Chapter 13 (Patreon)

Hey all!

Sorry I missed Friday. I had my infusion that day and was feeling under the weather this weekend.

As we have now 'firmly' established, I did not put nearly enough points into Vitality this playthrough lol.

I won't belabor the point, though. We all know you're here for a chapter, so here it is!


Chapter 13 - Bad Cop

Pax Castle Courtyard – Still Mid-Stream

Jason

This was it.  Finally.  The payoff of weeks of planning and waiting and killing.

There had been a lot of stress, of course.  The game world almost ending.  Getting kidnapped by Cady and pushed around by Cerillion.  Also, managing the other avatars.

Like, right now, Alex looked mildly panicked – Jason’s Perception picking out his heightened respiration.  The slick of sweat around the edges of his glamour. 

Cady’s voice was also buzzing angrily in his ear, courtesy of a little air crystal microphone.  Something about how she really hoped he didn’t incite a riot that would destroy her city and everything she’d built.  Of course, Finn and Eliza were missing.  Hopefully off constructing a full-scale version of the Carousel.  Although, he was just thankful the water mage had managed to pull Finn out of his funk.  He’d hoped… but it was always nice to see a plan come together.

The trick was learning that people processed stress in their own way.

For Finn, he’d just needed to murder Jason a little.

For Jason, it was manipulating millions of people on live stream.

Which is why he was smiling as he stood beside Alexion and turned to face that flickering blue camera orb – countless people watching on the other side, both in-game and out.  Yet he didn’t give that a second thought.  There was only the stream and his role, his character. 

Specifically, a chaotic evil necromancer.  He had a reputation, after all.

“So, I hear you’re upset with Alexion’s generous offer?” Jason asked innocently.

The crowd of travelers filling Pax roared back their response, although more muted now that Jason was here.  More worried.  Thankfully, the other screens floating around the camera orb provided Jason with multiple views of the city.  More than a few of the travelers had pulled their weapons and flashes of multi-colored mana rippled through the throng.

Although, the smarter ones just logged off.

“That’s right, I’m pissed too!”  Jason urged, his smile widening.  “I’m actually on your side.  I wouldn’t sign this balanced and completely reasonable contract that gives me everything I want either!  Why would I accept salvation when anarchy is just so damn fun?”

The roars faltered now, lapsing into a confused buzz of noise.

“I mean, fuck losing game time, am I right?  Especially when the other options are so appealing!  Who wouldn’t rather be enslaved to the Originals?  Poor little secondhand citizens stuck digging through rocks the Crystal Reach?  Or your bodies used for experiments in the Twilight Throne?  Drowning in the Sea’s Edge?  Or used as worm food in the deserts of Sandscrit?”

He cocked his head as the tone of the crowd shifted again, the air filled with angry protests and grumbling.  Online traffic was spiking, which was perfect.

“What?  You don’t like that either?”

Jason shook his head.  “Shit.  Okay, then we could just leave the cities and venture into the wilds, right?  Fight monsters several hundred levels higher than us?  Not that it matters, though.  We can just defeat them with a one-man army of zombies and skeletons, slowly raising new overpowered corpses and growing our undead horde until we can solo pillage whole cities.”

The crowd was definitely angry now.  It might have been his mocking tone.

He shot Alexion a meaningful look – he needed his “good cop” to step in.

Thankfully, he took the hint.  “I, uh, I don’t think everyone can do that,” Alexion offered.

“Huh.  Really?”  Then Jason’s eyes widened in realization.  “Wow, so most of you just suck at this game, huh?  Some of us really are just built different.  Better, I mean.”

To be fair, Jason had spent most of the time running away during his time traveling adventure with Cady, or using the corpses she had conveniently supplied for him to overcome the level difference.  Although, the crowd clearly didn’t know that.  The angry roar had only grown.

As had Cady’s voice screaming in his ear.

“What the fuck are you doing, Jason?  I told you that you can’t kill everyone—"

Annnnnd muted.

“What?  What’s wrong?” Jason asked in mock concern as he addressed the camera.

“The avatars are overpowered, out of touch assholes!” one of the travelers behind him yelled.  All those people Alex had suckered into acting as guinea pigs to test the prototype Carousel.  There had been a non-zero chance that their avatar was wiped out of existence.

“Right?  They’re fucking clueless,” someone else added.

“Bunch of cheaters.  Alexion’s daddy probably gave him his powers…”

Even the avatar of light frowned at that – a flash of anger rippling through his eyes.  His hands clenched into fists as he tried to find the culprit.  Almost like that actually bothered him.

Wow, he really was a good actor.

“How dare you talk about Alexion like that.  Which one of you said that?” Jason demanded coldly.  His undead slunk out of the shadows around the courtyard, the rebellious travelers suddenly surrounded.  The crowd looked nervous, reaching for weapons they didn’t have.

Jerry gave him a thumbs up from off-camera.

Security was important for any production.

Silence reigned now, and Alexion shot Jason an appreciative look.  “Thanks for—"

“Only I get to tease Captain Sparkle,” he insisted, interrupting.

Alexion looked conflicted now.  And the other travelers were looking amongst themselves in confusion as they tried to figure out who was stupid enough to taunt Jason from this distance.  Which was fair.  You would have to be a moron to antagonize someone so OP.

Which is precisely why Jason had planted a few zombies in the crowd.  You couldn’t always count on appropriately timed heckling.  Mostly because real travelers tended to freeze up in abject terror in his presence.  One of the many downsides of being this awesome…

“They do have a point, though.  Even I couldn’t solo the wastes,” Alexion interjected sourly, trying to pivot back to the point.  “Maybe we don’t all have cheat abilities.”

“You know you’re the second person that’s said that to me recently,” Jason offered, tapping his lips thoughtfully.  “I get it.  Don’t hate the game, hate the player, right?”

That earned him more angry grumbling, Alexion’s frown deepening.

“Are you trying to say that you’re just that good?” he insisted.

Jason scoffed.  “My skills have limitations.  As do the other avatars – even you.  We aren’t invincible.  No, our real skill is the power of imagination.”

His glowing eyes turned back to the camera.  “Just like I imagine you’ll all be signing that contract within the next five minutes.”  Oh, the crowd was incredulous now.

Even the test subjects looked at Jason like he’d grown a second head… which he supposed was technically possible with his new body.  He’d have to put a pin in that for now, though. Priorities.  Although, the crowd of volunteers were basically a perfect little focus group for how everyone else was feeling.

Jason was reading outrage, incredulity, resentment, and just a note of terror.

Alex laughed harshly, breaking character… or maybe he was just a natural at this.

“Why would they do that?  Just because you say so?” Alexion demanded.

“No, because they don’t have a choice,” Jason offered, his smile widening, the tiny skeletal drones covering his body forced to skitter further to the side to make room.

“I mean, they’re all here, aren’t they?  Logged into this game despite the many problems that they face?  Despite the shitshow in the elemental cities?”

He placed a hand on his chest.  “It’s not like we have a choice, either.  Do you think I actually enjoy policing Pax and killing hundreds or even thousands of players?”

A short pause as Alexion stared back incredulously.

“Uh… yes?” he offered finally.

“Okay, fine, you got me.  I love murder,” Jason acknowledged, his smile only growing. “And unfortunately, it’s slightly illegal back in the real world.  Well, except for self-defense.”

Alex flinched at that, as did much of their focus group of travelers.  Perfect.

Apparently, more than a few of them remembered how Alfred had disposed of those teenage intruders in his apartment a few weeks ago.  All part of his “character.”

His gaze shifted back to Alex, an inquisitive look shining in those dark, inhuman orbs as Jason appraised the avatar of light.  “But why are you here?”

“What?  What do you mean?” Alex asked, glancing at the camera hesitantly now.

Jason just shrugged.  “It’s just that I get why these other people are playing. The time compression.  The sexy stats and loot.  The alternative gig economy created by crafting or stealing said digital loot.  And then there’s the adoration and acclaim.  The dream of becoming a top streamer.  Even the other avatars make sense to me. 

“Eliza with her plants.  Finn with his… crafting projects.  The earth avatar with her micromanaging.  Smiles and his crew just want to make bank – or loot one.  Whatever.  We’re all looking for something we can’t find in our lives – in our world.”

He leaned forward, peering into Alex’s face.  “But what about you, Golden Boy?”

The avatar of light was flustered now – they had well and truly wandered off script.  However, it all had a point.  Jason had promised as much.  Plus, he suspected this might be the only way to get a real answer out of George Lane’s son.  He just needed another push…

“Born with a golden spoon in your mouth.  Literally more money than whole countries.  The best of everything.  Instructors, food, entertainment, healthcare,” Jason insisted, his words landing like punches.  “What could you possibly need?  What could you be looking for here?”

“I, uh… what does this have to do with the contracts?” Alex demanded, trying to pivot.

Jason cocked his head.  “Everything.  After all, these other suckers didn’t sign.  You failed to convince them.  They clearly didn’t buy this whole angelic savior routine.”

Alex visibly flinched at that, his fingers curling into fists – his eyes glaring.

“Which means they don’t trust you,” Jason insisted.  “And why should they when they can’t relate to you?  When they don’t understand you?”

Alex mulled on that – at a sudden loss for words.

“So, what could you possibly want from this game?” Jason demanded again.

That silence only continued to stretch and grow, Alex growing visibly frustrated as he struggled to come up with an answer.  The crowd and the test subjects had also grown quiet.  The nearby focus group looked intrigued.  There was nothing like celebrity drama to increase views.

“What?  Still nothing?”  Jason taunted.  “In that case, I have a theory.”

He stalked forward, until he was within arm’s reach of Alexion.

“You don’t have a motive,” Jason said simply.  “You’re hollow.”

Alex just blinked.  Blinked again.  Like he couldn’t process what Jason was saying.

“Just a toy.  A trophy.  A puppet.  Created for someone else.  Filled with someone else’s purpose.  Controlled by someone else.  In which case, I guess I was asking the wrong question.

“I should have asked… what does your father want?”

All of this – Jason had created all of this fanfare and spectacle for this singular moment.  This question.  Millions upon millions tuning in as Alex’s eyes flitted to the camera.  As he realized the world was watching.  Waiting for the reaction to the single question posed to the son of the world’s richest man.  Now the avatar of light – a self-proclaimed hero.

Which, incidentally, was the answer.

Deep down, Jason suspected Alex wanted to be the hero.  Because in the real world he was always the villain.  However, he couldn’t say that.  Heroes couldn’t claim virtue.

So, Alexion had to do what governments and religions had done for centuries.  They needed a target.  A scapegoat.  A common enemy.  Someone they could burn with self-righteous fury.

The same rage that was gathering in Alexion’s eyes, his mana cascading around his body in a torrent of light.  Defending himself from the cognitive dissonance created by Jason’s question and the public humiliation the only way he knew how.  With arrogance.  With anger.  With violence.  By villainizing someone else.  That’s how all heroes were born.

And, lucky for him, there was a villain standing right here…

“Words.  Words, words, words, but the reality is that you don’t have a plan, do you?” Alexion finally snapped.  “You talk about me?  Why I’m playing a game?  I’m not the one killing people. Torturing them and using them as human test subjects.  As materials.”

Rather ironic, but Jason didn’t want to interrupt Alexion’s flow.

“And what about all these terrible things that have happened in-game?” the avtar of light continued.  “The apocalypse.  The Originals.  Our current predicament.  Weren’t you there every time?  Smack in the fucking middle of it all?” he demanded, his eyes glaring with holy light.  “Almost like you were responsible for it.  Like you caused it.

“Even in the real world, you’re always standing in the middle of a massacre.”

Woof.  That one struck hard – a fantastic callback to his earlier introduction.  Jason could feel himself responding, his mana gathering.  Shadowy tendrils peeling away from his limbs and snapping at the air angrily.  Yet there was no frigid chill, just a warmth.  One that enveloped him in its shadowy embrace.  That promised power.  And more importantly… freedom.

He was close.  So close.  Almost there—

“Then what are you going to do about it?” Jason asked, his tone glib.

He cocked his head.  “Or do you need to wait for daddy’s permission?”

That was it.  That was all it took for Alexion to step forward, his sword in hand.  That one fateful step filled with hate and anger and the desire to rip Jason limb from limb.  Except…

CRUUUUNNNCH

Alexion froze, looking down to see he’d squashed one of Jason’s drones.  Sure, it wasn’t that original – Jason had used the trick before – but the look of shock on Alexion’s face was still worth it.  As was the bull’s eye floating over his head.  A PVP mark.

“Are you serious?  All of this bullshit just to flag me?” Alex demanded incredulously.  “Is that your plan?  To co-opt this stream to publicly murder me?”

Jason just chuckled darkly.  “Really?  Is that how little you think of me?”

Alex was uncertain, especially as Jason made no move to attack.  Instead, he just waved at the rest of Pax, the camera recording every precious second of Alex’s reaction and streaming it live to two whole worlds.  Jason’s Perception picked out each and every detail with perfect precision.  The way Alex’s pupils dilated.  The muscles around his eyes contracted, going wide as he stared in abject horror at what Jason had done.

Because, across the city, flares of energy were rocketing through the air in a dizzying, glorious fireworks display.  A kaleidoscope of power and mana so great that it was almost like the air itself was on fire.  There was only one possible explanation for what was happening.  Even if it was impossible.  Or mostly just inconceivable…

This time, Jason had pvp flagged an entire city.

“How?  How is this possible?” Alexion muttered.

Jason just shrugged.  “You said it yourself.  You buffed them.  Added them to a temporary raid group.  And, well… if one member flags himself, it applies to the whole raid.  Even me.”

He just pointed a skeletal finger at the bull’s eye floating over his own head.

Karen had actually given him the idea.  She’d been so careful to stay ungrouped.

And now it was time to make his final pitch before the finale.

While Alexion gaped, Jason pivoted the camera to himself, grasping that globe in his bony hands as he abandoned any pretense at humanity.  He peeled back his cowl to reveal his ghastly visage.  His skin skittered and shifted as his smile stretched far too wide.

A monster with a soul as black as midnight.

Jerry had been right.  The dried blood was a fantastic choice.

“Don’t worry, if no one attacks each other, you’ll all be perfectly fine,” Jason began.

He hesitated.  “Buuuut, I guess it only takes one, right?  One domino.  One person thinking of all that sweet, sweet loot you’re all wearing...”

“Good gods,” Alexion muttered as the screens around the camera lit up.

Probably because the other travelers had reached the same conclusion as Jason.  Sometimes, a preemptive strike could be considered self-defense – especially when you were surrounded by enemies.  The fighting was already breaking out in pockets, the travelers crammed in so tight that there was no way to avoid the carnage.  Nowhere to run.   Nowhere to hide.  They couldn’t even log off now.  Not now that the entire raid group was considered “in combat.”

Jason’s huge grinning, skeletal face stared down from the center of the city in savage glee as announcements rocketed through the air in a dazzling fireworks display – one celebrating the murder of hundreds.  Thousands.  The death count was climbing so fast the numbers began to blur.

“I hate to resurrect the past, but do you all remember my question from earlier?”  Jason asked.  “Who would choose salvation over anarchy?  Why don’t we find out right now?  Because you all have a choice.  If you sign the contract, you’ll be teleported to a safe layer, which will drop your PVP tag.  If you don’t, well… good luck on your respawn – wherever that happens to be!”

“You’ll kill them all.  We’ll lose half the traveler population of Pax,” Alexion shouted at Jason.  He had to.  The massacre in the outer ring of the city was pretty loud.  “This wasn’t part of the plan.  Are you trying to destroy everything we’ve built!”

“What?  Me?  This little ol’ villain?” Jason asked innocently, glancing to the side.

“I won’t let you – I’ll stop you,” Alexion insisted then, his power raging.  The panels of light surrounding him condensed and his sword appeared in his hand, infused with mana.

He didn’t wait for Jason to respond this time.

Honestly, Jason didn’t think he had it in him—

A beam of blinding light just punched a hole through his chest, right where his heart might have lingered… if he’d still had one.  Although, he did still have Najima – those clusters of mana contained within warded and protected urns and stored within this bony body.

WARNING

A soul vessel has taken critical damage.

5/6 vessels remaining.

User’s mana decrease by 1/6 until respawn.

Jason lurched in place, pain rippling through his body, his mana fluctuating wildly.  Streamers of darkness peeled away from his bones and lashed at the air before stabilizing.  His mana plunged in his peripheral vision – much of the pool already eaten up by his minions.

It looked like Alex had taken advantage of his weakness to light mana; had gotten lucky.

And he was still fired up, glaring and glowing.

Did his mana seem brighter?  Stronger?

Yet Jason just smiled back, a chuckle erupting from his throat.

“Tsk tsk.  You should have gone bigger—” he began, waving behind Alex.

The avatar turned to find the test subjects all dead at the hands of Jason’s minions.  It was a gory, bloody mess, crimson blood forming a massive pool.  However, those bodies weren’t entirely… still.  They were moving.  Just twitches at first.  Then they began to climb upright.  Their decaying limbs shuffling forward in a throng that shambled toward Alexion where he stood, gaping in a mixture of shock and horror.  Those precious seconds of hesitation cost him.

The avatar of light tried to escape, his wings snapping open—

But he was too late.  The zombies were a distraction.  All it took was a burst of the air mana gems embedded in Jason’s feet before his arms wrapped tight around Alex. 

Smoke coiled away from his hands and arms under the effects of the avatar of light’s mana, but Jason didn’t relinquish his hold.  “You can’t win like this – not against me,” Alexion roared, his mana growing and collecting as he prepared to release a nova of light.

Jason just laughed – a wild crazy sound that tore from his throat.

He was so close – so very close now…

“Who says I’m trying to win?” he asked then.

Then he finished casting Corpse Explosion.

Correction, a few dozen Corpse Explosions.

On the zombies gathered all around him and Alexion, those PVP tags still floating over their heads.  The resulting blast was catastrophic.  A storm of malignant dark energy that ate away and corroded everything it touched.  Death incarnate.  The blast completely obliterated the courtyard, ripping up rock and stone and destroying at least a dozen of Cady’s waterfalls.

However, it wasn’t quite enough to kill the avatars. 

As the dust cleared, Jason and Alexion were still standing – if only barely.  They were both wounded, bleeding, haggard.  Missing a limb or two.  But still somehow alive because of Alexion’s shields, the light fracturing and finally failing as the avatar’s mana ran out.

“You… you still failed,” Alexion croaked, blood dripping down his face.

Killing an avatar wasn’t easy – Jason had assumed that was the case.  Which is why he just pointed behind Alexion at Cady’s pretty princess castle.  Specifically, the missing columns his Corpse Explosions had destroyed.  The loadbearing columns.  The entire structure was trembling.  All those irritating spires and waterfalls and stupid terraces collapsing.

Stone cracked.  Dust billowed.

Then the castle toppled forward, Alex’s eyes going wide.  He tried to run again, but his legs wouldn’t respond with his injuries and Jason’s skeletal form still clung to him with his lone remaining arm.  He tried to call for help, but everyone was dead.  Tried to heal himself but—

He was too late.  Because they were buried under an avalanche of stone.

Like Jason said, some people just lack imagination.

But not him.  He always went out with a bang… and an evil monologue, of course.

Which made sense.  After all, he was the villain.

System Message

You have died.

Thanks for playing Awaken Online!