Green and red patterned insects hummed in the air, zooming around the two remaining squads on this red and purple colored forest of giant exotic flowers the size of sequoia trees. Aerin and 3 of his team members, including his sister Nina, circled around Korbin, Cassi and I. After several rather tense moments of silence, Korbin's voice bellowing from behind caused me to flinch looking back at him.
"Hold on, we're the last two squads left. Aerin, you know as well as I do our communication has been limited, given how far away my birds have to travel just to get a message to you and back. Can't we just…talk for a second?" Korbin offered, standing upright from his fighter's stance and slowly approaching Aerin. Aerin's eyes narrowed as he lowered the white cloth covering his mouth and nose.
"How do I know you won't try to stab us in the back? I know you very little." Aerin asked.
"I don't need to lie to beat you. I simply see an opportunity for us to trade key information pertinent to your people's survival. If memory serves me right, that's why you need me to house a slew of your women and children that will, in all honesty, serve me very little. I'd rather we make this favor as painless as possible for my people and yours alike, wouldn't you?" Korbin countered, striding up to within arms length of Aerin. His allies stepped forward, their blades raised high when Aerin's hand lifted in front of them, halting their approach.
"…I suppose our deal is rooted in honor in the first place. Okay, I agree to a temporary truce. What exactly do you wish to know?" Aerin asked, sheathing his swords at his hips. Nina ran up behind him, whispering frantically keeping her eyes and daggers trained on us. Aerin whispered something back that got her to reluctantly lower her blades.
"Your goal is to reach us before you're wiped out, correct? Where are you and your people at the tutorial at this very moment?" Korbin asked, crossing his arms and leaning his weight on his back leg.
"Not much further since your last message. We got caught in the crossfire of a brutal Pylon defense, and had to take refuge there for a few days to heal some of our badly wounded." Aerin answered. Slowly, Cassi and I started walking towards the casually chatting group leaders.
"Hey Cassi, what do you know about this Aerin guy?" I asked, whispering in her ear on our way over.
"They started somewhere on the southeastern hemisphere of the tutorial, whereas we began further along the northwestern hemisphere. Basically, they're sprinting across the world to join us." Cassi replied closely to my ear.
"Wait but why u-"
"Sh" Cassi hissed, cutting off my question as we stopped a few feet behind Korbin, who was still talking up a storm with Aerin. Nina and their shorter assumed healer walked parallel with Korbin and Aerin, while their hulking companion with thick metal armor plating under his flowing white robes followed a few feet behind them. His broad bladed curved sword shaped like a giant's katana rested flat over his shoulder as he glared at Cassi and I upon catching up.
Well, a truce is a truce.
Stopping my pace for a step, I scooted behind Cassi, sliding beside the towering mass of a man trailing Korbin and Aerin. Nina's head shot in my direction, her hands hovering her blades seeing me approach her comrade. My elbow lifted from my side, slapping the back of my hand on the large warrior, his eyes glaring down over the white cloth covering his face and head.
"Hey big man, what's your name?" I asked, smiling up at him. Having dealt with so many giants for the past few weeks, the threat of some big, slow moving tank getting angry with me had all but diminished. Worst case, this guy wasn't going to catch me.
"Why do you wish to know my name? You know I have no choice but to kill you soon." The man grumbled with a hint of curiosity in his thunderous voice.
"This is just a simulation, we aren't actually going to die. Which makes you more my opponent than my enemy. Besides, we're supposed to be allies outside of this event sooner or later. Why not get to know each other?" I asked, not seeing reason to feel any resentment here. While I had no intention of losing, the threat we faced here paled in comparison to what we'd dealt with up to this point. Real lives had already been lost on my account, something I won't have to worry about here.
"I see, a surprisingly wise assertion…name's Kieth." The towering man replied, pulling down the cloth covering his face revealing a genuinely pleasant smile. He extended his free hand for a handshake from across his body as we walked.
"Nice to officially meet you, Kieth. I'm Tom." I said, accepting his handshake. I turned my head to Cassi to wave her over, only to catch her briskly walking behind us toward Nina and their healer.
Fuck it, she's good at talking.
"Hey uh, Kieth, how do you know Aerin?" I asked, trying to make conversation while Korbin got whatever information he needed.
"He's my cousin." Kieth replied.
"What about the other one? The shorter lady?" I asked, pointing towards who I'd assumed was their healer.
"That's Aerin's youngest sister, Kendra. She's our healer, and a damn good one at that." Kieth said, his eyes shooting wide wearing a look of regret having shared that information.
"So, are your whole team family members? it feels rather rare for all of you to be so strong" I asked, wondering if any of my own kin had been excelling out here.
"Yes…we all grew up together. Our parents were exceptional martial artists, and passed down their knowledge to all of us." Kieth hesitantly replied through a furrowed brow.
"Right. Well, I think I can speak for everyone when I say it will be an honor to one day fight side by side with a lineage of such formidable warriors." I said, realizing my questioning was drifting into the realm of pure nosiness for personal information. Kieth smiled, nodding as he replied.
"I appreciate that. You're more honorable than I expected, Tom. Much of the people we've encountered in our travels have been…lacking in moral fiber." Keith said with a chuckle.
"I suppose the integration brought the worst out of some people." I said, hoping to assure him we weren't completely devoid of ethics.
"Or the freedom for them to express what was already there." Keith countered, dropping his smile.
"Alright! Both teams regroup, our truce will end shortly!" Aerin announced, turning around to face everyone slowly meandering behind him and Korbin. Keith and I exchanged nods as we separated. Cassi shook Nina and Kendra's hands from their side before jogging back towards me and Korbin.
"So?" I said to Korbin, hoping that long-ass intermission for their conversation was worth it.
"Let's worry about winning this fight, I'll tell you guys later." Korbin said in an uncharacteristically unenthusiastic tone. Not willing to argue, I turned to face Aerin and his family of warriors that stood in a line 12 feet across from us.
"When would you like to start?" Aerin yelled, standing in front of his family of formidable fighters. His sister, Nina scowled face through the white cloth covering staring directly at me, flipping one of her curved daggers in her hand.
"They're healer's priority number one." Korbin whispered from the side of his mouth before answering Aerin.
"On your mark, my friend!" Korbin hollered back in a friendly tone. Aerin nodded solemnly.
"Then let us begin." Aerin replied, generating an insane amount of Flow in his hips and legs in an instant. My body lurched in front of Cassi and Korbin, my twinblades flashing through the air as they separated at the hilts entering Fluidic Fighters Stance. A vortex of energy surrounded Aerin's body, spiraling through the air towards me with both of his katanas extended out. The ends of our respective swords clashed between us, letting out an ear piercing metallic 'ting' on impact.
Aerin pushed off my blades with his own before his feet hit the floor, swiping a katana across his body while floating back from me. The slash was too far away to reach, though I ducked under its trajectory anyways, shuffling to the side. A violent gust of an invisible force thrashing through the air behind me confirmed my suspicions. I've already seen Aerin's delayed air slash far too many times to get caught out by it here.
A thin transparent grey gust of energy bursted under Aerin's foot, stomping onto the air itself and dashing back in my direction. Water Stepping to the side, my shoulders dropped extending my back leg under Aerin's descending figure. Sliding my foot along his shin, my ankle snagged around his falling foot. Firing my leg high above my face, Aerin's head slammed into the red vegetation covered floor, bouncing off his face before rolling forward onto his feet. The rhythmic humps of heavy footfalls drew my attention behind me, whipping my head around in time to watch as Cassi's leaping knee slammed into Keith's charging skull.
My eyes lock back onto Aerin actively swinging a spinning downward slash with one of his katanas. Metal sizzled overhead, raising my blade up and sheathing his strike behind me. Aerin's momentum carried him behind me, flipping forward onto his feet and firing a side kick upon landing. Flow Strike triggered punching the side of his shin with my hilt, smacking his kick away from me while spinning on my toes with the punch's impact. Aerin's hands were both down, leaving a free path to his neck for a twisting slash. As my blade flew for his throat, another burst of energy blasted his blade across his body in a blink, parrying away my strike and following with his own.
Aerin and I continued exchanging blows and counter attacks shuffling across the forest. For every one of my stepping strikes, Aerin's would platform off of thin air, launching himself contorting in another direction for an unothorthax attack of his own. His Flow traveled in an instant with every movement, every so often doubling as he unleashed a delayed air slash.
A Katana slash flew up towards my chest, sending Aerin high in the air as I weaved my body to the side of its path. His feet rolled over his head, planting on thin air and leaping down at me. His foot flew forward, barreling for my face.
You idiot.
Seeing Aerin holding his katana's above his shoulders, blue and white light flashed using Lightning Strike to fire my hilt over his hurtling ankle, wrapping my chains tight around his boot while stepping away from his flying kick. Twisting my hips, his body jolted around my side, flopping towards the grou-
*SMACK*
My vision tunneled for a split second after catching the faint glimpse of Aerin's other leg flying behind his back, slamming his heel into my skull. The split second it took to regain my focus allowed for Aerin to catch me off balance, dashing over the red foliage with two consecutive slashes. My blade barely parried away his first attack, though the power behind his strike nearly crumpled my arm, sending me stumbling to the side. Turning my head, Cassi was not more than 5 feet away in a frantic melee with Keith.
"Cass!" I yelled, realizing I was bringing my fight directly to her back side. Cassi's eyes darted over her shoulder, dropping the back of her foot into Kieth's heel causing his legs to spread unnaturally wide. Spinning on her back leg, Cassi swung her new Bo staff aiming directly over my head. Reaching up, the staff slammed into my palms, the momentum lifting me up and swinging my legs up over my head. Looking down, the bright glimmer of Aerin's steel shone brightly as his lunging stab whiffed under Cassi's staff.
A flicker of joy tickled through my brain feeling both of my boots slam into the top of Aerin's skull, smacking his head off the red flower forest floor. Crackling blue mana surged across my forearms shooting across the red field with a Lightning Strike, aiming for Aerin's down chest. His arm slashed a wild strike with his Katana laying prone, sending a horizontal semi-transparent gash ripping through the air at me. Flow Inverse blasted the energy in my forearm into my leg, leaping over his air slash and firing a second Lightning Strike for his neck.
A spiraling gust of wind flew from Aerin's extending leg, lifting me over his prone body before I could land my descending Lightning Strike. Tucking over my shoulder, I rolled to my feet facing away from Aerin. Across the way, Korbin was juggling fighting Aerin's sisters, Nina and Kendra. While Kendra was a healer, her skills with a short sword were impressive enough to fend off Korbin's few attacks. Nina's speed rivaled Aerin' dashing around Korbin, sneaking in passing stabs and slashes across Korbin's armored chest and legs.
Shit, he needs back up.
A quiet crescendoing whistling sound drew my attention back toward where Aerin had fallen, finding the edge of his Katana grazing across my cheek just barely leaning away from his leaping stab. Another burst of popping air sounded behind Aerin's feet redirecting him towards my legs. Sending all the Flow I had chambered for a rear step, I leapt above his swiping blades, my arms flailing to roll my head forward into a front flip.
A mix of shock and pride shot through me feeling my feet clap onto the red vegetation covered floor. Tapping my second landing foot in front of me, my leg fired toward Aerin bouncing off the air back at me from behind. A stiff burst of force just outside of his lunging wrist pushed my ankle away from his body, forcing me to lean my upper body back, nearly hitting the ground with my head as his blade flew over.
My knees screamed in pain pushing my horizontal body away from Aerin's following downward slash. Tucking my knees to my chest, I rolled back to my feet in time to deflect his horizontal slice. Aerin dashed horizontally with his strike, following it with another from his second Katana immediately after. Then another.
And another.
And another.
Damn, he's too fast.
My feet struggled to maintain my fighter's stance while retreating from Aerin's rapidly quickening flurry of strikes being thrown from seemingly all angles. One of his strikes landed lower on my blade as I parried, crumbling my wrist from the lack of torque and breaking my guard. My second hand flew across my chest, snatching onto Aerin's wrist holding his Katana and pulling tight to my chest.
In a flash, a gust of wind dispersed around his rising elbow as it smashed into my nose. Involuntary tears flooded my eyes from the pressure in my sinuses, blurring my vision. Behind me the sound of clashing metal and shuffling fabric caught my ear, though I had no time to pay it any mind at the moment. The oblong shape of Aerin's arm swinging from the side caused me to raise my guard, hoping to deflect his strike blindly. My eyes slowly cleared seeing his blade swing harmlessly across his body several feet away from me.
Wait, FUCK!
Panic surged through my chest leaping as high into the air as I could, tucking my shoulder to get my legs higher up. A horizontal blast of wind cut through the air, whizzing under my boot.
*THUMP*
A blood curdling shriek nearly shocked me off balance from landing back onto my feet, causing me to stumble looking where it came from. Behind me, Cassi and Kieth brought their fight to Korbin and the other two remaining members of Aerin's squad. Korbin sat propped up on his knee, holding his side. Not more than 4 feet away from me sat Nina who was holding their healer, Kendra, in her arms.
"No, Kendra!" Aerin yelled, glancing at his hands in his hilt.
Oh shit, friendly fire.
The ground rumbled underfoot as a fiery orange line ripped around me, rising overhead into a wriggling transparent dome of wriggling flames. Aarin's shoulder bashed into the dome just as it erected, recoiling back and patting the flames from his burning shoulder. Turning back, Nina sat pouring a potion down her younger sister's throat as she lay motionless in her arms. Behind her stood Korbin just outside of the bubble, a stream of orange mana streaming from atop his battle axe into the dome.
No, you idiot?!
Looking further out, Cassi and Kieth maintained their tireless battle, blocking and countering each other's strikes so fluidly one would assume it rehearsed. Meaning, Korbin just locked himself outside of this containment dome with Aerin to deal with. Why the fuck would h-
"Oh Kendra, thank Oshu!" Nina cried in joy as Kendra began coughing and sitting up.
'Healers priority number one.' Fucking duh.
Mana pulsated through my shoulder, firing down my shoulders and through my slapping twinblades shooting a Lightning Bolt at Kendra's prone body. Nina's dagger extended toward the bolt, but her reaction was just a millisecond too late. The jagged stream of lighting seared through Kendra's eye, leaving a dark smoking burn hole in her skull as she flopped back down to the red foliage.
*ding*
Nina glared up at me with glossy eyes, rage boiling in her contorted quivering face. I lifted my arms up at my sides as I hollered out to her.
"…what?"