The Grind

by Dante Doom

  The words 300 damage and Grappled hovered above her head. Her health bar dropped down from 1,100 to 800. She wriggled, but was unable to move.

  “I’m disappointed,” Leopold grumbled as he flapped his wings, taking her higher up. “I was sincerely hoping to have a relationship with you, but I suppose that’s the way things go. You put yourself out there, you take a risk by forgiving her high crimes against the throne, and how does she repay you? By trying to kill you.”

  “We’re going to stop you, you lunatic!” Savannah shouted out as she tried to aim her Arc Rifle at Leopold’s batwings. They were flapping quickly, though, and her shot went wild.

  “Oh, I promise that you won’t,” Leopold said with a chuckle. “Now then, goodbye!” And with that, he released his grip on her. Savannah began to plummet towards the ground. At the height she had been flown to, hitting the ground would undoubtedly kill her.

  “Help!” she shouted as she fell. She looked through her inventory, but didn’t find anything that would be of use in this situation.

  “I’ve got you!” Elanor cried as she ran to where Savannah was falling. She had a pulse cannon of some sort in her hands. “Hang on!”

  As Savannah got closer to the ground, Elanor fired her cannon upwards. Savannah felt a powerful pressure pushing against her then, knocking her backwards into the air for a second before she started to fall again.

  “That reset your fall distance!” Elanor said as Savannah landed on the ground with a thud, taking no damage since the fall’s range had been too short.

  “Nice thinking,” Savannah grunted.

  “Incoming!” Fingers shouted as Leopold came down for another strafing run. This time, the terrible monster was aiming for Timon. Savannah scrambled to her feet and aimed her Arc Rifle at Leopold. She fired off a shot, hitting the beastly king in his shoulder this time. 300 damage hovered above him.

  Timon managed to dodge out of the way of the attack, but one of the Aspects, a red woman, raised what appeared to be a staff and let loose a torrent of flames. The fire stream overtook Timon and he screamed in agony as 200 damage hovered above his head, dropping him down to 900 points.

  “There goes your theory that they won’t attack us if we leave them alone,” Fingers said. “But I’m almost done freeing Kireen!”

  “Stay focused on the chains,” Timon shouted out as he climbed to his feet and dusted himself off. “Savannah, keep hitting him.”

  “He’s out of my glove range,” Elanor said. “If I could get close to him, I could hit all of those chains at once with my gloves.”

  “Well, good luck—he keeps avoiding you,” Fingers said.

  Leopold had stopped charging and was now floating above them all, laughing as purple energy began to build around his chest. The alert Charging hovered above his head. All of the Aspects were holding their hands up now, helplessly feeding energy to him.

  “That’s not good,” Savannah groaned as her Arc Rifle’s shot bounced off of him. Deflected hovered above Leopold’s head. It would appear that, while he was charging, he was immune to damage.

  “I’m putting money on that attack killing one of us,” Fingers said. “We gotta find cover or something.”

  “Yeah, let’s look for cover in the arid plain,” Timon snapped as he kept firing. “We’re out of our element here—we need to run.”

  “Run?” Elanor and Savannah echoed as the same time. “I don’t think so,” Elanor said as she shook her head. “Listen, maybe this is a time game. He said something about this Aspect power draining his sanity, right?”

  “We can’t trust that,” Timon said in between shots. “There’s no way he would announce his weakness so willingly.”

  “Unless he was already starting to lose his marbles,” Fingers suggested.

  “Are you ready for the end?” Leopold bellowed as the Charging bar neared completion. “Because today is going to be the end of your lives! I will kick you out of the Grind, and then send my army to each of your homes and have you all killed! That is, after I use all of your points to unlock the Admin room!”

  “Well, it was a pleasure working with all of you,” Fingers said with a sigh. “Let’s hope he can’t find any of us in the real world.”

  “Don’t roll over yet,” Elanor said. “It’s unbecoming of you. Savannah, what do we do?”

  “Spread out and wait to see how the attack works,” Savannah said as she watched her Arc Rifle’s shot narrowly miss one of the Aspect’s chains.

  The team complied with her suggestion and they quickly moved apart from one another, leaving plenty of space between them. Savannah was nervous about this attack, but in the pit of her stomach, she was feeling a different kind of feeling altogether. Ten-Thirty was dead. It had hurt when she’d realized that the Machina was gone for good, and it still caused a pain in her chest. Yes, it had sacrificed its life for the good of Verre, and that was something to admire, but Savannah hadn’t even had the chance to say goodbye—or even thank you.

  She had been hoping to figure out some way to back up Ten-Thirty’s mind once Leopold was defeated. There were hundreds of doors on the Maintenance floor, and there had to have been some way to save the Machina’s intelligence. Now those hopes were gone, because her friend was dead. Ten had given its own life to save Savannah’s, and it had never told any of them its plan. She wished that she had known.

  Anger began to well up inside of her heart as she realized that all of this could have been avoided if Leopold had just done the right thing. She felt her fists tighten as she watched him prepare his big attack. She was going to make him pay, in this world and in the real one.

  “Hahahahhaha!” Leopold screamed as he let loose a torrent of bright purple energy from his chest. The energy came crashing down in bursts, striking the ground around Elanor. She tried to dodge left and right to avoid the hit, but the beams were too fast.

  “Ah, crap!” she cried as energy began to tear through her entire body. The words 1,000 damage hovered above her head and the armor around her body shattered to pieces. She fell to her knees, weak but alive.

  “Elanor!” Fingers yelled as he ran up to her. Leopold was dive-bombing towards them now, cackling as he stretched his talons wide.

  “I’m okay, I’m okay,” Elanor said as she stood to her feet. Her golden armor was shattered, and she was wearing her regular clothes.

  Timon and Savannah continued to shoot at Leopold, but he was moving too quickly for them to be able to take him down.

  “Die! Die, Ellie!” Leopold shrieked as he flew in hard. Fingers stood his ground and fired off a few rounds, but his bullets bounced off the madman’s body. Leopold kicked his legs forward, knocking Fingers to the ground. Elanor tried to dodge out of the way, but her leg was injured and she couldn’t move in time. Leopold grabbed her by the arms and hoisted her high into the sky.

  “Oh this isn’t good!” Timon cried as he fired a few pot shots at Leopold.

  “He’s got my girl!” Fingers yelled out. He began to shoot rapidly, but the damage still couldn’t pierce through Leopold’s damage resistance.

  “Focus, you two!” Savannah shouted out as she waved to get their attention. “Free Kireen’s chain, quickly!”

  “But—” Fingers went to protest, but was interrupted by Timon.

  “Listen to our leader; aim for the chains!” he said as he dropped down to one knee and began to fire on Kireen’s chain. The Aspect was motionless and expressionless, merely being dragged along by Leopold now.

  Leopold flew high enough to where it was clear a fall would be lethal, and then he released Elanor. He began to cackle with glee as Elanor came sailing toward the ground.

  “We have to save her!” Timon yelled as he fired on the chain.

  “I don’t know… if we can,” Savannah whispered as she shook her head. “I don’t think we have anything.”

  “Aw hell, she’s gonna die!” Fingers groaned. He continued firing on Kireen’s chain and the word Broken finally hovered above it. Kireen
immediately became conscious and vanished from sight.

  “Does anyone have a Repulse Gun?” Timon asked. His attention shifted as he realized that Leopold was charging towards him. He began to run opposite of the team. “He’s only going to keep repeating the same strategy!”

  “Because it’s working!” Fingers said as he pulled out a grenade and prepared to hit Leopold with it.

  “Savannah!” Elanor shouted as she fell towards the earth. It was only a matter of seconds before she would be dead. “You need to kill me!”

  “What?” Savannah yelled back in disbelief.

  “If he gets the kill, he’ll take all my points. You’ve got to kill me and shut the Grind off! Only the Monarch rank can do it—you’ve got to kill me!” Elanor cried as she drew dangerously close to the ground.

  Savannah didn’t have time to hesitate. She gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and aimed her Arc Rifle at the helpless woman. She squeezed the trigger and watched as the bolt of lightning crashed into her ally. The words Lethal Blow hovered above Elanor’s head.

  “What the hell?” Leopold shrieked as he abruptly changed his flight path. He swooped upward and looked at Savannah in utter confusion.

  Millions of golden orbs rushed to Timon’s head then, and 30,000,000/1,500,000 hovered above his head. “You… you… you killed her?” Leopold growled. He moved his head back and forth for a moment, and then swatted at nothing in front of him. “No, matter, your boyfriend’s going to be an easier target than she was. Come here, you bastard!”

  Leopold charged towards Timon again, but as he flew, the second chain, this one having held the woman with the fire staff, broke, thanks to Fingers’ continued shooting. This Aspect didn’t vanish, but instead flew alongside Leopold and began to harass him by shooting flames out of her fingertips. The distraction was enough for Timon to scramble out of the way and rush to Savannah’s side.

  “Why the hell did you shoot her?” he demanded.

  “She told me to, and she was right. It was the only way; I’m sorry,” Savannah said.

  “Well, now I’m a prime target!” Timon said. “We can’t win this fight without Elanor! I’ve got her points, but her skills were way higher.”

  “No, we have to keep fighting! He’ll never be weaker than he is right now,” Savannah replied. “Stay focused on the chains, like Fingers is. I’ll handle distracting Leopold.”

  “You better be right about this,” Timon said. “I do not want to have to explain to my father why Leopold is now the supreme god of the Grind because of a tactical misstep.”

  “Trust me,” Savannah replied. She walked forward and raised her rifle high. “How’s it feel to know that you’re going to lose?” she taunted him before firing again.

  Leopold shifted his attention away from the Aspect and flew right through it. “Ha, you really think that I am going to lose?” he asked. “I haven’t even begun to show you my power!”

  “Your power? You’ve lost two Aspects already! Give up!” Savannah replied. “Give up and admit that you’re weaker than Elanor. Even in her death, she was able to come up with a better plan than you.”

  “Are you trying to taunt me? To get my attention?” Leopold said with a laugh. “Because it won’t work.”

  Leopold was still enough for Savannah to strike him with another shot of her Arc Rifle. The words 300 damage hovered above him, dropping his health down from 8,500 to 8,200. He growled at her, but turned his attention to Timon. His wings began to beat rapidly then, and the word Charging began to hover above his head.

  Savannah could see that the third chain, this one connected to the bestial lion-like being, was almost broken. She had to divert his attention before he could attack and kill Timon. Shooting at him was useless, as all of the attacks were bouncing off as he charged. She had to distract him, and she really had to cut him deeply this time.

  “Do you want to know why I rejected you?” Savannah shouted at the top of her lungs. Leopold tried to ignore her, but she could see that his head had turned slightly to the left, to be able to look at her out the corner of his eye. “I could count a lot of reasons, to be honest, but the biggest one was because of how much of a coward you are! You always tried to bribe me, to coax me into joining your side, and I ask myself, why? Because you don’t have the guts to admit your feelings to another human being! Instead, you resort to trickery and bribes because you’re a coward!”

  This caught his attention, and his jackal face was contorted into a snarl as he growled at her. “You stupid, insignificant, ungrateful piece of garbage!” he shouted. “You have no idea what you could have had, if you had joined me. You call me the coward, yet you’re the one hurling words at me, and for what? To distract me? To provoke my ire? Well, ma’am, consider my ire provoked!”

  He began to charge towards her with a blinding speed, moving so quickly, that Savannah could barely react before she felt razor sharp talons digging into the side of her armor. The words 500 damage hovered above her head, dropping her down to a measly 300 points. The pain coursing through her was immense, too. Leopold latched his talons around her waist and hoisted her up to his face. The hideous jackal creature sneering at her was a perfect representation of who Leopold truly was, she realized. Perhaps that was why his Aspect form was so different from the way he’d looked before.

  “Are you happy, now?” Leopold growled. “Are you happy that you provoked me enough to make sure you die?”

  Savannah tried to struggle her way out of his grip, but it was too tight. He began to fly upwards again. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the bestial creature was gone, but Leopold didn’t seem to realize it. There were only two left. Of course, the moment that he dropped her, it would all be over.

  “I’ve tried everything to get you to see things from my point of view; I even showed the greatest mercy for you—not once, but three times,” Leopold growled. “I guess that goes to show you, people never change. They take you for granted, they mock you, and they tell you all sorts of lies in the hopes that you will somehow believe them. They break promises and steal from under your nose.”

  “What are you talking about?” Savannah asked.

  “Oh, and the worst part is, they smile to your face! I’ll show them all,” Leopold began to babble. “I’ll turn this place into my temple, my house of worship, and they will all bow before me. No one will go anywhere! I will be the god of this land and they will all bow.”

  “Looks like you’re finally losing your mind,” Savannah said, grinning darkly at him.

  “Oh, I’m not losing anything. Not today, not tomorrow,” Leopold said. He had seemed to forget what he was doing, though, as they were still flying high up in the sky. Savannah could see they were getting close to the burning red clouds, too. She wondered if they were going to hit the top of the map before he remembered what he was doing. They were well out of range of Timon and Finger’s weapons now, far above where he’d carried her previously.

  Leopold went silent for a moment. He slowly tilted his head and blinked, looking Savannah in the eyes. “I fear this transformation isn’t healthy for me,” he mumbled.

  “You’d better turn back,” Savannah said. “Look, Leopold, you don’t have to keep doing this. Land on the ground and surrender. It’s better than losing your mind.”

  “I suppose you are right,” Leopold said. “I don’t have to keep doing this. Then again, I want to.” And with that, he dropped Savannah.

  Once again, Savannah was falling through the air. This time, though, she didn’t have any hope of surviving. As she fell, Kireen materialized right next to her.

  “Falling down?” Kireen asked.

  “Yes!” Savannah replied. She wanted to plead for help from the creature, but she knew better at this point. Kireen was far more into games than she was directness.

  “That sounds like fun,” Kireen giggled as she twirled in the air. “But you don’t have time for fun.”

  “I don’t?” Savannah asked.

  �
�No! King Meanie’s losing his mind. He thought he could enslave us, but in the end, he’s only making things a lot worse for himself.”

  “How do I beat him?”

  “Join me!” Kireen said as she stretched out her hand. “King Meanie can’t grab me again if we’re a team.”

  Savannah didn’t know what the Aspect meant, but she reached out her hand to touch her. The shimmering yellow woman surged towards Savannah then, and suddenly moved inside of her. Savannah could feel the familiar sensation of powerful telepathic energy rushing through her mind. It was overwhelming at first, but unlike the last time, there were words attached to the pictures and images she saw.

  We must save the world from the plague, Kireen echoed within Savannah’s mind. Pictures and images of a land ravaged by disease and death appeared before Savannah. There were tall buildings that she had never seen before, large structures that seemed to go upwards forever. The people in these pictures were dressed so strangely, and many of them were sick or dead. This must have been the World Before, she thought.

  The only way to save the world is to kill Leopold, Savannah thought back to the Aspect. She noticed that she wasn’t hurtling towards the ground anymore, but was instead hovering in the air one hundred feet above the ground. Leopold was nowhere to be seen.

  I understand, Kireen replied. I see your thoughts, hopes, and dreams. But you still haven’t answered the question in your heart yet. You will answer it soon, though.

  What question? Savannah asked.

  That is not for me to tell you. I must fade away now, if we are to merge successfully. I will imbue you with all of my power. I am not as strong as King Meanie, but I can give you swiftness and a clever mind. The voice inside of Savannah’s mind began to weaken considerably. Be brave, my friend. You can stop him… you can stop the plague…

  Savannah felt more power rush through her entire body, and her base health increased from 100 to 300 points as a few abilities appeared in front of her. One such ability was the power to fly at will, and another gave her the ability to turn invisible. No doubt, these would help turn the tide against Leopold.