The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

The Reality

by asianpersuasion & J. Darksong

Adversity

Vale Stormsinger was in trouble.

As time continued to tick by, she found herself in the unfamiliar situation of being afraid for herself and her well-being. Not by the myriad of monsters crawling all over this godsforsaken tomb. Oh no. She could handle them, no problem. No... what concerned her was the mounting anger and frustration on the face of her leader and liege lord, Marion. He’d stressed again and again how important it was to find the next artifact as soon as possible, that he would brook no delays and accept no excuses. Now, it was starting to seem that this latest quest was nothing but a wild goose chase, nothing more than a colossal waste of time and resources.

A quest that SHE had sent them on.

Dammit. It’s not fair! she groaned silently, as she watched Marion and his little brainwashed puppet Nora clear the way to the final chamber where, hopefully, the treasure they were seeking would be held. I know this information is legit! I spent hours of stupid fucking reading through a bunch of dusty old tomes—which I fucking HATED, by the way—and now Marion’s going to blow his shit and blame ME for the whole thing! She ground her teeth together in frustration, idly firing an enchanted arrow behind her at a creeping ghoul attempting to sneak up on her, incinerating it. It’s not fucking fair! I did my part! It’s not my fault if the damned books were wrong about this place!

“Master,” Nora gasped, wheezing, nearly crumpling over, holding herself up only through the aid of her staff. “Please... forgive this worthless slave... but I’m... out of mana,” she managed wearily. “I have... nothing left...”

Marion merely nodded, dispatching the last vampire with a massive strike from his hammer, crushing it literally into dust. “No matter, girl, we’re done here. That was the last of them.” He flashed her a grin. “You’ve come a long way, girl. And you were certainly a bigger help that some others I could mention,” he stated, glaring at Vale and Barena, who limped into the chamber as well just then. “Frankly, I could use a few more just like you.” he said, walking to the door of the final chamber, unlocking it, and sliding it open, “and, perhaps, if things do not go as planned, I may very well end up with another obedient slave or two.” Vale shuddered despite herself, though Barena merely grinned.

Stepping into the chamber, they found what appeared to be a large alcove, a burial chamber of some presumed legendary hero of some sort. Centermost of the room was a large stone sarcophagus with a sword bearing knight carved into it. It was huge, meaning that the knight meant to rest inside it would have been massive himself, easily six foot seven, and broad shouldered and barrel chested to boot. It was definitely the resting place of someone famous, or possibly infamous, the perfect place for storing hidden legendary treasure.

Unfortunately, the crypt and the coffin were both completely empty.

“GODDAMMIT!” Marion yelled, slamming his giant hammer down in frustration, causing a fine layer of dust to fall from the ceiling. “Empty! Fucking EMPTY!” He whirled around to glare at Vale, who winced, taking a step back. “There’s nothing HERE, Vale,” he accused her, stalking towards her, even as she continued to back away. “Nothing! Just an empty crypt, and a bunch of goddamn undead monsters! This was all just a big waste of time!”

“I... I mean... it’s not my fault!” she protested, backing up, bumping up against the cave wall. “I swear... I double and triple checked my work! All of those different books, all the different sources, they all pointed to this place!” She swallowed as Marion towered over her, unconvinced. “Marion, baby, please! You have to believe me!” she begged. “I swear to you—”

“Enough!” Marion roared, silencing her instantly. He raised an arm, bearing the golden rune covered armband. “Vale, you were a good fighter, and a loyal minion. Not that you were ever what I would call ‘dependable’... your bloodthirst for battle that made you so useful in a fight made you completely useless for anything else. Still... I don’t think of this as losing a minion,” he added with a savage grin, “more like ‘upgrading’...”

“Master,” Nora called up, causing Marion to pause just before speaking the words. “There. In the corner. It’s faint, but there’s an imprint. And it’s glowing.”

“Eh? Glowing?” he replied, scowling, turning back towards the far wall. As he approached, the subtle glow became noticeably brighter, and began to flash, blinking at the same interval as the armband around his wrist. “It’s reacting to the relic I’m carrying,” he announced, excitement tinging his voice. The sigil of the Dragon Gods was mostly covered from years worth of dust and sediment, and weathered by moisture dripping down from above, but definitely there, Indeed, it was so well camouflaged into the surrounding wall that he’d never have noticed it had it not reacted to his armband. Taking a deep breath, he placed his hands on the sigil and spoke the words.

And waited. And waited longer. But nothing appeared.

“Dammit!” he yelled, punching the wall. “Why isn’t it appearing?” He glanced around the room, his eyes falling onto the open sarcophagus, then narrowing. Stomping his way over, he held his hand out, and again, the armband flickered, blinking for a moment before fading again. “I see. So... a dragon relic WAS here... but someone else beat us to it!” His teeth ground tightly against each other as he contemplated the significance of that. So... that would mean someone else knows about the relics, and what they can do. But who else could possible be after them? And who would be strong enough to fight their way through all of this to even make it here in the first place? He blinked as he realized the most likely suspect.

Of course! Shadowschaser! That damned insect... yes, it all makes sense now, he fumed. It would have to be him! He’s definitely strong and savvy enough to fight his way through all of this to get to the treasure. And he’s enough of a loner to keep the power of these relics a secret as well. If it were a high ranking Guildmaster like East or Kormak, they wouldn’t have been able to resist flaunting their new powers. And they’d have committed their entire guilds into searching for the remaining relics as well. No... this is definitely Shadowchaser’s style. The only question now is... how many of the relics has he found? And how many are still hidden and up for grabs?

Turning on his heel, he stomped his way back to the entrance. “We’re leaving. Now.” he announced as he strode past. “Everyone, gather up your shit and be ready to go. Soon as we clear this dungeon we’re teleporting back to the guild hall.”

“Huh? But, wait?” Barena called in, frowning. “What about Vale? You were just about to punish her for leading us on this wild goose chase by turning her into your slave—”

“But it wasn’t a wild goose chase!” Vale protested angrily, getting up in the Savage’s face. “You saw it just like the rest of us! This is the right place. This was a crypt, just as I said it was. The engraving on the wall even reacted to his armband!”

“She’s right,” Marion replied gruffly. “I can’t blame Vale just because someone else got here first. But I can blame BOTH of you if your constant and petty bickering hold us up and make us late reaching the NEXT relic! Now... move your asses!” With that, he stormed off, Nora giving them both a silent glance back before moving to follow her master.

“Hmph. You dodged a bullet there, Snowy,” Barena grumbled, turning to follow them out. “In fact, you should thank that wimpy little healer Nora. If she hadn’t pointed out that spot on the wall reacting to Marion’s relic when she had, you’d be a mindless thrall just like her right about now.” Her grin widened as Vale’s pale blue skin went even paler at the realization. For once, she had no clever quip or rejoining to throw back at her rival as she laughingly left the chamber. Sighing to herself, trying to push the experience out of her mind, she ran to catch up with the rest of the group.

* * *

“Rini! On your six!” Honor yelled out, ducking underneath a white scaled foreclaw that had swiped for her jugular. The creature slashed again, but she parried the blow easily with her blade, using her momentum to spin and strike back at the creature’s unguarded flank. The ice drake let out a savage cry, thrashing wildly, before going still, vanishing to leave behind a small loot icon.

“Nice one, Honor,” Serena commented, weaving effortlessly through a three-pronged attack from the trio of drakes that were attacking her. Clutching the handle of the sickle bladed dagger in her hands, she continued to dodge, merely waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Aha! There! she mused, as her three opponents drew back a step, preparing to attack again in concert. In a move almost too fast to see, Serena spun as she struck, slashing each creature in their vital areas simultaneously. Coming to rest again lightly on her heels, the weretigress calmly wiped the ichor from her blade and stepped forward to join her friend as the drakes let out their collective death screams. Honor merely rolled her eyes.

“Right. ‘Nice one, Honor’, she says, just before she takes out three enemies as easily as I took out one of them,” she replied, good-naturedly. “Geez, girl, are you trying to make me look bad?”

“No, not at all,” Serena replied, blushing deeply. “I was just impressed with the way you took out that creature, that’s all. And anyway, my level is twice as high as yours and you’re still keeping pace. I’d say that’s really incredible all on its own.”

“True that. Frankly, after all the undead from the last cave I’m just glad for some enemies that my assassin skills will actually work on.” Leila remarked, stepping forward, the curved razor sharp blade clutched idly in her left hand. As yet another drake suddenly burst forward, she snapped her wrist, hurling the chakram across the chamber. The spinning blade of death struck the drake across the throat, decapitating it, before striking a wall, and deflecting twice before streaming back towards Leila, who caught it easily on her left hand again. “Yeah! All right!” she cheered, wiping away the gore from the edge before slapping it back onto her thigh. “This thing came with the costume... but I kind of like it.”

“Well, you’re definitely good at flinging it,” Honor replied with a grin. “Funny, I never figured that part of your training in the assassin’s guild revolved around playing Frisbee.”

“Yeah, it didn’t,” Leila replied with a frown. “I don’t know... I guess I just picked it up by instinct?”

“More likely, it’s a special ability associated with your new armor,” Serena suggested. “Mine’s definitely a bit above normal. I’m standing ankle deep in a snow drift wearing a pair of leather sandals... and my toes aren’t even cold. And speaking of weird... does anyone else feel like this has been way too easy?”

“Heh, you have a funny definition of the word ‘easy’, Rini,” Honor quipped, leaning against the wall to catch her breath. “Feels like we’ve been fighting nonstop since those mounts Jimmy got for us dropped us off. I’ve gone up at least eight levels!”

“Yeah. I’ve gone up two levels myself,” Leila remarked. “And for a single dungeon that’s insane! These are all pretty high level hardcore monsters we’re taking out here. But that’s the thing—we’re actually taking them out! Usually in a quest like this, you’d think one or two of us would have taken a few hits here and there, at least a few wounds among the lot of us. But as far as I can tell none of us have even gotten a scratch so far!”

Honor blinked at that, considering. Huh. Lei’s right... we haven’t been hurt yet. I mean, I’d like to think I’m pretty good at this, that a lot of my fighting experience from my previous character carried over... but this IS pretty crazy. I was fighting ice drakes much smaller and weaker than these back in the Hinterlands with Kyle just a day or two earlier, and one of them nicked me and nearly did me in. These things make those bad boys look like newly hatched larvae, but I’m still managing to hold my own.

“It’s the costumes,” Kyle replied wearily, as he and James advanced, both of them splattered with thick ichor and gore from their own battles. “James confirmed it. Each of your new armors were specially created for the task of finding and retrieving the dragon relics. None of us are invincible by any means, but the upgrades definitely level the playing field a bit.”

“Yeah,” James nodded in agreement. “And its a good thing none of you have been injured as well. The creatures in this place all have extremely high damage potential and critical hit indexes. I think maybe, if she took only a glancing blow, Serena might drop down to critical... but pretty much anyone else that takes a full on hit would be instantly K.O.ed.”

The group was silent for several seconds. “Well then,” Leila replied taking a deep breath, “let’s continue to NOT get hit. How much further to the treasure vault, Jimmy?”

James frowned, not appreciating the nickname. “One more cavern to cross through, and we’re at the final chamber. I have to warn you, though, it’s pretty heavily laid with traps. I usually just fly through without even touching the ground, but I’m getting a little winded,” Honor chuckled at that, “from all the battles. I don’t think I can carry all of us.”

“No sweat,” Honor stated, moving to the front of the group. “This is my forte. I might not have the skill set of a Burglar anymore, but I still remember all the tips and tricks. I know from sight what looks suspicious, and I can guess pretty much where the best place to lay a trap would be.” She glanced back at Kyle and winked. “Just follow my lead, and we’ll get through safely.”

Kyle laughed. “See? I knew there was a good reason to bring you along for this mission.”

“You mean besides my charm, wit, and smoking good looks?” she teased back. The other two girls laughed as well, rolling their eyes. “C’mon,” she said, heading the way into the next chamber, “the sooner we do this, the sooner we can get back to base.”

* * *

Okay. This is probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever done... Jeffrey Danzig thought to himself as he made his way slowly down the halls of huge guildhall of the Viridian Suns, and considering how long I’ve been around, that’s really saying something. With a sigh, he adjusted his helmet on his head, and straightened his green tunic. Far from comfortable, or confident, he was forced to remind himself not to keep messing with his hair as a nervous habit, annoyed by the way his scruffy do kept sliding down over his eyes underneath his visor.

Needing to keep track of Marion’s movements, and update the others on his status, he’d taken on the responsibility of infiltration the enemy compound. Normally, he would have been able to spy on the Bastard Knight’s comings and goings from afar without directly involving himself, but in surrendering his relic to Kyle, he’d lost many of his powers and abilities. Plus, the man was paranoid, convinced (rightfully so) that he was being watched, and had upgraded his security considerably since the last time JD had checked in on him. Thus, the only way to find out what Marion had been up to lately was to spy on him the old fashioned way.

Thankfully the Viridian Suns are always taking in new members with a promise of wealth and fame to those who join and advance up the ranks, he mused ruefully, brushing aside his bangs yet again, heading up the staircase to the next floor. It was easily enough to commandeer a new body to use as a Trojan horse and slip inside the manor. Now I just have to make my way up to the Marion’s office without being—

“You! You there!” a brusque female voice called out behind him as he passed a room.

—spotted... well, shit, he thought furiously, forcing himself to turn back. “Er, ma’am?” he said hesitantly, wincing only slightly as Barena stared at him, looking him over critically. “What can I do for you, um, Ma’am?”

“A new recruit, huh?” she mused, frowning. “What’s your name, grunt?”

“It’s Church, ma’am,” he replied instantly, snapping a salute. “Leonard Church. Just transferred in today. I was stationed back at, um... Blood Gulch, and, um, after my squad was disbanded, I—”

“I asked for your name, not your life’s story,” Barena barked, completely disinterested. “Still, you look to be strong and fairly fit. Come with me,” she said, returning to her chambers. JD paused, considering his options for a moment before deciding to simply acquiesce, and follow her inside. Looking around, he had to admit that he was surprised at the decor, expecting things to be more tribal or spartanly decorated. Instead, it seemed to be a fairly normal representation of a woman’s room, not only flowery or girly, but with definite signs that a female lived here. The sound of the female in question clearing her throat caused JD to glance back over at her.

And then to blush beet red as the young Savage briskly peered off her wrappings and loincloth before flopping back down naked aside from her claw toothed necklace and bracelets, onto her King-sized bed. “I assume you have some experience giving massages?” she asked brusquely, propping her head up on her arms. “The usual nimrod assigned to me is out sick, and I get really cranky if I don’t get my cool down massage after a quest.” JD continued to blink, staring wide-eyed. “HEY! Are you deaf or just brain dead, recruit?” she snapped, causing him to jump. “I asked if you know how to give a goddamn massage?”

“Ah, um, y-yeah, uh, yes ma’am, Sir, Ma’am,” ‘Church’ replied with another salute, making his way onto the bed. After a moment of indecision, he simply bit the bullet and climbed up onto the bed, sitting astride the wild woman’s ample hips. He took a moment to admire the sight. Her flesh was lightly scarred all over, trophies from her previous battles that she refused to have healed and removed. Her dark dusky skin tone contrasted vibrantly against the white striped war paint that she always wore, making her look almost like a Serapin, a half-woman, half tiger mix. JD smirked at that, mentally comparing her with Serena, an actual weretiger, and finding them remarkably similar, in form if not function.

Barena’s body was strong, deeply muscled with the form of a bodybuilder, yet at the same time very feminine, with supple curves in all the right places, and a set of bountiful breasts that left no doubt that the fearsome beast about to rip you apart with her bare hands was all woman. JD had actually seen the Savage in battle numerous times, watched her enter her infamous ‘berserker fury’ and rip her victims apart literally limb from limb. It was a strange dichotomy; the fearsome warrior, and the sexy seductress, both wrapped up in the same body.

“How do you want it?” he asked her, stalling by cracking his knuckles loudly. “Relaxing, or hard and vigorous? And, do you have a problem area you want me to focus on?”

“All over. And I like it deep and hard,” she barked, shaking out her long blue black hair, loose from its usual ponytail as he leant forward, working her shoulders. “And try and put a little muscle into it. The usual guy’s about a forceful as a summer breeze... feels like he’s tickling me instead of massaging...”

“Oh? And are you ticklish, Ma’am? Is that something I should be aware of?” JD asked, smirking, wiggling his fingers briskly, expecting her to flinch.

“Not particularly, no,” Barena replied in a bored, slightly irritated tone. “Although the last person that tried pissed me off so much that I put him through a wall.”

“Er... right. I’ll keep that in mind,” he murmured back, focusing on the massage. After the first few moments without her biting his head off, he actually began to get into it somewhat. Maybe all those late night massage sessions in college will be of some use after all, he mused to himself. Not that it helped poor Jeffy back in the day... all those deep relaxing massages with his female classmates only got him relegated to the ‘Friend Zone’, as the dependable one that would put the moves on you without ‘putting the moves’ on you. Still... at this rate... this guy’s hands are going to give out on him soon, he thought, leaning forward to use his elbow to dig into a particularly tight knot.

“Aaaarrrrgghhhhhh!” Barena yelled loudly, shuddering violently on the bed for several seconds before going limp again. “Oooohh... mmm... yeaahh,” she murmured, grinning. “Now THAT’S more like it! Really make me FEEL it!”

Okay... the girl’s a masochist, JD realized, shaking his head. Still, makes this part easier, I guess, if I don’t have to worry about hurting her by mistake. Over the next several minutes, he focused on all of her trouble spots, working out each knot with his knuckles, elbows, even his knees, using the maximum amount of pressure to force the muscles to relax. By the time he was done, they were both soaked in sweat.

“Okay, that seems much better,” Church stated briskly, returning to the relaxing gentle massaging once again, working his way slowly from the base of her neck down her body. Barena merely grunted, too blissed out to think of much of a reply. “You were really tense, um, Ma’am,” he prompted her after a moment. “I guess that last mission you were on was really stressful, huh?” Another grunt. He sighed shaking his head. He’d hoped that if he’d gotten her loose enough she might have let slip some useful information on what had happened, but unfortunately all she would do is grunt. “Ah, well, at least you’re back home again,” he said, working his way down to her feet, grasping her lightly by the heel with one hand, pushing down hard on the bottom of her sole with the other.

“Ooohhhh... nyyyaaahhh... mmmmm,” Barena groaned, twitching slightly, her toes spreading and clenching before relaxing again. “Yeah, mmm... good... feels good...” she murmured softly, arching slightly to spread her legs. “Been a long time... since I had a good... foot rub...” she managed.

“Yeah... I can imagine,” Church murmured back, ruefully. Not that the girl’s feet were unattractive in the slightest. They were actually quite pretty, large as fitting her size and stature, but still feminine. The problem was that she walked barefoot all the time, meaning her soles were thick and hard like cured leather. The fact that she’d even felt him pressing down on her pressure points at all was amazing. Still, the unexpected sensation had loosened her up, and determined to keep the streak going, he began working over her feet like a man possessed. “So, um... how about that Vale?” he said weakly, fishing for a point on contention. “She’s a bit... odd, don’t you think?”

“Mhhhrr... you don’t know the half,” Barena murmured, shaking her head weakly. “Damned bitch... almost bit it today... Marion was pissed... was gonna... make her... brainless bimbo slave slut...” she giggled slightly, clenching her toes, though JD doubted his latest ministrations had actually tickled. “’Course... she already is... brainless... and a bimbo... and a slut. Only needed the... the slave part...” She groaned softly as he switched feet, working into her deep deep arches. “But... she lucked out. Always lucks out. Fucking bitch. Hoping next time... her luck runs out...”

JD nodded in sympathy. Guess it was tough sharing the spotlight with someone you hated. “So... I guess you’ll be heading out again soon?” he asked innocently.

“Mhhr? Um... not for a while,” Barena panted, groaning again, clenching the sheets tightly in her hands. “Marion’s... off to confer with... his silent partner... and dig up some new leads,” she rasped, groaning again as he activated a particularly potent nerve cluster. “Motherfucker...” she breathed, shuddering again when he finally released her foot, allowing her legs to flop down to the bed. “I don’t know where the hell they dug you up, grunt,” she said, rolling over to sit up on her bed, “but I think we could use a few more like you. Are you a medic or something?”

“No, no Ma’am,” he replied with a salute, forcing his eyes to the side to keep from staring. “Our medic was named... well, Doc. Good guy, a bit of a pacifist, but let himself get possessed by an insane AI cluster bent on conquering the world, and you’d never know it!” He sighed. “Yeah, me and Tucker—”

“A simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ would have sufficed,” Barena said curtly, making a show of stretching, working the kinks out of her neck. “Still, you did a good job. I haven’t felt this loose and relaxed in years!”

“Glad to hear it ma’am,” JD replied, turning towards the door. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he said, thinking about the information she’d let slip about Marion going off to confer with Amanda, “I really need to report in and meet the commander—”

“Not so fast, grunt,” Barena replied, grabbing him roughly by the arm, pulling him back. She smiled at him savagely, a feral baring of teeth that reminded him very much of a shark’s grin. “You haven’t finished with ME just yet. Your massage got me all nice and loose,” she purred, running her hands around his back, teasing the edges of his tunic, “but it did nothing for all this pent up energy I have!” With a growl, she pulled, ripping apart his tunic, and loosening his breastplate in one shot. JD’s eyes went wide, while Barena’s narrowed, nodding in appreciation. “Mmmm... not bad. Church, was it?” she asked, pulling him back towards the bed again. “Fitting name. I’ve never really been much on religion... but who knows? Maybe you’ll convert me. Now then, grunt,” she growled, ripping apart his trousers as well, as she pulled him into bed with her, “take me to heaven!”

* * *

“Okay, looks like we’re clear,” Honor stated as the group made their way back up to the landing just before the final chamber. Instead of taking the most direct route across, she’d lead them down into the small ravine between the high flat paths on either side. A simple check showed both sides to be laden with magical traps all along the walls floors and ceiling, with only a single passable route through. Without the skill set to disarm or bypass said traps, she’d opted for taking the ‘scenic route’ instead. There were, of course, traps hidden within the central ravine as well, though they were more mundane as more easily avoidable. Reaching the landing, however, she grabbed James’ arm as he moved towards the door. “Hold it! Not so fast, sport!” she protested, reaching into her pouch.

“I thought we were all clear?” he asked, frowning. “Besides, this is usually where I land when I fly across the room. This section isn’t trapped. I would have set it off when I came through here the last time.”

“Maybe,” Honor replied, tossing a small knife at the snow covered ground a few feet in front of them. She followed up by tossing a second knife besides the first one, wincing slightly at a sudden eruption of flame bursting up from beneath the landing, melting the snow and charring both bladed knives. “Maybe not,” she added knowingly, as everyone drew back several steps.

“How?” James asked, blinking in surprise. “I’ve landed here several times before and crossed this spot with no problems.”

“Multistep trap,” Honor replied simply. “Set to let one person pass through unmolested, but two or more in succession would activate it. Complicated spell, but not that uncommon. I’ve encountered it a few times in my, ahem, previous life. As a thief, you learn to kind of think like an architect, or a designer. And if I wanted to guard some valuable treasure enough to go through all the trouble of laying this many traps, I’d certainly trap the space before the final door. But I wouldn’t want to set it off myself, if I needed to get into vault. Hence the multistep spell. One person alone would be highly unlikely to make it this far without help... and frankly, if he or she WAS that good, then one last doomsday spell wouldn’t stop them anyway.”

“Makes sense,” Kyle replied with a grin. More and more, he was impressed with Patty’s insight and ingenuity. Knowing her as the former Lynx Guildmaster, with a well-deserved reputation as a party girl, and even as her new character, the hyper, energetic, and always spunky Honor, it was sometimes hard to reconcile the fact that there was a brilliant and calculating mind behind the perkiness. But of course, she would have to be, to be such a successful thief, as well as becoming Guildmaster, he reminded himself. I’m probably not the first person to underestimate her. I’ll have to try and remember that in the future.

“Okay, let’s go,” Honor replied, sprinting across the landing to the doorway. “It will take about an hour at least to reset. Hopefully we’ll be long gone by that time.”

“Hold on a second.”

Everyone stopped, turning to look at James. “There is one more thing. Behind this door is the guardian of the temple. To get the relic, we will have to defeat him in combat.” he said, facing him directly “and he will be aiming to kill us all. After all, Dragons are not known to show mercy to opponents.”

“Ok, then,” said Kyle taking a deep breath. “But I have a request for you all—I will fight him alone, by myself. None of you can interfere. It will have to be one-on-one. No backup or support.”

Leila gasped. Serena and Honor exchanged a worried glance. “What are you talking about Master? We came here to help you. We fought with you, and we would gladly die for you.”

“I know, and I thank you deeply for it,” said Kyle. “But that’s why I HAVE to do this myself. I don’t want any of you sacrificing yourselves for me. This is a bridge I want to cross alone.” Plus, I already went through watching Honor die in front of me. I’d prefer not to witness any of the rest of you do the same. Turning to James, he nodded. “So James, any last moment tips for me?”

James considered. “Narwal is a Great Silver Dragon. Immensely strong and powerful, and fast. He’s extremely tough and durable. His resistances are pretty much off the charts, so don’t even bother with magic... but his type is ice-based, so he’s vulnerable to fire.”

“Hmmm, then maybe I should face him, Master?” Serena prompted, allowing her weretiger blood to heat up, showing her nine flaming tails briefly before resuming her fully human form. But Kyle shook his head.

“Thanks for the offer, Serena, but I have made my decision. I need to do this.” He gave her a wry grin. “If nothing else, I need to see how far I’ve come... to test the limits of my abilities. If I can beat the guardian, then I’ll be one step closer to taking down Marion for good.” Opening his inventory, he removed and equipped the plain heavy D sword JD had given him earlier, testing its heft by swinging it a few times. “Okay,” he said after a moment, “I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

* * *

Ugghnnn... wow... if I really was part of the military, I’d say I just qualified for hazard pay, JD thought wearily as he half-stumbled out of a happily sleeping Barena’s bedroom, back into the relative safety of the hallway. Seriously. I’m not sure if I should let the poor chap remember this or not... but I suspect he’d want to know why he’ll be walking funny for the next few days... Straightening his new replacement tunic, placing his helmet back on, he hurried down the hallway towards Marion’s office, hoping he was still in time to catch him in the middle of conversing with the CEO.

Reaching the office, he paused, sliding back behind the corner as he spied two guards positioned directly outside Marion’s room. He narrowed his eyes, thinking. The last thing he needed right now was to cause some kind of commotion, especially this close to his target. He was in ‘stealth mode’ as it was, and getting caught by Barena had thrown everything off. And yet, this close, he didn’t want to simply abort, turn tail and run.

Gaahh... this truly sucks. Mr. Paranoid had Amanda bump up his terminal with all the latest security enhancements to keep anyone from eavesdropping. If I still had all my functions, I could MAYBE circumvent detection and listen in on his conversation. As I am now, I’ll need to make physical contact with his interface in order to hack into it. And considering that the System Admins are scanning the entire network for any sign of ‘the anomaly’ that keeps messing with their search, I couldn’t very well show up as myself. He sighed deeply. No choice, I guess. I just hope this doesn’t show up on their scans as well.

Both guards turned as he approached, using their spears to block the door in front of them. “Sorry. Access denied,” a female voice spoke behind her visor. “Marion is in an important meeting right now. You’ll have to come back later.”

Ah. Female guards. That at least makes it easier. Clearing his throat slightly, he nodded, as if preparing to turn away. “Vdri vur tyrtrol,” he said in a low but clear voice. Both guards gasped simultaneously, before sighing, their grips on their spears loosening. Expecting such a response, JD moved in and caught them before they clattered to the ground. “Good girls. Very good. Now, listen up. You’re both very, umm... hungry! Yes, very hungry. You’ve been on guard for a while now, and its only right that you take a little break to go get something to eat. So, you’re both going to go down to the cantina and grab a snack, then come back and resume your guard duties. It’s perfectly fine to do so. And there’s no reason to be concerned at all, or even remember any of this. Just go grab a snack and return. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir,” the left side guard stated, turning on her heel, heading down the hallway.

“Just a quick snack,” the right side guard intoned, following behind her, “and return. No need to be concerned...” JD let out the small breath he’d been holding. He felt a momentary pang of guilt for the hell Marion would no doubt rain down hell on his subordinates for not stopping what was about to happen. Still, it had to be done... and any complications he could cause Marion and his guild, big or small, was always a bonus. Still holding one of the guard’s spears, he pushed open the door and entered.

“...relatively sure that the relics only appear at certain times, under certain conditions,” Amanda Faraday was saying aloud over the speakers when the doors opened. Her holographic image blinked in surprise as the unscheduled interruption, and Marion’s head spun around to face the doorway so far it almost looked as if it would twist completely off. “Wha... Marion! What is this?” she asked, scowling.

“You there! Trooper!” Marion growled furiously, rushing towards the hapless soldier. “What the HELL do you think you’re doing here? Who gave you authorization to enter?!?”

“Huh? Wha... OH! SIR! Um, yeah, um... uh, Private Michael J. Caboose, reporting as ordered, Sir,” JD replied stumblingly, snapping a salute, rapping the flat of the spear in his hand against the edge of his helmet with a loud clang, before dropping it, and the loose helmet, onto Marion’s nearby desk, knocking over a bookend, and several supplies in the process. “Ooops! Oh, sorry, Commander, Sir,” he said sheepishly, bending over to retrieve the fallen objects, stacking them haphazardly about the desk, while Marion stood, gaping in disbelief. The soldier blinked, frowning slightly, momentarily dizzy as he touched the computer console. “Huh? Wait, what was I doing? Uhm, there, that’s... that’s... er, not really right, is it?’” he asked, frowning, his spear at the bottom of the pile everything was stacked on. “Oh, I, um... think I might need that,” he said, pulling the spear free, causing everything else to fall back onto the floor again.

“ENOUGH!” Marion roared after a few more seconds of slapstick comedy, though which Amanda was hard pressed not to burst into laughter herself. “Let me ask you this again, trooper, and you’d damn well better answer me in as complete and exact a manner as I require, or I will shove that spear so far up your ass I’ll be able to hang you outside on the ramparts as a flag! Now... WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE IN MY OFFICE?!?”

The soldier shuddered a bit. “Sir! Yes, Sir! I am a new recruit to the Viridian Suns, and just finished my orientation, and was ordered to present myself to the commander for further instructions, Sir!” he said, holding out a small folded piece of paper with handwritten orders. Growling, Marion snatched them from his hand, reading through them for a moment, then shook his head in disbelief.

“Really? Are you this much of a... no, having been in your presence for less than a minute, I’m quite sure you ARE that much of an idiot,” he murmured, rolling his eyes skyward. “Listen, you buffoon... these orders state you are to report to your commanding officer for assignment. Your CO, not the commander of the entire guild! You’re looking for Igmus Faintheart, not me, you cretin! He’s in charge of the new recruits!” Grumbling, he knelt down to pick up his fallen desk supplies. “Now... get out of here before I have him assign you to the armory as a training dummy!”

Blushing brightly, the soldier nodded. “Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir... I’ll... um... be going now,” he said in a low voice, turning to leave.

“Oh, and one last thing,” Marion said, scowling, as the soldier glanced back at him. ”Jinthil ehis di nomeno,” he intoned, causing the man to shudder slightly. “Now, get out of here,” he barked as the man blinked, glancing around in confusion. Nodding again, he left, closing the door behind him. Sighing, Marion returned to his chair.

“Well, that was entertaining,” Amanda quipped, grinning evilly. “I always questioned why you and your people didn’t achieve better results in searching out the relics, but having seen firsthand the kinds of recruits you’re attracting. I’m beginning to understand why.”

“Ha. Ha. Ha. Very droll,” Marion snarked, steepling his fingers. “Given the sheer scope of the search, I chose to go with quantity over quality. Beggars can’t be choosers. Besides, there’s always place in the roster for cannon fodder.”

“A good point,” Amanda conceded. “Still... should you have let him simply leave that way? He saw my face, after all. What if he overheard what we were talking about earlier?”

“Not to worry,” Marion replied with a smirk. “That little bit of gibberish I blurted out at the end? It was Dragonspeak. I basically told him to forget everything that he saw and heard when he entered this room. I highly doubt someone that incompetent could be a spy. But, on the off chance he was, rest assured, he won’t have anything worthwhile to report.” His grin widened at that. “Now then... what were you saying about the timing of these relics showing up?”

* * *

A tall thin blonde haired man dressed in a long cream colored robe stood in the middle of the massive chamber, leaning idly against a large Ironwood staff. He nodded as the group entered with James in the lead. “Ah! Mr. Windsaber!” He greeted cordially. “Have you returned for another friendly bout with me? Or have you decided to stop by for tea?” His eyes then fell on the group behind James “Ah, visitors,” he said jovially as they all drew near. “I so rarely get visitors these days. It’s not often that someone is able to brave the dangers and make the trek to my humble little abode.” He shook his head, chidingly. “James here used to drop by fairly regularly, but recently even he seems to have forgotten my humble home,” he sighed dramatically.

“Well, it could be because you live on top of a high mountain peak, surrounded by insanely powerful ice monsters,” Honor quipped, shaking her head in return. “So, um... you’re the guardian of this place? Forgive me for being rude, but I was expecting someone a lot bigger... and scalier?”

Narwal chuckled. “I see. So, you know the legend then.” Turning to James he asked, “You brought your friends here to play with me this time, eh? Did you tell them about the prize too?”

“Yes. They know about the relic you protect,” James replied. “To be honest, this will not be a sparring match. This time you will be fought for ownership of the relic.”

“Ah, I see.” the guardian mused aloud. “Well, if you do indeed seek the lost relics of the Dragon Gods, then yes, you must face me. However, I must warn you. Face me at your own peril. This chamber exists outside of the usual protected safe zone. If you fall at my hands, it will be true death, not a respawn. So choose carefully before you accept my challenge.” He gestured with his staff. “Now... how will it be? All five of you against me at once? Or will you be coming at me mano y mano?”

“Actually we will not be fighting at all,” James stated, stepping back as Kyle stepped forward. “He will be your sole opponent.”

Narwal frowned slightly. “Truly? This black clad young man?” Turning to Kyle he asked.. “So, young man, do you dare to accept my challenge?”

Kyle sighed inwardly, stepping forward. “Yes. I accept your challenge,” he said loudly, unsheathing his sword. “My name is Kyle Shadowchaser. I don’t wish to fight you, but if it is the only way to obtain the relic, so be it.”

“Very well spoken,” the blond man replied with a smirk. “All right then. Show me what you’ve got!” In the blink of an eye he vanished. Kyle gasped, bringing up his sword just in time to block a strike aimed for his head. He grunted, nearly staggering, the ground around his feet cracking from the force of the blow. Scowling, regaining his footing, he lashed out himself, using his own speed to counter his adversary, only managing to cut a small swath of the man’s robe as he dodged nimbly away.

“Impressive,” Narwal replied, glancing down at his robe. “Most normal beings would have been crushed instantly. There appears to be more to you than meets the eye, Mr. Shadowchaser.” Drawing back, he closed his eyes, a soft silver glow beginning to surround him. “But, then again,” he said, as he once again vanished—

Only to be replaced by the gigantically massive form of a colossal Silver Dragon! ::THEN AGAIN, THERE’S MORE TO ME AS WELL!:: he roared, his gaping maw of teeth larger than Kyle was tall opening. Before he could react, the dragon expelled its breath, blasting Kyle with a torrent of whitish blue flame, engulfing him fully.

“KYLE! MASTER! NO!!” Honor screamed, rushing towards him, even as Serena and Leila drew their weapons. “You fucking bastard!” she screamed, charging heedless towards the towering beast, despite knowing she stood no chance. Her Master... her lover, taken from her. Wiped from existence, just as she had been, gone in a moment of senseless violence. She was going to make this creature pay, even if it cost her her life—

“Stay back!” Kyle’s agony laced voice cut through her madness, and Honor stumbled and drew to a halt, an equally surprised Leila and Serena stopping next to her. The blue flames dissipated, revealing a distinctly frostbitten and flash frozen Kyle, gravely hurt, but still alive. His lifeline had gone red, signaling critical damage, and he looked more the worse for wear, but his eyes were clear, and his grip on his sword, steady. “I told you, I’ve got this,” he growled, eyes flashing slightly. “Most of all, none of you are allowed to throw your lives away on my account. Got it?”

“Y-yes, Master,” all three girls responded, obediently, his command taking firm hold, as they backed slowly out of the combat zone. Rather than press his attack, Narwal watched the proceeding with interest, allowing them to leave the area before turning his attention back to his opponent.

::You continue to impress, Kyle Shadowchaser,:: he growled, impressed. ::I sensed a familiar presence about you. You carry the Armband of Ro with you, do you not? That relic may protect you from dying instantly from my attacks,:: he replied, as his tail rose, flowing like a snake across the battlefield before striking at Kyle, causing him to roll abruptly to the side, ::but it does not give you what you need to defeat me, either!:: With another roar, the dragon began attacking in earnest, deadly claws slashing down at his smaller prey, whipping his head down to bite at him, and breath more frigid blue fire, before lashing out again with his tail.

“Aaarrrghh,” Kyle groaned loudly, as he was knocked across the chamber again, struck by one of the dragon’s blows. His blade clattered to the ground, knocked free from his hands, but he was more focused on defense at the moment, trying to survive the onslaught, rather than trying to launch an attack of his own. Shit... damned son of a bitch is fast, he thought dimly, rolling to the side again, only to wince in pain as a second claw swipe lifted him momentarily off his feet. Gaaaahhh... fuck... nnnnhhhh... JD was right... immortal is NOT the same as invincible... I should be dead now at least three times over... but aside from hurting like hell, I’m still alive and kicking. But... even still... I can’t keep taking hits like this much longer... need to come up with a strategy of some kind!

“Master! Don’t give up!” Leila yelled out suddenly in encouragement. “You can beat him! Just watch his movements!”

Watch his movements? Kyle mused, rolling to the side to dodge Narwal’s breath, scooping up his sword as he passed, bringing it to bear at the dragon followed up with a vicious claw swipe. Of course! This is just a game, a simulation. He’s not really a dragon, he’s a computer simulation of a dragon. It’s all just a question... of finding the right pattern...

Half an hour later, Kyle was panting heavily, using his sword to maintain balance. The fight has been going on strong the entire time, and he had taken the lion’s share of the damage. He was covered in frost –and looked like man who has been running in a blizzard. He’d finally figured out the pattern of the dragon’s attacks, and learned his pattern well enough. Unfortunately, the beast was simply too powerful and too fast for him to mount an effective defense and then counterattack. At best, he could hold off the onslaught, and deflect the blows with his blade, though he still continued to catch an occasional blast of freezing breath. The damage, however, was taking its toll; if not for the Armband of Ro he would have died 5 times already. The cold was getting to him finally, and only by channeling his werewolf blood was he able to keep himself from collapsing.

“Had enough, kid?” Narwal taunted him, “Or would you want to dance some more?” he added, as he swiped his tail. Kyle knew this attack, he was understanding the pattern but still it was too fast and too powerful for him to block. Unable to move aside in time, he was thrown to the ground hard, blood spouting from his mouth.

“Ugghnn... shit,” he hissed struggling back to his feet just as the second claw swipe struck. He lashed out desperately with a strike of his own, using his sword as a shield to deflect the blow, wincing from the effort, and leaping up to avoid the following tail swipe. Grunting loudly, he attempted a riposte, to counter attack, but the dragon’s maw was already moving, snaking towards him for a vicious bite, forcing him to dodge yet again. Damn! And now come the claws again, first right, he thought, bringing up his blade, then the left, he thought, bringing up his blade again, deflecting the blow yet again. Uggghnnn... no good! I have the pattern and the timing, but the best I can manage is to defend, to match him blow for blow... I can’t get a clear chance to go on the offensive!

Narwal frowned slightly, more than a little annoyed. Any normal player would have been decimated within the first few seconds of battle, but this Kyle was something special. Even with the relic had he no doubt stolen from the golden guardian protecting his life, the damage he was taking should have forced him to quit, to give up and surrender by now. Yet he was still in the fight, hanging on, and starting to gain traction, learning to block or dodge his attacks regularly now. Growling, he redoubled his efforts, using all of his strength and speed... but somehow the dark haired youth managed to keep up with him!

“Give it up, boy!” he growled again, firing out another plume of cold fire at his adversary. Kyle jumped and dodged the flames but was struck down instantly with a tail swipe from the dragon. “You can’t win.” said the dragon. “The best you can hope to do is match my speed, and defend yourself! But you’ll never defeat me by blocking and defending. You’re just too slow and too weak to do any damage to me!” He breathed his flames again to envelop Kyle who at the very last moment jumped out of the way. He did not receive a critical hit but took enough frost to stumble and collapse on the stone floor.

“FUCK!” shouted Honor, unable to take it any more. “Screw this! I am going in!” she bellowed, drawing her blade, and simultaneously she, Serena and Leila charged towards the dragon as it advanced on the fallen Kyle, fully intending to try and draw it again, and save him—

“STOP!” FWHOOSH!

“Ugghnn,” all three girls grunted, knocked back by a buffet of air, James blocking their way with a wall of solid air. The three girls stared at him in disbelief as he moved in front of them, spreading his arms, preventing them from passing.

“I’m sorry, but I certainly cannot allow that.” He said, grimfaced and resolute. “No one is allowed to interfere.”

“What the fuck? Whose side are you on, you bastard?!?” shouted Honor angrily.

“He is hurting Master… Kyle! MOVE!” shrieked Serena, eyes glowing, her weretiger blood making its presence felt.

“Get the hell out of our way, Jimmy,” Leila growled in a low dangerous voice, pointing her sword at James. “Don’t make us hurt you!”

“I’m not moving. You will have to go through me then, ” said James in a low growl, staring them down. ”But before you do that, listen to me for a moment. Look at him! Look at Kyle. He is so near his limit, yet he is still fighting. When he took on this challenge, he knew of the danger. He knew he will be hurt. He knew he would be putting his life on the line, but still he chose to fight on bravely. He could stop this at any time by simply saying he quits. He could simply give up. But instead, he is putting his pride as a warrior on the line right now to test his limits. And it is his deepest conviction that is keeping him on his feet after all those attacks. A conviction that gives him the power to fight an enemy no matter how strong.”

James sighed softly, staring at the nearly frozen warrior struggling to get back on his feet. And, whether or not you realize it, he’s fighting for you three. He doesn’t want anything to happen to you. He’d rather take all the pain and suffering on himself than see if dished out to any one of you. He turned back to face them again. “ If you now barge in the fight, you will not only die—which I know Kyle would want to avoid even at the cost of his life—you will also insult his determination—something he has bet his life on!”

“Too bad! I donnn’t carrrreee” shouted Serena, her weretiger blood boiling. “Masssterrrr iss hurrrting and I am going to help him!” She crouched down, claws out, as if preparing to pounce, but Leila grabbed her shoulder gently.

“Easy, Rini,” she said to her slave sister, shaking her head sadly. “I know how you feel. It’s now we ALL feel. But... this time James is right.” She said very quietly. “Master told us to stay out of this. He commanded us to stay back. He would never want us to get hurt for his sake. I’d gladly sacrifice myself for him... but that would only displease him.” She sighed softly. “And... James is also right about the other point as well. I may be an assassin, but my mentor drilled into me his peculiar sense of honor. When I fight someone, especially a very strong opponent, we sort of form a bond – a contract of trust and honor that we will not hold back against each other, or humiliate each other by showing pity. We will respect each other by using our power to the fullest, and going all out. East used to say, ‘It is an insult to a strong opponent if you hold back against him on purpose. It’s an insult to his abilities, and to everything he is fighting for.’ If we go out there now, we will truly be insulting Master Kyle’s conviction.”

Serena gave a loud growl but calmed down. James, on his part, resumed watching the match, but unknown to the girls he was as much worried as they were. The avatar in this game is an image of how we are in the real life he thought to himself. Under normal conditions, Kyle would have died a long back. But due to his immortality, he has been steadily accumulating a huge amount of damage, far surpassing his normal capacities. It is by his sheer willpower and inhuman determination that is allowing him to continue the fight. But even he will soon reach his limit. Soon, it will be too much for his mind to endure more pain and it may collapse. And I can’t let that happen. James thought desperately, hands clenched tightly into fists. I don’t know if even I can beat Narwal at full strength, but if push comes to shove, I will have to step in to protect Kyle... if all else fails, to knock him out to save his mind from collapsing in on itself, or falling into a pain induced coma.

“Okay,” Kyle groaned aloud, back on his feet, blocking another barrage of strikes, claws and steel colliding hard enough to create sparks. “You’re... right,” he panted, drawing back a bit, moving his feet, adopting a slightly different stance. “I... admit it. Not... fast enough... or strong.... enough... to deal out... any damage...” He back flipped away, dodging the tail strike, landing neatly back on his feet, his eyes flashing red. “And you’re right. Defense... has gotten me nowhere. So,” he growled, allowing his werewolf blood to boil over, “let’s change that, shall we?”

Narwal grunted in surprise when he lashed out to bite at the boy, only to momentarily lose sight of him. An instant later, a stinging pain erupted in his side, a small but painful gash cut through his supposedly impenetrable scales, drawing blood, and the wound itself was blackened, as if seared by fire. “Whaaat? How... how is this possible?” He growled, whipping his head around again, blowing out a blast of frozen fire at the upstart, only to freeze the ground where he’d been standing moments ago.

For his part Kyle was performing a very careful balancing act with his werewolf side. With the relic locking his baseline stats, relying on his were blood was truly his only option, letting it boost his strength and speed to ungodly levels, allowing him to surpass his normal limitations. It was dangerous, however, as the accompanying bloodlust and lost of focus made if difficult to control. And in this current battle, fighting for his very life, needing his wits about him, the last thing he needed was to lose control and go completely feral.

The great dragon roared his anger, leaping back, slashing down again the pest that had dared to make him bleed his own blood, only to again lose sight of him, feeling him strike again an instant later on his exposed flank. The great dragon looked at his wounds bleeding – the loss of blood draining his life points slowly. He breathed his flame on the wound and froze the blood, sealing the wounds.

“Interesting weapon you have there Mr. Shadowchaser,” Narwal panted, scowling, taking a short break from his ceaseless barrage of attacks for a moment. “I think this is the first time I have seen a weapon which was able to make me bleed. What is it?”

“It’s called the sword of D,” Kyle stated.

“Sword of the dragons,” James corrected, causing everyone to glance at him as he stared at the sword – his mouth twisting into a knowing grin.

“That was not what I meant,” said Narwal, frown deepening. “I wanted to ask what magic are you using on it. Is it the legendary dragon slaying magic?”

“Something like that,” Kyle quipped, altering his stance again slightly, the ice melting from his armor as his body became sheathed in a bright nimbus of flame. “My fighting class enables me to change my fighting style and methods to suit my current situation. In other words, I’m able to adapt to my opponent and use their strengths against them,” he stated, channeling that fire into his weapon, which also began to glow brightly, “and use it to capitalize on their weaknesses!”

Narwal growled, letting out a torrent of blue flame, attempting to catch Kyle flatfooted, but to no avail; he was already moving, dodging the freezing blast, circling around towards the dragon’s back. Pain erupted along his thigh, struck yet again, the fire weakening even more, and as he struck out wildly, hoping for a glancing blow, he roared in triumph as he connected, dealing Kyle yet another lethal blow.

“Ugggghhhhnnnn!!” His joy was short-lived, however, as Kyle let loose with a savage howl, leaping skyward, channeling the damage he’d just taken into an even deadlier counterattack. Before the dragon could even begin to react, he felt a piercing stabbing pain exploding from the center of his chest. Shocked, he stared down to find the warrior, clutching his glittering burning blade, buried hilt deep in the center of his chest. A fountain to blood gushed forward, soaking Kyle, dousing the flames and pushing him back. Grunting, Narwal stumbled back, shedding his dragon form, becoming human again. Panting, gasping, he pulled the sword free from his chest, then nodded to Kyle, smirking devilishly.

“Huh... not bad... not bad at all...for a human,” he muttered, wiping the blood dripping from his mouth. “Very well, Kyle Shadowchaser. I am beaten. You have won this battle. Furthermore, you have shown yourself to possess the three qualities required of a true hero: strength, courage and wisdom. It took courage to face my challenge alone, without the aid of your friends, and to continue fighting even when it seemed hopeless. It took wisdom to discern the pattern of my attacks, and to enter the fray armed with the Armband of Ro, allowing you to withstand my blows until you were able to find a way to counter.” His grin widened. “Most of all, you showed your true power in facing me, in unleashing your hidden strength but not letting it overwhelm you. You have done well, young man,” he stated, gesturing with his hands, which began to glow with a golden light, “and thus I present you with this.”

As the light faded, a small golden triangle floated, hovering several inches above the guardian’s outstretched hand. Looking closer, Kyle noticed a long slim golden chain running along the sides through a tiny hole at the apex. Reaching out, he held up the golden necklace, frowning slightly. It seemed a bit... girly, not to mention delicate, for a dragon relic. “This is it?” he asked, just to be sure. Narwal nodded.

“The Amulet of Mekihl will provide the wearer with a massive increase to their health and defense, as well as providing a constant minor healing effect to all injuries received,” he explained. “It is the ultimate in physical defense. However, as it focuses all its effect on protecting the wearer, its user will suffer in the area of offensive attacks while under its effects.”

“Meaning, just like our battle, it becomes nearly impossible to mount an effective attack while wearing it,” Kyle mused, holding up the glittering necklace. “Nevertheless, I can still see situations where that might come in handy.” He nodded, as the others approached the dais, joining him. “Very well. I’ll take it. And... I’ll let Leila hold onto it for me,” he added, presenting the necklace to the very surprised blonde assassin.

“Hu... me?” she squeaked, coloring brightly at being singled out. “Um, you sure you don’t want to hold onto it yourself, or maybe give it to Rini or Honor?”

Kyle smiled, shaking his head. “I can’t really use it. The relic I have currently is more than enough protection, and frankly, I would rather not have my attack power handicapped. Serena’s armor makes her practically untouchable as it is, and Honor,” she said glancing sidelong at Patty, “Honor could use the extra protection, but like me, the loss of attack power would probably hurt more than help. But with your class, and your high critical strike ability, losing attack power and missing occasionally wouldn’t make much of a difference. Most of your hits are instant kills anyway.”

Leila nodded, considering his words. “Okay, if you’re sure,” she said, placing the necklace around her neck. “Oooohh... tingly,” she giggled, feeling the power sweep through her. Honor chuckled, and Serena merely shook her head. Kyle chuckled as well, before letting out a soft sigh and dropping to his knees. “Wh... MASTER?!? Are you okay?” the assassin exclaimed rushing to his side, as the others gathered around.

“He’s likely exhausted,” Narwal replied wearily, shaking his head. “I know I certainly am. The battle has merely caught up with him. Heal his wounds, and give him a chance to rest, and he should recover just fine. And... uhnn... speaking of recovering... I’ll leave you to find your own way out,” he replied, before vanishing in a flash of light.

“Okay, well, looks like we have what we came for,” James stated, leaning down to cast a healing spell on Kyle. “If there’s no objections, I think we should head back to the cove, give Kyle a chance to rest and recover, and plan for our next target.”

Kyle nodded weakly, getting back to his feet, though he did allow Serena and Honor to help hold him up. “Sounds... good to me. Especially the rest part. I feel... completely wiped out.”

“And I’d like to check back in with Uncle JD, and see what he has to report.” James added, frowning as he pulled out a teleport crystal. “I hope he’s okay. I don’t know why, but I have a really bad feeling...”

* * *

“I’ve got a really bad feeling about this...”

JD floated in place, stationary amidst a sea of information, a complex algorithm amidst a colossal myriad of data, not moving, completely inactive. The steady stream of electronic byes, of endless ones and zeros was not disturbing in the least. If anything, this was his natural state, and this environment his element. What might have appeared to the normal eye as a bunch of numbers and symbols straight out of The Matrix: Reloaded, was, to him, as familiar as staring at a landscape out the window of one’s house. He was, in fact, perfectly at home as a noncorporeal packet of information.

No, what had him nervous was the outrageously elaborate and sophisticated security and anti-virus software guarding the computer system he had just penetrated.

Damn. I have to give it to Amanda, he thought dismally as a gentle innocuous probe revealed yet another pathway blocked by a virtually unbreakable firewall. The woman never does anything halfway. After all the trouble it took to upload myself undetected into her computer terminal while that new recruit was fumbling around with Marion’s desk, here I am stuck hiding in an unused cluster so far from the root directory it might as well be in an entirely different galaxy! And her anti-virus software is no joke. If this system detects me, forget burying myself in code—I’ll be derezzed in a matter of microseconds. He sighed deeply. And this seemed like the perfect way to get some inside information on what the CEO has planned, too. Huh. I’ll be extremely lucky to last long enough to try and transmit myself back into the main server for The Reality...

Just then the entire system lit up. JD froze, wonderingly idly for a few picoseconds if he’d somehow been detected, when he realized it was simply Ms. Faraday’s computer booting up. Spending a few more picoseconds considering his options, he decided to go for it, to use the booting up sequence as a distraction to gaining access to the root directory. Reforming himself, he appeared as a digital copy of Solid Snake, complete with Octocamo sneaking suit. Well, if you have to go stealth mode, he thought with a grin, you might as well go big or go home!

Sprinting down the virtual corridors of the computer’s hard drive, he paused, frowning as the system began running a self-diagnostic, a sweep of electronic drones sweeping through the drive, scanning everything. Drawing his weapon, he fired twice, stunning the two nearest, then sprinted past them, getting behind them, before disguising himself as a compressed packet of data. The diagnostic swept over him—(‘Hmm? what’s that? Oh, just a box’) but continued on, reading the invader as merely an innocuous data packet. Breathing a sigh of relief, he continue on, avoiding the randomly sweeping sentries, until he finally made his way to the root directory.

YEAH! Now THAT’s what I call, ‘tactical espionage action’, he mused, uncompressing himself, searching through the directory of available files. The company CEO had several thousands of files on her drive, so it naturally only took a few seconds to peruse them all. Frowning, JD stopped and read through an interesting looking design schematic he’d found, a small portable sonic based device. Jeffrey Danzig’s specialty was computer programming and hardware design, but he’d possessed enough of an electrical engineering background for JD to hazard a guess as to its function. Gut clenching in realization, he searched through Amanda’s text file collection for confirmation, and found it in the pages of her online journal.

“‘July 1st. The engineers have finished with the prototype version of the device. It seems to work as specified, though it is still a bit too bulky for personal use. I’m hopeful that they will be able to condense it down to a lightweight portable model over the next two weeks. In the interim, that dolt Marion seems to have actually made some progress. He managed to obtain a second relic today, and our people were able to scan it and record it’s unique frequency. Testing it out with the prototype proves we’re on the right track—while it still does not affect males, this new frequency entrances females instantly...’”

JD scowled. Damn. This isn’t good. Faraday’s already got a working device ready and waiting to use to the mind control frequencies that bastard Marion’s delivering to her. Worse, she already has two of them, no doubt already in the hands of her research team. If they get one more, they’ll have enough data to extrapolate the remaining frequencies as well. I can’t let that happen! He growled, frustrated, pondering what to do. My best bet is to stay here, lurking inside Amanda’s terminal, sabotaging things from the inside... but I still need to find a way to send word to Kyle and his group, and warn them in case I’m discovered! Shit... what do I do? Getting this far was a one in a million shot as it is! No way I’d be able to get back in again without being detected if I left.

Sighing inwardly, JD nodded, his appearance changing one again to a perfect replica of army green Spartan armor, with the trademarked gold colored visor. Huh. From Metal Gear to Halo, only this time, I’m more Cortana than Master Chief. I just hope this works out better for me than it did for them...