“Why are we running?” Kai’s backpack jingled as he spun it around in front of him, and pulled out his rifle.
Draxl looked over his shoulder at Kai as he slowly started to fall behind him. “I’m trying to find Zeke. Even though the plane is messed up, we left through the same door as him, so we should be close, but moving quickly is the only way to cover enough ground.”
“Ah!” The scream echoed through the hallways.
“That’s Zeke!” Draxl immediately turned around and started running toward the scream.
“You know his scream?” Kai asked. He continued to try closing his backpack, but the zipper kept getting stuck. “Wait a second.” Kai put his backpack on the ground and closed it. “Alright, good to go.” Kai looked around but saw Draxl was nowhere in sight. “Gods damn it,” Kai said, taking off after Draxl.
----------------------------------------
Queen stomped on Zeke’s back and dug her heel into his back. She wrapped her fingers around Zeke’s wing, then pulled. “Come on. Give me a wing!”
“Ah!” Zeke screamed.
“[Flash Strike]!”
A streak of white light blasted through the hallway. In a flash of sparks, Queen parried the strike with her rapier.
Queen turned her head toward the end of the streak of light. Draxl skidded to a halt at the end of the hallway and met her gaze.
“Now, now, why are you spoiling the fun?” Queen asked.
While Queen was focused on Draxl, Zeke flared his wings and rolled out from underneath Queen’s heel. As Queen thrust down at Zeke, he curled his wings around his own body; her rapier ground against his feathers.
“[Shadow Surge].” Zeke disappeared in a puff of black mist, then rose from Draxl’s shadow, standing right beside him.
“Where’s everyone else?” Draxl asked.
“They managed to get away. I’ve just been stalling her,” Zeke said.
“How strong is she?” Draxl asked.
“Stupid strong, but I need to buy a little more time for Rose to get everyone out. I’m connected to Rose, so she’ll tell me when they’re out,” Zeke said. “So let’s forget about last night and focus on this.”
Draxl readied his sword. “Alright, I can do that.”
Queen pointed her rapier at Draxl and Zeke. “I have to deal with two of you now. The things I do for loot. Come on, then, we both know the lobby’s this way.” She gestured behind her. “I’ll take you all on, all at once, [En Garde]!”
Bang!
Without looking, Queen placed the tip of her rapier straight in the path of the bullet heading toward her head. The bullet shattered as the rapier pierced through it. She turned around, and with her free hand, snatched the fragments out of the air. Her eyes met Kai’s. “My mistake. There’s three of you, not two.”
“You’re a pirate, aren’t you?” Kai asked. Smoke billowed from his rifle’s barrel.
“Why yes I am,” Queen said.
“I have a question for you. Do you know the crew, Atlas?”
Queen cackled. “Of course I do. After all, I gouged out one of the captain’s eyes. You want to see it?”
Kai fired another shot, but Queen caught the bullet. She shook her hand violently. “Damn, that hurt.”
“Let’s get in there,” Zeke said.
“Couldn’t agree more.” Draxl grabbed a dagger from across his chest. Dagger in one hand, and shortsword in the other, he dashed toward Queen. “[Flash Step].”
Zeke unsheathed [Nocturne]. “[Shadow Surge].”
On Queen’s right, Draxl apparated in a flash of light; on Queen’s left, Zeke rose from her shadow. A wicked smile crept onto her face. “Let’s dance!” she exclaimed, flourishing her rapier.
Zeke and Draxl launched a flurry of strikes against Queen. A shower of sparks enveloped Queen as she effortlessly parried each of their strikes, often without even looking at the attack. On the rare occasion Kai got a clean shot on her, Queen snatched the bullet before it could reach her.
“[Accelerate] X [Quickdraw].” Draxl’s attacks started to speed up, drawing more and more of Queen’s focus.
Draxl slashed with his shortsword and dagger in unison, but Queen managed to interpose her rapier, catching both weapons. Thinking fast, Draxl hooked his dagger around Queen’s rapier, locking it in place.
A loud bang rang through the hall as Kai fired another shot toward Queen, who caught the bullet without breaking eye contact with Draxl.
With Queen’s back turned to him, and her hands full, Zeke grasped [Nocturne] with both hands. “[Quickdraw].”
Queen reacted to the strike, by charging forward into Draxl, pinning him against the wall, thus increasing the distance between her and Zeke. The strike barely grazed her back. Zeke stepped forward, but as he struck out again with his blade, Queen grabbed her rapier’s handle with two hands. Using her rapier as leverage she catapulted herself into the air, twisting Draxl’s wrists, forcing him to drop both his weapons, and causing Zeke’s second slice to miss.
Seeing Draxl on the ground, scrambling to pick up his weapons, Queen twisted herself in the air to face Zeke. Zeke raised his blade to defend himself, but Queen kicked out, catching the blade with her heel. She snapped her other leg straight toward Zeke’s head. Zeke had to make a split-second decision between letting go of the blade or taking the hit.
Queen’s kick exploded across Zeke’s jaw, sending him to the floor as he managed to slip his blade out from underneath Queen’s boot.
The instant Queen touched the ground, she kicked her rapier off the ground into the air, then in one fluid motion grabbed it and thrust it toward Draxl. Draxl, who had just recovered his weapons from the ground, had no time to react. The rapier slashed along his cheek, his blood dripping down onto its tip.
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“Don’t worry,” Queen said. “I’m not going to hurt you. I want to keep having fun. I just need to borrow a little blood.”
Queen ran the length of the blade along her tongue. Draxl’s blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. She licked her lips and smiled. “[Bloodlust].” The wound on her back rapidly healed; her skin sealed shut. “Mmm. What exquisite blood you have. It’s so rich.”
Draxl clicked his tongue, as he wiped the blood from his cheek.
Queen brandished her teeth with a wicked smile. “Oh, I can’t risk letting you go. Forget what I said earlier. Next time any of you come at me, I’m going to end your fucking life.”
She thrust her rapier toward Draxl.
“[Flash Step].” Draxl vanished and appeared right next to Kai. Queen’s rapier pierced into the hallway’s walls, embedding itself up to the hilt.
Queen quickly turned to Zeke as she pulled her rapier free.
“[Shadow Surge],” Zeke said, disappearing into black mist, and shortly after, rising out from the shadow of a chandelier further down the hall, opposite Draxl and Kai.
“Can’t we just go now?” Draxl asked. “They have to be close to getting out by now.”
“Oh that wouldn’t be very wise,” Queen said. “I have my crew waiting in the lobby to kill your friends if you run away. You’ll likely be safe, but I wouldn’t bet on them.”
“Draxl,” Zeke called out. “We’ll go on 3.”
Queen chuckled. “Announcing your strategy. That’s certainly new.”
“Got it.” Draxl leaned over to Kai. “Get ready to throw a flashbang.”
“Why?” Kai asked.
“Just trust me,” Draxl said.
“That never works, but fine.”
Zeke and Draxl both readied their blades and locked eyes. “1, 2 …”
“[Flash Strike]!”
“[Shadow Strike]!”
Queen grinned. “[Parry]!”
Draxl transformed into a burst of white light that streaked across the room; Zeke’s entire body became coated by his shadow as he surged toward Queen. The point of intersection for Draxl’s trail of white light and Zeke’s trail of shadow was Queen. A curtain of sparks danced around Queen as she parried both attacks. Her rapier vibrated with a low humming noise.
“Going a second early is cheating!” Queen exclaimed.
Draxl tumbled on the floor, past Queen, dropping his blade. “Kai now!” he screamed, pushing himself to his feet.
Queen quickly glanced around the area and was confused to see the trail of shadow Zeke cast using his skill was still there. She realized that when she parried his strike, it wasn’t even targeting her. Zeke’s true target wasn't the Queen, but light; he used [Nocturne] to cut through the light in the hallway, casting a curtain of opaque shadow that divided the hallway in two.
“Take this!” Kai stepped forward, and snapped his arm, hurling a flashbang toward Queen.
Without a second thought, not recognizing the item, Queen pierced the flashbang. Draxl and Kai both covered their eyes, as a concussive blast of light enveloped the entire hallway.
“Ah!” Queen exclaimed as her vision went white and her ears started to ring.
The ringing in Queen’s ears Zeke had created.
“With a single slice, in the blink of an eye, cut to ribbons, [Quickdraw].” [Nocturne] cut through light itself coating the blade in shadow. Zeke stepped out from behind the veil of shadows, and with a single, imperceivable strike, aimed for Queen’s head.
Though her eyes were shut, and the ringing in her ears had prevented her from hearing the chant, Queen smiled. “You reek of bloodlust.”
Zeke’s eyes went wide with fear.
“[Parry] X [Accelerate].” Queen blindly intercepted Zeke’s attack. Queen’s rapier vibrated with a loud ringing as Zeke’s blade impacted in a flash of sparks.
Zeke tried to jump back behind the veil of shadow, but Queen twisted her body and dove toward him. Her eyes flashed open, filled with manic glee. “Tear through, [Pierce] X [Lacerate]!”
Queen’s rapier pierced Zeke’s shoulder. Before Zeke could even react, flashes of blood all across his shoulder disappeared behind the veil of shadow he had created. Cold steel dug into his muscles sending a chill down his spine, as Queen continuously ripped through his shoulder with numerous thrusts. Just before Zeke sank behind the shadows, Queen grinned, and with one final cut, severed Zeke’s arm.
The veil of shadows instantly vanished. Zeke staggered back, and fell to the ground, clutching the wound as blood rushed out from between his fingertips. “THEY’RE OUT!”
Kai ripped out the magazine from his rifle, and loaded in a new one covered with an infusion; the infusion was a prototype for the one he put onto Ace’s revolver. He held down his gun with one hand and pulled the trigger with his other. The infusion flashed with light. Kai’s rifle started to rattle violently before a hailstorm of bullets rained down on Queen.
“I’ll take you all on, [En Garde].” Queen rapidly thrust at each bullet, shattering into pieces, and killing all momentum.
As metal shards gathered at her feet, Draxl focused on Zeke waiting for the right opportunity. The moment Draxl heard Kai’s gun click, he sprung into action. “Extract, [Flash Strike].”
A flash of white light streaked past Queen. She managed to cut along Draxl’s neck, just as he snatched Zeke away from Queen. Zeke and Draxl slid next to Kai.
With his rifle out of bullets and its barrel red hot, Kai grabbed three smoke grenades and threw them all at Queen. She slashed all three simultaneously. A thick smoke exploded from the grenades, enveloping the entire hallway.
“Let’s go!” Kai yelled.
Draxl, Kai, and Zeke all quickly darted out of the hallway, using the smoke to cover the retreat.
Queen coughed, waving her hand in front of her face. “Eh, it’s not worth it.” Queen pulled two vials from a pouch on her waist; poured Zeke and Draxl’s blood from her rapier’s blade into the vials. “Besides, I can always find them another time.”
Queen leaned down and picked up Zeke’s severed arm. “I’ll be taking that.”
Queen flicked her wrist transforming it back into a tie. “I’ll just tell King he should’ve given me more money if he wanted that dumb sword.”
Now several hallways away, Draxl, Kai, and Zeke all stopped for a second to catch their breath.
“Zeke, you need to stop,” Draxl said. “Take it slow.”
“I’ll be fine,” Zeke insisted.
Suddenly, a familiar voice entered Draxl and Kai’s mind.
Draxl, Kai, where are you? Galina asked.
We’re heading to the lobby, Kai said. Just give us time.
Understood!
“We need to go, now!” Kai exclaimed.
“I’ll catch my breath, you two go ahead,” Zeke said. “I’m an angel, so I’m not going to die from a severed arm.”
“I’ll go back and get your arm,” Draxl said. “If I do, Rose can stitch it back on. You’re an angel, so it should heal back.”
Zeke placed his hand on Draxl’s shoulder. “You’ve done enough! This isn’t your fault. I chose this fight. If you weren’t there, it could’ve been worse. With my arm like this, I’ll only slow you down. Go!”
Kai put his fist up. “Zeke, that bitch helped take down my parents' crew. When we all find each other again, let’s gut her like a fish.”
Zeke fist-bumped Kai. “Sounds like a plan. Now get out of here.”
Draxl forced his legs to move, despite what his heart and mind told him.
“Draxl!” Zeke called out, holding up [Nocturne]. “Take this.”
“No,” Draxl said. “I haven’t earned it yet. Besides, it looks better on you.”
As Draxl and Kai both vanished, running toward the lobby, a faint smile crept onto Zeke’s face. “He said ‘yet.’ So the bastard started believing in himself again. When the fuck did that happen?”