Land of Crypts and Helium – 2 Months, 3 Weeks After Jane's Entry – 4 Days Before the Meteor's Arrival
Jane sat on the side of the hill, alone.
She was trying to keep away from everyone else today. No Roxy, no Jake, no Dirk, no Sprites, no Trolls. She just needed a moment to herself. Just to think.
It had been a busy two months since her conversation with Echidna. The Denizen's instructions had sent her and her friends far and wide in an attempt to prepare for the arrival of Lord English.
Their quest had started with them secreting themselves onto Derse's moon. Getting there had taken weeks of planning and execution. Their goal had been to sneak into a tower there and gain entry to a room at the very top; where Jane had been told they'd find a code.
It had been a trial by fire for their group to get in and out of enemy territory undetected. Even with all their experience so far, and Roxy using her newfound powers of Void to hide them from detection, they still had only narrowly avoided detection multiple times.
When they finally did reach the room at the top of the tower, they'd found it in disarray. A single bed had sat in the center with the covers thrown about. Written on the walls, from floor-to-ceiling, had been the code they were looking for. Consisting of the characters W, O, 0, and F repeating over and over in a random pattern.
Recording it once they were there had been easy enough. All they had to do was photograph the four walls and they were done. Getting out again had been the tricky part. Additional near-misses abounding.
But getting the code had only been the first phase of the plan, then they'd needed to use it. Straight from Derse they'd traveled to The Veil, the Session's asteroid belt. There, after days of searching, they'd found an abandoned laboratory buried deep inside one of the rocks.
Inside the lab had been an array of strange machines, but it was the one in the very heart of the complex that held their interest. What had looked to be an otherwise unremarkable terminal had proved capable of showing them past events and places. They'd followed Echidna's instructions to the letter, and after targeting their past selves, they'd let the machine do its thing. Through a process that still befuddled Jane; the machine had produced an octet of Human babies, four of whom she swore were clones of her and her friends.
However, before they could even begin to worry about the logistics of four teenagers caring for eight babies, the babies had disappeared in a flash of light. Scattered about the Veil to eight of the nearby asteroids.
But that had just been a trial run. The same process of view, push buttons, appear, and disappear was done with Roxy's pet cat as the subject; with the added complication of entering the code they'd gotten into the machine. The resulting creature had weirded Jane out. It had been a stark white kitten with a green tongue.
Like the babies, the cat had quickly been whisked away to another meteor by some unknown mechanism. Never to be seen again.
Then had come the last part of their mission, Roxy took out the scepter she'd pulled off the Arch-Agent and pointed it towards the center of the Session. The result was that at least a good dozen of the asteroids were sent hurtling towards the center of the Session as meteors, including-but-not-limited-to the asteroids the babies and cat had been on. They'd managed to track the meteor trajectories on the console; with the telemetry indicating that all of them had been intercepted by a series of portals before reaching the center.
They'd piddled away a few more hours after that, with Roxy wanting to bring home some of the machines for study, but that had been it. The goal set out by Echidna had been completed.
That had all been two weeks ago. Now, according to the instructions, there was nothing left for them to do but wait. It had been a hard two weeks for Jane, waiting around in inactivity, the tension in their group building.
When they had been on Derse, and several times after, Jane had considered breaking away from the plan, rallying her friends, and going to confront the Queen right then; or at the very least rescuing her father from the depths of Derse prison. But when Dirk and Roxy had learned what she was planning they'd confronted her and warned her off. Telling her that the Queen was too powerful for them to take on in their current state. The prison likewise had been too tough a nut to crack. So she'd kept on-course.
Regrettably.
She'd been marking the days on the calendar ever since she'd entered the game, trying in vain to keep some semblance of normalcy, and so knew there were only four days left until the help promised by Echidna would arrive. The four heroes of legend along with their dangerous, all-powerful foe. Bringing things into overdrive.
Today though, she was on this hill. It was also her birthday, she was officially seventeen.
She hadn't wanted to make a big deal about it, what with everything else that had been happening. But it was still something she couldn't ignore. Staying in her empty house had just been unbarable; so she'd come here to clear her head without the ever-encroaching madness of the game breathing down her neck. Able to pretend, just pretend, she was somewhere closer to home.
It was she was staring out over the landscape, sorting through these thoughts, she received a message on her PDA. The device dinging like an old hotel desk bell. She pulled the device out of her pocket, mentally crossing her fingers in hope that it wasn't more drama about Dirk and his Sprite. Working through that interpersonal minefield had not been a fun experience before, and she really didn't want to deal with that right now.
So it was to her great surprise that she opening up the Pesterchum app and saw who was contacting her.
uranianUmbra began cheering gutsyGumshoe
uranianUmbra, that was a name she hadn't heard in a long time. That was the sister. The sister to that jerk she now knew as Lord English. The one who was dead. She quickly read the rest of the message to see what this was about.
UU: Hello Jane. I'm sorry to say that I'm writing this message in the hopes that you'll never receive it. Soon, my brother and I will be starting our game. I'm really excited! But I'm also nervous, as you can probably tell by this preface and my lack of UU quirk.
UU: This game has the potential for so much! But I'm afraid my brother is still only thinking in terms of himself. I hope I'll be able to change his tune once we enter the game, I mean how can't I? It will change everything for us. But on the other hand, there's a growing chance I might not. He's been getting more belligerent lately, I think he may try to hurt me. Though due to our… unusual circumstances, I can't imagine how he physically could. But still, I think preparation is prudent in this situation.
UU: You see, both me and my brother have these things called Jujus. Both of ours are unique in that they are each half of a greater whole. Combined together they can make it possible to get anything you ever wanted. With that being said; it would clearly be for the best if I made it so he can't get my half no matter what.
UU: I've made sure that it's well hidden on my end. Once you're in your own Session, you should be able to use the code UrobUros in conjunction with the game's alchemy system to get access to it.
UU: I'm setting this message to go out on a timer, so it will only reach you if it needs to. Jane, I'm sorry, but if you are reading this, assume the worst.
UU: Yours truly, Calliope.
uranianUmbra stopped cheering gutsyGumshoe
Jane's hand started to quiver as she reached the end of the message. As she realized she was reading the last words of a dead girl she would never meet. Something insider her snapped and she started crying.
It was just all too much stacked together. Her Father gone, Seb's death, Calliope's death, the fate of the Universe resting on her shoulders. She couldn't keep it in any more. She let it all out; bawling like a small child. Glad that she'd come out here alone where no one could see her lose it.
She cried for ten minutes, wracked with sobs. Afterwards she was spent. She lay curled up on the ground; her head hurting and her throat hoarse.
Determining that she couldn't lay there all day, no matter how much she wanted to, she got up and wiped the tears from her eyes. She looked down at the discarded PDA, taking another look at the message, her anger flaring to replace her sadness.
Lord English, that shit, had killed his sister; and now he was coming to do the same to them as well.
Well, she wasn't going to sit around and wait for that to happen, or for four mysterious heroes to come riding out of the void to come save; she was going to act now!
'Greater whole' huh? 'Get anything you want' huh? Well, that sounded like something worth having. Time to see if she could get the code for that other half as well.
She'd never been able to get into contact with Calliope or her brother before, as they'd always been the ones to initiate contact. But she had an idea. She hadn't actually rejected the last message the brother had sent her. She'd just ignored it. So maybe it would still be an accessible conversation, not closed out. Searching through the app's menus, she found the unfinished conversation. And its instigator's unread words.
undyingUmbrage began jeering gutsyGumshoe
UU: CROCKER.
UU: HEY IT'S ME.
UU: REMEMBER ME?
UU: WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING YOU STUPID EARTH COW?
There. Yes. The log was still open, and he seemed to be as surly as ever. The cursor stood flashing and ready for her to enter her response. Now she just had to get his attention.
GG: Hey Lord English! Yea! That's right I'm talking to you. I know your name now you little punk.
The seconds ticked away as she waited for a response. Each one seeming like an eternity. What if he didn't pick up on it? What if her ability to respond had just been a glitch. What if…
UU: UMM WHAT THE FUCK? HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE YOU PEOPLE TO RESPOND TO A SIMPLE MESSAGE? ALSO, MY NAME IS CALIBORN. BITCH.
Oh, it was on.
GG: I know what you're up to you little shit. I know you killed Calliope. I know you're coming to kill us. Well guess what. Screw you! I'm going to fight you! We all are! We're going to win.
UU: OK. SERIOUSLY. WHAT THE FUCK? HOW DO YOU KNOW HER NAME? AND WHY WOULD I EVEN BE INTERESTED IN FIGHTING YOU DRIVELING FOOLS? I MEAN MAYBE JAKE I'D BE INTERESTED IN FIGHTING, A HOPE PLAYER WOULD BE GOOD CHALLENGE FOR ME. BUT THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT. WE'RE IN DIFFERENT SESSIONS YOU DUMB BITCH, WE'RE NEVER GOING TO MEET EACH OTHER.
GG: Yea? Well maybe you're the stupid one. You're the one who only has half a Juju you can't use.
UU: HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT? DID MY SISTER TELL YOU ABOUT THAT TOO? SHE ALWAYS DID HAVE A BIG MOUTH. NOT THAT IT DID HER ANY GOOD AGAINST A KNIFE IN THE BACK. SHE WASN'T HALF AS CLEVER AS SHE THOUGHT SHE WAS.
GG: Good luck killing us all in the future with your broken, useless, half of a Juju. God you suck. Why did any of us ever put up with you? You're just an asshole.
UU: MY HALF OF THE JUJU IS NOT USELESS. IT'S JUST NOT AS GOOD BY ITSELF. AND BESIDES, I WOULDN'T NEED IT TO KILL ALL OF YOU. I'M A GOD-TIER NOW. AND I HAVE A POSSE OF GREEN MEN. SOON I'LL BREEZE THROUGH THIS STUPID GAME AND BE STRONGER THAN ANYONE. HELL, I'M STRONGER THAN ANYONE RIGHT NOW.
GG: Then it sounds like you don't need the Juju then.
UU: UM. YEA? THAT'S WHAT I JUST SAID.
GG: Then prove it. Give it to me. What's the alchemy code?
UU: WHAT? NO. SCREW YOU. IT'S MINE. YOU CAN'T HAVE IT.
GG: Sounds like you're scared. What's the matter Cali-bitch? Do you need your little Juju like a little baby pacifier? Are you going to cry?
Jane started getting really into it. A devilish smirk appearing on her face as she imagined the look of disbelief on his face at that last retort. The stress and the strain of the last three months taking their toll.
GG: "Waaaah. Waaaah." That's you. Big stupid baby who needs his Juju security blanket.
That seemed to finally elicit a response.
UU: FINE. FUCK. I'LL GIVE YOU THE STUPID CODE. IT'S NOT LIKE I'M USING THE DUMB THING. IT'S uROBuROS. NOW YOU'RE THE ONE WITH HALF A BROKEN JUJU. WHO'S STUPID NOW? NOW LEAVE ME ALONE. I'M BUSY HERE.
undyingUmbrage banned himself from jeering gutsyGumshoe
There, it was done. She had both alchemy codes. UrobUros and… uROBuROS. Oh come on. You had to be kidding her. Really?
As her stress-fueled adrenaline high settled, Jane felt a twinge of regret at what she'd done, not at the fact she'd, poorly, roasted Caliborn. But at how good it had felt to act like that. What was happening to her? She could feel a massive headache coming on. Getting these Jujus had better have been worth it.
Getting up, she staggered her way back home.
Derse
Jack started in disgust at the object in his hands. After the lawyer had left and the coast had looked clear, he'd gone ahead and broken open the pumpkin by smashing it on the floor. He didn't know what he'd expected to find inside; a key, a crowbar, a bomb… not this.
It was a doll. A freaking puppet. What the Hell was he supposed to do with this? Put on a show?
He threw the ugly little fake man across the cell where it landed in a twisted heap. Then he turned away, determined to salvage something from the situation. He had food and was free to move around the cell now. Maybe he could damage the light and use the puppet as a decoy in the shadows? But no, that was just… stupid…
Where was that whispering coming from?
He scanned the cell and found nothing amiss. Then he went to the door and peered through the barred slit. But he didn't see anything in the parts of the corridor he could view.
The whispering continued. Was it getting louder or was his mind playing tricks on him?
He returned his attention to the room. Scanning again. There had to have been something he'd missed.
There! It was coming from the puppet. Jegus it was getting loud. The guards were sure to investigate the racket soon. Best to figure out the source and silence it.
He walked over and picked up the puppet, turning it over in his hands. Was there some sort of cassette recorder stuffed inside or something?
The whispering stopped suddenly. The silence deafening. Good.
By chance he looked the puppet in the eyes.
"Hello Jack."
Land of Crypts and Helium
Jane stood on the balcony of her house. Letting the Alchemiter do its thing while she washed down the headache medicine with a glass of water.
She hadn't used the device since she'd entered the game. It was scanning the first crystal dowel she'd created using Calliopi's code, while she held the one created using Caliborn's code in the nook of her arm.
The scan of the totem coming to completion; the Alchemiter generated the Juju, and a piece of Grist to boot. She threw the Grist shard off to the side and picked up the Juju. It looked… unremarkable. A giant green lollipop as big as a road sign.
Oh well. Mentally sighing, she set it down and maneuvered the second totem onto the scanning platform. The result being Juju number two, a red lollipop. Who could have guessed?
She picked the green one back up, holding them next to each other in an attempt to make them do something. Letting out a shout of surprise when they snapped into one another like a pair of strong magnets. The result being a singular swirl lollipop, the red and green looping around each other.
The temptation to lick the thing was suddenly overwhelming. Despite common sense telling her not to, she decided to go ahead and do so anyways. What's the worst that could happen? Maybe it tasted good.
Her tongue contacted the Juju, and everything popped. Dissolving into sugar and daydreams.