Chapter 11
Jack wheezed with exhaustion. He looked at the trio of hulking golem fragments corner him at the end of the ledge and a great big nothing was below to catch him. Behind the fragments were Dan and Fonz who looked like they were out for the count. He swallowed hard wondering how he was going to get out of this mess.
"You want us to climb a mountain," complained Jack. "Why?"
"Because it's there," replied Rex.
"We need to start somewhere," explained Flint. "So why not start at the top."
"Yeah, but the Dandies Mountain Range is anything but that," cried Jack. "I hear there's a bunch of nasty fragments living there."
"I've heard of them too," added Dan. "But it's only a Rank 2 mission so we can handle it easily."
"And as long as we all work hard we'll all be cool," commented Fonz.
"Work," moaned Jack in disgust. "My least favorite word. If I'm doing any work we're gonna have to talk about my rate. Now I'm sure you have a decent stash of cash lying around so charging double my regular rate shouldn't be a problem."
As Jack continued to jabber on the rest of Team Matrix swapped looks at one another understood they were thinking the same thing. Dan then lifted Jack up and started carrying him with Fonz at his side.
"We haven't even talked about my dental plan!" he cried.
"How's this you'll get to keep them if you shut your trap," retorted Fonz. "You're not the leader of this team and this isn't the sort of thing that gives out benefits. You better start shipping up because you're cramping our cool."
That kept Jack quiet till they finally arrived at the base of the mountain. At first glance it seemed like any other mountain, but they knew very well that once they started going they would see the dangers. From Fragments tougher than anything they fought before to drops with no end they would have to be very careful and not lollygag.
Dan took a rope out of his pack along with a three pairs of mountain climbing belts. "We'll have to be careful as we climb," he explained. "We'll use this rope as a lifeline." They then proceeded to put on the belts and connect them with the ropes.
"Well, I see you put me in the front of the chain," said Jack smugly. "I guess you figured that it'll take my brains to get us through this."
"Not really," replied Fonz. "Being in front means you'll be at the front if we encounter any danger. And since you're the lightest if you fall we'll be able to save you."
"Pending we try to catch you," teased Dan.
"Oh, you guys are such kidders," chuckled Jack nervously. "You wouldn't just let me plunge to my door would you?" Jack looked at their expressions and they didn't seem to indicate that they were. It wasn't a very comforting feeling; in fact he fainted from the shock.
"I think we went a little too far," commented Fonz.
A quick splash of water on Jack's face and they were on their way again on the mountain trail. Jack didn't seem too amused by the stunt they pulled earlier and grumbled under his breath. "You know that was quite uncalled for."
"Sorry," replied Dan. "But just because you were welcomed in by Flint and Rex doesn't mean that we have. You caused us a bit of trouble on our first encounter."
"Well, I did help when you guys needed help," countered Jack.
"Weren't you just in it for the money," retorted Fonz. "Also, what did you do to warrant money from the Excavation Guild in the first place?"
Jack turned red, knowing he could never admit to his involvement in Dan's kidnapping in the first place. "It's alright," said Dan. "I know you probably told Faust everything you knew, but I doubt you told him anything important. The only reason he knew I was back was because I returned to the guild. He probably just thought he could use you as a hostage or something."
"Well, I guess that's why he was so generous with my demands," replied Jack meekly.
"By the way, what happened to those friends of yours?" asked Dan.
Jack scratched his chin as he thought about this for a moment. "I guess they went back to Bootleg City the Crime Capital of the Digital World."
"So that makes them gangsters," commented Fonz. "I guess that includes you as well."
"Oh, thank you for noticing, but I'm not just any old gangster. I'm the one to inherit the Capone's criminal empire." Dan and Fonz looked quite intrigued at this last statement and he decided to keep on bragging. "Yeah, so I'm a real big deal. I was a wanted man before I could even say 'stick it up, this is a heist.' So, you can imagine if anything happened to me the entire force of Capone would drop down on whoever was responsible."
"Then I guess we have a powerful ally," stated Dan.
"Well Capone won't come for just any emergency, but if the need calls for it I could give him a ring."
"No. I mean you," explained Dan. "You must know all sorts of powerful moves and techniques. I'm sure you were just going easy on us during that one scuffle we had. You probably could have annihilated us if you felt like it."
"Uh, yeah, sure," replied Jack. "With just the crinkle of my nose."
"A crinkle, huh," repeated Fonz. "Just give us a warning so we can get out of your way."
As they continued up on the mountain Dan and Fonz continued to ask Jack to regale them with more of his mighty accomplishments and each story, despite how epic it was grew more and more farfetched than the last and Jack could tell they both knew it. He just couldn't figure out what they wanted from him. Being lost in thought made him nearly fall to his doom several times, but he was rescued every time; he was glad that they really were joking about letting him fall.
Eventually they took another break to plan their next move and take a break, more so the later for Jack. He sat down by a pair of old boulders and rubbed his sore feet. Dan and Fonz were tired too, but they didn't look ready to turn back yet. They removed the lifeline so that they wouldn't be tethered to one another and could move around on their own for the time being.
"I think we might be near the treasure," said Dan looking over the Digipad. "But it might be better to rest for a bit before we march onward."
"I think we should ask Jack what he thinks," commented Fonz. "I'm sure he's got a plan."
"Uh, yeah, let me think," he replied, though he had no idea what to do. His life was still flashing before his eyes the last time he nearly fell to his doom. Finally, he decided he was fed up making stuff up since. It used to make him feel important, but now it was just tying his stomachs in knots. "Guys, I have to tell you something."
"Uh, we have to tell you something first," replied Dan stuttering and pointing behind Jack.
When he turned to look he saw those rocks his reclined on were moving. What's more, they had eyes, arms, and a short temper as they didn't look happy to see them.
"Let's get out of here!" cried Jack jumping to his feet.
Dan and Fonz got up, but before they could do anything a third golem fragment jumped down and knocked them for a loop leaving Jack alone to content with all three. Needless to say he was between a rock and a hard place. Slowly he backed up, but before long the only thing behind him was an endless drop to his doom. Looking down was not a pleasant sight and the sight in front of him wasn't much better. He knew there was no way out, but even so that was hardly the thing he was most concerned with; it was that knot in his stomach from making up so many stories. He figured it was probably because he knew Dan and Fonz knew he was making it all up. But what he didn't understand was why they didn't call him on any of it. All this strain on his noggin was giving him a splitting headache till he couldn't hold it in anymore.
"I can't take it anymore!" he cried. "I made it all up. I'm not Capone's heir. I was just his errand boy. Now please help me."
As if on cue Dan and Fonz burst awake and tackled the first two golem fragments. Dan tried to take down the last one, but it got away from him and lunged at Jack. There was nothing they could do as they watched both of them fall off the edge of the cliff. The two of them rushed to the edge and looked down, but there was nothing but the blackness of the endless drop.
"What have we done?" cried Dan. "We never meant for this to happen."
"I think he was starting to understand that we just wanted him to trust us," added Fonz. "To be cool and all that jazz."
"That's what all this was about?" shouted a familiar voice from the cliff. Dan and Fonz rushed to look and to their amazement Jack was actually climbing back up. When he got close enough they gave him a hand. "I knew you guys had an angle, but that we a bit reckless to do during a mission."
"Well, we were just waiting for you to just be honest with us," said Dan. "We didn't expect something like this to happen."
"But how did you survive?" asked Fonz. "We didn't have the lifeline on."
Jack held out his hands and revealed a sticky residue on them. "Petty Thief Brand Sticky Fingers Glue. It's perfect for picking pockets and in this case scaling walls. I just never thought I'd have to use it to save my life."
"It was a lucky thing you had that stuff with you," commented Dan. "We'd be short a teammate again if you didn't."
"Oh, it wasn't luck," replied Jack with a smile on his face. He had to admit he liked being open and honest for a change. He was out of any good lies to tell anyway. "I was actually planning on swiping as much of your stuff as I could and make a run for it. Kind of funny if you think about it."
Dan and Fonz weren't so amused. "You were going to ditch us at the first sign of trouble," replied Dan.
"I should run now shouldn't I?" asked Jack.
"Yep," answered Fonz.
Jack too off with Dan and Fonz in close pursuit. Though it may have seemed like they were hunting him down like a dog they knew they had grown closer from their little adventure and as they ran forward they spotted their destination coming into view and the completion of Team Matrix's first Rank 2 mission.
