“I thought you said ‘I wouldn’t even have to move a foot forward’, or something?” She taunted, “Seems like you moved more than a foot, you lazy sloth.”
The cloud changed direction, and flew towards Quinn, consuming the ground he had lain on. But he had leapt into the air, glaring at her from above. He placed a hand on his mask.
Sloth Mask: Anwanwu!
His arms lengthened even more, as his body began to transition into a hybrid between a man, and a sloth.
“You stupid girl,” He growled, “When I’m through, you won’t even look human.”
He lashed out his arms, they flew through the cloud of glass, hitting Deidre in the back. She dropped to her knees from the impact.
Indolent Rain!
As he bounded on the air with industria, he began to punch downward faster, and faster, his fists now resembling a continuous movement with little break between one blow and another.
The roof cracked, splintered and broke as each blow damaged it until it, and the building finally gave way. Deidre fell helplessly among the debris.
As the dust cloud cleared, Deidre lay on the ground, bleeding from the head. Her sword lay shattered beside her, though many large welts had appeared on her body from where she had been struck several times. She was unconscious, but she still grasped her hilt.
Quinn landed in front of her. His hands were covered in blood. His arms, full of glass from when he had attacked. His eyes, covered in spiteful rage.
Eva stepped in front of him, dissolving her bubble. Behind, her, lay her injured partner. Ahead of her, Quinn loomed over her, looking more monstrous than human. Flanking him, were the people who still stood. Many of them had collapsed as the masks had run their course, draining everything out of them.
“Move.” Quinn snarled, “I’ll get to you later. For now, I must kill her. That arrogant witch.”
“No.” Eva stood, gaze unwavering as she met his eyes. “You’ve done what you wanted. You’ve killed everyone, now leave.”
“No,” Quinn looked down at her, “Not everyone.”
He raised his hands, clasping them together, as they loomed several feet above Eva.
“Not yet.”
Eva took a deep breath, then drew on every ounce of energy she possessed, plus the reserves she didn’t know she had and focused it all into her palm.
“I don’t have time to deal with you right now”, Eva built up industria in her arm, shaping, forming it. “I’ll have to ask you one more. Please leave us.”
His arms swung down like a hammer.
“No.”
Shape Lance: Star Cannon!
A powerful beam burst from her hands, hitting Quinn square in the chest. He was lifted off his feet and blown through several buildings until he slowly came to a rest. Unconscious.
Eva collapsed to her knees, panting, as the drain hit her. She didn’t see the massive hand coming, smashing her into a wall. She struggled to look up, and she caught a glimpse of him. An injured gorilla beast mask wearer, one of his arms had been messed up badly. It was little more than a bleeding stump. His chest was mangled, and blood spewed from his mouth.
Alfred bounded past her, peeling off the discarded masks from the ground and adding them to his own. Picking up Quinn from where he had come to a stop, he grabbed him and leapt into the distance.
Behind them, the dead town lay.
Chapter 8 - Reunion
Weeks ago.
Aslog
WestScarlet.
“Is this part of the test?” Eva had asked. She was in the same room Tyrone had been in, just minutes after him. Avery sat down on the table across from her. He hadn’t felt the need to look down on her. It wouldn’t have worked anyway. There was little point hiding anything from her.
“Well, yes, and maybe no.” He admitted, “It’s not strictly necessary.”
“Then I am free to go?”
“Yes,” Avery said, “But I’d have to report to the Commander that you did leave without completing this portion of the test.”
“No right answers, just an answer.” Eva had thought about it for a moment, “Fine, ask away.”
“Alright then. What is a Sabre?”
“That’s rather mundane.” She had replied. “I have a feeling you don’t want me to whip out the dictionary.”
“To you, what is a Sabre?” Avery had clarified, “Why do you want to be a Sabre.”
In response, Eva held her hand out and focused. A purplish ball of industria bubbled up from her skin, shaping itself into a sphere, then expanding into a shield, before diffusing harmlessly into fine mist.
“Sabres are meant to be powerful soldiers that defend WestScarlet, and that’s why I chose the role. I live here, I like to continue living here, and I have the power. My mum’s a librarian, my dad’s a teacher. My hobbies are taking photos and building statues out of garbage I find on the street. Nothing about me lends itself to violence. Yet, I like that they can teach and work in a library. I like that I have landscapes to take photos of. I like that I can quit, and still feel safe and protected. Right now, I want to take my moment and be a shield. Later, I’ll retreat into the mist and find something else, my role completed.”
“Is that all?” Avery had replied.
“A shield protects both friends and foe,” Eva said. “I’d still rather not harm someone if I don’t have to. Is that a problem?”
“Not at all. Not everything needs to be solved with force.” Avery had replied, “I look forward to seeing whether you change your answer or not in the coming months.”
“So I am free to go then?” Eva had glanced at the door, then back towards Avery. “Because I did make plans for after this week’s test.”
“Certainly,” Avery had beamed, “Welcome to the Sabres.”
* * *
“Another regen pill?” Deidre complained. Her head throbbed, though her welts were beginning to recede as the regeneration pill took effect, biting into her industria and healing her wounds. “You already gave me one earlier.”
“Yes, I did. Deidre, you took quite a beating out there.” Eva said, handing the second pill to Deidre. “I had one earlier too if that makes you feel any better.”
The duo was in the now destroyed Legion outpost. The town was quiet now, but every now and then they would hear the occasional howl or snarl from some poor unfortunate soul who hadn’t had the dignity of death just yet. It was a pitiful situation.
After the battle, Eva had mustered the last of her strength to carry Deidre away, performing basic first aid and feeding her a regenerative pill. She had woken up within the hour, exhausted and cranky — as could be expected.
“So what’s the plan now?” Deidre said, “I’m supposed to be your senior on this, but I think I’ll hold off till the world stops spinning.”
“Don’t feel bad, you got hit really hard,” Eva’s tone suddenly changed, “We should be heading for Gunne now. This town was a mix of success and failure for them, I have no idea if they’ll come back but they’ll certainly be hitting Gunne sooner or later. Tyrone’s waiting for us there.”
The two sat in silence. Eva glanced over at Ladi’s desk, the photo of him with his family still sat there untouched. She hoped it had been quick for them if they were one of the dead. If they were swamped like this, and Tyrone was on his own…she tried not to think about it.
“Our presence here didn’t make much of a difference after all,” Deidre mused. “What do you think about them? The masked guys, do you think Quinn was the boss of them?”
“No, I don’t think so. He seems more the henchman type than the boss.” Eva replied, “He did like to talk though. Too bad he’s fled. His corpse wasn’t here, nor was his accomplice.”
“An accomplice?”
“That’s right, you were passed out then,” Eva recalled, “There was one more man, he attacked me from my blind spot. (She grabbed her arm.) I’ve never been hit like that before, nearly all the bones he struck were broken in an instant.”
“Ok, that’s serious.” Deidre furrowed her brow as she struggled to her feet.
“I haven’t been able to contact Tyrone either,” Eva said, “That’s why I think it’s best that we complete our original plan. He’s waiting for us there.”
“You’ve said that twice now Eva, but what if he’s dead or injured?” Deidre asked. “Remember, we need to stay focused on two things. The mission, and getting out alive. None of what we discover here will mean a damn if we die before telling anyone.”
“I’m aware of that,” Eva snapped, “All the more reason why we should head to Gunne and regroup. If he isn’t there, it’s the closest place back to Draekeor, we could head there and contact Aslog for backup.”
Deidre looked at her friend and nodded. She could tell she was worried. Its one thing to encounter life and death situations in a simulation, its another thing to be placed in life and death situations by yourself and yet another still to encounter slaughter on such a scale as this. Already, they had seen two mass murder scenes. She too had not experienced much of the latter, but she had quickly cultivated a detached attitude after the first 5 months of being sent on difficult cases. People died. Bad things happened. That was the reality of being a Sabre. For now, she needed Eva focused and on task.
Eva had finished packing the medkits and any tools she could find from the base in her pack. She whispered a quick apology to Ladi as she went through his things, forcing the image of him, broken and begging for death, from her mind.
A hand clasped her shoulder.
“Eva, it’s going to be OK,” Deidre said. “It’s going to be alright.”
“Sure.” Eva’s mouth contorted itself into a smile, her eyes approximating a facsimile of a relaxed face. Deidre thought it a commendable effort and spoke nothing of it as they left Brabba under cover of darkness.
The two silently pledged to themselves to defend Gunne to their dying breath if it came to that.
* * *
Quinn screamed in pain as his bones pulled themselves together, and his flesh steamed, crackled, and boiled as it pulled over wounds and sealed abrasions.
“Damn. They got your good.” Alfred said as he watched the man flailing around on the cave floor, blood spewing from his body.
He tossed him some more meat from the deer he had caught and killed on his way here. Quinn grabbed it, eating out of instinct more than anything. A side-effect of integrated beast masks. It was hard on your body — unlike natural esoterica.
They were a little bit outside Brabba, in a cave Alfred had found on his way there. It had been full of a litter of small animals, but he had seen to that. Now it was just the two of them, and a pile of masks.
“It was that evil bitch with the industria beam, ” Quinn said, gasping heavily, “The other one tried to cut me, I nailed her good. When I get her next..tear her apart….kill her…rip her limb from limb.”
He went on like this for the next few minutes, ranting and raving like a crazed madman.
Alfred grunted. His chest burned as his own body was healing itself. Unlike the Legion’s regen pills, users of the beast masks could be trained to use an additional mask to heal themselves by drawing out the industria, instead of letting it take theirs. The side-effect was that it hurt, a lot.
It was a good thing only Masquerade had access to the beast masks, Alfred thought to himself, he didn’t ask too many questions about the hows and whys. Caine didn’t give many answers too. Today’s mission was the first of its kind, and presumably the last.
Jack had told them that they were in the endgame now and could expect to leave Ginerian in a matter of weeks. He hated the place and welcomed anywhere else.
His chest bubbled again as his ribs began to move and set themselves. He wouldn’t scream like Quinn, he had too much self-control for that, so he gritted his teeth and bore the pain.
They passed another hour or two in relative silence before the elephant in the room was broached.
“Do you think we should call Jack?” Quinn said as his healing process slowed, affording him time to breathe, “Or maybe Caine…?”
“Nah, those guys are busy with better things. Caine said he had some big job to pull off. I wager he doesn’t want us interrupting him.” Alfred said. “It was a simple job, use these special masks to wipe out those four towns and pick up the masks once they had drained the wearers completely. Why did you have to lure some Sabres here to complicate things?”
“Hmmph.” Quinn scoffed, “If we wanted more Industria, luring one or two Sabres here would have afforded us a big boost as well as put those bastards on notice.”
“Your personal vendetta has made things more challenging than it’s worth,” Alfred spat, “Now we’ve almost lost everything.”
“No, man I made it a big job, one most befitting of our stature.” Quinn said, “Jack is a beast of a man, not to mention Caine. If we are to rub shoulders with them, we too must accomplish great deeds. ”
“From where I’m sitting, you’ve botched the job,” Alfred said. “And you really need to stop talking like that.”
Quinn’s eyes settled on Alfred now. In the low light of the cave, he looked a crazed mess. His hair was mussed, his eyes were wide, and his body was covered with blood. Alfred had always thought he had a few screws loose, but now he was convinced.
“All the more reason we should complete our mission,” Quinn said,“ We have survived, we have gotten their measure, and should they even come close to us in Gunne I have all full confidence that we will kill them and rip them limb from limb.”
“Should we stock up with more masks? We could wear more than one and double our power,” Alfred asked, conceding.
“Don’t be a fool, that’ll kill us” Quinn replied. “Even with our level of expertise, putting on a compatible mask will strain our bodies to the limit. We’ll just die. No, we do it the usual way. We can use the masks to regenerate if we need to.”
“And play it smart?” Alfred said, “If we go in fast and hard, we’ll kill those interfering Sabres, and rip them limb from limb before Aslog even notices that they’re gone.”
* * *
Tyrone ran towards Gunne, slipping through the brush that separated it from Rulo. He couldn’t afford a delay, yet he went slower than his top speed.
While he could have reached there in under an hour, he would have used up too much industria and opened his still tender wounds. He had to warn the people of Gunne,
Death was coming, and they needed to get away.
“Ugh,” He misjudged his footing and tripped over a stone, falling face first into the ground. Another regen pill could get him back in tip-top shape, but he needed to save one for the worst case scenario.
“Dammit, if my reflexes weren’t so shot…” He muttered.
“I agree,” Eva’s voice came from above him. She and Deidre hovered on a square industria platform Eva was emanating. He had to admit, it was a creative way to get around.
“Eva, Deidre.” Tyrone let out a sigh, “I’m so glad to see you guys.”
“Well, now we know he’s not dead,” Deidre said.
“What?” A puzzled Tyrone asked only to be shut down by Eva. Her hand reached out for him. Her smile shut down his concerns. Deidre shook her head, amused.
“We’re back together again, now let’s complete this mission.”
They didn’t need to ask what had transpired. Their faces and bodies spoke volumes. The pain turned into motivation into determination. It was time to protect Gunne, come hell or high water.
Chapter 9 - Gunne
The Four Cities.
Gunne.
Unlike the other towns, Gunne was a laid back place. It was a town on a hill and was central to all three of the towns. The city of lumber, it was flanked by tall, majestic trees on all sides, and filled with impressive wood carvings. Due to its hillside location, the Legion base there was in the town’s highest point, granting them the ability to see intruders coming from far and wide. It was not a s
urprise when Jackson Crowe, the captain in charge, heard a report about visitors “flying in”. It had been a strange day, only complicated by the noises and flashes that had lit up the night. Already the people in the town had headed for the shelters at the far side, leaving the town deserted save for Jackson and his men.
Whether they were friend or foe, he would find out soon.
* * *
“So that’s what’s been going on.” Jackson nodded, “We haven’t been able to reach others outside this town, and we figured our reports were going ignored because Gunne is a small town. We’re lucky we even get twelve Legionnaires sent here.”
“So you walled yourself in here and waited for death?” Eva asked. Jackson had filled them in on his situation, and they, theirs. They were all now back in his office, the remaining Legionnaires keeping watch while they conferred.
“What could we have done?” He replied, “Going out would have been suicide — which you just confirmed for us. We couldn’t reach anyone of you people, this was all we could do to defend ourselves.”
“Well, with at least these many people, we can take the creeps out, ” Deidre said.
“No, I don’t think so,” Tyrone said. “Eva said she saw a big guy come in, that’s probably Alfred. I fought him earlier and hit him with my Wind Ball. He should have been dead, but he was running around a few hours later.”
“So you’re saying they can heal?” Eva said.
“We can. It’s probable they can too. They are trained like Sabres, from what I can tell,” Tyrone said.
“Curiouser and curiouser,” Deidre said. Turning over to Jackson, she asked,” Tell me about your situation here. I’m going to come up with a plan to take out those bastards.”
“Yes ma’am,” Jackson quickly assented, “We have twelve legion members here, not including myself. They are all below Sabre rank, but we know basic binding and attack spells if it comes down to it.”
“Good,” Deidre said, “We can work with that. This time, we won’t be caught off guard. We know who’s coming, and we know what to expect. I’ve got a plan for our defensive battle for Gunne, and it’ll need everyone.”
Masked Page 5
