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by R J Triveri

  She didn’t want to think of the answer as her hands continued to work.

  ****

  With renewed vigor, the group assembled around Athos’s pact beast. Despite being a construct of Athos’s integrity and sacrifice, the three others seemed to forget that as Paul stumbled with a look that would give a deer trapped in the headlights a run for its money. Smashing the bottle on the ground, the group benefited from the effects of the speed potion. With newfound confidence, the four raised their various arms and prepared another round of attacks.

  “Critical Shot!” Athos’s attack rang out accompanied by the thunderous roar of the burning sphere.

  Only a moment after the flames passed, Trina rushed forward. “Enlightened Combo!” Her hands were enveloped in a glowing, golden light as she struck at his face with a single, almost beautiful looking strike. Her fists moved from the right to the left striking against his fallen jaw before sending him back into the ground. If that hadn’t been enough, the combo ended with a final drop of her elbow against his skull. In that moment, Athos realized how well Incipere was at imitating the sounds of different injuries that the human body could make under the right conditions.

  The blood-curdling noise that came from Paul’s crippled form didn’t stop Sally from sending in her drones. Despite not having a combat skill, the drones were frightening as they dug their stingers into his fragmenting flesh. Each strike pulled glistening data in pixelating shards from the wounds as Paul attempted to fend them off firing wild shots before they were recalled by their owner.

  Paul struggled to retain some form of dignity as he gripped at the wounds that began to consume whatever was left of his pride. His suit was tattered, his body broken, but he was not finished yet. His mouth struggled with the broken bones of his jaw to find meaning, “Ba… Bas…”

  His hand reached for the pistol again before Rain drove a spear through his digital flesh and pinned his combat arm to the ground. “Your judgment is near, villain.”

  The man screamed with a rage not achievable by a rational man as his hand struggled., and though it was gargled, it was understandable. “You can’t judge me!”

  It was almost pathetic to Athos who watched the man struggle. Paul didn’t want help or even forgiveness for what he had done. The man only wanted to continue to make them suffer. As if he didn’t already know what they had to do, Athos spoke. “What do we do with him?”

  “You can’t kill me,” Paul spat as white pixels freed themselves from his mouth as the injuries started to reform back into their normal state as whatever status effect Trina had inflicted on him ended. “I am a god!”

  “He is a threat, Master Athos,” Rain interjected. “Threats must be dealt with.”

  Digesting Rain’s words, Athos watched the gunner writhing on the ground and proclaiming his godhood as the spear held him fast in place. Looking from Sally to Torrent to Trina, he was at a loss. Could he really take the man’s life?

  “If he’s really hacking, Athos,” Sally began, picking her words carefully. “Then there’s no safe place in Incipere for him or anyone else, and who knows how long we can hold him.”

  “He can’t be allowed to do this to anyone else,” Trina explained raising her hands to emphasize the area around them, “Look at what he’s done and what his hacking has caused. Imagine what he could do if he really wanted to cause damage, and without him, the hacker has no avatar to work through.”

  “I know,” he said sullenly looking at the gun in hand.

  The three looked at him as Paul continued to struggle against the spear embedded in his hand.

  “I can do it, Athos,” Trina said putting her arm across his chest. “I have more than enough reason to.”

  “Hell, without Rain, we’d all be dead. I’ll even take the hit for this one for a few days,” Torrent said driving his sword back into its scabbard.

  Sally said nothing and watched as Athos looked from one, to the other, and finally shook his head. “I started this, I can’t let any of you do it for me.” His eyes went to Rain, avoiding Sally, as he spoke softly. “Make it as painless as you can, Rain.”

  “As you wish, Master Athos.” With those words, the phantom pact pulled the spear from Paul’s hand and held it high above his head. “May Ellaunum have mercy on your program.”

  ****

  Data Extraction: 33% complete

  -Aren’t you going to ask me?-

  Data Extraction: 37% complete

  Between her work with the pact beast, extracting the data, and stopping whatever protocols were being run from the outside, Ferris had her hands full. She didn’t have time to engage the fallen program in conversation.

  -I promise the answer is worth the effort of asking.-

  ****

  Athos watched as the spear plunged down through where Paul’s heart would have been. The spear seemed to meet no resistance this time as Rain drove it as far into the ground as it would go. A pang of regret welled as he watched Paul struggle. His hands reaching for the spear’s shaft as his integrity petered out.

  “It wasn’t supposed to end this way,” came a labored denial from the Suit before he fell back and crumpled on the ground.

  A moment later, a burst of light blinded them and signaled the end of the conflict with the Suit.

  ****

  Data Extraction: 40% complete

  Ferris watched as the data of the intruder was nullified. A single moment in a lifetime of moments she would have to endure in her position, but this one was one that she felt a particular lack of sadness. The man had somehow made a deal that backfired and had to pay the price. As her functions began to falter from overheating, the voice continued to talk, continued to prod and poke, and finally forced her into an answer as another number ticked over.

  Data Extraction: 45% complete

  “Fine! Why is it?” She almost screamed as her functions reverted for a moment to their normal levels.

  Time seemed to stop for a moment as the code Ferris was working on froze. Her keyboard wouldn’t respond. The reboot commands failed to work, but the extraction continued unabated. The voice seemed to have more presence now as the world at large seemed to lurch for only a moment while the voice echoed in its own dark laughter.

  -They’re a truly random element. You never know what will happen when someone is pulling their strings.-

  Data Extraction: 50% complete

  Malicious

  The air shook with a new sound. Not static, not a human, but something new.

  Something disturbing.

  Something loud.

  “What the Hell, Athos?” Torrent said as his hands opted to cover his ears instead of fetching the blade on his back.

  Athos, Sally, and Trina followed suit soon after and opted for the party chat.

  (Party) Athos Aramis: Whatever it is, it can’t be good!

  From within the dying light of decomposition, a scream erupted clear as day. Not the scream of a dying man, but a scream that was better left in the pits of Hell. It warped, it cried, and it refused to die with the light as it recompiled, leaving behind something that could only be described not as a Wild One but as a monster.

  Where once Paul’s eyes had been, there was nothing but a pair of glowing red sights that were raised to the sky. His hands had fused with his gun and split creating a pair of metallic limbs that melded into his black suit jacket. The chambers bulged against where his forearms should have been, straining the fabric to the point of ripping if it had been on Earth. Wherever there was skin, metal-flaked what was exposed like a rusted bullet casing.

  Before Athos could process what had happened to the Suit, a new message flashed across his vision:

  World Event Started!

  The Gunmetal Vanguard Arises!

  “What have you done to me!” The voice rang out metallic, soulless in such a contrast against the lush background of the world. Whether the world understood that or not, the shedding around him got worse. Forcing itself from around h
im like a pulse of corruption, and the world surrendered.

  Trina looked to the group and ground her fist into her raised palm. “We’ve got a problem.”

  Sally nodded as her drones hovered circling around the shedding that began to encroach on their world. Athos could only stare, paralyzed for the moment by the strange nature of what had happened before them. He shook it off as he looked back to where Ioh’s body still lay.

  ****

  Data Extraction: 55% complete

  How hadn’t she seen it?

  Right in the center of the program where the different pieces that made up the invader’s core code converged to create his being, there had been a trap. Some insidious, dark program Ferris couldn’t even begin to imagine as the protocols ran unabated by any of her efforts. Her only comfort was that the data from the world boss continued to stream in.

  -Isn’t it interesting? The avatar looks as dangerous as he actually is now. Despite all Unum has done to stop it, the world moves in spite of his influence.-

  She tried to ignore him and force her processes back into the mindset they had been before, but the status message betrayed her.

  Warning! Integral processes cannot be rerouted until your integrity has had time to recover.

  Watching the message, she groaned to herself as she looked towards Unum. She didn’t want to ask. She couldn’t. Ferris could only watch as the isolated code began to warp and the Gunmetal Vanguard reached full integrity.

  -This creature will announce the truth to the world, Ferris Auxi.-

  ****

  Paul’s voice was lost as he grew ominously silent. If he still had eyes, Athos thought it might be easier to tell if he was still suffering or if something else was going on inside of his skull, but all he felt was a familiar fear. As if the pain and frustration of only moments ago had melted away, Paul stood before the group with his arms at his sides watching them with his dead, red socket eyes.

  “This… is a bit disturbing,” Torrent said after a few moments as his sword found its way back into his hand.

  “I have to agree with Torrent,” Sally said watching him cautiously. “I’ve never seen or even heard of something like this happening to a human.”

  “He’s sick,” Trina rationed looking him over from the distance. “His core program’s been corrupted that’s the only explanation that makes sense.”

  “How’d Paul become like this though?” Athos asked keeping his gun locked on his target.

  “Your core program determines everything about you, Athos,” Trina said quickly. “It’s extremely rare for it to get damaged, but whatever we did turned him into that.”

  “I almost feel sorry for him,” the alchemical arm said almost to himself.

  A booming voice followed a moment later. “Don’t feel sorry for me!” Each word sounded as if it had been shot from a cannon and landed in his ear like a bullet. “Feel sorry for yourselves!”

  “Paul’s no better than a sick animal, Athos,” Trina drove home as she got into her stance. “He has to be put down!”

  “Not Paul anymore,” the voice shot forth almost offended by the nature of the comment. A moment later with reflexes as fast as Trina’s punches, the creature raised its hands, pointing them squarely at Trina and the nearby Rain before the sound of a true bullet rang out. Only a moment later, Trina was thrown back against the ground with a gaping wound in her shoulder and Rain’s free hand was gripping her shoulder. “We are Wrath. I am the herald! The herald of the true lord of Incipere!”

  ****

  Data Extraction: 63% complete

  The data continued to compile and redirect into her console.

  The more she tried, the more the data continued to amass. There wasn’t anything she could do compared to her overclocked state, but she tried all the same.

  -Is it really that important to you?-

  She answered in her work. Trying to undo the corruption, to continue the data extraction, and to continue to try and do something to protect her charge and complete her job at the same time.

  -Do you have such faith in them?-

  Again, she continued to work, ignoring the now more curious voice of the Ella.

  -Would you care to make a wager on them?-

  Ferris continued to work as the thought processed. She had heard a few things about the Ella. How emotional it could be, how illogical it could be, and most of all, how it loved games. “What wager could I make that would in any instance be fair for my people?”

  -I removed his maximum health and immunity to conditions. Is that not enough to support your hope?-

  “You removed it in exchange for the maximum dexterity allowed for his avatar,” she countered.

  -And he fell soon after.-

  “And you resurrected him into that thing.”

  -Assumptions are dangerous, Ferris Auxi.- The voice was silent for a moment, processing what Ferris had said. -But what would you have to make a wager?-

  “Make him reasonable.”

  -And what would you wager on your group for their victory?-

  She thought back to the Unum’s decree and sighed. “What do I have that you’d want?”

  -Time.-

  “Time?” The voice didn’t repeat itself and simply sat in the back of her mind like oil above water. “What do you mean by time?”

  -I want a portion of time alone. No tracking, no code tagging, I want a clean removal.-

  “And if I win?”

  -If you win, I will destroy the core codes I’ve been collecting.-

  A moment of silence followed. As far as Ferris knew, core codes were destroyed the moment the integrity dropped below zero. At least, that was what was supposed to happen. With access to the core codes, she shuddered to think what could be done. She looked up at the Unum’s disembodied form one last time before she relented. “I accept your terms.”

  -Then let the games begin. Allow me to make this a bit more appropriate for such an occasion.-

  Data Extraction: 71% complete

  ****

  “Trina’s down!” Torrent yelled.

  “Rain’s down too, Torrent,” Athos added.

  As Wrath let out a cry of thunder, Torrent abandoned his post and knelt next to her. The injury in her arm was slow to close, but there was little they could do for it without Allen in tow. Even Rain was slow to recover as it fell to a single knee. Athos watched the gages that indicated where the lives of his friends were at, and both had taken a massive hit. Well below half integrity now, things were not looking good as the shedding spread from the gunmetal vanguard throughout the area. The blink of an eye was all it took for the world to go from reality to wireframes.

  “Athos…” came the wary voice of Sally from behind him.

  “I know,” Athos said before turning to close the few steps of a gap between them, but a moment more and he realized that wasn’t what she had been referring too. “Sally?”

  It had only been her legs at first, but in those few stepping moments, her entire form had been affected by the shedding. Just like the trees, the ground, and the plants, Sally’s form had been reduced to a wireframe of her former self. Unlike the others though, strings of glowing code ran together within the frame in a way that he had yet to see within the shedding. It was like a beautiful horror he couldn’t take his eyes off of before she snapped him out of it, Fear painted her voice as she looked through her hands and form. “Athos!”

  He shook his head for a moment to release the grip of his surprise and pulled her to him as things around them began to change. “I’ve got you!”

  Her voice crackled for a moment into static as the wireframes wrapped back around him as her answer. The blank wires looked back at him and the collision boxes that represented her lips opened to try to speak again. Unfortunately for her, another digital voice interrupted ringing loud and clear in all their ears:

  -Attention! World modification in progress! Combat is disabled.-

  Even as the world around them began t
o shift and spread, Athos was less concerned with his gun returning to its holster and more concerned with the collision box of the woman in his arms. His footing grew unsteady as the ground began to spread. All around them, the trees that made up the edge of the grove grew taller. “Torrent! What’s going on!”

  As the body of Ioh rose behind him, Torrent was still on his knees, oblivious, trying to keep Trina steady. “I’ve got no idea!”

  -Attention! World modification in progress! Combat is disabled.-

  The gunmetal vanguard Wrath continued to drone in his barely human voice as his hands continued to point at the four. Fear welled inside of Athos as Trina began to speak in labored, pained sounds. “Can’t you hear the message? The world’s about to change.”

  As if heeding her words, flakes of color began to flow back into the world. Instead of the beautiful greens, the lush browns, and the dying shades that once created the Dryad’s Grove, the world had indeed changed. The grasses were no longer grass but returned yellow, gritty, and dry. The tall trees that bordered the world were now bone white and carved into exquisite marble columns with every kind of mythological creature that could be named engraved in battle upon their faces. Beyond them, there were stadium seats. Hundreds upon thousands of seats going from just above eye level far into the distance. As soon as they settled, bodies began to fill the seats. Not just a few seats, all of them. Each and every seat was filled with loud, cheering fans dressed in white flowing togas.

  With the rest of the world, Sally returned as well, but her equipment and drones were noticeably absent. In his arms, he could feel the change in material from the unyielding collision box that covered her wire frame to soft cloth and flesh.

  Her voice wasn’t as urgent as it was surprised as she put her arms on his side. “I’m okay, Athos.”

  He hesitated for a moment before letting her go. In an instant, he could see she was okay, but that things were very different. Her hair was pulled back in a long braid rather than confined within the helmet and draped itself over her shoulder like a rope that stretched down to her waist. Her armor was gone, replaced by what looked like a carbon copy of the other roman togas held together at the tops with golden clasps resembling seashells that had been polished to a mirror sheen. The clothing was completed at the waist by a belt with a similar clasp. Even her shoes were different, replaced with a pair of strapped sandals.