part0022

We were fighting blind. Ryoko had lost her communicator early on in the session, and my visor was malfunctioning, thanks to a lucky shot from one of the computers. Bullets flew past my hiding place against the maze wall. I held my carbine close to my chest, and kept my breathing steady and calm. I had expected the computers to be difficult, but I’d forgotten about the randomized area conditions that occurred in some matches. I hadn’t expected to have to fight in a maze, let alone run into a dead end.

The gunfire stopped—and everything went silent. I glanced over to Ryoko, on the other side of the corridor opening, and she looked at me. Either this silence was a trap, or the computers were reloading. Their programing allowed them to be smart enough to know they’d cornered us.

Brushing my bangs out of my face, I took a chance and peered around the corner. I pulled back as fast as I could as bullets flew at me. I let out a slow breath and held my gun close. Yep, definitely a trap. Ryoko retaliated with several rounds of gunfire, and I joined in soon after, that is, until we both ran out of ammunition with both of our guns. Now we were trapped, out of ammunition, and running short on time. Soon those computers would advance, and we’d be toast.

I grabbed my communicator and threw it on the ground in frustration. It wasn’t going to be any help to me anyway.

“Burn them all,” the malevolent voice whispered. “Burn them and hear them scream.”

Getting an idea, I pulled my body in closer, and I breathed a small amount of fire into my hand. Placing my carbine down quietly, I went for it. Pushing away from the wall, I purged the hall with a blast of fire. The computers screamed in pain, and then they were gone. The fire died in my hands as I faced the charred hall. Nothing was left. Even parts of the walls had crumbled. We had won.

The maze wall behind us deteriorated, and a large door was left standing in its place. Ryoko and I walked through the door into the lobby, where we were met with marveling stares from the boys.

“I didn’t know your fire techniques were so powerful, Eira,” Argus complimented.

I shrugged. “Shaman thing, I suppose.”

“Can’t be,” Rylan commented. “You had that power before you left. You just have more control over it.”

“It really was impressive,” Ryoko said. “I think you might have even singed this virtual hair of mine.”

I rubbed the back of my neck and avoided eye contact. This praise made me uncomfortable.

Argus laughed. “Well, remind me to never pick a fight with you.”

I snorted. “Of all the people for me to pick a fight with, if it’s you, I’d be damned if there wasn’t something wrong with me.”

“Let’s hope you’re right.”

“Sorry to ruin your bonding time, but what are we going to do now?” Blaze asked. Someone’s in a foul mood.

“Aww, did someone not do well in the training session?” Ryoko teased.

He crossed his arms and his upper lip curled. “Shut up, Ryoko.”

“I think that’s a yes,” I whispered to her.

She giggled in response. Blaze grumbled as he turned away, and I joined in with Ryoko’s giggling. I enjoyed making fun of him. He made it easy.

When our giggle fit was over, I looked at Rylan. “So how did the training go?”

He shrugged. “Not bad. Blaze made himself look like an idiot, but that’s nothing new. He’s lucky training isn’t viewable by anyone.”

I laughed. “That bad, huh?”

He nodded and sighed. “Other than him, the rest of us did fine, although Raikidan sucks at using a gun.”

Raikidan growled at him, and Rylan raised his hands defensively.

I narrowed my eyes. “Rylan.”

He sighed. “All right, all right. Raikidan may suck at using our advanced technology, but his skills with fire and close combat are definitely not subpar. His close combat may even surpass Ryoko’s.”

Ryoko’s jaw dropped. “As if!”

I laughed and Ryoko huffed as she crossed her arms. She really didn’t like being shown up, especially not in the one fighting category she was good in.

“He’s not as tactical as you, if that makes you feel better,” Rylan said. Ryoko tilted her head. “Raikidan ate a bullet to the face.”

I laughed more, and this bit of information also cheered Ryoko up. Raikidan definitely hadn’t listened to me before. He was lucky it was only a training session. Raikidan rubbed his forehead and muttered to himself, which only made me laugh harder. Just as I managed to compose myself, both Rylan and Raikidan scowled. I looked over my shoulder and my relatively good mood soured instantly.

Raynn approached, a cocky grin on his lips. He wore a red-and-black sleeveless bodysuit, and his black gloves were short and fingerless. “Sorry to ruin your fun, ladies, but I need to have a word with your commander.”

I really didn’t want to deal with him right now. “What do you want?”

He shifted the railgun on his shoulder, so it would sit better. “We still have a score to settle.”

“Says you. You just can’t stand that someone is better than you, so you have to pick fights endlessly. Why don’t you just get lost?” I turned my back on him.

“Aww, is the little commander afraid?” a female voice said.

I turned to face the wretch. She was a tall woman with cream-colored skin, black hair that curled slightly around her shoulders, black ears and tail, golden eyes, and a nose that wasn’t entirely human-like. She was an anthro, and the way she hung off Raynn’s arm made me sick. She was always good at playing his faithful pet.

“Rip her tongue out!” the voice hissed.

“Go play with a ball of yarn, Mocha,” I spat.

“Aww, did I hit a nerve?” She purred. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I outgrew that childish behavior some time ago.”

Rylan snorted. “As if.”

Ryoko raked her hand in the air like claws. “Rawr to you too, kitty-kitty.”

Ryoko and Rylan laughed. Mocha growled and her tail twitched with annoyance, but she didn’t say anything back.

Raynn pulled his shoulders back and looked down at me. “So, what’s it going to be? You going to fight us, or are you too afraid?”

I scowled. “How many per team?”

He rested all his weight to one side of his body. “Eight plus a computer tech.” Eight on eight was a typical match size, but currently my team was lacking that size. “Is it a deal? Or is your team too small to have a real match?”

“It’s a deal,” a male voice chimed in.

I turned back to see a young man with short blue and black hair walking up to us. “Dan?”

It had been some time since I’d seen him. This was the last place I’d think to find him. He wasn’t fond of virtual training.

“Well, if it isn’t your first lieutenant, Eira.” Raynn grinned. “Come to her rescue, kid?”

Dan snorted. “Eira doesn’t need rescuing. I just came to even things out a bit.”

He wasn’t wrong. During his time as my lieutenant, he never once questioned what I was capable of handling. It had hit me hard when he went into hiding to join the rebellion. I took it as a personal slight. Luckily, I learned how right he was for leaving and forgave him before we’d reunited after my escape.

Even with that temporary loss, it worked out in my favor. Ryoko had taken up the vacant position and balanced me better than he had managed to.

Raynn chuckled. “Whatever you say, kid. So, Eira, now you have seven here. Where is the last one? Why not call that child of yours you call a Council member to help, or is she still too young to see the battlefield?”

I spat on the ground. “If her powers worked here, I’d let her take your entire team on by herself.”

Raynn threw his head back and laughed. “Right, sure.”

“What are we going to do, Eira? We can’t do a seven-on-eight fight,” Argus whispered.

“We’ll manage,” I responded. “Let’s see your team, Raynn.”

Raynn smirked. Behind him six more people approached. They all seemed normal and I knew them all by name, but there was one that I wasn’t okay with in this lineup. “I only see seven on your team, Raynn. Did you forget how to count?”

He chuckled. “I think you’re the one in need of counting lessons, kid. Did all that time in the wild rot your brain?”

“You know the rules, Raynn. No Battle Psychics on the range. Council’s orders. Nioush isn’t exempt from that rule. That makes seven on your team.”

Nioush approached. He was a tall, fair-skinned man with an athletic build, short blonde hair and matching goatee. A black cloth blindfold with a golden hexagram painted on it covered his eyes, and his bodysuit was red and black like the rest of his team’s, but it wasn’t a normally-styled bodysuit. It consisted of low-rise pants and an open, cropped vest with golden hexagrams on either side. His lip was pierced with black rings in the center and on the sides, and both of his nipples were pierced by silver bars. “Are you afraid, Eira?”

Nioush spoke much differently from his twin sister, Seda. His voice wasn’t hollow and didn’t come off as emotionally detached, but it did have an arrogant tone mixed with a haughty attitude. Like Raynn, all his comrades on his main team thought they were better than everyone else, and had the arrogance to show it.

My expression remained impassive. “I fear nothing.”

“Then what’s the problem? I doubt the Council will mind, as long as all parties agree. They usually look the other way in those circumstances.” A thin smirk appeared on his lips. “Or is it because I’m mistaken and Seda is merely a Seer?”

“They have a Battle Psychic,” a woman’s voice echoed around us.

We all looked around but couldn’t see anyone. It became clear rather quickly that the woman was still phasing through. After a moment of waiting, she materialized behind us.

“Seda?” To say I was surprised was an understatement. She rarely ever left the house, and if she did, she made sure Nioush wasn’t around. The two had never gotten along.

Seda wore a black and green bodysuit that went up to her cheeks, framing her face; black and green gloves that went up to her elbows; and black and green thigh-high boots. Just below her neck and on both of her forearms, where her gloves were the bulkiest, were golden hexagrams. Her eyes were covered by a blindfold that was shaped like Ryoko’s goggles, and around her neck hung the silver-chained amethyst she usually carried around.

Nioush smirked as he held out his arms. “Ah, baby sister, how kind of you to join us.”

She stood next to me. “Your pleasant greetings fall on deaf ears, Nioush.” Her artic reply sent a shiver down my spine. As devoid of emotion as her words usually were, this coldness was something new to even me.

“Still as cold as ever, I see,” Nioush teased. Seda didn’t reply and her expression remained impassive. Her brother looked around. “So, Seda, where is this Battle Psychic you claim this team had? The only psychic I see is you.”

He laughed. “When I called you a Battle Psychic, I wasn’t serious. Why don’t you go back to your meditation and palm reading?”

My eyes locked onto him. “Are you afraid to face her, Nioush? I don’t blame you if you are. She does have an unusual power level for a Seer from what I understand. It may even rival yours.” I gasped. “Oh, wait, that must be the issue. You’re mad that she is better than you, and had she been trained as a Battle Psychic, you wouldn’t be able to challenge her like you do.”

He scowled. It wasn’t long before pressure pushed against my mind. Glaring, I forced Nioush out. His scowl worsened. I wasn’t going to allow him to control me. Although I never thought I’d ever face a Battle Psychic, it was thanks to Seda that we knew the basics of how to defend ourselves against them, even if the knowledge wouldn’t save us completely. He tried again, but before I could push him out, he flew back a few feet and his mental presence disappeared.

“I would not try that again, brother,” Seda warned.

He snorted and stayed where he was.

“Seda, was that a good idea?” I questioned.

“It was just a warning throw, and he knows it,” she replied.

“So, when is this happening?” Blaze asked impatiently.

Raynn held up two fingers. “We’ll give you twenty minutes.”

Wordlessly, his team followed him as he left.

Seda nudged me and handed me a soft, round object. Taking it, I looked at it and grinned. “Oh, Mocha.”

Mocha turned to look at me just as I tossed the yarn ball Seda had handed me. Her eyes widened and she ran after it. When she finally caught it, she tossed it into the air a few times and purred happily. When she realized what she was doing, she stopped. Everyone on my team laughed at her.

“She sure broke that childish habit,” Rylan remarked as he wrapped his arm around Ryoko’s neck to help keep him up. The two were in tears.

Mocha hissed and threw the ball on the ground before storming off and rejoining her team. Walls materialized around us, secluding us from the rest of the lobby to allow for our planning.

“Not to sound ungrateful,” I began, “but, Seda, Dan, what are you two doing here?”

Dan scratched the back of his head. “I heard you’d returned, so I figured I’d welcome you back, but you had already left by the time I dropped by the house. Genesis insisted on coming here when I said I’d come to find you, and you know her, once she’s made up her mind, there’s rarely a time she’ll change it. Seda figured it’d be best to accompany her. When we saw the problems Raynn was trying to cause, I wanted to give you a hand. I didn’t think Seda would follow.”

“I did not plan on it until I saw Nioush,” Seda said. “I was not about to let you deal with him on your own. Plus, if I did not step in, Genesis was more than willing, and I know how much you do not enjoy her actively fighting.”

I snorted. “Not like she would have been much help here anyway. Her powers don’t work in virtual training and she can’t hold a gun. She would have just been in the way.”

“I would not!” Genesis’ voice rang. Just then a monitor appeared on the wall closest to us, Genesis’ image projecting through it. She wore a communicator, and her arms were crossed, showing how unhappy she was about my choice of words. “I would be helpful! You just don’t give me much of a chance.”

I sighed. “The system doesn’t allow necromancy, and out there, neither do I.”

She puffed out her cheeks. “I don’t see why not. It’s not a bad thing!”

I turned away from the screen and headed to the other side of the room. “Let the dead rest. It’s the least they deserve.”

“Laz?” Ryoko said.

I stopped walking but didn’t face them. “You all have ten minutes to collect yourselves. We’ll regroup after that, and quickly figure out the best strategy to use while we grab our gear. Seda, I’ll need you to give Raikidan a crash course on basic Battle Psychic blocking techniques at some point during this time.”

“I understand. I will need five minutes of meditation beforehand,” she stated.

“Granted.” I left them to their business.

I had meditation of my own to do, and I knew Raikidan would have a few questions to shoot off at me, so I figured I’d get it in when I could. Sitting down, I held my hands near my chest. I would need to make sure I was on top of my game. Real people were much harder than the computers. I inhaled and exhaled deeply, and my mind aligned with my body.

Someone sat down next to me but stayed silent. By the sound of the breathing, I knew it had to be Raikidan, and I figured I’d let him wait a little. When I had prepped myself long enough, I opened my eyes and looked at him. He watched me with his hands in his lap, his curiosity clear. Turning myself to face him, I copied the way he was sitting. His eyes were filled with unspoken questions, but his lips never moved.

I smirked. “What, no questions?”

“About what?” he asked.

“About Battle Psychics, Seers, Genesis, or what we’re doing?” I clarified.

He turned his head and cupped it in his hand. “I’m not stupid.”

Raising an eyebrow, I waited. He sighed and looked at me again. “Tell me.”

I snickered. He was all too predictable. “We don’t have a lot of time, but I can answer a few questions.”

“Who is this Lieutenant Dan?” he asked.

“My former lieutenant in my company in Zarda’s army. When we each escaped and then joined the rebellion, we were assigned to different teams.”

He nodded. “Explain more about psychics. I’ve never come across any before. From what I’ve been able to gather, they’re a big deal.”

I thought for a moment.”That’s a lot to cover all at once, so I’ll give you the basic rundown for now.”

Raikidan nodded again.

“Psychics are always twins, like Seda and Nioush. There are two types. Battle Psychics, who use their powers to throw around large objects or mind-controlling others, and Seers, who are only capable of levitating small to medium objects, but mostly use their abilities for mind reading or momentary glances into the timelines for potential situation outcomes.”

“All right, that makes sense. Is there a particular reason Nioush and Seda don’t get along? The tension is obvious.”

“There’s always a sibling rivalry between Battle Psychics and Seers. From what I understand, Battle Psychics are generally more powerful. This causes most of them to be arrogant and even aggressive. Seers are far calmer in comparison. The differences often drive a wedge between the two.”

“All right. Do you have time for another question?”

I chuckled. Raikidan’s thirst for knowledge was like a glass with an empty bottom. “Sure, but we need to wrap this up soon.”

Raikidan responded with a curt nod. “Okay, then explain to me why you never said anything about Genesis being a necromancer.”

That was a loaded question. I leaned back on my hands and looked up at the white ceiling. “I don’t like to think about it.”

Raikidan waited patiently for me to continue.

“The ability randomly manifested long after she’d been released. When those who had created her went to go check her files to understand better, they were missing. They chose not to pursue it further after that discovery. Unfortunately, a few hundred years later, they realized she was still alive, so they tried to replicate her. That’s when the war experiments started.”

I sat back up. “Genesis went into hiding at that point, so they couldn’t grab more of her DNA. Now that we’re fighting back, she feels the need to do more than be part of the Council and guide us, but I can’t allow it. It wouldn’t be right.”

“I can train Raikidan now,” Seda messaged.

I glanced her way then focused back on Raikidan. “Seda is ready to teach you now. It’s important you listen to her carefully. Fighting off even some of Nioush’s basic mind attacks is paramount.”

He stood up. “I have one last question. Why the hell are we doing this?”

I sighed and shook my head. “Because Raynn is a moron and likes to pick fights with everyone, but with us it’s personal. Raynn was part of our company in the military, until he was promoted to general. When he broke off, he assembled his own faithful group of misfits, and has been challenging us ever since. It’s as if he thinks there is some score to settle.”

“Fair enough.” He then left in search of Seda.

I sighed and went back to meditating, until a computer’s voice echoed through the room.

“Ten minutes until match start,” the computer announced. “Make final preparations and head to your team’s weapons bay.”

We grouped up and then headed through a set of doors that opened into a large metal room. The walls were littered with all types of weapons, along with tables and open cabinets scattered everywhere.

A communicator materialized on the side of my head, and I spoke as we all went about grabbing our weapons. “Aurora, give us some info on the battlefield.”

“I don’t have much,” Aurora said. “Raynn is really keeping things on the lowdown. From what I’ve been able to dig up, the terrain type will be standard, with no weather conditions, and the map type is called Random .”

I looked over a selection of carbine models on a wall. “Random? That’s a new one. Can I have some clarification?”

“That’s the thing, babe, I’m not sure.” She typed a few more entries with her keyboard. “There’s nothing in here giving any information about it, but I can make two conclusions. Either the map will be randomly chosen at the start, or the map will randomly change during the match.”

Choosing the light carbine model I preferred, I secured it across my back. “Okay, anything else?”

“No, I don’t—wait, hold on.” She was quiet for a moment. “That’s weird.”

“What’s going on, Aurora?”

“I just saw two of Raynn’s teammates who were supposed to fight walk by.”

I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t like the sound of that. “Go on.”

She typed on her keyboard some more. “The thing is, the two pods they were occupying are still in use. I think they switched out two of their members when I wasn’t looking.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Rylan commented. “Raynn must have been planning this from the start.”

I nodded in agreement. “He probably thinks it’s going to give their team a major advantage.”

“It just might,” Argus said. “Aurora, do you know who the new members are?”

“Afraid not. I’ve been trying to access that part of the network, but I’m locked out. I think their technician is behind that.”

Argus bought his hand up to his chin and mumbled. “I wouldn’t doubt it. If Raynn really did have this all planned out, he would have informed his technician to make sure we wouldn’t get in on his little secret.”

“We’re just going to have to make do,” I stated. “We’ve dealt with worse conditions. We’ll get over it. It just means we’re going to have to be on our guard until we can identify the two. The worst that could happen is we lose.”

Blaze crossed his arms. “I’d rather that not happen.”

I nodded. “I’m with you on that, but if it does, it does, and we’ll learn from it. Aurora, I want you to use the remainder of this time to see if you can hack that block.”

“I’ll see what I can do, babe. They have Ezhno as their tech. You can’t get any better than him.”

I smirked. “I beg to differ.”

When she didn’t respond, I figured she was too embarrassed. She was about as bad as me when it came to compliments sometimes.

I looked at the table next to me. Laid out on it were belts with four pouches, a handgun, and two finger guns. I opened the pouches and inspected the contents. One pouch was a first-aid kit. Another pouch was filled with smoke bombs. The third carried grenades, and the last one carried ammunition cartridges. That’ll be handy. I strapped the belt to my waist and then grabbed the two finger guns and tossed them into one of the pouches. They were close-range weapons, making them only ideal if we had close-quarters combat, but it was best to go out prepared for any possible situation. I also grabbed a mask just in case I needed to use the smoke bombs.

“Okay, Seda, any tips on dealing with Nioush?” I asked. “He’s the major issue in this lineup.”

“No one but me will take him head-on,” she advised. “The training I have given you all will barely be enough to keep you safe from his basic mind abilities. I would prefer to be the only one he takes on at any given time, but if he insists on focusing his attention on anyone but me, he is fair game to you all. Be warned, though. He is strong, and I am going to have my hands full with him, so do not rely on me to help you with the rest of his team, or if you take him on and cannot handle it.”

“Understood,” I said. “But if he gets to be too much, you must tell us.”

She nodded. “I understand, but I would like to request you not to take it personally if I don’t get that message to you in time.”

“As long as you try we’ll forgive you,” Ryoko said.

Seda chuckled. “Is there anything else needing to be discussed?”

“It’s hard formulating a proper plan without knowing what to expect,” I admitted. “So, we’ll just have to play it by ear until we get a better feel for everything. We might as well finish prepping ourselves.”

Everyone nodded and finished up. I was already set, or so I thought. Although I looked ready, I didn’t feel it. Something is missing… After a little thought, I realized what it was. Glad the system allowed for alterations like this, I closed my eyes and connected my mind with the mainframe. Thinking of the daggers attached to my physical body, I willed the code of the computer to materialize them and then pulled myself back to my virtual body. Looking at my arms and then my legs, I found it had worked.

“You look ready.”

I turned to find Raikidan behind me. I looked him up and down. “You don’t.”

He looked exactly the same as he had when he entered the room. He shrugged. “I don’t need anything.”

“Like hell you don’t. You need a weapon, like the rest of us.”

“I’m not good at using your guns,” he said. “I’ll just use fire.”

“Fire won’t be enough.”

“I beg to differ.”

I sighed and grabbed a supply belt. “Then take this. If anything, it’ll put my mind at ease.”

Reluctantly, he took it and put it on. Soon after, he grabbed a carbine model. It was a larger and heavier model than mine, but it suited him well. “How do you use this?”

I chuckled and shook my head. Of course, he’d choose something he didn’t know how to use. I moved closer to him to give him a hand, placing his hands in the correct positions as I spoke. “You want to hold it by the pistol grip with your dominant hand here and place your other hand under the barrel here.”

“You don’t hold it here?” he asked, tapping the second arm that came out of the bottom of the gun.

I shook my head and slightly smiled. “That’s the ammunition magazine.”

“It’s a type of cartridge that holds a large round of ammunition. In the case of this model, you get thirty rounds before you have to reload. So just trust me, you don’t want to hold that. The model you’re using isn’t equipped with a forward handgrip, so you have to hold it by the barrel.” He nodded and placed his hand back on the barrel. I pointed to the cylindrical object on the top of the gun. “This is a scope. It allows better targeting while shooting. Use it whenever possible, but don’t forget to stay alert. If you aren’t careful, you could become easy prey for the other team if you’re too focused on the scope.”

Raikidan nodded again and held the gun up and looked through the scope.

“Good. That’s exactly how you’re supposed to hold it.” He caught on fast. I had to admit I was a little impressed. Rylan made it seem like he was a complete failure at this. “Now, do you see that red dot in the center of the scope?” He nodded. “Use that to aim. Keep this next bit in the front of your mind. Guns have particular ranges they are best at. The accuracy of your shot is not only dependent on you, but your range. This means, even if you have your target in the center of your scope, you may miss or even hit him somewhere else. This carbine model you’re using is a medium-ranged gun, so keep that in mind. Now I want you to aim at something and pull the trigger.”

“The trigger is this, right?” He tapped the curved metal piece that was in front of the pistol grip. I nodded. He aimed the gun at the wall and fired a few shots. Lowering the gun, he grinned and then looked at me. “You’re better at teaching than the computer or your male companions.”

I backed away from him a little and looked away—my cheeks burning. “I just know carbines.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s what it is.”

“One minute until match start,” the computer called.

“Looks like it’s show time.” I waved him to follow. “Let’s group up with the others.”

He complied, grabbing a pistol as a spare weapon on the way. Most of the others had basic gear, hand guns, battle rifles, even machine guns with belt-fed ammunition box magazines. Ryoko and Rylan were the only ones with weapons that deviated, the former sporting her typical railgun and the later equipping his high-velocity sniper rifle.

“I just found something of use,” Aurora called in. “There are no rules to this match, making it an anything-goes fight, so be careful. On the plus side, it looks like Raynn’s team needs a crutch, as this includes a limitless ammo feature.”

We snickered and tossed our extra ammunition away. The computer counted down the remaining thirty seconds of time. When the voice hit five, the room around us started to dematerialize. At zero we stood in a large field.

“Stay on your guard,” I ordered. “Seda, can you find them?”

She shook her head. “Nioush is shielding them.”

“Can they find us?” I asked.

“I am a Seer. That is the most basic ability. One thing none of you may know about Seers, we may not have the best offense, but we have been trained to be a good defense. It would not surprise me if some of the battles you fought in the past had a few Seers mixed in with the Battle Psychics to help shield you.”