Chương 18: Ch. 16 - Spoils of Failure

I don't think I had ever seen my mom as mad before. It wasn't that she was yelling at me. It's that she wasn't. When I woke up, she was sitting at the edge of my bed, the hair tie in her hand finally snapped. She had a look of defeat that I had never seen on her.

"Mom, did Dad's old squad get back?" I was still groggy from the weird dream.

"No. They never showed up. Well, more like they couldn't afford it. Not with Wilhelm getting stuck during the reset."

"What? Uncle Wilhelm is dead?" He wasn't my uncle by blood, but he was help to take care of me and my mom. He's how I was able to avoid having to do remedial classes because of my lackluster school work. No, there was no way.

"How much was it? I have a bunch of stuff to sell." I sat up, rubbing my eyes. Caddie was silently observing, which was weird.

"It's been a long day for me, Mijo. And you leaving like that. Alone…" she trailed off.

"I've lost my love. I've lost a friend. And I almost lost you. I'm so tired of losing, Mijo." She took a deep breath, tears choked back.

"The clinic is lost too. That gold suit filed the complaint and it went all the way up to the Vice-Overseer."

"Grandpa?!" I yelled. She nodded.

"And you know how he doesn't like me. I think this is his way of getting back at me. But it's just going to hurt so many people." She sighed.

"And then there's Wilhelm. His wife has been calling me non-stop and now I don't know what to say. The others can't even talk to her. But they told me." We sat in silence for a moment. I wanted her to yell at me. In two days I had lost my squad, my uncle and almost my life. I felt so pathetic that I wasn't better. I thought to all the times I lost to Ania during sims. That single victory felt like a fart in the wind, but I had held it up like a badge or a medal. I was so childish. Wilhelm helped me. Pushed me.

And now he was gone too. I felt sick. How I should've felt when Jacob and Eric died. Like when I let Phil stay in that hell. Alone. Until he died of old age or whatever. I knew that whatever I got from the early floors was practically useless. It might sell for just enough to repair my Frame and some lunch money. But I had to try. Mom knew that. She knew I wasn't going to make a dent with whatever I found, but I had to be sure.

"How much were they asking for?" I asked.

"Ten Million Credits," she said. I could've spent a month straight looting and fighting on the first three floors. Grinding levels and improving nonstop. It would've amount to a tenth of the total. I knew that. Most pilots didn't get to past the sixth floor. I was barely past the starting line thinking I'd become rich. Mom broke the silence, "Sell what you have and use that money for something that will help you. The clinic is done, Mijo, and I can get my old job back in the Central Hospital.

So I'd rather you use your efforts for something else. It's not like I can stop you." She got up and walked out of the room. I stared at the empty space where she was sitting.

"So is now a bad time to tell you, you have achievements and caches to open?" said Caddie, like a game show host trying to cut through the awkward tension. I took a deep breath to stay calm.

"Yes, Caddie. It is. But go ahead. Don't let me stop you," I said. Orchestral violin music was playing through the room. A melancholy melody that was just a step up from elevator music and on par for funeral music. The timbre was sweet and gothic. Caddie matched the ambiance of the music, less carnival announcer, more documentary on the life of dung beetles. Though, the way he was speaking didn't quite match the tone of what he was saying.

[COMMON ACHIEVEMENT: WEENY-RAMPAGE] You killed enemies in succession without taking damage. How many? At least 5. It's easy to understand why this achievement is common in the early floors. Go further down. That might become even more impressive if you get this again. [CACHE: WHITE] [COMMON ACHIEVEMENT: LONE WOLF] Some people don't have friends. That might be you. You're not the first though. And this has happened more times that you can possibly believe. Not one of them has gone past the sixth floor alone, though.

[CACHE: WHITE] There were some other achievements sprinkled in there. But the last three really got my attention. [UNCOMMON ACHIEVEMENT: ALPHA-LONE WOLF] Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. You got to the third floor without any help. What's more impressive is that you also left. Statistically, you shouldn't have. An errant encephalopod could've had it's way with you. [CACHE: GREEN] [GRADED ACHIEVEMENT: KRAKEN] You found the terror the deep.

The scourge of the isles. The most vile, predatory beast to wander the third floor. And you escaped. I saw it grab you and out you came. Note: This is a hidden boss that you escaped from. Consider yourself lucky. [CACHE: PURPLE] [RARE ACHIEVEMENT: ESCAPE] You escaped the dungeon just prior to it resetting. I don't have to tell you that means you would've died. It would've been the equivalent of a million atoms hitting you at the same time while it was moving at faster than light speed. I'll break it down for you.

You would've turned to soup, if that. But you got away at the last second. Nice Job! Bet you can't do it again. [CACHE: GOLD] Caddie turned off the violin and filled the dark room with the blue light of the HUD projected before me. It was the list of all the ones I had unlocked up to this point, with the new line of caches ready to be opened at the top of the page. [WHITE] 7 [GREEN] 1 [PURPLE] 1 [GOLD] 1 [OPEN ALL] I pressed on open all and the screen changed to it's radiant party atmosphere.

The confetti was flying off the screen like a bad joke. First came the white caches. [1][ENERGY CELL][RANK F] [1][MANA CELL][RANK F] [3][REPAIR CELL][RANK F] [1][AUGMENTATION: SLOWING OF METABOLIC NEED][RANK F] [1][ARMOR PLATING: BI-LATERAL UPPER ARMS][RANK F] Then came the green LED light strobe. Despite the somber attitude I had, it looked like a freaking party in the room.

[1][FOREARM BLASTER ATTACHMENT][WEAPON][RANK D] Then the purple cache [1][AUGMENTATION: EXTENDED FLOW STATE][RANK D] Forget party, the lights were closer to a rave in an Earth club. I closed the door and ran my fingers though my hair, the streaks of gold light bouncing off the walls practically blinding me. [1][UPGRADE BELT][RANK C] With all the caches open, it really only left me alone in the dark. The water from the shower was like hail smacking a wooden shack.

When mom was sad, she'd run through our water budget. Usually on the anniversary of when we got the news. I stopped to think about my first voyage. How I hallucinated that message. I must have. But I never got a chance to ask if messages on a Gatherer unit were normal. There was no real chance to ask. Or was I scared to ask? My head was hurting and uncle Wilhelm dying felt surreal. It felt awful.

"Alejandro, is everything alright. You're not as excited as my parameters say you should be," said Caddie.

"No. I want to know what the message was that was sent in my Gatherer unit. I can remember some stuff. About the 21st floor. About a new home. I even thought it said 'I love you.' Is there anyway to get it again?"

"There might be," said Caddie.

"But it's not sitting here and likely past the third floor." I shook my head at the thought of going back alone. I just didn't want anyone else hurt. Was that so wrong? The HUD came on with a mental command, letting me eye the descriptions of each new equipment I had been granted. The projection rotated as I lay on my side, staying oriented with my vision. There were two pieces of equipment that were of merit. The system didn't let me see the augmentation descriptions, but the names were probably enough.

They needed to be my next priority on the growing list of problems. I needed those augmentations. But there was so much to do and not enough time or credits. I groaned as I read the description on the equipments to distract myself.

[lvl 2][Forearm Blaster Attachment][Weapon][Cap: 6] [Restriction: Must be a compatible frame] [Fires low damage projectiles in a two shot burst] [Cost: 50][Value: Unknown] [Upgrade Belt][Utility][Cap: N/A] [Restriction: None] [Allows 3 module upgrades] [Cost: N/A][Value: Unknown] The belt was good. Really good. It meant I didn't have to use up space on the Aegis that could be used for armor or shields. The forearm attachment was nice to have.

It wasn't anything to write home about, but it added ammo to the equation. With a cap of 6 though, it would fall off quick. Mom was done with her shower just as I closed the HUD and opened my bedroom door. She was wearing her "I'm sad" sleep wear. A simple shirt with bunny heads printed on every crevice. And simple shorts with hearts in the same pattern.

"Your light show over?" She asked, drying her hair.

"I thought you would've left."

"No. There is something I wanted to ask," I said. Caddie reformed into an earing taking it's usual spot.

"Oh? What about?" She draped her towel over her shoulders and leaned against the door frame. Her eyes were puffy red.

"On my first Delve…"

"Veuelo."

"On my first 'vuelo' I though I heard something." I paused. Collecting my thoughts.

"Did Dad have a companion?" She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. Her shoulders tensed.

"Yeah," she said.

"But only at the very end. At least that's what Wilhelm…" She wiped a tear faster than it could form.

"That's what I heard."

"Was it before or after he took the shortcut?"

"Shortcut? How did you know about that?" Her hand rubbed her arm as her eyes peered away.

"Yeah. Before." There was a long silence that followed.

"I think he sent me a message. It was on my first Delve. I didn't have a chance to say anything, but I'm pretty sure it was him." She shook her head.

"That's impossible, mijo." She shrugged.

"But let's assume you're right. What did it say?"

"I don't remember. It was so fast I barely saw it. Something about the 21st floor. Something about a new home. I'm not sure." She sat down and threw her arms around me. When she pulled back, she stiffened.

"I appreciate you telling me that, Mijo. But it's more likely that the trauma you've experienced these last few days are playing mind games with you. Your dad has been dead for 10 years. If he had sent a message it would've appeared by now. And how many resets have their been between his last vuelo and now? I'm sorry, Mijo, there's just no way." She was wrong. She had to be.

"I know what I saw," I said. I felt myself getting angry, but now was not the time to be scornful. She was grieving. I was grieving. She lost the clinic and I failed to help. I failed her. I failed myself.

"I'm going for a walk. And I'm going to check on how much it'll be to repair my aegis." I pulled away when she tried to stop me. The doors whooshed behind me as I stomped my way to Central.