It took only a short while for the party to reach the meeting place in the nearby forest, but the looming castle in the distance served as a grim reminder of the pressing urgency of their quest, preserving the sullen mood cast over the trio.
Striding into the tree cover, Isaac was the first to notice a familiar figure slouching against a tree, trimming his nails with a retractable wristblade.
“Jace, you made it!” Isaac exclaimed, making introductions for both sides.
“Nice to meet y’all.” Jason nodded coolly in response, fully settled into his assassin persona. “Still, why’s everyone so glum? Whose funeral is it, or what?”
“Bro, really?” Isaac grimaced. “One of our friends was captured on the way here. I was hoping we could get your help busting her out.”
“Well, that was pretty dumb of her.” Jason scoffed.
Charles grit his teeth, holding his hands up. “Alright, that does it, I’m done playing nice. This is the “strongest friend” you mentioned, Isaac? He doesn’t look like much to me.” He strode towards Jason, his hands loose at his sides, ready to draw a blade.
“Then you’d better get your eyes checked, blondie,” Jason shot back, drawing himself to full height and flicking his retractable blade in and out threateningly.
“A hidden dagger’s not much good if you reveal it up front.” Charles grinned mirthlessly, striding closer to Jason, standing an inch or two taller, counting his hair. “Better put that fruit knife away, kiddo.”
“Sure, let me put it where it belongs.” Jason shrugged, retracting the blade. "In your neck." Moving in a blur, he suddenly shot it out again, whipping it at Charles.
But Charles’ eyes hadn’t left the blade. Driving his armoured hand up in one swift motion he slammed a fist into Jason’s bladed wrist, knocking the weapon off its deadly course and glancing it harmlessly off his hefty shoulder plating.
“Well, I’ve seen enough.” Charles spat. “It takes a special kinda dude to draw on an unarmed man like that.”
“I see a sword and a hidden dagger at your waist,” Jason retorted, rubbing his bruised wrist. “Unless they’re as fake as your hair colour.”
“I’m all natural!” Charles yelled out, swinging a mailed fist at Jason's chest.
*Whack!*
*Thump!*
Charles and Jason both fell to the ground, Charles cradling his head, and Jason holding his midriff, gasping for breath.
“The hell's wrong with you two?!” Marie berated the pair, flexing her hands threateningly. “Is a castle of murderous bandits not enough? Now you gotta go and try to kill your friends too?”
“He’s… no friend… of mine.” Jason gasped.
“Likewise,” Charles spat.
“Well then you’d better get acquainted right quick, because you’re gonna have each other’s backs out there tonight,” Marie declared. "Now shake hands and move on!"
“And so, the battle to determine the Strongest Friend of Isaac was settled, with Marie as a clear vic-OW!” Isaac started in a phony narrating voice, cut off by a swift knock on the head from Marie.
“Smarten up,” Marie cautioned. “Tenshi’s waiting for us, and right now we’re her best chance at seeing a couple more dawns in BRYZ. Have you forgotten she’s an AI? If we die, we just lose our data, and sure that sucks, but what about Tenshi? She is data. What do you think happens if she dies? Have either of you thought about that?”
“Oh… sorry, that never occurred to me,” Isaac apologized, thoroughly cowed.
“Honestly, you guys…” Marie started, interrupted by the sight of Jason suddenly leaping to his feet and vanishing into the underbrush. “And just where do you think you’re going?!” she called out, turning to chase him when a youthful scream split the evening air.
The trio exchanged glances, then looked on in surprise as Jason returned carrying a young boy about 12 years of age by the scruff of the neck, his hidden blade leveled at the youth’s windpipe.
“I noticed this little rat spying on us from the bushes,” Jason explained, throwing the boy to the dirt and retracting his wristblade. “What should I do with him?”
Isaac glanced down at the boy Jason had caught. Already having abandoned all pretexts of struggling, the boy was lying rigid on the ground, choked-off sobs coming from his mouth. Not daring to look at his captors, he kept his eyes squeezed shut as they overflowed with rivulets of tears.
“Somehow, I don’t feel like he’s much of threat,” Isaac scratched his head. The youth wore a simple white tee-shirt and blue jeans, both of which were stained with mud and displayed not a single weapon. “Still, weren’t you a bit rough with him?”
“I got bad vibes from him,” Jason explained. “He reminds me of my younger brothers.”
“That gave you bad vibes?” Isaac raised an eyebrow.
“No, I totally get that.” Marie nodded sagely. “Siblings are a pain.”
“Right?” Jason agreed, standing aside as Marie approached the boy, kneeling down next to him.
“Still,” she assented. “He doesn’t look like a bad kid.”
Helping him up, she brushed some loose leaves and mulch off his clothes. “You okay?” she asked, her tone gentle and warm. “What’re you doing out here in the forest alone, bud?”
“Looking for my sister,” the youth muttered sullenly.
“You’re in a bad neighbourhood for that.” Marie sighed, putting a hand on her hip. “There’re a bunch of real rough dudes around here, kidnapping anyone they come across…” Her sentence trailed off as something occurred to her. Kneeling down, she looked the boy in the eyes. “Do you know where your sister is now?”
The boy nodded slightly, tears forming in his eyes as he lifted a finger, pointing in the direction of the ominous fortress behind them.
“Just what I was afraid of.” Marie sighed, clapping a hand on each of the boy’s shoulders. “What’s your name?” she asked.
“Walter,” he responded. “Walter Hartman. My sister’s name is Riley.”
“Gotcha.” Marie nodded, locking eyes with him again. “Okay Walter, listen; a good friend of ours was also taken by those bandits. If you tell us what Riley looks like, we’ll try to rescue her while we’re in there.”
“Huh?!” Jason and Isaac objected loudly.
“Look, our job’s gonna be hard enough grabbing Tenshi and somehow IDing that bandit chief, but now you want us to find some random girl too?” Isaac complained. “C’mon, be real for a sec. We were just told to free the prisoners, not escort them. Besides, she could've logged out for all we know. We can’t rescue her unless she’s online.”
“Yeah, what Zach said,” Jason agreed.
“I can see she's still online by checking my friends menu,” Walter defended. “Besides, I’ll be coming with you, so you don't have to worry about Riley.”
“Now that I really object to.” Jason sighed, striding forward and laying a condescending hand on the boy’s head. “Look kid, I know you want your sister back and all, but let’s face it; you’re a liability we can’t afford. Come back when you can at least reach my shoulder.”
“I don’t need to reach your shoulder to fight,” Walter shot back, driving a fist into Jason’s crotch.
Jason paled and collapsed to the ground in agony. “Oh, I am going to kill you, damnit!” he gasped.
“Hey, come on!” Marie chided, standing up. “We’re supposed to be the adults here, let’s try and act like it, okay?”
“I’m with Marie.” Charles stood in front of Walter. “We’re already busting Tenshi out, why not pick up Riley along the way? Think of it as a side-quest. Besides, I couldn’t call myself a hero if I just ignored them like that.”
“Speak for yourself,” Jason muttered, rising gingerly. “I’m an assassin. I just deal in practical solutions, not self-righteous nonsense like “being a hero”.”
“And we’re supposed to let you watch our backs?” Charles muttered. “I’d take the kid over you any day."
“Just wait ‘till the bullets start flying,” Jason predicted direly. “I’m trying to be realistic here. You wanna save the kid? Keep him outta the way.”
“Shut up!”
All heads turned in surprise at the sudden outbreak. Walter was standing up, legs akimbo, a large magnum in his right hand, and a determined expression on his face.
“I never asked for any of your help in the first place!” he blustered. “Don't butt in on my problem, then try and cut me outta it. I’m getting my sis back, and I don't need your help. ”
Tapping his inventory, a light exo-suit shimmered into being over his body. A bare skeleton of a suit, the frame was centered around a mechanical chestplate, accentuated by a huge orange gemstone imbedded in its center. Turning around, he stomped away angrily, revealing a similar gemstone on the back of his armour. As he moved, the stone began to flicker a slightly yellower hue of orange.
Suddenly, recognition dawned on Isaac, and he leapt to his feet. “Hey, hang up a sec kid!” he ran after Walter.
“Well whadda you want?” he asked sulkily, turning to face Isaac.
“Your class!” Isaac exclaimed. “Are you an Inertist?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Walter replied, confused. “What about it?”
“Have you spent any of your skill points yet?” Isaac continued.
“No, I was waiting for my sis to help me…” The kid’s voice trailed off dejectedly.
“I’ve got it!” Isaac exclaimed, clapping the kid on the shoulders repeatedly.
“What’ve you got?” he asked, eyeing Isaac warily. “Aside from bad breath.”
Ignoring him, Isaac swung around to face the rest of the group. “How many skill points do you each have that you haven’t used yet?” he asked excitedly.
“Only one, the one I just got from you guys’ fighting,” Charles responded.
“Same here,” Marie replied, checking her menu.
“I only used one skill point so far, so I’ve got two left,” Jason verified. “Why?”
“I think I know how we can save Tenshi!” Isaac exclaimed.
“Who’s “we”?” Walter asked, the wary expression not leaving his face.
“All of us, you included!” Isaac laughed, throwing an arm around his shoulder despite his protests and leading him back to the group. “You’re gonna be a key point in our plan.”
“Okaaaay… so what is the plan?” Marie asked.
“Well, it’s only the start of one,” Isaac confessed. “I figured out how we get into the castle, anyway.” He frowned. “The issue is, we don’t know where Tenshi is right now, and how to get to her.”
“Did any of the released captives mention where they were held?” Marie asked.
“Well, they all said they were teleported into a generic, windowless cell, and they left the same way,” Charles reported. “Further, while inside the cell, they couldn’t use any abilities, skills, or even most of their menu functions. Heck, they couldn’t even use their web browser.”
“So basically, she might not even be in the castle at all,” Jason summarized. “We could risk our lives breaking in there, just to find out she’s at some secondary location miles away from us.”
Isaac sighed, staring out at the imposing, drab-coloured fortress. “Tenshi…where are you?” he muttered to nobody in particular.
*Click*
ns18.118.209.158da2
