Chapter 87 – Locked up

Noah opened the wooden gate of the fence around the house within his mind and walked toward the house. He opened the door and walked into the big main room looking at the armchair where a plush bear sat watching him. Noah looked at him in silence for a few moments, then turned away and walked further into the house in silence.

Passing through a few short corridors he came up to the solid door at the end of one of the corridors. He took out a key from his pocket and inserted it in the lock. Door opened with a soft clack and slightly slid open, with a dim beam of light coming out of it. Opening the door wider Noah looked behind it gazing down the stairs that led into the basement that was well lit.

He sighed a short breath and walked down the stairs. At the end of them he turned the corner and saw a spacious room with a few comfy furniture but heavily covered in spider web all over the place.

"Hello, Yuko." Said Noah gazing at the spider girl watching him from a couch.

"Oh, you came? What? Need my power again. Go on rob me of that too." Said Girl, turning away to play some kind of portable game she had held in hands.

"No, I came to ask for help." Said Noah coming closer.

"Help? You've got to be kidding me. After locking me here all alone for this whole time."

"That was necessary for my own peace of mind. And it's better than being locked with the others, under the mountain, don't you agree? I know that Ugy was visiting you occasionally too. I allowed him to do that."

"Ugy?" Asked Yuko raising a brow.

"Yeah. I thought if you have a name, the system should have it too. Ugy bear. Sounds nice."

"Weird name."

"Well he was just two letters my whole life, until he awakened. It was just UG."

"I see. It's gonna irritate him as hell so I approve." Said Yuko smiling a bit.

"So Yuko. Can I ask you for help?"

"What's in it for me?"

"Freedom."

"How can I be sure you wouldn't just lock me up again once you are done with whatever you are doing there?"

"How can I be sure you would not attack my mind?"

Yuko watched him for a long moment.

"Coming into contact with other Nightmares is inevitable as Ugy said. I will never be able to strike a deal with them if I betray my promise to you." Explained Noah.

Yuko bit her lip for a moment in thought then nodded her head.

"Deal?" Said Noah offering her his hand. She looked at it for some time with a strange look. Then stretched out her own hand and took it. Noah helped her to stand up from the couch and then she let go of him, taking away her hand.

"Thank you. Let's go upstairs." Offered Noah going back to the room

"Hey Ugy." Said Yuko walking into the room by crawling on the ceiling and watching at plush bear from above.

"You're ba…? What's Ugy?" Asked system.

"Oh, I thought you'll like this name very much so that's what you'll be called. That's a lot shorter than from The Ugly Bastard System, right."

"No! Don't you dare…!" Said plush bear

*Ding. System's consciousness was given the name Ugy.* Said system voice from around them.

Plush bear looked at Noah who had a grin on his face.

"You son of a…." Started to say Ugy but was cut off when a speaker mark crossed with a line showed up above him.

"You see, Ugy. I think you were right. I was indeed too childish. So childish I gave you freedom to do what you want. So much freedom you started to scheme against me, behind my back." Said Noah and picked up a TV control. Then he turned the channel that showed the real world and after a few taps a lock sign appeared in the center.

Plush bear's eyes grew wide and it tried to mumble something but could not say a word.

"I will tell you what. We are either partners or you are useless to me. I lived without you my whole life. I will manage somehow with what I already have. Yes, maybe I will end my life as a nobody, never achieving anything. But you will not see even that. You will be locked for the rest of my life and live in darkness." Said Noah turning the CS channel and then locking it too.

"Then you will die together with me as trash that lived the most miserable life and died the most useless death and will be written into the Great Library as the most useless trash system that has ever existed and never have a chance to get reawakend in someone else. The choice is yours. We are either partners or enemies. I will give you some time to think." Ended his speech Noah and walked away, exiting the house. When he went out the mute sign over the plush bear disappeared."

"Don't be sad, Ugy. You know you asked for it when you treated him as your pawn."

"He is not a pawn, he is….What are you doing? Put me back down!" Exclaimed system when spider girl picked him up from the armchair like a toy and sat down in his seat herself. Then she put him on her lap, and shook her knees making him jump as if he rode a horse.

"Yosh, yosh poor system. Yosh, yosh."

"Let go of me, crazy woman!"

"It's ok." Said Yuko patting him as if he was a kid. "It's ok. We will now play with you a lot, now that you don't have a lot to do. It will be soo fun.

"Oh, God. Just kill me now." Said system and plush bear softened as if lost all life in it.

"Huh?" It said a moment later getting back up. "Why can't I disconnect from this body?"

"Oh, that was my idea. I asked Noah to do that to you. Cool right?"

"Why would you…?"

"You promised to me that I will not get locked!" Said Yuko with a voice full of anger out of a sudden squeezing the plush bear's neck. "But instead of that, I was locked all alone."

"I did… visit you…" wheezed Ugy bear.

"Visit? VISIT? THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU PROMISED!" She said throwing him on the floor.

*Bughe. Voiced plush bear plummeting on the floor.

"You got your freedom right?" Said system, slowly lifting up from the floor and looking back at spider woman.

"Not from you." She said with a pouting voice.

"Oh, really?"

Yuko gazed at him with squinted eyes.

"How were you expecting it to happen? I free you and he agrees? Of course we needed some time to install the idea in his head. But it worked out right?" Said plush bear standing in front of her and spread arms while gazing at her firmly.

She gazed back at him then bent down and picked him up again

"Whaa….wait…that's not…no…let me go." Said plush bear struggling in her arms.

"Yeah but now look how it went for you. So far for all you scheming's. Was it worth it? You could have done it better."

"This? This is nothing." Said system and Yuko raised her eyebrows at him.

"What? It's just temporary. He will release me in a week or two." Said Ugy while Yuko stared at him with a strange look.

"You plotted something!" She whispered a moment later.

"Of course, I plotted. Something. It's obvious he would be angry by all of this. But once I save him from another peril, I will be back on the horse."

"Why do you need a horse? You don't like my lap." Said Yuko with a smile and made him ride again, by shaking her knees.

Plush bear rolled his eyes with an annoyed face.

"So what did you plan?"

"You'll see."

"Oh, come on. You know I don't rat. You saw that I did not spell anything to him right? Tell me. I am grave."

"No. The less people know, the better." Said Ugy.

"Stingy! Let's go play then." Said Yuko standing up and dragging Ugy away with her.

"What? No. I don't want to! Get off me!" Screamed plush bear while carried away from the main room.

******

Noah opened his eyes sitting in the armchair of the main room of the mansion.

"Done?" Asked Tessa standing nearby.

"Yeah." Said Noah and started to stand up, but then stopped watching as his pants opened. He lifted his eyes and saw Tessa clean her lip while turning away and walking off.

"Let's go then?" She said trying to be nonchalant but Noah felt a strange tune of fluster to her voice.

"Had an early dinner, My Lady?" Said Noah standing up and closing his pants.

"Khe-khem. Aperitif." Said Tessa with her back to him.

"I see. You must have been quite hungry, My Lady. Had your fill?" He said, squinting his eyes.

Tessa turned to him with a sheepish smile on her face before walking off.