by David Petrie
Wait, that’s not right. Seven hesitated. He doesn’t have to kill me. He just has to keep us busy.
The hairs on the back of Seven’s neck stood up as she realized how much time had already passed. She immediately made the mistake of glancing out the broken window. Mountains filled the view.
They were almost there.
Seven spun on her heel and bolted for the platform’s railing.
“Hey, get back here.” Cassius’ boots hit the floor after her.
Options flooded her mind, none of them good. She could jump the railing, and try to steer the ship away. That would, of course, require her to know what she was doing. Not to mention Cassius would be on her in a second to stop her.
Next, she could make a break for the door and unlock it to let in the Kegan and the others who were still waiting outside. Steering the ship could be their problem. Then again, Cassius was still a problem. She couldn’t let him run free to get in their way.
She hit the rail, the decision hanging in her mind as Ginger came into view, locked in a duel with another Coin. She must have killed the other player in her way.
That was when a third option presented itself.
Seven simply threw her hatchet down at Ginger’s opponent. The now-familiar thunk of a blade hitting bone met her ears as the weapon slammed into his head, dealing its default of three hundred damage.
“Get to the door.” Seven shouted just as the head of a spear plunged into her back. Pain exploded through her chest for an instant before being replaced by an uncomfortable numbness. Half her health was stripped away as she fell forward into the railing.
“You’re not stab proof, are you?” Cassius yanked his weapon free as Seven gasped for air. She rolled over and reached out just as the spear came down again. It sunk into her palm, igniting her skin with a glowing X of damage. With her back against the floor, she caught the shaft of the weapon with her other hand and held on, thankful for the system as it dulled the sensation to something manageable. Cassius didn’t let up, pressing down so the spear inched closer to Seven’s throat.
That was when a bullet struck the railing above her. The wood exploded into Cassius’ face, giving Seven enough time to look for the source. Piper and Corvin stood below, sending a wave of relief through her mind. Ginger had made it to the door. Seven was saved.
Then she remembered her place in the list of priorities.
“Don’t worry about me.” Seven tightened her grip on the spear scraping her neck. “Stop the ship!”
Corvin wasted no time turning to the destroyed steering mechanism and jamming his broken sword into the slot at the end of the metal rod that stuck out.
“Give me a hand,” he called to Piper, who tore her aim away from Cassius and leaped to his side. Together, they gripped the handle of his sword, struggling for the leverage needed to turn what was left of the ship’s wheel.
“It’s not enough.” Seven lowered her head back, hanging it off the captain’s platform so she could see out the main window. The freezing wind blew through her smoldering hair as the upside-down mountains grew closer, the ship barely turning. “We need to pull up.”
“I’m on it!” Kegan sprang onto the scene, throwing himself onto the largest lever he could find. “Is this doing anything?”
“That’s the throttle!” Ginger ran to the other side of the steering wheel. “Pull it, we might slow down.” She grabbed onto another lever about the same size and yanked it back.
“That’s it.” Seven watched as the view began to shift, ever so slowly. That was when Cassius shoved his spear down with everything he had. Seven jerked her body to one side, taking the blow to her shoulder and losing another third of her health.
“How are you still alive?” Frustration flooded Cassius’ face. “You’re not even close to mid-level.”
“I planned well,” Seven spat back. Then she put her lips together and whistled.
“What the–hey!” Cassius spun around as the jaws of a rather well-behaved monster clamped around his leg.
“That a boy, Flint.” Seven rolled away and pulled herself up on the railing. The wind fanned the flames that still licked at the floor around her.
“Where the hell did you get…” Cassius trailed off as he stopped fighting against Flint and held up his stat-sleeve. “Why doesn’t this hurt?” Suddenly, his jaw dropped and he turned back to Seven, an awkward laugh trickling from his mouth. “I don’t believe it, you put every stat point you had into defense.”
“No.” Seven froze as her secret was discovered. “I put some into health too.”
“That’s the dumbest thing I have ever heard.” Cassius’ mouth closed into a solid grimace as he stepped forward, dragging poor Flint along with him. The scalefang’s claws scraped across the floor, trying to hold the man back.
Seven threw out her hand to beckon her hatchet.
“Oh no you don’t.” Cassius slugged her in the gut; the possessed weapon flew past her grip.
Seven fell against the railing again, gasping for air and wondering why he had used his fist and not his spear. Then he grabbed her by the hair and she realized he wasn’t trying to kill her. At least, not any more.
Forcing her to her knees, he shoved her chin into the railing so she could watch as the Night Queen headed for the mountains. At the controls below, the rest of her new house struggled to hold onto the damaged mechanisms, the frozen wind blasting them harder the closer they got. Their voices cried out together.
“We have this, damn it!” Ginger shouted into the sky. “Don’t let up.”
“Couldn’t if I wanted to.” Kegan braced his foot on the console beside him. “My hands are frozen to the stick.”
“Keep pushing.” Corvin gripped the broken blade lodged in the steering column, his hands lighting up with damage. Piper threw her shoulder into the handle of the sword, forcing the ship to turn, even if it was only a little.
Seven couldn’t believe her eyes as the members of House Lockheart stood in defiance of all logic. The mountains filled the view, the sky barely visible as shattered glass blew through the air like snowflakes in a blizzard.
They were insane.
Even with all that effort and hope, the massive ship had barely begun to turn.
“Doesn’t look like your new friends made it in time.” Cassius held her down against the rail. “I hope you’re happy with your choice.”
“At least they don’t lie to me just to get more viewers.” Seven pulled her hand up to brace against the rail, inadvertently bringing her house ring close to her mouth. “Look at them, Cassius.”
Seven’s eyes widened as her words echoed across the house line, realizing that everyone could hear her. She smiled down at her friends and continued.
“I was terrified of everyone in Lockheart earlier tonight. All I’d known of them was a few news articles and a video recording. I thought they were a bunch of thieves and villains. Now, though, I see they’re just a group of friends stuck in a bad situation and fighting to protect what they care about.”
Cassius pulled her hair.
“Look at them!” Seven held her head still in defiance, keeping her friends in her view. “That band of misfits cares about this game, not just about making money off it. Right now, they’re each standing their ground in the face of impossible odds. So you can insult and laugh at us all you want. Even if we fail, I will still be proud to be one of them.”
A moment of silence went by. The wind whipping through the bridge as the mountains grew closer and closer. Then a familiar voice answered back over the line.
“That was some speech.”
A transport ship drifted in from the side of the window, coming to a stop, hovering in front. Seven smiled when she saw who was standing on top.
“I suggest you unhand my new housemate.” Max aimed his guns at Cassius. Nix did the same beside him.
Cassius yanked Seven off the rail and pulled her close like a human shield. Flint still chewed at his leg.
�
��How long were you waiting to make that entrance?” Ginger interrupted the moment.
“Not long,” Max shrugged. “I wanted to have the ship to float up from below but there wasn’t time.”
“Hey, Ma!” A player waved to Ginger from inside the cockpit window.
“Hi Drake.” She nodded back, still holding onto the controls. “You made it just in time. Now fly down to the hull and start pushing with everything the Cloudbreaker has.”
“Aye aye.” He saluted his mother and pushed the craft’s nose into the broken window to offload the passengers riding on top.
Max and Nix ran along the top of the small ship and leaped through the window as Farnsworth and Echo climbed from a hatch on top. They jumped through the window, joining everyone on the bridge. The transport ship pulled away as soon as they were on board and flew off to one side. A moment later, the whole ship rumbled and leaned to the right as if something had slammed into its side.
Max and Nix dashed up the stairs to the captain’s platform, taking aim at Cassius as Farn and Echo ran up the stairs on their side. The view of the mountains behind them began to shift.
“Nowhere to run, Cass.” Max tilted his head to look past him. “Is that a scalefang eating your leg?”
“That’s Flint.” Seven stood taller, feeling a bit proud of her pet. “He’s mine.”
“Nice horns.” Farn added as she drew her sword.
“Thanks, they’re new–”
“Quiet!” Cassius pulled her hair back and placed his spear against her throat. “Nobody move.”
Nix let out a snort laugh combination. “You do realize she will just respawn, so we can literally just shoot through her.”
Seven’s eyes widened at the thought, wondering if the villainous reynard would actually do it.
“Nah, that wouldn’t be right.” Max let his aim falter. “Not after everything she’s been through tonight.”
A chorus of sudden cheers rang out from below the captain’s platform as the mountains began to fall out of view.
“We’re gonna make it!” Kegan shouted.
Turbulence rocked the ship a second later, accompanied by the loudest rumbling that Seven had ever heard. It sounded like a stampede running the length of the ship.
“We’re not gonna make it!” Kegan changed his mind.
The ship lurched to one side, nearly throwing Seven off her feet as the mountaintop scraped the hull. If it hadn’t been for Cassius holding her up, she would have tumbled face first into the floor. Farnsworth slammed a fist against her chest plate to activate an ability, then grabbed onto Echo’s dress before she rolled away.
Max grabbed ahold of the railing while Nix tumbled across the platform, getting wrapped up in the silver chain that tethered them together.
“Too late!” Cassius cried in Seven’s ear. “We’re going down.”
Then, it all stopped.
Silence fell over the bridge as a strange calm filled the air.
“Did we…?” Nix raised her head from the floor, one ear hanging down as if confused. “Did we make it?”
“Oh my god,” Seven stared out at the clear sky ahead of them. “I think–”
“We made it!” Ginger squealed from below along with her daughter.
“I knew we would the whole time.” Kegan’s voice joined in.
Seven elbowed Cassius in the stomach. “What was that about being too late?” He didn’t respond, other than to pull her hair a little harder, clearly frustrated to be out of options.
Max kept a gun on the man and raised his house ring to his mouth. “Drake, my ship better be in one piece.”
That was when the small transport craft blew past the window.
“Yes and no.” Drake’s voice answered over the line. “The Cloudbreaker’s had it. I have to set her down.” Almost as soon as he finished the sentence, the craft slid onto the deck below until it came to a stop near the edge of one side. “Sorry, Ma, I’ll protect the lords as long as I can.”
“You did good, Drake, don’t worry.” Ginger stepped up the stairs onto the captain’s platform. “Just keep the doors shut and we’ll be down to help with the Void as soon as we finish with things up here.” Her eyes fell upon Cassius as she spoke.
The rest of the group closed in as well, weapons at the ready.
“You might as well let me go now.” Seven started to push the tip of Cassius’ spear away.
“Gladly,” the man growled as Seven felt a boot slam into her back.
She flew forward into Max before falling to the floor and getting tangled up in the chain beside Nix. Seven rolled over just in time to watch Cassius slap Flint away with the shaft of his weapon.
Then he rushed her.
Seven braced for impact, remembering how little health she had left. Another hit would finish her. Except the attack never came. Instead, he leaped clear over her using the same jump ability she’d seen him use before. He soared through the window toward the deck. Everyone ran to the rail as he landed in a burst of fire that somehow broke his fall.
“Where the hell does he think he’s going?” Max holstered his pistols.
“He’s after the lords.” Ginger started down the stairs.
“No, he isn’t.” Farn sheathed her sword.
Seven squinted at the deck, seeing nothing but a spark of fire in the dark where Cassius had landed. That was when it burst into a geyser of flame.
“He’s using that flame thrower again.”
“Oh no,” Piper covered her mouth. “He’s killing Void’s minions.”
“Damn, if he kills enough of them…” Max looked back at the others. “Alastair said the Nightmare’s next phase would trigger.”
“You all go, we’ll stay and steer the ship.” Kegan went back to the controls along with Piper and Corvin.
Everyone else started running, their boots flying down the stairs in a race to the deck. They had to stop him. Seven brought up the rear, watching as the jet of fire swept across the deck, igniting the dark forms that were once players one after another.
They weren’t even halfway down before the air went still.
Seven froze as a wall of black clouds swam up from beneath the ship, blotting out the moon and stars. The Void engulfed the Night Queen.
They were too late.
Phase two had begun.
Chapter Forty-One
Thunder rumbled through the night, while bolts of emerald lightning lit up the clouds that surrounded the Night Queen’s burning deck.
“That’s not good.” Goosebumps reached across Max’s skin as silhouettes of something otherworldly flashed from within the gloom on all sides. He hesitated on the stairs leading to the deck.
“Bwahaha!” Farn exploded in inappropriate laughter. “Sorry, it’s not funny, we’re just screwed and that was what came out.”
“Hey wait, don’t you all eat Nightmares for breakfast?” Nix slowed down behind him.
“Not this one, we don’t.” Max tightened his grip on the rail. “According to Alastair, Void’s spawn is all wrong and the fight is broken. It isn’t supposed to be aboard this ship so its stats are all imbalanced because of all the passengers it killed.”
“What are the values based on?” Seven came to a stop at the rear of the group.
“Oh, nothing much. Just its health is equal to the combined total hit points belonging to the players it already killed, and its attack values are based on the amount that survived.”
Seven’s eyes bulged, clearly running the numbers.
“Don’t even think about telling me the math.” Max covered his ears.
“We don’t need to know,” Echo mouthed beside him.
“What about Nix?” Farn’s claws scraped against the railing. “Can’t you control the system, like Kira?”
“No way.” The villain laughed. “I ain’t wasting that ability on you all.”
Max squinted at her.
“What?” Nix folded her arms. “I’m not Kira. I can’t use that power like she can.
It hurts like hell and isn’t exactly healthy for me, so no thank you.”
“That’s disappointing.” Max deflated.
“Plus, we still have that ass to deal with.” Ginger pointed her dagger down at the deck at Cassius who was making a break toward the fallen Cloudbreaker.
“Agreed.” Max started moving again. “We deal with him firs–” He skidded to a stop as a gigantic clawed hand reached from the clouds above and snatched Cassius off the deck.
“What the…” Max stared at the demonic arm coming from the clouds. It was the size of a building. “I guess Alastair wasn’t exaggerating when he said Void would be big.”
Cassius let out a victorious laugh, having accomplished his goal of ensuring the demise of Noctem’s remaining lords. His voice was cut off by the sound of cracking bones. Crimson streaks lit up his entire body as pieces of shimmering chunks fell from the monstrous hand. They burst into clouds of sparkling particles as soon as they hit the deck.
“Oh, god.” Seven froze. “How do I tank against that?”
Flint growled at the sky as the clawed hand returned to the clouds.
“We’ll do what we can.” Farn gave her an encouraging smile.
“Good, great, whatever.” Nix ran forward, tugging Max down the stairs by the chain. “Let’s get on with it.”
“Hey, you’re not in charge.” He yanked her back just as a ninety-foot-long tentacle slammed into the deck in the space where she’d been.
“Gah!” She fell back on her tail and scooted away until her back bumped into his feet at the bottom of the stairs. “Alright, I’m fine with that. You give the orders, I follow.” The tentacle retracted back into the gloom around the ship.
“Wait a sec, tentacles and big demon hands coming from the Void.” Ginger slapped a hand to her face. “Are we fighting Cthulhu?”
The slender arm of a human woman reached from the side to grab onto the ship. Following that, a crab-like claw snapped onto the hull from the other side. Another tentacle coiled around the stairs that lead back up to the bridge.
“Okay, I guess it’s not Cthulhu.” Ginger nodded.
“Good, Lovecraft was pretty racist.” Nix stood back up.
