Alterlife III

by Matt Moss

  “I beg your pardon, but I’ve never been one with good hearing, sir.” He spins the wheel, banking us hard to the left. Spins it again and pitches us to the right, making the ship harder to hit.

  From all sides of the deck, a hundred players strong unleash hell with their bows and magics, raining down devastation from above.

  A pair of Dragons swoop from behind and are right on our tail.

  “Hedwig, we’ve got company,” Fance yells, then aims his bow at one of the Dragons. With rapid fire engaged, he delivers a barrage of bolts in quick succession. The beasts flinch and waver as his attacks drive home, but it’s not enough to deter them away. One of them opens their maw and prepares to breathe fire.

  “I’m giving her all she’s got!” Hedwig says. “We’re too heavy to lose them.”

  I run to the back of the ship, calling help along the way. “Everyone, with me. Let’s go, now!”

  Fifty of us stand at the rear of the ship and deliver a combination of spells and arrows at the beasts. Despite our quick response, the Dragons still attack and fire engulfs the back of the ship. Those whose health begins to drop significantly quickly Heal themselves, as each Savior trained themselves to be Mages. Fortunately, nobody dies from the Dragon’s Breath, but the airship continues to take heavy damage. The hull is smoking now, and the turbulence that comes from each attack is growing more worrisome.

  I conjure Chain Lightning. Electricity sparks around my hands and flows forth as I unleash the spell. It strikes the Dragons, killing one—as its health was already low from our initial strike—and stunning the other.

  “Finish him!” I command the guild, and they fire with everything they have. Before the Dragon can breathe fire again, it falls.

  We all breathe a quick sigh of relief.

  “Son of a bitch. That was a close one,” Fance says.

  “Hedwig, get us out of here!” I yell.

  “Working on it!” He yells back.

  “Fance, let’s keep hammering everyone below. The more we…”

  Roars from behind.

  Together, Fance and I turn around and find that four Dragons are now on our tail.

  “Faster Hedwig!”

  “I’m giving her all that she’s got,” he growls, then shifts a lever. The boat pitches down at the nose, and the descent makes the ship pick up speed, despite the fact that we’re falling to the ground and nearer to the enemy fire below. Before we crash into the ground, he throws the lever back, and we begin to rise again, now traveling faster than before.

  We fly over the Saviors, who are all fully engaged in the fight and can’t really assist us right now. The Dragons are still locked onto the airship, and two of them are cutting a path to head us off. Hedwig points to our flank. “We’ve got company!”

  “Everyone, on me!” I tell them and run to the starboard side.

  I begin to conjure another Chain Lightning while everyone else attacks the two Dragons on our tail with spells and arrows. Fance is beside me, unleashing Fire Bolts from his crossbow like a machine gun.

  Crackling light around my hands; spell complete.

  I unleash the charge which attacks, and briefly stuns, both of the Dragons. Before one of them can regain their senses, it falls, slain by the Saviors. Full focus goes to the next one. It doesn’t take long for it to die. Both never even reached the ship.

  “Whew,” Fance sighs.

  The ship rocks, taking heavy damage.

  “Not good!” Hedwig says, attempting to regain control of the ship. “She’s taking a beating. I don’t know how much more she can handle.”

  I see that the other two Dragons are behind and are attacking with Dragon’s Breath. Flames wash over the back, and heavy smoke begins to bellow from the hull of the ship.

  We’re not going to kill them before they destroy the ship.

  Still, we’ve got to try.

  I take both of Thal’s swords and run towards the Dragons, fully intending on jumping off the boat and onto the back of one of the beasts.

  A blur of movement from the corner of my eye—Gio and six Drakes attack, swooping in and flanking the Dragon. Each Drake breathes fire and Giology casts Lightning from the saddle. The attacks deal critical damage as they strike the Dragons, and the beasts fall before anyone on the boat even has a chance to help.

  I raise my sword to Gio, and he raises his fist back, the Lightning dissipating from his arm.

  Behind him, I can see that the blood moon is now full and is rising into the sky; the rite of the gods is almost complete as the red, dancing flames are seemingly reaching into the outer atmosphere.

  I run to the rail and speak to Giology. “Can I ride one of those things?”

  “Choose one and jump on its back,” he calls in reply.

  I turn to the captain. “Hedwig, how’s the ship?”

  “I’d say it’s about two-thirds destroyed. Don’t know if I can maneuver it much more, let alone fly fast.”

  “Can you hover over the bulk of the guild, like we are now? Give them support from here?”

  He nods. “I can do that, sir.”

  “Good.” I speak to everyone else. “Look below you. If it moves, and it’s not your group of your brothers and sisters below, shoot it. There should be no shortage of targets.”

  Fance speaks to me before I leave. “What are you going to do?”

  I meet his eye. “What I came here to do.”

  He reaches out and grasps my arm. “Then go do it, Ace. We believe in you and stand by your side, come what may.”

  I place a hand on his shoulder, turn, then jump onto one of the Drakes. The beast roars, ready to go. I rein him beside Gio.

  “We’re running out of time. I can’t fight the horde anymore—the gods are near to completing the rite. I’ve got to focus my attention on them before it’s too late.”

  Gio casts his gaze to where the gods are performing the ritual. He looks back to me. “Then let us go together. Follow me.” He leans forward in the saddle and kicks the Drake into motion.

  I lean forward and hold on as the Drake flaps its powerful wings, surging after Gio. Ahead, Gio commands the Drakes with a wave of his arm, then points towards the battlefield. A group of twenty Drakes join together like a flock of geese and go to attack the remaining Dragons. They gang up and pick them off one at a time. Flying over the battle, Gio whistles, calling for the attention of monkey leader—the dirty, little bastard. The monkey reins the Drake close and Gio waves his arm, commanding it. The monkey turns back to his brothers and sisters, screams out loud, then goes back into battle with fifty more Drake-riding monkeys behind it. Trying to help the Saviors as best they can, they all drop Fire potions onto the guilds below, creating a gap between the front lines of the enemy and the rear. When the monkeys run out of potions, they know to go to the airship for more.

  As we fly towards the gods, I can’t help but notice the toll of the war. I first take note of the Drakes and the monkeys that are dropping at a fast rate and won’t last for much longer. Only two Dragons now, so their efforts are not in vain.

  Below, countless lives have been lost. At least a quarter of the guilds have been killed—two hundred and fifty thousand lives.

  At least five thousand, or ten percent, of the Saviors have died, by my guess.

  If this keeps up, there won’t be anyone left standing.

  There’ll be over a million lives lost in the course of a few hours, and neither side will count it a victory.

  I can’t even fathom...

  It’s just a game.

  Yeah. It’s time to end it.

  Gio flies the Drake wide and on the perimeter of the enemy lines. Arrows and spells fly by us, and some of them hit their marks, but we pay them no mind. Nothing can stop our course.

  Out on the edge and removed from the fight, we circle above a grove of trees and drop down into a narrow field on the backside of the war camp. After disembarking from the Drakes, we run between the grove and the walls of the war camp towards the go
ds.

  “Gio, when we get there, stay behind me and provide assistance however you see fit. Whatever you do, do not engage them in close combat.”

  “If I see the Staff of Deity, I’m going for it,” Gio says.

  Go for it, then.

  Would you trust him with the staff?

  We’re on the same side.

  Heart’s pounding as the gods come into view. I equip Thal’s swords.

  With my eyes on the prize, I run towards the three gods who are fully immersed in their rite. They don’t even see us coming.

  This is going to be too easy.

  Our course is thwarted when Gage and Patrick the Brave jump from the grove of trees to our right and block our path.

  We slow to a stop. “Get the hell out of the way. Last warning.”

  “Fuck off, Ace. You’ve lost. The war is all but over,” Patrick says. No sooner than he finishes the words, the gods complete the rite. The four of us stand and watch as the red streaks leave the ground and retract into the endless night sky. The light of the fire is gone, the terrain now only lit by the war on the battlefield.

  The gods stand there and look towards the sky with arms held high.

  Patrick turns back to me with a grin and points to them. “You see? Time’s up. You failed. Thal returns in all his glory.” He speaks to Gage. “Take the staff to Xena.”

  “You have the staff?” Giology asks in desperation, stepping towards them.

  Gage takes off running. Gio moves to go after him.

  Before the Bloodhound can take three strides, he stops as a shadow suddenly flinches behind him. Slowly, Gage staggers and turns around, his face stricken with shock and horror. He coughs blood, then falls to his knees, wide-eyed. With his life draining fast, he tosses the staff to Patrick.

  Dumbstruck, Patrick clutches the staff. He runs towards the gods and leaves Gage to die on the cold ground.

  The shadow moves to stop him.

  In his last effort, Gage grabs hold of the shadow’s leg and holds his killer in place, giving Patrick time to escape. Spits blood and curses. “You traitorous, little bitch.”

  With one swift flick of a blade, the shadow ends Gage’s life.

  For a brief moment, part of me wishes I could have stopped the shadow and saved my old friend’s life. Though we went our separate ways, I still counted him as a friend.

  Before I can give it another thought, the shadow reveals itself. “What are you all doing just standing there? Go after him!” Precious tells us before taking off after Patrick.

  “It all happened so fast,” Gio says, running up beside her.

  We all pursue Patrick the Brave as he runs as quickly as he can towards the gods who are about seventy yards away.

  Halfway there, he slows to a stop as he meets Xena and Davi. Both of the gods have now turned their attention to us.

  “Patrick. Take the staff to Gela, like a good boy,” Xena commands.

  “Yes, Goddess,” he replies.

  Xena and Davi walk towards us. I step out in front of Precious and Gio.

  The Goddess of Death looks at Gage and frowns. Glares at Precious. “Why did you kill Gage?”

  Precious replies. “Because, like you, he was a…”

  Before Precious can finish speaking, Xena’s arm shifts into a dark, ethereal blade and extends towards her faster than imaginable. The blade punches through her chest, rips out the other side, and kills Precious instantly—as if her Health and Durability were nothing. The blade retracts, taking the shape of an arm again, and Precious falls lifeless to the ground.

  I step towards them, ready to engage.

  “I’ve been looking forward to the moment we would meet again,” I tell them. “Time to end you, and the virus.”

  Xena gives a wicked grin. “You’re too late, Ace. Thal returns. Nothing can stop the purge of your kind now.”

  I hold both swords ready and prepare to Dash. “I can.”

  Before I can act, movement behind the two gods makes me pause. Three males and three females, all dressed in white, hooded robes, walk from the war camp and circle the ground where the rite was performed. One of them turns their face to me and throws off the hood.

  My blood begins to boil at the sight of Cari, the head Gamemaster. The other five must be Gamemasters too. It’s the first I’ve seen of one other than Cari and Deakins.

  Cari grins as she turns back around, and they all raise their arms high to the sky.

  I look up and see a red twinkle the size of a tiny star, far, far away.

  Thal…

  Patrick runs up next to the group of Gamemasters and gives Gela the Staff of Deity.

  There’s no time to waste. I’ve got to get that staff.

  I Dash and attack Xena first. The strike deals critical damage, as she was too late to defend herself. I begin to unleash a deadly combination with both swords, pouring all of my bad intentions onto her.

  She’s backing up and trying to block my strikes, but her health is already dropping quickly; a few more combinations and she’s through.

  I expected more from you, Xena.

  Davi reacts and waves his elemental staff at the ground where I’m standing, causing the land to fissure and break apart. Massive shards of earth jet up, knocking me back and creating a wall between Xena and myself.

  I set my sights onto the god of land and sky. “Alright. You, then.”

  Davi takes to the sky.

  I use the Jump skill and lock onto him. Despite his effort to dodge the attack, I land on him and drive him back into the ground, delivering a devastating blow. With health below half, he pushes me away with a forceful wind.

  After the initial stagger, I stand firm and prepare to Dash through the prevailing wind. As my feet launch from the ground, Xena jumps in front of the attack and blocks the blow that would have surely finished Davi off. She still takes sizable damage defending her friend, but doesn’t let that stop her. Catching me by surprise now, she delivers a combination of her own, both arms swinging as black blades. It’s a fast combination that hits ten times and drops my health by twenty-five percent.

  I give her a confident grin, Heal myself within a second’s time, then dual wield once again. Pressing the attack once more, I can see the fear in her eyes now. Before my time in Thannadas, this fight may have very well been a different story. Thank the Creator for blessing that land.

  I’m still going to kill him if I ever get the chance.

  Xena’s health drops below half as both gods attack. Davi raises his hands and calls down meteors from the sky to crash upon me. It’s still not enough to stop my assault.

  Xena is at thirty percent. Now ten.

  One more combination and she’s done.

  I move to deliver the final blow. My swords strike true, but her health doesn’t drop.

  What the hell?

  There’s an aura surrounding Xena, and Davi too. I attack both of them again—nothing.

  Xena laughs, then attacks me. I try to fight back, even cast spells against her, but nothing works.

  My health begins to drop quickly now that they’re not on the defense anymore.

  “Ace, look!” Giology says, pointing.

  I look beyond my attackers to find Gela, the Goddess of Life, with her hands outstretched towards the two gods, a white wave of energy surrounding her body, her power somehow making Xena and Davi invincible.

  Xena glances towards Giology, and I can tell that she’s about to go for him.

  Just focus on me, bitch. If you don’t, you’ll lose.

  I put a sword away and Heal myself while running towards Gela. Finish her first, then take the other two out. As I thought, Xena and Davi stay locked on me, and I’m grateful for that—if Giology dies, I die. Who’s going to let me out of the locked room in the cleaners if not him?

  Davi tries to create a gap in the earth to protect the goddess of life, but it’s too late; I’ve already triggered the Jump skill and have locked onto Gela. A wall of dirt and rock rises high i
nto the air, tall as a rampart, to block my way. Davi’s effort is for naught as my leap soars high into the sky—target locked onto and preparing to strike. While suspended, I glance up at the red star and see that it’s burning hot, growing in size and getting closer. I descend and attack Gela hard, nearly killing her with the strike.

  Down on one knee, she pants heavily and is too weak to fight. Xena and Davi attack me again, no longer glowing with their invincible shield.

  “Give me the staff,” I tell Gela.

  Patrick the Brave screams with rage and, along with the other two gods, starts to attack me. I continue to Heal myself, and my health bar levels out at seventy percent; neither falling or rising.

  “Argh! Just die, you son of a bitch!” Patrick curses as he hits me with everything he’s got.

  I shake my head and glare at him, warning him to back off. Turn back to Gela. “Give me the staff.”

  “No,” she cries and begins to Heal herself.

  From out of nowhere, Deana emerges from the shadows and steals the staff from Gela, catching everyone by surprise. Once again, I’m in awe of her talent and her timing. “Ace, I got the staff!” she says, then runs for the nearby grove of trees.

  Xena shifts her attention from me and focuses on Deana.

  I see her arm shift shape.

  “Deana, no. Look out!” I yell.

  As Deana turns back to me, the black blade punches through her chest.

  Xena holds her suspended in the air.

  Everything goes quiet; my heartbeat the only sound muffled inside my head.

  No...

  It’s just a game...

  Deana’s eyes are wide with shock as she hangs there, blood seeping through her leather vest and trickling down her mouth.

  “NO!” I attack Xena with a deadly combo, forcing her arm to retract. Her health drops fast. Thirty percent. Fifteen. Five.

  Then her body glows again, once more protected by Gela.

  Deana…

  I run to my friend and fall to my knees next to her lifeless body. Brush the hair from her face. “Deana, don’t you die. You can’t die.” I use a Potion of Resurrection. Nothing. Try to Heal her. It doesn’t work.

  Xena and Davi attack me from behind, and I’m forced to Heal myself. With one glowing hand raised high as the gods attack, I stare into Deana’s eyes and can see that her spark is fading fast.