by Dawn Chapman
“There’s two dots at the far end of the space,” he said. “They aren’t moving, so I can only presume that they’re in defence.”
“Yeah.” I was taking it all in.
They were like homing pigeons, running around scouting for me. It was thrilling to see. With a thought, I recalled them all. There was movement in front of us.
The blast that came towards us was powerful, and Dylan threw up a shield quickly to deflect it. It worked and struck the wall behind us, dissipating quickly.
The minions were back with us in seconds. I had to look to Dylan for guidance on this one. I couldn’t tank anything for him; he was having to do it for himself. “What can we do?”
“We have to draw him out some more. Lead him somewhere we can take him out.”
I looked and realised that there were two of them, not just one in that blip.
It was a trick, of course. There was another smaller blip appearing. Maybe they’d lost their mech too?
That would be fortunate, Xirob said.
Yeah. I wasn’t counting on it. But I sent out a Traixic to check it out. “I only have so much left,” Dylan said. “I can’t fight for long if I do fight.”
I didn’t know how we could win this, but we had to bleed them as much as we could. Make the Traixic work, fire, use themselves up. Take the hits, die if they had to.
I looked to the other Traixic. I had to use them. I didn’t feel anything for them, not like I did the mother and her kittens. These were soldiers. She’d build more; I was sure.
I pushed them forwards. “We follow, and we use the Traixic to get in critical hits when we can.”
Dylan nodded, and we followed them out.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The closer we drew to the blips in my view, the more I saw from the Traixics as they started to attack, one by one, drawing out the other two opponents.
I could see how their tactic started to work.
This was all I could see on who was left. I knew Chris and Alice were still top of the board. We were almost there.
3 – Vix Rolix – 32 kills
4 – Jean Bol – 28 kills
They’d both killed some monsters in here. That was a good count. The mechs they were in were different to ours, and again I was shocked at the levels they were. Vix was a level twenty and Jean a level eighteen. That made them not much different from me. That pissed me off. As much as Tyto wanted us on his team, these odds were too easy. I wanted it to look like they stood a chance.
The smaller mech unit was female, and she was also pretty badly injured. Vix and Jean were defending well, but it was pretty dire. Against the seven Traixic, they were starting to panic and losing ammo and energy, left, right and centre.
I wanted to push back to another position. Vix was on the move now.
It was the best time for the enemy to come in and try to do damage. I don’t know what had happened to Jean, or what would happen if either Dylan or I didn’t make it. Would Tyto put just one of us through with someone we didn’t know? Yeah, of course he would. He just wanted the best to work with, right? There was no way that he could let anyone else join his team.
That was something I could understand. He had to be that leader, or those who were already with him were dead when it came down to it.
I moved in close with Dylan, reaching for my sword, though I didn’t know what I could do. I would use a blade if I could get close enough.
When Vix saw Dylan, the mech pounded his chest like I would have expected an orangutan from the wild to do. Then Vix ran straight for him.
I had to get out of the way quickly as Vix drew a blade, and within seconds, the two of them were going at it like no one else. The minions around us were still dipping and diving out with Jean, but Jean was going down. I watched as the mech did, hoping that her death would be a quick one. Bone crunched, and then I saw it. Incoming message.
It wasn’t who I thought it might be. Not Saskia egging me on to kill to become the top.
I clicked it. It was Jean, and her soft voice echoed, pained. Kyle, don’t stop. Beat him. We are many, and we are with you!
Jean’s life ended. She was gone. I didn’t know who she wanted me to beat. Tyto or Arndale in general.
4 – Jean Bol – 28 Kills – Sent for Respawn
Then I literally saw the mech that was fighting with Dylan stumble on purpose.
What? Had I just seen that?
Dylan looked at me, and though I couldn’t see his face I knew he was thinking the same thing as me. The guy, Vix, inside the mech, pushed the eject at the wrong time when Dylan was putting his full swing into a strike. I moved to shout, to do something, anything. But it was too late. It was staged. Totally staged. There was no way he was going to survive this.
The guy seemed to look towards me as he fell forwards right into the path of the full blade swing. He was literally cut in half, almost from head to toe. I watched as his body fell, and my shout faded from my lips.
3 – Vix Rolix – 32 Kills – Sent for Respawn
It was over.
They were both out.
1 – Chris Tanner – 24 Kills
2 – Alice Main – 21 Kills
3 – Dylan Brale – 2 Kills
4 – Kyle Ranz – 1 Kill
5 – Vix Rolix – 32 Kills – Sent to Respawn
6 – Jean Bol –24 Kills – Sent to Respawn
7 – Cray Johan – 14 Kills – Sent to Respawn
8 – Silvi Dea – 10 Kills – Sent to Respawn
9 – Antwon May – 8 Kills – Sent to Respawn
10 – Raina Kārkliņa – 0 Kills – Sent to Respawn
I didn’t expect the experience or levels to move as fast as they did now, but it seemed to give me the most. I hit level seventeen! And my screen on the inside stupidly went off. I moved to Dylan quickly, knowing that the other blip was still incoming. No time to shove points anywhere. I should have.
“He—” Dylan said. “He did…”
“He did that so I could take his mech.” There was no other reason he would have ejected. Vix had to know what he was doing, and it didn’t look like he was cheating either, but they had wanted me—us—to get to the next stage.
The ground moved. And I felt something else as Dylan looked to the mech beneath him.
“Get in!” he shouted at me as the last two opponents and their mechs stepped through the trees.
It wasn’t the two of them though. Somehow, they’d merged. It was double the size it should have been. I whistled to one of the Traixics, thinking that I needed a boost up or something, and it looked like Dylan was going to be occupied in a heartbeat.
The Traixic knew exactly what I wanted and loped forwards to stand below the mech. I pushed myself as best I could off the ground, jumped onto its back, and using all the strength I had, I swung into the unit.
Dropping in, I quickly pushed all the controls I could to get the helmet on. I didn’t want to be without, knowing that this dude coming in wasn’t just one guy after all.
Stats! I shouted to Hiroto.
On it!
Vix’s mech was a Striker, and higher up than mine. I shouldn’t have been able to work it, but as the stats came up, I knew why I could.
Class - Striker
Operational overall level required = 40
Overall Personal Level required = 80
Internal AI Chip = Class 21DFG
Nanites x 76,211
Structural Integrity
Hull Strength = 188
Mana Core = 97%
Strength = 240
Speed = 198
Weight = 70 Tonnes
Cockpit Strength = 450
Heat Tolerance = 250s
Heat Sinks on board = 0
I watched as both Hiroto and Xirob were at work before I could even get the mech moving. I had the best advantage here, and they knew it. Both were ready and willing to do what it took inside my mind to protect all of us.
Got the Traixic, Kyle. You stay o
n point with Hiroto. They’re not gonna last long without some serious control.
Okay, do your best for them. We need to whittle their energy down just the same. They waited this out. They have full health.
Their screen flashed before me, and I choked.
ENEMY STATS
Chris Tanner = Level 40
Alice Main = Level 40
At level forty why would they even be interested in taking part in this? I didn’t think even Tyto was that high—why would they want into his unit? Or was it an excuse just to get to me?
You see more than anyone else, Kyle, and you know it. They’re really after Tyto. This is a hit.
A really calculated one. Knock out the competition, get in close to the one person they wanted to, and take him out before anyone could think about it.
They were also well-hidden; their code and matrix were saturated. The helmet locked into place, and I was moving as quick as I could.
Dylan let out a cry, and I saw his health plummet. It was much more than a hit. Critical. Shit. I was gonna be in trouble if he was out. I needed him.
Not just here, now. I wanted a friend. I really did. But his health showed red, and then it blinked out. He was gone. The mech focussed on me.
Oh fuck.
It ran at me, twin blades in its hands. They lit with fire as he made for his first pass. I wasn’t in full control yet, and this mech was different, heavy. It wasn’t responding to me as much as I hoped it could or would. I stumbled, and my leg shot out before me at an odd angle. Almost like I was doing the splits. I could almost see the others laughing at me. That would have been the dumbest move I’d ever made, but it was also one that probably saved my life. The blade hit my shoulder blade. It was a hit, but it wasn’t critical.
I started with the momentum that I had and rolled with the slice. It didn’t go in any deeper, and that meant I at least could keep my arm. I kind of needed that. I reached behind as I rolled, and coming out of it, forced myself up and onto shaky feet. The mech stared at me, and a voice boomed through my coms. I tried to turn the volume down but couldn’t.
“Take it like the cheating bastard you are!”
Cheat? He thinks I’m cheating. “No way! I’ve never cheated anything in my life.”
“They’re documenting everything as we speak. Your life will be over even if you do respawn.”
“If I do respawn? What do you mean?” I dodged his next advance and took the force of his parry on my own blade.
“They don’t have to let you respawn, you idiot. They’ve made examples of others before. You could be next.”
I missed my cue, thinking of those ramifications. I knew that Xirob might die. That things could turn really nasty easily, but for them to actually not let me respawn? That was something else, right? I couldn’t let that happen. Or I had to stop it, no matter what. I wasn’t dying today.
Xirob spoke in my ear. Fucker! He’s not doing that.
The next thing I saw was a blur of orange fur, and I heard the metal structure of his mech take damage as claws and teeth connected. Chris, however, turned his blade inwards and took the Traixic out in one hit. I thought fast, turning my attention to my nites on the inside.
New mission, I said to Xe. I knew it was possible. They could be programmed. The fact that Nehi had got a poison into my system through the nites that were also hers had plagued me since the event.
We’re ready! Xe replied. We are small, but smart.
The chorus came back, and I knew they were. I made sure that they were as close to my blade as I could bear them to be without losing any of the nites.
One way mission for them, I said. You sure?
I knew she only had ten under her command who were capable of the job to hand. Fully functioning and free-thinking. If I lost them, I couldn’t replace them.
We are yours to command. We will die knowing that our cause was true.
Spoken like a true soldier.
Ready on my mark, then. The first strike, you need to jump. Get someone in, and get to his main systems. I can do the rest.
Yes, sir.
I didn’t need to think any more about what I was doing. The moves in my head were well practiced over the years in VR. Even in real life I trained through my schooling years with Craig and Paul.
This would be a cakewalk if those goofy fuckers were here. How I missed them.
I spun low, my blade slicing at enemy legs. The enemy mech jumped and just got out of the way. The blade connected with his ankle, though, and I saw it slice through deep enough that he started to immediately lose fluid. It didn’t matter. Xe’s guy was in.
That’s critical, he won’t feel it for a while, Hiroto said.
But Chris’s blades took my left arm off. I watched as my own health started to plummet, and I dodged out of the way as he came in for another flurry of hits. I struggled with one arm to defend against these. Xirob used everything he could, and two of the Traixics leaped at Chris, crunching down on both his shoulder blades. It almost looked comical to see him struggle against them, trying his best to shake them off. I actually laughed as I stepped back for a few minutes.
How long have we got? I asked Hiroto.
Maybe a few minutes, if you can last that long, he’s on his way down.
No, I need to get his health down enough to make sure I do this right. Then just keep pushing him!
He managed to get the Traixics off, and with another rush, Chris came at me with both blades flashing. I had no choice now.
Those Quick Points. I need anything they can give me now.
Now? Are you sure? Xirob said. I don’t think you should—
His life was on the line, and he didn’t want me to use the one wild card I knew I still had. I didn’t get that. I wanted to hit this piece of shit with everything I could.
I agree, Hiroto voiced. Just hold out.
There were only a few Traixics left, and Xirob sent them in all at once to try and get us out of this situation. I dodged as many of Chris’s attacks as I could. But he kept getting in little digs and hits. I wasn’t going to last much longer at all. I was at a severe disadvantage, one- armed and outclassed.
Last Traixic is out! Xirob shouted, snapping me out of my funk, imagining myself die slowly as my nites worked the hardest they could.
I needed to get out of this myself. There wasn’t much else that my body could do, either. I was almost done.
I turned internally. You have to take control of this, me. I’m trying something else.
What the fuck! We need you! But as Hiroto and Xirob’s voices almost faded, I knew they wouldn’t let me die. They’d do their best to avoid death and win.
I found the links I needed inside my mind. Xe and her lead guy had indeed done as I asked; her team was in, and they were locked into Chris’s core mechanics. I would do exactly what no one else had tried and something I knew the system was against in all ways. I was going to hack into him. There couldn’t have been a worse time for me to try this. But I had no other choice. I wasn’t surviving any other way.
Just like that, my brain started to process number after number, not unlike when I had first backdoored the mech to steal it.
I felt Chris and Alice’s confusion as I started to control what was going on inside his body. I forced them to the ground.
What—what are you doing? How?
His cries were heard by my friends as Hiroto brought the blade I had left down on Chris’s neck. Still burning, it sliced through with no problem, and his health fell to nothing.
YOU HAVE KILLED CHRIS TANNER AND ALICE MAIN CONGRATULATIONS! WINNER!
I felt a connection coming through as I also fell over, exhaustion setting in.
Saskia’s on her way. Hold on. We’ve got healing teams coming in!
I didn’t even have enough energy left to hold myself up. Down I went, rolling over. I found my eye drawn to the leaderboard. My name was at the top, and then notifications flashed before me. I read a couple, dismissed the rest. I was
only interested in the win, and the bonuses or loot.
CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE REACHED LEVEL 18.
YOU HAVE 10 STAT POINTS TO SPEND. USE THEM WISELY NOW!
YOU STILL HAVE ONE QUICK POINT LEFT TO SPEND! DON’T FORGET!
Chapter Twenty-Five
I awoke with a groan. My whole body still hurt, and there were notifications galore. I tried not to look, but I wanted to see my stats at least.
Level eighteen. Through the ordeal I’d gained two levels. That was something. But I was still weak compared to some of the others. I needed to get better, and this was just plain slowing me down.
I thought about allocating my ten points, while I looked over my sheet.
Name - Kyle Ranz
Species - Human/Denti
Year of Death - 2629
Class = Fighter/Sorcerer
Age 18
Level = 18
Respawns = 2
Memories = 94%
Health = 48%
Mana = 18
Kenosi Activated
Nanites x 68,777
Body Type = Unknown
Structural Integrity = Tungsten and Alumi
Internal AI Chip = X Class
Skin Strength = 14
Blood Capacity = 17
Healing Speed = 21
Strength = 14
Dexterity = 15
Constitution = 17
Intelligence = 28
Wisdom = 15
Charisma = 6
Luck = 6
Quick Points = 1
Skills =
Foot Soldier - Rank 10
Battle Mage - Rank 14
Merc - Rank 6
Sniper - Rank 12
Gun Smith - Rank 11
Nanite Engineer - Rank 14