by Jason Cheek
While that was going down, Hefe and AJ caught my eye as I held my shield at the ready, while sending out a stream of Homing Zaps after a Global Brutality Ranger that had decided to show his face for a brief moment, before ducking back inside the keep. Homing Zap was the first halfway decent damaging spell that came with my Nature Magic. While the hundred and fifty points of damage at first didn’t sound like much, once I realized it was basically a fire and forget missile that changed everything.
Although, I hadn’t used the spell before now, I innately understood how to lock on to a target once I’d learned the spell as I mentally lit up the asshat like a proverbial Christmas tree. The energy flares shooting out of my hand flared out every second and reminded me of a Klingon photon torpedo. Well, they would’ve if Klingon photon torpedoes were white balls of energy instead of red, but I’m sure you get the picture. Almost quicker than the eye could follow, they shot through the shredded window frame and zipped out of sight to impact their target.
I could only imagine the look of horror on the other player’s face when he realized the magical blasts couldn’t be dodged. In my mind’s eye, I pictured the man’s panicked face as he tried to run away from the glowing balls of energy smashing his life away every second, while they curved around walls and corners. Yeah, it was that cool. So much so, I couldn’t stop the laughing as the energy balls shot from my open palm. Honestly, if not for the serious look on both of my friends’ faces, I wouldn’t have paused in my fun. Seeing that he’d gotten my attention, AJ hurriedly spoke up.
“We’ve got to get in there now, Jay!” Seeing my confused look, AJ quickly pointed out something I’d missed in all the chaos. “Everyone’s dead except for Sarka, Bonnie, Jill, Krystal, and Unalia.” My eyes instantly flicked towards the raid’s interface as AJ kept talking. “Why not slaughter them like everyone else?”
Whatever was happening, I could clearly see that their hit points were going up and down like crazy. Either they were in the fight of their lives, or the Global Brutality players were up to something ugly. Seeing the enraged look come to my eyes as my thoughts went back to some of the crap I’d seen people doing to others inside the game, Hefe’s tone was serious as a heart attack.
“You’ve gotta get us up there, Jay.” Hefe said, clanging his punch daggers together angrily. “Like now!"
“This is going to get ugly,” I said, shouldering my shield and walking to the base of the keep with AJ and Hefe as we all looked up.
“Yeah it is,” Hefe said, as AJ wordlessly grunted in agreement. Coming to a stop, he craned his neck eyeing the third story windows. “So, how are we doing this? You want to hoist me up to your shoulder? I can sit on your hand while you boost me up like a shot put.”
“I’m not cupping your ass, Hefe,” I growled in annoyance while mentally calling Tengsly to me. Quickly, I passed him a message for Assault Leader Dell to have the troopers stop blasting the third story windows. As the winged squirrel took off in a flurry of wings, I grabbed the Gnome by the scruff of his leather jerkin and the back of his pants, before lifting him into the air.
“Ggghhhaaa!” Hefe squawked, unhappily flailing his little arms around as I gave him a test swing.
“Watch the daggers asshole!” I snapped, barely popping my lower body back in time to not get cut by his blades.
“What’s with the mega wedgie?” Hefe whined as I swung him again. At least, this time he had the sense to tuck his blades in tight to his chest.
“How did you think I was going to throw you up?” I asked, completely focused on the target window as I backed up a few steps to get the right angle.
“Couldn’t you have just grabbed my armor?” Hefe wailed with his jerkin were solidly wedged between his ass cheeks
“Get ready, AJ. Your next!” I said, as the Shadow Bolts suddenly stopped hammering the third story. Swinging the Gnome up as hard as I could, I called out. “Here we go!”
“Aaahhh!” A scream ripped from Hefe’s throat as a handful of his pants ripped free in my hand. I hadn’t meant to do that, but otherwise it was a perfect throw as Hefe’s arms shot out in a perfect Superman pose with his punch daggers leading the way.
“Do it!” AJ growled as I snatched him up the same as I’d done to Hefe, albeit using his chainmail shirt instead. As I swung the heavy Dwarf back, a pair of Global Brutality Rangers stepped out from behind cover with their bows raised to return fire. They must have thought my people were running low on mana or something. The idiots never saw the Gnome of death flying at their throats. You’d have thought they’d have figured something was up, but not once did they look down.
There was no test swing as I grunted under the strain of the armored Dwarf’s much heavier weight. Nonetheless, we both knew the deal. I had to get them both up top as quickly as possible or their attack would go to shit in the blink of an eye. There was a loud tearing sound as I strained my muscles with everything I had, releasing the Dwarf at the apex of my first upswing.
“Aaarrggg!” AJ bellowed in agony as he flew up into the air. The pain filled yell was immediately followed by a, “I fucking hate you!”
That’s when I realized I must have gotten more than just his armor. While it was funny as hell on one level, I swear that it hadn’t been part of the plan. For Hefe, I hadn’t had another choice. Boiled leather didn’t bend enough for me to get a handhold on. AJ’s chain mail shirt didn’t really let me feel what all I was grabbing. Not that AJ would believe any of my excuses once this was over.
Looking up at Hefe, I was just in time to see the lump that was Hefe’s Spider Squirrel pet skitter up to the top of his shoulder as they neared the third story window. Immediately, Webby’s tail shot out the same white gunk from earlier, only this time they hit their targets. The blobs exploded on contact covering the Global Brutality players’ faces in a thick webbing a split-second before Hefe slammed into them with his punch daggers leading the way.
I saw Hefe jab a blade under each Rangers chin as he flew between them. His left blade was ripped from the second Ranger’s throat creating a wide gash as he swung onto the first Ranger’s back, while Webby leaped from his owner’s shoulder. A high-pitched, insect shriek rang out as the Spider Squirrel wrapped its eight legs around the other newfar’s face like an Alien facehugger on steroids. As Hefe’s blades began slamming into the back of the Ranger’s head, Webby sank his oversized fangs into the second Ranger’s face to release his poison sacks all at once as the man dropped his bow and screamed bloody murder to claw at his face.
The surviving Global Brutality members froze in shock as their guildmate was turned into chopped sushi before their very eyes. Hefe was a good seven levels higher than the Dark Elf he fought. Not only that, his little legs were wrapped tight around his victim’s throat, which gave him a superior position to wreak maximum havoc as his blades flashed in vicious combinations.
Screaming in wordless agony at the constant Backstabs hammering into his head and neck, the Ranger spun around and slammed the Gnome against the stone windowsill to no effect. Urgently, he grabbed for the mini-attacker only to have his fingers and hands sliced to bits as he bellowed in pain while his hit points plummeted. Next to him, the second Ranger was in full freak-out mode trying to rip the spider monster from his face as he repeatedly shrieked. “Get it off me … get it off me!”
Before any of them could go to their guildmates aid, a large-bladed axe head sunk into the back of the second Ranger’s head as AJ slammed into him from behind. The force of the impact drove the man into the ground in front of the stunned raid members. Jumping to his feet, AJ’s iron-shod boot brutally stomped into the back of the second Ranger’s head as he yanked his blade free and began hacking the man to death like an axe murder on a bloody rampage.
As the combatants disappeared from sight, I turned around to see Assault Leader Dell running towards me, leading a group of troopers with the bound tree trunks we’d used on the walls. Backing up to make room for the troopers to set up the ramps, I silently cro
ssed my fingers hoping they’d be able to hold out long enough for us to come to their rescue.
Chapter One.Fourteen
(Wednesday, May 7th / Day 17 of The World.)
“Where’s my girl?” Hefe roared, springing from the dead player’s back as the Ranger’s lifeless body collapsed to the ground in a pool of its own blood. In his mind nothing else mattered. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to save Bonny Smash. Webby skittered up his leg and climbed onto his back as he stepped up next to AJ who was just finishing off the second Ranger. As he ripped the oversized axe head free from the dead Ranger’s chest, he joined Hefe in facing off against the twelve Global Brutality players.
“Get the fuck out of our way,” AJ bellowed, clashing his axe head against his shield. “Or we’re going to execute every fucking last one of you!”
“Really, man?” Hefe asked, surprised at his friend’s odd choice of phrases as his anger momentarily took the back burner. “You’re quoting Honey Bunny in a situation like this?”
“Honey Bunny … what?” AJ snapped, as he looked over at the little Gnome in confusion. “Dude, I’m quoting Pulp Fiction.”
“Exactly,” Hefe exclaimed, giving the Dwarf a “duh” look.
“What the fuck are you going on about?” AJ cursed as Hefe rolled his eyes.
“Nothing.” Hefe said in exasperation. “You just really suck on anything that’s not song lyrics.”
“Dude, are you really doing this now?” AJ asked, nearly growling in frustration. “We’re trying to save the girls!”
“Sorry, man,” Hefe said, realizing he was being a dumbass as he quickly focused back on the confused Global Brutality players looking back at them. ”Let’s try that again.”
“Listen up, dipshits!” Hefe roared, pointing both of his punch daggers at the line of Rangers like they were forty-five magnums. “Drop your weapons or we’re going to execute every fucking last one of you!”
That was all the two friends needed to get back in synch. While Pulp Fiction wouldn’t have been his first choice of intros, Hefe understood that AJ was trying to buy some time for his Charge skill to recharge. Luckily, it was the same amount of time he needed for his Super Jump skill too. Besides, their back and forth had totally threw the enemy for a loop.
He couldn’t blame them on one level. These PKers had been the ones ganking players left and right. Now, they were getting their asses kicked by a massive group of unknown players. On top of all that, two midgets had suddenly showed up in the middle of their raid, killed two of their guildmates, and were now threatening them like gangbusters. It sucked to be them, Hefe thought with a smile as that understanding flashed across the Global Brutality players’ faces. In that split-second they realized they’d just been punked. Before any of them could react, AJ tucked his axe into his shield hand and reached a callused hand out towards him.
The odds against them didn’t make either Hefe or AJ bat an eye. By the time the Global Brutality players’ were raising their bows to attack, Hefe and AJ were already in motion. Being careful not to stab the Dwarf with his punch daggers, Hefe spun around to clasp the Dwarf’s thick wrist as AJ snatched him up into the air and spun him around in a circle. As his booted feet left the ground, Hefe felt the rage rising up once again in his chest as he bellowed a wordless battle cry.
This was their signature move they’d been practicing since level 20, when Hefe had pissed AJ off during a nasty mini-boss fight. While it had initially been meant as a joke, the unique attack had worked out so well that they’d decided to incorporate it into their general group tactics from then on out, albeit Bonnie was usually the one doing the throwing nowadays. Still, it was the perfect attack for a situation like this. The Global Brutality players opened fire, almost quicker than the eye could follow the glowing flight of arrows sped across the room as Hefe was flung spinning high into the air.
If AJ hadn’t been in the process of hunkering down behind his hurriedly raised shield, the Dwarf would have been blasted off his iron-shod feet. As it was, the impact smashed into his defenses like a pneumatic hammer on steroids. Somehow, AJ managed to stay on his feet as a handful of enchanted arrows blasted into his armored shoulder or creased his iron helm, while Hefe spun like a razor-edged Frisbee at the group of Rangers.
The unusual maneuver caught the Global Brutality players completely off guard as their deadly arrows passed underneath the spinning Gnome. There was that shocked moment in the players’ eyes when they suddenly realized their mistake. By then, it was too late as Hefe spread his punch daggers out to either side of his body creating a living blender. Immediately, blood fountained into the air from the players to either side of the Gnome’s target as Hefe slammed into the lead Ranger in a spray of blood and gore.
AJ was temporarily forgotten as Hefe rammed his punch daggers home while the stunned player dropped his bow and staggered backwards under the assault. As the Gnome began jabbing his blades into the lead Ranger like a jailhouse prisoner with a shank, Webby leaped off of his back with a chittering shriek and wrapped his eight legs around the nearest player’s face as the Global Brutality raid fell back in shock and horror. To further the confusion, a throwing axe appeared in the center of one of the standing Ranger’s foreheads a second before AJ crashed into their backs like a wrecking ball with his axe and shield leading the way.
AJ and Hefe knew the only way to take on range attackers like this was to get up close and personal to take away their advantages. Otherwise, a ranged attacker would just hammer a melee player to death at range. Not only that, the tight corridor of the keep’s third floor limited the distance the Rangers could fall back, while both friends went to work sowing confusion and slaughtering their enemies.
Chaos reigned as some Rangers’ dropped their bows to draw swords and daggers. A few tried to step back far enough to use their special ranged attacks, but the dark-purplish blasts coming through the open windows restricted their ability to spread out. At the same time, the closest ones tried to help their fellow guildmates by tearing the diminutive attackers away with their bare hands. To those last players’ surprise, that was the worst option they could have chosen.
Even though the Dwarf and Gnome looked smaller and weaker from the larger Dark Elf players’ perspective, that was far from the case. Both AJ and Hefe were a good eight to nine levels higher than the enemies they faced off against and their stats reflected the difference. In gaming terms, that meant they were both stronger and faster than their physically larger opponents. A fact that became self-evident when Hefe head-butted the first Global Brutality player trying to drag him off his victim and then sliced the fingers off of the man’s companion who came at him next.
Unfortunately, that help was enough to give the player Hefe was assaulting enough time to fling him off. Not that it particularly mattered. With the numerous deep wounds about the man’s head and neck, the Ranger was basically a dead man walking as the multiple Bleed debuffs sucked the last of his hit points away. Instead of fighting the motion, Hefe used the assist to launch himself at his next target.
Doing a somersault, Hefe smashed his legs into a Ranger’s chest nearest to the open window that was sending Multishot attacks at AJ’s armored back. Collapsing his knees, the Gnome’s punch daggers sank into the shocked female Ranger’s chest at an angle and knocked the bow out of her stunned hands. Ripping his punch daggers free, Hefe launched himself at the enemy player that was rushing towards his friend’s vulnerable back.
Focused on his next target, Hefe completely missed the results of his attack against the female Ranger he’d used as a springboard. The force of his impact and following spring sent the woman reeling backwards over the gaping windowsill. The shrill scream that escaped her lips was the last thing heard as she tumbled out the gaping hole to her death.
While that was going on, AJ was fighting for his life in the middle of the Global Brutality’s raid. Being lower to the ground with shorter arms, he focused his blows below the waist while he used his shield to
block their incoming attacks. Slamming his axe blade through one player’s foot, he Shield Bashed the Dark Elf to the ground, before swinging his axe behind him in a wide arc to bury the iron blade into the next Ranger’s knee.
Bringing his shield back in tight to his chest, AJ deflected a thrust at his chest as he hopped into the air to rip his blade free. At the same time, he brought the hand axe up in a low swing to slam the oversized blade into the other man’s groin with enough force to lift the man two feet into the air. AJ grinned evilly at the man’s bulging eyes. He didn’t know if he’d gotten the other man’s Johnson or not, but the strike must have scored something important since the player dropped his sword and clutched at his bleeding junk in agony.
Next to him, AJ heard Webby’s insect-like chittering ring out above the sounds of battle as the Spider Squirrel sprang on a Ranger’s face that had been trying to blindside him. Immediately, Webby wrapped his hairy, chitinous legs around the Global Brutality player’s face as his poisonous fangs sank into the man’s eye. Screaming bloody murder, the player dropped his sword to claw at his face like a man possessed while writhing in agony.
Not wasting the opportunity, AJ’s blade hacked into the man’s knee. One … two … three strikes and the Dwarf completely chopped through the man’s leg. Feeling the enemy going down, Webby sprang from the screaming player’s face in search of a new victim as the Ranger hit the ground hard. Stepping forward, AJ smashed the downed man in the face with a follow up Shield Bash, before stomping him flat with an iron-shod boot. Not wasting time to finish the player off, he went after another Ranger that had Hefe in his sights.