by R J Triveri
Damage Received - 77% integrity remaining
Fire spewed from the collision spot and grew like a super nova, devouring all the fuel and giving him only a momentary feeling of being burned alive before he fell back out of the orb’s range. He only watched for a moment before he felt satisfied that his attackers were dealt with. His voice rang out as he finally noticed her again in the distance. “Diz!”
Her hair fluttered behind her like a horse’s tail, but if anything, she sped up as the font line came into full view as he crested the hill outside of Oenus. A number of soldiers unlike any he had ever seen had gathered as close as they dared near the world boss’s approach. The legion’s head was easy to identify with that white, ridiculous hat. He knew that Diz could hear him, and when words didn’t work…
Athos Aramis => Diz Reagen: Diz! You need to slow down!
He was left with no option. No response came, and his worries grew. She was so dead set on her goal, but it still left one large question unanswered as bolts of lightning flew from her hair and hands against the encroaching hordes. What the hell was an Exceed?
Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: Sally, do you know what an Exceed is?
His gun pulled up again as his muscles fired again before finally breaking through the wild siege. His feet continued his mission to carry him forward. The legion was only a few hundred yards away now.
Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: You aren’t okay, are you?
Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: Please!
Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: An Exceed changes integrity into a damaging ability. The more you pour into it, the more damage it deals.
Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: Shit.
Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: Did you unlock an Exceed?
Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: No, I need to stop someone that has one.
Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: If they drop below 50% integrity, they can’t trigger the ability.
Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: So, if I want to save her, I have to shoot her?
Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: If you want to save her, you’ll have to do more than just shoot her.
Athos sighed as he pulled Magus forward and aimed. Between the world boss, having to shoot Diz, and keeping the conversation going, his attention was nearly maxed out. There wasn’t much more he could do as the legion rallied around her, so he had to rely on one of the only things he knew how to really do in this world. Taking in a deep breath, he watched as his timers ticked to zero and his abilities were unlocked again.
Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: I don’t know what’s worse, facing down a world boss or having to shoot someone.
Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: The Hell? When did a world boss spawn? Don’t you dare engage that thing, pointy ears!
Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: I don’t plan on it.
Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: I swear if you die, I’ll drag you back from whatever state you’re in and decompile you myself!
Athos didn’t answer as Diz entered his sights. Careful with his aim, he only took a moment to think about what he was about to do as he switched his ammo to Pyrothium and focused. In a familiar state, the woman began to outline in a glowing aura as his hand shook. It wasn’t going to be pretty.
“Critical Shot,” slipped past his lips as the kickback signaled the brew’s departure towards its target. Each second that passed allowed the Guardians to assemble a better defense and allowed Ioh the luxury of proximity. Another second passed before the brew collided with the back of a soldier’s head and sent a chill down Athos’s spine as he screamed. The radius rose out past the guard, engulfed two others, and just singed the back of Diz. Whether or not he meant to, things just got significantly worse for him as he stood there dumbfounded while a trio of solders ran towards him.
(Guild) Trina Rorna: We’re cleaning up here. What’s your status?
The message flashed to bring him back to reality and switch his ammo to Obscurus Arum and held Magus in front of him. He didn’t have time for this! “Scattershot!”
In a flash of shadows, the three were blinded as Athos dashed around them. In full panic mode, he had forgotten for a moment how to even speak more than a word or two as he holstered Magus and equipped potions in both hands as the range shrunk between him and his targets. With forty-five Pyrothium left and a full stock of Leritate Omnes, Athos had no intention of letting someone else die as a new message flashed to life.
Avalon Ave => Athos Aramis: Stand down, Athos!
Athos Aramis => Avalon Ave: Diz needs to come back.
Avalon Ave => Athos Aramis: I don’t have time for this. You will not get another warning to stand down, Athos.
From the quickly closing distance between himself and front line, Athos knew full well she was looking at him. If only for a moment in the face of a massive natural disaster, he was positive his stupidity was worthy of merit. In fact, Darwin himself would have written him off as he flew towards his target. The alchemical arm had no intention of standing down until he had done what needed to be done. At least, he had no intention until an arrow pierced through his kneecap and sent him reeling to the ground.
“Shit!” came the cry as Athos continued his fall into the ground.
Damage Received - 70% integrity remaining
You have been hobbled.
You are bleeding.
Movement speed reduced by 50%.
Bleeding (1:00) - 68% integrity Remaining
Please seek medical attention.
As with all Inciperian projectiles, the arrow vanished only a moment later, but the pain remained. It felt as though his entire leg had been numbed beyond his control but still managed to miraculously radiate with searing pain. Around him, the trio he had blinded circled around him. A single message punctuated the situation as he rolled onto his side and looked back into their eyes.
Avalon Ave => Athos Aramis: I warned you.
A foot slammed into his side as the message faded away.
Damage Received - 66% integrity remaining
“Don’t fuck with the mission, kid. You’ll only get everyone hurt or worse.” The solider wasn’t adept at being gentle, nor did he have to be in his line of work. The three ran back to their lines as the sky parted with a thunderous crash and night became day if only for a moment.
(Guild) Trina Rorna: What the Hell, Athos. What happened to your integrity? Is Diz okay?
Pain blinded him for a moment as he let the words of the solider and the message from Trina sink in.
(Guild) Athos Aramis: I couldn’t get to her. I’m sorry.
(Guild) Trina Rorna: I’m almost there. We’re almost there. Just hold on, Athos.
Another crash of thunder fell. He had to focus to get his legs back under control, but each time the pain overwhelmed him. The bleeding timer ticked further down and his integrity with it. Every moment was another tick towards fragmentation.
Bleeding (:45) - 59% integrity remaining - Approaching Critical Levels
Back on his back, he took little comfort in her words, and more in the fact that the rain was holding off. However, the lightning came quicker by the moment as the sounds of footsteps picked up in the distance, and the screams of another in the distance echoed. There was another, and another, and another as the lights grew brighter and were announced sooner and sooner by the now constant crash of thunder. The noise was so constant now that Athos couldn’t tell where one ended and another began in the endless loop. The footsteps grew louder, heavier as his head slumped back onto the ground. His hand went for Magus, but a voice caught him by surprise as body knelt next to him and spread something onto his kneecap. A moment later, the pain faded a bit and his integrity shot back up.
“Didja me, Athos?”
Integrity Restored - 79% integrity remaining
Bleeding has been stopped.
Athos wanted to smile. He wanted to cry. He wanted to do anything except throw up and the sudden, sickening feeling of his flesh mending from the bleeding, so he waited until it passed before l
ooking up at the face of his guardian angel.
“Well, did you, Lover Boy?” Walter said with a sly grin as the large man offered him a hand up.
Reunion
At those words, Athos couldn’t decide whether to be confused at how he had been found, embarrassed that her father knew they had been talking, or angry that he was being teased after being shot, so he went with his first instinct and stuck fully with the confusion of the moment.
“Walter, what the Hell are you doing out here? It’s dangerous!”
“Says the man who just took a Crippling Shot to his knee.” With hand movements he wouldn’t have imagined the larger hands to be capable of, Walter had already opened his screen, materialized a brace on Athos’s leg, and closed again. “It’s a good thing you don’t need to be in a party to play medic.”
With the help of the brace, Athos could get himself back under control and get back to his feet. “I don’t know what I’d have done without you.”
The man hesitated a bit as his hand reached back to rub the back of his head. If Athos didn’t know any better, he’d think Walter was embarrassed. “Yeah, you do.”
Another crash of thunder broke through the constant noise. A light flashed across the night sky and forced the darkness away. In a mere fraction of a second, the sky turned brighter than the Inciperian sun and blinded the unprepared Athos. Not a moment later and accompanied by the deafening roar of a sonic boom, the smell of ionized air flew from the epicenter of the strike and threw Athos back where Walter had found him. Walter joined him as the world suddenly became silent. Blobs of light and movement filled his vision as colors vanished, and his senses betrayed him.
Damage Received - 70% integrity remaining
You have been nauseated (1:00).
You have been deafened (:45).
The alchemical arm’s head felt like it had gone through another download as he tried to sit up. The words of his screen made no sense as their timers ticked down, and he began to worry. He knew there should be sound. Even if it was just his clothing rustling against the grass or his skin, something should be making noise. More messages flashed, blocked by the blobs of movement as his panicked state looked to his left to see Walter in the same state. From what he could gather, everything was in the same state. Even the grasses had been knocked back onto the ground radiating from the bolt’s strike zone.
He could still make out moving pieces in the distance. Blobs of silver, blobs of purple, and blobs of black painted his vision like some half-melted oil painting spread across what should have been his eyes. Over the span of a few moments, his vision began to sharpen as the blobs slowly began to melt back together. Piece by piece, the world began to reforge into a piece of pure horror as he realized what he was looking at.
Bodies.
Silver bodies scattered across a black plain before exploding into bright orbs of code moments later. Purple bodies shattering into code fragments and small piles of unclaimed loot, and, in the middle of it all, there was one shrinking gray form clouded in smoke and ash no larger now than her sisters had been. His vision finally cleared as he watched Ioh retreat back towards the woods alone. Whatever the Guardians had done, they were able to hold her off but were thrown around by something beyond Athos’s reckoning. His fear only grew as he realized that Avalon and Diz were nowhere to be seen though. In his state, a fevered message sent itself off in the guild’s chat window.
(Guild) Athos Aramis: What the hell was that, Trina? Is everyone okay?
There was no response.
(Guild) Athos Aramis: Allen? Diz? Torrent? Where is everyone?
The screen was quiet as Walter picked himself up off the ground and sighed. He materialized a vial of red liquid from his inventory and drank it before he spoke. “Not as young as I used to be.”
And just like that, Athos’s attention was back on another of the long line of things he wanted and answers to. “How the Hell did you find me?”
“Think about that, Athos. Do you really have to ask?”
Knowing who he was, it didn’t take him long for a feeling of guilt to start to bubble up inside of him. His answer was a simple one. “Sally.”
The large man looked across the landscape and nodded before he spoke. “The girl tried to get past me to come help you, but I wouldn’t have it,” Walter explained as he sighed. There wasn’t any anger in his eyes as he spoke, but there was a mixture of emotions behind them that was usually for the usually binary man. “I know you two have been talking despite what I told her.”
A moment flashed by as he sent a quick message to Sally, who he assumed was awake and waiting for something from someone at this point:
Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: I owe your dad my life, Sally.
“We have.” His attention tried to focus on the man as the field shifted and more footsteps rushed towards them. This time, he knew what to say. “Trina!”
Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: Well, it was going to be one of us. I’m just glad you’re okay.
Athos Aramis => Sally Queen: I’ve been better
Sally Queen => Athos Aramis: Next time, ask me for help. I’m still better than my dad.
Walter’s attention shifted to the three that approached as if demons were on their heels. Trina, Allen, and Torrent only stopped when they reached the alchemical arm and stared at the devastation waiting beyond the top of the hillside. Trina was the first to speak as her eyes took in the damage across the countryside.
“My god…”
“So, this is her Exceed.” Torrent commented to himself as he looked out over the devastation.
“Thor’s Hammer,” the leader added seemingly lost in thought. “It uses integrity of your party members to fuel an amplified lightning strike complete with everything you’d expect from a close range sonic boom.” Returning to the real world, she opened the party window and checked on the alchemical arm. “Are you okay, Athos?”
He nodded. “Thanks to Walter.” Athos tried to take a step forward but stumbled when he tried to move too quickly. It was then that he noticed the symbol for being hobbled still lingered in the right corner of his vision. “Maybe not.”
Ignoring the larger man, Allen moved in and put a hand on Athos. With his free hand, he opened an almost pearly screen displaying Athos’s status. “Hobbled? Haven't seen that status in a while. I didn’t think that the beasts could hobble.”
Walter rubbed the back of his head a little awkwardly as Torrent looked Athos over. “You took a beating, man. It didn’t look this bad when we left, must have been some fight.” Turning to the large man, Torrent offered him his hand. “Thanks for helping him out.”
Giving his trademarked goofy smile, Walter’s heart didn’t seem to be in it as he took the young knight’s hand and shook it. “I owed him a favor. I couldn’t let that go.”
Athos doubted that, but if that was his way of trying to make amends, he would accept it. “You didn’t have to.”
The large farmer shook his head. “It was either that, listen to my daughter tell me off, or let her go with that new machine she built. I think it was the best option all things considered.”
Athos’s head turned to look at Trina who was furiously scrolling through a variety of windows before sighing. “Diz isn’t here.”
He tried to move, but Allen held his left firmly in his hand. “I can’t work if you’re moving. Stand still!”
Athos nodded and looked towards the guild leader. “I tried to stop her.”
She sighed, nodded, then turned to him. “It was a long shot, but I know you tried, Athos. She’s still active on my roster, so she’s alive.” Her eyes watched as another body fragmented into source code in the distance. “Victory at any cost, Athos. This is what it looks like. When Diz wakes up and realizes what it cost, I don’t know if she’ll be able to live with herself.”
He wanted to tell her it’d be alright but was interrupted as Allen gave his leg a pat. Athos instantly winced and did his best not to cry out. “Sorry, Athos. I don
’t have the ability to remove that effect. You’ll have to see a medic.”
“I’ll survive, but thanks for trying, Allen,” the alchemical arm answered before turning back to Trina, but Walter had already beaten him to the punch.
“Is that your daughter, Diz?”
Trina shook her head, then nodded. “Not mine in name, but she’s too young to be running around on her own like this.”
Walter stroked his bushy beard as he looked with her out over the scarred hills. “She puts on quite a light show. That’s for sure.” Whether he saw the look on her face or not, he continued. “You know, sometimes you need to let them make their own decisions. Whether she’s yours or not, you have to let them.”
There was a silence as Ioh drifted out of sight back into the forest, defeated, but alive. A sigh escaped from the guild leader’s lips followed closely by the disappointed words of a parent. “I know that.” Her voice dipped just a bit as she evaluated her words for a moment. “I think I do anyways, but what if she makes a mistake? What if I could have helped her?”
Walter’s eyes drifted to Athos for a moment before he spoke again. “Sometimes, they will make a mistake. It might be a kind-hearted, well-meaning mistake, but a mistake all the same. Sure, we could help them. We want to do everything for them. It’s what a parent does, but if we never let them learn, they won’t be able to grow.”
Trina turned away from the carnage left by the Exceed and looked at Walter. For the first time, she seemed to see he had more to offer than just a kind heart. “Sounds like something you know from experience.”
He rubbed the back of his head again feeling a bit awkward about the situation. He eyes drifted back to the alchemical arm for a moment before he spoke. “Blame Athos for that. I know I did. I blamed him for what my daughter did and was a complete ass about it. By the time I was ready to think clearly, well, things were already out of my hands.”
For the first time that night, Trina seemed to smile. “If she’s anything like you seem to be, I can see why.” She looked him over from head to hilt before she continued. “No armor or weapons I can see, but you rushed onto a battlefield to save someone that you care for.”
