by Rick Scott
I sneak right up next to Braxus, my heart thundering in my ears so loudly I fear he might hear it. I reach out slowly with my invisible hand, about to grab his arm and pull that ring off his finger when Aiko’s eyes suddenly flash in my direction.
Oh Crap!
She leaps to her feet and blows a puff of purple smoke in my direction.
Aiko uses Shadow Mist
You are poisoned!
You are slowed!
You are paralyzed!
No!
Braxus cries out in alarm but is caught in the mist as well.
I use Retreat, phasing into existence as I perform a backflip and narrowly avoid the Charge Strike that comes from Aiko. I take advantage of the scant seconds she uses to remove her heel from the ground, to buff myself with Shadow Haste, cancelling out the slow effect. But the poison still remains and I subtly feel its sting as a hitpoint disappears.
“You!” Braxus shouts, yet still unable to move, as are Ziegfried and Thomas, who were also caught in the mist. His eyes flash to Aiko. “Kill him!”
Guess he doesn’t have qualms like me!
Aiko’s vacant eyes take on a predatory glare as twin kunai blades materialize in her hands. My heart leaps into my throat as my stomach falls through the floor. Holy crap…
I’m about to PvP for the first time in the real world.
Against Aiko.
And my name ain’t Maxis.
Chapter 25: Shinobi Shodown
I raise my blades to defend myself as Aiko swoops in like an angel of death. She slashes wildly with her kunai and I pop Active Dodge from pure fright. My body shifts in a puff of nanodust as her blades slice the air where I was standing a millisecond ago.
I feel totally unprepared for this fight and the fear tinged adrenaline coursing through my veins only reminds me of that fact. How the heck can I beat Aiko? I back away from her, gaining some distance. Her lifeless eyes are like a shark’s, filled only with hate as she closes back in on me and prepares to attack again.
Wake up, Reece! I yell at myself. React!
I snap to my senses on focus on survival. I may be lower level, but I at least have my gear and she doesn’t. And at high levels, gear can account for a large majority of stats, although I’m certain for someone like Aiko, she must easily have 99s in three or more stats already.
I bob and weave on the balls of my feet as her blades come lightning fast. I managed to avoid them just barely, but the mental stress of predicting and keeping track of her strikes has my neck straining so bad it feels like my heads about to pop off. I slash back at her in kind and she easily dodges my attacks as well.
To the knights watching us, it must be a spectacular show; two high level ninja going all out, but for me it’s a battle of nerves and attrition that I’m ultimately bound to lose in the end. Aiko has senseless mind control on her side. She’s not thinking, only reacting and probably from muscle memory. I, on the other hand am bound to slip up at some point.
I need to debuff her. Slow her down to buy me more time to think in between each slash. I launch at her with a Charge Strike. I bounce into her with the stunning attack and she immediately performs a Retreat to remove the Stun effect.
It was exactly the move I was counting on. I was using her muscle memory against her now, predicting her actions by setting up a chess move in advance. I use her moment of retreat to cast Shadow Mist and engulf her with my own purple cloud of ninja magic.
You cast Shadow Mist!
Aiko is Slowed!
Aiko resist the poison!
Aiko resist the paralyze!
Darn! Only one out of three! But at least the debuff I needed the most landed. My Charge Strike earlier did about 2% damage to Aiko and I’m happy it didn’t do much more than that. I’m not trying to hurt her, but unfortunately the feeling isn’t mutual.
How the heck can this end?
“Get him! All of you!” Braxus screams and the four guards plus Ziegfried and Thomas come charging at me. The reaction from Braxus seems incredibly delayed to me, but then I realize that Aiko and I have been fighting for barely a few seconds, although to me it feels like an eternity already. My stamina is down to 70% and my hitpoints are sitting at 90%, but I lose a hitpoint every second or so from Aiko’s poison still coursing through my veins.
I prepare myself as the mob of platemail and steel comes rushing toward me, casting Decoy Shadow and Shadow Copy. That’s at least one free hit and one for half damage. And by the looks of the vitriol in their eyes, I’m going to need it.
I back up to keep them from circling behind me. If that happens it’d be all over. I duck under sword swipes from the guards and narrowly avoid a stab from Sir Thomas’s ornate long blade. But then Aiko rejoins the fray and her attacks, while slowed, are equal to three of the knights’ own.
I lose my shadow and then gasp as Aiko’s Kunai cuts me in my side. Blood spills with a spark of pain. Argh!
Aiko hits you for 57(112) Damage.
Decoy Shadow kicks in and my body crumbles to nanodust as I turn invisible. I have a few seconds of reprieve as the knights and guards come to a halt, perplexed by my apparent quick demise. I can’t survive another assault like that. A few more hits and I would have been overwhelmed. One thing is for sure. Whatever I decide to do next will determine my fate forever.
“He’s still here!” Ziegfried shouts, slashing at the air with his sword. “Surround him. Don’t let him at our back.”
Crap!
The guards and knights push forward in a semi-circle hacking at the air. I’m backed toward the wall of the palace until I find myself trapped. Not good. I’ve nowhere to run. There are just too many of them and Aiko, even without her gear, is the strongest, most aggressive opponent I’ve ever fought. It gives me a whole new level of respect for my brother and what he was able to do to her back in that PVP arena. But this is no arena match. My only hope is to get her on my side. But I’ve retreated so far from Braxus now that he’s at least thirty feet away from me and standing between me and him is a wall of armor-plated guards.
I check my timers for what abilities I have available.
Active Dodge is just about to come off of cool-down.
It’s my only hope and I pray it works. I’ve got to break through that line and get to Braxus. I can’t kill him, but I can disarm him of that ring.
I hope.
I release a cry and charge into the slashing blades as I pop Active Dodge. My body blurs and shifts as it phases through the hits, but a couple of them still get through when the scant few seconds of invincibility wear off.
The Palace Guard hits you for 104 damage.
The Palace Guard hits you for 107 damage.
Sir Ziegfried hits you for 221 damage.
I cry out in agony as I lose 30% of my HP.
Another round like that and I’ll be dead!
I slam into the guards but lack the strength and mass to break through. Hands quickly reach to snatch me as I’m now visible again. Although I made a small gap in the human wall, it’s far too tight for me to squeeze through now. And once they grab me it’ll be all over.
I do the only thing I can think to do next.
Taking aim, I toss my weapon toward Braxus and pray my Dex holds true.
The kunai leaves my hand like an arrow and then spins like a fan blade. It strikes Braxus’ hand and he shrieks as both his hand and the ring explodes in a puff of green mist and blood. His HP drops into the red at 15% and his screams of agony fill the air.
You use Weapon Throw!
Critical Hit!
You hit Braxus for 235 damage!
“Arrgh!” he cries, staring horrified at the bloodied stump where his hand used to be.
“My hand!! My freaking hand!!”
His shrill cries are enough to make my flesh crawl, but I thank the heavens and my Dex for having made the shot. The guards turn their attention away from me momentarily and look toward their wounded king.
“My lord!” Ziegfried shouts and
rushes back to aid him.
I look to Aiko. Her violet tinted eyes refocus and slowly become her own once again. I’m not sure if she can remember anything from while under the king’s spell, but by the venom that soon fills her gaze, I’m sure she remembers enough.
“Aiko!” I cry to her and send her a party request. “We need to get out of here!”
I’m thankful she has the presence of mind to accept the request. But a second later she loses her composure completely. Releasing a banshee scream, Aiko launches into Thomas and the four remaining guards. Her attacks are wild and unfocused but they force the soldiers into a completely defensive postures; making them cower under her rapid assault.
I still don’t feel good about attacking these dudes, but it’s do or die time now. I join Aiko and face off against two of the guards, pulling them off her with a War Cry.
“Face me!” I yell.
They turn from Aiko and swing at me with their long swords, but with only two of them attacking, I’m easily able to avoid their hits. I slice back at the two guards with my remaining kunai, but with only one blade I’m only nicking down their HP slowly, especially in their heavy armor.
Aiko however is still screaming like a mad woman. I’d always taken her subtle demeanor to be cool and collected, but today it’s shattered with a fury. She’s still dodging hits, but not nearly as much as she could and appears to be taking damage just to finish them off quickly. One of them soon hits the ground.
Aiko defeats the Palace Guard!
You gain 12000 experience points.
The XP feels dirty but I can’t think about that now. I sense something approaching from our flank.
Your awareness increases by 0.3.
Looking to my left I see a platoon of soldiers, marching onto the palace grounds about a hundred yards away. We’re out of time!
“Aiko we need to run!” I shout to her.
“No!” she cries, still slashing away. “Not until I kill that sick freak!”
She whips both arms across her chest in an ‘X’ pattern and then throws them down to her sides with a flash of blue light, activating an ability I don’t recognize.
Aiko uses Perfect Dodge!
Evade all attacks with unlimited Stamina and TP for the next 30 seconds.
Holy crap that must be her 24-hour ability!
She flies into Sir Thomas without reservation, becoming a blur as he vainly tries to fend her off with his long sword. His HP bar depletes like there’s a hole in it and when it hits 15%, Aiko spins with a double slash, decapitating Thomas at the neck.
Holy heck!
Aiko uses Assassinate!
Aiko successfully assassinates Sir Thomas!
You defeated Sir Thomas!
You gain 21000 experience points.
My stomach lurches as his headless body hits the ground. The sight must be equally shocking to his comrades, because they stop attacking me altogether. I use the distraction to search for Braxus, knowing that he will be Aiko’s target next. I spot him being hauled away by Ziegfried in a fireman’s carry, his limp body bouncing over the knight’s large shoulder pauldrons, clearly unconscious, perhaps overcome by shock.
As the knight carries his master to safety, Aiko catches sight of him and released another cry of rage. She charges forward, but I sense something above us and glance up just in time to see a flash of white light.
“Aiko wait!”
Your awareness increases by 0.4.
Skill up! Your awareness in now 41!
I quickly cast Shadow Copy but Aiko is still charging ahead.
“Aiko!”
A shower of crystal rods fall from the sky, impaling the ground in a circular pattern that encompasses me, Aiko and the three remaining guards. I lose my shadow as the rods puncture though me and the guards, killing them instantly in their already weakening states.
A rod finds Aiko and she cries out as the eight-foot-long piece of crystal punches through her shoulder and pins her to the ground, taking away half of her HP.
“Aiko!”
I scan above to see what attacked us and spot the fat man Xavier standing on the edge of the half-destroyed dining room. His robes are aglow with a faint aura, as are his hands which are still pointed, palm first, toward the ground now littered with crystal rods.
I check the log.
Xavier casts Crystal Spear Shower!
Xavier hits Aiko for 336 damage!
Aiko is rooted!
Xavier hits the Palace Guard for 336 damage!
The Palace Guard is defeated!
Xavier hits the Palace Guard for 336 damage!
The Palace Guard is defeated!
Xavier hits the Palace Guard for 336 damage!
The Palace Guard is defeated!
Holy crap! Did he really just kill his own men casting that? We can’t take another one of those. I look behind me and see the platoon closing in, moving at a run now. Ahead I see Ziegfried still running with Braxus over his shoulder, but just in front of them is another platoon of soldiers and mages, ready to hem us in. I’ve got to get to Aiko and get us both out of here!
I run to her side and slash the crystal rod with my blade, freeing her. “Aiko, we’ve got to go!”
She glares at me with pure hate and for a second I fear she might attack me again. “You stupid idiot! Why didn’t you aim for his head?”
Then I see her glare shift toward Braxus, still on Ziegfried’s shoulder, as he disappears into the ranks of the oncoming platoon. I sense another attack and both Aiko and I leap out of the way as a single rod lands right where we were standing.
Xavier casts Crystal Spear!
The fat man scowls at us from above, his hands ready to cast another spell. At least it wasn’t the AOE attack this time. Maybe he’s running low on TP, or maybe it’s still on cool-down. Either way I’m not sticking around to find out.
“You can tell me off later!” I say to Aiko as I cast Shadow Wall, making us vanish from sight. “Right now, we’ve got to get the heck out of this city!”
I grab her wrist and drag her with me as I launch into a sprint. The slender elf stumbles after me for a moment before finally throwing off my hand and running under her own power.
“This is not over,” Aiko hisses as we dash between the two charging platoons and flee into the night. “You just made the worst enemy of your life…”
Chapter 26: Escape from Stormwall
By the way Aiko said it, I’m not sure if she was referring to herself or Braxus just now when she mentioned worst enemy. Although when it comes to her, I suppose there was a good chance she could mean both.
We run together, still invisible, through the darkened streets of Stormwall, our footfalls barely making a whisper as we pad across the cobblestone pavement. All around us the sounds of alarm are being raised. Bells toll and guards yell commands for the commoners to clear the streets and remain indoors.
They’re performing a sweep of the city, looking for us.
I just hope the others made it out by now. I try sending a PM to Gilly and get an error message. That’s good. It means she’s out of range and hopefully well away from here by now. And we’ll be soon to follow, I hope.
We head in the direction of the Southern wall but then I notice Aiko’s blurred silhouette cut away toward the East.
“Hey!” I yell to her in party chat. “Where are you going?”
“To get something.”
“What?”
“Just shut up and follow me if you’re coming,” she says and then she runs toward a two-story building and scales up its side with wall run. “If not, go run away like the limp noodle you are.”
What did she just call me? I run after her and scale up the building as well. When I land on the red tiled roof, I find she’s already moving ahead of me. My Shadow Wall spells has worn off now and I see she’s running in nothing but her elven underwear. As annoying as she is, a half-naked Aiko is a sight to behold.
Guess I’m tagging along whether I lik
e it or not.
I take off running after her, my tabby boots nimbly navigating the creases and grooves in the tiles. From above I can see the streets filling with more soldiers. More chaos. Their torches light up the night and I’m glad we decided to make the transition to the rooftops.
“Hey, you can try to be a bit more appreciative, you know?” I say when I finally catch up to her. “I did come back to save you.”
We reach the end of the roof and jump across the gap to the next building in tandem. The frigid air presses cold against my face as we sail through the night sky and we both land with a roll on the opposite side.
Aiko slides to a halt, standing. She then glares at me with her violet tinted eyes. “You could have saved a whole lot more people if you would have just killed that guy.”
Again with the killing? “Look I’m not like you okay? I’m not killing anyone. That guy’s a real person.”
“Yes. A real ‘terrible’ person who deserves to die.”
My stomach sours with anger and frustration. I don’t want to think about what she’s saying, probably because history might prove her right. But how was I supposed to do something like that? I even thought about it and couldn’t. “You know, some people can probably say the same about you, Aiko.”
It’s a stupid and childish thing to say, but it’s the only thing I can think of to deflect her comment at the moment.
She responds with a harrumph. “Well you can try me anytime, pretty boy. Oh wait. You did already. And failed.”
I brood inwardly at the dig. Val Helena was right. Aiko was a difficult person to like.
“Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on you,” she says, softening a bit as she looks me up and down. “With that body of yours I keep forgetting you’re still just a little kid inside.”
