“You think you stand a chance against me?” SonicWarrior equipped more armor and charged up his weapon. “I’ll take you down like I took your brother down.”
Alex’s hand clenched around the mouse, the movement seizing the muscles under his cast painfully. “You can’t stab me in the back when I know you’re coming.”
Raising his claymore, SonicWarrior charged at Dark_Prince, ending the banter. Alex held his breath. His fingers hovered over the button to draw his weapon. He waited until the last possible second when SonicWarrior brought the claymore down on his avatar.
Tapping a combination of keys, Alex released the elven blades from their scabbards in a Draw-Attack Combo, but SonicWarrior surprised him with a counterattack. A jab, a slash, a downward strike.
Dark_Prince was thrown aside, skidding on the dirt covering the ancient stone floor. SonicWarrior wasn’t just strong, but the weight of his sword also packed a punch. However, since the claymore was a two-handed weapon, it was heavier. SonicWarrior’s moves would be slower, easy to predict.
Alex used a healing potion, and with a newfound energy, his dark elf hopped back onto his feet. He circled SonicWarrior, because a moving target was harder to hit than a stationary one. And Alex’s character knew how to move. Fast.
When SonicWarrior attacked next, Alex spun his avatar away. He dodged and ducked and leapt over each swing of the claymore. Avoiding every attack, he patiently waited for an opening. Somewhere between the sideswipe and the downward blow, he thought, There it is, and unleashed a combo.
Again and again, Alex evaded SonicWarrior’s attacks. Whenever his CrushU teammates tried to interfere, he barked at them to back off, downing another healing potion. After a series of relentless attacks from Dark_Prince’s dual blades, SonicWarrior’s health bar dropped again.
Alex backed off, waiting for him to make the next move. But a second passed, and another. On screen, SonicWarrior’s health meter remained low.
He smiled to himself. “All out of healing potions, Julian?”
The mage cleared her throat. “Do you want some help now?” She sounded annoyed with his childishness.
Julian growled, and Alex dared a look over at their station. He was glaring at his teammate like she’d insulted him. Then his face cleared a little and he smirked. “Actually, yes. I think you can help me.”
Alex tensed. He knew he couldn’t take on all three of them at once, even with SonicWarrior weakened as he was.
The berserker took out his brass knuckles, but SonicWarrior turned to face him. He equipped a medallion of sorts. It began to glow with a hot white light that radiated with power. It leaked into the tiger avatar until he appeared to have an aura surrounding him.
“What is that?” the mage asked.
“It’s how you’re going to help me,” Julian said. “Thank you, by the way.”
A second later, there was a blazing flash. Alex flinched, his sensitive eyes aching as he watched. Light encompassed the other two warriors, but they didn’t glow with the strange power. Instead, it appeared as though light was leaving their bodies, being sucked into SonicWarrior’s. When the last of the light faded, their health bars dropped and they collapsed dead at his feet.
Alex’s mouth dropped as he stared at the screen. “What did you do to them?”
“I wasn’t about to let a newbie like you beat me,” SonicWarrior said. “So I took their strength and added it to mine.”
His eyes widened. “You…you killed your teammates?”
“All for the greater good,” he said. “Their sacrifices will allow us to win. They’ll thank me when they’re receiving their prizes.”
Alex could feel Katie gave him a worried look, but he couldn’t pull his gaze away from the screen. She hunched over her keyboard like she could will her fairy to fly faster, fight harder. Alex couldn’t tell how far away the rest of the team was, and he couldn’t ask them in case Julian overheard. He just had to stall him as long as he could.
“But how did you steal their power?” he asked Julian. “How is that even fair?”
“It’s completely fair,” he said. “Competitors participating in the tournament get to use their previously acquired levels, skills, and items. It was all laid out in the rules and regulations.”
Alex squinted at his screen, studying the “previously acquired item” around SonicWarrior’s neck. “I don’t understand. That thing just took out two of your strongest warriors.”
“This little trinket is called the Soul Eater. Most have dismissed it as a fairy tale, a myth. I spent a long time searching for it, and I finally found it in a little place called the Lost Cavern.”
Alex’s eyes narrowed at the name. “Where you killed my brother’s character.”
“How do you think I did that?” Julian asked. “I had to test its abilities out on someone. Jason didn’t even know why we were there. He thought we were just exploring. Without his power, I wouldn’t have been able to enter the tournament that year.”
Alex scowled. “So you stole my brother’s chance instead.”
“I technically haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Tell that to your friends. Tell that to my brother,” he spat.
Julian laughed but had no comeback. On screen, the tiger darted forward, faster than Alex could react even on his best day. With one swing of his paw, he sent Dark_Prince flying. The hit nearly depleted all his life. SonicWarrior was so much stronger now, so much faster.
Julian’s triumphant laugh filled Alex’s ears. Instead of the sound angering him, it filled him with pity. This game was so important to Julian that he would betray those closest to him, his team, his friends. It only made Alex appreciate his team that much more, appreciate those around him.
He dared to look away from the screen to take in the girl who had been by his side through everything, who meant so much more than a game. Katie was the only thing that mattered. More than his brother’s feelings, more than his promise, more than revenge.
Replenishing his hit points, Alex urged his character to his feet. He danced around SonicWarrior, careful not to get within striking range.
He muted his mic and slipped his headphones off so he could talk freely with Katie. She did the same. “I don’t think I’m going to last,” he told her.
“Don’t say that. It’s not over yet.” She frowned at her screen, her jaw clenching as she tapped her keys furiously. “We’re so close. We can help you.”
“No…it’s okay. It really is,” he said, only just realizing it. It wasn’t what was really important. Julian’s behavior helped him see that. “I’ll delay him as long as I can for you guys.”
“No. It should be you who takes him down, for Jason.”
Alex sighed. “Jason’s gone, Katie. It makes no difference to him. If we win, it will be for us, the team. I can’t keep him with me through a game or by continuing to live the way he did.” He shook his head. “I’ve been so focused on holding on to someone who isn’t here that I haven’t been appreciating what is.”
Her fingers froze above her keyboard, and she turned to him again. “And what is that?” Her voice was so quiet that he barely heard her, but the expression she wore was hopeful.
Before he could answer, Dark_Prince cried out in his headphones, and he was forced to look back at the screen. SonicWarrior had attacked again. This time, Alex’s avatar was lying on the ground, his health meter diminished. The screen flashed red in warning.
Alex practically banged on his keyboard, but Dark_Prince didn’t even have the strength to stand. He opened his inventory for another healing potion, but he’d used them all up stalling Julian. He was a sitting duck.
SonicWarrior prowled toward him, his Soul Eater medallion powering up around his neck, the light building from within it. He was going to use it on Alex.
“Come,” SonicWarrior said. “Join your brother.”
Alex didn’t want to die this way. Not by him. It was sickening to think his character’s powers would be absorbed b
y SonicWarrior, that he was going to help make him more powerful.
SonicWarrior paused on screen, maybe to draw out the moment, to savor it. But then a few more moments passed, and Alex realized he was frozen. No, not frozen. Paralyzed.
Pizzalover suddenly hovered into view, eyes glowing red as she held the tiger in place with her powers. Colorful glitter obscured Alex’s screen as Fairy_gurl cast a healing spell on him. He was saved.
He let out a breath. “Thanks. That was close.”
Katie reactivated her mic. “Sorry we’re late. The ice fields really slowed us down.”
Lady_L came to stand next to Alex, sword ready in hand. “We’ve got your back.”
Alex turned to give her a grateful smile, but a roar came through his headphones just as SonicWarrior broke through Pizzalover’s spell. “I thought you said your team was dead,” Julian spat.
Alex shrugged. “I didn’t say dead, just lost. I’m much faster than them, so I lost them in the mountains in order to catch up with you.”
“You lied!” he growled.
“I technically haven’t done anything wrong,” he said in the same innocent tone Julian had used to dismiss his own foul play.
“Fine.” He sounded like a pouting six-year-old. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll take you all down.”
As SonicWarrior whipped his claymore out again, a bang echoed in Alex’s headphones. Bang, bang, bang.
The rhythmic beat grew louder. Alex turned his avatar to its source just in time to see the elephant-sized boulder skipping down the mountain toward them.
Wham! It smashed into SonicWarrior, rolling over his feline body. In his headphones, Alex could hear the sounds of bones grinding and parts squishing. The shadow of an ogre fell down on them, and they all looked up to see Sugarplum.
Penny giggled into her mic.
Alex turned his camera back to the rubble. SonicWarrior’s health bar had barely budged, and within seconds, he was back on his feet. He was too strong; he’d absorbed too much power.
Alex banged his fist on the station, letting the pain that shot through his arm fuel him. They’d worked so hard to be there, had been through so much. Failure wasn’t an option. But how in Caroon were they going to beat him?
“Is that all you’ve got?” Julian barked an angry laugh. “You have no chance of defeating me now. I’m practically a god!”
The word hit Alex like a slap in the face. He blinked. A god. What killed a god?
His eyes automatically flashed to the sword in Lady_L’s hand. It was the most powerful weapon they possessed, and Julian had no healing potions left. He caught Lexi’s eye and mouthed the words The God Sword. Her eyes flashed with understanding, and she nodded.
SonicWarrior gripped his claymore, swinging it around and around. As the tiger built up speed, the air around him swirled, sparking with electricity as though he were the eye of a storm. He was charging up a Super Attack.
“I have an idea,” Alex told his team. “I need an opening.”
“It’s suicide,” Trevor said.
“If we do nothing, we’ll lose, anyway.”
Trevor gave him a worried look but tapped the combination of keys for a paralyzing spell. When his sorceress’s eyes began to glow with magic, and her hands shook with energy, he hit a key and released the enchantment.
SonicWarrior’s violent swings came to an immediate halt. The wind died down, the dust settling. He jerked and shook, his tail twitching as he tried to break free. The spell wouldn’t hold for long.
Another burst of glitter fell as Katie enchanted Dark_Prince with extra strength. It was only temporary, but Alex only had one shot at him, anyway.
“Alex, here.” With a few button clicks, Lexi dropped the God Sword on the ground in front of Dark_Prince’s feet.
Alex picked it up and equipped it. “Sugarplum, Slingshot Combo.”
The purple ogre held out his beefy arms. Dark_Prince leapt into them, crouching into his oversized palm like a coiled spring. Sugarplum spun in place, around and around. With a grunt, he flung Dark_Prince across the open space. The elf soared through the air, straight as one of Fairy_gurl’s arrows.
Unable to move his avatar, Julian screamed, almost sounding like a tiger’s ferocious roar. He gasped as Dark_Prince drove the God Sword into his chest. It sank all the way to the hilt.
They both went down. Alex’s dark elf tumbled for several meters before he skidded to a stop. Slowly, he picked himself up and returned to stand over SonicWarrior’s body, so he could watch it play out firsthand.
“Looks like even gods can be killed,” Trevor said with a smirk in his voice.
“I don’t believe it,” Julian whined. “This can’t be happening.” Over at his station, he leapt to his feet and jabbed a finger across the stage in Alex’s direction. “I’m a better player than you! I’m more skilled than you! You must have cheated!”
Alex shook his head. “You could have all the skills in the world, but I’ve got something better. I’ve got the support of my team.” His eyes automatically flashed to Katie, wondering where he would be without her love and support. “And being part of the team is one skill you’ve obviously never learned.”
He moved his avatar closer to SonicWarrior and enabled the “loot” feature. On screen, a list popped up of everything the tiger was carrying. He scrolled through all the weapons Julian probably stole from teammates he’d murdered until he found what he was looking for: the Soul Eater medallion.
Alex clicked on take, and the medallion was transferred to him. Julian gasped like it actually caused him pain. Ripping off his headset, he threw it on the ground before kicking his chair. It clattered to the stage in front of two referees who tried to corner him.
Ignoring him, Alex watched his screen as the light left SonicWarrior’s eyes. When his tail stopped twitching, Dark_Prince braced a foot on the tiger’s furry chest and yanked the sword out. He gave it back to Lady_L, who sheathed it again.
Without a word, MegaByte climbed the last stretch of the ruins. As the only surviving team, they were in no rush. They circled the flag and stared at it, taking in the moment.
“Would you like to do the honors?” Trevor asked Alex.
He shook his head. “No. We did this together. We’ll finish it together.”
Alex felt Katie’s fingers interlock with his, and he squeezed, not ever wanting to let go. One by one, their avatars grasped the flag, laying a hand over their comrade’s. And together, they pulled.
Chapter Nineteen
Katie was dragged out of Caroon as the stadium erupted into cheers and applause. She spun in her gaming chair. Lost in the grip of battle, she’d completely forgotten where she was.
“Caroonians, all hail your new champions. MegaByte!” the announcer roared.
A referee gestured for them to get out of their chairs and follow him. He led them toward the podium set off to the side. On the way, Katie heard Julian complaining to another ref.
“But it’s not fair,” he whined. “I want a rematch.”
The ref laughed. “That’s not going to happen. They won fair and square. You got cocky.”
“But I’m the better player here. I’m the sponsored one. That win should have been mine.”
His teammate next to him crossed her arms. “I thought it was supposed to be ours.” By the murderous look on her face, Katie assumed she was the mage he stole power from. “Remind me. Is now the time I’m supposed to be thanking you for our victory?”
Julian’s glare shifted and he spotted Alex. “You!” He stormed over. “You’d better watch your back in Caroon.”
“Relax, Julian.” Alex gave him a friendly smile. “It’s just a game.”
Katie snorted as they were ushered onto the podium. The audience cheered and camera flashes burst like fireworks as they were handed an oversized check for one hundred thousand dollars. Katie mostly hid behind Alex, shying away from all the attention.
While she’d been trying so hard to Step four: Stand out, she n
ow realized that being the center of attention wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Sure, thousands of people were screaming out “Fairy_gurl!” maybe even thinking she was cool—Pikachu costume, and all. But that wasn’t important to her anymore. It was important that she liked who she was, and so did Alex—she just didn’t know in what capacity.
It felt like they’d just saved the world together, and yet, she didn’t know how they would ever go back to being normal. Or if Alex even wanted to, knowing how his brother had felt about her.
Even if she did know what to say to Alex, she didn’t have time between all the congratulations, interviews, and photo ops that came next. After what felt like hours, they were herded backstage for the photo session to get their likenesses made into game avatars.
A guy named Derek introduced himself as the photographer. He led them behind the scenes to a room where white screens had been set up in a circle to create a large photo booth. Katie was the first to step inside. There must have been a hundred cameras placed at all different angles.
Thankfully she’d worn another layer beneath her Pikachu costume, because the onesie would have thrown off her body shape, otherwise. Once she’d taken it off, she stood in the center of the cameras so they could take photos of her in different positions.
After they’d taken a million shots, she slipped out of the little walled-off area. Within minutes, a Maxware game designer managed to render a character using her likeness combined with her fairy avatar. When he was finished, he turned the screen toward her and a winged Katie stared back at her.
“That’s so cool,” she said.
Derek motioned for Alex to go next. “Okay, Dark_Prince. You’re up. Hop inside.”
Alex hesitated. “Actually, I was wondering if, instead of using my own likeness, could I use someone else’s in my place?”
Derek looked at him in surprise. “Who?”
Playing Her Secret Crush Page 20
