Chapter 247: Uneasy Alliance
Aegis and Herilon walked side by side down the narrow, dark stone hallways of the Kordas Prison. Behind them followed Pyri, Lina, Rakkan, Darkshot, and Sapphire who was no longer wielding a carrot, but instead holding a disgusted look on her face as she glared at the back of Aegis’ head.
“Ahem. Wait.” Sapphire finally blurted out, unable to follow along silently any longer. Aegis and Herilon both stopped to look back at her, alongside the others. “You’re really going to talk to those guys? They killed our entire guild and nearly sank this island.” Sapphire raised her eyebrows. Hearing this, Herilon looked to Aegis as well, expectantly waiting for his answer.
Aegis didn’t immediately reply, but quickly glanced between the others, meeting their eyes as the flickering flames of the torches lining the prison walls were reflected in them.
“She’s kinda got a point. You really think these guys are gonna help us?” Darkshot asked.
“Even if they do, we can’t really trust them… I think…” Lina added timidly, avoiding Aegis’ eyes for a moment.
“When we spoke before, he made it clear it wasn’t personal. These dark network gamers, they just seem to care about money, not about picking sides.” Aegis paused to see that despite his logical reasoning, he hadn’t swayed any of his companions to his side.
“I think talking to them for a solution to our current predicament is the right call.” Pyri spoke up loudly, causing all eyes to turn to her. “Makaroth and VGN will be knowledgeable on all of the standard methods to qualify us for the tournament, and will block them off. They seem determined to shut us out, so the only chance we’ll have in participating is by asking for the help from these guys.” Pyri landed her eyes on Aegis, and waited until she had his full attention. “However… You’re a bit too naive.” She smirkd, ruffling Aegis’ hair for a brief moment.
“What do you mean?” He winced briefly.
“The first thing those guys did when we talked to them last time was to try to let us know how much they hated streamers. What a great way to appeal to our group…” Pyri pointed at Aegis and Rakkan. “They’ve done their research, they’re always going to say whatever they need to say, but it’s usually just pretty words.” She placed her right hand on Aegis’ left shoulder. “You’ve dealt with plenty of bad people in your life, but most of them were upfront about it. These ones,” Pyri motioned further into the prison in the direction they’d been heading. “They’re the deceptive, manipulative type. They’ll say anything in any situation to get the outcome they want.”
“Exactly.” Sapphire nodded in agreement.
“So we can’t trust them.” Rakkan nodded.
“No, we can’t.” Pyri replied. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use them. Just…” Pyri pulled her hand away from Aegis’ shoulder. “Be ready for them to turn on you at any time. Never let your guard down, no matter how friendly they may seem. You should never, at any point, consider any dark network player your ally. They don’t even consider each other allies. Got it?” Pyri locked eyes with Aegis once more. Aegis was visibly thinking on her words for a moment before he returned her gaze and nodded.
“Got it.”
“Okay. As long as we all understand that.” Pyri smiled and tilted her head back again. “Lead on.”
Another brief moment of hesitation fell on the group until finally Herilon let out a shrug and a sigh and turned to continue walking through the prison halls. The others followed behind him down the narrow corridors around several bends until they approached the furthest prison cells.
Unlike the previous time they’d visited this place where there were 5 occupied cells, this time, there was only one. Sitting on the rudimentary, uncomfortable looking bed in the back of one of the cells was Finley, with a large old book in his hands blocking his face from view. Aegis stopped in front of the bars of his prison cell, with the others standing behind him as much as the hallway allowed.
Aegis was sure that Finley knew they were there, their footsteps had been clacking off the paved stone hallway the entire way up to the cell - but despite this, Finley didn’t take his eyes off his book nor shift it even slightly to give a more clear view of his face.
“Where are your friends?” Aegis broke the silence.
“Their sentences have long since been served.” Finley replied.
“Not yours, though?”
“No. Mine was a bit longer. I did wipe two entire guilds by myself, after all.” Finley spoke nonchalantly.
“While we were petrified.” Sapphire growled back, causing a smirk to grow over Finley’s face which Aegis barely spotted out from behind his book.
“We’re here to make a deal. We can get you out right away, if you help us out.” Aegis said.
“Hm.” Finley finally lowered his book to look Aegis in the eyes. “Ol’ daddy hasn’t been playing fair?” He smiled devilishly.
“You’ve been paying attention to what’s been happening?”
“The entire world has been paying attention. Every broadcast is hyping up this sham of a tournament. The big showdown between Makaroth and Seraxus, or Feng, or whoever else.” Finley shook his head dismissively. “No mention of you, though.” He pursed his lips to the side.
“They’ve filled up all the registration slots for all 5v5, 3v3, and 2v2 tournaments. There’s no way for us to qualify using those standard methods.” Aegis explained.
“Hm.” Finley grunted once more, this time placing his hand curiously on his chin. “The amount of proxy players they would’ve had to hire for that would not have been cheap. I suppose, as big as this event is, it’s in their best interest to control it as much as possible. So, it makes sense.” He mumbled to himself, loud enough that the others could hear him though.
“Do you know of another way we might be able to earn the points required for the preliminary matches?” Aegis asked him upfront. Finley stopped scratching his chin and stood up off the bed to step closer to the bars where Aegis stood.
“What’s in it for me if I help you?” Finley asked.
“I told you, I’d get you out of this cell right now.” Aegis replied.
“Nah.” Finley waved this off quickly with his hand. “What you are talking about is crashing a rigged tournament being orchestrated by the most powerful streaming network in this game world. I’ve only got a week left on my sentence, you’re going to have to do better than that.”
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“What do you want?” Aegis asked apprehensively.
“Well… I imagine since you’ve had that big bump in viewers… compliments of our invasion…” Finley walked closer, grabbing the bars in front of Aegis. “You’ve been getting quite a healthy stream of revenue, have you not? Players like me, we’re all about real world wealth.” As he spoke, Aegis heard multiple people standing behind him sucking their teeth at him.
“How much?” Aegis asked.
“Seriously?” Darkshot groaned, but Aegis ignored him. Finley smiled at Aegis’ words, however.
“One hundred thousand american dollars.” Finley declared. His words drew out several gasps.
“Who does this guy think he is?” Sapphire grumbled. Aegis didn’t immediately reply, however. Nor did he look back at his companions to see their approval or disapproval. He could feel their eyes burning into the back of his head, however.
“Fine.” Aegis sighed. “I’ll get Chax to transfer an equivalent amount to that in gold to you.”
“Ah, hang on. I didn’t finish.” Finley’s smile grew devilishly large. “Per person.”
“You mean you want us to pay that amount for each of us?” Darkshot asked in disbelief.
“You expect Aegis to pay you five hundred thousand dollars? After the shit you tried to pull on this island?” Rakkan shouted angrily. Aegis, too, was taken aback. He had only just earned those amounts, and his mind hadn’t fully comprehended just exactly what was being asked of him. He found himself staring down at his feet for a brief moment, then turned back to look at Pyri, who was staring back at him with a blank expression.
“It’s your decision, do what you think is best.” Pyri replied.
“No way you pay this guy, right?” Herilon scoffed, and it fell silent once more. “I bet this guy doesn’t even know how to qualify you guys, he’s just going to take the money and run off. I wouldn’t trust a word he says.” He warned Aegis.
“Tsk tsk tsk…. For players like me, living in a network of scammers and cheats… Your reputation is everything. Break your word once, and you’ll never be able to find players willing to team up with you, or make deals with you. I was able to convince my previous companions to work with me solely because my reputation is flawless. I never break an agreement, or go back on my word.” Finley spoke confidently, stepping from the bars. He then slowly began pacing back and forth in the cell in front of them as they all watched his every move intently.
“There’s a method. It’s a one off, meaning if we mess it up, it’s over. You’d need the help of a lot of proxy players, which I can get given my standings within my network. But to pull it off, you need to really know what you are doing. Especially on this short of a time frame that you are asking. I doubt you’d be able to find someone else to do it cheaper.” He paused to smile at Aegis once more. “You were right to come to me, I’m most likely your only chance to get into the tournament. But if my fee is too high for you, you might as well just give up on attending.”
Aegis listened intently, as did the others, but did not immediately reply. There were several other protests that were muttered under breath by Rakkan, Herilon, Sapphire, and Darkshot. Pyri and Lina however remained completely silent. Pyri’s words rang out through Aegis’ head, reminding him not to trust Finley so easily, but her silence was deafening under the current situation. When Aegis turned to look back at her for guidance, she simply stared back expectantly, leaving him to look to Lina.
Lina wasn’t much help either, she returned a worried stare of uncertainty, and a shrug, causing Aegis to sigh at himself and turn back to Finley.
“Alright.” Aegis cleared his throat. “I’ll hire you to qualify all of us, for five hundred thousand dollars.” Aegis’ words silenced the murmuring of the others. “But, no payment until the job is done.”
“Hm.” Finley eyed him carefully. “And now, how can I trust you?”
“Pfft. Seriously?” Sapphire blurted out.
“What? You think because he’s walking around as the Harbinger of Light, he’s beyond deception?” Finley shook his head at Sapphire.
“Aegis would never trick and lie like that.” Lina spoke loudly on his behalf.
“I’m sure you all believe that. Me, on the other hand, not so much. Payment upfront.”
“No chance.” Darkshot shouted.
“Don’t do it, no shot he’s going to help you once he’s got his money.” Herilon commented.
“Half up front, half when the job is done. That’s the final offer.” Aegis announced after a moment of consideration.
“Fine.” Finley smiled. “Deal. You have my word, I will do my best to make sure your qualify for the preliminaries of this upcoming monthly tournament.” He extended his hand out through the bars to shake Aegis’. Aegis stared at the hand for a moment, hesitating. Eventually, though, he relented and shook it, much to the dismay of some of his nearby companions.
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Sapphire shook her head disapprovingly.
“He made the right choice. Once you see the method, you’ll quickly come to realize that I truly was your only option.” Finley replied to Sapphire on Aegis’ behalf, then motioned to the bars. “Now. Do you mind getting me out of here? We’ve got work to do.”
“Ugh…” Herilon groaned in frustration and began fidgeting with his interface. “I’ll let Quinn know the situation. She won’t be happy.”
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Within the following 15 minutes, the group of players were stepping out of the Kordas barracks and onto the streets, under the bright sunlight. This time, their group was one player bigger, Finley bringing up the rear. The moment he stepped out into the sun, he stretched his arms high up towards the sky and sighed.
“Ah… freedom. I missed the warmth of the fake virtual sun.” He cheered with a heavy hint of sarcasm in his voice. The others all turned around to watch him expectantly, waiting for him to finish his moment. When he lowered his arms, he met their eyes and smiled. “Let’s get down to business, shall we?” He suddenly motioned towards the nearby street, where another player could be seen approaching.
Cheryl, with her bright pink hair waving in the wind, walked forward hastily with a big smile on her face.
“What the hell is she doing here?” Lina snapped angrily.
“Oh don’t get so defensive. I’m here to help.” Cheryl smiled as she stepped out of the crowds of the street to stand beside Finley at the base of the barracks steps.
“If we want to pull this off, we’re going to need her help.” Finley explained. “I’ve already been notified of a gold transfer from your friend Chax, so, I suppose we should get started right away. The quicker we get this done, the better. The method I am proposing will take exactly 16 hours. One mistake, and it all falls apart. So you must all follow my instructions to the T. Got it? If you guys mess it up, there’s no refund.”
“We can follow your instructions.” Aegis spoke on behalf of his group.
“Good… Now,” Finley turned to Cheryl. “Which one first?”
“Lina. I can do her best.” Cheryl replied excitedly.
“Right. Good. Lina, come with me.” Finley motioned her over, but she didn’t respond and instead stared at the pair of players like they were crazy. This caused Finley to sigh in frustration. “What’d I just say? Follow my instructions exactly.” He glared at Aegis, who turned to Lina.
“Go, it’ll be okay. He wants his money, right now he’s got a good reason to not turn on us.” Aegis nodded to her, which finally prompted Lina to step forward.
“Okie dokie. I’ll start. Avatar of Loki: Lina!” Cheryl cheered, suddenly transforming into Lina as a perfect copy.
“Heh?” Lina looked at her copy with wide eyes.
“Why?” Aegis looked at Finley in confusion.
“We need to keep them guessing for as long as possible. Like I said, this plan is a one off, and if VGN figures out what we’re up to before we’re done, it’s over. The less you know, the better, because I need you streaming the entire time so they don’t suspect anything. I’ll rotate your party members out one by one and qualify them using my method, and we’ll utilize Cheryl’s avatar skill to hide the fact that your members are missing.” Finley explained.
“Your jobs…” He then motioned to everyone else other than Lina. “Is to just keep training and act like nothing is happening. Got it?” Finley said, and they all nodded back reluctantly. “Good. The Training Hall of Kordas is that way.” Finley pointed towards the western section of the bustling city. “Stream on, right away. Cheryl, don’t forget to act like Lina to the best of your ability.”
“You mean, act like Aegis’ girlfriend? No problem!” Cheryl cheered before running over and grabbing onto Aegis' right arm. Aegis quickly shook her off though as he saw a look of pure rage appearing on the real Lina’s face.
“C’mon, you’re with me.” Finley motioned Lina to follow him before he began walking into the streets of Kordas.
“It’ll be fine. Trust me.” Aegis said to Lina, causing her to hesitantly nod back and follow after Finley. Once Lina and Finley left, the others all found themselves glaring at the fake Lina.
“Guys, you really need to work on your acting skills. If you can’t pretend I’m the real Lina, this just simply isn’t going to w-w-w-work.” She faked a shy stutter at the end of her sentence before walking forward, leading the group in the direction of the Kordas training grounds.
“I feel like we’re all really going to regret this.” Darkshot sighed, but was the first to start following behind her.
“If it gets us to the tournament to crush Seraxus, it’ll be worth it.” Rakkan replied, following as well. Pyri, Herilon, Sapphire and Aegis went closely behind them.