by David Petrie
“Can you do your… Death Grip… thing?”
“Maybe.” Farn stretched her clawed hand out toward Kashka. “Sorry ‘bout this.”
Nothing happened.
Farn let out a sigh.
“And apparently Kashka doesn’t count as a player anymore.” She dropped her gauntlet to her side in defeat.
Kashka’s corpse started moving toward her, leaving slippery black footprints on the floor.
“On to option two then.” Farn took a second to limber up.
“What’s option two?” Seven continued to look away from the hulking form.
“We run.” Farn immediately turned tail and bolted.
“Is there more to this plan?” Seven followed without skipping a beat.
“It’s kind of a developing situation.” Farn glanced back to see Kashka break into a sprint, spattering ink across the hall. “Of course she’s a fast zombie, why wouldn’t she be?”
“I am so going to have a talk with my boss.” Seven picked up her pace.
“Yeah, probably do that now.” Farn reached out and shoved the mage down a corridor that forked to the left.
“Whoa! Hey!” Seven stumbled across the carpet as Farn left her behind. Kashka blew past her as well, ignoring the mage all together.
Oh, thank god. Farn had hoped the void creature was targeting her and not Seven. Pushing her out of the way seemed like the only thing that made sense. At least that way one of them would be safe.
Now she could focus on what was important, that being not getting murdered by an enormous void woman.
Farn pressed down the hall, taking a turn back toward the theater lobby where Kashka had come from. Maybe she could make it out to the main deck from there, and find a way to lose the tail. On her way, she made some assumptions on what Void Kashka’s stats might be. They were probably the same as when she was alive. If that was true, well, the math didn’t look good.
The only thing that might level the playing field was the Death Grip’s charge attack. Farn grimaced. She only had one life stored in it from when she’d killed Cassius earlier. Just one shot.
I’m going to have to make it count.
Farn took a hard left into the lobby, catching the wall with her claws to fling herself into the room. Kashka stayed close on her heels. Makeshift barricades sealed off the theater, ensuring that no one would be walking in on them.
Just you and me here. It’s now or never.
Farn touched a fist into her chest plate to activate her Sure-Foot ability and fed Cassius’s life to her gauntlet. The Death Grip’s claws heated up until they glowed an angry red. As soon as they were full, she stopped dead and spun.
“Quit following me!” she growled as she planted her feet and shoved her armored fist into Kashka’s chest.
The void creature acted fast, bringing up its claymore to block. The Death Grip didn’t care. A crack of thunder ripped through the air with a blast of heat and wind that threw everything away from the epicenter. Queue lines made of velvet ropes and brass stands were launched across the lobby as the world seemed to slow.
Then it sped up.
The blast ripped the inky form’s boots from the floor and threw it twenty feet into a concession counter. The thing crashed into the shelves of bottles, falling down behind the counter, leaving a smear of black fluid on the wall. Farn had only slid back a few inches thanks to her Sure-Foot buff keeping her glued to the floor. Still, even with that, she stood there heaving with her fist held out as the red glow faded from her claws. Shattered crystals trickled down around her from the chandeliers above.
“And stay dead.” Farn panted in the sudden silence that filled the lobby.
A quiet moment went by. Then a hand reached from behind the counter to slap down onto its surface.
“You have to be kidding me.” Farn didn’t even wait for Kashka to climb up before making a break for the ship’s deck. She stopped short as soon as she made it outside.
The Night Queen was under siege.
Plumes of smoke trailed across the deck, claiming the lives of any passenger unable to avert their eyes. All who fell simply got back up, pouring black fluid from their eyes as they set out to systematically murder whoever looked at them. Whatever type of boss fight the Void was supposed to be, it had a devastating first wave. The fact that it had been triggered aboard a heavily-populated airship seemed to ramp up the impact. If it only involved a single party, things wouldn’t have been so bad. Now though, the numbers were off the charts.
All across the deck Farn witnessed players running for their lives. Most of them only there to enjoy a relaxing night cruise. They probably didn’t even know what was happening, having been thrown into a boss fight without warning. From the look of the chaos, most lacked skills for a high-level encounter, let alone a Nightmare.
To her left, a pair of low-level mages ran by, one of them swiping at their spell craft menu. Farn winced as they repeatedly tried to set up a teleport spell to escape the chaos. If a Nightmare was here, then that would mean that the whole map would be designated a battleground. Fast travel was probably off the table.
“Hurry up!” shouted one of the players.
“I am, but my glyphs are grayed out!” cried the other.
That answers that, Farn nodded to herself.
“What about Flight?” One mage motioned toward the ship’s side. “We can jump and try for the ground.”
“That’s grayed out too!” The other mage frantically swiped at the air as a plume of smoke snaked toward them. Farn dashed for the pair, shoving them out of the way just in time.
“Someone triggered a Nightmare.” She scanned the deck for threats. “Your escape spells won’t work. The only way out now is a transport ship.”
“You’re… you’re the Death Grip!” One of the players started to panic as they stared at her clawed hand.
“Maybe we should just let ourselves die,” the other player whimpered.
Their words cut through Farn’s heart, reminding her of the time she had let herself die to save Kira and Max back when they had first met. The little fairy had hated it and attempted to give her the silent treatment for giving up so easily. Farn wasn’t about to let her down again.
“Now isn’t the time to give up.” She grabbed them both by the shirt. Their faces lit up as if she was their savior.
I wasn’t that inspiring, was I? Farn questioned as she realized they weren’t even looking at her. Spinning around, uncertainty filled her mind as a transport ship flew in to land on the Night Queen’s platform.
“We’re saved.” One of the players pushed past her. “We might be able to make it.”
Maybe. The platform was perched atop the front of the ship, standing several floors above the main deck as the bow of the ship curved up. If they ran for the stairs, they might be able to make it, but that raised the question, was the ship even there to help?
A number of surviving players that were closer to the craft seemed to have the same idea, rushing up the stairs toward safety. The two mages that she’d rescued started running as well.
“Wait!” Farn reached out to them. “There’s no way that ship can hold everyone.”
Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, Cassius appeared at the edge of the landing platform. He lunged into the air and slammed his spear down, sending a half dozen players flying off the edge. They fell all the way down to the main deck with awful crunches.
Note to self, Cassius is not here to help.
The two mages stopped short, immediately turning back to Farn as if they had lost all hope. She wasn’t sure what to say; it wasn’t like she could actually help them. To make matters worse, that was when Kashka stumbled out from the theater’s lobby. The creature’s claymore was missing, probably still somewhere behind the concessions counter, but that didn’t stop its black eyes from locking on Farn.
“Head into the theater.” Farn pointed to the doors behind the void creature. “That thing is after me, just sneak by and get
inside. Nearly every ruler in Noctem is barricaded in there. If anywhere on the ship is going to be well protected, it’s going to be there. Just be ready to help protect them.”
One of the mages started moving while the other took a step toward Farn.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She gave them a nod and gestured for them to leave. Then she brought her attention to Kashka. “Okay, I don’t seem to have a choice here, so let’s do this.”
Farn pushed off into a run, letting out her most ferocious roar as she rushed the abomination. Void Kashka responded in kind, arms outstretched to grab her. Farn met her, ducking low at the last second and slashing at the threat’s flank. She ducked past and made a break for it, hoping that she could lose the stalker if she could make it around the theater.
A plume of smoke blocked her path, rushing toward her between the outer wall of the theater and the ship’s railing.
“Crap!” Farn dropped to her knees and tried to slide underneath the cloud of death. Ducking her head, she evaded by mere inches, only to have Kashka catch up while she was distracted.
A wet, meaty hand clamped down around the back of her neck and tore her off the deck. She swiped her sword behind her, feeling it catch something as it was suddenly ripped from her grip. She heard it clatter to the deck a second later. She had swung it right into the creature’s waiting hand.
Farn tried to kick herself free but was tossed from one hand to the other and slammed into the outer wall of the theater. Her feet dangled off the ground as Kashka tightened her hand around Farn’s throat, smearing oily fluid on her skin.
She kicked her captor in the stomach but got no reaction, doing no more than chip damage. Farn struggled to breathe but couldn’t get any air with Kashka’s hand closed around her windpipe. She wasn’t actually taking damage, but that didn’t matter. If she wasn’t able to take in a breath in the next couple minutes, the system would register her as suffocating and claim twenty percent of her health every ten seconds. Death would take her either way.
Out of desperation, Farn scanned the deck for an unfortunate soul that might be within range of her Death Grip. If she could charge another attack, she could at least blast herself free. She immediately hated herself for even thinking it.
What kind of monster have I become? I’m a Knight for crying out loud! Murdering innocent bystanders shouldn’t be my first reaction.
That was when she remembered something important.
I am a Knight, damn it! I need to start thinking like one.
She glanced at her stat-sleeve, catching the flashing icon of her Sure-Foot buff. It was running out of time, but still active. She pulled her knees up and placed her boots flat against the wall she was held against. Gravity shifted around her body, reorienting itself to give her solid footing against the wall. Farn pushed against Kasha, getting her legs under her in a stable crouch. With the last bit of air in her virtual lungs, she choked out one final threat.
“Let’s… see if… you can fly.”
Then she kicked off the wall with all of her strength. Slamming her shoulder into Kashka’s chest, she launched them both into the railing just a few feet away. The creature hit the barrier and tipped backward, fumbling its grip on Farn’s neck.
“Ha!” Farn caught the rail with her claws and held on for dear life as they both went over the side. The night sky spun around her as she swung down and hit the hull of the ship. She looked down as the stars cleared from her vision. “Have a nice fall–oh crap, no!”
Her final taunt was ruined when Kashka’s meaty fingers clamped around her ankle, the hulking abomination putting all of its weight on Farn’s grip. She threw her other hand up to grab the rail, clinging to a desperate hope that she might find the strength to pull herself up.
Her mind flashed back to her first night fighting alongside Kira and the others, back to when she’d learned of a hidden stat that all players had.
Willpower.
It was the amount of influence that a user’s mind could impose upon the system. On rare occasions, it could even defy the limits of the game.
Farn pushed all her belief she had in herself into her chest and held it, forging her will into a single point of light to sustain her. Then she climbed. Her clawed hand pulled her body up the side of the ship, bringing her chin to the rail’s edge just enough to see back onto the deck. Then she realized that the idea of her overpowering the system was ridiculous.
Who did she think she was?
She wasn’t Kira, who had sacrificed herself to save the world.
She wasn’t even Max, who had gone toe to toe with Nix.
No, she was just Farn, a woman who had lost the first person she’d loved in years. The best her willpower could do was keep her chin above the railing, and even with that, she was slipping.
Oh well, I tried.
Then her heart skipped a beat as a familiar avatar ran across the deck with their arms flailing in the air, mouth open in a silent scream.
Echo was right in front of her.
“Hey!” Farn coughed out over the railing as she struggled to hold on.
Echo skidded to a stop and dropped her arms to her sides as if the flailing had just been for comedic effect. She pointed to herself, and mouthed the word, “Me?”
“Of course you.” Farn beckoned the fairy with her eyes. “Come help me.”
The fairy hesitated a moment as if still scared of Farn for her willingness to torture. A second later she shook her head and materialized her wings to dart to Farn’s aid. Grabbing her wrist, Echo pulled as hard as her pixie hands could… which was pretty much useless.
“No, no, Echo, stop that.” Farn blinked twice at the attempt. “You’re not strong enough to pull me up.”
Echo immediately held up one finger as if she had a brilliant idea in her empty little head. She spun around and hopped backward, planting her rear down on the railing beside Farn’s claws. The fairy materialized her wings and fluttered like her life depended on it.
A shower of shining pixie dust poured straight into Farn’s face.
“Ack, hey, stop that.”
It wasn’t that the feeling was unpleasant, but it wasn’t helping and the dust made her nostrils tingle every time she breathed. Of course, speaking only made it worse as it just got in her mouth too. A fizzy sensation danced across her tongue along with a taste like honey. Echo stopped and peeked back over her shoulder.
“Sorry,” Farn closed her eyes. “The Void has a block on flight magic, you’re not going to help me that way.”
The fairy hopped off the railing. “I have to poo!”
“Have to poo?” Farn repeated, realizing that she had obviously not read the avatar’s lips correctly.
Echo, confirmed this by shaking her head and trying again. “I love you!”
Farn felt her face flush, not sure why the system had chosen a response like that for the fairy.
“Okay, I know you think you love me but–”
Echo stomped one foot and shook her head. “What can I do? What can I do? What can I do?” She finished with her fists balled up and panting from the outburst.
“Oh, what can you do?” Farn would have laughed if the situation hadn’t already been so grim.
Echo nodded her head in an exaggerated manner. “Yes. Finally. What can I do?”
Farn thought for a moment, before responding. “Nothing, there’s nothing you can do, but you can get help. I’ll try to hang on, just find someone and bring them back.”
Echo nodded and started running, only to stop and spin back around. She glanced both ways for an instant, then out of nowhere, pushed a silver lock of hair out of her face and lowered her lips to Farn’s.
For a moment, Farn panicked. The kiss wasn’t real and Echo wasn’t really the person she loved. Despite that, her body responded on instinct, and the need Farn had been struggling to ignore took over. The fairy’s mouth was soft and warm, like Farn had imagined in a thousand different fantasies. She was gen
tle and passionate at once. Farn wanted so bad for it to be real.
Echo pulled away, avoiding eye contact. “Just in case.”
Without another word, she materialized her wings and darted off into the chaos off the ship’s deck.
Farn closed her eyes, trying to forget how real the kiss had been, and how much she needed it to be. It was overwhelming. She knew it was only the system trying to animate Kira’s avatar using her memories to make her as realistic as possible. She knew Echo wasn’t really Kira, but still, she felt like she was.
Farn could still taste the pixie dust on her tongue. She shook her head. There was no replacing her. Echo wasn’t real.
Stupid game system. Why is it so cruel?
She closed her eyes as her arm began shaking. The kiss had actually made her forget she was one slip away from death. Farn hadn’t even felt the dead weight that still clung to her ankle. It was as if her will had overruled the system to give her that one moment of imagined happiness.
In reality, she had passed her limit long ago. Her strength left her all at once and her chin slipped past the rail as she began to lose her grip.
“I guess… this is as far as I go.”
That was when a familiar voice came from just above her.
“Jeez, Farn, don’t give up that easily.”
Farn’s arm stopped shaking the instant the cruel yet casual tone met her ears. Then the rage set in.
“I’ll kill you!”
“Is that any way to talk to an old friend?” Nix slowly peeked her head over the rail. “Would it help if I said I was sorry?”
Farn didn’t answer, instead she tightened her grip on the rail with one hand and thrust out her claws toward her enemy’s face.
“What are you going to do with that?” Nix placed an elbow down on the railing and sunk her chin into her hand.
“I could drain you,” Farn growled her words, “slow.”
“You could, but you won’t.” The reynard’s ears twitched. “I’m pretty sure you want me alive. Can’t trap me if I’m dead. To be honest, I was considering throwing myself off the ship to get away.”
“Then why don’t you?” Farn stretched her claws almost close enough to scratch her face.
