by Mason Roth
"Tell her your plan, Janelle." And Janelle did. Although Candace said they needed to kill the Alpha in order to escape, all they really needed was the Verdante, which it keeps between its legs at all times like a mother guarding an egg. What Janelle was proposing was that they wouldn't need to kill the Alpha at all. They would just need to pull off the greatest heist in human history after they got the Alpha to spawn. And with Violet on their side, they would at least have the location that would give them the highest chances.
“Is everyone in?” Janelle asked finally and took a deep breath. “I need to get out of here. I need to bury my brother.” She finished shakily.
“I’m in.” Violet replied immediately. “Piper?”
“I’m in. Let’s get out of this hellhole together.”
Chapter 16
"Nice airship you have here." Violet commented upon boarding the Gilded Animus. She introduced herself to Cornelius who blushed when she turned her smoky hazel eyes on him.
"Cornelius, take us to Ogoloth Mountain please. As close to the summit as you can."
"Ogo... Ogoloth Mountain? Are you sure, Miss?"
"I'm sure. Please take us there." Cornelius wavered as he started the airship and imputed the coordinates. He was as scared of the place as they were, if not more so.
This time, the journey was even longer to the one they made to the Valley of Druin. They were in the airship for hours as it traveled south, yet no one sat down. All three women paced the airship restlessly.
Finally after some time, the landscape started to change outside of the portholes. The earth was becoming more jagged and rocky as lava flowed on several surfaces. They had to be getting close. Soon, Piper saw it in the distance. Ogoloth Mountain. It had to be higher than Mount Fuji, and the Gilded Animus pitched upward to ascend to its summit.
Soon, Cornelius called them to the helm. "I'm afraid this is as high as she goes." He said, shaking his head. "I can't take you all the way to the peak."
"That's okay." Violet said with a smile. “This is plenty close enough.”
"Oh dear." Cornelius sighed. "Don't celebrate just yet. I also can't land here. My baby is filled to the brim with flammable gas that will catch fire if I bring it down on the surface. You'll have to climb down the ladder."
"That's fine, Cornelius." Piper said, patting him on the shoulder. "You've done great." "Before we climb down, let's review our strategy one more time." Janelle said seriously. "Remember, this is a stealth mission, not a combat mission. Avoid fights at all costs. And that's including the Alpha. Does everyone have their potions?"
Piper opened her rucksack and checked for good measure. She had restocked out of Cornelius' chest and carried 3 health and 3 stealth potions. Piper nodded.
"Good," Janelle responded after receiving confirmation from both women. "Let's make sure our health stays at max and we go unseen. Let's go ahead and chug one of those purples." Piper and Violet both uncorked a stealth potion and downed it in a single swig. Piper thought it tasted like cough syrup and Kool-Aid had a baby.
"Alright," Janelle said, wiping her lips. "I think we're ready."
The trio climbed down the ladder with ease due to their high dexterity stats and touched solid, albeit shifting ground high atop Ogoloth Mountain. They could see the peak in the distance, spitting fire and magma. Piper hoped they didn't have to get too close. As if reading her mind, Violet spoke.
"Where I saw the Alpha was just above here." She said. "We're close, just be on your guard."
"Wait," Piper said tentatively. "There's one thing I don't understand. If the Alpha is going to spawn randomly, why are we going to a specific location on the mountain? Why not just walk around and wait for it to show up?" She asked seriously.
"Because I've already seen it in this location." Violet explained. "Since its spawn rate is so low, we're more likely to see it in places it has already been instead of taking a shot in the dark. It's just simple probability."
"What are you in real life, a mathematician?" Piper teased.
"Statistician, so close enough." Violet answered. They all laughed. For Janelle it was the first sincere laugh she had since Ethan which made Piper smile. It felt good despite all the despair surrounding them.
The party began to climb the mountain. The higher they climbed the more dragons they saw. Luckily, their strength potions kept up and they were able to sidestep them without incident. Finally, they reached the point on the mountain where Violet swore she saw the Alpha, but it was nowhere to be found. They circled the area several times, but it's not like they would have missed a golden dragon that was the size of a house.
Despite their best efforts, a red dragon spotted them from above as they wandered the area. It was a consequence of staying in one place for too long. Piper pulled up her UI.
Large Red Dragon.
VP: 300
300?! Piper had never seen a beast with such a high VP and this wasn't even the Alpha. She had no idea if they were prepared for what they had in store.
Piper fired on the dragon before it hit the ground. Her strategy was to unload the entirety of her ammo now so she would have ample time on the cool down before facing off with the Alpha, or so she hoped. It was too high up to tell just how many of her shots hit, but however many it was, it was enough to send it cascading to the earth. Once it was on the ground, Janelle and Violet moved into their well-rehearsed pincer move.
Violet swooped in from the right, and Janelle from the left. Because they were coming from two opposite directions, the injured dragon was unsure where to look. Janelle stuck two poison daggers into its left hip. It writhed in pain until its head hit the floor, weary and vulnerable to attack. That's when Violet brought her barbarian's hammer down on its head. Piper heard the horrifying yet satisfying crack of skull and the beast died before turning into a puff of black ash.
"Well at least we're competent against normal dragons." Piper sighed. Just at that moment, they heard a deafening roar, and gold clockwork wings beat fiercely in their direction, the wind almost making them lose their footing. It was even more massive than she had remembered. The Alpha was here, and so was their chance at escape. Quickly, they put their plan into motion.
Piper began sprinting circles around the Alpha dragon. She was looking for an opening anywhere she could shoot and expose the Verdante. Janelle circled from the opposite direction, making tiny gashes in its skin with the poison daggers. They hoped it would at least make it weary enough to expose the Verdante, let alone die. Lastly Violet was in the front, taunting it. Making sure it's attention stayed on her.
"Come and get me, big girl." She slapped her chest as she taunted the massive beast even though she knew full well that it could crush her like an ant if it wanted to.
The Alpha lunged forward toward Violet but staggered as the poison began to affect its system. Piper thought she could see a flash of green as it shifted its right leg forward. She aimed and shot its leg. The roar it let out from being injured shook the Earth, but still didn't expose the Verdante. Janelle waited, poised in position to grab it as soon as it became exposed. She was the quickest among them.
The Alpha lunged again, this time its claws connected with Violet's chest and she went down. Piper watched her struggle with her rucksack as the Alpha went in for a bite. A bite of that size would have ripped Violet clean in two and Piper reacted as quickly as she could.
First, she fired a healing bullet towards Violet and then she leapt into the air. Her Lightfoot boots allowed her to kick off the side of the dragon where its clock mechanisms turned and get enough distance to appear in its peripheral vision.
The Alpha turned its head to her just before it was about to close its jaws around Violet. When it turned to look at her, Piper took a shot from each pistol, expertly aimed. The bullets hit the Alpha squarely in the eyes. It shrieked and roared, blinded. Its shrieks weren't only an expression of pain, but a signal to the other dragons on the mountain as well. Soon the area was flooded with other dragons as the
Alpha lived up to its name. However, instead of attacking, they stayed on the edge of the action as the Alpha snapped and roared at them as if to say "This one is mine."
Now that the Alpha was blinded, their chances at success went up exponentially. Unable to see Violet anymore, its actions became erratic. It spun around wildly and staggered as it snapped its teeth. Deciding that lunging at nothing wasn't going to cut it, the Alpha took on a different strategy.
It spread its legs and took a low stance, before spraying fire at everything in its path. Violet jumped out of the way just in time, but Piper could have sworn she singed the ends of her black ponytail. As the Alpha turned and squatted, she finally saw it: The Verdante, huge and gleaming in its emerald glory. Piper shot its left leg to ensure its stance remained wide while Janelle sprinted to go get it.
As if sensing their plan, the Alpha swung its tail, catching Janelle squarely in the stomach and sending her flying.
"Janelle!" Piper screamed.
"Don't worry about her, I'll get her!" She heard Violet shout.
"Just get the gem!"
Without a second thought, Piper shot at the Alpha's tail so that it couldn't' send her flying like it did Janelle and dove for the Verdante. She slid between the Alpha's legs, arms outstretched. As soon as Piper made contact with the Verdante, the game froze and she heard slow clapping from somewhere above her.
She collected the gem in her arms and stood to see what was going on. At the edge of the area encircled by dragons, Violet was uncorking a health potion for Janelle as they both glared at the sky. And they were the only things she saw in the scene that moved. All of the dragons froze in place, including the Alpha and even the lava had stopped its slow trickle down the mountain.
Finally she looked up to the sky to see Jeremy clapping for her.
"Way to go, kiddo." He said. "You did it." He seemed bored, and ignored that they had accomplished a great feat despite his interference.
"Let us out of here! We passed your stupid test." She demanded, before spitting at the ground.
"Who's this ‘we’ you're talking about?" He said coldly. "You're the one holding the gem.”
"What do you mean?" She asked exasperatedly. "Do they have to touch it or something?" Piper began walking over to them without waiting for an answer.
"No, no." He clucked. There was a higher undertone combining with his voice and his face began to shift. He was Candace once more.
"You're the one who touched it, which means you’re the one leaving." She said with finality. "No take backs."
Piper looked at Janelle and Violet in horror. After all they went through together, would she really be forced to leave them behind?
"I'm afraid so." Candace answered, reading her mind.
"That's not fair!" Piper screamed at her. "Life's not fair, sweetheart." She said, shifting back into Jeremy. "I always knew it would be you, Piper." He said tenderly like the Jeremy she knew before his betrayal. "You're just so special."
"Liar!" She screamed at him. "Let us all out. It wouldn't have been possible without all of us." Jeremy shifted back into Candace.
"Oh... how sweet. I'm so moved." She pretended to blot her eyes with a handkerchief. "I don't care what you say." Either you leave, or no one does. It's your choice."
Piper finally made her way over to where Violet was nursing Janelle back to health.
"Are you okay?" She asked Janelle.
"I'll make it." She said with a cough. "I just have to get back on the airship soon."
"You should be getting out of here." Piper said, tears beginning to well in her eyes. "You, too." She said looking at Violet. "It's not fair. Maybe I should stay with you guys until we can figure out a way to escape together.
"Absolutely not." Violet snapped at her. "You're getting out and you're getting out now."
"She's right." Janelle agreed.
"Janelle... but what about...?"
"What about Ethan? Make sure you take care of him for me, Piper." She grasped her hand seriously. "He knew he wasn't going to live long." She said, tears welling up in her eyes. "He asked me to bury him in a place with lots of sunlight. Promise me you'll take care of him for me, Piper. Tell him I'm sorry."
"I... I promise." Said Piper, tears streaming down her face.
"Tick tock," Candace called. "Are you leaving Rookstorm or not?" Violet nodded at her reassuringly and kissed her on the cheek. Despite everything that had happened, Piper's cheeks burned red. Violet laughed at her.
"Haha, you're cute when you blush you know?" She teased. "Give those Elysium freaks hell from me, okay?"
"Okay." Piper agreed. "I'll be back for you guys. I promise. Either on this side or the other side, you'll see me soon." Both Violet and Janelle nodded in agreement and Piper turned back to face Candace with the Verdante in hand. "I'm ready." She announced.
"About time," Candace shot back, rolling her eyes. Suddenly Candace was gone from the sky and Piper felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Jeremy.
"There was a reason I picked you." He whispered in her ear, too low for the others to hear. "It wasn't just because you were the most pathetic. You were the one that was supposed to escape. You played into my plan perfectly." He pulled away and vanished into a burst of static before Piper could say a word. She hoped that it was just more of their mind games, but she would never find out unless she got out of here.
Suddenly, the Verdante started to shift and change in her hands until it started to grow larger and more nebulous. Finally, it took its final form as a swirling green portal. Piper assumed she had to go through it.
She took one last look at Violet and Janelle. "I'll be back for you." She promised again before stepping into the portal. She had no idea what would await her on the other side but she resolved to face her destiny head-on and make her new friends proud. Finally, she had something to live for.
Fin
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