The Good, the Bad, and the Insane

Chapter Five: Butcher Pete and the Devil In Disguise

Why couldn't Atrus use a combination lock like a normal person? It took her an hour before she discovered just touching the table at the bottom of the stairs in the ship would reveal the Linking Book back to Myst hidden by some form of holographic generator. To be fair, it had slowed her down by quite a bit. Not as much as a combination without the code would have, but it had served its intended purpose for that hour of uninterrupted experimenting.

As it turned out, she had handicapped herself during Atrus' little puzzle. The purpose of the compass rose had been to turn on the submerged lights so someone could see inside the ship, and nothing else. When she hooked up the energy cell to the power supply she had made that part of the puzzle obsolete as there had been more than enough to juice to power the lamps without having to diverting it. Six hadn't known that until she started mapping out the electrical system out of sheer desperation to find out what the compass did. She had turned the whole thing into a red herring.

The lesson she took from the experience was not to mess with Atrus' stuff until she was absolutely sure she knew what everything did and why.

At least they had made it back to the island in one piece, but now she was wet and irritated. Roxie was taking it all better than she was. The dog ran out the library door and jumped into the ocean to play with the fish the minute they arrived. Six left her so she could go lay on the grass to let the warm sun dry her off.

She disturbed several butterflies when she plopped herself down with about as much grace as a super mutant. Six allowed herself to enjoy the weather for a time before retrieving the Blue Book. The Courier flipped it open, and was actually surprised to see Achenar seemingly waiting for her. Impossibly, he looked even twitchier than before.

"You returned...yes, returned...interrogate me...think you know everything now...you DON'T...believes Sirrus...Don't believe Sirrus...You don't know...I can show you...Yes. Show you...the AGES! Which Ages survived?" Achenar was rocking back and forth. He looked like he was one step away from tearing off his own skin for lack of anything else to destroy.

Six was no stranger to talking to crazies and chem fiends, so she remained utterly calm during his broken up rant. She didn't let a thing show on her face because people like him had a nasty tendency to jump to their own conclusions with even the minimal amount of input.

"I'll have to get back to you on that one. I haven't found all the books yet. Your father mentioned putting some in Places of Protection. Would you know anything about them?" Six said, betraying nothing in her tone.

Achenar made some sort of strangled noise that had no business coming from a human. He tugged hard at his unkempt hair, looking like he was trying to focus and failing miserably at the task.

"I'll double check some of the odder structures and let you know. We can talk again, okay? You just calm down and gather your thoughts. Things are never over until they're truly over. If you've got something to say, I'll hear it." She closed the book without waiting for a reply.

Six had always believed in fair trials, as her father did before her. He would always tell her that not everything was entirely as it seemed. You can never be sure about something until all the facts were in and every angle examined. She was the only jury those two were going to get if no one else showed up anytime soon. She owed them nothing, but she owed it to herself to be as fair and open minded as possible. She had held onto her old world values all her life, the wasteland hadn't changed that and this deserted island wouldn't either.

What did she know so far? Stoneship was no longer as populated as Atrus claimed, aside from that one blip on the radar that had remained unidentified. Achenar seemed to have confessed to something if she had translated his ramblings correctly. Sirrus was going through withdrawal, and would only get worse by the hour. He also seemed to be quite the hoarder. She was willing to bet those riches weren't conjured up from nowhere. He had either struck it big in another Age, or it was through shady dealings. Either way it bore further investigation.

Six wrote a note in her pip-boy to remind her to ask both brothers how they felt about their parents. Their answers might lead her to the MIA Atrus and Catherine. At least it would start her on the path to finding them.

Right now she had books to locate.

Roxie ran up to her and dropped a dead fish at her feet. The dog sat there expectantly, panting with her tongue hanging out.

Six picked it up gingerly by the tail. "Thanks," She said blandly.

2

Four Linking Books in total. Stoneship, Channelwood, Selenitic, and Mechanical. What did they all have in common? They corresponded with the intact journals she found in the office. Most odd. She was willing to bet that the remaining pages were scattered across each.

After finding all the books she ate a small meal consisting of the fish Roxie had so graciously caught for her and there was a jam made with a fruit she had never seen or heard of before. All she knew was that it was sweet and went well on bread. For the resident fisherwoman she provided her with a nice meal of jerky she had found in the pantry.

Once that was done and a moderate nap obtained, she opened the red book first. Unfortunately, all that was there was static with only a black screen behind it. Six sighed, and tried Achenar again.

The man had one hand covering his mouth, and the other was wrapped around his chest. For the first time he looked dead serious, no trace of his usual manic humor anywhere on him.

"Stoneship, Selenitic, Mechanical, and uh...something wood" Six broke off and lifted the last book to show him. "This one...Channelwood. That was it." She dropped it back onto the kitchen table. "Your turn, Giggles."

Achenar didn't remove his hand from his mouth so all of his muttered words came out muffled, "All of those, but Selenitic. Why...she...Selenitic? Doesn't fit..."

Six interrupted, "Stay on track. What about the others? What connects them? We can figure out the outlier later." Was it just the fact that the Linking Book was locked up in the unrealistically set up rocket, and could only be viewed on a video screen that made it different?

Achenar removed his hand and wrapped it around his chest so he was hugging himself, "Mechanical...go to...Sirrus'...behind the throne...not innocent either...if i'm going to be...than he will too...go ahead...go SEE...proof is THERE...don't give him any red pages...not just me..."

"Alright." She held up her hand in the universal sign for 'stop'. "I'll make it my next destination, but I've got one more question for you before I go." Six said.

Achenar just stared at her without blinking.

"Where's the old man?" Six asked. Achenar furrowed his brow, and looked genuinely confused. "Atrus," Six clarified. "Where's your father?"

Fire flashed in his eyes, and hatred twisted his face. He lashed out at the screen with an enraged cry, causing a blast of static to distort the image. When it cleared he was breathing hard and clawing at his face, "Go to Mechanical...See what Sirrus..." The static came back, and didn't recede. Six put the book back in her bag.

The Courier picked up the Linking Book to Mechanical and watched the flyby. She had never seen any type of structure like it. She couldn't see any obvious armaments, but they must have existed if they managed to repel the pirates. If the people were still there she hoped they weren't the shoot first and ask questions later type.

She whistled for Roxie as she placed the book on the ground and weighed the cover down with a mug. She double checked her supplies before Linking away.

3

When her vision returned she was standing on one of the three small islands that surrounded the fortress. The sun beat down on her with only a light breeze for relief. Roxie teleported in behind her with a bark, and began to chase her tail. Giant gears made up a great deal of the island, but that wasn't as interesting as the sky. It was a clear blue, not the gray that Atrus had talked about. If the Mechanical Age's superstition about the sky was true than that meant the pirates were gone. Interesting.

Six fiddled with the control panel that she supposed was connected to the section of the metal ground that obviously hid a secret passage. The drawing of a rising floor in Atrus' journal for the Age was another tipoff.

As it turned out, she had spoken ill of Atrus too soon. There was a panel that required a combination of symbols. Now, where was the code? Maybe the brothers knew? Of course, the better question was whether or not they would tell her? Sirrus was acting shy, and Achenar had only sent her to find whatever there was behind some kind of throne.

"Well, Roxie? Ready to do some detective work? There'll be more jerky in it for you." Roxie barked an affirmative and ran ahead across the suspension bridge that was more substantial than the ones in Stoneship. "Let me know if you find anything important!" Six called after her.

No one had come to greet them, and Six had little hope that they would. She was pessimistic that way.

As she was crossing the bridge it occurred to her that the fortress looked to be set up to rotate on the giant circular track outlining it. One bridge, three islands. That was unique way to do it, but she couldn't imagine why such a thing would be needed. Wouldn't three draw bridges work just as well, and be less complicated? All she could assume was that there was some method to the madness she just wasn't seeing.

Unadorned metal walls with lit lamps lining them, a black and white tiled floor, and two branching paths made up the interior of the fortress. Judging by the echoing patter of claws on marble, Roxie had gone right. So, Six went left.

After a single turn in the hall she arrived at a red room. If the color coding theme involving the brothers continued than it belong to Sirrus. It was certainly swanky enough to be. She blinked at the portrait on the wall, she had seen something like it before. She knew she had. Something from a long time ago, but couldn't quite place it. Six cast it from her mind as she turned on the spot in the center of the room, just taking it all in.

There was the throne Achenar was talking about, complete with a wine glass on the arm and gold backplate. Sized for an older child, maybe a teenager, but certainly not for an adult. She looked back at the painting, and knew the young man in garb fit for royalty was indeed Sirrus. Delusions of grandeur, or had he really become a king of the Mechanical Age? It can't be called a delusion if it's the truth. Had he taken the opportunity for a power grab after his dad flitted away to other Ages? According to Atrus the population had been considerably tiny, but would they really let a kid as young as she was guessing Sirrus was at the time rule them? Was it a show of ultimate gratitude for showing them how to make the fortress, or had he enough sway to force the issue?

Achenar had told her there was something behind the throne, but she left that alone for now so she could examine everything in the main part of the room.

There was a telescope pointing out the slitted window, but it didn't show her anything aside from the water. There was an impressive tapestry hanging on a wall behind a red windup bird that flapped when she activated it. Oddly cute for the grandiose look he was going for. There were displays for a small scale representation of the rocket that led to Selenitic, the boat to Stoneship, and a model of the clocktower that led her to the Age she was now in. A large gold vase stood between the rocket and the ship under a painting of a woman.

The last item that bore her scrutiny was a table with a drawer that was jammed shut. On it were odd crystals in glass containers that glowed every time she touched them. Six only stopped playing with them when she finally arrived at the decision to bust open the drawer. Who was going to be upset with her for smashing things? Sirrus? He was currently stuck in a book, and it paled in comparison to how she trashed his room on Stoneship in her search. If she ended up freeing him than they could cross that bridge when they came to it.

After using the handle of the Sonic Emitter to break the table open, she found a journal that was either written in code or some other language she couldn't even begin to comprehend. She flipped through the pages, but there wasn't any clue as to the specifics of what was inside. Sirrus hadn't even drawn any pictures or diagrams like Atrus had. She put it in her bag all the same.

Now, for the throne.

Because she was looking for it, she saw it easily. A panel of a slightly different color than the surrounding wall was hidden in the corner by the tapestry. Just like the one in Stoneship, she pushed against it to open the way.

She had to crawl inside to get in. The first sight that met her were numerous red chests strapped closed with leather buckles. They were like pre-war chests she sometimes found in hotels, but without the rot that accompanied them. Loose gold and silver coins like the ones back in Stoneship were scattered across the marble floor. Only one chest was lying open in the corner. In it was more coins, gold bars smaller then her Sierra Madre ones, and the red page sitting on top as pretty as you please. The scene it made up was almost artfully perfect. The page to free Sirrus in his secret room on an Age that didn't make him look very good.

Six laughed, and shook her head. Variables yet unidentified.

The wine rack was her next target for scrutiny. Red and green bottles lined it. She pulled one off and used the small knife she had pilfered from Sirrus' room on Myst to pull off the cork. She gave it a cautious sniff before taking a sip straight from the bottle. She could safely say it wasn't wine grudgingly aged two hundred years, and it certainly didn't come from the vineyards in California. There was little more to say about it. She had never really been a wine person. No, her poison had been vodka before the Auto Doc in the Sink had solved that for her via experimental surgery. It had been a big problem for her before that. Now, she supposedly couldn't become addicted to anything anymore. She almost wanted to start smoking to see if that theory were at all true.

Six put the wine down on the floor, and picked up the piece of normal paper rolled up in the rack.

Sirrus,

Your greed sickens me! Your desire for wealth and plunder is never satisfied. I will instruct my subjects not to pay your new tax and you know they'll listen to me.

Regards,

Achenar

Huh.

Six sat down beside the wine bottle and leaned her back up against a chest as she pulled the red book out of her bag. She took one more sip before reattaching the new page. When she opened the cover she didn't give Sirrus enough time to say anything.

"Taxes? Does your evil know no bounds?" Six said in the most dramatic voice she could muster. Dr. Borous would be proud, if she didn't say so herself.

Sirrus' eyes widened, and she could practically see the cogs in his head turning.

She by continued, "You know, if I melted all the gold I have ever seen in my life it would not even begin to come close to recreating that room of yours on Stoneship. That is something when you consider that I once came into contact with about thirty-seven gold bars weighing thirty-five pounds each. I thought that was amazing, but this." She waved her arms to encompass the room. "Boy, it must have taken you awhile to get your hands on all of this. How did you do it?"

He gave her what was probably his most charming smile, "It's a long story...be happy to tell you when I'm freed...there are two more red pages...warn you, don't touch the blue pages...that is where my...for my wicked brother, Achenar..."

She wanted to bash her head against something. He was just repeating things he had already said before, and wasn't answering any questions. Time for a bluff.

"I know, Sirrus. Achenar confessed. He told me everything," Six said. It took every ounce of her willpower to stop from grinning as she watched the news sink in.

Shock and horror flashed across his face before finally settling on a poisonous rage. Instead of lashing out like Achenar had earlier, he clenched his jaw so tightly she thought he would crack his teeth, and ice consumed his stare. That was all she needed.

Before he could react in any significant way she said, "You and I are going to play a little game. I'll ask a question, you'll answer. If I even think that you're lying, or you back out of this conversation, I'll start ripping out pages. Understood?"

He gave her only curt nod in reply. If looks could kill...

"First up. How can I get home?" She started.

"If...isn't a Linking Book back...you can't."

"Figures.," Six sighed. "Alright, where is everyone in Mechanical, Stoneship, Channelwood, and Selenitic?"

"Dead, or displaced." He shrugged. Sirrus might as well have been discussing the weather.

"Elaborate," Six demanded. She resisted the urge to take a pull from the wine bottle still sitting next to her.

"In Stoneship...wanted a home away from Myst...took one...didn't want to share. Achenar killed enough...to get our point across...rest left...boats. On Channelwood was where...and I had our first falling out...didn't get along well at all after that...After the fight, I left him unchecked...came back to find most of the people dead...Selenitic was always uninhabited." Sirrus waved his hand in a dismissive way. She couldn't help but notice they were trembling. Painkiller withdrawal does not give people the shakes.

Six gestured around, "What about here? What did the pair of you do here? Work with the pirates?"

"No!" He snapped, actually having the gall to look offended. "They...small population...we were careless."

"That's it? You were careless?" She sounded more weary than disgusted. Six had long ago gotten used to the human capacity for cruelty. She had seen it all at one point or another. Murder, rape, cannibalism, genocide, mass suicide, war, torture, extortion, you name it and she's seen it.

He said nothing.

"Answer me or say goodbye to your precious pages." She gripped the book with both hands so there would be no doubt in his head that she was prepared to do just that.

"What...that you want?" Sirrus said.

She raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"You know... we've done, and yet here you...talking to me still. You're threatening to...the pages, but you are not. You could execute me...haven't. You want something. Whatever...is, I'll pay it." He held out his hands palms up as if to show her that he meant no harm. His sincere expression was almost convincing, and she could see how he might have gotten away with so much.

Six gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Everyone has a price. The problem here is that I don't think you are capable of paying mine anytime soon, Sirrus. What I want isn't money, or anything with material value. No, I'm one those annoying fools who put stock in the things you can't touch, or even see in the usual sense." She looked him dead in the eyes as she said, "The only thing that would get me to free you from this book would be for you to ask for forgiveness for all of things you have done, and mean it with all your heart. Repentance. That is my price."

Meanwhile

Roxie separated from Six, the promise of more jerky urging her on. Almost the moment she entered the fortress her nose picked up the familiar scent of a rotting corpse, but that had seemed less important to her than the scent of another human who was not Six. Her built in motion-tracker agreed with her nose. It was the same one who had been in the place her friend called Stoneship. Six would want to know.

The cyber dog almost started barking, but thought better of it. The last time she tried that the person had run off, and Six hadn't believed her. Roxie wagged her tail and crept forward passed the room with the weapons as quiet as she could, hunting for her target like the wolves of old. The only problem was that her claws kept clicking against the floor, but there was nothing she could do about it.

She kept close to the wall as she peeked around the corner. There was the person, a female. She was coming towards Roxie, but the human appeared deep into her own head. It gave the dog enough time to back away and hide behind the big chair. The female walked right passed her without noticing.

There was a bang from somewhere that sounded like wood breaking. The woman stopped to frown before she started walking again at a faster speed.

Once she was out of the room, Roxie hastened to follow. She was going towards Six! She repressed a growl as she stalked a good distance behind the woman, making sure not to lose her scent.

The human was peering around the corner into the red room Six's scent was coming from. A sound came from inside that was the same as the one from the fake wall in Stoneship. The female waited several moments before entering the room on quiet feet.

Roxie pursued, forgoing stealth.

The human caught her swift movement immediately. She spun, took one look at the dog, and ran down the second connecting hall. Roxie broke into sprint to keep up with her, but when she turned the corner the human was gone. Just gone.

Roxie tried to pick up her scent again, but it ended there. She sat down and whined.

4

"Roxie? What's wrong?" Six asked when she encountered Roxie wandering towards Sirrus' throne room with her tail between her legs. She knelt down to pet her, "Didn't find anything?"

Roxie pulled her head away from Six's hands, and set off back the way she came. She looked back once make sure the Courier was following her.

"You did find something?" Six asked. "I bet its Giggles' room. I hope there's a clue about where Atrus has gone. I've caught Sirrus red handed, but the bastard's still stonewalling me." She scratched her head, "I've given him something to think about for now. The best thing I think I can do with him at the moment is just let him stew in his misery for a bit. If I play my cards right, I think I can squeeze some more information out of him." Six laughed, "That man is so smart, and yet so stupid at the exact same time. It's astounding."

She broke off when she came to a stop beside Roxie.

The room held the general dirty clutter she was beginning to associate with Achenar. Eerie red lighting shined on the black and white tile. She stepped inside and located his version of a throne immediately. Instead of black marble and gold it was made out of simple wood with blue cushions. On the opposite wall hung weapons she had no doubt saw common use. Across from that hung a tribal looking mask above a plaque that held crossed sabers on display. Over the swords was a wooden depiction of a four winged insect Six recognized from somewhere, but couldn't name.

Achenar sure liked his maces.

Six pulled the crossbow off the weapon rack, and tested its weight. She braced the stock on her shoulder and aimed down the sights. She had never used a crossbow before, but that didn't stop her from taking it and the quiver of bolts. When she got back to the island she would have to set up a range to test it out. The Ages might be mostly deserted, but she was in contact with two morally bankrupt gentlemen. She didn't know enough about Atrus' Art to feel safe with just some knives and the Sonic Emitter with the books around. For all she knew there was a way beyond the pages they could use to escape. Six was not taking that chance.

The jack-in-the-box went ignored when she caught sight of the metal helmet sitting on an overturned chest next to another sword. She picked up the saber to examine the craftsmanship. It was professional work. From Atrus' journal she had gathered the people of Mechanical hadn't been much for fighting, and a sword of that type had been made to be used. Six put the weapon back down. He had probably got it from the pirates in some way.

Roxie barked at her.

The dog was pawing at a part of a wall beside the throne with a yellow strip painted on it. Six opened it, and held Roxie back. She switched on her pip-boy light and checked around the entrance for traps. Satisfied, she climbed in first.

A cage, shelves with familiar looking poison bottles, and a crude wooden box. Six sighed. At least it was cleaner than most raider hideouts. Achenar actually took the time to clean up the blood. She glanced down as Roxie entered behind her and saw the meat clever in a woodblock by the door.

Already having a bad feeling, she shoved open the box. A decomposing severed head met her on the other side, a once over of the inside proved there was nothing of value aside from body parts so she closed the lid again.

Roxie nudged her in the direction of the shelves. She followed her line of sight to see the blue page sitting on the bottom. Six grabbed it, and headed out of the secret torture chamber. She had seen enough.

The Courier didn't bother to shut the door on her way out. She collapsed on Achenar's throne, put the page down so she could get a drink of water. With that task done, Six drummed her finger on the arm of the chair as she thought aloud for Roxie to hear.

"Achenar's cooperating so far. If only to make sure his brother burns along with him, and Sirrus has pretty much confirmed they don't really get along. So, why work together in the first place? I've gathered enough from what they've said to figure out they are both responsible for burning Atrus' Linking Books, and probably for the disappearance of of their parents." She leaned back in the chair, and folded her arms over her chest. "Why ever do two people who dislike each other work together? It's always a question of hatred. How much did they hate their parents to set aside their differences?" Six rubbed the bridge of her nose, "If they murdered Atrus, we might just be stuck here."

She picked up the blue page once more and put it back where it belonged. Achenar was biting his nails on the other side of the little window.

"So, you two were working together." Six said.

Achenar's lips pulled into a smile, and he giggled.

"Where are your parents?"

He stopped snickering, and stared off at something only he could see. He might as well have been a thousand miles away. She needed to get his attention.

"You know," Six started conversationally. "I could destroy both of these books. It might just kill you. But I'm not going to do that." Six shook her head, "Noooo. What I'm going to do is leave you both here to rot, because death is far too kind a fate for what the two of you have done. How does that sound to you, huh? Living trapped in these books for the rest of your life? What do you think of that?"

Achenar slowly removed his fingers from his mouth, and screamed.

Chapter Five End

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