Gun Blade

by Rick Scott

  The processor chimes and we pile our steaming feast of pizza onto a coffee table in the center of the couches. My stomach growls like crazy with the aromas: pepperoni, sausage, veggies, cheese. I’ve only had pizza a few times before, usually on a birthday when my mom would save up enough to throw a party for either my brother or myself back in the hab. And even then it was only a small one and we’d have to each savor just a slice or two.

  But now I can eat as much as I want and it smells delicious to boot!

  We order soft drinks all around, while Maxis orders beers for him and Val Helena and Aiko a fine red wine. We give cheers and then tear into the food like we haven’t eaten for days. The pizza taste like heaven: hot, gooey and greasy and far better than any I’ve eaten before.

  Aiko turns on the entertainment system and switches to some vapid show about fashion designers and shopping in New London, which seems to captivate all the girls, but confuses the heck out of me and Max. Outnumbered, we resort to polishing off the pizza while the girls enjoy their show.

  A half hour must go by and with my belly now full, my mind returns to thinking about the recent revelations and the one person who is missing from our feast.

  “Rembrandt seems to be gone a while now,” I say as the others watch the show.

  Maxis nods. “Yeah, he and Angela probably have a lot to talk about.”

  “Who is she?” Becky asks and then gives a coy grin. “An old flame or something? That punch had a lot of emotion behind it.”

  Maxis laughs. “You know, I’m not really sure. I could never tell with those two. Wouldn’t be surprised, though.”

  “So spill the beans already, Max,” Aiko says, turning about on the couch, away from the fashion show and towards my brother. “What’s up with Rem?”

  Maxis scrunches his thick eyebrows together. “What do you mean?”

  “True Ronin?” she says as if stating the obvious. “What the heck did he do?”

  Maxis looks away a second. “I’d rather him tell you guys himself. It’s kind of a sensitive issue and I don’t feel it my place to say.”

  “What are you talking about?” Aiko says. “The whole city seems to know, so why the big secret? Who the heck did he kill? They call him king slayer so I’m guessing a bunch of faction leaders or something, right?”

  Maxis blows out a sigh but eventually nods. “Yeah… he kinda like…killed them all.”

  My stomach drops a bit. “What?”

  Aiko grins like a Cheshire cat, eyes filled with glee. “Now that is badass for real.”

  “Why’d he do it?” Becky asks.

  “Okay, now that I’m definitely not answering,” Maxis says, raising a finger. “And I wouldn’t go asking him either. It’s a sore point for him. And he’s very private about it. We’ve never even talked about it. And it’s been months.”

  We all go quiet then, perhaps all speculating about the possibilities.

  I think back to my brief chat with Rembrandt down in the dung cave. He seemed remorseful about what happened here, but did Rembrandt do it for some noble cause? Some exercise in true strength, like what Angela mentioned just now? Although she did say True Strength somewhat sarcastically. I couldn’t imagine Rembrandt going off the deep end, though—like I did with Braxus. Or could he? It doesn’t seem in his nature to lose his cool, but after learning all this, maybe I don’t know him as well as I think I do.

  The front door swishes open and we all turn to see Rembrandt standing there.

  I look away inadvertently and feel a tang of shame for thinking ill about him. The cyberpunker must sense the tension in the room, because he pauses a while before stepping inside and stops just short of the couches where we all are.

  He removes his shades while clearing his throat. “I suppose I owe you all a bit of an explanation for what happened with Angela.”

  “You really don’t have to,” Becky says quickly. “We understand you have a past here. Please don’t feel the need to justify yourself to us.”

  We all nod along with Becky, save for Aiko who frowns disappointedly and takes a swig from her wine bottle. “Well…I wouldn’t mind knowing.”

  Val Helena scowls and kicks Aiko in the shin.

  “Ow! What?”

  Rembrandt chuckles good-naturedly. “I appreciate that, Becks, but it’s only right you know something, because it’s going to affect all of you as well.”

  That gets our attention immediately and we quickly grow silent to listen to him.

  “The fact is, I can’t stay here with you,” he says. “It might not even be best for me to travel with you at all while in New London.”

  Maxis shoots him a look of concern. “What’s going on, man?”

  “Angela’s given me 24 hours to clear out. You’re all fine to stay, however.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “I did some bad things when I was here last, Reece,” he says without looking at me directly. “Terrible things and I’ve rightly raised the ire of those I left behind. You’ve had a display of it yourselves.”

  “You mean Angela?” Aiko says with a drunken grin.

  “Aye,” he says. “And that’s just the treatment I expect to get from my allies. Once people realize I’m back, they’ll come looking for me. Word’s already spreading thanks to the Bosozuko. And there are much worse than them that will be gunning for me.” He lets out a sigh. “Angela doesn’t want that kind of heat brought down on her faction. And I can’t blame her. And I can’t expose any of you to it either.” He fiddles with his shades a moment before placing them back on his face. “So that’s why I’ve come to say goodbye.”

  “What?” Gilly says. “Where are you going?”

  “The Outlands probably,” Rembrandt says. “It’s a high-level area. People will perhaps think twice before venturing out there for a PvP match.”

  “You can’t be serious,” Val Helena says. “We’re a team, Rem. Whatever you’re facing, we can face it together.”

  “I appreciate the sentiment, but I took lives, Val…many of them. And for what I did, I know with certainty that they would relish the chance to take their vengeance out on any of you as well. And that’s something I simply can’t let happen.”

  We all grow silent as his words sink in.

  Maxis abruptly stands. “Well I’m coming with you.”

  “No, Max,” Rembrandt says. “Not this tim—”

  “Forget that!” Maxis says, cutting him off. “I’m still the best damn PvPer in the Shards and you’ll need some backup. I know the whole story, remember? I know who’s going to be looking for you. And you know you won’t stand a chance against him alone.”

  Him? Who is he talking about?

  Rembrandt lowers his head, releasing a sigh. “Max, I couldn’t ask you to…”

  “You’re not asking me,” Maxis says. “I’m telling you.”

  “No way,” Val Helena says, standing as well. “Max...Rem, come on, we can’t break our team apart like this.”

  “It’s for everyone’s safety, Val,” Rembrandt says. “The people after me will not be forgiving.”

  My heart beats faster at the idea of my brother joining Rembrandt. If Rembrandt True Killed people, then there is only one way they’ll be seeking retribution. A morbid sense of déjà vu washes over me as I think back to that moment back in the hab when I thought Mike had left for the surface—left me and my mom for good. I was wrong then, but I know fully the risks he’s facing now.

  I can’t lose my brother again.

  I’m about to say something when Aiko speaks ahead of me.

  “Then we won’t be forgiving either,” she says, twirling her bottle. “You forget who owned you in the arena, Rembrandt? I’m a damn good PvPer myself, you know?”

  “Darn right!” Gilly says. “And I am too.”

  We all look at her.

  “Well I could be, if someone taught me. How’s a healer supposed to PvP anyway?”

  Her levity brings a soft chuckle to the room. Leave it t
o Gilly to lighten the mood, even with something as serious as this.

  “Gilly’s absolutely right,” Maxis says, turning to Rembrandt. “We took on this whole city, me and you, and we came out on top. Now we have a whole team. And the only thing we need to do is work out a strategy between us.”

  “You mean teach all these lot to team PvP?” Rembrandt says with incredulity in his voice. “I don’t think so, mate.”

  “Hey, no talking about us in the third person,” Gilly says with an overly dramatic scowl.

  “Gills,” Rembrandt says. “I know what you’re saying, love, but you just don’t understand the kind of risk you’ll be taking if I’m with—”

  “We’ll be taking more of a risk without you,” I say and the cyberpunker pauses to regard me. “King Axel already knows who we are…especially me. If they want to take vengeance on you by getting to us, there’s nothing stopping them. And frankly I’d rather have the most badass Gunslinger in the zone by my side when they do.”

  Rembrandt looks at me for a long while and finally gives a little nod along with a PM.

  Rembrandt: Aye, true strength, mate.

  Becky chuckles. “Well, with that said. I think you’re stuck with us, Lord Rembrandt.”

  Maxis slugs Rembrandt in the shoulder. “Damn right he is.”

  The cyberpunker releases a sigh while holding his forehead, but I can see him smiling now. “Bloody heck, you lot. You’ll be the end of me yet.”

  “So it’s settled,” Val Helena says, smiling. “We stick together. Where you go, we go.”

  “Here, here,” Aiko says, raising her bottle.

  “Just one last thing,” Gilly says with a grin. “When’s our first PvP lesson?”

  Chapter 15: Rank Up

  We decide to get a few hours’ sleep and by the time I find a comfortable spot on one of the couches next to Gilly, my mind is already drifting towards slumber. I dream and see my mother. We’re having breakfast back in the hab, like we’ve done hundreds of times before. She’s talking about something, but I can’t quite make out what she’s saying. She looks well, though, and I wonder for a moment if her cancer isn’t finally cured. Her eyes sparkle as she laughs and her hair is shiny and full. She moves with an energy like I’ve never seen her do before, rambling on about air scrubbers and nano quotas while she busies herself recycling our breakfast dishes.

  Yes, we must have cured her, I think. But I don’t remember coming back here.

  Wait…We haven’t come back.

  I left her behind.

  Alone.

  “When are you coming home, Ryan?” Mom suddenly asks me with a sullen look in her eyes. “And where’s Mike? Have you seen Mike?”

  My heart races with uncertainty at her questions and before I can answer, I awake with a start to find Gilly staring into my face, a huge crease of worry on her brow.

  “Wow, are you okay?” she says, still looking concerned. “That must have been one heck of a nightmare. Was it about the Others?”

  It takes me a second to realize where I am, but quickly the surroundings of the loft brings me back to the reality of the surface world and New London, which surprisingly sets me at ease. The large windows are tinted and the entire room is dark, but the soft glow of an afternoon sun is setting on the horizon.

  “What time is it?” I ask, trying to sit up, but Gilly is leaning over my chest keeping me pinned to the couch.

  “Like four o’clock, I think,” she says. “Everyone else is up already and at the dojo, but we decided to let you sleep in. You seemed really tired.”

  Just her mention of me being tired makes me release an involuntary stretch and yawn.

  “I guess I was,” I say and can’t believe how much time has passed already. It feels like I only just fell asleep and my body still aches like I haven’t rested well at all.

  “Are you okay?” she asks again. “You were moaning in your sleep.”

  I sigh and can just vaguely remember my dream. “I was back home with my mom,” I say. “I thought I had cured her cancer, but then I realized it was a dream and sort of had a panic attack.”

  She smiles sadly. “We’ll save her soon, Reece. We’re almost there. We just need to access this database and then I know I can find our way home for sure.”

  The way she smiles at me with her big green eyes sets my heart at ease.

  “You really think so?”

  She nods. “I know so.”

  “Did you sleep well?” I ask her. “Did you have nightmares about the Others?”

  She shakes her head. “I think all that food put me out like a light. But I was thinking about it when I woke up. About what we saw down in that cavern. Those things are crazy scary, especially that one that came climbing up the pillar after us.”

  “Yeah… that one was different,” I say and again think back hazily to the one I think I encountered in the labyrinth.

  “It was intelligent almost,” Gilly says. “Not just a monster. That was really freaky what it did. I hope they’re not getting smarter or something.”

  I don’t even want to think about that, but somehow I feel that that one was an anomaly rather than some kind of evolution. Thinking back I should have focused on it to bring up its stats, but I was too panicked at the time. I almost consider making a point to do it next time, but honestly I hope there isn’t a next time and that I never run into that thing again.

  “I didn’t expect to see all that stuff down there either,” Gilly says. “It was massive.”

  “Yeah,” I say, recalling the city covered in that strange detritus-like snow. “All those buildings and cars and stuff. The last time I went down there it was all barren…like a desert.”

  “I think that’s going to help me find the location too,” Gilly says. “If the old world is below us and some of it still exists, maybe it’s not as old as we think. Maybe there are landmarks down there that we can use to find Citadel.”

  I never thought of that. When we first arrived on the surface and saw the greenery of the safe zone, it truly did seem like thousands of years might have passed. But with what we know now, perhaps Gilly is right. Maybe the war that destroyed everything was not so long ago after all. But if we’re ever going to tap into the information we need, we’re going to have to survive the dangers of New London first.

  And that means training.

  “So what’s this dojo thing?” I ask.

  Gilly’s eyes light up like a little kid.

  “Oh, you’re going to love it!” she says with excitement. “Come on!”

  * * *

  After scarfing down a quick breakfast of fruit and pancakes from the nano-processor, I follow Gilly to the elevator and up to the 8th floor. As we exit my mind does a double take at what I see.

  Ahead of me is an arena the size of a basketball stadium taking up the vertical space of perhaps three whole floors. I step forward upon a balcony that is overlooking the court-like arena two stories below and gaze over the railing. A mock battlefield is set up, complete with half-demolished buildings and watch towers that look like sniping spots.

  My friends are already down there in a circular ring that looks set up for PvP. Aiko and Maxis are going at it while Becky casts on Maxis from just outside the ring, hitting him with debuffs and stuns. Aiko takes advantage, attacking Maxis while he’s immobile, but amazingly, even with the added help, my big brother manages to slip out of the hold and stuns, to come fighting back at just under 20% HP.

  He works Aiko down to 5% and then backs off once Aiko yields.

  Becky heals them both up while Maxis stands in the middle of the ring, articulating with hand gestures while he speaks.

  “Is Max down there playing coach?” I ask incredulously.

  Gilly grins. “Don’t let him ever hear me say this, but yeah and he’s actually really good at it too! Awesome in fact. I’ve learned so much about PvP already from him.”

  “Really?”

  My brother the teacher? Who would have thought?

&
nbsp; “Yeah, it’s pretty cool,” she says, taking off down the balcony towards a set of steps leading to the ground floor. “Come on!”

  We make our way down the metal stairs and navigate through the mock battlefield to arrive just outside the PvP ring. My friends are all paying keen attention to what Maxis is saying, but he stops when he sees me.

  “Ah! Sleeping beauty is up,” he says with a grin. “Get in here, bro. It’s your turn for a thrashing.”

  I point to myself. “Me?”

  “Come on,” he says. “Gilly’s gonna back you up. Right, Gilly?”

  “Yuppers,” she says cheerily and pats me on the back. “Go get ‘em, tiger.”

  Oh great…

  The rest of my friends join in egging me on as I reluctantly jump into the ring. I sigh with chagrin as I prepare to face off against Maxis the PvP king. My brother and I have fought countless times before, but never like this.

  “All right,” I say, drawing my kunai. “Let’s do it.”

  I begin buffing myself when a 3-minute timer emerges on my HUD along with an annunciation.

  =Round 1=

  Ready…!

  FIGHT!

  Maxis flies at me with a kick and I blow Active Dodge to evade it.

  “Wait!” I cry, blurring into nano-dust. “I didn’t finish buffing!”

  Maxis laughs. “Too late, dude!”

  I flip my kunai in my palms and go on the offensive, lashing out with lightning-quick strikes. Maxis matches my attacks with attacks of his own, blocking each one. A sharp metallic ring sounds throughout the arena as he smacks one of my kunai, throwing me off balance.

  Maxis Parries your attack!

  You are stunned!

  Crap!

  I’m about to Retreat to remove the Stun when a blue glow washes over me.

  Gilly casts Cure Ailment!

  You are no longer stunned.

  Maxis stomps the floor and I’m stunned yet again. I use Retreat this time, flipping backwards and removing the effect, but Maxis follows up with a flying kick that stuns me a third time. He slams me with a flying uppercut that takes 10% of my health and knocks me onto my back.