Chương 90: Chapter 87: What else did you say that night?

After the door shut, sealing them in, the silence in the warehouse contrasted with the noise of the battle. The group stood in a loose circle in the open space in front of the aisles. A notification flickered into view. Ability Notification! Threat Level 2 Knickknack Savant - Level 3 The white lights overhead shone down on a ragged group of survivors. They were breathing heavily. The previous minutes had been full of rapid-fire crises unfolding almost too fast to react.

Now there was a sense that the group was waiting for the next disaster to happen. George looked around the circle, taking stock of the motley group that had survived Sarala's ambush. June leaned heavily on her staff while Loveland stood just slightly in front of her, his relaxed posture disguising the way he kept the others in the corner of his vision. He had lost his giant sword at some point but he still looked like someone you didn't want to cross.

June wore a wry frown as she looked from one person to the other. Top ran a hand through his hair and blew out a breath, eyes wide. Max stood apart from the others near a stack of supply crates, arms folded across his chest, watching George without saying a word. >>Public service announcement. We've only got 13 minutes before the round ends. Marcus walked toward the group from the direction of the door.

"I locked it," he said.

"They won't be able to get in. We stole dad's codes. He'd have to come down here himself to open it." Marcus looked for his sister, but Lavender had walked away from the group in the direction of the healing aisle. Top reached out and clapped a hand on George's shoulder.

"Dude. Thanks for grabbing me back there. Seriously. I owe you one." He pulled his hand away and held out a fist. George didn't move, so Nod lifted his arm and bumped it for him.

"Righteous," Top said, grinning. He took a step back and looked George up and down.

"Am I crazy, or does your armor look even more badass now? Have you been working out or something?" Top squeezed George's arm as if sizing him up.

"And that thing you did to Hollywood? When you cut him open and stuffed that creepy spider inside him?" Top whistled softly.

"That was cold. I saw the whole thing." Max pushed off the boxes he had been leaning on and walked toward George.

"Who are you, really?" The rest of the group turned to look at George. >>Ok, George. Let's try this again. Say it with me this time… >>"I am your FATHER…" >>"Join me and I will complete your training…" >>"With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy!" George looked at his son. Max looked harder, older. Whatever he had done to survive this place had carved the softness out of him.

"I am George. I would like to prove it, but I can't take off my helmet," he said.

"But when I came into the game I lost my memory. I only have fragments." George took a breath and cast his mind back through the memories he'd seen.

"I was married to Jane. I have three children: Max, Kat, and Christopher, but he likes to be called Kit," George began slowly, but his voice gathered momentum.

"We were divorced. I moved to Chicago. She died in a car accident. I remember that you called me to tell me about it but you wouldn't tell me when the funeral was." Max didn't say anything, but his arms slowly uncrossed.

"I remember I had a tie that said Dad is the King of Pancakes. I worked in an office, but I don't remember what I did." George paused, then continued.

"I remember Jane and I fighting once. I was shouting. I threw a plate at the wall and a shard cut Kit on the face." George swallowed.

"I don't think I was a very good father."

"And what else did you say that night?" Max said. George looked up at his son. Max's eyes were shining and his jaw was clenched.

"I said I didn't want kids," George said quietly.

"And you heard it." Max looked down at the floor. Several seconds passed.

"I am sorry about that," George said quietly.

"Kit gave you the tie. He was always the one who tried to please you," Max said. Then, after a moment, he added, "I haven't been able to find him. Or Kat."

"We'll find them," George said.

"Somehow." Then Lavender called out from the direction of the healing aisle.

"Look who is better!" The group turned. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Cassie was walking toward them, holding Lavender's hand.

"She was just crawling out of the pod," Lavender added. Cassie's clothes were still torn and bloodstained, but she walked easily and looked unharmed. She joined the circle and glanced around the group, silently catching up on what she had missed. Then she stepped forward and hugged George, resting her cheek briefly against the hard plates of his armor.

"Thank you for saving me, George." She pulled back slightly as she sifted through his memories of the challenge room.

"You've been through a lot." Cassie rapped one knuckle lightly against the improved armor.

"And come out on top."

"I'm glad you're okay," George said. — And hello, Nod. >>Hi, kid. Welcome back to the land of the living. Then, Cassie turned to Max and held out her hand to him. He clasped it reflexively and Cassie said, "He is your father, Max." They stood silently for a moment. Max spoke first.

"You're a telepath." Cassie nodded. June cleared her throat.

"We are still in a trial. There can't be much time left in this round." >>Eight and a half minutes.

"Nod says we have eight and a half minutes left in the round," Cassie said.

"Who is Nod?" Max asked. George shifted uncomfortably.

"I'll… explain later." >>Nod is your new uncle, little Maxy. June went on.

"We have one more voting round before the intermission. Seems like we have a little voting bloc here." She gestured toward George.

"He is diamond tier on the leaderboard. He controls more votes than anyone in the trial. With that and the rest of our votes, we should be able to take our pick of those assholes." June looked around the group.

"So," she said, "who are we voting out? I'm inclined to throw Sarala under the bus after what she just tried to do to all of us." A few heads nodded. George interrupted that train of thought.

"Sarala wasn't really behind it. She had to ask permission. From Neco. They coordinated the whole thing. That is why they were the only two who weren't caught in the summons—and Pine."

"So we vote Neco out," Top said.

"That guy seems like a real bastard anyway."

"I can't vote against Neco," George said. He tapped the side of his helmet.

"If I do, this thing will kill me. Before the trial started, someone from the Rook used the helmet to coerce me into helping him. And if he dies, I die too."

"Bro," Top said.

"That sucks."

"You aren't the only one," Max said. He lifted his wrist, showing the black bracelet there.

"They made me the same offer."

"So you both have to keep Neco alive," June said. George and Max nodded.

"And at the same time," June continued, "you need him voted out." George tilted his head toward Cassie, who glanced reflexively at Top.

"We have some… ideas about that," George said.

"We vote out Greesh," Loveland said, cutting in. Everyone looked at him.

"You're thinking about revenge." He shook his head.

"But the goal isn't revenge. It's winning the trial."

"Greesh started a new team and changed the win conditions so two teams can win together," Loveland continued.

"I'm sure she planned to recruit people to it this round, but Sarala interrupted that." He folded his arms.

"If Greesh is still the only person on her team when the voting round begins, all we have to do is vote her out." Loveland shrugged slightly.

"And the trial ends." Everyone was silent as Loveland's logic settled over the group. Except for Max.

"And what if she already drafted someone onto the green team?" Max said.

"I don't think we should underestimate her. Greesh has been planning this whole thing from the beginning, and I'd bet she has other tricks up her sleeve. You saw how she even outplayed the moderator. What's plan B if she isn't alone?"

"I have another way to get rid of a few players," George said. He lifted another ability orb so everyone could see it. < Ability Orb—Buckle Up, Chuckleheads: Deactivate the containment barriers in the voting room for the duration of the voting round. Any act of violence between players will result in the aggressor's expulsion from the game at the Moderator's discretion. > George explained.

"Let's say something goes wrong with the plan and the trial doesn't end this round. As soon as the vote is over, we'll be back in the hunting maze—with these monsters. And we've already seen there are players in this trial who will attack anything the moment they get the chance." He shrugged slightly.

"I say we give them that chance." Loveland nodded slowly.

"You bait them into attacking, then let the moderator do our work for us." Max nodded.

"And if someone panics and fights back, they're gone too."

"We'll just have to stay clear of the voidling, the slime, the gnacker, and whatever Ezra turned into," George said.

"When I raise the orb, get ready to move toward me. I can deploy a shield—and I plan to take cover behind our friend the crystal golem." I have a shield too. Well, it's more like a wall." Max shrugged.

"You'll see." Then a flurry of notifications poured across George's vision. <You have been added to Top's party> <Tycho has been added to Top's party> <June has been added to Top's party> <Cassie has been added to Top's party> <Loveland has been added to Top's party> <Pine has been removed from Top's party> >>Oh, hey. >>You and junior are on the same team now. >>That seems narratively significant.

"Check it out!" Top said.

"I have an ability too. This one lets me make a party. So now we're like… really a team. We'll start every hunting round together and we can work together and stuff."

"I didn't ask to be on your team," June said.

"Take me off."

"It's OK, Juney," Loveland said.

"It just means we start together." June glared at him but didn't say anything else. >>Two minutes left, boss. George held his hand beside his thigh and the new dimensional holster that came with his upgraded armor opened. He reached in and withdrew Cassie's collapsible sword from where he stashed it after attacking Hollywood.

"Here you go, Cassie," George said.

"Thanks for letting me borrow it again." She smiled and took it back, making it disappear with a gesture. Then George realized something and turned to Max.

"Wait. If we do end the trial right now, I won't see you again. How can I find you after this?" Max stared at him for a moment then nodded.

"If this is only your second trial, then you are probably still in your cradle," Max said.

"When you make it to the True World, go to Primus." He took off his backpack and rummaged through it before withdrawing a small red token that reminded George of Cassie's Mentis token. Max handed it to him and said, "Ask for Calliope at the gate and give her this token. She'll be able to find me." George took the token even though he hardly understood what Max meant. He dropped it into his thigh holster and the strange compartment in his armor closed with a click. Cassie translated. —Primus is a city.

It's where the Aetherfall Academy is, so… lots of wizards. >>What is the True World? —It is what happens when you do enough trials to get to the next stage.

"Does everyone understand the plan?" Loveland said.

"We vote for Greesh and end the trial right now. If she isn't alone on her team anymore, we'll have to wing it."

"When the enclosures go down, I should be able to communicate telepathically," Cassie said.

"If we need to make a new plan, you can think it to me and I can tell the rest of the team." They were silent as they waited for the round timer to count down. George turned to Max and saw that his son was already staring at him. George put his hand on Max's shoulder but he wasn't sure what to say.

"I didn't think I would see you again," Max said. George felt a tightness gather in his throat.

"I came." Max looked at the ground for a moment, then nodded once. >>…Thus ends the quiet between storms.

"Good luck out there," Marcus said and waved to George.

"The spider thing was my favorite part," Lavender said. She turned to her brother and said, "I want one of those." Then the round ended and the warehouse vanished around them.