reach level 4."
"Nah, you'll do okay. I got a knack for knowing these things, and I knew you'd pick up being a Burst Linker when I first fought ya. And now look at ya! Not one, but two names and avatars! Plus, you're almost level 4 too? Shoot, probably level 4 tonight, if you use that gift card."
That brought Rick up short. Sam had said he'd need to get he'd need to get to level 4 ASAP and using the card would certainly do it! He could use it now and nobody would know. But was that the right thing to do? After all, he wasn't even present at the fight where Leander was taken out, so should he even be allowed to use these points in the first place?
Not to mention that these points once belonged to another Burst Linker who now didn't even remember the game of Brain Burst existed.
"I'll discuss it with my fellow Conclavians," he said after a minute. "But I don't know if we'll ever use this thing. At least, not yet." He glanced at the countdown clock; there was less than a minute left.
"Well, Tarn 'ol buddy," Emerald Buckler said, "guess there's only one thing left to do." She spread her arms out, exposing her torso. "Get yourself one good punch, so you can win this duel."
Rick smirked, not that she would see it through his helmet's faceplate. He didn't enjoy winning duels like that. Instead, he had a better idea.
He walked calmly to the bright green avatar and wrapped his arms around it in a big hug.
"Wha-!?" Buck stammered.
"Thanks, Buck," he murmured. "You're a good friend. And I'm sure that one day, you'll find your lumberjack."
She stifled a snorting chuckle as the timer reached zero, the game declaring a tie.
Rick stretched out in his bed, feeling a little better than before. He silently sent his thanks to Emerald Buckler, hoping his hug would let her know he'd forgiven her for whatever she felt guilty about. Not that she shouldn't still feel bad about it, but he wanted her to know that he personally didn't find fault in her actions.
Shifting his side, he debated sending a quick email to Sam or Lisa, explaining what had just happened. And about the card he'd been given. In the end, his dropping eyelids convinced him that telling them could easily wait until morning.