Contributing Author: MizarCaph
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Everything was on fire.
Just beyond the doorway was a thin, defensible hallway. Part of the roof had caved in, and sparking electrical wires danced around, adding bedlam to mayhem. Six feet past the hallway’s entrance, the beefy security guards held a tentative line, blasting round after round out of their shotguns into a horde of burning pirates.
BAM. BAM. BAM.
When they needed to reload, two of the guards would step forward, buying time by blocking heavy swings from cutlasses and sabres, while the rest slotted more ammo into their weapons.
Trey’s instincts screamed at him to cover his ears and run to safety. But that wasn’t what a hero would do, so he stayed where he was. In the garden, he’d resolved himself to do better so he had to at least try. Thankfully, the wise master aphid was there to bolster his resolve.
It’s not going to be easy, young one, but nothing good ever is.
Gulping, Trey shook out his hands. They were dripping sweat. He risked another glance through the busted-down door, only to see one of the security guards slam the butt of his shotgun into a pirate’s mouth. The heavy blow sent broken teeth rocketing through time and space, and one of them–a molar, maybe an incisor–was on a direct path toward Trey’s eye.
He flinched, expecting the ivory shard to blind him and send searing pain through his entire body–but nothing happened.
The tooth–along with the security guards and the pirates–seemed frozen in time, unable to move in the slightest.
“Holy–”
Do not swear, young one! You must keep your mind pure for what is to come. Do you not feel the corrosion, the corruption, in the air? You mustn’t let it sway you.
“But time… it stopped, didn’t it? Did you do this?“
I absolutely did not stop time. I merely enhanced your senses to such a degree that everything seems to have slowed down, like the trickle of a withering stream of melted snow. If you do not act, that tooth will still strike you as easily as a sparrow plucking a worm from rich farmland soil.
Swallowing a lump in the back of his throat, Trey said, “Oh. Okay. Do I need to move right this second?”
Not quite, young one. You must pace yourself. If you move too abruptly, your body will not be able to keep up.
“You’ll tell me when to move, then? Who are you, anyway?”
Of course. This humble teacher would do no less. As for who I am… well, I am Yu.
“What do you mean you’re me?” Trey asked.
No. I am called Yu.
“But I’m me. Look, this aphid stuff is confusing as it is, and I’ve never really understood ancient philosophy or what those guys say in martial arts movies.”
You are you, and you always will be. No matter which of us is present.
Trey scratched his head. “You just said that you were me, though?”
Somehow, Trey heard an audible groan echo from within his skull.
Young one. I told you to listen, earlier. Now do so. My name is Yu. Y-U. Yu. Does this humble teacher need to repeat himself one more time?
“Um, no. I get it now.”
Good, then you must do exactly as I say.
“You’re not going to control me directly, like the others?”
I could, but this is not the time. You must start on your own first, to learn my foundational technique.
“Okay. What do I need to do?”
You must do the dab.
“I’m sorry?”
Do as I say or lose your eye, young one. It is your choice.
“A-alright. If you say so.”
Yu does.
Taking in a deep breath, Trey pushed one leg forward and lowered his left elbow. It felt like he imagined moving through quicksand would, but it was possible–so long as he put his focus to the task. Concentrating, Trey lowered his head and then swung his right hand up high, completing the dab.
He felt a mental CLICK as something shifted into place, and a sudden rush of power blasted through his veins. His entire body felt light as a feather and, as he released the dab, he just felt… everything.
New Adaptability Unlocked. [The One True Dab (Novice)] gained.
“What is this?” Trey muttered, closing his eyes. His perception began to return to normal, but he wasn’t worried in the slightest. Dabbing had made him feel safe, secure, and he knew that for the moment, he was protected.
Trey opened his eyes. The shard of plaque-ridden pirate tooth impacted against an invisible barrier and blasted apart.
It didn’t even touch him.
This is the power of the dab, young one. This humble teacher is glad to have passed on one of his many lessons. Now that you have unlocked it, you must wield it. Be like the nimble gazelle. Weave through bullets and blades as it would dart through tall grass.
“Shotguns and swords are a lot scarier than some grass,” Trey mumbled.
This is no time to let fear grip you, young one! It is a time of action.
Trey nodded and composed himself, slowly inhaling and exhaling with his back planted against the wall. He tried to visualize the fight between the two groups with every BAM BAM that echoed out from the hallway, picturing a path forward.
Be the gazelle, young one. Nimble. Quick. Decisive.
“I am the gazelle,” Trey muttered. “I am the gazelle.”
With one last deep breath, he put his anxiety in a nice little box in the back of his mind and bolted through the doorway.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
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Trey was a dabbing gazelle.
He slipped past the security guards, ducked under the swinging sword of a yellow-coated pirate, and came up in a dab. Shotgun shells pinged off his invisible shield and the tip of a rusted sabre cracked on contact. Then, Trey was moving again, weaving through the grass.
Step, dab. Step, dab. It was like a dance, like one of those routines he’d been put through in middle school by his parents in one of their attempts to find something he was interested in. There was a rhythm to it, too, and during his few moments of stillness, between one dab and the next, Trey was starting to understand the flow of the fight.
His progress wasn’t without consequence, though. Yu hadn’t lied when he mentioned abrupt movements, and Trey still wasn’t sure how to properly pace himself. Sometimes, he’d move into his next dab too quickly and feel his muscles stretch and strain. Now that he was nearing the end of the hall, it was clear he wasn’t as nimble as he’d been in the beginning.
There will be time for training later, young one. Continue forward, gazelle.
Yu’s voice was oddly reassuring within Trey’s head, and it was what he needed to push through his final dab. He tucked his chin to his chest, tossed his arm out to the side, and grinned as a pirate’s flintlock bullet ricocheted off his shield.
Nicely done.
He’d made it to the other side of the horde, and the few pirates at his back were more concerned about charging forward than guarding their rear. Taking a brief moment to examine the scraps of door still within the frame in front of him, Trey’s eyes caught on its handle. It might’ve been a shining gold before the aura of corrosion claimed it, but now it hung from a stubborn splinter like a Santa Man Day ornament.
The aura is strong here. This humble teacher requests that you step carefully.
Through the opening in the broken door, all Trey could make out was a semi-opaque orange dome. The room itself was dark and filled with smoke, but he couldn’t see what was inside the shell, other than a few shadowed figures.
That is a Soul Aegis, young one. The caster must be the leader of the pirates. It is strange to see a Qi technique, even a basic one such as this, outside of the Du’Ra-eem realm. I must contemplate this later.
“What am I supposed to do now?” Trey asked in a hushed whisper. “Can I break a, uh, Soul Aegis?”
You cannot, Trey. But Yu can. It is now time for this humble teacher to demonstrate his unique and peerless talents to his student. After this, I will find you again to continue your training.
“What do you mean by train–”
Trey felt the control he had over his muscles drift away like a falling leaf as Yu settled into position. His body dropped into a ready stance, balanced on his feet. The aphid hopped backward, pivoted, and unleashed a lightning-fast roundhouse into one of the straggling pirates. He landed lightly, leapt high into the air, and splits-kicked a second pirate in the throat.
Yu dropped back to the marble tiles and clasped his hands together. He spoke softly into the hallway, between blasts of shotgun fire from the other end.
“This will have to do.”
Hey!
“Be quiet, young one, and watch your humble teacher.”
Yu moved through the broken doorway like a curious breeze, not letting a single splinter graze his shirt or slacks. He approached the rust-orange dome with his hands clasped behind his back, stopping two feet from its edge.
“Bah. This is a foul construct. It is good that it is also weak.”
With a slight bend of his knees, Yu jumped into the air and twisted. He spun around twice–a full three-sixty–and landed in a low crouch. Then, he slid his left leg forward. Next, he lowered his left elbow, no different than a crane dipping its beak into a field of rice. As Yu tucked his chin down, Trey felt his mouth mentally drop and hang open. A wave of power erupted from his body in a circle, crashing into the pirate captain’s Soul Aegis and slamming against the room’s walls. Still, that wave of power was nothing compared to what followed.
Yu swung his right arm up, high. As he completed the dab, a shockwave of focused destruction exploded outward like the world’s deadliest spear thrust. It struck the rust-orange Soul Aegis and unleashed a ruinous typhoon of jagged fissures and cracks throughout its surface, until all the wounds came together and annihilated the entire thing.
A low tide of saltwater rushed out from the broken barrier, and shards of the semi-opaque shield fell to the wet floor like rusted snow.
“Pathetic,” Yu said, spitting to the side in disgust. “Not that I expected any better.”
There, sitting at a poker table, was what had to be the pirates’ captain. He wore a yellow coat and his yellow tricorne rested beside a tall stack of multi-colored chips. Countless spines, like a sea urchin's, stuck out of his skin, and as the man turned to face them, Trey was glad he wasn’t in control. He was sure he would’ve gagged at the sight of the captain’s smile, at the mess of barnacles, algae, and sea worms wriggling around his broken teeth.
If the pirate was concerned at his barrier being shattered, he didn’t show it. His eyes danced with a greedy, eager light. Trey took in the others at the poker table and mentally recoiled. They were all no more than skeletal husks--even the Mayor was slumped over, his cowboy hat drooping off his head. The VIPs hung limp in their plush chairs, muscles atrophied, skin tight and clinging to their bones.
W-what’s going on, Yu?
It appears these poor fools gambled away their souls, Yu answered.
“Ahoy, matey. Well, blow me down. I weren’t expecting ya, but our table be sportin’ an empty chair. Whadda’ye say? Join in fer a game o’ cards?”
The dealer at the table, a woman with frayed bangs and makeup running down her cheeks, subtly shook her head.
Yu disregarded the warning and stepped forward, his dress shoes seeming to part through the ankle-deep saltwater.
“This one will have to decline your invitation.”
“That be a shame. But I be fergettin’ meself, I do. I be Captain Corrosion of the Red Scare. Who might ya be?”
“I am Yu.”
“Yarr, but I be me. Who be ye?”
“Yu.”
Captain Corrosion fiddled with a pair of his poker chips and cocked his head to the side. “Do I be missing something?”
Trey face-palmed from within his head. Yu, you need to explain this better.
It is not this humble teacher’s fault his peerless introduction is misunderstood, young one. Do the stars not whisper their secrets each night to the earth?
Spell it out for him, like you did with me.
Fine.
“This one will make it easy. I am called Yu. Y-U.”
“Ahh,” Captain Corrosion said, starting to laugh, his voice crackling through the smoky room like bare feet on sharp coral. “You be Yu. I be understanding it now.”
One of the captain’s hands drifted toward the rusted blunderbuss strapped to his hip. “But ye be certain ye don’t want a seat at the table?”
Yu nodded and set his stance. The strap holding the blunderbuss back eroded into frayed thread, as he raised it, pointing its flared muzzle at Trey’s chest.
“Can’t have ya interfering, then. This be nothin’ personal. I don’t know ya, matey, it’s just the way the wind be blowin’.”
Yu smiled. “It is true. You do not know Yu. If you did, you would be kowtowing before this humble teacher.”
“I like ye, lad,” Captain Corrosion said. “Ya facing death with a grin. Say ahoy to old Mr. Bones for me.”
Trey watched the pirate pull the trigger on his weapon, saw the smoke erupt from the barrel, saw the massive shell fly free and toward his chest.
He saw it all in slow motion, as time dripped to a crawl.
A surge of electricity coursed through his veins, igniting his fingers with a blinding light, and his body trembled with the strain–even though Yu was directing the boundless power. The air around him crackled with anticipation, buzzing with excitement at what was about to be unleashed.
With a guttural roar, Yu launched Trey’s body into a dab like no other. His movements blurred into a whirlwind of synchronized dance. His hands moved in a hurricane of rapid gestures. His head dipped and swayed, echoing with the force of a thousand thunderclaps.
The ground cowered beneath his feet, and the water that covered the tiles rippled outward, forming waves and dispersing as marble shattered. Trey’s skin glowed with an eerie luminescence, and he felt his eyes burn with an intensity that he instinctively knew could sear an impression on someone’s soul.
Then, with one last, earth-cracking thrust of his arm out to the side, Yu unleashed the full weight of his dab. It tore into reality and ripped the blunderbuss’s fired shell out of the air, whipping it around Trey’s body once, twice, and then back at Captain Corrosion with an impossible, ear-melting fury.
It tore a hole right through the pirate’s stomach, ripped the cushion off his chair, splintered the wooden backing, and buried itself deep within the room’s soundproofed walls.
As Trey’s perception of time returned to normal, he saw Captain Corrosion’s eyes widen in terror. The pirate clutched at his stomach, holding in a black eel as it tried to escape.
“H-how… how are ya this strong?”
“A dabless fool stands no chance against a dab master,” Yu chuckled, putting his hands behind his back.
“That be making no sense,” the captain said, spitting blood.
“This one would ask you to meditate on his humble teachings. However, I am wise enough to recognize a blight when I see it. You will not have the time to reflect on your failings.”
Yu shifted his feet and began a third and final dab, but the heavens didn’t heed his call. As he went through the motions, Trey didn’t feel the same sense of power rushing through his body, the same foreboding destruction coiling into his muscles.
Instead, right as he extended his arm to finish the dab, Trey felt himself regain full control of his body.
Yu? he asked, concerned.
Ah. Unfortunate, young one. This humble teacher has overexerted himself. Please, forgive my weakness.
[NEW SYNCHRONIZATION]! - 15.40% | (U) Yu