Exodus: The Assassin's Path 51 The Black Ches

No one on the team spoke as they stealthed and traveled back to the entrance. As a group they stopped at door 85.

"Once we leave, this room will be available to the scavengers." Jangles stared hard at Q, "are you planning on opening door 101?"

Q nodded, "I am."

"There is no telling what sort of mobs will be there Q, let's come back at a different time." Jangles didn't want him to go off half-cocked.

"It's fine, I've a hunch that I'll be fine." Q had already had a strong inkling as to who the time folder was. If he was right, then room 101 would have already been cleared.

Lara Sy stepped forward, "I'm coming with you Commander, the rest will accompany Mr. Jangles out of the well."

Q nodded, he had wanted to go by himself, but taking backup was prudent.

Nightingale and Q stayed at the entrance until after their team exited the Infinity Well. "There is no telling what we might find. There is a high chance that there may be a message left there for me by my mother."

"Your mother was a hero? Do you know her name?" Lara didn't know much about Q's story. He had always been surrounded by so many friends, it was difficult to approach him.

"No, I don't know her hero name. Her outworld name was Ella Riley." Q stared at the abyss, he was hesitant to take the plunge.

"And your name is Quinn Riley in the outworld, is that right?" Lara had heard Tal call him that many times. She also was aware that Tal was his outworld wife.

Q grinned at her, "Yes, Quinn is my name." He stepped closer to the edge and fired up his jetpack.

Lara returned his smile and moved beside him. "Ready Commander."

Q grabbed her hand and leapt into the open space. As they accelerated, Q kept his eye on the doors. When they past 99, he let go of Lara's hand and readied himself. He spotted 101 and powered toward it, sliding into the doorway a bit harder then he would have liked. Lara suffered the same fate and bowled him over.

Q climbed to his feet and gave Lara a hand up. She smiled encouragingly as he stepped toward the door. Q inserted the key, turned it and then pushed open the door.

System Message: You have solved the Legendary Quest: Time and Space.

Quest: Time and Space.

Legendary Quest.

Description: Someone has folded

time, on a scale that shouldn't

be possible. Get to the

bottom of the riddle if you can.

Reward:Yayia's Time Piece.

The entire contents of this door must have been dragged into this entry room. A bright sphere cast an eerie light on the cavern walls, Q approached it, having to step around the sorted chests and armors.

Lara whistled from behind him, "I've never seen so much loot in one place. That sphere looks like a holo-sphere."

Q nodded and touched the sphere, instantly a familiar face took form. He had expected it, but it still hit him hard. "Mom.." She had used her real appearance for her character.

"Quinn, if you'd made it this far, then you are doing very well in TAP. My hero name was Silver Princess, she laughed when she said it, Q felt his eyes blur with tears. She hadn't laughed often. "I'm sorry for everything Quinn. I understand now, that I was used by HYLO to further their research on transference. I came here when I felt the end approaching. Bending time is something that was prevalent when TAP was developing. It is nearly impossible for a biological anchored mage to bend time. Because of my implants, I was able to exist here for a few minutes after my body passed away in the real world. Once free of those mortal coils, I bent the space in this vault and left this key as part of your legacy. "

It was here that she broke down and started crying. "I'm sorry Quinn, those things I said, it wasn't me talking. I'm so sorry. There are many items here that you will find useful, I've place some special things in a black chest. This is my gift to you. I love you Quinn." The holo slowly faded away and the sphere lost its luster.

System Message: Yayia's Time Piece has been deposited into your inventory.

Yayia's Time Piece

Jewelry: Primal

Description: Eight second rewind.

Uses: 3/3

*Ding* Level 48

Q checked the timer on the Box of Everything. It still had 40 minutes left. He took a look around and found the black chest his mother had mentioned and placed it in his inventory. He grabbed Lara's hand and pulled her to the doorway. "Should be clear here." He held the Box of Everything in his hand carefully.

*Blink*

Q placed the box on the floor and opened the lid.

*Return*

Q returned to Lara's side, the Songbird leader's mouth opened in shock as the contents of the room disappeared into the box.

"Commander... the entire room of treasures is gone." Lara had seen it all disappear into the tiny box, but she didn't believe it. "Wait, did you use that box in the last room also?"

Q nodded and made his way back to the door. "We have to hurry back to HQ, or else we will make a lot of people really happy when the timer runs out."

Q and Lara arrived back at HQ a half hour later. He had been keeping an eye on the timer, but it became evident that they were going to make it. He contacted Mojo enroute and asked for all available members to meet at HQ.

Mojo quickly approached him when he entered HQ. "Q'Ikah.." She leaned close and kissed him, the look on his face, she had never seen him look so sad.

Q hugged Mojo tight for a moment and then stepped away. "We've really hit a big score." He spotted Pops chatting to Bez next to the Market hub. He immediately walked toward them.

Bez looked up when Q approached, "Q! It's nice to see you." They shook hands.

"Pops I need inventory space, lots of it." Q took the Box of Everything out of his inventory.

"I just sold off a big block of inventory, that definitely won't be a problem." Pops moved a few things around on his hud and then pointed to the shelf nearest them.

Q checked the timer, it was at two minutes. He walked over and placed the Box of Everything on the shelf. Then faced Pops and Bez.

"...." Pops.

"...." Bez.

Q shrugged at their expression. "Wait two minutes and then check again." He caught Mojo's eye and motioned toward the door. She followed him out when he exited.

A few minutes later they sat together on the banks of river. Mojo leaned against him, "you haven't been to the Cottage yet."

"I know.. very soon I will take a look. I just can't right now." He turned toward her, his face serious. "I need you and the Songbirds to upgrade every piece of gear you can. You can always give it back later if you feel like it is too much. Every upgrade you can find."

Mojo nodded at him, "As you wish Q'Ikah."

Q watched the water, he had enjoyed swimming here. "Keep working with Crow and the Songbirds.

"Yayia has told me that she wants to fight also." She moved closer, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Tell me more about your plan."

"We will enter the 10v10 Exodus Arena Championship. I intend to use mostly NPCs through the semi-finals. I'll ensure that the finals are held in Zohai, then I will erase Cyrus Blood from this world." Q had never spoken his plans out loud before, his sad mood darkened as he thought about the debt Sydney Horn owed him.

"How will you get it to Zohai? Didn't you say it was held in Exodus?" Mojo closed her eyes, listening to the sound of the river and his voice.

"It can be moved, as long as both teams agree. I'm going to bait him with a wager." He kissed the top of her head.

"What is the wager going to be? Victory in the Semi Final?" Mojo was quick, that would be the only possible big stakes wager.

Q nodded, "He never fights until the Finals, but he has a Captain, she's phenomenally strong. She may even be stronger then Blood himself."

"I think I've heard Craven speak of her. Her name is Eraphia right?" Mojo had fought Craven many times, if their levels were closer, the match would be even. He is a pvp powerhouse.

"Yes, but don't worry about her. She is already taken care of." Q's thoughts wandered to the team that supported her. "There are three players that support her, collectively they are called Trident. They have a finishing move, that cannot be stopped and is a instkill ability."

"Can we even deal with such a thing? Mojo's face showed her worry, although she had nothing vested in the Exodus Championship, she was aware that it meant a lot to Q.

"You or I definitely couldn't. But I know someone who can."

They said goodbye after talking a while longer. Q watched as she walked back toward HQ. He reached into his inventory and took out his Spider Queen egg, he held it against his face. It was always warm.

"It's just you and me again. I'm kinda looking forward to seeing what you look like, but don't rush or anything. I enjoy these talks, you are a really good listener."

Q carefully considered the Black Box. "I should open it, but I can't bring myself to do it. At least not yet."

"Log-Off TAP."

It was after lunch when Quinn walked down the stairs. Tal was sitting on the couch with Anna and his grandparents. "Hey everyone," he hugged his grandma and bent down for a kiss from Tal.

"How was the Infinity Well?" Tal could tell from his face, there was definitely something troubling.

"There was a holo-message from my mother, and a bunch of loot." If Quinn were to guess, Fora was about to become a financial powerhouse in Exodus. Pops would play it exactly right.

Mike Obreen leaned forward on the couch, "did she say anything more about HYLO?"

Quinn shook his head, "nothing useful, other then she realized they were using her."

His Grandpa opened up a briefcase that had been sitting next to his feet. He reached inside and took out a small item. It looked like a pop can to Quinn. "Know what this is?"

"No idea." Quinn got the feeling that his Grandpa loved gadgets.

"Its a VRP mapper, I want to place these throughout your house, so we can visit you virtually." He handed the mapper to his grandson.

Tal intercepted the handoff and examined it. "I've heard about these, a few minutes for every room, then you can interact with the surroundings virtually."

Quinn didn't have to pretend he was interested. "Is it compliant with the Exodus platform?"

His Grandpa nodded, "many homes have gone this route."

Quinn looked over at Tal, "what do you think?"

"I think Remmy would love to visit us, among others." Tal gave him a mysterious smile and then handed the mapper back to Mike.

"It's limited to indoor use, you can't map your backyard or anything that isn't completely enclosed." Mike put the mapper away while looking questioningly at his grandson.

"Let's do it!" Quinn stood up and walked into the kitchen, just as Em was helping Ren out of her room.

Ren smiled sweetly at him. "Quinn! I'm walking with barely any help."

"I see that. Pretty awesome Ren." Quinn wrapped her up in a hug. "This mean you won't be requiring the Q-train?"

Ren gave him a blank stare. "There's no need to get carried away. I'm not giving up my boarding pass!"

Quinn laughed, "okay, okay."

Em smiled at her brother, "I set up my Exodus character, just like you asked."

Mike heard them from the living room, "be very careful Emmy." He had seen the plan, so he knew exactly what her mission was.

"I've got this Grandpa." There had been a rift between them for the last few years, but somehow it had started to close.

Quinn nodded at her, "lets get started. I'll meet you in Exodus." He put a hand on Tal's shoulder. "Back in a few minutes."

**********

Quinn waited for her in the Exodus gaming hub. He was using the short, homely Quinn avatar. He knew it was coming, but it still took his breath away. He approached the female figure, cloaked in dark clothes.

"Quinn?" She laughed when she saw him, "I love that avatar!!"

Quinn swallowed before replying. The voice and face were an exact match. It was Ella Riley. "You have her itinerary, fortunately for us, she has a rather strong virtual presence."

"Don't worry Quinn, I'll make sure she see's me everywhere she goes." She hugged Quinn tight.

"Right.. no interaction. Get into her view and then fade away. She may not recognize you the first time, but keep at it." Quinn hugged her back.

"Log-Off Exodus."

Chapter end