1 Virtual Introduction

*******Author's Note*****

Gun's and Gore is the sequel to Exodus: The Assassin's Path (TAP). If you haven't read TAP, you will be completely lost. The first few chapters of GnG will give some backstory on QJ in his early years.

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The spacious room was well-lit by the warm sunlight that flowed in through the open curtains. The furniture was somewhat sparse but the abode had all the necessities; an oversized bed, a walk-in closet that exited into a private bathroom, and a large desk that flaunted the newest in HUD (heads-up display) technology.

"Are you supposed to be doing that?" A voice spoke from overhead, causing the five-year-old's bright blue eyes to glance upward. The visitor pursed her lips slightly while doing her best not to smile. Her pale torso was covered by a light blue sleeveless shirt; the rest of her went unclothed. Eight brown-furred legs jutted out of a small carapace, marking the arachnoid-human hybrid as a spider queen.

"Anya!" QJ's grin showed that he was missing one of his front teeth, while the remaining one stubbornly refused to come out. He was shirtless, something encouraged by his dad who regularly proclaimed that Riley men need not wear shirts. His bare feet perched precariously on the corner table near his bed.

Angel sighed heavily and slowly lowered herself until her warm green eyes were even with his. "Two more months…"

QJ nodded and continued his mission of tying the fishing line to his tooth. He was able to wiggle it enough to wrap it around the base. "Two moah munts," he agreed while leaning toward the headboard of his bed.

Angel watched him secure the remaining end to the overly large headboard. "Is that what those things are for? Tooth extraction?"

"QJ! Time for piano practice!" Anna's voice carried from the hallway outside of his door.

"I'll stall her. Just fin…" Angel instinctively reached forward to catch the boy when his foot slipped. Of course, her arms passed through QJ's body a moment before he crashed face-first into the headboard. "QJ?" The spider queen whispered, her tone close to panic. "You okay?"

The boy rolled onto his back and sat up, blood streaming from his lips. "Yep," he replied, quickly covering his mouth when blood bubbled out.

The spider queen breathed a sigh of relief. "Looked like it worked… Was that part of the plan?" She gestured toward the bloody tooth that lay on the carpet.

QJ nodded before jumping to his feet to clear away the evidence.

Angel watched as he ran toward his bathroom, a moment later she heard the water running while she examined the headboard. "Tooth extraction… I would have never guessed that."

"Hey Angel, seen my little man?" Anna appeared in the doorway a moment later.

Angel morphed into her Ba'Avriel form and flapped her black wings once before furling them against her back. "He's washing his hands."

Anna smiled in sympathy, like all of their virtual friends, Angel was waiting patiently for the day when QJ could wear a headset. Naomi Gajendra, one of the foremost experts in the virtual field, recommended they wait until he was five years old. "His birthday will be here before you know it."

Angel didn't comment, every day seemed like an eternity to her. He couldn't say her name properly so he settled on Anya. In truth, it was a nickname that she cherished like an important gift. "He needs more play time."

Anna nodded in agreement. Between piano, martial arts, and his studies, QJ was busier than anyone his age should be. She smiled when the bathroom door opened and the shirtless boy walked out. "You and your dad…" Anna shook her head, her dimples showing despite her best effort to look stern. "Where's your shirt?"

QJ shrugged before hugging Anna's waist. "My tooth came out, Anna."

Anna bent lower and inspected his grin. "See? I told you it would fall out by itself."

Angel snorted before changing back into her spider form. She scurried up the nearby wall before pausing. "I shall wait here and listen to your efforts. Do your best, I will grade you accordingly."

QJ wiggled his fingers as if warming them up. When he showed an interest in the piano at the age of three, his older sister immediately bought one and had it placed in the living room.

Two months later, Angel glided in a slow circle above the Ravenwood town portal. "Not fair," she muttered to herself. The Silver Princess, QJ's grandmother, had claimed QJ's entire first day in the virtual world. Next had come Leah Fintree and Mojo, three very frustrating days had passed by.

The air shimmered on the small platform an instant before the young boy appeared. He had short wavy hair that was dark like his father's. He glanced around the square, smiling widely since he had finally been cut loose to explore Ravenwood. His small hand extended skyward, it was just as blue as she had described. A movement in the sky drew his attention. He waved with both hands when Angel swooped toward him. "ANYA!"

Angel landed in front of the boy, sweeping him up in a tight hug. "How hard can I squeeze you?"

"This is okay," QJ's voice was muffled from being pressed against her stomach. "Mom said this avatar is indestrux.. Indestruk..."

"Indestructible?" Angel loosened her grip and kissed his forehead, deciding she liked it the spider queen repeated the gesture a few times. "That's good, very good… Not really necessary since your kind are immortal in this world. Let me show you around."

QJ took her offered hand and fell in step beside her. "I only have two hours, Anya."

Angel's pretty face scowled at the injustice. "Maybe we should fly then."

QJ nodded and held out his arms in a gesture that showed his trust. His bright eyes widened for an instant when he was taken into the air but his curiosity quickly overcame the sudden change of altitude.

"Test time, QJ." Angel banked into a thermal that caused them to shoot upward suddenly, her passenger barely reacted. "What landmarks can you identify?"

Although it was his first time in Ravenwood, Angel had made sure to show him maps of everything as they planned out their adventures. It was an undertaking that had been going on for nearly a year.

QJ pointed to a big house on built on the hill that overlooked the halfling village. "Home!"

"That's easy, where do the high elves live?" Angel noticed a group of Silverleaf women walking in the peach orchard.

"The big tents," QJ answered easily. "Why are they in Em's orchard?"

"Dunno," Angel favored him with a sly smile. "Should we let your Aunt know? Do you know how to use a HUD (Heads Up Display)?"

QJ shook his head. He's seen various family members using it but he hadn't been shown. "Show me."

Angel banked toward the peach orchard. "Who's your favorite spider queen?"

"Anya," QJ answered.

"Of course," Angel pointed to the bracelet on his wrist. "Tap that once and the menu screen will pop up. You'll have to make adjustments if it's the first time."

QJ tapped his bracelet and stared open-mouthed in fascination. He pointed to a word he recognized, "Friends."

"You're a smart one… Didn't your dad speak to you about that?" Angel regularly lurked in the Riley household and was privy to many of Quinn's secrets. Although he encouraged QJ to learn everything he could about a wide variety of topics, Quinn also cautioned his son on displaying too much of his intellect, especially in front of his mom. According to the Spider Nemesis, those who showed too much talent were often separated from both family and fun.

QJ nodded. Recently several people had come to his home and administered basic cognitive tests. Since he wanted to have fun, the five-year-old had made sure to mess up on half of the problems, even though they were quite easy. "Dad always knows what to do."

Angel nodded in agreement and started adjusting QJ's HUD. "As expected of the Nemesis. That's why I'm going to eat him first. Let's add your aunt to the friend list. Her gaming name is 'Crimson Rose' although it's been years since she went by anything besides Crow."

[System Message: You have sent Crimson Rose a friend request.]

A few moments later, Crow's pale face popped up in front of QJ. He grinned at the dark-haired woman. "Emmy!"

Em's normally serious demeanor faded in front of her nephew. "Are you in Ravenwood?"

QJ nodded and lowered his voice. "There are Silverleaf women in your orchard."

Em's put on a stern face. "My peach orchard?"

Angel leaned close enough to be in Crow's view. "Yes, not sure what they are doing. We'll be happy to investigate this further."

Em tapped her chin, ignoring the laughter from somewhere off-screen. "I see! A special mission for my nephew and his partner. Find out what the trespassers are doing and then report back. Try not to get captured, the Silverleaf family can be merciless."

Angel waved and then cut comm. "We need to get you properly outfitted! Have you met our quartermaster?"

The five-year-old nodded happily. "Nuna brings me cake sometimes."

"Cake? Does our warehouse carry cakes?" Angel's expression grew pensive for a moment. "This is important intel," she muttered to herself.

A few minutes later, the halfling quartermaster smiled while her two guests each enjoyed a slice of chocolate cake. "I can give you stealth rings, however, the jet-pack is a no-go." Since becoming the Fora quartermaster, Nuna had maxed out two lifestyle skills; carpentry and baking.

Angel had expected to be denied the jet-pack, obviously, Tal had gotten to Nuna before they had. "That's fine…" She finished off her cake and glanced toward QJ who was licking his plate clean. "Hmm… That's very efficient. You are obviously a genius."

After failing to gather the proper equipment from the quartermaster, Angel decided to place their mission on hold long enough to visit Remmy.

The pink-haired engineer smiled widely when the duo entered her cluttered workshop. Remmy tossed a dented manifold into the junk bin before hugging Angel with surprisingly strong arms. The gnome had to look up at her adopted daughter while she used her spider form. "Showing QJ around?"

Angel nodded before resting her chin on the gnome's pink hair. "What you working on?"

Remmy sighed heavily. "The Songbirds are always damaging their equipment. Look at this power relay. The wires are starting to wear, once exposed it will arc and short circuit the entire assembly." She tossed the part in the bin, taking note that QJ was staring at the diagram she had pinned to her workstation.

"We can empty that bin for you, Remmy!" Angel pushed a small cart closer to the bin and waited while the gnome considered the idea.

After a few moments, Remmy nodded and tossed a few more pieces into the bin. "Thank you, Angel. You can bring it back later, I'm done tinkering for the day."

Angel hid a smile and quickly emptied the parts pin into the wheeled cart. While in spider form, her strength was much higher than a normal person. She made short work of the task and then motioned for QJ to follow her. "Time to go, QJ."

QJ ignored the words, his blue eye's staring hard at the blueprint right up until Remmy rolled it up and stowed it in her drawer.

"Ahem…" Angel cleared her throat and nudged her partner.

QJ started suddenly, smiling at Remmy, he hugged her, noting that they were nearly the same height. "Bye, Remmy."

The pink-haired gnome waved and made a show of straightening up her workstation until they exited, immediately after they left, she opened up her HUD and keyed one of her friends.

Tal's face appeared in front of the gnome engineer. "Hey, Remmy."

Remmy smiled widely, it was no secret that she admired everything about the tall engineer. "QJ stopped by, just like you said he would."

Tal's holo image leaned closer. "Did they take the bait?"

Remmy nodded, "I made sure there were enough parts for two complete assemblies. He got a long look at the schematic."

Tal leaned back in her chair, her blue eyes settling on Quinn. "Father and son thought that they would sabotage the tests by missing half of them." She chuckled at the smug look Quinn had worn the rest of the day. "Should I have mentioned that a score of fifty percent is well into the gifted range? Or that the test was geared to ten-year-olds…"