Covering your bases (Arc 4 Start)

Jeehan: I am John Newman, the Gamer. I am in dire need of help and therefore hope that your offer was more than just an attempt to get me out of hiding. I made a mistake and to fix it I need to get stronger within 5 days. I don’t know how, to be honest. I have unleashed a girl named Thana, a Soviet experiment to the best of my knowledge, maybe you know of her, and I need to be able to beat her on my own. Will you help me?

That was the message he had sent both Blood and Princess_of_Steel. He knew it was risky to send such a thing to the Communists, especially because of their obvious involvement with Thana, but he was ****. He was waiting for an answer. He was also waiting for Regan to return. He couldn’t call the man because he left his phone with John. In case he had to leave before Regan returned John wrote a letter explaining the new situation, leaving the nature of the help he was seeking vague.

After an hour, finally, he saw the ‘Princess_of_Steel is typing’ announcement at the bottom of his screen. It took another ten nerve-straining minutes for the message to arrive.

Princess_of_Steel: I, Lydia Augusta IV of house Hohenzollern, Heiress-Apparent of Brandenburg, Princess-Regent of Brandenburg and the city of Lübeck, Marquise of Pomerania and Silesia, Princess of Steel and Candidatum Secundus for Germaniae Rex hear your call for help. I am honored that you have turned with such a problem to me. While I know nothing of this Thana you speak off, I, however, do have a proposal. From the way SecretBlonde informed us about your powers you seem to be able to grow in power quickly given time. If it is time you need, I can give it to you. A High-Fateweaver, bought with my money, persuaded by my influence and hired with the name of Rex Germaniae. He will give you the time you need. Be warned, however: You take this offer, and the compensation I demand will not be cheap. Answer me within the next 4 hours so I can make the preparations for the Fateweavers timely arrival.

By the time he had read through, he had got another message.

Blood: We can help you. For free. All you got to do is join us. We will provide you with the arms and necessities to capture Thana.

Whoever did not think that the offer of Blood wasn’t shady as all hell probably needed his eyes fixed. Also, he spoke of capture, not kill, which was far from John’s interest right now. Thana was out there probably torturing Rave, and there was nothing he could do right now. Wasn’t there that moment where she had sounded sorry though?

John shook his head if she had reasons those better be bloody good ones. Like being tortured for sixty years or however, she got in that container in the first place. Those were likely damn good reasons. Cursed be his wisdom he could barely be mad at people that almost killed his girlfriend at this point. He was already analyzing why his Interface failed, portraying Rave as dead, at the back of his head. He should focus on the task at hand, on the anger still dwelling inside him and push reason away for a change.

He answered the Blood first.

Jeehan: Sorry, I have a better offer.

Blood: Wrong Choice.You will regret working with monarchist scum.

Well, that sounded bad. There was, however, no follow up. He returned to the chat with Lydia.

Jeehan: I see. I accept, and you can be sure that I will repay the debt I owe you. If I may add: To get stronger, I also need enemies within the Illusion Barrier that Fateweaver provides me with.

If he survived this. He left that part out because it might reduce his market value right here and he had no other ways out if she decided to pull out now.

Princess_of_Steel: You better. I am meticulous about debts people owe me. I will see to everything. Go to your home address; a Fateweaver will visit you by tomorrow morning.

Always with the waiting. Well, one day wouldn’t hurt, not more than not getting her help would at the very least. He already lowered the phone when he saw another message incoming.

Princess_of_Steel: I advise that you rest today. Once inside the barrier, your time is better spent training.

He nodded to himself. He didn’t feel bodily fatigue anymore, or to be more precise what he did miss on stamina was replenished rather quickly, but that didn’t mean the stress of the day hadn’t gotten to him. It was still the same day that Victoria attacked him.

Victoria…even though she had betrayed him John didn’t think she deserved such an end. Then again, maybe she did? It was a hard question. She found out about Thana same time as he did, yet she had wanted to keep her there. In hindsight that was probably the right call but would Thana exist, in her current state, if somebody who didn’t mindlessly hate everything that came from Communism had gotten their hands on her first?

Questions that didn’t matter. There was another question John wanted an answer to though: How did she manage to come back that quickly? The timeframe suggested that she took the train exactly after his. He hadn’t expected the attacking Bloodfallen just to stay buried until he returned but they hadn’t shown the capabilities to dig themselves out that quickly.

He left the letter he had written for Regan on the counter and went out. First, he checked if the Illusion Barrier he had left the attackers in was still around. Maybe he would find answers there.

It was. Inside the slightly demolished copy of the city were the holes he had left the Bloodfallen in but that wasn’t surprising. The two bodies, fallen over and a hole between the eyes made John guess what had happened. He checked their mouths and found the broken remains of small glass vials. Like Gert, these two had carried some of Thana’s blood in their mouth. Whoever was in charge had deemed the usage in the fight useless but to break them out it had been enough.

John sighed, he had been careless, he should have just killed them all. A dark thought, yes, but also a pragmatic one. He would orient himself more closely on what was practical in the future instead of his normal world morality, maybe this way he had less tragedy in his life. He closed the Illusion Barrier for good, leaving the bodies in there without a grave. They didn’t deserve it. Then he walked home.