Floor 25 - Chapter 2 - Children of the Tree
As the pair of a Dark Elf knight and a human knight walked back towards the Old Town, Jet couldn't help but take a look through the book they'd been handed. Luckily for Jet, the Lyusulans of old had made some relatively detailed drawings of the machine, which he was now calling the Dream Catcher in his head. The machine itself was a large drill like machine, fixed in a vertical position with a large chamber in the centre. Helpfully, they'd included a small pictogram of a person for scale too, making the machine around twelve foot in height, if he assumed it was a person of average height. A second piece of the machine lay around thirty foot from its main section, and looked to contain another chamber, this one being listed with a symbol that looked remarkably like an exclamation mark, an indicator that whatever was in that chamber wasn't something they wanted to come into contact with, probably.
''I take it the picture is of use?'' Kizmel asked, looking towards Jet, who'd taken to wearing a pair of glasses to examine the diagram.
''Maybe. Kizmel, you understand the language, right?'' He asked, pretty certain that the answer was yes.
''Of course, as you understand yours.'' She answered nonchalantly.
''The section on the opposite page, is there any chance you can tell us what it says, when we meet up with everyone?''
''Indeed I-oh, oh no. This is bad. Very bad.'' The usually affable smile on Kizmel's face had disappeared, replaced with a look that terrified Jet. A look that has been consistent amongst cultures for generations, and one that should make even the most foolhardy reconsider their actions... a look of realisation.
''What does it say?'' Jet tried to hide his growing terror, as Kizmel read on.
''I believe Tilnel would've be able to offer a far superior explanation, but as I understand it - the salt is a relatively stable energy source, but the production of it requires use of some... unpleasant liquids to produce such a stable source. That chamber, contains the byproducts of its production, and is extremely toxic to almost all living beings. Our forebears had a name for it seemingly - Nightshade, due to it's dark colour, and the impact it would have on a person.''
''So definitely not something we want to be anywhere near, then. Noted.'' Jet put his glasses back into his inventory, as Kizmel continued.
''Certainly, but that isn't the reason for my trepidation... this is.'' Kizmel pointed to the chemical chamber, and Jet looked towards the diagram, squinting to read it, before a realisation set in with Jet...
''That chamber's, what, generations old, and unmaintained... that Nightshade will be everywhere, and we've got to not only find a way into the room to shut down the machine, but also shut it down.'' Jet placed a hand on his head in frustration. They really had a job on their hands with this one, he thought...
His continued thoughts on the matter were interrupted though, as he felt a jolt on his back and arms thrown around him from behind, before a warm and familiar voice spoke... ''I've missed you! The baths were awesome!'' Koharu almost sang the last word, seeming in much higher spirits. One of the many quirks that Koharu had, and one of the most endearing at times, was her almost vice like grip when hugging someone, and as it turned out, this was one of those times.
''Where've you been, anyway? We've been looking for you for the past hour!'' He heard Phillia shout, as she and Rain caught up to the couple. Koharu, now separated from her vice grip on her boyfriend, looked around and finally noticed Kizmel. If she'd been in high spirits before, then those spirits had risen to stratospheric at this point...
''Kizmel!'' Koharu changed the target of her affections, and bolted over to Kizmel, wrapping her in the tightest embrace she could. Kizmel, at first, gave a soft laugh, and expected Koharu to release her grip...
Except she didn't, and after what felt like a small eternity, Jet walked over to the two girls, and whispered something into Koharu's ear. Exactly what it was he whispered would forever go down in history as a complete unknown, but whatever it was... Koharu went bright red momentarily, before turning to smile at her boyfriend...
''Well, now we're altogether again... I found a restaurant!'' Liz spoke up, breaking the awkward silence in the air.
''We found a restaurant.'' Phillia corrected.
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The restaurant that Liz had found was certainly a somewhat familiar sight to Jet. It wasn't a particularly ornate place, although small figurines of pigs and cattle did sit on a shelf above the owner. The tables were all very simple, consisting of four legs, and a rectangular surface, the wooden surface covered by a red and white chequered cover, made of some kind of plastic. Familiar, it may have been, but it certainly didn't fit the aesthetic of the floor...
Rain's meal was the first to be bought out, and as it turned out, Kayaba had done just as much research into British cuisine as he had into the moral debate of trapping ten thousand people in a death game. Very little, if the dish in front of Jet was anything to go by. Whatever he was looking for, it made him feel genuinely sick... and he didn't have to eat it!
''So, this machine, it's a literal dream catcher?'' asked Rain, more than a little bit apprehensive at the concept... and at the meal in front of her.
''Apparently so.'' Jet shrugged, as Koharu's food was bought out. ''It looks like the good Professor actually managed to build a working version.''
"Want to try some? It's bean soup." Koharu asked her boyfriend, who looked at the dish of almost glowing green liquid in front of Koharu, and suddenly felt really rather queasy, a feeling not helped by the smell or the memory of the Nineteenth Floor...
"I don't care what it's been, what is it now?" He mumbled, feeling his stomach performing an aerobatic display at the thought of the "food".
Rain looked at the plate of... she wasn't even sure, in front of her. "I, uhh, I'm not particularly hungry, you know..." Rain's stomach betrayed her on that one, growling loudly. Her face, on the other hand, told them exactly what she was thinking of the food... she'd been green and was grimacing. It didn't help that she might have just seen the food wriggling away...
"Is human food always like this?" Kizmel asked, a look of disgust on her face equal to her description of the Moonlight Wine. She was fairly sure that her dish of... something, had once been part of a sheep. Exactly what part though, she had absolutely no idea!
"No, this is just- let's just say there's been a serious misunderstanding as to what British food even is..." Jet looked down at what was described as a steak and kidney pie. The pastry looked alright... until he started to cut into it. To his surprise, the knife he was using refused to make even the slightest of cuts into the pie and even seemed to be blunting the knife faster!
"The biscuits are alright though, so not everything is inedible!" Liz replied, happily wolfing down digestive biscuits as she did. Not paying attention to her surroundings, she hadn't noticed Phillia "borrowing" a number of biscuits to dip in her tea...
"I don't know, the tea's pretty good too!" Phillia spoke, and Liz finally noticed her missing biscuits...
"Oi! My biscuits!" Phillia simply shrugged in response to Liz's accusations, raising a snicker from the other members of the group.
''Eh, you snooze, you lose.''
Deciding against eating her possibly radioactive soup, Koharu spoke up, to bring their attention back to the matter at hand. "Still though, this dream catcher thing? You reckon this is the main story quest?''
"Excuse me? Are you doing the Dream Catcher quest?" A young sounding voice spoke from besides them, as the members of the Concord, plus Liz and Kizmel, looked towards the source of the voice. A young girl, probably about Silica's age, and just a little shorter, stood by the table. The girl's silver hair was certainly distinctive, and a number of her features reminded Jet of someone, but he struggled to work out who...
Koharu, the closest thing to a responsible adult amongst the Concord, was the first to answer her. "Oh, yeah, we're just, uhh..." she looked over to Liz and Phillia, currently trying to swipe biscuits from each other whilst the other wasn't looking, then at Jet, who was completely lost in thought, and Rain, who was smiling towards the young girl. "...strategising! That's it, we're coming up with a plan for the quest!"
The girl beamed as she spoke, with a vocabulary far in advance of her seemingly young age. "A exemplary idea, if I do say so myself. In that case, I would like to offer my assistance with the quest!"
Jet, now snapped out of his thoughts, looked surprised towards the girl. She was very young, and yet she was volunteering to help them? He supposed it wasn't entirely out of the question that she was a competent player - both Silica and Mater could hold their own, and they were about the same age, but there was something unusual about this girl, something he absolutely couldn't place. "Umm, sorry, we didn't get your name?"
"Oh! I am Seven! Privyet!" The girl introduced herself cheerfully, and almost as soon as that sentence had finished, both Jet and Phillia, the two people sat closest to Rain, felt the air around her change. Somehow, she was maintaining a smile, but the look on her face was one of a world coming crashing down very fast.
"I think you're a bit older than that?" Jet stated offhandedly, a way of diffusing the tension that was now in the air.
It didn't work, and the girl looked blankly towards Jet for a moment, before starting to giggle childishly. "It is my name, not my age!"
"Umm, guys, I'm just going to get some air, it's just... the food doesn't agree with me!" Rain stammered, a look in her eyes almost as if she were holding back the flood of tears as she did, and she took off out of the front door.
"Is-is she alright? I will apologise if I've done anything to offend you... I didn't intend to do anything wrong, but..." This time, it was this girl Seven's turn to hold back the tears, as Jet got up.
"I'll go check on her. Seven, you can have my seat."
"Are-are you sure?"
"As can be, besides, you offered to help. Least we can do, right?" Jet gave a smile to the new girl, before he took off out of the door...
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Now outside, Rain had broken into a sprint back towards the teleport gate. Her mind raced through a million thoughts a minute, but one kept coming up... "Why?"
Why had she had to turn up now! Hadn't she had enough attention! Her mother, and all the hateful things she'd told her - how she was the consolation child, the one that was less important, the one that wasn't going anywhere in life, whilst sweet, smart Nanairo was the genius. She was the pride of the family, not her. She was just there, always in the background, never to get any attention from her family!
Her father had already left them, and her mother... well, without sounding bitter and spiteful, she wished her mother had too. The hurtful comments, the constant stream of alcohol and the days and nights alone. She'd never thought she'd amount to anything, and then she'd found herself in this damned death trap...
...and she'd found somewhere to belong finally! She had friends who'd fight to their dying breath for her, and she'd do the same. She didn't want to lose that, and she wasn't going to let Nanairo take what little she had left from her!
Taking stock of her thoughts for a moment, she stopped at the bridge between the two towns of Emstrey. She looked into the water, to see a reflection of herself, distorted through tear filled eyes and the ripples of the water, and asked herself a question. The most important question she'd ask herself...
Was she really going to abandon everything here?
The friendships that she'd forged in the fire that was Aincrad, all the things they'd all been through... did that really mean so little to them, that they'd abandon her for Nanairo?
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Chasing after Rain, Jet already knew one thing - she was not likely to be in a good place, in regards to the way she was thinking. He couldn't tell exactly why, but he'd be more than willing to place a bet on it being something to do with that Seven girl. Something about her just didn't sit right with him, and the fact she'd managed to flip a switch with Rain, well, that just reinforced that belief. Despite this, he still couldn't place why he felt he recognised her, or at least, some of her mannerisms... the fact she introduced herself in Russian especially.
After about half an hour of running through Emstrey, and the exhaustion that was starting to set in, he reached the bridge linking the low and high towns, and spotted a red haired girl stood, leaning partly over the walls of the bridge, her crying being audible a fair distance away.
"Rain? You here?" Jet asked, as he approached the girl that he really hoped was Rain...
"I...ye-yeah." She stuttered, trying her best to get words out, despite the mess that was currently her mind. Without speaking, Jet stood beside her, and looked down into the water. Calm, but quite fast flowing, and a lot deeper than it looked from the surface, and with the moonlight reflecting off the water, it was as beautiful as it was dangerous.
A few seconds passed by, but in the wordless silence, those seconds felt exponentially longer, and Rain collected her thoughts enough to speak cohesively. ''Now you've got Seven, you won't want me with you anymore.'' She spoke morosely, much to Jet's confusion.
''Huh?''
''She's always been better than me. Smarter, cuter and everyone loves her. What have I got? I can swing two swords at once...'' Rain laughed, but it was clear there was no mirth in it. As she stated that, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place in Jet's head... Seven, the Russian greeting, the familiarities...
It was Rain that he'd been thinking of. The final piece of the puzzle slotted into place - Seven was her sister!
With that realisation, suddenly Rain's self deprecation made so much more sense, and he felt himself relating to her. "I know what it's like to envy a sibling. Hell, I nearly came to blows with mine over it!" Rain didn't look much happier at that attempt at reassurance. "What I'm trying to say is, however she made you feel, it's okay to be angry, and I really don't know the story, but if you wouldn't feel comfortable with her in the party? I'll find a way to let her go gently."
"What happened to the straight talking approach?"
"She's a child, I'm not gonna tell her to go shove her offer!" Jet joked, faking offense at the implications.
"Heh, yeah. I'm sorry if I-"
He interrupted her apology. "Rain, we have all overreacted to something at some point, and we've all said and done things we've regretted. No one's blaming you for running off like that, hell, I think I would've done the same, if I'm honest."
"I was going to say if I offended you." Jet smacked his forehead, and Rain, still with reddened eyes from crying, smiled a little. "Can I tell you what happened?"
"Sure, take your time." And with that encouragement, Rain told her story.
The story of a once happy family, that discovered the intelligence of their youngest daughter, and the fighting between their parents for who should raise her, and where. Her father had won out, and the youngest sister, Seven, had moved to the US with him, whilst Rain was left with her embittered mother in Russia. Eventually, her mother had dragged her back to her home, just outside Tokyo, and then, well... the rest was history.
"Rain." Without saying anything else, Jet pulled her into a hug. If Jet was being honest, it felt a bit weird hugging Rain, the pair being close friends, but nothing more. There was a warmth there, but not in the same way as a hug with Koharu felt - the feeling being a sense of comfort, but also comradeship. A shared understanding of how crappy it could feel sometimes, especially out of anger towards someone you should love. That, and if anyone needed a hug amongst their group, it was Rain. Somehow, her luck had been even more rotten than Jet's, an achievement if ever there was one...
In a different vein, Rain was fighting back a giggle. A few months back, she'd have been bright red being embraced by the man she'd once thought of as her knight in... well, a purple coat and dull grey armour, but now? She could see through the schoolgirl crush, and realise how bad an idea that would've been as a relationship, with her constant hopes that the love of a single person would've changed her entirely.
"Uhh, Rain? You okay, you're kinda, ya know?"
"Just realising how silly I was when we met, that's all. I owe you an apology too, I wanted to believe that you'd fix me, and well..."
"That's not a particularly healthy way to start a relationship, and even without me being head over heels for Koharu, that relationship would've been doomed from the outset if we'd maintained the mindsets we'd have gone in with?" Jet questioned, with what may have been the most perceptive answer he'd ever given.
An answer that caught Rain off guard too, as she looked a little like a rabbit in a headlight... "Uhh, yeah. Exactly that?"
"Forgiven, don't worry about it. We should probably head back to everyone though.'' Rain nodded, and Jet handed her a handkerchief. ''Here, you might need it.''
''Thanks, and Jet? For what it's worth, I didn't think you'd all abandon me...'' A twang of confusion ran through his mind at that statement. When had they ever given off that impression?
That thought suddenly swapped to another one, the shadows on the ground... there were more of them than people. Only he and Rain were present, yet four shadows were there, and they didn't seem to correspond to either of them. ''Rain...''
''Yes?'' She smiled as she turned back to face him.
''We may have a problem... look at the shadows.'' He pointed out, as the shadows began to move without them. In fact, the shadows began to close in on them, whilst a pair of them began to rise from the ground, a bubbling puddle of darkness starting to rise up into the form of something only barely humanoid.
''Oh.'' She stated, her voice small as she realised what was going on. ''That isn't good...'' He reached for his sword as the shadows took their full form, before the first pair of shadows were beheaded before they could react.
''Honestly... I leave for one day, and I find you pair in an ambush.'' The silver haired Russian moaned, as she readied her blade for the next two shadows...
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Back in the café, Koharu checked her messages and breathed a sigh of relief. Rain was fine, and Jet had reassured her that the situation would be explained when they got back - it wasn't his place to tell her, apparently, which told her a lot. Whatever had upset Rain, it was clearly personal, and she understood Jet's hesitance to tell her.
That still begged a question though. ''If-if I offended you, I'm really sorry...'' The new girl, Seven. She was just a child, that much was obvious, yet she spoke almost as if she were so much older than she looked. Koharu wondered if she was trying to present a good first impression to them, or whether she actually spoke like that, and something told her that both Liz and Phillia were getting a similar impression.
''Seven, do you want anything to eat?''
''I-I'm content. Thank you for offering, though.''
''Probably best, the food here is...'' Koharu thought about her next words for a few seconds as she looked at the ''soup'' in front of her. She settled on the most diplomatic description possible. ''...interesting.''
''Interesting as in, worth studying, or in another way?'' Seven asked.
''Uhh, interesting in the same way a wildfire is. Good to look at, but probably best to keep well out of the way of it.'' Phillia said, scoffing another biscuit. ''Though, the biscuits are good.''
''Also, they were mine...'' Liz grumbled, before turning to Seven. The young girl seemed to be retreating into herself, clearly unused to being the centre of questioning. ''So, Seven, where are you staying?''
''Oh, I've just been going between towns, and renting rooms whenever I need them.'' She answered, and the three older girls looked towards each other, clearly uncomfortable with the answer. She couldn't have been older than Silica, and they'd ensured that Silica had somewhere decent to stay, Rain having set the young dragon tamer up with a room in the orphanage. It had been the least they could've done, and here was this young girl, basically sofa surfing...
That whole situation didn't sit well with any of them, and she expected it wouldn't sit well with the other two either, when they got back. ''Seven, do you want somewhere to stop? We know someone who can help.'' She asked and gave a smile to her. Even if there was some bad blood between Rain and her, she at least knew that Sanya would be willing to help; after the incident on the Fourteenth Floor, she was almost glad Sanya wasn't present, otherwise she would've forced the young girl to go back to the Town of Beginnings... again!
She was fairly sure that Mater hadn't actually quite forgiven Sanya for that encounter, especially given that it had nearly resulted in the dagger wielding girl being dragged back to the Orphanage, and apparently, both Sasha and Rain had given Sanya quite the verbal dressing-down over other people's decisions, and respecting them...
''I would appreciate it, yes.'' Seven answered. ''Though, a question?''
''Umm, sure?''
''Has anyone else noticed that no one appears to have moved in the past two minutes? At all, for any reason?'' The young girl asked, a look of concern coming to her face as she asked the question.
''Hoo boy, here we go again...'' Phillia commented slightly nonchalantly, watching the people intently to see if Seven was right. Thirty seconds passed by, and she'd determined she probably was. No one outside of their group had so much as blinked in the past thirty seconds, and suddenly, the lights had begun to flicker as well, momentarily plunging them into darkness.
''I don't follow? Is this... normal for this floor?'' Seven asked, a sense of discomfort at the flickering, before almost freezing up at the dark.
''Umm no, what she means is... well, trouble... it kind of follows us around.'' Koharu answered, before getting up to look around, before noticing Kizmel. The dark elf knight, a woman she'd come to view as a friend to her, not just an NPC... was frozen in place. A look of abject terror in her eyes, as her hands shook aggressively against the table, the closest to fighting against whatever was going on that she could manage.
''Heed my warning...'' spoke everyone else in the restaurant in perfect synchronisation, and everyone present felt a shudder. ''I am coming for you, Children of the Tree...''
''Wh-who is coming?'' Even Liz looked unnerved by that, and Koharu ran through a list of people that she reckoned could do something like this, a task that took literally milliseconds given how short the list was. Considering what Jet and Kizmel had told them, about the Dream Catcher and the unusual sleep related problems in the town of Emstrey, it was down to only a single possibility; the creature that Kizmel had told them about on the Nineteenth Floor... the Sandman.
Her voice went low, and was barely louder than a whisper at the realisation. ''I don't know, but I know one thing... it isn't good.''