Awake

Al woke up a little while ago.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“Where in my hideout,” Cleopatra said.

“You!” he said. “Why-?”

“You were cursed by the Game Master when you turned on him,” she said. “I'm the only one other than Abdalin who knows how to remove that kind of curse.”

“Why would you help me after I betrayed your master?” he demanded.

“My master?” she asked. “He's no master of mine. He's gone, and I say good riddance  I would have turned on him a long time ago, but you see what happened to you when you did that.”

Where's the mask?” he demanded.

“Right here,” she said, handing him the mask he took from the Seven Of Spades.

He put in on and sat there for a while.

“Estren's mask has been recalibrated,” he said. “Is this your doing?”

“No, “ she said.

“The only people who can remotely recalibrate a mask are the Game Master and the Jokers,” he said. “The Game Master's dead, so if it wasn't you, it was Abdalin.”

“That's probable,” she said.

“Why?” he asked. “What would he gain from doing that?”

“No clue,” she said, getting up. “You're better now, so I suggest you both leave as soon as you can. It's only a matter of time before they find out that I'm hiding out here.”

“Who's 'they'?” I asked.

“None of your business,” she said, leaving the room.

So, we're gonna be leaving in just a bit. We're gonna see if we can catch up with Estren. Til next time, good bye.

DAMN!

OKAY, WE'RE IN A CAVE. GARROT IS HERE, FROZEN IN A BLOCK OF ICE. WE ALSO HAVE HIDEAKI WITH US. WE'RE ABOUT TO TRY MELTING HIM.

HF; (ALRIGHT, ESTREN. READY?)

ES; (Yeah. Let's get started.)

WE ARE NOW MELTING THE ICE. OKAY, IT'S MELTED.

HF; (HE'S UNCONSCIOUS.)

ES; (Obviously.)

HK; Wake him up.

ES; I'm trying to. Wait, I think he's coming to.

HF; (LET ME SPEAK.)

ES; (Fine.)

GARROT IS NOW AWAKE.

GK; Who's there? Where am I?

HF; IT'S BEEN A WHILE, GARROT.

GK; Who are you?

HF; I AM THE FIRE THAT BURNS IN THE DEPTHS OF HELL.

GARROT HAS BACKED AWAY, TERRIFIED.

GK; The Dying Man! What are you doing here!?

HF; I AM JUST A PIECE OF WHAT USED TO BE THE DYING. AND I THINK YOU KNOW WHY I'M HERE.

GK; You're after IT, aren't you?

HF; TELL ME, GARROT. WHERE IS THE GODSLAYER?

GK; I don't know! I hid it away, then I forgot the location.

HF; LIAR!

GK; I'm telling the truth!

HF; WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!

DAMNATION! I ENTERED HIS MIND AND SEARCHED IT. HE HAS NO MEMORY OF THE GODSLAYER'S LOCATION. IT'S NOT JUST REPRESSED. IF THAT WERE THE CASE, I WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO UNCOVER IT. NO, THE MEMORIES HAVE BEEN ENTIRELY REMOVED. I SENSE THE WORK OF A CERTAIN OLD CROW INVOLVED HERE.

HF; ALRIGHT, HIDEAKI, DO WHAT YOU WILL.

GK; Hideaki!? My son is here!?

HK; Yes, father. I am here. And we need to discuss some things.

ESTREN AND I HAVE LEFT. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING BETWEEN GARROT AND HIDEAKI, AND I DON'T CARE. ALL I CARE ABOUT RIGHT NOW IS THE FACT THAT MY FINAL LEAD IS GONE. I MAY NEVER DISCOVER THE LOCATION OF THE GODSLAYER. UNLESS... OF COURSE! THE PALE ONE! HE COMES FROM THE FUTURE! HE MAY HAVE KNOLEDGE OF ITS LOCATION!

ES; It's not that simple. I can't pick him up. His body contains too much eldritch energy. He'll just show up as another distortion on my mask.

HF; THEN LET'S START GOING THROUGH THESE DISTORTION. EVENTUALLY, WE SHOULD FIND EITHER HIM OR DAWSON. EITHER WAY, WE'LL BE ABLE TO GROW CLOSER TO ONE OF OUR GOALS.

ES; Let's hope so...

The Pharoah

Alphonse and I were walking earlier. He was still weak. Still sick. I kept telling him to stop and rest, but he wouldn't listen. He just kept walking, until someone stood in his way. It was the Seven Of Spades.

“What are you doing here?” Al asked.

“I'm here to take you down,” Seven said.

“Is that so?” Al asked. “You think you can finally kill me now that I'm weak?”

“Die!” Seven yelled, charging.

I didn't even see what went down. It all happened so fast. In just a couple seconds, the Seven Of Spades was lying on the ground with no head. Al rached down and removed his mask, placing it on his own face.

“There's a reason I'm an Ace and you're a Seven,” Al said, before passing out.

I ran over to him and tried to wake him up. His sickness was getting worse. As I was trying to get him to regain consciousness, I noticed that there was a trail of star shaped symbols on the ground, leading down an alleyway. I remembered Pharoah's comment on the blog, and decided it was best that I take a chance and follow them. I dragged Al's body down the alley and found a doorway. I entered it to find someone waiting for me. A woman wearing loose fitting clothing, with tan skin and dark hair. There was a table in the middle of the room.

“Bring him in and set him down,” she said.

“Are you the Pharoah?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said. “Nnow hurry up. I need to treat him.”

I got him up on the table.

“Are you sure you can cure him?” I asked.

“It's not a disease,” she said. “It's a curse placed on him by the Game Master.”

“What!?” I said.

“It's true,” she replied. “I can remove the curse, but it'll take time. Make yourself at home for now.”

I had a look around, and ended up coming across a mask. A black one with a reversed red question mark on it.

“You're the Red Joker!” I said, just realizing it.

“My name is Cleopatra,” she said. “I've left that life behind. I'm not a servant of that monster any more.”

“You were just as much of a monster as he was!” I said.

“I acted that way because of him!” She snapped. “I never liked serving him! He was a horrible, sexist pig! I'm glad he's dead!”

“If you felt that way about him, why did you serve him for so long?” I asked.

“Do you think I had a choice?” she asked. “I was in his debt. He revived me. He freed me from the Archangel's grasp. I had no choice but to serve him. I wanted to go free for so long, but he wouldn't let me. But now that he's dead, I don't have to work for him any more.”

“So you're on our side now?” I asked.

“For now,” she said. “Once I've repayed my debt to Estren, I plan to go on with my life and leave all this crap behind me.”

“You're in debted to Estren?” I asked.

“Of course I am,” she said. “Look, I'd rather not talk about it write now.”

So, that was the end of that conversation. She's still treating Al. Hopefully, he'll be better after this.

Mask upgrades

Estren; This is new.

HELLFIRE; WHAT'S GOING ON?

ES; Apparently, I can type things on my mask now.

HF; HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?

ES; I don't... Wait, there's a post on my blog.

HF; LOOKS LIKE THE MASK WAS HACKED.

Es; Yeah.

HF; WHAT DO ALL THESE FUNCTION THINGIES DO?

ES; I have no idea, HELLFIRE.

HF; WELL, CLEARLY ONE OF THEM ALLOWS US TO WRITE OUR THOUGHTS DOWN USING THE MASK.

ES; I guess so... Let me try a few things. HOLY CRAP!!!

HF; WHAT'S WRONG?

ES; That glitch that's been preventing me from tracking people down is gone, plus the radius of that function has been increased.

HF; INCREASED BY HOW MUCH?

ES; Jupiter. All the way to Jupiter.

HF; YOU'RE JOKING, RIGHT?

ES; No, I'm not. I can actually scan all the way to Jupiter. Holy crap, there's life there!

HF; DUH, EVERYONE KNOWS THERE'S ALIENS UP THERE.

ES; Actually, I don't think very many people know that.

HF; YOU'RE AN IDIOT.

ES; Shut up.

HF; CAN YOU TRACK DOWN DAWSON?

ES; Well, not exactly. This function can only locate humans, and as Dawson is possessed by a Dying Man shard, I can't pin him don. However...

HF; YES?

ES; I can pick up distortions caused by the Fears, all over the world. One of those distortions has to be Silvermist.

HE; GREAT! SO, HOW MANY OF THESE DISTORTIONS DO WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH?

ES; Um... a couple hundreds. There's God knows how many Dying Man shards, plus I'm pretty sure some of the things I'm picking up are Demi Gods... But I think we can narrow their location down to somewhere in the US... Still a lot to pick through...

HF; WELL, THIS COULD TAKE A WHILE...

ES; Yeah. Wait a minute... HELLFIRE, you'll never guess who I just found!

HF; IS IT GARROT KELTERRY?

ES; …Okay, you can guess, apparently... And get this, he's still alive!

HF; WELL, LET'S FIND HIM! SILVERMIST CAN WAIT JUST A BIT, RIGHT?

ES; Yeah. Think we should contact Hideaki first? It looks like he's somewhere in Tiajuana.

HF; WHAT'S HE DOING THERE?

ES; Beats me.

HF; WELL, I SUPPOSE WE MIGHT AS WELL.

ES; Where are we, anyway?

HF; PROXY HIDEOUT. I THINK I SAW MYRIR EARLIER.

ES; I see. Should we ditch this place without speaking to anyone here?

HF; I'D KIND OF LIKE TO KNOW WHY THEY BOTHERED SAVING US FROM THAT RED CREEP, BUT I THINK WE SHOULD AVOID CONTACT WITH THEM.

?; I see you're up.

HF; WHOA, WHO'S THAT!?

ES; Jerome Welric. Sound. He must have pathed in.

JW; You've recovered.

ES; (to Sound) Yes. And I'm afraid I have to leave now.

JW; Rather inconsiderate of you, considering how much we've done to you.

ES; I can't stick around. I have several things to take care of.

JW; I am aware of that. But before you leave, I have a request.

ES; What?

JW; I need information on the whereabouts of Valerie Thien.

HF; WHO?

ES; (mentally) An emissary. Code named Wildfire. Her emissary power makes her capable of Dragonic physiology.

HF; THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?

ES; (mentally) It means she has dragon-like powers.

HF; Oh...

ES; What do you want from her?

JW; That's none of your concern.

ES; Give me an explanation.

JW; I'm not allowed to disclose information regarding our reasons for seeking her out.

ES; Then I'm out of here.

ESTREN JUST TELEPORTED OUT OF THE HIDEOUT.

HF; YOU SURE YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST BAILED LIKE THAT?

ES; Why do you care?

HF; I DON'T. JUST WONDERING.

ES; Let's go find Hideaki.

HF; ALRIGHT. LET'S GO.

Outside source intercepting mask

mask controls overridden

beginning mask re-calibrations

entering phase 1 of re-calibration

adding function 00104

adding function 00105

adding function 00106

removing restriction 00047

removing restriction 00048

adding function 01892

adding function 01893

adding function 01894

adding function 01895

removing function 03761

adding function 04401

adding function 04402

adding function 05662

removing restriction 00108

removing restriction 00109

removing restriction 00110

removing restriction 00198

adding restriction 00365

adding restriction 00366

adding function 06038

adding function 06039

adding function 06040

adding function 06041

adding function 06042

removing restriction 00398

adding function 06043

adding function 08992

adding function 08993

removing restriction 00548

removing restriction 00549

removing function 09004

adding function 10000

removing restriction 00785

removing restriction 00786

removing restriction 00787

removing restriction 00788

removing restriction 00789

removing restriction 00790

removing restriction 00891

phase 1 complete

entering phase 2 of re-calibration

repairing glitch 028

repairing glitch 029

repairing glitch 030

repairing glitch 059

repairing glitch 060

repairing glitch 061

repairing glitch 062

repairing glitch 063

repairing glitch 064

repairing glitch 144

repairing glitch 145

repairing glitch 146

repairing glitch 147

repairing glitch 149

repairing glitch 150

repairing glitch 229

repairing glitch 230

repairing glitch 231

repairing glitch 232

phase 2 complete

entering phase 3 of re-calibration

modifying task 445

modifying task 446

modifying task 508

modifying task 509

modifying task 542

phase 3 complete

mask re-calibration complete

returning complete control to user

ending process in 3

2

1

That reckless bastard!

I am soooooo mad at Alphonse right now! He's barely recovered, and yet he still decided to up and leave the Hostel! Fortunately, I already paid off our rent by doing some work there, so they didn't really have a problem with us leaving.

Anyway. I guess Al saw HELLFIRE's last post, and now he's got in in his head that we have to find that Blood Vessel and kill him, no matter what. But I don't see how he's gonna manage to kill any one in his condition. The guys a wreck.

Sorry, Estren. I couldn't stop him.

-Amy

VESSEL

WE RAN INTO SOME TROUBLE. LIKE, HUGE TROUBLE.

WE CONTINUED OURSEARCH FOR SILVERMIST, WHEN THIS GUY SHOWED UP. HE WAS DRESSED ALL IN RED AND HAD RED EYES AND HAIR. HE LOOKED ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE DANIEL.

“Hey there, pal!” HE CALLED TO US. “You down for a little party I'm throwin'?”

“Who all's invited?” ESTREN ASKED SUSPIIOUSLY.

“Oh, that's the best part!” THE MAN SAID. “It's just gonna be you and me, big boy!”

“Doesn't sound like much of a party wityh just two people,” ESTREN SAID.

“Oh, trust me,” HE SAID. “It'll be a party!”

WE DIDN'T GET ANY TIME TO REACT. HE WAS UPON US ALMOST INSTANTLY. HE HAD HIS HAND AROUND ESTREN'S THROAT AND WAS SQUEEZING TIGHTLY. I TRIED FORCING MYSELF INTO HIS BODY, NUT IT FAILED. THERE WAS ALREADY ANOTHER POSSESSER INSIDE OF HIM, AND IT FORCED ME OUT. I WAS THROWN BACK INTO ESTREN'S BODY. IT WAS JUST AS I FEARED FROM THE BEGINNING. THIS GUY WAS A BLOOD VESSEL.

HE JERKED HIS HAND QUICKLY, AND ESTREN'S NECK SNAPPED. HE DROPPED US TO THE GROUND. I'M SURPRISED ESTREN WAS ABLE TO SURVIVE THAT. I GUESS CARDS CAN LIVE THROUGH A LOT OF PUNISHMENT.

“See?” THE GUY SAID. “One hell of a party, right?”

HE LIFTED HIS LEG AND SMASHED HIS FOOT DOWN ON ESTEEN'S CHEST, BREAKING SEVERAL RIBS. HE WAS LAUGHING LIKE A MANIAC. HE RAISED HIS LEG AND STOMPED ON US AGAIN. THIS TIME, SOME OF ESTREN'S BROKEN RIBS PIERCED INTO HS LUNG. ESTREN GRABBED HIS CUTLASS AND MADE A WEAK ATTEMPT TO SLASH AT OUR ASSAILANT, BUT HE SIMPLY GRABBED THE BLADE IN MID SWING, ALLOWING T TO CUT THROUGH HIS SKIN. HE TOSSED OUR SWORD ASIDE. BLOOD- OR, MORE ACCURATELY, THE RED CAP- BEGAN FLOWING FROM HIS OPEN WOUND. IT RE-SHAPED ITSELF IN MIDAIR, TAKING THE SHAPE OF A SWORD, BEFORE SOLIDIFYING INTO SHINING SCARLET CRYSTAL. HE STABBED US REPEATEDLY IN NONVITAL PLACES, TRYING TO MAKE US HURT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, BEFORE HE POINTED THE TIP OF HIS CRYSTAL SWORD AT OUR HEART.

“Before I kill you, I'm going to tell you why I'm doing this,” HE SAID. “You see, I'm from another universe. In my world, I was forced into one of the Game Master's tournaments. While I was there, I met a man named Doug Franklin. We begame friends. Perhaps even more than that. However, as fate would have it, we were pitted against each other in the final battle. I beat him. I beat him black and blue. But I couldn't finish it. The rules dictated that I had to kill him, but I didn't have it in me. I just couldn't do it. So do you know what he did?”

“What?” ESTREN ASKED WEAKLY. A LOOK OF ABSOLUTE DISGUST CAME OVER THE MAN'S FACE.

“He had one of his servants hold my eyelids open while he slaughtered Doug in front of me,” HE SAID. “I wanted to kill him, but I got pulled nto this world before I got the chance. And od course, the Game Master in this universe is already dead, but I'll settle for the next best thing; His servants.”

“If that's true, why would you tell Amy about the Hostel so she could find help for Al?” ESTREN ASKED. 

OF COURSE. I  DIDN'T THINK OF IT AT FIRST, THIS MUST'VE BEEN THE SAME BLOOD VESSEL WHO ATTACKED AMY.

“Simple,” THE MAN SAID. “Your brother was the one holding my eyes open. I don't want him to die of some illness. I want his death to mean something. I was to fight him at the peak of his power. I want to face him in a battle of great proportions, in which only one of us will live to see the end. And once I kill you, he'll have all the mitivation he needs to face me. NOW DIE!!!”

HE WAS JUST ABOUT TO THRUST THE SWORD THROUGH US WHEN THE SOUND OF A GUNSHOT WAS HEARD, AND HIS NECK SNAPPED BACK. HE SEEMED CONFUSED. HE REMOVED THE BULLET FROM HIS FORHEAD, AS IF IT WAS NOTHING.

“Who the f--- just shot me?” HE DEMANDED.

MORE SHOTS WERE FIRED. HE SEEMED TO BARELY FEEL ANY OF THEM. HE RUSHED AT THE PERSON FIRING. ESTREN MOVED HIS HEAD AS MUCH AS HE COULD. WE COULD SEE HIM STANDING OVER A WOMAN, WITH A HAND AROUND HER THROAT.

“You're a feisty one, aren't you?” HE SAID. “I think I'll have some fun with you before I rip your face off and feed it to you.”

I TOOK OVER AND FIRED A BALL OF FIRE AT HIS BACK. I DON'T THINK IT DID HIM ANY DAMAGE, BUT IT GOT HIS ATTENTION AND ALLOWED THE WOMAN TO BREAK FREE. SHE RUSHED UP TO US AND KNOCKED US OUT WITH THE BUTT OF HER RIFLE. NEXT THING I KNOW, WE'RE WAKING UP IN A SLENDER PROXY HIDEOUT IN A BED. I TOOK CONTROL OF ONE OF THE PROXIES WHO WAS STUPID ENOUGH TO GET CLOSE SO THAT I COULD WRITE THIS POST. I THINK I'LL GO BACK TO ESTREN'S BODY AFTER THIS. WEARING THIS HUMAN BODY... IT SUCKS. THIS GUY IS PATHETIC WHEN COMPARED TO ESTREN'S STRENGTH. I DON'T CARE IF HIS BODY IS BROKEN TO BITS RIGHT NOW, I STILL PREFER IT TO A HUMAN BODY. BESIDES, HE'S GONNA NEED MY POWER TO RECOVER FROM THIS.