Another Online: Clockwork

by Terra Snover

  “Now, you listen, Hell’a, you will know your place. I am your Queen! You may have thought you were hunting me but know who the true predator is here!” I then moved down and pulled her into a kiss, I could feel her tongue slip into my mouth. Her hands moved down my hips and her hands started guiding me to move. The sensation of us moving together sent pleasure coursing through my body. I disconnected from our kiss and let out a long moan. Suddenly I was on my back again; Hell’a had moved quickly this time, somehow getting me into a vulnerable position. She slowly moved down my body, nibbling on me as she moved. My breathing was fast, I could feel every little sensation tingling through my body. Moment’s later I was lost to the world. Hell’a and I were nothing but raw instinct.

  Some time later, after an intense and pleasurable time, I regained my ability to think. I found myself laying on the floor of the Nothing, trying to catch my breath. “Well, Var, I had no idea you had that in you,” Hell’a purred.

  “I didn’t either.” I looked over to Hell’a. “What was that?”

  “Truly, I don’t know, but if I had to guess I would say that you finally remembered you are a Hellspawn. No, not just any Hellspawn, the Queen of all Hellspawn. You are a hunter, a creature that you have been holding back. Didn’t it feel good to become the huntress you were meant to be?”

  I thought back to every moment that I felt free here in AO and it was those moments where I let loose and let the Hellspawn free. When I was hunting players, when I was drinking blood, when I was fighting with Drac. Why had I been fighting this? Why was I trying to be what the System had been forcing me to be for all those years: a weak, gutless Human shopkeep? I was this mighty beast that could do so much more. I looked over to Hell’a, she was one of the most powerful creatures in all of AO and I was able to go toe to toe with her. “I’ve never felt so good.”

  “See, Var, together we could rule everything, even the GMs and the System can’t keep us down.” Hell’a moved one of her arms over my chest and pulled herself closer into me. “We are Another Online. Our will be done.”

  “Our will be done.” I grabbed her hand and we lay there. I was going to enjoy this feeling. After a few minutes, I started to feel strange, I couldn't put my finger on what the sensation was but I knew I had felt it before. Like a memory long from the past. It felt like I was falling, my mind leaving me, going someplace it yearned to be.

  I closed my eyes. “Silly, there isn’t time for you to close your eyes,” Ella said in a cheerful voice. I opened my eyes and there was my sister, her face dirty and battered, surrounded by snow. “Don’t you know if you close your eyes here you don’t open them again?”

  “That’s just you, you were the one that died here,” I replied, moving my wings to dust off the snow that had gathered on them. “I survived where you died, I lived through hell, I came out on top.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Ella pointed to the sky above me, her movements were slow and unnatural. I looked up to where she was pointing to see strings going into the sky. I followed one of the strings down and saw it was attached to one of my hands. There was another on my other hand, some on my feet, my wings, everywhere. “Who is on top here? I may be dead but I’m free.” Ella closed her eyes and vanished, leaving only a yellow ribbon behind. I reached out to grab the ribbon but it started to blow away. I tried to move to get it but the strings pulled at me, forcing me to move into the stage that was behind me. Everyone clapped and cheered as the curtains parted. There was an endless sea of mannequin-like creatures sitting in the audience, their lidless eyes staring at me.

  Two male Humans and a female Lamorea walked onto the stage. The first Human was huge, taller than two meters. He was wide across the chest and shoulders and covered in huge muscles. The other Human was dressed in heavy armor that was well constructed and probably magical. The Lamorea was short and skinny with oversized breasts; her orange fur was covered in black stripes, her cat-like ears adorned with numerous earrings.

  I forced a smile and spoke to the three, “Welcome to my shop. What can I do for you today?”

  “We want everything you are. We want your spirit and free will,” the armored Human said, only half looking at me and giving a dismissive wave of the hand.

  “Yes, of course, I’ll get that for you,” I replied, plunging my hand into my chest, ripping out my heart. “Here you are.” I handed my heart to the three. Without another word, the armored man snatched it. As he took it, it disappeared, automatically adding to his inventory. The three turned on their heels and walked out, the bell making a jingling sound as they exited. I felt a stab in the palm of my hand like a knife was thrusting into it. I pulled the hurt hand close to my breast instinctually as a message flashed across my vision, reminding me to thank people for all they did for me, because I was worthless. I took a deep breath and looked at the ticking cuckoo clock. Its hands spun quickly and before I knew it it was fifteen years later and I was falling.

  I fell right into the hot water- wait not water, blood, sweet smelling blood. It felt wonderful, I loved the hot springs. After a moment of enjoying the soak, I popped my head out of the pool and looked up at the figures that surrounded me. Drac stood above me, “Listen, I’m sorry I got you mixed up in this mess, but it is what it is. I just need to know one thing from you, will you help me in my quest to take this all down? Or are you going to be slaves to the System forever?”

  “No, Prince, she is going to be mine forever.” Hell’a’s arms wrapped around me. “You see, my dear Prince, Var and I can take over this world.”

  “Well, she is starting to act more and more like Hell’a.” Leon sat at the dinner table next to me in the spring.

  “Leon, you don’t mean that, right?” Amber asked uneasily, getting undressed so she could get into the springs.

  “She’s nothing, she’s just another thing to use then discard,” Victoria said softly as she watched my Mama slowly burn with blue flames. “Just like her mother and sister.”

  “Yeah, just a plaything for me!” the Crimson King shouted and planted his Morning Star in my sternum. I gasped, the pain ripping through my body.

  “I don’t know, she seems kind to me.” Robin smiled as she watched the blood ripple.

  “I’m not-” I started to say but I felt the strings pull at me and I was lifted into the air and dropped onto the top of the tower at Stone Keep.

  “Well, looks like you lost!” Arron staggered over to me, sword at the ready. “Any last words before I kill you?”

  “I’m not-” I tried again but suddenly every atom of my being screamed in pain as Victoria placed her hand that was covered in blue flame on my neck.

  “You are the worst creature I've ever had the displeasure of knowing, and I will take nothing but pleasure watching you die here today!” The audience of mannequin-like creatures roared with excitement. I felt Oracle’s cold metallic claw pull me onto my feet. “So much for the Red Queen,” her cold, mechanical voice whispered in my ear.

  I shot up and screamed, my voice echoing in the emptiness of the nothing. I grabbed the sides of my head. What had just happened?! I looked over to see Hell’a sitting next to me, staring intently. “What was that?!” I shouted at her.

  “It looked like you were dreaming.” Her eyes narrowed. “Var, did you in fact just have a dream?”

  “I, I…” I shook my head; was that a dream? It had been so long since I had one. “I think so? Yeah, I think I did.”

  “Interesting.”

  “Unsettling.” I pulled my knees into my body. “That was… Well, not a fun dream.” I struggled to remember what the nightmare was about but I felt the details drift away from me.

  “Whether it was fun or not, once again, you just did something us Ns haven't been able to do since the day we arrived here.” Hell’a smiled and stroked my chin, “You are indeed the most curious person in all of Another Online.”

  “Thanks... I think.” I struggled to hold onto any of what had just happened in the dream, but they were al
l but gone now, all I was left with was the feelings they had left behind.

  Chapter 6

  The Badger

  Leon bent down and picked up a bit of metal from the wreckage of the crashed zeppelin. The moon glistened off the white of Leon’s skin. “I have never seen anything like this.”

  “I was hoping for something more than that from you.” I crossed my arms and gave him a nasty look. Leon returned the favor, his cold black eyes locked on me for a few moments before he returned his attention to the metal. “It’s not Alliance, you can tell by the uniformity of the thickness. It’s not from us either, our metal isn’t this pure.” Leon tossed the scrap back into the wreckage. “But I have seen this kind of thing before.”

  “Oh, and where is that?” I enquired.

  “Rune metal.”

  “You mean the stuff from the First Ones?”

  “The same.” He looked around. “I haven't spent a lot of time in the Wilds where the First Ones’ ruins are but from what I have seen seems to match. Well, kind of. The design is different, the etching in the metal and cutting marks are off.” This was interesting, the Wilds were a continent full of max level areas. It was a place only the brave or stupid would go. In the game lore that’s where I’m from but I’ve never actually been there.

  “Meaning what?” I looked around at the wreckage around me, avoiding eye contact from Leon.

  “I don’t know yet but it’s a starting point. You said Alexander had been working on getting one of the soldiers working?” Leon got up from his crouch and turned to face me.

  “Yeah, he has locked himself in his workshop for the past few days and hasn’t left.”

  “Well, I think we should pay him a visit.” Leon walked past me towards the castle. I glared at his back. How dare he turn his back on me! I’m his queen and should be shown the respect I deserve! I had to remind myself to play nice. I needed him right now, but if he kept this up I don’t know what I will do to him and I would not be held responsible. Amber sat waiting for us at the exit of the wreckage, “Hi guys, anything interesting?” She avoided looking at me, again. She had been avoiding all eye contact for the last two days. I was about to say something but Leon opened his damn mouth, “Some clues but nothing substantial.” I clenched my claw as he spoke, his voice pulling at every nerve I had.

  “Well, where are we heading to now?” Amber asked.

  “The workshop,” I said before Leon had a chance. “We need to speak to Alexander.” Both of them didn’t look at me when I spoke. I could feel my temper rising with every passing moment. We started our walk back to the castle, walking past damaged buildings and Ns cleaning up their homes and businesses that had once again been destroyed. Amber and Leon walked behind me, talking in hushed voices. It would seem that they didn’t want me to overhear what they were saying, but I had excellent hearing. “So she seems to be her normal, cheery self,” Leon spat.

  “A lot has happened… first, the attack, and now the approaching wedding,” Amber’s whisper was barely audible, I had to strain my ears to hear her.

  “So the Prince and Tilln finally got engaged?”

  “I...Well.” Amber paused for a long moment. Eventually, she let out a sigh and continued, “Var and Hell’a. They are the two that got engaged.”

  “THEY WHAT?!” he shouted, Amber shushing him. I could feel their eyes on me, I chose to ignore them.

  “Yes, it’s crazy and sudden, but it happened. We are the Queen’s humble servants and must adapt to what fate chooses for us.” There was that classic double talk all Ns got good at here in AO. My best guess was that she was trying to let Leon know that this was the System’s doing. That I wouldn’t in my right mind ever choose to be with Hell’a. She was half right; when it happened, I was in fact not a fan of the idea. But now, the thought didn’t seem that bad. “But Hell’a?! She’s a monster. Must I remind you what she did to me?” Once more Leon spoke a bit too loud for a hushed talk.

  “No, Leon, the day she turned you into a Vampire will forever be etched into my mind.” Amber took a breath. “Hell’a has been a lot better since then, so I can see-”

  “She could have been a damn saint for the last year and that wouldn't change the fact she’s still a black-hearted monster.”

  “She still scares the hell out of me, and I’m always watching her to make sure that she doesn't try anything uncouth with Var.” Amber paused again, “But she hasn’t tried to be anything other than a friend to Var, and Var needs people who won't abandon her in her life.” There was a cutting tone to Amber’s words and that lightened my mood a bit. Even if it seemed Amber was mad at me, she still had my back.

  We reached the winding road from the city up the hillside to the castle. I risked a glance behind me to see that Leon was looking anywhere but Amber or myself. Amber, on the other hand, was looking directly at me. When our eyes met I quickly averted my gaze back to the path that lay ahead of us. It was odd. Not long ago, the three of us were walking up this same path together heading to the hot springs to look at the artwork, and in Leon’s case the naked ladies. It all seems like an eternity ago now; no, more like those memories belonged to a different person. Like they were cut from the weak and frightened girl who they belonged to and were grafted on me.

  We reached the top of the hill and I smiled as I saw the magnificent creation I had designed. The castle’s tall spires, gothic detail, and numerous stained glass windows were things of beauty. This was who I was, I was the woman who deserved all this. I was the one that took down the White Prince, I was the one that against all odds managed to take Stone Keep. It may have been a mistake that I had gotten these powers and stature, but I was the one that had done something incredible with them. I moved to the main entrance of the castle. Two Imps stood on either side of the door. They gave a bow and pushed the heavy beautifully decorated doors open for us.

  I walked past them and continued down the halls to Alexander's workshop. It wasn't a long walk seeing as he needed to be close to the entrance so he could easily move the equipment and supplies in and out. Without knocking, I pushed the door open. Inside I found him sitting in a chair tinkering with some gizmo, but he wasn't alone like I expected, Milly was sitting in his lap reading a book. The two looked up at us and quickly got to their feet. Milly's face turned bright red, "Amber, I wasn't expecting to see you."

  "I can see that…" I could hear the clanking of Amber's heavy armor as she crossed her arms. "Milly, I think there's dinner prep that needs doing." The young woman gave Amber an uneasy smile full of nerves and exited the workshop. I felt Amber walk past me and move to Alexander who proceeded to yelp. "Amber, you are on my tail."

  "Oh sorry, I didn't see it there," she lied as she slowly moved her foot off him. Alexander moved his tail to his hand where he tenderly gripped it. "What can I do for you three?" he inquired.

  "A progress update on the work on the mechanical men," I informed him.

  "Ah yes, of course." He walked over to the far side of the room by a workbench and beckoned us to join him. "I have taken a few apart and found that they are not quite what they seem. First of all, there is no magic being used to make this thing work. Well, at least I don’t think so, there are a lot of parts that go beyond my understanding.” He grabbed some bits and pieces up, probably the bits that he couldn't figure out. “But it looks like it’s all mechanical. Then there is the heart of the machine." He pulled a jar off the table where inside sat a tiny little woman. And when I say tiny I mean tiny, she was no more than a few centimeters. She had wild blond hair cut short and little insect-like wings sprouting from her back. She looked up at us and her solid black eyes glared. She then gave an obscene gesture and looked away from us, pouting.

  "A Fae?" Leon said, his words even and cold.

  "Yes, inside the core of each of the machines is one of these little guys bound into it. I have my people currently getting them out of the men and into jars."

  "Wait, you are telling me that those mechanical men were Fae?" I
was confused.

  "No, not exactly," Alexander mused. "You see, I haven't been able to get the…" he paused and pondered for a moment or two, seemingly lost for words, "Fae suits to move. That was until I did this." Alexander then moved the jar to one of the suits and pressed two thick wires to either side of the jar. Energy began to ark from the Fae to the wires. She was shouting in pain and darting around the jar, seemingly trying to escape. Moments later, a nearby suit went from laying down like a marionette whose strings were cut, to a normal person in a sitting position. Alexander then removed the wires from the edges of the jar and the suit went slack again. The energy from the little Fae woman dissipated. She let out a long string of obscenities then turned away from us again and took a seat. “See?” Alexander said, motioning to the Fae. I looked at Amber and she shrugged. Alexander let out a sigh, “The Fae are what power the suits, like a power stone.” Or like a battery, I thought, but we couldn't say that in AO.

  “So why did they stop working?” Leon asked.

  “No idea.” Alexander shrugged. “But I’m damn well going to get them working for us. Imagine the advantages we could have if we added these forces to our army. We would be unstoppable.”

  “That’s good thinking but you are not using the Fae to power them,” I said this in a matter of fact way, walking over to the workbench, grabbing the jar.

  “But, my Queen, they are-”

  “They…” I paused for a moment, the truth of the matter was I didn’t want these poor little Ns to be tortured, but technically I was the bad guy and the wellbeing of other creatures shouldn't matter to me. I picked my words carefully, “They are needed to get more information. And let’s face it, you are smart enough to get these all working without using something like Fae.” I knew Alexander enough to know if you flattered him you could bend him to your will. “Now hand over that jar, I wish to speak to this little creature, see if I can learn anything from it. As for the other Fae you are pulling out of the suits, keep them safe and secure so we can question them later.”