Origin ARS 6 Read online

  Her words fell on deaf ears as her ridiculous fiancé raced off toward their hotel room. She held on for dear life as he moved with determined efficiency. He had a life to save tonight.

  Chapter 8

  The sound of people laughing at the little things in life can cause many thoughts to cross the mind of one who listens to their sweet moment. Those who have love in their life might feel a sense of warmth, or perhaps nostalgia, for one they long to be with again. Those who have lost their love, or never had it at all might become bitter, even hateful.

  It was sweet laughter, and the joyous union of three people having fun, that caused what happened next. The chainsaw armed beach chair bounded forward, its fold out leg flapping ridiculously while it tried to cut apart the good humor that its opponents felt.

  "Ha! Too slow, chainsaw bro," cried Scott excitedly. The chainsaw whipped through the space where he stood only a brief instant before. The artful dodge left the bizarre construct open to a sudden and decisive strike from Rhea's saber. Lightning danced along the blade and invaded the spiritual circuitry of the homicidal outdoor furnishing.

  "Arargh!" shrieked the chainsaw wielding lawn chair before it fell to the ground, defeated.

  Scott bounced from one foot to the other and wiggled his booty a little. "Hell yeah, this is a lot easier with three of us."

  Rhea laughed at him a little before she started to kneel down. The creature needed to be salvaged for loot. However, she did not make it. Scott hopped over and took her by the arm. "Dance with me!" he cried before dancing around like a fool.

  "What! No. We're working you goof." Rhea laughed at him again, but soon she gave in and began to dance with him. She too jumped and wiggled like a fool, just like the creature she intended to marry.

  Herbert chittered warmly at them then joined in. He was never one to give up on the chance at an impromptu dance party.

  Scott shook his hips from side-to-side, and then lifted his hands to his chest. He started pumping them back and forth with his elbows out. "Goosh, goosh, goosh."

  "What are you saying?" asked Rhea, just before she copied him.

  "Dance music. You know you can feel the beat!" Scott gooshed and gooshed some more while his friends danced around like happy morons.

  The source of his joy was the fact that they managed to make it to a decent area for training. With the help of Rhea, Scott was able to tank the monsters based on his agility. Relieved of openly having to both tank and strike, he could focus on being an irritating bastard to keep the enemy focused on him. So far they had defeated more opponents in one day than Scott and Herbert took down in several days.

  Scott lunged forward and gripped Rhea tight. "Yeah, yeah!" he said while wiggling his shoulders around.

  Rhea pushed at him, but soon laughed as he spun her around and started dancing with her from behind. Rhea started saying, "Goosh, goosh, goosh," in her sweet voice and Scott nearly lost it. His laughter echoed throughout the area.

  Herbert clapped his paws together then held his hands out palm up while he started to spin in a circle. He was feeling the music.

  "Go Herbert! Go Herbert!" said Scott while he kept dancing behind Rhea.

  The dance party slowly came to an end after a few minutes, but the three dancing fools were full of energy now. They looted the chair then tossed it into the large cart that they rented for the occasion. Rhea had been right. Working together they could haul in much more than normal. A wheel barrow would just not cut it for the sort of loot they were earning.

  Scott gripped the handholds of the cart and started toward the next battlefield. He hummed merrily while he pulled the heavy cart along like it was nothing. As it turned out, he learned something extraordinary. He had earned one entire point in strength after hauling the cart around that day.

  The cart was at his proper working limit, and as such extensive use of it could actually increase his strength! His long dry spell in regards to stat upgrades was nearing an end. Soon, he would be able to train them normally again. Of course, that also meant that he would be facing opponents with stats similar to his more often as well.

  Unfortunately, there was no way to know whether the single day of cart pulling had generated the stat point increase, or if it was the culminations of several weeks of work. Otherwise, he would have considered spending a lengthy period of time just pulling a heavy cart around every day. It was something to consider for the future, however.

  "Hey, I think we got one," said Rhea quietly. She pointed to a crawling figure in the distance.

  Scott looked then glanced down at Herbert. "Ready buddy?"

  The Grassrat was ready for the next dance. So, the trio took off and began their typical attack pattern. Scott and Rhea slipped up just outside its sensory range. Herbert ran in and got its attention.

  The monster of the moment was also a type of chair, a wheel chair in fact. However, it was strange in that there was some sort of robot pushing it around.

  The wheelchair bot took notice of Herbert and immediately tried to run him down. The Grassrat played his part well and drew the creature back toward Scott's position. The sorcerer had set up shop behind a fallen petrified log. The moment Herbert and the chair-bot rush past, Scott leapt out and nailed it in its mechanical back with a lightning enhanced flying kick. The mecha-critter went flying forward and fell sideways. Its robotic legs kept kicking at the air like it was trying to run really fast.

  Taken off guard by the attack, the mechanical monstrosity took a moment to right itself. Just as it came for Scott Rhea rushed in from her hiding place in a nearby ravine. She launched a powerful strike to its back then hopped away.

  The creature, unable to multi-task, tried to turn to attack her. However, the moment it tried to do so, Scott's foot swept out and tagged it across its robo-jaw.

  Thus went the battle as Scott and Rhea traded blows with the creature and kept it thoroughly confused. In the back ground of the fight, Herbert danced in a passionate manner. His footwork caused both Scott and Rhea's agility to increase. The mechanical beast had no chance of victory, and eventually succumbed to the two-sided barrage.

  "Wow, he was easy, but he took a lot of hits," said Scott thoughtfully. Most of the things that he and Herbert fought went down with only a handful of strikes if lightning was used.

  "We're getting closer to the higher level monsters," said Rhea. "The last few were a bit sturdier."

  Scott nodded to her. "The cart's almost full. Think this one is enough for the day?"

  "Sure, maybe. Let's see what he has and go from there?" she asked thoughtfully.

  Scott saw her slight hesitancy then smiled. "Well, we could always sell all this off and come back. I know you need to train as much as possible while you're here."

  "That sounds good!" she exclaimed, her relief obvious.

  Scott looked to Herbert. "Is that alright with you buddy?"

  Herbert gave him a thumbs up sign and nodded his head. Scott smiled at the little rodent then said, "Alright, let's loot this poor bastard and go get some money!"

  Rhea's stomach growled at that exact moment. Her cheeks became a little flushed and she looked away. "Um..."

  "And dinner," said Scott with a smile.

  The elf maiden bit her lower lip then giggled. That had been a little embarrassing.

  The trio looted the robotic caregiver in anticipation of returning to town. While doing so, Rhea gasped happily then pulled something free from the wreckage. "This might work!"

  "What did you find?" asked Scott, before he tossed a large aluminum screw into the back of the cart.

  Rhea showed him her wonderful find. It was the outer casing of the robot's left leg. It had a little rust here and there, but nothing too damaging. "This is something we can use." she said with a smile. Before he could reply she leaned in then softly said, "If you really want that power armor you've been talking about."

  "Power armor!" Scott's eyes widened and he reached for the leg. Rhea drew it back and away from him with a l
augh.

  "It's not ready you goofball. We have to get it processed, repaired, and fitted. It needs to be worked on, basically," said Rhea.

  "What about the rest of this thing?" asked Scott while gesturing at the robot.

  "Scrap, sadly. I mean, if either of us had a high-level machine repair skill then maybe we could do something."

  "What, like fix the robot?" asked Scott curiously.

  "Sure, that's one thing we could do. Its body parts could be reformed into armor as well," said Rhea.

  Scott eyed the robot then glanced at the leg casing in Rhea's hand. "How many parts would we need to make decent power armor?"

  "Decent? We can't really make decent stuff with anything out here. We can make something that you can train in, though," said Rhea.

  "Is it the bipedal monsters that we need to find?"

  "Just for stuff like the legs and feet. Mostly what we need is intact circuitry and a control core. An actual power armor frame would be nice, too, but we'll have to go further into the area."

  "Downtown?" asked Scott.

  "Probably not that far. Though, if you wanted something truly decent like you said, we'd need to go in there," said Rhea.

  "Can you put it together if we find all the pieces?"

  Rhea shook her head. "Rhea doesn't have those kind of skills, and these parts aren't exactly plug-n-play. It'll cost money, probably at least a few gold. That's if we can find someone to do it, and if we get all the parts."

  Scott started to nod, but then stopped. "You said that a little oddly."

  "Did I?" asked Rhea thoughtfully.

  "Yeah, you said Rhea didn't have those kind of skills," he said simply.

  The blue haired elf maiden sighed. "Well, it's true. Rhea is who I enjoy being when I just want to be myself and run around killing things."

  "I think you once mentioned having other avatars," said Scott.

  "I do, and I guess I have one who could solve this issue over time. It would take quite a while to set things up so that my other self would be able to clean robot parts and repair them."

  "So, we can handle this on our own?" he asked, excited.

  "Well, in time, yes. But..." Rhea sighed softly and looked away.

  "There's a but?" asked Scott.

  Rhea nodded to him. "Well, I was going through a rebellious phase when I made her." She coughed lightly into her hand.

  The curious quality of her cough made it sound like she had said something. He pressed her for information and she spoke again. "I made the character to be unlike me. I haven't played as that avatar in years, but I had a few skills that could help. Albeit, they would work through magical means and could fail a lot since the other me isn't a true machinist."

  "Oh, would you like to try working with her?" asked Scott curiously.

  Rhea coughed loudly, her eyes going wide in the process. "I could, but I mean... She's sort of..."

  "Sort of what?" asked Scott.

  The elf maiden sighed then took a deep breath. "Well... How do I put this...?" She bit her lip a little. "I was younger and well, I got really tired of being called an ice queen just because I didn't want to let the players feel me up."

  Scott placed his hand to her shoulder then squeezed it gently. "I can understand that."

  Her nostrils flared slightly and her face reddened further. "Well, it was before I met you. Nothing ever happened, but I thought I would try it out, and well..."

  "Rhea, hey! It's OK." Scott pulled her into a warm hug and lightly stroked her hair. She made a soft noise then snuggled in close to him. "If it's going to cause you problems, you don't have to do this."

  "No! I... I want to you meet her." Rhea smiled shyly. "I want you to meet all the avatars of me... "

  She continued after a moment. "They, well they all represent different sides of me, I guess."

  "If it's a side of you then I'd love to meet her," said Scott.

  "Alright... but,"—she began, only to snap her head up and look Scott in the eyes— "Rhea's still going to be my primary avatar, OK?"

  "Sure?" asked Scott, slightly confused.

  Rhea nodded then sighed a little. "Well, I think I left her in the area. It's why I brought her up at all."

  "OK, so do you want to change over to her now... or?" asked Scott.

  "I'll go get her... But just remember that I want to be Rhea as much as I can. I can't really focus on raising other avatars," said the girl hesitatingly.

  "Hey, Rhea's the version of you who you claim to be the one who looks most like you," said Scott. He kissed her on the forehead then said, "So, it makes sense to me that you want spend time with me as Rhea."

  She nodded. "I'll be here in a few minutes... You, uh... You'll know me when you see me, but I'll call out to you."

  Scott nodded as well, but she reached up and pinched his cheek. "Just please try to control yourself when I arrive... We have work to do!" she said, before logging out of ARS.

  "What in the world?" asked Scott lightly while rubbing his poor cheek. Why wouldn't he be able to control himself?

  He looked down to Herbert and then they both shrugged their shoulders. Neither of them knew what to expect out of the coming situation.

  Several minutes later the earth began to shake a little. Scott felt the tremor through the soles of his feet a brief moment before the ground split open before him. Hellish screams arose from the crack in the earth. An evil red light shined up from the newly spawned abyss, and weird little fog creatures appeared. They roiled upward while wailing, crying out for their freedom. Their faces were made with naught but holes in the fog.

  Up from the pit rose a vision of unholy beauty. She had ruby red lips, curves that would make anyone question their ability to handle them, and wore an outfit that would have made a dominatrix weep with envy.

  The newly arrived girl had the golden tan skin tone of someone who might spend their life like an avid beach goer. She had shockingly red hair that flowed down in twin hair drills. In her leather clad hands she carried a whip, and on her back jet black bat wings sprouted. There was also a dark red tail with a heart shaped spade on the end that swished sensually behind her.

  "A tasty mortal has appeared," said the overly sexual demon girl. She strode upon the air as though it were hard-packed dirt. Thus did she cross the chasm and move to stand before Scott.

  "Shall I devour him?" she asked thoughtfully while running her fingers along his cheek.

  "My fiancé may not approve," said Scott after getting his bearings. He was forced to step back, however. The raw sexual heat this hellish vision of beauty was putting out was quite overpowering.

  "That silly little elf?" asked the she-demon with a smile, before she slipped her arms around his neck and clasped her hands behind his back and in the air. "Don't you prefer a real woman?" she asked, her tail lashing back and forth.

  "Can we go back to the part where you devour men?" asked Scott curiously.

  She laughed languidly then flashed him a pretty smile. A moment later she offered him a saucy devilish wink. "Well, it's implied in the backstory at least."

  "Rhea!" exclaimed Scott.

  "Oh, calm down you silly boy," said the demoness before she kissed him on the nose. "This is why I rarely take this form."

  "Why did you do it in the first place? You said you were tired of being called an ice queen. But..."

  Not-the-Rhea threw back her head and laughed beautifully. "Oh, dear Scott... You are so cute when you are confused."

  "I must be the most adorable critter in the world right now," he said lightly.

  "To me you are," said the demon girl before leaning in to plant a sensual kiss on his lips. "But sadly, I did not come here to drag your mortal soul creaming into the abyss..."

  "W-why do I feel disappointed?" asked Scott after her words penetrated his brain. "Also, don't you mean screaming into the abyss?"

  The demoness drew back from him once more then eyed him curiously. "You know, even if the way this world works causes me t
o be a little friskier, I still have never been with a man in this form..."

  "I like how you said man, instead of me," said Scott with a smirk.

  She grinned at him, then placed a gloved finger to his lip. "Hush now, little boy. An adult is speaking."

  Scott causally bit at her finger and she laughed once more. "Alright, alright. Enough of this... I'll end up as pregnant as Ero if we keep talking."

  "Well, if all we did was talk..," said Scott.

  "What's the fun in that, though?" asked the demoness before she pressed her devilish assets against his chest.

  "Rhea...?" he asked with a soft laugh.

  "Actually, no. In this form I'm known as Amaryllis Bloodheart."

  "Sexy," said Scott with a smile.

  "You have no idea," said Amaryllis while slipping her tail around to slap Scott on the backside.

  "Wow, never knew you had this in you..," said Scott, his smile widening.

  Amaryllis laughed sensually. "There is still a lot to learn about me, and I you. Though, I admit it is nice to have the mental reinforcement keep me from blushing every few minutes."

  Amaryllis sighed a little. "I do that enough at home."

  "Oh and one other thing," said the demoness.

  Scott's eyes widened in surprise as Rhea popped up next to him and looked at him with an angry expression.

  "Scott, what's the meaning of this?" asked Rhea in a demanding tone.

  He blinked at her then looked back to Amaryllis and blinked again. The demoness winked at him. He looked back to Rhea and she grinned. "Wow. Is it my birthday?" he asked, surprised.

  Rhea and Amaryllis laughed in unison then spoke in unison as well. "Ah, poor Scott. He just doesn't know what to do."

  "Yeah I do," he said, before he reached over and pulled Rhea into the group hug with both him and her other self.

  Rhea and Amaryllis laughed once more then they both pushed at him. They then spoke in unison, each saying, "Hey now buster, what kind of girl do you think we are!"

  "It's confusing, but I'm into it!" cried Scott.

  Herbert sat on a nearby rock and watched everything go down. It was times like this that he wished that he had popcorn. Free shows such as this were perfect with popcorn.