Chapter 14

The first thing August did when the ball was handed over to him was not ask any questions. He retreated to Quann, who planted his feet on the ground. The second thing he did was examine the ball to see if it had been tampered with. He should've done that first, but he panicked at the last second.

The two mages on Team Steelheart were equally surprised when Seven dropped the ball to August. So did Alfonso, who stopped climbing mid-way to stare at him.

Seven dropped from the tower, landing on the ground with a boom. She got up effortlessly and walked over to August, stopping several feet away from Quann.

"I didn't expect this," Quann whispered. "But you brought her to our side. How?"

"Didn't expect this either," August said.

Time was ticking. Having a conversation here and now would be dangerous, and they would all clump up to steal the ball. August contemplated continuing the game or settling this first.

"Why?" he asked her.

Seven tilted her head. She looked as emotionless as ever. August couldn't read what she was trying to do. She seemed to contemplate what she was about to say. But whatever was on her mind, August didn't hear it. Two spears charged at Seven.

August passed the ball to Quann and then found himself pulling Seven to him, using his shield to defend himself from the barrage of spears. Pain wrangled his head and twisted it. He held on, creating smaller shields to deflect it and conserve his arcane.

"This isn't very logical of you," he said, dragging Seven back to Quann's side. She followed him.

He expected Quann to use a shield made out of his ribcage, but the man did some sensible thing for once. A wall of bones sprouted from the ground, angled slightly. Then a few seconds later, an outer wall sprouted a second time, creating a crisscrossing pattern that would make it difficult for the spears to break through.

Quann wiped his nose away, wet with blood. "Two rounds, right?" he said. "I'm at my limits. You two better resolve whatever it is you're doing."

August nodded. Outside, the two teams tried to rip the bones apart, while Quann used his needle to pierce through the holes and keep Team Alfonso at bay.

"My primary directive is to ascend the tower," Seven said as if slowly regaining comprehension. "I have rectified my error. I was not programmed to prioritize long-term gains over immediate progress. I should have negotiated over our position as a team rather than compulsively accepting someone's offer to be their teammate. If you take me as your friend now, the probability of our success as we climb the floors will significantly increase."

"Friend?" He said, and a thought dawned on him.

"Ally. I meant ally."

"No, I'm pretty sure I heard you say friend."

She didn't answer. Then, "You are imagining things. Your human brain must have produced an error. Rectify it."

"Lying now?"

"I am an automaton. I am incapable of lying." She paused. "I believe I've betrayed you. I am no longer what you would consider a friend."

"You did what's logical."

"I have learned. No, what I did was compulsive."

August nodded. He was pissed at the time. He wasn't thinking logically. But he could amend this bridge before it burns completely. "Want to get some cakes and brownies after this?"

She leaned closer. "Are we--"

"Agh," Quann said. "Stop it. You two. Am I on a children's puppet show? What's the moral of the story? Lords of the tower, you two are insufferable. You're like children."

"I've never really had a friend," August said, blushing.

"I have no record of engaging in friendship either," Seven said. "This is foreign to me."

"Well, neither have I!" Quann said. "Why am I even telling you this? Survive the trial first. We have a tower to climb. The sooner I rid of you two, the better. I'll not suffer through tiptoeing in a field of daisies singing heavenly hymns and babysitting you."

"Engaging in recreational activities is important among humans, is it not?" Seven said. "I fail to see the issue."

"Exactly!"

Alfonso managed to pry a bone open. When they realized it was possible, they helped him pry off the defense, while Quann desperately tried to stab through the holes. They wouldn't last.

"We'll kill you, automaton," the woman from Seven's team said calmly. "You'll be scraps to be burned and sold. I'll have your parts sold in the market. Every single one."

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Her teammate laughed. He didn't seem bothered by all of this. "No harm in a friendly deathmatch competition, eh? Tower's brutal, I'll give 'em that. Not worth it."

"Then why the fuck are you here?" Alfonso said.

"I wanted to see what it's like. Don't like it. It's not for good folks." He pointed at Quann. "It's for the deceivers, the liars, and the downtrodden." He pried off another bone and raised his spear. It was enough to pierce through.

August needed to do something drastic. When he asked Seven if she could defend herself, she shook her head and told him that arcane was beyond her. If they get through, the three of them will be killed. Think.

There was only one path through this, and he didn't want to do it. He only had two uses of Threadlock left, and he'd be left collapsed and eliminated if he used it all this round. But he had to do it anyway. He was supposed to distract from the outside.

"Quann," he said. "I need to get outside. Can you open the back of your shield?"

Quann cast a suspicious glance at August. "Are you insane? We only need to wait for the timer."

"It won't be enough," he said. "And if we manage to defend ourselves, they'll kill her."

"Aye," the woman said. "Think fast, Rank 2. "

A spear shot through the hole. It bounced off, then was pulled back outside again with ease. "Missed," the man said. "Thank the gods. Didn't want to kill someone. Automaton girl, can you step closer to the right for a moment? I can't get a clean shot on you."

"Quann!" August shouted. "Give me a way out of here." He picked up the ball. A plan formed in his head.

He stared at the clock. Three minutes remaining. They'd won already. But it wouldn't be enough. Quann cursed, and then, behind him, part of the bone wall cracked. August didn't wait. He charged through it with ease, finding himself outside.

Alfonso attempted to tackle him. August climbed up the bone wall, holding the ball with both hands, while Quann used that opportunity to stab Alfonso through his knees. "This better be worth it, August!"

Another bone wall erupted inside the dome, locking them tighter in place.

August gave a nod. Four people craned their necks to stare up at him. "This is a much, better view, don't you think?" he said. And passed the ball to the man. "There. It's yours."

The man smiled, then shook his head. He let the ball drop to the side. "We ain't here for the ball no more. Your automaton's a treasure, sure, but nothing hurts more than a broken heart."

Alfonso's teammate stole the ball, but the two ignored it. August jumped at them. He expected them to spear him mid-air, which they did, but they wouldn't get through. He landed between them and threw a punch at the woman. She dodged, and grabbed his arm, attempting to lock him in place.

"Skewer the boy!"

August slammed the woman against the bonewall. She punched him back and slipped free. He needed to distract them. The woman kept trying to pin him down, but August was faster and more agile than she was. The man tried to encircle him, grabbing the spear and using quick thrusts while she targeted his legs.

It didn't work as well as they thought it would. August spun around the woman, using her as a shield, pushing her, effectively mitigating the chances for them to get a clean stab.

He created diamond-like shields. It was more expensive than simple flat planes, but these were designed to redirect the force, not take it. A simple solution, but it helped him conserve arcane better. He was learning a lot.

He managed to get some distance between them to catch his breath. Alfonso was limping to the corner with his teammate, who wisely ignored the fight. Two and a half minutes left.

"The fuck are you smiling for?" The woman spat.

"Me? Smile?" August frowned. He was smiling, come to think of it. This feeling of exhilaration... he couldn't get enough of it. He began to walk toward them. The woman stepped back. The man wasn't smiling anymore. August raised an eyebrow and charged at them.

The intensity of their attacks rapidly increased. Spears were shot, diverted, and feinted, while the two mages kept their distance. August sustained a cut on his chest, then two, then another on his arms and shoulder. He felt his blood boil, his ears began to drown out the world around him. The pain in his head ceased as if the barred doors suddenly opened.

He breathed in, and let the air dance around him as he closed the distance between them. When they ran, their focus weakened, and he was able to notice that the man ran slower than the woman could, so August shifted his focus on him.

The splitting headache was gone. He lost that feeling of pain, but he was tasting more of his blood, so that couldn't be good. Then, his vision blurred as if red paint were splashed at the corner of his eye. They only managed to get a couple of surface scratches on him. There wasn't blood on his forehead.

Then, he felt it in his cheeks. His eyes were tearing up with blood.

August stopped. They paused their attack on him. He shut his eyes and used Sonar Weave to tell their location. He could feel them and their spears, and this gave him a better lay of the land.

He breathed in and felt the world condense into a single arena. The voices died down to nothing, and pure focus remained.

August pulled his foot back, bent down, and felt the world warp around his feet. He shot like an arrow. Behind him, the spear followed. The man turned to get away, and he was fast enough that he could since August's stamina was already taking a hit.

August willed a weak Threadlock around his foot, causing him to stumble forward. Two spears tried to pierce him from behind. He created two diamond shields to redirect both--directly onto the man on the ground.

He heard a gasp as the man struck twice, then felt his arcane begin to seep away until August couldn't hear him anymore. He didn't need to open his eyes, but he did anyway. The man was struck clean through his chest by his spear. The woman's spear was embedded in his leg.

August felt a pang of regret for his death. The man seemed like a good guy. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, grabbed the spear from him, and faced the woman. He couldn't control this with Arcane, but he could still use it as a regular weapon.

She willed the spear back to her hand and looked utterly horrified as she stared at August. "Why won't you die already?" she whimpered.

Her spear shot with unnatural speed. She'd tried to pierce past his defenses. August felt his attention slip at times, and she was able to scratch him. Unlike Quann, he didn't have any regenerative abilities. He focused all his attention on his defenses while he walked toward her. Her nose was bleeding now, and as he got closer, her control over her spear weakened.

She tried to distance herself from him. "Monster," she said. "Why can't you just stay down? I'm done with this stupid tower."

The woman stepped out of the arena, not taking her eyes off of him, and didn't stop until she disappeared through the hallway. Shortly after, her elimination was announced, with a one-minute timer left. August turned his attention toward Alfonso and his teammate, while Quann undid his defenses.

August cracked his neck. He tried to walk, only to find himself kneeling on the ground. When he looked around, the world was spinning. He felt like he was being stared at by everyone, so he closed his eyes and tried to ignore it all.

He'd done his part. Now it was time for them to do theirs.