Hey Guys!
So how are you enjoying the final fight so far? I hope you're enjoying it as much as I did writing it. So without further adeu, here's chapter 28!
Alex was fighting a battle. Whether it was a losing one, or a winning one, he couldn’t be certain. He, Miles, Axinator, and several other Players were part of a wedge, driving towards the Keep. At times, Alex felt at times that they were making headway. Others, they were at a virtual standstill. He had lost the shield several minutes ago to an earthstrike from a mage. His stamina was nearing the red and he had barely enough mana for one more fireball. Both could recharge, given the time, but it also required Alex to not be using either, something that he couldn’t afford to do.
Miles and Axinator on the other hand, were having the time of their lives.
Miles whooped in glee as he parried a sword from a Hacker and kicked another into a flaming staff held by a third, killing him instantly
“This, GN, is what Rune is all about!” Miles shouted in glee. “No Hackers, no virus, just overwhelming odds, and overpowered beasts!”
Axinator, who was on point, grinned as well. “It’s almost as if the old days are back, eh?”
Alex, distracted by their bantering, almost got hit by a spear jab from a Hacker to his right. Miles noticed this, and slammed down on the sword of the Hacker he was fighting. It shattered, sending the top six inches of blade whirling through the air. It just missed the Hacker Alex was fighting, causing him to flinch in surprise. Alex took the opening and thrust his saber past the Hacker’s defenses. It caught him in the chest, inflicting a critical hit. As he fell, Alex saw with no small sense of relief that he was the last in the wall of Hackers. As he noticed this, Alex had to throw his sword up in defense as Master Saru appeared in the crowd and swiped at him with a strange staff topped with a green gem. The staff made a low moan as Alex barely deflected it past his head.
Miles heard the moan and froze. When he saw the staff his face became a mask of anger for a brief moment, before being replaced by a mask of calm determination. Several Hackers tried to use the distraction to take Miles out, but one swing from Axinator made them think otherwise.
“Alex, I need you to take my place for a minute,” Miles said in a deadly calm tone. “There is something I need to handle.”
Alex gladly backed away, but stayed close. Miles seemed calm at first glance, but the fact that he had broken internet protocol and used his real name showed the throng of emotions raging beneath the surface.
“Miles, we need to move,” Axinator insisted. “We don’t know how much longer we have! We need to move, man!”
“Then move,” Miles said simply, tossing the satchel of explosives back to Axinator. “Do you honestly think I can’t take these guys by myself?”
Axinator ground his teeth, then motioned to two paladins and a spellcaster. “Make certain he doesn’t get himself killed,” he ordered. He then grabbed Alex and threw him over his shoulder, barging through the crowd of Hackers and towards the Keep.
Miles spared a brief glance to be certain they were away, before turning back to the matter at hand. “So, you went through the quest not once, but twice for that weapon,” he commented. “All for me to kill you and destroy that staff once more?”
Master Saru growled. “Why, why do you people keep coming?” he asked angrily. “Whatever we do, you are a shadow waiting to pounce. We have beaten you time after time, sent dozens of Coders packing for good. And you still come. Why can’t you leave us alone?” he cried as he swung the staff at Miles.
Miles caught the staff and redirected it into a nearby Hacker, whose body ignited into brilliant green fire instantaneously. “Oh, I don’t know,” Miles said dismissively. “Probably because of all of my friends you and Winnie have hurt through this fight. You’re monkey brain might not be able to compute it, but some people take considerable offense when their best friends are put in fucking comas for a whole month.”
“So what if we hurt some of your friends? It’s not as if anything was permanent,” Master Saru said. “That doesn’t explain all of this!” he swept his hand around the courtyard. Miles followed while blocking a swipe from the staff in his peripheral vision. It was an all-out brawl. Coders and Players were fighting together against Hackers, both sides evenly matched. Judging from the slowing flow of Hackers from the few houses heavily protected by other Hackers, Miles concluded that most of the spawnstones had been destroyed.
“Oh, this is pretty well explained,” Miles said. “You see, your virus does cause permanent damage. “Professor BA, the first Coder you ever took out, was put in a coma for a-”
“Put in a coma for a month, blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda, I’ve heard that story a million times Miles,” Master Saru said dismissively, sending a wave of green fire towards Miles that Miles had to sidestep to avoid. “And half of those times were from you.”
“He was put in a coma, but also lost hearing in one ear, and most of it in another,” Miles finished. “I’d say that’s pretty damn permanent,”
“That was his own fault!” a voice behind him yelled. The Players that Axinator had left behind cried out briefly before their bodies hit the ground with muffled thuds. Bearzerker bounded up from behind and launched himself onto Miles’ back. His character roared in Miles’ ear and tried to bite down on Miles’ head. He was stopped when Miles rammed his free hand down Bearzerker’s throat and got a death grip on the bear’s uvula. The character squawked and let go of Miles. Miles did not. Instead, he squeezed harder and dragged Bearzerker into the air and threw him over his shoulder and into Master Saru. The two went tumbling to the ground.
“Listen to me very closely,” Miles said in a low and dark voice. “There are three people responsible for what happened to BA. You two, and myself. He was fending you Hackers off while the Coders escaped. If I hadn’t gotten myself trapped in rubble, I could’ve helped him and none of you would’ve survived. Instead, he took all of you on, and took most of you out. Whoever played Professor BA is a goddamn hero. You get that? A hero!”
Bearzerker clambered back up. “Well, if he’s a hero, then I guess that makes us the bad guys then,” he growled menacingly.
Master Saru got up as well, still frowning. “And if we are the villains of this epic, I suppose we should act the part. So, tell me, Milesoftheblades; what is your grand strategy for this battle? You’re all alone, and soon the Core will be ours. You have nothing.”
Miles gave him a lopsided smile. “You’re right, I don’t have shit. You know what else I don’t have? Anything left to lose. You took my best friend, you took any credibility I might have with the Dev’s, and you took the one thing that gave us an advantage against you. I, we, the players of Rune have nothing. So what say you? One more tussle before we call it quits?”
Bearzerker unsheathed his claws and grinned. “Gladly.” He launched himself once more at Miles, who gripped his sword with both hands and blocked the blow, allowing the razor sharp claws to scrape down the sword’s edge before kneeing Bearzerker in the gut. The Hacker stumbled backwards and Master Saru took his place, staff moaning through the air as if it was unwilling to attack a once ally. Miles easily blocked the attacks with the flat of his blade, the blows ringing out in the din.
By this time, Bearzerker was charging Miles once more. As Master Saru swung once more at Miles, Miles ducked underneath the blow, letting it travel over his head. Expecting resistance, Master Saru was surprised and let the staff continue its swing, right into Bearzerker’s head, laying him out flat.
As Bearzerker collapsed to the ground, Miles went on the offensive, chopping at Master Saru with a vehemence rarely seen before. Master Saru backpedaled desperately, the staff blocking or deflecting just enough to escape major injury. Finally, Miles chopped downwards into the staff and it split in two from the sheer power of the blow.
As the pieces fell, a dark chord swept through the courtyard. Not wasting any time, Miles scooped up the pieces and tossed them into the crowd of Hackers behind him. Just in the nick of time, it would seem, as the dark orb pulsed into existence from the shards of BA's staff; and began sucking the Hackers into its abyss. The winds thrown up by the orb pulled at Miles and Master Saru, but they were both far enough away to be safe. Bearzerker was not so lucky. The orb had formed just as he had regained his feet, only to have them sucked out from under him by the winds. He landed hard on his back and began sliding towards the orb, just like the rest of the horde of Hackers. He flipped on his stomach and desperately clawed at the ground, trying to stay out of the gaping orb. It was in vain. With a beastly roar, he was sucked into the orb and vanished in an instant. A moment later, the orb exploded outwards with a tremendous force that shattered glass and shook Miles' view.
Satisfied that Bearzerker wouldn’t be bothering them anymore, Miles turned back to Master Saru. The Hacker had pulled his regular staff out of his inventory and was brandishing it in Miles’ direction. “Stay back Miles,” he demanded. “You’ll only get yourself killed.”
Miles rolled his eyes. It was painfully obvious to him that Master Saru was bluffing. His partner was gone, and his health was down to 50%. Wanting to end the fight as quickly as possible, Miles charged Master Saru, swinging at his feet. Master Saru blocked easily and retaliated with the other end of the staff, landing a solid hit on Miles’ head. Miles stumbled back in surprise, then grinned. “You’ve started fighting then? Good; I was worried that this would be boring.”
Master Saru charged Miles and slammed into his side, flipped off, and landed on his feet, swinging the staff. Miles had to duck out of the way to avoid the vicious swings. Gone was the false bravado that had permeated him mere moments before. Whatever unintended restraint Master Saru had, it was lost with BA’s staff.
Master Saru ran at him once more, aiming to sweep Miles’ legs out from under him. Miles blocked the blow, then jabbed at Master Saru’s face with his fist. The player behind Master Saru yelled in surprise and jumped backwards, allowing Miles to close the distance with a mighty stab into Master Saru’s gut. The blade penetrated deep, coming out Master Saru’s back. Miles gave an almighty yell and ripped the blade sideways, pulling it out of Master Saru’s side. The character gasped in pain and clutched at the wound desperately trying to stop the bleeding. Master Saru glanced down at the wound as his character fell to its knees.
Miles grinned in satisfaction. “Come on Saru, where’s the guy who kept beating me over and over again. Is he still in there? ‘Cause I’d like to kick his ass before he’s banned.”
Master Saru looked up from the wound and snarled at Miles. “Tell me, Miles, how did it feel fighting against your friend’s old weapon; wielded in the hands of the man who slew him? I bet it made you, angry.”
Miles placed the sword’s edge at Master Saru’s neck. “It made me angry all right,” Miles replied. “I wanted to hunt you down and cut you two pieces in real life for that, and everything else you’ve done to people in Rune.”
“And what’s stopping you?” Master Saru asked.
Miles smiled. Whatever Master Saru’s goading was trying to accomplish, it wasn’t working. “I found the line I wouldn’t cross,” he said simply. He let the sword drop from Master Saru’s neck and instead resorted to pushing him over with his boot and stomping down on his chest. “Looks like you’re out of the fight,” he said with a grin.
Master Saru merely grinned back at him, something that erased the smile instantly from Miles’ face. As Master Saru died, Miles’ mailbox pinged, indicating he had gotten a message from,
Master Saru?
Miles hastily opened the mail up. Its message was brief but simple.
From: Master_Saru
To: Milesoftheblades
You think that you won? My mission was a success. Can the same be said for yours?
The message confused Miles. What was Master Saru talking about, what mission? And what was that line about whether his mission was a success. His mission was to,
The cold feeling of dread washed over Miles. His hands went numb and his character nearly dropped his sword. His mission was to get Ginganinja and the explosives to the Keep at all costs; not to take out personal enemies. As much as he wanted to say Bearzerker and Master Saru did not affect him anymore, he had just abandoned his mission to take them out.
Grasping the sword harder than before, Miles barreled through the crowd of Hackers and Coders that were fighting around him; ignoring the basic rules of swordsmanship that he had taught GN. Instead, he resorted to massive swings that severely depleted his stamina with each swing, but took out rows of Hackers like wheat before a sickle. Those that presented themselves when he was in the middle of a swing got simply shoved aside as he charged through the crowd, desperately searching for Axinator and Ginganinja, praying that his blunder hadn’t ruined the mission.
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