QJ strolled through the orchards, smiling at the smell of apple blossoms. Oddly enough, it was already dark, and most of the crowds had dispersed. He would see the occasional couple walking hand-in-hand, and a few times, he heard the passionate whispers of lovers in the darker parts of the orchard.
"QJ..." A soft voice called to him from the darkness.
He turned at the sound; Ringo stood in the shadows, leaning back against an apple tree. Her usual attire had been replaced with a pale red dress. "Where is everyone?"
She shrugged in reply. "Come here, QJ." Her voice barely carried to his ears; she waited patiently while he walked toward her.
"I was expecting a bit more festivities." He glanced around, not saying a word, when she grabbed his arm and pulled him behind the tree. "What's going on?"
"I-I am hungry." Her red lips parted to show fangs; dark eyes moved closer as she pulled him in.
"Sure," he rolled up a sleeve but then froze in place when she pushed him against the tree, soft breasts brushing against him.
"No... that's not enough anymore." Without a word, she gripped his head with one hand and pushed it to one side before sinking her teeth into his neck.
"Holy shit..." QJ pushed at her, but her vampire strength pinned him against the tree; her hips pressed him back while she moaned against his neck...
Ringo tore open his shirt, her cold fingers sliding down past his waistline. "Why resist so much?" She pulled back and stared into his eyes, licking the blood off her lips while slowly encircling him with her hand. "Let's go, QJ."
QJ bolted upright in bed, gasping for air while looking around at his empty room. "Damn..." He ran a hand across his neck and shuddered. "That was ... holy shit."
"Did you hear me, hun?" Tal's voice called from the kitchen. "Let's go... time to eat."
QJ had decided to take a short nap before dinner to recharge since it was still early. A glance at his clock told him he had only been sleeping for half an hour. "Right... On my way." A small detour to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face had him feeling better.
Anna was laying out silverware when he walked in. "Anything I can do to help?"
Anna shook her head. "Have a seat. We are ready to go. Quinn won't be joining us."
QJ sighed and sat in his chair, his recent dream still distracting him as they joined hands.
"Thank you for the meal."
"And God bless Quinn." Tal smiled to herself when she said it.
Anna was smiling at QJ. "Your first Apple Festival, right?"
QJ nodded, "I'm looking forward to seeing it."
Tal was smiling widely, "I can't wait. This year will be something special."
Anna elbowed QJ, "That means don't plan on any romantic interludes."
QJ shrugged, "no promises."
"Log On, TAP."
TAP Interface Acquired.
Synchronizing character data...
Welcome Back QJ, find your path!
QJ logged into Q-Town and then immediately took the portal to Talon. The original starter town was vastly different than it was before Fora came into existence. Although it was a thriving city, it lagged behind Q-Town and Innisfrae.
Robin was sitting near the fountain when she spotted QJ. She had been reminiscing about that day when the Songbirds had helped Q years earlier. That night was a significant moment for the Songbirds. They gave themselves entirely to the cause. The orange-haired rogue smiled when he approached her, she stood, and they hugged like close friends.
"You look beautiful tonight, Robs." QJ had to admit she always looked ravishing in white.
"Sweet words..." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and stepped back. "I know you are here with your classmates, but perhaps we'll run into each other."
"You know where I live; pop in any time." QJ didn't notice Robin's secret smile; several of his classmates called out to him, causing him to be distracted.
"Cya later, hun." She watched him walk away. "Time to push things along between us," she whispered.
Ringo waved at her student as he made his way toward them; the usually reliable QJ seemed to be chronically late when in TAP. She waited until he joined them and started walking toward the front gate.
The Orchards were a few minutes walk from Talon; thanks to the fame of the Apple Princess, the festival enjoyed a much wider audience than typical TAP events. People from all over Exodus joined the annual festivities. The price of temporary TAP passes skyrocketed at this time every year.
"QJ! This way!" A balding man with a portly build waved frantically at them. He was dressed entirely in white and wore a silver cutlass strapped to his waist. He was standing next to three large round wooden tables that were marked reserved.
QJ grinned at the old bandit. "Uncle Nimda!" He was wrapped up in a bear hug for a moment before being put back on the ground.
"QJ, Nimda has reserved some tables for you and your friends." He gave the young man a toothy smile before pulling out a chair for him.
"Thank you, Uncle." QJ took a seat and motioned for his classmates to join him. It didn't escape anyone's notice that he was treated differently than everyone else.
"Why aren't you a TAP player, QJ?" Breeze looked around the crowded seated area; there were at least five different people with serving trays, watching their table. "I'd never leave this place if I was you." She placed an arm on the back of her chair and smiled at him. "I'm glad you did, though."
QJ was sitting between Breeze and Ringo. Lotte, Nina, Sato, and Dessi were also seated at his table. There was one empty chair next to Sato, Remmy was almost always late.
The fresh smell of hot apple pie lingered in the area as the Talon's Baked pies made their way to the tables. A pretty dark elf stopped next to QJ and served him some pie. "Please enjoy, QJ."
"Kylie? Why are you serving pie?" QJ let the surprise on his face show; Kylie was a well-known rogue in the Jol clan.
She smiled at him while dishing each of his friends a piece of the pie. "I volunteered, Cousin."
QJ nodded as he understood; a glance around showed that there were several other members of the Jol Clan present.
Ringo leaned closer and lowered her voice. "Protection?"
"Yep, lots of it by the look of things." QJ closed his eyes as he bit into the hot apple pie; by any standards, it was complete heaven.
A flash of pink announced the arrival of Remmy. Several tables clapped and waved as she walked by. She gave them a pretty smile and continued toward her table, a large brown sack slung over one shoulder. She stopped and smiled when she saw Sato. "Sorry, I'm late for our date!"
Sato grinned, his freckled face turning red as he jumped up and pulled out her chair. Even with his curly red hair sticking straight up, he was slightly shorter than Remmy. "What's in the bag?"
"Male Gnome repellant." She gave him a sweet smile. "Quite effective, you'll see."
The sound of flute music floated on the night air marking the start of the procession. QJ glanced at his friends. "Better cover your ears. I've heard it gets loud."
[System Message] World Event...Broadcasting
World Broadcast: Fora Buff in effect, plus 10 to all stats.
Breeze slyly took a bite of QJ's pie, since she had already wolfed hers down. She turned toward the direction of Talon, which is where the procession would start. "That's your sister, right? She's totally, OP. Um... but, this isn't loud."
A confused QJ listened to the pleasant sounds of a flute playing. "That's definitely Ren, but why is everyone so quiet?"
The quiet atmosphere lasted a few moments longer, then slowly, the cheers started. It gradually built in volume as the people from the surrounding tables began pounding on their tables.
QJ grinned happily as the cheering crowd roared. "We should be able to see her soon."
He spotted the Red hair before he saw her, instead of jumping to his feet and cheering; he stared in surprise. The beautiful redhead strolled through the tables, a crown of apple blossoms on her head. Her hands were folded in front of her as she stepped carefully with her bare feet. Her young face was flushed red with excitement.
Lotte clapped loudly beside him. "Hey QJ, that's not Leah!"
QJ's face split in a wide grin. "Nope, that's Sasha." He jumped up and down, waving madly, and adding to the noise while his little sister made her way to the stage. She slowed down near his table and favored him with a smile. QJ turned back toward the stage and noticed that his dad was seated next to Leah, Tal, and Mojo. All four of them waiting for their daughter to arrive.
Finally, the 2nd generation Apple Princess made her way to the stage. She sat on an elevated chair folding her hands on her lap. A moment later, Nimda climbed up on stage and announced in a loud voice. "Please accept our quest to save the apple harvest! Farmer Bolan's piglets have invaded the Orchard. Please capture as many as you can."
[Special Event Announcement] Talon is having a contest; please accept the quest. Collect the most tokens and win fabulous prizes!!
[Mass Quest: Here, Little Piggy!]
Group Event
Turn in 1 greased Piglet
Reward: 1 apple token
Repeatable
Time Limit: 30 minutes
"Teams of four? Lotte, me, Remmy and Sato." He glanced apologetically at the rest of the table. "Sorry, I want to win this!"
Remmy jumped up and grabbed her bag; reaching inside, she pulled out three empty bags and handed each of her teammates one, then she gave them each a long stick.
Lotte shot Remmy a questioning look. "We aren't going to hit the little piggies are we?"
The pink-haired gnome shook her head. "Those cute little things? No way, these are for our gnome friends."
Sato looked around, "I don't see any; perhaps they forgot?"
A loud bang, followed by a huge cloud of smoke, drew everyone's attention. QJ stared in disbelief. "Was that a flashbang and smoke grenade?"
"Oopsie..." Remmy noticed that Sato had disappeared. "Dratz QJ, it was a diversion."
Lotte pointed at two small gnomes running into the orchard; they were carrying a large bag wiggling bag over their heads. "Over there!"
QJ hefted the stick Remmy gave him. "Let's get him back!"
Breeze watched them run off, just as her group was forming. She was with Dessi, Ringo, and Nina. "Hey, bashing bad gnomes with sticks seems like more fun!"
QJ headed directly into the orchard, Lotte and Remmy following closely.
Remmy laughed while she ran. "Follow them, and I'll get a fix on them from above."
*Ba'Avriel*
*Hunt*
In a flap of pink wings, Remmy shot into the air, her eyes glowing red.
QJ and Lotte were quickly gaining, suddenly, the gnomes disappeared. "What the hell?" He brought up his hud, and Remmy's face smiled at him. "Head west; you are close!"
QJ turned the corner and spied the culprits ahead of him. He flung his stick at the fleeing gnomes. It caught the first gnome at the ankles, causing both of them to go down in a pile. QJ grabbed the bag they dropped on the ground, while Lotte started wacking them on their butts with her stick.
The howling of gnomes echoed in QJ's ears as he tore open the bag; he glanced inside and frowned.
[System Message] You have captured three of Farmer Bolan's piglets.
"Damn it, Remmy. It's pigs." He handed the bag to Lotte, who stopped hitting the gnomes and headed toward the turn-in with the bag in hand. "Find me more, Gnomes!"
"North toward the pond!" Remmy's laughter was apparent as she gave QJ directions. "Lotte is good at wacking!"
QJ nodded as he sprinted toward the pond. "Yep, she has a hidden talent."
He arrived at the pond just as two gnomes were about to toss their bag into the water. "Hey, you two idiots!"
The gnomes tossed the bag in the pond and ran away in opposite directions. QJ jumped into the water and grabbed the bag before it had a chance to sink. "Those little bastards..." He waded to shore and started untieing the bag. An out-of-breath Lotte arrived while he was opening it.
"They tossed Sato in the water?" Lotte hefted her stick in her hand. "Okay then, no more playing nice."
QJ pulled a small piglet out of the bag. "Damn..."
[System Message] You have captured four of Farmer Bolan's piglets.
"Keep looking!" Lotte grabbed the bag and headed back toward the turn-in.
QJ sighed heavily. "Where to Remmy?"
Remmy pursed her lips. "Well... head back toward the tables."
High overhead, Sato smiled at Remmy, who was carrying him. "Why aren't you telling them you found me already?"
Remmy giggled and circled back toward the tabled area. She had found Sato right away; her infrared vision could tell the difference between a bag with piglets and a halfling bag. "I want them to hit a few more of those pesky buggers first."
Sato laughed at her expression. "I don't mind. It's fun flying."
Over the next few minutes, QJ and his partner wacked three more groups of gnomes. Even the gnomes didn't realize that Sato had already escaped their clutches. His face showed his disgust as they headed back toward the tables, "I can't believe those bastards were able to get away."
Lotte elbowed him and pointed toward their table; Remmy and Sato were sharing a piece of apple pie.
Sato waved with his fork when they sat down. "They let me go finally!"
[System Message] The time limit for [Here. Little Piggy] has expired.
Sash Riley stood and walked to the edge of the stage; her lightly freckled face was smiling. She turned toward Nimda, who approached and whispered something in her ear before handing her the results. "Thank you for helping us save this year's apple harvest, my friends. I will now announce the groups that won prizes."
Breeze plopped down next to QJ. She drank all of her Apple cider in one gulp and then finished off his also. "Running around like that, it's for the birds. I don't think we did well."
QJ nodded in agreement. "We are all level one. Gotta remember some of these people are already level tens and enjoy elevated stats."
Ringo was grinning and held up a small bag in her hands. She had kept one of the pigs. The entire table was staring at her. "What? I was going to turn it in, but this one has a name." She held up the shiny piglet for everyone to see.
Choo
Unique: Spirit Animal
Description: This little piggy disappeared shortly
after eating all of Farmer Bolan's radishes.
Dessi stared at her friend; her hands itched to hold the little piglet. "That's a named NPC, so lucky."
"Third Place and winner of a one-week stay at the Ravenwood Inn, Beryl Caviat and friends.." There was a scattering of applause as the group made their way up to the stage. The audience was shocked at the third-place prize; everyone wanted to see Ravenwood.
Ravenwood Certificate
Unique Item
Description: Bearer of this certificate
will receive a one-week stay at the Ravenwood Inn.
The item may be exchanged for 5,000 credits.
Sash waited until the third-place group returned to their seats. "Second Place and winner of this finely engineered speedboat, my big brother and his friends from GnG!"
[Pond Hopper]
Transport: Water Type
Description: This boat has been engineered to
work properly in all Exodus games. Be careful,
it's swift.
The item may be exchanged for 10,000 credits.
QJ shrugged at the smiling Lotte and slowly made his way to the stage. "I guess we have a boat now."
Sasha handed him a small boat the size of a pop can; before QJ could leave, she hugged him close. "Good Job, QJ!"
QJ hugged his little sister and patted her head gently. "What an amazing surprise! I'm very proud of you."
He ignored the grumblings of the crowd.
"Hands off the Apple Princess, loser!"
"I want a hug, Sasha!"
"You must have cheated!"
QJ very nearly escaped; the crowd was deathly quiet when three goddesses stood up and trapped him between them.
Tal ruffled his hair and kissed his cheeks. "So handsome, QJ!"
Leah sniffed softly. "Just like your dad," she whispered before hugging him close.
Mojo smiled at his discomfort. "Just put up with us for a while, my beautiful son!"
His classmates watched QJ from their table; they were used to the attention being QJ sometimes brought. For once, each of them felt the pressure when countless eyes fell upon their table.
By the time QJ made it back to his table, the first-place prize had already been announced and claimed; he had missed all of it thanks to his moms. He handed Lotte the speedboat and sat back in his seat. "Here's the first piece of your Waterpark."
QJ noticed the time and stood up. "Me and Lotte have a prior engagement." Remmy had already left while he was on stage.
"Time to go, QJ?" Lotte jumped up and followed him as he walked quickly back toward Talon.
They took the Talon Portal directly to the Academy Entrance. It hadn't been more than a few weeks since he had visited. As a TA (Teachers Assistant) for Tal, Kora, and Naomi Gajendra, he enjoyed nearly unlimited access to the TAP Academy.
He spotted the two security guards at the front gate. They straightened up and saluted when they noticed QJ approaching.
"Young Master, QJ!" The older guard smiled pleasantly. He had been one of Saffron's bodyguards during her time as a council member.
"Mr. Toca, very nice to see you again." QJ bowed slightly and grabbed Lotte's hand. "Is it okay if we go in?"
Guardsman Toca nodded, his blond topknot bouncing slightly. "Go right in!"
QJ pointed out the different buildings as they made their way to the Science department. "Dr. Gajendra's lab is on the 5th floor. Generally, it's off limits."
Lotte followed him into the building. "Wow, this place is something. You used to study here?"
QJ nodded and led her to the elevator. "I went through the TAP Academy program, although I like GnG better, the facilities here are second to none."
Lotte followed him into the elevator; the 5th-floor button was red and required a hud scan. "You were a TA too. Was that fun?"
"Yep, good times." He smiled at her, "Go ahead and ask."
"Okay... Why would you leave this place? You'd probably be running this place with your connections and ability in a few years."
QJ laughed. "Aren't I already the Dean at the Exodus Academy?" He paused for a moment, watching the floor lights turn off and on. "Ever since I watched my dad beat Chained Lightning, I've been crazy about GnG."
Lotte watched his face, he usually didn't let his expressions show, but when he liked something, it became very obvious. "That really was amazing. Your dad... He's nothing like I thought he'd be."
The elevator stopped, and QJ led her down a white-tiled hallway. "Down to earth, right? Want to know his secret?"
Lotte nodded as she fell in step with him.
"He surrounds himself with people he trusts." He glanced at her, she usually would make sure her scars weren't facing him, but recently, she had stopped doing that. "I do the same thing."
Lotte smiled, she felt her face turning red, but it didn't matter. He had stopped to punch some numbers into a keypad. "We make a good team, right?"
He opened the door and held it for her, "Yep, I think so."
Gin looked up when she heard the door open. Her dark Mohawk made her stand out from the lab's other occupants. She glanced over to Dr. Gajendra and Tal. "QJ is here."
Tal looked up from her hud and motioned for her son. "Going to send you the math QJ; please check it carefully."
QJ nodded and brought up his hud; he noticed Lotte's stare. "Want to help double-check?"
Lotte pinched his side. "Really?"
He grinned at her but then frowned at his hud before erasing everything. He noticed Naomi watching him. "Very funny; where's the real stuff?"
Dr. Gajendra grinned at him and pointed a thumb at her two assistants. "It took those two ten minutes to figure out the numbers were made up."
Gin walked over and loaded the real numbers on the lab hud. "Here you go." She stuck her tongue out at him. "You could have pretended to take a bit longer."
"Really? With those initial numbers? Did you think they're splitting atoms?" QJ laughed at the two assistants. Tal was notorious for creating fake math.
Naomi was setting up a spatial emitter as she listened. "See? That's exactly what I told them."
QJ leaned toward Lotte and lowered his voice. "If mom made a math mistake, I doubt anyone would ever find it." He caught his mom's attention. "Where's Ren?"
"She's waiting downstairs." Tal had invited her to watch, but Ren was too emotional and decided she'd wait in Tal's office rather than risk distracting the team.
Lotte was watching them set up equipment. "What are they doing?"
Gin smirked at him, hungry for some payback. "Yeah, QJ, tell us, please."
"Well... since this is a virtual procedure, you are using the spatial emitter to set up a stable field around the crystal. Unless you've managed to reverse engineer the device they used initially, you'll have to cut into the crystal manually." QJ grinned at Gin. He could tell she was someone he'd get along well with.
"That's it?" Gin shook her head in disappointment. "I thought you'd come up with something really helpful."
QJ laughed and shrugged before looking up, "Math looks good, mom; at least I can't find anything. However..."
Gin shared a look with Tal and Naomi. "What?"
"What if you fail?" QJ stared at her, not willing to let her off the hook.
"Huh?" Gin returned his stare, "We won't fail."
QJ shook his head and looked at Naomi. "What if you fail Dr. Gajendra?"
Naomi's smile faded. "If we fail, then we will probably lose Lark."
"A virtual person, someone who is loved. Gone forever. Not a computer program or lab experiment." QJ noticed that Gin looked decidedly scared.
Tal placed a hand on Gin's shoulder before giving her son a stern look. "What would you have us do, QJ? There's no way to guarantee success."
QJ smiled at his mom. "Isn't there?"
Tal crossed her arms in front of her and frowned; she was about to say something when suddenly her eyes widened. "Damn it..."
QJ's smile was infectious. "More TAP and less Science."
Tal brought up her hud, and a moment later, a silver-haired woman smiled at her. "Need your help at my lab, Mom."
Ella was in Ravenwood, near the Courtyard Fountain. "Give me ten minutes."
Tal nodded, "thank you."
"Did I miss something?" Gin was watching Tal; the tall engineer suddenly seemed less nervous.
"Since this is in TAP. Ella can rewind time in the entire lab." Tal gave her son a thumbs up. "We can repeat it as many times as we have to."
QJ brought Lotte into the observation room that was connected to the lab. It was separated by soundproof glass. They took a seat and waited patiently.
A few minutes later, Ella Riley walked in, she wasn't dressed in her TAP gear, but she did have her Timepiece around her neck. She gave Tal a quick hug before waving at QJ through the glass.
QJ watched with interest as they began. The first three times they started the procedure, the spatial field failed right after they cut into the crystal. Ella immediately rewound time to start over. The fourth time the field remained stable.
"They are using the crystal to bend light, they are breaking the rules, but I'm not sure how." QJ scratched his head and noticed Lotte's confused expression, so he continued. "Light is bent or refracted as it changes from one medium to another, but it always stays in a line directly perpendicular to that of the first medium."
Lotte gripped his hand in hers. "It's cute when you get all sciencie like that."
For once, QJ seemed to have nothing to say. "I doubt sciencie is a word," he muttered under his breath.
Two hours later, there was a bright flash in the lab, and Lark appeared next to the emitter. Immediately Naomi shut down the field. QJ brought up his hud and smiled at his sister's nervous face. "She's fine; come to the lab."
QJ returned to the lab; a moment later, the door was flung open, and a slim blonde-haired girl ran into the room. She immediately flung herself at Lark, who seemed a bit disoriented. He started clapping, and the rest of the room joined in.
Gin approached him from one side and tapped him on the shoulder. Without a word, she gripped his face and kissed him quickly on the mouth. The room suddenly went quiet; Lotte was frowning at the Mohawked assistant while Naomi was secretly giving her a thumbs up. "Sorry for making a dumb comment. Thank you, QJ."
QJ felt his face turn red. "Um... well, I'm just glad it worked out." He glanced up at his classmate and quickly changed the subject. "Was that a particle flash? How did you get around Snell's law? Did you use sound amplification?"
Gin nodded as she stepped back. It had been her theory that they based the procedure on. "Yes, as long as we set up a..."
"Wait, a mirrored chamber, right?" QJ interrupted her as he continued his line of thinking. "Acoustic vibration along with mirrored reflection to bend light. What did you manage? Eight percent refraction?"
"...." Gin.
"...." Naomi.
"7.8 percent." Tal smiled at her son.
QJ escorted Lotte out of the lab a few minutes later; Ren had already left with Lark. The couple was heading to the Songbird to meet up with their friends. Naomi, Tal, Indira, and Gin watched them leave.
Naomi was going over their notes and discussing the results. "He's handsome, right?"
Gin didn't have to ask who she meant; she felt awkward answering the question with Tal looking at her so intently. "Very handsome, and bloody brilliant."
Tal laughed. "Don't look so frightened; I don't mind you stating the obvious." She didn't mention what she was thinking; 'good luck getting past Robin.'