It's been awhile, but I think I'm ready to finally end this story. -- Evs
The Hunt
Lady Subaru walked down the alleys of Mac Anu, peering over her shoulder, insuring herself that she was not being followed. As she lost herself in the maze of alleys, she in turn became lost in thought in how Silver Knight, a Knight once so loyal, could turn so treacherous.
"Subaru," said a voice from the dark.
Subaru turned once more to face Bear, who was sitting upon a crate, waiting. "Christ, you scared me."
"Sorry," said Bear standing. "Did anyone follow you?"
"No, I made sure of it," she said looking around once more. "What did you find out?"
"On Jinx and Looper, almost nothing. A few posts saying they saw them in Mac Anu, while others say they fought with them on some nameless Lost Ground. It's all completely useless."
"And the Jewel?"
"Nothing concrete, but some interesting theories. I spoke to an old friend of mine, who was in my party during the days of Fragments. When I described the Jewel to him he said that it sounded similar to the Jewel attached to the scepter that Administrators used to yield in Fragments."
"A scepter, you mean like a wand?"
"Sort of, but it's a bit more complicated. In the days of Fragments, the system was very unstable, so CC Corp had to employ many programmers as active Administrators whose job was to go from sever to sever insuring that all was functioning properly. The Administrators used these scepters to rewrite code and such, essentially altering the game."
"But how could this Jewel be carried over from Fragments, even if it was part of the Administrators' scepter?"
On that note Bear drew his sword and presented it to Subaru. "Do you know what is special about this blade?"
Subaru looked it up and down and saw nothing of merit, and thus she shook her head no. Bear sheathed his blade and declared, "It comes from Fragments."
"What?"
"As you know Fragments was the beta version of the World, one could say its foundation. As such, it is possible that certain things can be carried over, for instance my sword, and even Mac Anu, which was the first and only root town of Fragments. Still with me?"
"Yes, I follow. But how did Sly get his hands on the Jewels though? Was he an Administrator?"
"Maybe yes, more likely no. It's entirely possible that he received the Jewels through trade and then programmed them to harm players."
Subaru brought her palm to her head and ran her fingers through her hair. "So, what do we do now?"
"Protect Tsukasa, and try to separate Jinx and Looper from the Jewels. Besides that," added Bear with a hint of cynicism, "pray for a miracle."
A miracle seemed to be occurring right now before Tsukasa, as his feet dangled over the edge of the cliff, his eyes wondering past the neighboring mountains, which glowed magnificently as the setting sun turned the world crimson. He gazed at all of it, amazed that it was all real to him, and only him. Yet, after a moment he turned and looked at Mimiru, whose hazel skinned glowed with the twilight. He gazed at her, marveling at her, unwilling to break her tranquility of detachment, to only bring her back to a world such as this. "Mimiru," he finally piped.
"Hmm?" she uttered as her eyes slowly ripped themselves from the horizon to meet his.
"I just wanted to say thank you for staying with me, even though you put yourself in danger."
"Oh," she said causally. "It's nothing, I just like being around you."
She delivered the last line so unhesitatingly and naturally, Tsukasa was almost taken back. Could he really force himself to say what he had to?
"It's not nothing," he said, trying to find the words. "But I just wanted to tell you, that maybe you should log out for awhile…" it hurt so much to ask her this, to beg her to leave him when he had been so alone for so long… "It's me they want anyway. I'm sure they'd forget about you once they find me. And then you could come back…" He couldn't take it any more, the worlds that slipped out from his mouth, almost choking him. He could feel the tears form, and he turned away. "It'd be for the best."
Mimiru stared at Tsukasa in silence, which was violated only by Tsukasa trying snuffle out his tears. "Tsukasa," she said quietly, "look at me."
"No," he said between tears.
"Please, let me see your eyes."
Tsukasa turned to her, and met her strikingly jade eyes. In turned Mimiru looked into his violet eyes, which appeared as purple islands afloat in a sea of red. "Can you feel this?" she asked raising her hand which bound his.
Tsukasa slowly nodded yes. "Well I can't," began Mimiru. "But I want to. I wake up every day, praying that today's the day. That it's the day I won't find you here in the World, that instead I'll see you outside my door, waiting for me. Waiting, so I can touch you, so I can finally feel what you feel …"
Tears erupted from Tsukasa, who let them flow freely, unafraid to allow Mimiru to see them now. "You would wait for me?"
"For a thousand years, I would wait."
Tsukasa buried his head into Mimiru, who wrapped him in her arms. "Shh…" she soothingly whispered, "I'm here."
"Please," he said as the tears finally subsided. "Please, don't ever leave me."
"Never," she whispered, and as she did Tsukasa finally surrender to sleep, feeling safe in her embrace. As Tsukasa drifted away, Mimiru looked up at the sky. The sun had dipped far bellow the horizon and the moon hanged high, amongst the brilliant stars, which floated like a million candles.
As the darkness descended so did two shadows, emerging from it like maggots from a corpse. They strode for silently, eyeing the terrain as hunters always do before the first shot. "How do you want to do this?" asked Jinx.
"You throw on the cloak and go up the main path slow, like a passing player." He then pointed to the trees at the right side of the hill. "I'll creep through that and take them out. You just make sure they don't run away."
"Got it," said Jinx as she threw on the cloak and parted from her companion who disappeared into the ticket.
Jinx made a point to walk normal, casual, some would even say relaxed. She faced straight ahead along the path where her two victims awaited her, occasionally turning her head to scan the woods, trying to spot the smallest of movements that would alert her of Looper. Yet nothing changed, which did not surprise her, Looper was too good to foul up. Thus it was with great surprise when she heard a twig break. Such was her shock that she nearly stopped in her tracks, but again recalling the plan, she quickly found her pace once more. What the hell are you doing Looper? She thought. She kept scanning the bush, occasionally making out a shadow here and there. Then to her great surprise she saw Looper tossed out of the woods and onto the path.
"Looper!" cried Jinx who rushed to him, who quickly waved her away. "Get to them," he bellowed as he jumped back into the grove, after his unseen nemesis. In turn, Jinx rushed to the cliff's edge where her prey had been roused. Yet, it did not matter as Jinx rushed towards Mimiru and Tsukasa, for she was upon them, her staff held high. As it began its downward arch, which was intended for Mimiru, a shadow emerged from nowhere and stood in defiance of the staff's path.
Shocked, it took Mimiru a moment to recognize her savior, "Sora?"
"Get out of here," he struggled out as he held back the flood of the blade.
"But…" said Tsukasa, as Mimiru grabbed his arm and tried to pull him out of harms way.
"Go!" bellow Sora, and with such conviction, that it was Sora's words, which bore none of their master's usual sardonic tone, that made Mimiru and Tsukasa flee instead of Jinx's blade. As they departed, dashing down the path, Sora turned back to face Jinx, who grinned, "I didn't know you were one for goodwill."
Sora grinned, replying in kind, "It is not goodwill for them that drives me. It is spite of you that drives me." He broke their stalemate, pushing Jinx back half a step, which Sora tried to capitalize upon by swinging his right blade into her side, but Jinx quickly blocked it, again retreating a few more steps from the edge. The two danced and danced along the mountains edge, their blades marrying with each other, like lovers propelled into one another's embrace.
It seemed they would never end, until out of the corner of his eye Sora saw the flicker of a stray blade shinning in the moonlight. He quickly raised his left blade to block it, leaving his right to fend off Jinx.
"Looper!" she cried, surprised.
"Go after them," he said, his eyes never coming off Sora. "He's mine."
Jinx back away from the two twin blades, beginning her descent down the cliff. Looper gazed into Sora's eyes, those ever laughing, mocking eyes. Sora peered into Looper's, those small, cruel eyes that seemed locked in an eternal scowl.
"Looper," mused Sora with a grin.
"Sora," hissed Looper.
The two dove in, their arms swinging like possessed tentacles of some monstrous kraken, which lurked only in the blackest depths. Such a violent pageantry of speed and skill was a rare sight in the World, yet it was more than that. The marriage of hatred and power had never been so perfect, as it was in this instant, as Sora and Looper battled for honor and their lives.
As their twin blades locked once more, Sora began to giggle. "What's so funny?" asked Looper from behind his grinding teeth. In response Sora pushed Looper back, and stood relaxed with his arms at his sides.
"I've waited years for this," he began. "You couldn't possibly appreciate it. Every body I stepped over, every field I conquered, every dungeon I crawled through, it has all lead to this moment. You can't imagine how this makes me feel."
Looper dashed forward thrusting his blades towards Sora, who stepped to the side, missing them narrowly. "You're pathetic."
"What?"
Looper stepped back and gazed at Sora, he looked at him as if he were a child, a child playing grown up. "You think you can defeat me? I'm Looper the Outlaw, the killer of killers, the thief of thieves. You think someone as small and base as you could even challenge me?"
Sora stormed at Looper, striking and swinging, all which Looper blocked and dodged with ease. "How dare you," he yelled. "I have surpassed you. I've seen things and done things that would make a coward of you."
"You may have gotten stronger, you may have become even more skilled than me, but you can't stop me, you don't want to. That hatred, that hunger for revenge is what drives you, and if you kill me you may as well kill yourself." He paused before adding, "I created you, without me, you would be nothing. You'd be less than nothing."
Sora screamed and charged Looper once more, and again they locked in their duel to the death.
Below the cliff, in the valley, Mimiru and Tsukasa were making their escape, leaving behind the two wraiths upon the cliff to their own fates. Mimiru kept pulling Tsukasa's hand, tugging him along. "Come on," she cried, "we have to make it to the chaos gate."
But before they could take one step further, Jinx materialized before them, blocking their path to freedom. She cast a spell of ice, causing Mimiru to jump out of the way, holding onto Tsukasa. Instantly she rose and stood between Jinx and Tsukasa, her sword drawn and her body poised for battle. "Tsukasa run!" she cried.
"No," he replied.
"What?"
"You promised you would never leave me, so I'll never leave you."
Again Jinx cast a spell, this time of the fire variety, which caused the both of them to dive for cover behind a slumbering boulder. "But you can still make it."
"What is my life if I lose you?"
Mimiru peered into his eyes, clear and unafraid now, understanding he meant it, he meant every word of it. She embraced him tight and whispered, "Stay close."
Mimiru jump from the boulder, with Tsukasa right behind him. She closed the gap between her and Jinx, making sure she couldn't cast magic without hurting herself. Mimiru hurled her monstrous blade about, and Jinx danced between the strikes, occasionally stabbing with the blade end of her staff. All Tsukasa could do was watch in awe as these two amazons battled for his soul.
It was during this moment of stillness, one could even say calm, which possessed Tsukasa that Jinx made her move towards him. She quickly ducked Mimiru's heavy blade and dove at Tsukasa, swinging her staff fast, nicking him in the arm.
"Tsukasa," cried Mimiru as she attacked Jinx, who quickly retreated several paces.
Tsukasa dropped his own staff and clutched his arm, where pain he had never felt before took root and began to spread along his body. He doubled over and crouched on the ground, "Stay back," he pleaded with Mimiru. Yet it was too late, the beast that lived inside him, that was at once his savior and tormentor had been awaken. Its liquidly flesh taking shape as it hanged above the three of them.
"Dear God, it does exist," said Jinx as she looked in terror and awe at the beast she had awakened.
The beast spawned tentacles and stroke blindly, flaring its deadly appendages about uninhibitedly. "Mimiru," cried Tsukasa, as he watched her dash and scurry about, trying to avoid the monster's deathly touch.
Jinx, for her part, dodged one of the tentacles only to have three more take its place. She dashed backward, until her back suddenly crashed against the trunk of a tree. When she looked up, she saw one of tentacles upon her, set to take her life, to which Jinx closed her eyes.
She suddenly felt the force drive through her, taking her to the ground. She kept her eyes closed for another moment until she felt something atop. As her eyes opened finally, she was aghast at the sight before. Tsukasa lied across her body, breathing in and out heavily.
When he caught his breath finally, he looked at her and asked, "Are you hurt?"
Before she could answer, she could see another tentacle fast approaching them, "Look out!" Jinx cried rolling out of the way with Tsukasa.
At the cliff, Sora and Looper locked blades once more, but Looper turned to the valley after hearing her cry. "Jinx?" he asked the night, looking into the dark and seeing the monster hanging over head. Looper, without a moment of hesitation, turned and ran towards it, towards Jinx.
"Come back here, you coward!" cried Sora. But Looper was deaf to this as he dashed down the hill, to his partner's aid.
When he finally made it, he was greeted with a bizarre scene. Jinx and Tsukasa stood side by side, dodging the tentacles together. Suddenly, he heard a sound behind him, and he turned to see Subaru, Bear, Crim and BT running to him. When they saw him, they suddenly stopped in their tracks. He had his blades out, not knowing which side to attack first. Yet, Bear stepped forward calmly and coolly and said, "Looper, throw your dagger at it!"
"To hell with you," he said raising his blades to meet his pursuers.
"Do it or Jinx will die," cried Subaru.
At this, Looper began to shake as if a tiny war raged inside of him. He peeked over his shoulder at the scene behind him, Jinx running and scurrying with their prey. He turned back to the company before him. "Screw it," he said turning in a flash and throwing his prized blade at the beast.
The dagger sailed through the air like a bolt of lighting from Zeus himself. The blade connected with the beast, and when it did, a scream erupted onto the valley. The beast's body began to contort and become misshapen, as if it was turning inside out. Suddenly its complexion turned dark and it collapsed to the ground, where it shriveled and began to deteriorate. After a few moments it disappeared totally, leaving no trace.
During this bizarre death, Jinx had made her way over to Looper. They watched together as no one else moved and instead observed the monster's last moments. "What the hell just happened?" asked Looper.
"You killed it," Jinx replied, still a little shocked from the ordeal.
"With just one hit," he said, "that's impossible."
"No it's not," said Bear.
Looper and Jinx quickly turned around to face Bear with their weapons drawn. Bear raised his hands, showing he meant no harm. "I can explain all, and I mean no harm."
"Well, we do," said Looper, taking a step forward. But Jinx stopped him, "Explain this or we kill all of you."
"It's because of this," piped Tsukasa, as he stepped forward. In his hands he grasp Looper's prized dagger, the dagger that had killed hundreds and if ever seen meant death.
Looper quickly snatched his blade from Tsukasa, "No one touches my dagger, understand!" He bellowed to Tsukasa, and to his friends.
"That Jewel killed the beast, not the dagger," said Bear.
"What?" asked Jinx.
"That is no ordinary power up," began Bear. "It is something that does not belong in this World..." Bear thus proceeded to explain the story of Silver Knight's quest for revenge and perverted justice. How Sly the hacker bestowed upon them an item so powerful and deadly, that it could mean the end of the World in the hands of the wrong or even the righteous. How Silver Knight had sent them on a path to of their own demise without them ever realizing it.
"My God," said Jinx taking the news rather hard, being blessed with a perceptive mind, she could already see the pieces lining up, and became enraged with herself for not seeing them sooner. Looper, being born with a skeptical mind, began to question the tale that was served to him, a tale that seemed too unreal even for this World. "I don't buy it," he said.
"Looper," said Jinx.
"Come on," he replied. "A Jewel from Fragments that can erase players, it's absurd."
"As absurd as a monster that sends players into commas," said BT.
"Quite you!" snapped Looper.
"Please," said Subaru, stepping forward between the two murderers and her companions. "This can all be settled easily."
"How?" asked Jinx.
"We simply need to talk to Sly."
"Ha," bellowed Sora.
"For once we agree," sneered Looper.
"We can't talk to Sly," said Crim.
"What are you talking about?" asked Tsukasa.
"I have a friend in CC Corp, who I called up after we all logged out. I told him to check up on this Sly guy, and it turns out he's been logged out since this whole thing started."
"Well there goes that plan," said Sora.
"Unless, he is waiting for contact from them," Crim said pointing to Jinx and Looper.
Jinx and Looper stood in silence.
"Well?" asked Subaru. "Can you contact him?"
"Aye," said Looper.
"You're going to kill him," said BT. "Aren't you?"
"Aye," replied Looper once more.
"That would be pointless," said Crim. "I have a better solution. Tell him you completed your mission."
"Why the hell should we do that?" asked Jinx.
"If he thinks we're dead, he'll go straight to Silver Knight to tell him the news. Silver Knight will have to set up a meeting to give the reward, which will mostly certainly be a trap, and then we ambush him and get the Jewel from him."
"How about this," began Looper. "We kill all of you. Go to Sly, kill him, get the money from Silver Knight or whoever the hell he is, and then kill him." At this, Looper drew his blade which Sora and Crim responded in kind by drawing theirs.
"Wait," said Subaru stepping forward. "Take me."
"What the hell for?" said Looper.
"If you go to Sly," began Subaru, "and you believe, you absolutely believe that he is telling the truth, then you can kill me. But, if you don't believe him…"
Looper held up his hand, ordering her quiet without a word. He looked to Jinx, he stared at her, with his hard gaze, waiting for an answer. She nodded yes, just as he knew she would. Their desire, their goal, stood before them, begging to be taken. Jinx and Looper had vowed many years ago they would kill Subaru if they ever got their chance, and this little matter of whether Sly was lying or not did not seem to trifle their conscience, he would be dealt with in time.
"Come," said Jinx.
The trio began to walk to walk away, and Subaru turned her back one last time before entering the chaos gate. Her friends looked upon her like a body being lowered into a grave.
"She may as well had them kill her here," said Sora.
"Why would she do such a thing, Bear?" asked Mimiru.
"I don't know," said Bear, "I'm sure she has her reasons."
Yes, to an outsider, Subaru's plan seemed foolish, even suicidal. Yet, it was still a plan, and only Subaru could see its full design. If her life was what she needed to pay for justice, then so be it.
Sly waited by the grunty farm, looking down at the little calf. He stared at the creature, so plain, yet so full of possibilities. Depending on what its master would feed it, it could become anything, like some gigantic caterpillar.
Suddenly, Sly felt a hand on his shoulder and a blade in the small of his back. "Hello Sly," said Jinx. Sly turned and saw Looper, stone face, inches away from him his own face, and straining his neck a bit more he could see Jinx a few paces back.
"Hey guys," he said licking his lips. "You know it's not good business to talk at knife point."
"You sure about that?" said Looper as he put a bit of pressure into the blade. Sly squirmed and yelp.
"Oh God please don't hurt me," pleaded Sly.
"Why you so scared?" asked Looper, as he wiggled the Jewel imbibed blade.
"Please," said Sly scanning his brain for an answer. "I'm really low on health."
"No you're not," said Jinx flatly. "I just scanned your health bar, you're at 100. Could it be you're not scared about the blade, but about something else?"
Looper drove the blade a little deeper, still not stabbing through Sly. "What are you talking about?" asked Sly between gasp for breath.
"You tell us," said Looper.
"Yeah," added Jinx. "Some strange things have been happening since we last saw you. You know when you introduced us to what's his name? Blade right, or was it Silver something?"
"Please he forced me," said Sly.
"Forced you to do what, my friend," she asked.
"To set up a meeting with you," said Sly, being possessed with a rare moment of cunning. Of course they couldn't know about the Jewels, they might have figured out about Silver Knight, but not the Jewels. "He wanted Subaru and her friends out of the way so he could take over the Crimson Knights and re-start the manhunt on the two of you." Smart Sly, he told himself, very smart.
"It was awfully nice of him to give us these power ups, don't you think." At her last words, Looper drove the blade even further still.
"Oh God no, please don't delete me!" cried Sly. And with this curse, Jinx and Looper where given the final proof that Subaru and her friends were telling the truth. Now where to go after that?
"Yes, Sly, we know all about the Jewels," said Jinx as she approached him. "We know you set us up for Silver Knight, we know you were gonna sell us out to him..."
"Wait, I can help you," he said.
"Shut it," bellowed Looper.
"You know how you're gonna help, Sly? You're gonna go see Silver Knight, tell him we killed Subaru and her little friends. Then you're gonna tell him we want to meet him in the Snow Blizzard field, in two days. Got it?"
"Yes," screeched Sly.
Jinx looked to Looper and nodded. Looper pulled his blade away and let him drop to the ground. The two stood over him and watched as he squirmed. Looper kick at him, not out of hate, but rather for guidance, "Move your ass! And don't let me ever see you again!"
With that Sly got up and ran, disappearing as he rounded the trail. Looper watched him go, and whence he was gone he turned around to see Jinx kneeling down, playing gently with the little baby grunty. Looper slowly walked over and stood over her, looking down at the rather touching scene.
She tussled the little calf's hair, and it rubbed itself against her leg like some loving cat. "He's cute," said Looper.
"Yeah," replied Jinx. She looked up at him, and finally stood to look into his eyes. "So what happens next?"
"I was gonna ask you the same question," he said through a sad grin.
Jinx smiled back, and then brought up her staff and let it rest on the fence. "Do you know what this means," she said pointing at the Jewel in her staff. Looper shook his head no, he seemed to sense the question was rhetorical. "It means the end, the end to all this," she said motioning to all that lay before them: the farm, the hills, the grunties. Looper didn't look to the surroundings; he looked to Jinx, afraid of what she was to say next. Sensing his gaze, Jinx locked her eyes with his, and after a pause added, "We have to stop him."
Looper stood silence at these last words, contemplating their full weight. What she was asking of him was his very life, for it had stopped being a game all of a sudden. But when was it ever a game between him and her?
"Are you with me?" she asked.
"Do you have to ask?" he said as he went to her side and leaned on the fence. She glanced at him and smiled despite herself. The little grunty moseyed over to them and stood on its hind legs, like a begging puppy. Looper reached down and gently petted its neck. The grunty in kind, licked Looper's hand. "Ha, ha, ha," laughed Jinx.
"Do you want him?" asked the grunty keeper, who was making his rounds, checking on his herd.
Looper and Jinx looked down at the little beast, its future so far ahead of him. "No," said Looper shaking his head. "I don't think I'll be around long enough for him."
"Oh well," said the grunty keeper, shrugging off Looper's last comment. He look to Jinx and asked, "And what about you little lady?"
Jinx smiled, but replied, "I'm going on a long trip, and I don't know when I'll be back."
"I'm sure he'll wait," said the keeper. "Tell you what, I got an idea. How about I put him off to the side for a few days, if you're not back in a week, I'll just put in him back up for sale?"
Jinx gave the slightest and briefest laugh at keeper's naive sincerity. "Sure," she said grinning, "I'd like that."
"Come along boy," said the grunty keeper as he picked up the creature into his arms.
"Wait," said Looper before the man could another step. The man stopped, and Looper reached forward with a red bandana he often wore. "Come here," and the man did so, and Looper tied the bandana around the grunty's neck. "Just so you won't mix him up with the rest."
The grunty keeper nodded and went into the barn, carrying the calf along. Jinx and Looper stayed for a minute, and then went into the hill overlooking the barn. There Subaru sat by the edge, waiting, her hands bound behind her. She watched as Looper and Jinx's heads appeared, their bodies following shortly as they ascended the curve of the hill. Soon, they were by Subaru, and without much ceremony, Looper kneeled down and cut her binds. "You can go," said Jinx devoid of much emotion.
"You're not going to kill me?"
"It wouldn't change anything," said Jinx.
As Subaru stood, she said, "We can help you."
"We work alone," said Looper.
"I understand, but this effect us all."
"How could you possibly presume to understand us? It was you who hunted us, you who exiled us," said Jinx.
"You chose that path, just as I chose mine. They have been parallel for so long, but now they intersect, do you know what that means?"
"How could you help us?" asked Looper.
"I don't know, but killing Silver Knight is not the answer. He'll become a martyr, and you will be hunted once more. But if you expose him, if you reveal to the World what he actually is, only then could you defeat him."
Subaru knew all she had to do was appeal to their revenge, to that force which drove them. She knew the hatred they had for her was nothing for the fury they harbored for Silver Knight, especially after the recent revelations. She also knew she and her companions didn't have a chance on their own against Silver Knight, but with these two, perhaps a miracle could occur.
Looper looked to Jinx who nodded yes, and Looper nodded in kind. "Aye," said Looper.
"Excellent, we'll have to contact the others…"
"But understand this," interrupted Looper. "We are in this for us, if any of your people stand in our way…"
"I understand."
With that Jinx and Looper turned and walked away. "Where are you going?"
"To prepare," said Jinx. The two disappeared, dipping down past the curve of hill. Subaru left alone now, wondered what event would shape their next move. Unbeknownst to her, the greed of Sly and the hubris of Silver Knight would reveal the path to their redemption.