AN: This Chapter is rated M for maybe, like, a tenth of a percent. Most of it is T (or at least what I consider T) but one part of it I would bump up to M. You'll get what I mean when you read it.
With that gauntlet thrown down, please enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd make it a world in the new KH4.
Yeah, Sora heard about the world from Steve when he was in smash bros. It could be canon.
Chapter 212
The C Word
[Floyd]
"We're planning on laying low for a bit."
Kalmarin explained this in front of Alexandra. He had asked me to accompany him for reasons I didn't know but didn't argue against. I wanted to know more about the Hacker Pheodora. She was an aimless Hacker just like me, left to fend for herself when the Hack Clan neglected to welcome her into the fold like so many others. She was a kindred spirit I yearned to grow closer to. A connection was just waiting to be made, and I wanted to reach out and help make it a reality as fast as possible.
She was also timid from what I could see. She didn't inhabit her body at all times. She was timid and scared, refusing to be surrounded by strangers. Communication with her had to go through her big sis Alexandra first.
I wanted to assure her she was safe - to make her as comfortable with me as she had been with Noman, but Alexandra was stubbornly protective, barring entry to the closed off room she and Pheodora claimed as their own. It was why Kalmarin and I were speaking to her at all.
"Why lay low? I want Pheo and I to be out of this village as soon as possible."
"Carys has concerns." Kalmarin explained. "Twice the guards caught you by surprise. They knew where you'd be. Having that occur twice in a row is too much of a coincidence. We want to make sure it won't happen again before trying another escape attempt."
"Feels more like you're dragging your feet." Alexandra accused before trying to peer over our heads into the living room. "Where's Noman? What's he got to say about all this?"
"Noman's indisposed." Kalmarin said firmly. That was one way of saying 'Carys chased him out under threat of death'. "And we're not dragging our feet so much as we're being cautious. Once we're assured you won't be fooled, we'll enact our escape plan and have the two of you escorted out of here. Carys and Anibal are already working on a plan involving the mineshafts underneath Galitsino."
"Mineshafts? So like underground?" Alexandra asked with a bit of surprise. "I never thought of that. Do they extend outside the village?"
"Some of them do, and that's precisely why Carys and Anibal set out - to try to narrow them down." Kalmarin nodded. "They're putting a great deal of effort into helping you two. The least you could do is allow us a chance to convey our intent to Pheodora."
"You don't need to do that." A scowl fell back over Alexandra's face. "I can tell her myself."
"Please." I begged, speaking up. "We just want to make her comfortable. She doesn't have to be afraid with us."
"Oh? And why's that?"
"Because... well..." I gestured to my eyes helplessly. Could it be any more obvious? We were all Hackers! "Come on."
Alexandra remained unmoved.
"We just want a chance to talk with her." Kalmarin assured. "Just a bit of time to ask her some stuff and pick her brain. It's not often we encounter a Hacker not part of the Clan."
"No one would be closer to them than a defector." Alexandra folded her arms. "Former Hack Clan is still Hack Clan."
"That chapter of my life is behind me. I'm a different person." Kalmarin insisted. "Just because I'm a changed man, however, doesn't mean I haven't retained a lesson or two from the Clan. These powers," he willed dark vapor to gush from his eyes and envelop his fists, strengthening them, "they're a burden. Pheodora must've gone through confusing times mastering her powers."
Alexandra kept her arms folded, but her eyes strayed to the floor. It was a silent concession that Pheodora had gone through her own version of Hacker puberty.
"The Hack Clan, for all their self-supremacy and familial ideals, helped us understand how to use our powers. They taught us we control them instead of them controling us." Kalmarin kept going seeing that Alexandra's protectiveness was waning. "I just want to teach her a bit about her powers. That's all. Would a lesson while we wait really hurt?"
Alexandra spared a glance between Kalmarin and I. She seemed to be judging our faces.
"...I guess you guys aren't too frightening." Alexandra admitted. She tapped her arm with a finger as she considered us further. "And we've got time."
"The whole day." Kalmarin assured. "Just leave the hard work and details to Carys and Anibal. You don't have to worry about the plan."
Her lips thinned, the corner of one rising into a grimace until she relented with a sigh. "Give me a minute to talk with her."
She opened the door to the bedroom and shut it behind her. We waited patiently as faint, hushed words between Alexandra and Pheodora funneled through the door and reached our ears. From the sounds of it there were many denials and refusals, few concessions and compromises, and a whole lot of conditions.
"What's Carys' endgame with the girl?" I suddenly asked.
Kalmarin narrowed his eyes. "I don't know what you mean. I'm simply offering my junior some advice on her powers. She never had any guidance with them."
"Only because you didn't bring her in." I countered. He tilted his head and his hat shadowed his eyes. "So instead of recruiting her for the Clan, you're recruiting her for Carys. All you've done is exchange one master for another."
"And what would you do? Recruit her for the Beginners?"
"I just want to talk with her. She's more like me than you." I spoke honestly. "We were both without guidance, like you said. We had to live in a world that was terrified of us. And all these missing Hackers Exter is rounding up for the Clan? They're all the ones you neglected."
"You don't know what you're talking about." He warned lowly.
"You were meant to keep watch. You defected and abandoned your post without telling the Clan. And all those Hackers were left to fend for themselves without any explanation of the lines over their eyes or the smoke they could summon." I gestured to the door. "You didn't care for Pheodora then. Why care now?"
He turned to face me, one fist raised, before halting upon the sound of approaching footsteps. He straightened out as the door swung open to reveal Alexandra being used as cover by the fully conscious Pheodora. Kalmarin and I made sure our expressions brightened upon seeing her, though Alexandra was quick to hold up three fingers.
"Three conditions." She listed. "One: We talk somewhere private where nobody else will disturb us. Two: I accompany Pheo at all times. Three: The second she flees her body will be when we conclude this little meeting. If you don't approve, we can shut this door right now and take this no further.
Kalmarin bowed politely. "The terms are agreeable. I have a private place in mind where we won't be disturbed: the basement."
"Lead on." Alexandra gestured with one arm while the other came back to rub Pheodora's shoulder in a comforting manner. The girl was like a skittish horse being led to water.
We exited the hallway towards the staircase to the basement, passing the living room where the Paragons waited idly. Carys and Anibal were looking over a map with the former pointing and giving orders to Dyson, Reuben, Albert, and the rest of her soldiers.
Down the stairs we went, flicking a light switch at the bottom to reveal a dusty brick basement with an island counter that would be commonplace in a bar. It looked like the homeowners (who were still tied up in a way that I wasn't comfortable with) had designed their basement with a bar to entertain guests. The shelves were stocked with brewing stands and several pre-made liquors. The basement was easily the largest room in the house, filling out the foundations to allow us plenty of space and, most of all, privacy.
There was a faint whine from Pheodora as Alexandra took her to the far wall, shielding her all the way.
"Okay, you wanted to talk." The honey-blonde prompted. "Talk."
"Right." Kalmarin took on a gentle, welcoming tone meant to ease troubles. "Pheodora, my name is Kalmarin_the_Prophet, but you can call me Kal if it's easier. All my colleagues do." He lowered himself to a kneeling position, Pheodora shrinking behind Alexandra's back. "As you can probably tell by the lines, I'm a Hacker just like you."
"Same as us." I interjected too harshly. Pheodora's orange eyes darted to me fearfully. "Er... sorry." I backed away, losing ground to Kalmarin.
"...like us." He corrected with a shake of his head. "Floyd and I are both Level 2 Hackers - we can each use two Hacks - but neither one of us is allied with the Hack Clan. I want to be clear on this, Pheodora, we have no intention of handing you over to the Hack Clan. We're independent of them. You have nothing to fear from us."
Slowly but surely, Pheodora began to show more of her face from behind Alexandra. She still looked scared, but there was a faint glimmer of interest in her eyes.
"If you're up for it, I'd like to teach you about your powers so you're prepared should any new ones manifest. Gaining new abilities can be scary, and it can happen any time due to fluctuations in your emotional or mental state. It would be prudent to tell you the basics. You wouldn't need to talk, just watch and listen." Kalmarin offered. "Would you be okay with that?"
Pheodora shifted from one foot to the other, delaying her answer as much as possible. Not once did Kalmarin rush her. Instead he patiently waited for her to make the decision, smiling when she gave a shaky nod of approval.
After that, Kalmarin launched into a lengthy lesson about Hacks. It was a rehash of what I learned from Sandra and Winslow. It never occurred to me, but maybe the Hackers had a class reserved for teaching the latest members. I could just imagine them all in a room, sitting at desks before a teacher who'd talk all about the inferiority of Crafters and why Hackers were the dominant race. Then they'd have to test their Hacks in some sort of licensing exam before being free to leave the Obelisk.
Kalmarin made sure to explain everything from manifesting new Hacks to tempering existing ones, outlining the connection between emotions and thoughts and how the Hacks evolved to suit a Hacker's convictions. It was all broken down into those same three facets: Willpower, Muscle, and Emotion. It really did sound like a lesson plan learned out of a textbook.
Not once did Pheodora talk throughout the explanation. Not to ask questions or clarify key points or even to show she was paying attention. However, she gradually left the comfort of Alexandra's back to show more and more of her face as Kalmarin went on. A few times I felt the desire to interject into Kalmarin's explanation so as to involve myself, but just taking a breath too loudly made the skittish girl's eyes dart to me in abject terror. Then I would shut my mouth and let her relax and listen to the rest of the lesson. She was definitely growing more comfortable with Kalmarin than me.
"And that about covers everything related to Hacks." Kalmarin concluded. "Now, for a demonstration."
"Demonstration?" Alexandra's arm stretched to cover Pheodora. "What do you mean? What are you going to do?" She was certainly paranoid and protective.
"Just some harmless exhibition. A chance to showcase what our gifts are." I noticed he used the word 'gifts' instead of 'curses'. I'm sure Pheodora considered her Hack as the latter since it marked her for life as someone to be feared and delivered to the Clan. "Floyd? Would you care to go first?"
The offer caught me off guard since Kalmarin didn't address me once during his lecture. However, this was my chance to leave an impression on the girl. With that in mind, I eagerly allowed my Hacker smoke to burst forth and envelop me before raising a fist towards the opposite wall and firing a barrage of MultiAura spikes. They struck in a staccato of sharp thuds before the embedded ebony spines dissipated back into smoke.
I grinned back at Pheodora only to spot her shivering behind her big sister. The display had been too violent for her sensibilities, making her even more afraid of me than before. I was at a loss, awkwardly lowering my arms under everybody's scrutiny.
"That was MultiAura. It's a mid-range projectile attack that causes considerable damage at varying radii. Perhaps a more genteel demonstration where Pheodora is concerned?" He suggested infuriatingly. He could be charming when he needed to be. "Here. Let someone more precise give it a try. Alexandra? Do you mind volunteering as my assistant?"
Dark smoke enveloped Kalmarin as he beckoned Alexandra forward. The honey-blonde stepped up - Pheodora staying where she was out of fear of getting any closer - and cautiously glanced at the man with the hat as he turned his back to her.
"Strike me."
"...What?"
"Go ahead. Strike me." Kalmarin urged. "You won't be hurt, I promise, but this particular Hack requires me to be damaged to activate.
Alexandra looked around awkwardly. "Kay..." She shifted slightly, looking through her stuff. "Do I need a sword or...?"
"Anything will suffice."
"Alright." Alexandra got into a clumsy fighting stance (definitely not a fighter) and swung a leg up to kick Kalmarin in the hip. As soon as it connected, the man vanished in a puff of smoke, reappearing at Alexandra's back and tapping her shoulder lightly. It made the woman jump, turn, and throw out a fist that struck Kalmarin square in the face. He then teleported behind the woman again, a hand covering his nose.
"Th-That was EnderPort." He spoke through his hand. "EnderPort lets me teleport behind where an attacker is the second the attacker lands an attack. Could be inches away, could be miles away. Oof. Got an arm on you."
Alexandra apologized before Kalmarin waved it off and turned back to me. "Now, Floyd has actually been trying to manifest a new Strength Hack. I've been teaching him, but he's having trouble. Floyd, why don't you give it a try again?"
It was an order rather than a suggestion, and one I'd rather not follow. Kalmarin was just trying to make me look bad in front of Pheodora. He knew I couldn't get Strength to work; I didn't have the right mindset. So I'd fail and demonstrate how Kalmarin and his fully controlled Strength Hack were superior.
"...I don't want to bore them." I said evasively. "I could show off my Speed Hack instead. That's not scary-"
"Oh, you mean the Speed Hack you still don't have full access to?" Kalmarin spoke hurriedly. "This guy." He laughed as if sharing a joke to Alexandra and Pheodora. "His Speed Hack let's him move fast, but he doesn't have full access to it. Lasts less than a minute before his body seizes up and has to cool down. It's unfortunate, but those are the dangers of not properly training your Hack. They're a muscle, and muscles can be let go and neglected."
Bastard. He just outlined another reason why I was the inferior blue-haired Hacker, and what's more I couldn't refute it.
"Seriously though, Floyd, show us your Strength." He repeated. As if I had a choice. Pheodora was already showing interest as her head peeked over Alexandra's shoulder.
I sighed in defeat before stepping back, raising my fists to my sides, and closing my eyes for focus. I would go through the three facets slowly this time in an effort to both instruct and to achieve the desired Strength.
"Hacks are commanded through Willpower." I spoke calmly.
I willed the power to the fore as I had a hundred times, finding that smoldering black flame within and demanding it show itself, spewing dark vapor from my eyes that swirled to envelop my body and change my sclerae black.
"Hacks are strengthened like a Muscle."
I could feel the smoke covering my arms. It was how I launched MultiAura, but I wasn't going for that one. I wanted Strength. The same Strength Thed and Kalmarin had. The key was not to channel anger, but to channel strength.
"And Hacks are evolved... through thoughts and Emotion!"
I concentrated as hard as I could on feelings of strength. Leadership, willpower, endurance, independence, responsibility. I needed a clearer image. I recalled times of triumph where I felt unconquerable. Saving Princess Alaqua. Giving Soul and Cara time to escape from Teal. Defeating one of Carys' Paragons in the skies above Zeppil.
Sweat beaded down my forehead as I screwed my face up in focus. Veins bulged in my tightened neck. I strained myself, hungry for my third Hack.
I wanted it! I wanted that feeling! The Strength to Attack! The Power to Attack.
However, those thoughts soon came undone. The feeling of power grew further and further away as I tried desperately to capture it. Like chasing clouds, the dark smoke faded away and left me in a pool of my own sweat before I collapsed in exhaustion.
Another failure.
"That was a good attempt, Floyd." Kalmarin said condescendingly. Looking up, I bit my lip as I saw he had effortlessly summoned the very Hack I had been struggling with. "This is more like how it should be, Pheodora."
Using his Strength Hack and one hand, he reached down and lifted me over his head with ease. Then, to rub it in, he tossed me into the air and caught me again with his other hand. The display earned a chuckle from Alexandra and a rare smile from Pheodora. It was the first smile I'd seen on her and it made Kalmarin grin in triumph.
"Strength's a good Hack to have." He advised, setting me down on my feet. "If you want to be strong, you need to feel strong. Strong feelings of responsibility and independence. The Strength to Attack!"
Alexandra chuckled again, though I didn't know what was so funny. Pheodora also seemed to glance aside, though she seemed to look at me while I wallowed in failure.
"...the Strength to Protect."
Kalmarin, myself, and even Alexandra looked shocked at hearing the first words out of Pheodora's mouth. The honey-blonde stepped away and Pheodora actually stepped out into the open, though she did cover the lower part of her face with a book. A book I'd seen Noman reading a few times: The Art of Peace.
The book made Kalmarin go pale. "You, uh, wh-who gave you that book?"
"A m-mind to serve for the peace of all human beings in the world is needed in Aikido," Pheodora recited, the quote coming from Noman's Aikido book, "and not the mind of one who w-wishes to be st-strong or who p-practices only to f-fell an opponent." She gulped. "Th-that's what I think Strength ought to be. The Strength to Protect."
"Strength to protect...?" I asked aloud, earning a nod from Pheodora.
"Y-Yes, like N-Noman. He gets it." She looked down at the book. "He b-bears the strength to hold the shield. And he carried me, that time. And Allie, those times. Stalw-wart and protective. Just like Allie."
"Aww, Pheo." Alexandra hugged her affectionately, bringing their faces close.
"That's... uh..." Kalmarin faltered. "I'm sure Noman's a great defender... but you should really know how to defend yourself... by attacking!" He emphasized. "Let's put the Aikido away and focus more on the Strength meant to attack. Offense is the best defense."
I knew what was going on. Carys would have an aneurysm if she knew Pheodora was taking Noman's pacifist Aikido to heart, a fact Kalmarin seemed acutely aware of as he tried to gently discourage such teachings. Seeing her have that book and take to its teachings worried him. I didn't mind seeing him sweat after he made me look weak in front of the sisters, but I was also thinking of Pheodora's advice. The Strength to Protect, not Attack?
I never thought of it like that because 'Protect' sounded akin to 'Shield'. The mental image of Noman came to mind, but so did his non-violent techniques. I didn't need a shield, I needed a sword - an offensive force rivaling that of Thed and Kalmarin. It was the only way to overcome getting splashed by Potions of Weakness. Then, pairing that with my Speed fully mastered, I'd be immune to paralysis. That was my end goal.
I appreciated Pheodora trying to help, but her idea of Strength was too different from mine. I needed pointers from someone with temerity, not timidity. Because of that, I had to discount her advice.
It's not like she had any Strength Hack to boast of.
Refocusing back on the people in front of me, I saw Pheodora still cowering behind the Art of Peace and Kalmarin fruitlessly trying to make her put it away.
"Wh-Why is it bad?" Pheodora asked innocently. "It's t-talking about p-peace and non-violence. Those aren't bad."
"Not per se," Kalmarin spoke carefully, "but not everyone wants peace. Some people use violence to force their ideals on you. In those cases, you have to fight back. And peace is akin to doing nothing, which is a fine way to allow evil to spread."
"But... I-I like peace. I want peace." Pheodora said firmly. "I want to do nothing - Alexandra and I sh-shouldn't be involved in these matters on Hackers. We just want to b-be left in peace."
"Well, I'm sorry to say it, but peace isn't an option." Kalmarin frowned. "And reading that book won't convince me otherwise. So please, put it away."
"How come you have a problem with Noman's book?" Alexandra inquired with a hand on her hip. "Is it because Carys considers him an invalid?"
"Carys is combative. She's fought all her life."
"Maybe she's fought too much." Alexandra commented.
"Or she doesn't have to at all. Here." Pheodora flipped open to a page she had marked with a finger. "'Nonresistance is one of the principles of Aikido. Because there is no resistance, you have won before even starting. People whose minds are evil or who enjoy fighting are defeated without a fight.'"
"She can't just do nothing!" Kalmarin suddenly snapped, scaring Pheodora slightly. "We all can't just do nothing! You think I left the Hack Clan because I was content with things staying the same? NO! I did something! Leaving them and joining Carys was doing something. Doing nothing would've just been me sticking to the Clan like all those other assholes."
Pheodora covered her ears at the curse, whimpering and going back to hiding behind Alexandra. The honey-blonde shook her head disapprovingly at Kalmarin, the Hacker's expression turning guilty as he realized his lapse in composure.
"Sorry. I just..." He sighed. "Let's discuss Hacks again. It's possible to lose your Hacks during-"
"I got a better idea." Alexandra cut him off. "Why don't you clue us in to why you defected from the Hack Clan?"
Kalmarin frowned. "Let's not talk about me."
"Let's do."
Kalmarin glanced helplessly at me, but I offered zero support. Not after he made me look bad in front of Pheodora.
"Ugh. Okay, look." He tipped his hat over his eyes. "One of the Hack Clan... Null, he..." The Hacker paused for a moment. "He killed someone very important to me. Adina. She was just a regular Crafter knocking me off my high horse, and she was killed. So I left." He finished lamely. "I left so I wouldn't stay an asshole, nor would I contribute to brainwashing any more assholes."
Alexandra, who had been listening sympathetically while he told his abridged backstory, suddenly narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "...contribute, you say?"
"Yeah." Kalmarin shrugged. "I didn't want to bring in more Hackers to grow up like all the rest. Haughty egomaniacs, the lot of them."
"B-Bring them in?" Pheodora asked timidly, though her orange eyes seemed to harden. "You... brought them in? That was your job? Bringing in Hackers...?"
"Yes." He admitted. "I was solely responsible for watching the Origin Zone for when new Hackers spawned. Then I would bring them to the Obelisk-"
"But not her." Alexandra cut him off, her voice incensed as she gestured to Pheodora. "Or him." She added, throwing a finger to point at my stunned face. "Or all the other wandering Hackers being uprooted from their lives just so the King of Exter can appease the Clan, you fuck! This is YOUR fault!"
Kalmarin recoiled as if struck, his expression lost. "My... my fault? How is this-?"
"Pheo and Floyd and the rest! They were all your responsibility!" Alexandra screamed, advancing on Kalmarin like she was going to hit him. "But you left them behind! You abandoned them to the wilds, making them someone else's problem!"
"What was I supposed to do? I was leaving the Clan!" Kalmarin shouted. "Was I supposed to take them with me or-?"
"You abandoned us."
The timid words may as well have been screamed with how they shut Kalmarin up. He looked to Pheodora, transfixed, as she spelled everything out for him.
"Where were you when our Hacks emerged? Where were you when we were confused and in need of guidance? Where were you when we were feared and hated, when our powers were beyond our control, when we didn't even know what we were? I was s-so scared a-and alone. So many years of loneliness." Tears were coming from Pheodora's eyes. "You were supposed to protect us, but you abandoned us all."
Kalmarin shook his head desperately, horror dawning on his face. "N-No, I... I didn't mean to-"
"You didn't mean to?" Pheodora sniffled, wiping at her eyes. "You didn't have to go back to the Clan. You didn't have to make us into murderers. But... but we were so lost. You could have helped us control our powers. Guided us on a path of our own, away from the Hack Clan's influence. Couldn't you?" Kalmarin was frozen, his eyes trembling like he was the timid one. "Couldn't you?"
"N-No, I..."
"Why? Why couldn't you? Why did we have to learn everything on our own? Why did we have to stumble through the dark?" She cried. "I thought I was a monster..."
Her words echoed what I had felt going through discovering I was a Hacker. The doubt, the insecurity, the bewilderment of trying to get things to work. I was still having trouble getting everything to work. I hadn't had a proper lesson until Sandra and Winslow. Pheodora had nobody to teach her anything. Nobody to tell her she wasn't a harbinger of destruction. I had forgiven Kalmarin so easily, focusing more on the good place I'd found with my friends rather than the horrible person I'd have become with the Clan. Pheodora had spent longer alone and wasn't in a forgiving mood.
"No, you're not a monster!" Kalmarin pleaded. "I-I didn't think to... I didn't know I could've..." His words failed him. "I'm sorry, I should've-"
"You like to complain that Aikido is doing nothing. Well that's just what you did. Nothing." Alexandra snapped, her expression thunderous. "You wiped your hands clean. You thought it was enough not to brainwash more people into the Hack Clan when you should have helped guide terrified Hackers." Then she gestured to the whole basement. "And look! You're doing exactly what you didn't want to be a part of. You're trying to brainwash Pheo for a cause. It's Carys' cause, but it's still stripping Pheo of her free will! One big circle! Or am I wrong?"
Kalmarin clenched his fists as he looked down in shame. He had no words to dispute them.
"You didn't want me then." Pheo whimpered, her words looking to cause physical pain to Kalmarin. "You were fine with letting me go alone, but now you want me with you? After everything I had to learn? Everything I had to endure...?" Her lips thinned. "No. No, I just want peace. I just want me and my sister to be left alone." She stepped back, the sclerae of her eyes turning black, the smoke engulfing her. "Safe... quiet... detached... alone..."
Her Freecam took effect and her body fell back to be caught by Alexandra, clouded in dark smoke. The honey-blonde hitched her up and glared at the two of us.
"I said I'd entertain this for as long as Pheo stayed in her body. If she's out, so am I." She didn't wait for Kalmarin to protest - not that he had one - as she climbed the stairs with Pheodora bundled in her arms. Tears continued to leak down the unconscious Hacker's tear-stained face.
Once they were gone, Kalmarin sank to the floor, one smoke-clad fist smashing into it in a deafening thud that shook the room. His gaze was shadowed by his hat as he mumbled wordlessly.
"I was just... just trying to do right by Adina."
He sounded so lost that I felt he was genuinely ashamed. He just needed to hear it from someone personally hurt by his choice. Maybe once upon a time, Adina wished for him to leave the Hack Clan behind. Maybe it was her dying wish which he honored immediately and without remorse or consideration for the other Hackers he was leaving to brave the wilds. Would they have preferred to have been brought to the Hack Clan? Probably not, but he could have at least told them what they were and gave them guidance and a choice. The Hackers brought to the Obelisk were all taught they were gods - I remembered Sandra's none-too-subtle lessons - to awaken a Regen Hack. It protected them, but also made them treat Crafters like bugs.
Still, I felt pity for Kalmarin. He made no move to stand but I could see Pheodora's words were lingering on his mind. So, before going up the stairs after Pheodora, I let him know what I had told him before.
"...I don't feel the same way as Pheodora." I assured. "I'm glad I was never picked up. It gave me the chance to find true friends. And, deep down, I'm sure Pheodora prefers she met Alexandra. She just needs a little time to figure it out."
With my piece said, I climbed up the steps and left Kalmarin kneeling in the basement.
[Noman]
I only showed myself after Carys left the house.
I had a nap, recovered my strength, and woke up some time in the afternoon. It was the 11th of November, now. The third day in Galitsino Village.
When I peered down and saw Carys and Anibal leaving the house before vanishing in a splash of invisibility, I knew it was safe to return. Carys seemed seriously upset with me for getting Pheodora interested in Aikido, but it wasn't my fault. She was a gentle, timid girl who disapproved of violence of any kind. Of course Aikido would interest her; It was for those that sought peace.
Anyway, now that Carys was out, I felt safe in coming down from the roof. Reuben greeted me with a dull, 'Hey, she didn't kill you. Neat.' I checked on the husband and wife the house actually belonged to and saw they were being watched by Spaatz and Stayer. Soul was playing with Cat-Face I'm the living room, Albert and Dyson were in the kitchen, and Alexandra was-
I recoiled as the basement door slammed open to reveal Alexandra carrying the limp, smoke-enshrouded body of Pheodora. She looked furious as she ignored everyone's alarmed shouts, stomped into their designated bedroom, and slammed the door shut. It was like a thunderclap shaking the room and dampening the mood.
Sensing something was wrong, I gingerly padded to the bedroom door and gently knocked.
"Go away." Alexandra's voice answered curtly.
"Sorry." I apologized instantly. "Is everything okay?"
"Noman..." Alexandra sounded like she regretted snapping. "Sorry for that, I... we need to be alone right now. Okay?"
"...Alright." I stepped back. Maybe I should have been more concerned, but forcing her to open up wouldn't help matters. If they needed to be alone, I had to trust that they knew what they needed best. Like she said, people just needed space some time.
Besides, they wouldn't need me. Not after I failed to protect them. Twice.
"Find me if you need me." I said at the last, rapping once on the door before leaving.
Turning around, I was met with the insistent faces of three Paragons.
"What happened?"
"Is Pheodora upset?"
"Did Floyd screw something up down there?"
"Is she angry with Kal? What'd she say?"
"Does she need food? Potions?"
God, they were fighting over each other to make their words heard. Even Soul came over, Cat-Face trotting behind.
"Would petting my cat help relax her?"
"No, they just want some space." I answered. "Don't bother them. Let them be by themselves for a while."
"Who got her upset, Kal or Floyd?"
"I don't know. Does it matter? Just leave them alone." I said hurriedly, not wanting to be swamped by so many questions. I slipped between them and went to the kitchen.
Imagine my surprise when I found a Nether Portal where the fridge should be, and Albert happily using the counter space for brewing stands.
"...Why?" I uttered without energy.
Albert whirled, looking somewhat guilty for turning a married couple's kitchen into an alchemy store. "Er... well... I was low on some things. Needed to restock." He shrugged helplessly. "Come on, Beta-bros."
"You're going to dismantle this portal and put everything back once we're done here." I demanded with clear disapproval, to which Albert agreed. "I can't believe we're using a married couple's house for this. This ordeal will traumatize them for life!"
"At least since they're unconscious, we won't have to kill them." Albert pointed out. "Otherwise they would have reported you and Carys working together. That would have gotten back to the Cult, especially if our assumption of XoX is correct."
"That's her opinion." I said disdainfully.
"Just don't talk about Aikido with those girls anymore. Carys was really going to kill you. Anibal's cooling her off now, but you'd best avoid her when she gets back."
"Yeah, I think that's best." I sighed. "Though, actually, I was hoping you could lend me a hand."
"With?"
One conversation later and Albert and I were on the second floor, his linked map held at the ready to deliver my message.
"It's unusual to send a message in the afternoon." Albert warned as he dropped his map and picked it up. A signal for Cobb's group to answer. "Don't be disappointed if we get no response."
"It's alright. I've prepared myself." I assured, taking a seat at the work desk. The second floor of the house was just a large office space. Maybe the husband or wife worked from home. There were chests full of papers like filing cabinets and a few paintings to spruce things up. Sunlight streamed through a window, casting sunbeams on the stone floor.
Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long. Baltic answered the call almost immediately, Albert then relaying that I wanted to talk with the one person I craved the advice of.
"Noman?" Albert relayed to me on Cobb's behalf. "If this is really you, how and where did we first meet?"
"We were in Zeppil." I smiled, reminiscing. "I came to your aid in the fight with Leadstripe."
"You sure did." The response came fast, Cobb now put at ease. "What's going on? We just cleared the Ohm Mountains, but I thought Carys was bitch-bragging about how she'd make it to the capital city before that. What gives?"
"Language." I admonished. "And we ran into a detour. We're in Galitsino Village, just a few days from Exter's capital."
"That's not so bad. We're heading south now, along the coast, but we're planning on staying at a village tonight called Milstatt. Before Floyd or Soul ask, no, this isn't Halstatt. It's Milstatt. They're just named similarly."
"Floyd and Soul aren't with me. This is just me. And Albert." I added. "They're downstairs right now."
"Floyd's in a village? He's wanted! What's Carys thinking?"
"Nobody's been exposed. We've been invisible - I messaged you because I need advice." I cut straight to the point. "I've been getting careless, making stupid mistakes, and I don't want to make another one."
There was a long pause before Cobb answered back. "Okay. Walk me through what happened."
Thus I began relaying to Cobb all that had happened in Galitsino the past three days. I spared no detail, describing XoX's brutal shattering of my arm, my rescue of Alexandra, my promise to help her and Pheodora - a runaway Hacker - escape, my first failure getting spotted in the sky, then my second failure at the school. Retelling the last parts dampened my mood quite a bit, and I was grateful Cobb couldn't see that in the translation. Only when I was finished did Cobb answer back.
"He really gave you a Swirly? What is this, high school? Captain Sucks Cocks indeed. And to think I thought he was alright following our Spleef battle."
"Language." I admonished again. "And he wouldn't have shoved my head in a toilet if I'd been more careful making sure we weren't seen. I keep screwing up! I'm an invalid, just like Carys said."
"You're not an invalid, Noman. Carys..." There was a pause as the blip stopped blinking, Cobb seeming to mull over his words. Albert and I watched the map in silence before the blip started up again. The message that followed, however, was strange. "Carys Carys Carys doesn't know what she is is is talking about. She just wants to to to make you feel awful by shifting the blame blame blame onto you."
"What's with the repeating?" I asked Albert who could only shrug. Was that how Cobb wanted the message to be heard or was there some translation issue between Albert and Baltic? They never repeated words before.
"Cobb, you don't understand." I answered back. "Carys is right. I failed to protect those girls twice. My negligence nearly got them caught by Captain XoX."
"You didn't make a mistake, Noman." Cobb assured. "Carys Carys Carys did when she tried to pin it all on you. But you did nothing wrong. You know how I know? Because innocent lives is is is at stake." I actually flinched at the improper grammar. What was going on with the translating? Cobb's intent was going to get lost if these repeats kept popping up. "You don't screw up when to to to innocent lives are on the line. So don't automatically assume you did anything wrong. By assigning yourself the blame blame blame, you're just making it easier for the ones truly at fault to cover their tracks. Don't do them any favors. Have confidence in yourself. You made sure you weren't followed. You're not the reason the guards found you."
Despite the odd grammar and the message sounding like a broken record, Cobb's words were a comfort. Still, it didn't explain how the guards kept repeatedly finding us.
"Carys was worried about an intelligence leak. You think this might be that?" I asked, hoping Cobb could help crack the cause. He could be insightful when he needed to be.
"Carys Carys Carys already has an intelligence leak. It is is is been leaking since the day she spawned in. She doesn't have to to to brain cells to rub together. She can't blame blame blame that on me!"
There it was again. The repeating of words and bad grammar. And, come to think of it, it was always the same words.
Carys Carys Carys.
Is is is.
To to to.
...
I straightened up, my thoughts unfocused and chaotic as I pieced Cobb's secret message together. He was speaking in code... because Albert and Baltic were translating. Anything said would go back to Carys - No, rather, Albert wouldn't relay a message if it directly exposed Carys' schemes. So Cobb had to speak it in code.
Carys Carys Carys.
Is is is.
To to to.
Blame blame blame.
But what did he mean? It wasn't like it was Carys that told the guards-
My breath hitched, the action noticed by Albert as his neck twisted towards me. I didn't bother putting up a veneer of calm as the discoveries kept blossoming in my mind.
Who was the one that suggested using flying over the east gate, then messaged the others for a diversion that never happened?
Who was the one who peeked at Floyd and Soul's linked map to learn where I was, then swooped in 'just in the nick of time' to rescue Alexandra and Pheodora?
And who stood to gain the most from keeping a Hacker with them long enough to have Kalmarin recruit them? Who would rather make me out to be someone unreliable and unable to protect Pheodora compared to her Paragons?
My blue eyes hardened like sapphires, my face growing eerily calm.
"You get what I'm saying, Noman?" Cobb asked, Albert relaying the message.
He figured it out immediately from what I told him. Because he knew I wouldn't make a mistake. He believed in me, which is more than I can say about myself. He also didn't trust Carys on principle, something I was starting to find sensible.
I made a show of nodding slowly, my thoughts turning elsewhere. A great deceit had been deployed. Carys was a disgrace.
"Yes, Cobb. I got exactly what you were saying."
"Alright alright alright. Be careful."
[Floyd]
Noman and Albert were just exiting the kitchen to head upstairs. I didn't know what they were planning, but judging from the map Albert took out, I guessed he wanted to send a message to Cobb.
My primary concern was Pheodora, though. I walking towards the door I knew to be hers only to get stopped by a word from Spaatz.
"Hey. The invalid told us to leave her be. What the hell did you do down there to make them so upset?"
"Ask Kalmarin." I answered back. "And all I want is to talk. She'll listen to me."
"Why's that?" Soul asked.
"Because we're the same, her and I." I said, one hand resting on my chest. "I know more than anyone what she's been through. She'll hear me out."
"I'll be moral support then." Soul chipped in, Cat-Face in his arms. He stepped up beside me while Spaatz and Stayer spoke out against us.
"If we're not allowed to check up on her, neither are you." They said. "Back away from the door."
"I know what I'm doing." I dismissed, walking right up to the door and knocking twice.
"Go away." Alexandra's voice echoed from within.
"It's me, Alexandra. It's Floyd. Can Pheodora talk?"
"No, Pheo can't do anything right now because she's scared out of her mind." Came the harsh reply. "Now go away! Leave us."
"I'm not leaving Pheo like this-"
"Don't call her Pheo!" She warned suddenly. "That's reserved for friends."
"We are her friends." Soul added. "She likes cats right? I have a cat."
There was a moment of silence before the door was wrenched open, Alexandra seized the cat from Soul's fingers, and the door was slammed shut once more. What followed next were some joyful cat noises and light giggling.
"See? We just want to make Pheo feel - Pheodora feel better." I assured.
"The cat is appreciated. Now go." Alexandra demanded.
"I don't want to leave things like we did." I pleaded. "Pheodora has every right to be mad with Kalmarin, but I'm just trying to help. She doesn't have to feel alone. I'm here for her if she-"
"Oh, gosh, don't you see what you sound like right now!?" Alexandra's voice rose in volume. Her turquoise eyes glared balefully at us through the wooden door. "Making yourself sound like you have Pheo's best interests at heart. You think you're her buddy? You have one thing in common, and it's that you're a Hacker."
"Well... yeah." I said rather lamely. "But we're both a certain type of Hacker. We weren't taken in by the Clan. I'm not like Kalmarin, I'm more like Pheodora."
"You're just like the Hack Clan." The accusation had me reeling. "You act all brotherly because you're both Hackers - that's exactly what the Hack Clan does, moron!"
"Wha-?"
"Think about it!" She glared through the door. "The Hack Clan are welcoming and kind and there for you... as long as you have lines over your eyes and can blow smoke. Big whoop. Isn't that what you're doing now? You're already stuck thinking Pheodora is your little sister. She's not! Just like the Hack Clan aren't her family either. She's not their sister, she's not Kal's sister, and she's not your sister." Her voice grew softer. "She's my li'l sis Pheo. So quit vying for her favor like you know anything about her. Same goes for Carys' flunkies out there!" Spaatz, Stayer, Reuben, and Dyson bristled. "You're not her friend. You're just trying to use her like everyone else in this stupid village."
I was still stuck dwelling on the comparison between myself and the Clan. I was nothing like those killers, but wasn't I inadvertently doing just what they'd been practicing for hundreds of years. I latched onto Pheodora just because she was another lost Hacker. If she were anyone else, I wouldn't have cared. And, I found, I still didn't care. I didn't care to know who she was or what she wanted. I just wanted to make some connection, thinking one was already present.
But there wasn't! It was that same pitfall with the Hack Clan - they joined together as a family through self-proclaimed blood bonds. That's what cemented them together. But take that away and what did any of them have in common? Just haughty superiority.
"You know," Alexandra continued, "if you want to be there for us, you'd listen. Noman knocked before, but as soon as I told him we needed space, you know what he did? He listened! He gave us our space! He didn't pry or invade, he left us to cope trusting that we would. He knows what we need. Why can't you get the hint?"
The turquoise eyes vanished from the door and I was left stunned with my mouth agape. I couldn't deny, however, that without even meaning to, I had tried to curry favor with Pheodora as a fellow abandoned Hacker. I only saw her for her lines. There was no connection between us.
She was just a frightened girl in need of space.
"...You're right." I spoke aloud, hollowly. "I'm sorry. I won't bother you again."
I retreated in defeat with my tail tucked between my legs. Spaatz shook his head mockingly at my walk of shame. Though Alexandra's words had been harsh, she wasn't afraid to call us out for what we acted like. She was more perceptive than she let on.
Of course, Noman could do no wrong in her eyes. However he won those two over, I'll never know.
Just then, Carys and Anibal returned, their expressions sour. "Guards have been deployed all over the place. We almost got caught. Twice!"
"It's too hot to use the mining tunnels right now. We might have to delay a couple days." Carys threw out casually. It was so unlike her. She usually hated detours. "The North Slope Mining Tunnel would be my first choice, but we'll need someone to go back out and verify. Someone who won't raise any alarms with the guards or potential cultists."
"I'll go." Soul raised his hand before whispering, "make sure you get my cat back," and then departing with Christopher on one shoulder. Dyson offered to go with as well since he was getting stir crazy doing nothing. The two left with a splash of invisibility while Carys plopped onto the couch and leaned her body back. Several muscles popped as she stretched like a cat, moaning audibly. When she heard footsteps coming down the stairs, her face twitched.
Noman and Albert came down the stairs, the former's presence making the tension in the room palpable. The remaining Paragons and I could sense something was about to go down by the way Noman fearlessly entered the living room. Albert didn't know what this was about. Kalmarin chose that moment to rejoin us from the basement. His dejected mood melted away when he saw the stern scowl adorning Noman's face.
If Carys noticed something was amiss, she didn't take it seriously. What would Noman do besides rebuke her? "Well, well. The invalid returns. You better not have preached any more of that sissy Aikido crock to the girl. I'm still not convinced killing you would be a bad-"
"It was you."
Carys balked staring down Noman's accusing finger. "What?"
"You're the one that did it."
"You're going to have to be a lot more specific. I've done a lot." She shrugged casually, the sound of Noman's grinding teeth cutting through the room.
"You leaked our location to the guards. You and your 'Paragons of virtue.'" Noman's disgusted reveal had me floored. Carys was the one...?
I was the only one taken aback, however. Looking around was all I needed to confirm the Paragons' involvement. Anibal and Spaatz shifted awkwardly under Noman's accusation, Stayer and Albert averted their eyes, and Kalmarin had shame return to his face with a vengeance as his brow creased and he bowed his head.
Carys said nothing, though there was no sign of remorse on her face. She remained lounging on the sofa staring back at Noman as he went on.
"You suggested I fly over the east gate. Then you sent a map message to Kalmarin to arrange a diversion that never happened. That's why you were so cagey telling me not to go right away." Kalmarin twitched at his name. "They tipped the guards off - told them Pheodora would fly over the east gate. That's why they were prepared with spectral and tipped arrows. You didn't want her to leave so soon. You wanted more time with her - time to recruit her for the Paragons. You do the school too!?" He added harshly. I didn't like it when Noman got harsh; it happened so rarely. "You peeked at Soul or Floyd's linked map. You knew I was at the school. Another tip-off to the guards was all it took to bring Captain XoX down on us. Just enough to get me to fail in front of them, then you and yours swoop in to save the day. You made me think I was at fault, but you were just trying to show I couldn't protect them and you could. How many guards did you have killed just to sell it! All to bring Pheodora closer to you! ADMIT IT!"
Carys spared a glance to the room Pheodora and Alexandra were in before Noman slammed a fist into the wall, the action startling Albert.
"Don't look at them! Answer me!"
Carys smirked, then gave a slow chuckle as she rose to standing height from the sofa. "Figured it out, have you? I suppose I should be happy you're finally using your brain. Or did you phone a friend - get Cobb or that nerd to spell it out for you?"
"You admit it then?" Noman prodded. "You admit this was all just a stupid scheme?"
"Scheme, yes. Stupid, no." She shook her head. "It's amazing you still don't get why we need this. Need her."
"She could've been out of here yesterday." His voice was etched in pain. "They both could have been miles from this awful place if not for your infernal meddling!"
"We need as many Hackers as we can get. They're too valuable a fighting force and the girl is obviously hiding her powers. This war depends on-"
"She doesn't want to be part of this war!" Noman exploded. I didn't have to read it to know that this was a grave violation of the Art of Peace. "She has a choice! You can't force her into it! She just wants to be left alone!"
"She lost the right to a peaceful life the second she spawned with lines over her eyes." Those harsh words had Kalmarin looking up with a conflicted expression. "Hackers are a fighting force. Cobb knows that - he even picked up this one because of it." She gestured to me, and I felt my temper flare, a bit of smoke coming to the fore. "He knew a golden goose when he saw one, and look what it did for the Beginners' fighting prowess."
"Cobb never tried to control me." I chipped in dangerously. "Not like what you're doing with Pheodora."
"Then he's just as naive as Noman." Carys shook her head. "To beat the Endward Cult, we need every available advantage."
"She could've been out of here yesterday." Noman repeated, his voice agonizing over that simple fact. He was more torn up about that than he was at Carys for blaming everything on his negligence.
"I needed more time with the girl." Carys shrugged indifferently. "She's got the same weaknesses as you, and now I need more time to undo the poison you fed her on Aikido. You set me back without even meaning to. An exemplary invalid."
"Carys..." Anibal tried to get her to lay off. "Now might not be the best time to push him."
"What's he going to do, quote nonsense from that book to me?"
"She could've been out of here yesterday."
"So you keep telling me." Carys rolled her eyes. "Got anything else to say?"
"How can you be fine dragging her into your war!? Don't you have morals!?" Noman snapped. "Don't you have a soul!?"
"I do and he's a pain in the ass with a talking bird. But I take it he's not who you mean." She closed her eyes. "Morality is just a fiction used by the herd of inferior human beings to hold back the few superior men - or women. Why shouldn't I take advantage of the opportunity given to me? Because it's wrong and I'm being mean? The world is wrong and mean! And unfair! If being nice means losing a valuable superbeing, then I'll cast morality aside and let nothing hold me back. Your precious Aikido is flawed. It doesn't have all the answers - it just dresses up your weakness and let's you pat yourself on the back for doing nothing. Well, I'm doing something!"
Silence hung in the air as Noman and Carys glared each other down. Peace and War. Two warring ideologies. Neither side willing to back down. The Paragons and I watched with bated breath, fearing it would come to blows. Noman would never, though. He would never start a fight. It would have to be Carys to throw the first punch, something she looked to be about to do. The house might become a battleground, with Pheodora and Alexandra just in the next room over.
Our gazes flicked between Noman and Carys before Noman closed his eyes and steeled himself. His fists were clenched as he exhaled an icy calm breath and looked Carys dead in the eye.
"You are a cunt."
The simple sentence wiped the confidence from Carys' face. Of everything she thought he'd say, never in her wildest dreams did she think he would call her that, and with such loathsome disdain, like he was looking at a rotted carcass on the road.
There was a collective gasp at Noman's un-Noman-like swear. A hand flew to Anibal's mouth, Kalmarin looked guilty and afraid like Noman might aim his invective at him next. The other Paragons showed varying degrees of shock.
I recalled the only other time I ever heard Noman curse. It was only the once, but it was still as fresh a memory as ever. The day Jade was found out, and our loyalties were questioned. Even then, the word he used was a word so foul it was like the Herobrine taboo. The mother of all curse words. I don't think I ever heard it aloud, and that only made it more impactful considering who had uttered it.
It was certainly effective as it left Carys stymied.
"Forcing a timid girl into a war she wants no part of..." Noman berated further into the stunned silence. "It's a new low, even for you. She could've been out of here yesterday, but instead she's stuck in this house, surrounded by sharks trying to pick her apart. I won't allow it. I won't."
He moved to the back rooms, his face firm. It was obvious he was going to reveal everything of Carys' schemes to them.
His movement was enough to break the spell he cast. Carys reacted instantly, darting before him and knocking him into a chair.
My Speed activated in record time, allowing me to dodge a pair of Reuben's potions and body slam a fumbling Anibal into the sofa. I raced towards the back rooms but Spaatz put down some cobwebs that caught me like glue. Then Albert paralyzed me.
Noman sucked in a breath to yell to Pheodora and Alexandra, but the handle of Carys' scythe slammed into his throat, robbing him of air. Stayer clamped a hand over my mouth to prevent the same. Reuben paralyzed Noman and the two of us were quickly apprehended and quieted. Alexandra and Pheodora none the wiser of our brief skirmish. Kalmarin hadn't moved at all, I noticed. Neither to stop us, nor help us.
"I can't let you turn them from our side." Carys spoke unshakably. Her eyes strayed to the kitchen and the Nether Portal within. "Take these pooches for a walk. A long one." Stayer and Spaatz nodded before carrying our paralyzed bodies towards the Nether Portal. As we passed the bedroom door, both of us let loose muffled screams against the hands clamped over our mouths, but our voices didn't reach the girls. Kalmarin cast a forlorn look at us before tugging his blue scarf over his mouth and looking away in shame. Seemed he was going along with Carys' scheme, however conflicted he felt.
Noman and I were carried into the Nether Portal, the purple swirling enveloping our vision as we were sent away. A Hacker and the Billionth. Dismissed so easily by Carys and her Paragons.
[Pheo]
I was always lonely. So very lonely.
When I first spawned, there were people around, and I was too scared to come forward and introduce myself. I was always scared. All I could do was listen in the background, wishing I had the courage to be part of it.
It was because I was always afraid of what people thought of me. I was self-conscious of how I looked and how I was perceived. Even after leaving the Origin Zone and going to other villages, I had none of the confidence the others seemed to naturally possess. It was like I was made wrong.
That was probably why my Hack manifested the way it did. I was sitting in a park, watching a group of friends talk at a table. How I yearned to be over there, even though I couldn't work up the courage to move my body. It felt like I was trapped.
But then the smoke came gushing out and I left my body behind. It looked peaceful, like I was sleeping. I couldn't explain the smoke, but I felt so much lighter and freer without a body to weigh me down. I could fly about and move through walls. Even better, nobody seemed able to see or hear me. I could go over to those people and pretend to be with them, listening to their problems and their daily lives. Thinking on it now, it was just as Kalmarin said; my Hacks were tied to my emotions. I could see how people truly were when I wasn't around, without the risk of being seen myself.
But my body was seen. My smoke covered body had everyone pointing and screaming and fleeing. 'Monster,' they called me. 'Danger,' they shouted. 'Hacker!'
That's when I got the first taste of what I was. As my name and face became known, people would run at the sight of me or hurl abuse. It made me even more scared, and I found myself using Freecam more and more often, my introverted personality growing, becoming more pronounced as the years went on. If not for Allie, I would have remained friendless until the end of my days.
Still, even after Allie, I had a habit of not only employing Freecam, but of lingering around to see and hear what people thought of me.
That's how I knew Noman was nice as he carried me protectively over the east gate and shielded me from those arrows. His words were kind as he spoke with Allie. He wasn't scary. He wasn't afraid of me. It was why I gave Aikido a chance, reading the book and finding the beliefs lining up with everything I had seen of Noman over the past three days.
I had a habit of flitting about in Freecam, seeing and hearing what people thought of me.
So when I saw and heard Noman accuse Carys of manipulating us...
And I saw and heard her admit to wanting to recruit me in her war...
And I saw and heard her send Noman away when he tried to warn us...
I knew it was time to leave.
I closed my eyes and willed Freecam off, shifting my consciousness back into my body. Soul's adorable cat was sleeping atop my body, but I promptly shooed it away before facing my big sister.
"What's up?" She asked.
"...I want to leave." I told her. "Carys is just like the others. She tipped off the guards to sway me to her side. Noman found out and let me know just now." I took out the Art of Peace, staring down at its pages. "Carys sent him away."
Allie clicked her tongue. "I knew that two-face was trouble. Alright. Let's do it. Now, you think?"
"There's only five of them out there. We won't have a better chance to run away." I told her, remembering what I had heard. "The North Slope Mining Tunnel. That's the one Carys said was our best ticket out of the village."
"You want to use it? Her suggestions burned us before."
"I don't care. I just want out of this village. I just want some peace." I jotted something down in the Art of Peace before sliding it under the bed. Hopefully Noman would find it. I would hate not to return the book he lent me. "I'll take the lead."
Allie looked surprised. "Oh? Nice. I'm in for a show then."
"Stooooop..." I whined in disapproval. I didn't want to do it, but I had no choice. I had to protect my big sister.
With a hardened resolve, I shakily turned the latch and opened the door, stepping out into a living room with Allie behind me and Albert, Reuben, Anibal, Kalmarin, and Carys before me. The scary woman turned to regard me, this being the first time we had met while both of us were fully conscious.
"Pheodora. We meet at last. Found your nerve, have you?"
"Yes." Smoke gushed from my eyes to envelop my body. I didn't cower. My body didn't go limp. This time, body and consciousness remained as one. "I have."
[Noman]
"How can you two be a part of this? You know Pheodora is an innocent! She doesn't want to fight!"
Stayer and Spaatz dragged our paralyzed bodies across warm netherrack. Zombie Pigmen tittered nearby but didn't dare make any aggressive movements as long as we didn't harm them. Floyd's Speed Hack had long since expired, rendering him immobile without the need of Slowness or Weakness. I kept thinking about poor Pheodora and what schemes Carys would employ to turn her to their side. Worst case scenario I could think of was a staged death with Alexandra being the casualty. Nothing would galvanize Pheodora more than the death of her big sister, and Carys could just pretend it'd been a cultist. It was awful, but Carys had already proven there were no depths she wouldn't stoop.
"Look, buddy. Carys is our leader." Spaatz explained simply. "We do what she says, and everything always turns out fine."
"Having another Hacker as an ally would be reassuring." Stayer added. "Besides, she would've been drawn into this war eventually. The Endward Cult won't stop until all Crafters are wiped from this realm."
"Things haven't gotten that bad yet! She doesn't need to abandon her peaceful life." I pleaded. "You can't tell me you're fine with manipulating Pheodora like this."
"No." Stayer admitted. "But after losing Buckner, Devers, and Harbord, we could use some new blood. When you take a wound and bleed, you need new blood. The girl is an asset."
"This is sick. Alexandra was right. We're all just vying for a Hacker." Floyd spat in self-loathing. "What's Carys going to do? She can't keep us away forever. Sooner or later we'll tell Pheodora the truth!"
"She won't kill you. Not with the alliance at stake. Worst case, she might split the group up." Spaatz explained. "Half of us would go with Pheodora - Kalmarin among them - and you two and Soul would go to Exter with Carys. That way he can mold her into a proper fighter."
"She's not a lump of clay." I affirmed.
"Just keep quiet." Stayer said. "We'll go back when Carys gives us the signal-" Stayer suddenly went quiet while looking at his map. "What the-?"
"What's wrong?" Spaatz asked.
"I... Carys is..." He looked at the map in bewilderment. "The blip is flashing. She's calling us back."
"What? Why? It hasn't even been ten minutes."
Floyd and I shared a confused look at their conversation.
"I don't know. Something must've happened." They stopped dragging us in one direction and looked back at the trail of torches they left going to the Nether Portal. "You don't think XoX attacked do you?"
"How can he? It's not like you tipped him off this time!" I shouted pettily.
"It can't be XoX. Carys, Anibal, AND Kal are there. They can handle any-" The blip on the map blinked more vigorously. "Okay, we need to head back NOW."
"What about these two?"
"Guess we'll bring them back early. Come on!"
And so, we were dragged hurriedly back the way we came, following the path of torches they left to mark the portal location. We entered the obsidian frame, the purple swirls covering our vision before warping back to Minecraftia and the small house's kitchen. Stayer and Spaatz brought us into the living room before dropping us in shock at the sight before them.
The living room was a wreck. The sofa had been broken in half, pictures were knocked off the wall, the tables splintered, and a human-sized hole in the carpeted floor leading into the basement. Something swayed from the ceiling, and, looking up, I paled upon spotting Anibal hanging like some misshapen chandelier, the lower half of her body having been forced through the ceiling and stuck there. She looked unconscious as she hung upside-down.
Carys was nursing her side by the sofa remains, a map in hand. Albert was tending to her with some potions, but she wore a frustrated grimace that spoke of a bruised ego. I noticed that the unconscious married couple trapped in the cobwebs were missing too.
To cap it off, there was a human-sized hole in the wall nearest the door. The curvature of the wood hinted that the hole had been made when someone was blown out of the house. The front door opened and Reuben entered with a dazed Kalmarin in tow. Obviously he had been the one blown out, but how could a Hacker with Strength be bested so easily?
"What in Notch's name happened?" Stayer asked breathlessly while Spaatz stared at Anibal in the ceiling. While the rest of us assessed the damage, he was quick to climb the stairs to help his Team Leader.
The paralysis was wearing off Floyd and I when I asked my question. "Where's Alexandra and Pheodora?"
"Do you not see the human-sized holes in the wall? Ngh!" Carys winced, clutching her side. "Ugh. They ran off."
"They what!?"
"Your timid princess is a beast." Reuben supplied, setting Kalmarin down beside Carys and splashing them both with a Potion of Regeneration. "She was hiding a Strength Hack."
"...She had Strength too?" Floyd asked with intrigue. "Did she just unlock it?"
"Not with that level of control. Ow." Kalmarin winced. "Slammed Carys through the floor and into the basement right from the get-go."
"You were too slow to react." Carys sniped back at him. "What happened? Did you even activate your Strength to match hers?"
"I... I was caught by surprise." He said shakily.
Floyd actually laughed in awe at what Pheodora was capable of.
"Anibal lasted the longest." Albert reported. "I was about to paralyze Pheodora but Alexandra dove in the way instead. Then she put Anibal through the ceiling, snatched the married couple, and took off out the front door. That timid girl was like a force of nature."
"I want her." Carys vowed, already getting to her feet from the regeneration. "We're going after her! Which way did she go?" Floyd and I got feeling back in our limbs at around the same time Carys got to her feet.
Not believing she fled, I went back to their bedroom only to find the place empty except for Cat-Face pawing at a book under the bed. Cat-Face meowed idly as I grabbed the book and examined it.
It was my Art of Peace. The one I lent to Pheodora.
I flipped through the pages, arriving at the quote she resonated with the most. The very first one she quoted.
[Aikido is not an art to fight with enemies and defeat them. It is a way to lead all human beings to live in harmony with each other as though everyone were one family. The secret of Aikido is to make yourself become one with the universe and to go along with its natural movements. One who has attained this secret holds the universe in him/herself and can say, 'I am the universe.']
Then, at the bottom of the page, scribbled in neat handwriting:
[I'll never be a killer like the Hack Clan, but I already have my one family, and I have no intention of adding Carys to it.]
[Take solace, Noman, that in this hodgepodge of toxic human beings, you were the one most pure.]
"Pheo..." My fingers brushed the paper, feeling the melancholic farewell. She got out, though. She got out before Carys could do anything irreversible. She and Alexandra were better off. And it looked like they had decided to save that unconscious married couple too, despite doing a number on their living room.
*fweeeeee*
*BANG!*
*cracklecrackle*
My sad smile was short-lived as I heard the distinct sound of fireworks. I pocketed the Art of Peace and looked to the side window. It was already sunset, and I could make out the crimson sparkles of Creeper-faced fireworks as they were repeatedly - almost panickily - launched into the sky.
Red Creeper-faced fireworks. I thought with widening eyes. The guards had told us that those meant-
"Oh shit. When it rains, it pours..." Carys remarked in a cold sweat, her head peering out the hole in the wall.
A tidal wave of Zombie Pigmen with glass domes over their heads stampeded towards us from down the street. They snorted and oinked angrily, each one multiplying by five every half-second, and then those multiplying by five the very next half-second. Crafters on the street screamed and tried to flee, but only the ones with the sense to climb the buildings survived. The others were quickly run down by the Stigmata's greater than average speed and ripped apart. Even the exploding gear was consumed by the encroaching hoard. It was grislier than what the Paragons had described. A true natural disaster.
Galitsino Village was at the mercy of the Stigmata.
Inventory (Cobb): 1 Carved Pumpkin, 1 Leather Tunic [Dyed Green], 1 Diamond Leggings [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection IV, Feather Falling IV, Depth Strider III], 1 Fishing Rod {Backlash} [Knockback II, Luck of the Sea III, Unbreaking III] {Weak}, 1 Diamond Sword [Sweeping Edge III], 12 Cobblestone, 2 Glass, 16 Ender Pearls, 9 Ender Pearls, 56 Glass Bottles, 1 Stone Pickaxe, 1 Furnace, 17 Flint, 1 Flint and Steel, 17 Oak Wood Planks, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Clock, 1 Water Bucket, 1 Lava Bucket, 1 Milk Bucket, 10 Coal, 64 Snowballs, 11 Snowballs, 4 Ender Chests, 29 Obsidian, 41 Steak, 2 End Crystals, 9 Rotten Flesh, 1 Book {How to Kill Stuff for Numb Nuts}, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Book {Mobs of the Nether}, 1 Book {Mobs of the Bounty Days}, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Green Shulker Box {Pocket Box}
Green Shulker Box {Pocket Box}: 64 Eyes of Ender, 64 Chorus Fruit, 1 Potion of Strength II {1:30}, 1 Potion of Regeneration II {0:22}
[EXP: 38]
Inventory (Lenz): 1 Chainmail Helmet, 1 Dragon Head, 1 Chainmail Chestplate, 1 Chainmail Leggings, 1 Chainmail Boots, 32 Pumpkin Seeds, 1 Iron Dagger, 16 Ender Pearls, 13 Cobblestone, 1 Compass, 25 Gunpowder, 1 Bow, 1 Bow [Infinity], 1 Crossbow, 42 Arrows, 1 Crafting Table, 15 Steak, 1 Stick, 63 Chorus Fruit, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Notebook}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Daymonte Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Akasha Entry Pass}, 1 Red Shulker Box {Pocket Box}, 1 Gray Shulker Box {Pocket Box}
Red Shulker Box {Pocket Box}: 1 Shears, 1 Lever, 9 Redstone Torches, 8 Redstone Repeaters, 3 Redstone Comparators, 18 Blocks of Redstone, 2 Hoppers, 3 Pistons, 2 Sticky Pistons, 1 Book {Airship Piloting 101}
Gray Shulker Box {Pocket Box}: 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 63 Arrows of Poison {0:11}, 64 Arrows of Harming II, 64 Arrows of Harming II, 63 Arrows of Weakness {0:30}, 60 Arrows of Slowness {0:30}, 64 Arrows of Fire Resistance {1:00}, 64 Arrows of Healing II, 64 Arrows of Invisibility {1:00}, 64 Arrows of Leaping {1:00}, 64 Arrows of Slow Falling {0:30}, 64 Arrows of Night Vision {1:00}, 64 Arrows of Strength II {0:12}, 64 Arrows of Swiftness {1:00}, 63 Arrows of Swiftness II {0:11}, 64 Arrows of Water Breathing {1:00}
[EXP: 21]
Inventory (Baltic): 1 Iron Helmet [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Chestplate [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Leggings [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Boots [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Sword [Sharpness II, Unbreaking III], 1 Shield, 1 Bow, 1 Diamond Pickaxe [Silk Touch I, Mending I, Unbreaking II], 10 Arrows, 3 Brewing Stands, 1 Water Bucket, 28 Bones, 1 Ender Chest, 1 Map {Paragon Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Gold Citizenship Pass}, 26 Emeralds, 1 Lingering Potion of Slowness {1:00}, 1 Lingering Potion of Slowness {1:00}, 1 Lingering Potion of Healing II {0:05}, 1 Lingering Potion of Harming II {0:05}, 1 Lingering Potion of Harming II {0:05}, 1 Lingering Potion of Harming II {0:05}, 1 Splash Potion of Swiftness II {1:30}, 1 Splash Potion of Swiftness II {1:30}, 1 Blue Shulker Box {Pocket Box}
Blue Shulker Box {Pocket Box}: 64 Glass Bottles, 64 Dragon's Breath, 64 Dragon's Breath, 45 Blaze Powder, 42 Nether Warts, 30 Soul Sand, 63 Phantom Membranes, 64 Blaze Rods, 20 Fermented Spider Eyes, 51 Carrots, 51 Melon Slices, 55 Rabbit's Feet, 50 Golden Ingots, 1 Golden Nugget, 55 Gunpowder, 54 Redstone Dust, 55 Glowstone Dust
[EXP: 30]
Inventory (Z7): 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Pickaxe, 32 Cobblestone, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Furnace, 21 Charcoal, 14 Torches, 9 Oak Wood Planks, 1 Cake, 1 Cake, 1 Cake, 3 Pumpkin Pies, 26 Baked Potatoes, 1 Bucket, 1 Potion of Swiftness II {1:30}, 1 Potion of Slow Falling {4:00}, 1 Map {Paragon Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Gold Citizenship Pass}, 1 Purple Shulker Box {Pocket Box}
[EXP: 42]
Inventory (Floyd): 1 Mob Head {Creeper}, 1 Iron Sword, 1 Diamond Helmet [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Leggings [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Iron Pickaxe, 1 Shears, 5 Cobwebs, 2 Iron Ingots, 64 Steak, 2 Steak, 2 Sticks, 29 Coal, 20 Torches, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Furnace, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Minecart, 1 Bed, 1 Boat, 1 Diamond Boots [Projectile Protection IV], 16 Gunpowder, 16 Ender Pearls, 2 Ender Pearls, 1 Splash Potion of Invisibility {8:00}, 1 Bucket, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}
[EXP: 44]
Buckner's Horse
Inventory (Soul): 1 Diamond Axe [Sharpness V], 1 Iron Pickaxe, 62 Iron Ingots, 20 Flint, 12 Gold Ingots, 1 Shears, 8 Cobwebs, 1 Milk Bucket, 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection IV, Feather Falling IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Crafting Table, 1 Jukebox, 1 Music Disc {chirp}, 1 Bed, 1 Furnace, 24 Torches, 34 White Wool, 7 Pumpkin Seeds, 64 Cobblestone, 53 Cobblestone, 32 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Armor Stand, 15 Steak, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Exter Entry Pass}
[EXP: 41]
Devers' Horse
Cat-Face the Cat
Christopher Squawken the Parrot
Inventory (Noman): 1 Diamond Sword [Sharpness I], 1 Diamond Chestplate {Severe Shield}, 1 Leather Boots {Bottes Zephyr} [Dyed White], 1 Iron Helmet, 1 Diamond Chestplate, 1 Iron Leggings, 1 Iron Boots, 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Green Shield [Beginners], 1 Iron Pickaxe, 64 Cobblestone, 60 Nether Warts, 20 Soul Sand, 1 Flint and Steel, 1 Shears, 10 Cobwebs, 1 Milk Bucket, 1 Water Bucket, 5 Buckets, 1 Bed, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Brewing Stand, 33 Glass Bottles, 4 Packed Ice, 1 Ender Chest, 16 Ender Pearls, 4 Ender Pearls, 3 Phantom Membranes, 61 Glowstone Dust, 29 Gunpowder, 18 Redstone Dust, 61 Blaze Powder, 62 Golden Nuggets, 61 Brown Mushrooms, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Exter Entry Pass}, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {The Art of Peace}, 1 Enchanted Golden Apple
[EXP: 35]
Snow the Horse
AN: Wheeeeeeeew! What a Chapter! Let me just talk about it a bit.
So, you can probably guess which part I rated M. It was Noman and the C Word. This kinda ties into what Alexandra said in an earlier Chapter, that curses only have meaning when they're rare. I myself curse so often that, I'll admit, the word has lost much of its impact. I sometimes fill a lot of dialogue with curses to show how bad a situation is, but since I've used them so often, the word kind of just becomes like any other word. Common.
Noman doesn't have that problem. He's only ever cursed maybe twice in the whole story, so you know it has impact. Since he's always admonishing people for foul language, he's the last person you expect to bust out the F Bomb or the like. But the C word? That's one I never use. I consider it more foul and vulgar than the other ones I employ. I don't say or write it down lightly, and I don't think I've ever put that word in this story. So to hear it for the first time, and from Noman of all people, you know it has weight. The readers' reaction is more or less how Carys and the Paragons reacted to it. I used this before with the whole Jade reveal back in Chapter 157 when Noman was so done with everyone and didn't know who to trust, but this time he absolutely despises what Carys has been trying with an innocent girl. Directly violating Aikido by drawing an innocent into a war is something Noman cannot tolerate.
This Chapter had a lot more of Kalmarin and touched upon how he basically abandoned spawning Hackers just because he wanted out from the Hack Clan. That's all well and good and you can't really blame him, but Hackers were still left to wander and discover their powers on their own. For some, it was a rough time full of isolation and turmoil. Floyd turned out alright (relatively considering Silent) but Pheodora was on her own a long time. Long enough for her timid personality to become more apparent. Kalmarin feels remorse after having it spelled out for him, especially considering he knew Carys was tipping them off to the guards to delay them. Pheo feels she's just a piece of meat to be fought over... except with Noman.
Cobb and the book message. He knew from the get-go Carys was to blame. Noman told him how cagey Carys was and how the eastern gate thing was her idea. He knows her too well. And he's smart enough to send secret book messages. Kudos on that. We also got a glimpse of where he and Lenz are on their journey east. They cleared the Ohm Mountains and are heading south along the shore to bargain bin Halstatt - I mean Milstatt. They're both Daymonte villages so it would make sense they sound alike. Halstatt was with Alec, Milstatt is with the Paragons. Remember that now. We'll see more of Cobb and Milstatt the Chapter after next. Next Chapter should wrap things up for Carys' side.
Also, at this time, since it's November 11th in story, this is around the same time Wynn was on the third day of the King's Trials. Parallel time lines.
Add in the Stigmata flooding the village and we got for an exciting next Chapter. Look forward to it, dear readers.
FAV. FOLLOW. REVIEW. PM. FORUM. DISCORD. PEANUTS.