Crossing the bridge into what was once Oenus proper thinned the crowds a bit, but they were never too far from reach. A moderate breath between groups became a few feet, and even then there were still Tuners all over the place, belting out songs from open bar doors, inn balconies, and the occasional overrun house.
It was the best kind of organized chaos.
However chaotic it got around them, Sally trusted her husband’s navigation skills to get them through. Come fragmentation or high water, she knew they’d stay on track for two reasons.
The first was that she loved the man, and if he screwed up, she had free rein to harass him from now until the twins were born. Not that she needed it, but it always helped to have a good reason to tease him.
It was more fun that way.
The second was a bit more substantial— one of his passive Wildkin skills he’d explained to her, Critical Senses.
Critical Senses
Wildkin World Boss Skill - Passive
All visual and auditory senses are passively increased.
Mental processing speed is passively increased.
Athos’s Critical Senses skill was always active, taking in and processing data from the world around him faster than even he could perceive and guiding him accordingly. So when they turned from the main street onto a side alley, Sally didn’t even bat an eye.
When Athos grew quiet, his attention focused ahead of them, and they began to move faster, she just figured their window of opportunity was closing. It wasn’t a big deal, but Sally nearly froze when she heard him call out suddenly as they turned another corner.
“Wait!”
“Athos?”
Athos didn’t answer as he set her down.
“Athos, what the Hell?”
In an action that set her mind to process all the faster, his goggles came down, and he called to the power of his other half, Echo.
Sally froze.
Athos only called Echo when there was something he couldn’t handle alone.
“She’s going to get away.”
“She?”
As the item snapped into place, his form blurred and shifted into something more dangerous, something that could bend the world to its will.
Athos’s wavering form grew taller to accommodate the new bulk of his world boss form. His arms melted and flowed like liquid steel as they grew sleeves of the armor and weapons, and the veins beneath glimmered.
When the veins flowed to the end of his fists that housed three barrels each now, the air filled with the almost medicinal smell of alchemical ingredients as whatever potions he’d prepared rushed through the entire system.
As the changes finished and his body reformed as the Wildkin powerhouse Alchemical Vanguard, a gleam of red flickered behind his darkened goggles.
Black coat fluttering in the wind, Sally could only worry as Athos took on his Echo Form and adopted the power of a world boss once more.
What had he heard?
“Athos?”
“Don’t worry.” Again, Athos avoided a direct answer, but at least he replied. “Stay with Emily. I’ll be back soon,” he said firmly, a strange but familiar metallic echo in his voice.
Without another word, he began to run, cracking the pavers underfoot and forcing pulverized stone into the air with every move. In a cloud of dust, Athos had given chase to the shadows faster than Sally could say…
“The hell I will! What’s going on!”
Still, she did her best to keep up with his efforts, but it was a losing battle as even nimble Emily began to fall behind with her.
All Athos managed was to call back one last time.
“I can’t let her get away!”
Her?
There were very few she’s that Athos knew, let alone would run after, and that only spurred Sally on.
Ultimately, her fate wasn’t hers to decide this time as another one of her precious gifts gave her a status effect.
Sally Aramis - You are now Winded (Conditional).
Winded
Debuff - Physical
Source - Conditional: Pregnancy
Your stamina recovery and speed are halved and will continue until movement is slowed or stopped for between one to five minutes.
You two owe me for this, she grumbled at the twins before admitting defeat.
And Athos was gone.
***
Emily pulled back to her sister’s side wearing a puzzled expression. “Does he do that often?”
“No, he doesn’t,” Sally admitted after a few moments to catch her breath and attempt to remove her Winded debuff. “I’ve had to force him to let me have me time to myself in the shop last two months.”
“So…”
“If he left me with you…”
“It had to be important,” Emily finished.
“Or he felt it was,” Sally corrected as she looked down another alley towards the main street. There wasn’t a real danger in him running off tonight. No one could kill him, he couldn’t kill anyone, and she was safe with her sister.
Still, it bothered her, but it passed once the debuff timed out.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
With a sigh, Sally made a decision. “Either way, he owes me for this. Come on, we’re going to go visit one of Athos’s old haunts.”
Emily’s eyes perked up at that.
Though the young Queen tried to hide it, Emily was obsessed with her brother-in-law. In her eyes, the Earther-turned-Inciperian-turned-Wildkin had a history that so few in the world could compare to. More than once, she’d gotten messages about how Emily was pushing things too far. Personally, Sally blamed Athos for Emily’s taste in friends, but that was another story.
“The Sunset’s Rest?”
Sally smiled. “The very same. Let’s go extort something from Sammi.”
“Dibs on her chocolate!”
The elder sister smiled and shook her head, ignoring a familiar feeling of dread creeping up her spine as she heard Athos begin to trigger his pre-combat buffs on the wind and in the party status screen.
He’d be fine though.
He was a world boss.
He could literally crush anyone that opposed him.
Besides, they were in a city during the Days of Peace. What was the worst that could happen?
Then her stomach groaned a protest.
“Three against one, Emma.”
“Aww.”
***
“Stability! Wildkin’s Gift! Data Shift - Leritate Omnes!”
Buff added - Stability,
Buff added - Wildkin’s Gift
Buff added - Data Shift - Leritate Omnes
Stability
Buff - Physical
Source - Self-Target
Focus and endurance have increased for the next five minutes (5:00).
Fear effects are negated for the next thirty seconds (:30).
Cooldown: Six Minutes (6:00)
Wildkin’s Gift
Wildkin Racial Buff - Self-Target
Source - Self-Target
All visual and auditory senses are increased by 20% while processing speed is increased by equal measure for the next minute (1:00)
Speed is increased by 10 % for one minute (1:00)
Pain is reduced by 50% for the next five minutes (5:00)
Cooldown: Thirty Minutes (30:00)
Data Shift
Nobel Alchemical Vanguard Skill
Effect: Shift the composition of the data used to support your avatar’s weapon skills for the minute.
Leritate Omnes Shift: Increase Movement and Attack Speed by 20% (Conditional). Attacks with the Alchemical Cannon decrease the movement of enemies and increase the movement of allies in a fifteen (15) meter radius by 10% for thirty (:30) seconds.
Cooldown: Two minutes (2:00)
The wind whipped through his hair as Athos snapped down another corner. He knew what he saw, and there was no escaping him, not here, not now.
No one knew Oenus better than he did, and even in his time away, the city hadn’t changed enough to slow him down.
Pavers underfoot cracked as his absurd power took its toll on the world around him until he finally began to catch more than a single glimpse of sapphire hair dashing around another bend or over a low wall as she shot like a bullet through the back streets of Oenus.
It was only a glimpse, but there was only one person that would run from him outside of his Widlkin form.
River Hexi, the Divinity Breaker, and the woman who had nearly killed him and everyone he loved everything because of Unum.
He could hear her breathing getting heavier as he closed the gap, and the woman cursed as the curving alleyways opened up into a long, dead-end straight away.
Got you.
***
River Hexi could practically feel the gap closing behind her.
Of all times, why did he have to be here? Athos Aramis, the Lord of the Wildkin and Ella’s Chosen Champion for God’s sake, wasn’t even supposed to be on the continent anymore!
And had that been Sally Queen, Rani of the Moonkin’s champion, with him?
She nearly slapped herself as she ran for asking such a stupid question. Of course, it had been. Last she’d heard, they’d gotten married.
Could her luck have been any worse?
What next? Was Axis going to pull the server cords and blame her for it?
She didn’t have time to process all the ways this could have gone worse as fear took hold of her and shame continued to push her further.
She couldn’t face him, not yet.
Not with all the pain she’d caused.
Even with the walls closing in around her, River couldn’t help but curse and keep running until she was a mere foot from the wall. She could still hear the absurd footfall behind her, so she did the only thing she could.
River turned, drawing her glistening crystal sword and stood her ground.
“Leave me alone, Athos!”
As she stood her ground, there was one thing she’d forgotten about.
“Move!”
Athos was about four times her weight, moving as fast as a bullet train, and couldn’t stop on a dime.
Instead of stopping, he slammed into the waiting woman, carrying her forward...
River Hexi - Damage Received 88% Integrity remaining.
…into a wall…
River Hexi - Damage Received 72% Integrity remaining.
…and falling backward with River directly on top of him.
***
When she stopped and turned unexpectedly, it had been too abrupt, and well, Athos wasn’t used to the whole sudden stopping thing yet, even with Stability active.
Instead of polite conversation, River was treated to the full force of his impact while she acted as little more than a speed bump.
As one, the two flew the final few feet into the wall as a flailing lump of black cloth, blue armor, and flowing blue hair.
Athos Aramis - Damage Received: 99% Integrity Remaining
The sound of a sword dropping chimed before returning to her inventory and Athos awkwardly trying to get the woman off him without getting stabbed by more than her words.
“I said leave me alone, Athos! Get the hell away from me!”
Thankfully, that was the worst of it as she removed herself from his chest and began frantically to look from side to side for a way out, a window to break, a door to burst through, anything to remove herself from the situation.
“River,” Athos said in his calm, metallic tones, “We need to talk. You owe me that much.”
River drew her blade in answer, ready to defend herself like she had so many times before, but her eyes told a different story.
Tears shimmered in the low festival light that bled over the rooftops, betraying the woman’s thoughts on the matter in hues of red, green, and orange.
No attacks came from either side.
Athos had no weapon drawn and did little more than bar her way. He’d followed the rumors once he knew she was alive and had tried to catch her more than once. He never could though, and she was always little more than a shadow.
As she looked from wall to wall, River slowly resign herself to what was about to happen, and her sword vanished in a flash to her inventory.
“Fine, let’s talk.”
The words removed a weight from Athos’s mind. Finally, he was going to get some answers.
“I’m sorry, Athos,” she said, breaking the tension and nearly her resolve. “I’m sorry for everything I did.”
That… was not what he expected.
The last time they’d met, she’d been less than willing to hear him out without being cornered with the threat of death. Then again, that felt like a lifetime ago.
It only took a few moments for his Critical Senses to pick up on small twitches, microscopic movements, and changes he wouldn’t have otherwise and realized how much the simple words affected her.
River’s face was worn. More worn than his, and that said something, River seemed older, probably having taken an age milestone when it came up, but she was still easily recognizable with the flowing blue hair, the sapphire armor, and the matching blade set with the core data stones from that faithful day.
Then again, he’d only died physically, a willing sacrifice to save those he cared about. She’d lost everything and everyone around her because of the actions she’d taken.
He was about to say something else but she turned away from him as something clicked on the ground.
A moment later, a flare stone ignited, coating the world in its powerful, iridescent light.
***
River turned away at the last moment before the flare stone went off, opened her inventory, and extracted a jump disk.
Running from a Wildkin was just stupid, and she knew it.
On some level, River knew that if she’d waited, things would be okay. Athos would forgive her. He might even try to comfort her and try to understand why she did it all.
She knew she was wrong for leading a crusade against him. Everything Unum told her had been twisted to fit his need, rather than an unbiased truth. He’d used violence as a last resort against her.
Hell, if she’d asked, he’d probably join her in her efforts hunting down Unum…
In the end, she didn’t deserve it.
She hadn’t earned it yet.
Jump Disk triggered!
Where would you like to go?
“Graywall, Star’s Fall Inn.”
Error! Your request cannot be completed.
Reason: Your avatar has been banned from entering Graywall.
Where would you like to go?
Well, shit. River thought to herself before quickly changing her destination. “Teaulast, Town Center.”
Request Accepted!
***
By the time the light from the flare stone had died down, Athos was alone in the now dull lights of the back alley. River was gone, the tell-tale hum of a jump disk still ringing in his ears as the last of his buffs ran out or were dismissed one after another.
“Sally’s going to kill me for this…”
With a sigh, Athos turned back toward where he’d come from and thought about how far the chase had taken him. He was a few streets from the Sunset’s Rest if things hadn’t changed too radically in the festive atmosphere.
Maybe I should pick up some new blueprints…