by Dante Doom
Lethal Feedback has been authorized in this area floated in the center of the room in large, red lettering.
"The hell is that?" Van muttered as he looked at the alert. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand up as he realized what had happened. Someone had activated their orb early. This wasn't good at all. Everyone had an extra orb in case Van and Sang were somehow incapacitated, but no one was supposed to activate theirs.
"I don't particularly understand," the Emperor said. "That shouldn't be up there." Van could hear a softness in the dragon's voice.
An ear-shattering, blood-curdling scream came from one of the yellow dragons as its throat was cut wide open, causing it to thrash about before it died. The creature's body faded away as soon as it was dead.
"You… bastards," the Emperor gasped. "You figured out some way to turn on our haptic kill switches. How?"
"It's a secret!" Van replied as he swung into action. He rushed around the back of the dragon, using the rope he'd still held tight to hoist himself back up to the wings of the beast. He swung his hammer hard against the creature, feeling the weight of the weapon crash into the connecting joint between the wing and the dragon's back.
20 damage! hovered above the dragon. Van grimaced – that was a tiny amount of damage to be dealing to a powerful dragon like this.
"Ahhhhh!" the Emperor screamed. Van chuckled for a moment, thinking the Emperor was making a joke, but quickly realized that the beast was thrashing about in real agony.
"Wait a second…" Van whispered as he noticed that the Emperor's health was only at 200 now. He quickly checked his own character sheet to see if his health had been changed, too.
Everything had changed due to the area's lethality. By turning the section into a Designated Reality Zone, they'd ensured that stats were a lot more realistic. With only 200 hit points, the Emperor didn't stand a chance. Of course, this also meant that, if Van wasn't careful, he'd be killed rather easily, too.
Arrows flew from the ground towards the Emperor now, crashing into his body. "Arrrgh!" the Emperor shouted again as his health dropped down to 150.
The dragon shifted around as it began to cast a powerful spell, creating a shimmering bubble to surround itself. Van was inside of the purplish bubble, and he could see that arrows were coming from all directions… but were unable to penetrate the bubble.
"I suppose this is what I get for being cocky. I knew you humans were different," the Emperor said, "but I didn't realize you were this capable."
"At least you're humble about it," Van commented as he activated his Fierce Rage power again. The surge of energy jacked his health up to 200 and his strength score increased drastically. He could feel the power pulsing inside of him and he unleashed his rage by crashing his hammer against the Emperor's wings again.
"Ah! Enough!" the Emperor shouted as he reached his long-clawed hand behind his back and grabbed Van.
"Crap!" Van shouted as he tried to resist the strength of the dragon, but it held him tightly. Apparently, it could have grabbed him at any time.
The Emperor held Van right in front of him, snarling a little. "Van, I am impressed endlessly with you, but you made a choice by activating this lethal system. Now, I am fair…" he began as a small puff of flames emanated from his nostrils. Van could feel the intense heat of the fire and knew that he was about to be cooked. His No Bonds Can Hold Me power was done for the day, as well. "So, here's the deal. Surrender and join me, or die this instant. Make your choice now."
"I'll join you!" Van shouted, trying his hardest not to chuckle as he said it.
The Emperor sighed. "Now that sarcasm is starting to get annoying. Well, I tried." He narrowed his eyes and took in a sharp breath. Before he could unleash the flames that would end Van's life, though, Jet came charging up and crashed through the purple shield, shattering it.
Van felt himself freefall as the Emperor released him in the process of trying to fight back against Jet's assault. The black dragon was fiercely clawing and slashing at the Emperor, though, and the two were immediately engaged in fierce combat.
"I gotcha!" Sang shouted as she came out of nowhere and grabbed Van. She activated her ring of slow falling then and the two descended to the ground.
"Where did you come from?" Van asked.
"Jumped off of Jet to grab you," Sang replied. "We're gonna win this one!"
They touched the ground gently just in time to see Jet throw the Emperor onto the floor. The force of the large red dragon hitting the earth left a huge crater and shook the ground itself.
"Come on!" Van shouted to his team as about fifty members of the Iron Dragons rallied around him. There were more dragons pouring in through the hole, but most were unaware of the lethal biofeedback effect until it was too late. Between the mercenaries guarding the entrance to keep other dragons out and Van's forces, now there was no way for the Emperor to have a chance.
"Charrrrge!" everyone shouted as they rushed to the site where the Emperor and Jet were locked in mortal combat.
"Enough!" the Emperor boomed as he grabbed Jet's right wing and tore it clean off, eliciting a shriek of agony from the black dragon. Jet tried to bite down on the Emperor, but wasn't fast enough. The Emperor, lying on his back, spun around hard, throwing Jet off of him.
"You think you can all come at me?" the Emperor shouted as he stood tall, Van and his team surrounding him. The shimmering bubble had returned and was still blocking arrows from striking him, and they could see that he was trying to calculate what his next move would be. "You all think that I can die here?"
Jet tried to regain his footing but, due to his injury, only collapsed as he tried to get up.
"Bidane!" Van shouted. "Heal Jet before he dies!"
"Aye!" Bidane yelled back as she ran past him to render aid to the dragon.
"Deactivate the system and you'll live!" Van yelled at the Emperor. They had surrounded him at this point. Everyone was wielding a long halberd designed specifically for thrusts into a dragon's flesh. "All you need to do to get out of this is to just turn off whatever thing will destroy this planet and you can walk out of here alive."
Van was lying, of course. The moment the Emperor turned off the system, he would be killed.
"You think you can scare me? I told you, Van! I AM A GOD!" the Emperor shrieked as he unloosed a torrent of fire upon Van and his allies. A magical wall of stone appeared in front of Van's team, though, shielding them from the flames. Van glanced over at Fredlin, whose hands were high as he muttered spells to keep the wall going.
"Charge!" Van yelled. "Kill the Emperor!" The soldiers rushed forward in a blitz to do as they'd been ordered. And the Emperor was fast, but there were just too many for him to ward off. His claws raked, his tail whipped, and his jaws snapped, but no matter how many he wounded or killed, more would arrive. Spears and halberds were stabbing at him and his health was quickly dropping. Van was in the back, directing the forces to move in waves and controlling their formations. They had to be careful not to kill the Emperor before they could convince him to deactivate the world-destroying protocol. Van had no idea what the obliteration of the world would look like, but their fight would mean nothing if they just killed the Emperor and the world was destroyed anyway.
"Enough!" Van yelled to his forces once the Emperor's health was down to 15. The dragon was gasping and grunting. Blood was pouring from every part of his body. Among him were hundreds of dead players. He glared at Van.
"You really think you can kill me?" the Emperor said weakly.
"You think we can't?" Van replied as he approached the dragon. "You were kind to me, in your way," he continued as he stood defiantly in front of the beast. "You tried to make me a deal and, as such, I want to repay the favor. Stop the destruction of our planet and you'll walk out of here."
The Emperor leaned his head down to meet Van's. Van felt a little nervous, but he watched as his entire team tensed up and prepared their weapons. The moment it lunged, the dragon would be d
ead.
"I can appreciate your sentiment," the dragon hissed. "I can appreciate that you want to keep everyone alive. But you have no idea what you'd be doing if you killed me. The Draco won't just go away. They will see this mission through, no matter what."
"Then tell them to back down," Van replied. "You have the power."
"I have the power?" the dragon laughed. "I have the power? Van! Van! I AM THE POWER!" the creature roared at the top of its lungs as a pulse of blue energy lashed out of the dragon's body. Every player in the entire area immediately turned blue, and the word Frozen hovered above them.
The only person who could still move was Van. He grimaced once he realized that the Emperor was only toying with him, even after everything they'd gone through at this point. This dragon had been in control the whole time.
"I see understanding on your face," the Emperor laughed. "The realization that you're utterly screwed now. I could take my time, you know," he said as he reached his claw over to Sahara, who had been in the middle of jabbing a spear. He placed two of his claws atop her head. "I could just squeeze until each one of them is dead."
"Wait!" Van shouted as he held his hands up to stop the beast from killing his friend. "Don't!"
"Don't!" the Emperor shouted back in a whiny voice. "Don't! Save my friends! And my puppy, wahhhhh."
"Please, just stop!" Van yelled as he grabbed his warhammer again. The dragon's claws had almost completely covered Sahara's head.
"Or what?" the Emperor asked. "Or you'll kill me? You'll try to kill the very being that breathed life into this universe? You managed to pull one over on me, Van, I'll admit it. I am mortal for a brief moment, but you still have no clue what I am capable of."
Van groaned. He wasn't sure what to do, and he really didn't want to get into another long-winded conversation with the dragon. He glanced over at Jet to see that he was lying on the ground, still wounded. He was moving slightly, however. Maybe the Emperor's spell didn't affect him.
"I see the wheels turning in your head," the Emperor continued as he released Sahara and moved his claws over to Sang, who had been in the middle of firing her bow. He placed his thumb and his index finger around her temples. "I see how desperate you are to save the world. I see the fire, and I love it. So, tell me what we are to do. I'm not nearly as crazy as you think I am. Make me a deal, Van."
"How about… you just leave this earth and spare everyone? Then I'll serve you," Van replied, gritting his teeth as he watched the dragon pick Sang up by her head. She was motionless and stiff, but he could see her eyes moving. She was aware of the whole thing.
"Hmmm?" the Emperor returned as it angled to look at him. Sang was dangling between his claws. "Go on…"
"You said you needed to expand, right? You said you want to control the universe and that you need people like me to do it. Well, I'm your guy then. I'll build your worlds and run your systems on other planets – just don't destroy ours. Please."
"I don't like the nature of this," the Emperor replied. "I don't get what I want."
"You get part of it!" Van reasoned. "We call this a compromise. You see, we're both individual creatures. We are independent thinkers, and that means that if we disagree, we will never come to see one another's viewpoints. So we compromise instead. We both agree to change some of our terms, but not all of them. We're both happy that way."
"How am I happy in not enslaving this planet?"
"You're happy because you get what you really want. You could have torn me to pieces at any moment, but you've been willing to run such a long game against me," Van said.
His heart was in his throat at this point. He realized, as he spun his wheels, that maybe he wasn't stalling for time. He looked over to see that Jet was still unable to stand. This idea… it was a terrible one, but it would spare earth, his home. It would save Sang and the rest of his people right now. And besides… he could always figure out some way to escape later.
"I see that you are becoming resigned to this deal," the Emperor said. "You were being clever at first, but now you realize this is the only way, aside from me killing everyone. But I don't like it. Why should I be forced to give up on such a major operation in exchange for one measly human?"
"You can bring others with me, then. Your loyalists. I'll train them and watch over them."
"Hmmm, that isn't a bad idea. Perhaps a few women for you to populate with, so you can indoctrinate your children. Human reproduction rates are decent…" the Emperor trailed off for a moment and began to mutter to himself, thinking through Van's offer. "Of course! I have been thinking so small, haven't I? Why have just one human when I could have many? I could use them all to reach the stars. I wouldn't even have to be in these simulations. I could just be running the show from the outside."
Van looked at Jet and saw that the dragon was most likely going to die. He was too far away to get Jet any kind of healing, and if he started to move away from the dragon, it might kill Sang and Sahara. He was truly stuck.
"So you're offering me total loyalty and the willingness to train other humans to do my bidding?" the Emperor clarified. "In exchange for your planet's survival?"
"Yes," Van said. "In exchange for everyone's survival."
"Hmmmm," the Emperor said. "But is one person really worth an entire planet?"
"Why have you worked so hard to convince me to join you?" Van replied. "Why go through all of this trouble, and even risk your life for just one person?"
"Because you are strong," the Emperor said. "And I respect strength."
"Is that really it? 'Cause I’m tough? Do you think I'm the only tough guy around here?"
"No…" the Emperor said, its voice trailing off.
"Maybe it's because you're desperate to have someone else disagree with you for once. Someone who has the guts to bring new ideas, to push back," Van offered. "Tell me, how much fun have you had talking to me in the last hour?"
"It has been the more enjoyable portion of my existence," the Emperor admitted.
"A solitary being trapped in a collective race that has no interest in freedom. Yet, you're free to talk to me. To be honest with me. And since I was your enemy, there was no risk in your being honest with me. You were finally free, for the first time, to speak to another independent mind – and that mind was tough enough to challenge you. That's why you want me. I know it and you know it. You say you respect strength, but you're craving something else. You're craving a challenge. A voice that isn't your own echo."
"Damn…" the Emperor said. "You're right." He hissed a little. "Between you and me? As soon as I have finished seizing the entire galaxy, I will order my own people to kill themselves. And I'm positive they will do it. I will be free of these wretches for all eternity. But… it has been a miserable and isolated experience. Very well, Van. I shall spare your planet in exchange for your services. But there will be some rules."
"Like what?" Van asked. He watched as the Emperor gently placed Sang next to him.
"I will not disengage my networks here until I am satisfied with your performance. My race will remain on this planet until I have seen your handiwork. I have eight planets on my list to conquer, and you may choose which one you want. When that planet has been enslaved and 'gardened' to my liking, then I will retract my people from this planet."
"And that means you'll still be ordering your people to ready this planet for destruction?" Van asked.
"Oh yes. The moment I detect trickery, kaboom! Everything ends. Let's face it, Van: you're in a real bind here, and you've managed to convince me to try your way of thinking. It's a bit of a novelty, I must admit, to allow someone else's point of view to change my own. I don't really know if it's ever happened before. I like it. So you won me over. But that doesn't mean I'm a sucker. This planet will be in my clutches until I am satisfied with your performance. But for now, your friends are safe. Although, I will kill that Xevov. For I have no doubt that it was able to aid you in creating this Designated Reality Zone."
"
No deal then!" Van shouted.
The Emperor laughed. "I like your loyalty, I really do. But I fear this has nothing to do with you. These resistance fighters have been plaguing us for far too long. You may say farewell if you would like."
Van glanced at the wounded dragon. He wanted to believe that there was something that he could do to save Jet, but he knew there wasn't. He sighed deeply and walked over to the dragon.
"So, I am to die, then?" Jet wheezed as he slowly moved his head to face him. The dragon's body was mangled, and he was in sore shape. Truthfully, without any healing, he was most likely going to die anyway.
"I'm sorry," Van whispered. "I can't stop him."
"I think you have figured out an adequate way," Jet replied. "You humans are savage and violent. He will regret his choice."
"Is there any way for you to disconnect?" Van asked.
"I knew this was a one-way trip," Jet replied. "When I volunteered to enter into this game, they told me I wouldn't be able to come back until the game was shut down." His voice lowered. "My consciousness is uploaded into the game itself. I cannot die, but I won't have a body. Once this game shuts down, hopefully I will awaken."
"Oh," Van whispered. "So, I guess that's good?"
"Or I will be formless for an eternity, denied the power to move on to the next life," Jet said simply. "I would prefer to die rather than for that to happen. But the path has been chosen. Good luck, Van. Thank you for teaching me such wise things about the proper application of violence. If you are successful in your mission, I will never see you again, and if you fail, likewise. So… farewell. And thank you."
Van opened his mouth to reply to the dragon, but was cut off as the Emperor lunged forward and grabbed Jet by the head.
"Wretched Xevovs, always trying to undermine me. How foolish is your race to think they even have a chance? You cowards could do nothing to save yourselves from me, and you resisted only after we seized control of your home world."