The creature raised its claws to strike at the mist creature and it fell only to be deflected by Theodora. The tiny vampire woman tore into the creature at a speed that put me to shame. It recoiled and screeched as she tore flesh away and drove it back toward the stairs.

  Outside the world shook as the last Priest of Pain let out a warbling wail and the ground shook with its steps. Theodora looked at me as she danced around the Cardienne beast's rapid attacks, a defiant and pleading look in her eyes as she said, “Run.”

  Valerie immediately grabbed Mystal and pulled her toward the stairs

  The noble woman looked to me, her wide golden eyes clearly filled with worry. Part of me knew that she wanted to charge back and stand with me. Offering my best, and most insincere smile, I nodded to her. Her eyes were filled with burgeoning tears as she grabbed and dragged her toward the stairs, “She said run!”

  Mystal reached out at me from the giant noble woman’s arms, “Mal!”

  The Foixs had no reservations and though they pelted the monster with battering fists and screaming birds they were right behind the noblewoman toward the gate.

  Theodora took a nasty hit from the giant monstrosity and I started to rush back and help her. My steps faltered as the wall behind her collapsed as a white hot hammer tore through it.

  The massive Priest of Pain appeared on the other side of the wall and let out an earth shaking roar. Gritting my teeth I charged past Theodora and her mutant foe. She let out a scream of frustration as she deflected the fast moving Alphonse’s claws with her own, “You are the fucking worst vampire I have ever sired.”

  Skidding to a stop I judged the distance to the Priest of Pain. I rolled as Evade triggered when one of Alphonse’s claws swiped out at me. After a long moment of judging the trajectories I tossed one of the Sister’s at the screaming Priest of Pain.

  The blade struck and its spike filled eyes turned their focus toward me. As the first thrown blade appeared back in my hand I tossed another to let the monster know where I was. It tracked me with terrifying speed. When I charged directly at the Alphonse beast, Theodora let out a cry of warning, “The hammer!”

  At the last moment as the claws of the horrifying beast that had been Alphonse opened to greet me I burst into mist and the white hot gigantic hammer came down to meet the mutant monster. Flowing around the hammer, I still suffered a singing burn as I passed over the fiery weapon. Lydia announced in my ears:

  “Quest Completed

  The Resistance: Enemy of my Enemy

  XP Gained: 1000

  Reward: Item Spike

  You did it. You crazy bastard, you did it.

  Bonus 300 XP: Rescue Valerie de Lafontaine

  Bonus 300 XP: Rescue Theodora von Achen

  Bonus 300 XP: Kill Alphonse Cardienne

  Achievement

  Smartass

  You used an ability in an inventive way to kill a monster far above your level. Don’t get too confident, that won’t always work!

  +25 Reason”

  When I appeared I let out a scream of pain. Theodora caught me despite our size difference and she smiled, her face covered in blood. Behind her the Priest of Pain was battering down the remainder of the wall but more importantly was the state of the mutant that had been Alphonse Cardienne.

  It had been crushed and burned out of existence. Its remnants were crispy and black where the hammer had struck. The arms and legs still twitched and tried to garner purchase but it was well and truly dead.

  She looked into my eyes and beamed a smile, “You are… are…”

  She paused in mid step and the world shuddered. Behind her, the Priest of Pain was just about to enter the remnant of the manor but was stopped in mid motion. Everything blurred around me, and a loading circle swirled in front of my vision. A message of stylized white text appeared before my eyes as the walls and floor started to fall apart around me. Lydia made an announcement:

  “Server Shutdown

  Connection Interrupted!

  Thank you for playing!”

  I cursed and looked at the slowly vanishing outline of Theodora. My world swam and I felt like I was falling.

  My entire body ached as I rolled onto my side and coughed. When I opened my eyes I was in complete darkness. Why did I feel like someone had beaten the hell out of me?

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  “Lydia?”

  There was no response. It felt as if I was still wearing my divesuit. I let out a pained grunt as I stood. Above me the distant rumble of thunder shook the house. It finally dawned on me what had happened.

  I had lost power.

  But… had I fallen out of the rig? I reached around me and finally found the hanging chair, and the hanging wires that had pulled free of my suit. How the hell did I do that?

  I struggled over to my clothes to look for my Patch and cursed when I realized that I had left it in my room.

  The world rumbled around me again.

  Alright, just gotta get up to the room in the dark. I was halfway to the stairs when I heard it.

  A heavy footstep upstairs that made the wooden floor groan. I stood still there in the dark, my mind rushing with possibilities.

  Could it be a neighbor? Maybe Olivia came to check on me? That had been a pretty heavy footstep for a nineteen year old girl. I cursed under my breath and shuffled across the room toward the stairs.

  My knee clipped my work table and I bit my lip to keep from shouting. In desperation my hand slid over the table searching for a weapon. My fingers touched the folded envelope and I growled as I crumpled it and tossed it away.

  I finally found a small screwdriver and shrugged, “Gonna have to do.”

  There was another solid thumping sound from upstairs as the world rumbled once again. I made my way to the stairs at a slow careful pace and started up them one at a time.

  Halfway up a series of heavy thumps sounded from above like someone running down the hall or through the living room. I leaned heavy against the wall and breathed out heavily through my teeth.

  Eventually, I continued up the stairs to an old white door leading to the kitchen. Pausing there, I listened for a long time. Hearing nothing except the constant rumble of the storm outside, I steeled myself and slowly pushed the door open and blinked in surprise at the scene before me.

  The kitchen was awash in sunlight and the island at its center was strewn with half prepared baked goods. A small child, a boy, ran out of the living room past me and down the hallway, calling over his shoulder, “Out of the way Mal!”

  Watching him go I stuttered numbly, “Quentin… didn’t he…”

  The backdoor opened and my father walked in. He was wearing a terrible looking Christmas sweater and had a stogie between his teeth. There were snowflakes in his short black beard and his cheeks were reddened from the cold.

  He spotted me and put a finger to his lips as he grabbed one of the finished cookies from the central island.

  I smirked despite the strangeness as he started toward the living room. He paused at the door and looked down at me. He towered over me like he had when I was little and looked down with a raised eyebrow, “What’s got ya down kiddo?”

  He put a hand on my head and ruffled my hair. I looked up at him with a smile that quickly faded. I saw a dark spot under his chin and pointed to my own as I said, “Dad, what’s that?”

  He smirked at me and looked into the living room as if checking to make sure no one would overhear.

  He pulled his beard up to reveal a gaping hole in his chin. I could see up through his jaw to his shredded tongue and teeth. He chuckled and winked at me as I shivered in terror, “Your mom gave me that one. When that woman starts with the kisses you can’t stop her.”

  He sighed and looked down at me with a sad half smile, “Why did you come back to this house, Mal?”

  Looking away, my mind racing with the insanity of the situation, I finally answered him, “I’m selling this place.”

  He cut me off sharply, “But you don’t have to stay here to do that, son.”

  Blinking, I nodded as I tried to think of an answer. Finally, I rasped, “I’m going through a bad time…”

  He shook his head, “This is not the place to go to recover from what ails you Malcolm. This house is full of ghosts. Your mother, your gram, Quentin…”

  His statement finally reminded me. It had been this very party that had claimed my little cousin’s life. He had been running up and down the halls trying to goad me into playing hide and seek. I was older, and too cool for such childish games.

  Turning I looked down the only slightly illuminated stairs. He fell down the basement stairs. It had been my gram who found him. The memories of my aunt’s screams only visited me these days in particularly bad times. They had come back to me a lot recently.

  He chuckled, “Even your old dad.”

  Giving him a hard look I shook my head, “You aren’t gone. You just walked away.”

  The giant man grinned down at me and the strange menace I felt caused me to brace myself against the door as he grinned and walked into the living room without saying anything. My mother was there with him standing at the Christmas tree. She had the same wound she had when I had seen her in the kitchen… The same she had when she had passed away six months ago. Her eye was a vacant hole that looked rotten and radiated dark purple veins over her face.

  The two of them shared a kiss and then I heard someone clear their voice just out of view in the festive living room. Turning I staggered back when I saw a familiar face standing up from one of the living room chairs. There was no mistaking him. Speers looked much the same as he had when he visited my house except he too was wearing a Christmas sweater and beaming a smile at me.

  He held up a glass and said, “Well hello there Malcolm. We heard you were having some problems with the system.”

  Glowering, I stepped up to him. The man’s eyes went a little wider and he cocked his head as I growled at him, “You bet I’m having problems.”

  As I stepped closer to the man his hand was suddenly closed around my throat. His arm moved faster than I could even perceive. The man’s surprise had vanished in lieu of barely restrained fury as he lifted me off the floor. Nearby my mother and father looked on laughing as they hugged and watched as if proud of my predicament.

  Speers glowered up at me and hissed, “How. fucking. dare. you?”

  My feet flailed in the air in a futile attempt to kick the man.

  He growled, “Useless Remnant trash. Not even a worthwhile candidate. All of my good picks got shunted from the system and we are stuck with you? Every single time we spin you up, you cause trouble.”

  I looked down at him in surprise. My foot finally connected with the man’s chest but despite being a solid strike it was like I had kicked a brick wall.

  “Now,” he looked around at the strange holiday tableau, “you are screwing with the bloody system again.”

  “You can’t just do your fucking job and,” he paused to tighten his grip causing my world to slowly darken, “since no one wants to deal with your shit I have to come in here and reset you.”

  His eyes were filled with hate as he glared up at me from beneath his furrowed brow. Barely able to speak I hissed a demand at the man, “Let me go back… People to protect… Valerie…”

  Behind him my parents were clapping and sharing a kiss as if I were opening a Christmas present as he chuckled darkly and said, “Get back to fucking work!”

  With that he yanked my body toward him and then threw me into the kitchen with such tremendous force that I was sure it was the end of me. When I should have hit the wall the entire world went dark.