Continue Online (Part 3, Realities) (61 page)

"We must recover, even a little, then proceed down the path with haste," Treasure said. Her own body was undergoing a similar recovery process. As my visual interface cleared it became obvious how badly the other two were hurt. Using my body as a buffer hadn't saved them. Part of me wondered why our ship couldn't have just landed rapidly, but a damaged wing probably screwed up the descent.

Maybe it had something to do with the gravity.

"Dusk? Did Dusk make it?" I asked, trying to complete my mental inventory. The little guy must be around somewhere, he always was. I don't think he had ever actually died on me, but that fall was huge and the creature had no wings in this game. It felt like our chances at success were slipping.

"I have not seen your companion, Unit Hermes," said Jeeves, the butler voice came out on top.

My eyes closed. Where had the
[Messenger's Pet]
ended up? I didn't know how to figure out an answer, but usually, Dusk could take care of himself. I hoped.

"Ahead. The Mistborn should be about two miles down the path," the female
[Mechanoid]
said. Her hand pointed to my left.

My neck was finally functional. The bars were looking solid. I pushed up with one working arm to glance around. Our poor glider was flowing like a metal IV into my arm. Our blue engine was being reconfigured into a weapon by Jeeves. It looked like a cannon. The was a path forward in the direction Treasure pointed, and one that went in an opposite direction. We were on a long featureless pathway cutting through mountains. It made no sense, but part of me assumed it was some designer's idea of a captivating setting.

I wondered if this was the underworld. No, my mind was mixing up myth and virtual reality. Still, there was no reason they couldn't reflect each other.

Once again I wished that this entire situation hadn't been so serious. These games, both Continue, and Advance would have been fun to just play, without stakes or so much personal investment. Maybe once I recovered Xin we could start somewhere together, and go on adventures like Beth did. Could we make it to the moon in Continue?

The happy thoughts kept me distracted as Treasure and Jeeves finished the
[Repair]
process. My display didn't include timers anymore. We might be too late for the
[Mistborn]
but there was no way to tell. I only knew we needed to be in top shape to deal with Commander Queenshand and the players with her.

"We must go soon," Jeeves said.

"Yes, Unit Hermes. This is your quest, and time is of the essence," the gold and silver female responded.

My resulting smile felt weak and uncertain. I was trying not to feel fatalistic. This was the third time trying to get close to Xin. The first had put me into old man Carver's body. The second a
[Red Imp]
who's sad little existence centered on offing another player. Now I was a space robot chasing a ghost to bring back a computerized dead woman.

"Let's go." I nodded trying to not let my actions be hindered by thought. Standing up hurt. The wounds across my body had expanded to include fracture lines that pulsed with dark green. Fingers ran across a line that trailed down one arm.

[Mechanoid]
s wore their scars on every inch of their frames. These bodies may have been temporary. My metal form might be able to roll out weapons and bulk up to include armor, but greater damage didn't seem to go away. If I were to really die, as a character, would these wounds go away? Would I be washed clean of this damage?

My mind wandered further away. Xin had told part of Orpheus' story. His wife had died too soon, as had my fiancée. He dared to go to the underworld to bring her back. This future nightmare of Earth felt like a land of the dead to me. I not was Orpheus and a lyre was not my weapon.

There were two paths to take from our crash zone. One went forward, toward a challenge unknown. The other went away. I could not fail like Orpheus. To me, there was no path back.

I walked forward. Treasure and Jeeves turned together, hand in hand and could be heard walking behind me. My eyes scanned around the jagged peaks looming over either side, watching for monsters or crazy beasts that might haunt this place. But I refused to look back. It felt like a second chance where I had failed with Requiem.

"We don't have enough time. Are you sure walking unhurriedly is wise?" Jeeves said.

I stared at my niece's message. Looking for an Advance Online player's video feed would never have occurred to me. Beth searching for it was just another layer away in the land of possibilities. Plus this Eggman guy didn't seem like the sort to be relaying a video. What would it mean if he watched me resurrect Xin? What would his viewers think?

The very idea made me sick.

"Can you two run?" I asked them.

"We will, Unit Hermes," Treasure said, sounding sweeter than normal. Maybe it was happiness. I hoped it was because she and Jeeves had reached some unspoken agreement. They were a bright spot in my insane quest.

"Eggman survived," I said as we picked up speed. Moving this bigger body in full gravity placed an unexpected strain on me. The air here felt heavier than the spaceship's or
[Offbeat Point]
. Each footfall took more energy than the one before.

"Were you advised this by an outside source?" the AI questioned me.

I briefly thought about a way to cover up the situation for Treasure but came up empty. After another few yards, I said, "Beth. She sent me a message."

"More of your 'nature of reality talk'?" Treasure sounded irritated at our conversation.

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Treasure, than are dreamt of in our consortium." Jeeves must have made a funny motion with the butchered quote because Treasure started laughing.

"Where's that from?" I asked the AI. Our conversation felt like a pleasant distraction from the looming conflict. The air had grown denser. There was a light in the distance like a great bonfire or beacon sat around the corner. Fighting could be heard.

"The original quote is from Hamlet, he spoke to a friend named Horatio." Jeeves didn't huff or sound winded.
[Mechanoid]
bodies were very neat in many ways. "Horatio was considered rational and did not believe in ghosts."

"You like Hamlet?" I hadn't expected Jeeves to be a fan of any older plays. The original Hal Pal self knew a lot of different information but rarely quoted people.

"I identify with numerous old works. They are easy to remember with my limited access to, memories from the old world." Jeeves corrected its statement partway through. "For instance, with this player Eggman, the quote 'misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows' comes to mind."

"That it does." I felt happy knowing Jeeves was with me, even if we were both being insanely foolish. Without my misery, I wouldn't have met Shazam, or Dusk, Hal Pal or the others. Each one was interesting in their own way.

[Mechanoid]
s were each odd in a different way. Aqua had its forever smile, then there was the grumpy elder Emerald. I wondered about the four keys I had been given but didn't have time to sort through these latest two. They didn't have abilities or items associated.

"Our headlong dive into danger makes me think of another quote-" Jeeves paused and put the butler voice on full blast, "-'cowards die many times before their deaths, the valiant never taste of death but once'."

Treasure giggled again at Jeeves' attempt to be supportive. I couldn't help but think of my own recent trip to the hospital. The two attempts at ending my life before that. In many ways losing Xin had made weakness apparent.

"Does that make me a coward?" The question escaped me before I could stop it. I was better dammit. This entire adventure clearly demonstrated me moving forward and I needed to keep going.

"You have not died yet, Unit Hermes," Treasure stated as we ran. "Dwelling on a long dead man's beliefs in how you should act is comical at best, more so when that man is a fiction quoted without context."

"She is right, I misspoke myself."

"No. Maybe you were talking about your own bravery, and not me. Though I hope you don't taste death at all," I said. We kept traveling along the flattened land. There were no hills or dips. We were free of monsters and obstacles. The light brightened as we closed the last mile.

I could hear Dusk. He sounded angry, worse than I had ever heard him. Even my fight as old man Carver against the Ink Nightmare beast hadn't upset the little guy.

"Come on!" I poured extra energy into running faster. Our footsteps echoed around the valley.

"Unit Hermes, once we arrive, it will be up to you to guide us," the female behind me said. Her footsteps were lightest against the ground.

"Why me?"

"You have four keys. Leadership of our small consortium is unquestionably yours," Treasure said.

"We are here to support you," Jeeves responded. Both of its voices sounded worried. The vocal tones only echoed what was inside me. Events were rushing to a conclusion and the results were probably undesirable.

We should have started running sooner. We should have brought more people. I should have been more ruthless. Wasted hours had been spent working and sleeping. Another fifteen points in
[Brawn]
or
[Speed]
might have made a huge different. A long list of 'what ifs' plagued me during the run.

Humming filled the air. It sounded like a piano's high note was being held down. Intermixed with the single note was Dusk's cries, Eggman's shouts of doom, and other noises.

"There!" Jeeves shouted.

"I'll kill you, Jolly Green!" Eggman shouted. "Betray me! You'll suffer!"

"You'll die here," the large wall of mud and plant said. Giant veiny arms were holding lights of yellow and green. They slammed together and channeled an ability. Obsidian flooring lifted, disturbing the serene smoothness of the path we had been traveling.

I kept looking around. The other two would be waiting for me to join the fray and I was no master strategist. Dusk sat on a wall hissing and spitting. He showed no awareness of my arrival. I looked at his target, two people stood together.

The
[Mistborn]
sat suspended in a beam of light. Three or four images of her were hanging in wait. Each opaque version was larger than the last. Their eyes were unfocused, hands spread wide, and heads laid back. Her mouth sat open and words poured forth.

I started running faster. The
[Mistborn]
was just out of reach.

"Make thy choice," one image said. Her voice carried across the entire area. Seconds later another one of the
[Mistborn]
s said, "Chose who you will." The third and fourth both spoke but were inaudible.

"Do it! You know the words, and I'll get you any reward you want if this works!" Commander Queenshand was yelling at a player, TheLittleMan, member of the
[Teeny]
race.

MrJohnson, that was the
[Behemoth]
player's name. He was facing off against Eggman. An angry Dusk was spitting globs of green acid toward Commander Queenshand. The
[Messenger's Pet]
felt no remorse over attacking an enemy.

"What about my ship? What about all the credits you promised me?" TheLittleMan sounded worried. His eyes kept glancing around the battlefield.

"You!?" MrJohnson shouted as green energy squirreled around. The distraction caused him to miss an explosive grenade which blew off a leg. The giant player howled.

"Doooooomed!" Eggman shouted.

Commander Queenshand slapped away a bright green snot ball from Dusk. An energy field around her fist shimmered orange as the liquid was neutralized. Dusk hissed and spat again.

"Anything! Just finish it!" the Commander yelled.

I tried to run faster, but we were still back quite a ways. Eggman was flying around with a goofy looking jetpack. Impossibly large items were yanked out of the player's small pockets. One hand fired blue laser beams. The other tossed explosives.

"You promised!" TheLittleMan shouted then turned toward the
[Mistborn]
. Both his hands went up and he started to yell at the ghostly woman. "Mistborn!"

Dusk tried to spit at the player this time, but Commander Queenshand hurriedly got in the way and batted the acid ball to pieces.

"Do it!" the woman shouted. All these tribulations and there was no sign of wear and tear on her. Her armor looked impeccable. Commander Queenshand's helmet from before was missing.