7/18

  Los Angeles Dodgers Stadium

  10:10 AM

  Mercy is still in the toilet as the exit shuts tight and the doors to the baseball field open once again. The field gets remade after each fight, so it's full of red, corpse-less grass once again.

  “This might get rough,” I tell the others. “Stay in support mode. I'll take point.”

  I hit my bracelet and armor up. Solar Mind! Chimerablood Rise!

  Relentless Heat. The sun wolf howls!

  Nobody else seems to hear the digitized transformation announcement but me, but that's okay. I like it.

  We stride out onto the field and prepare ourselves. I draw my spellshot revolver. We're ready for...huh.

  What could only be described as a sky pirate ship descends from the sky, suddenly dropping like a stone, but coming to an abrupt stop a dozen feet off the ground. It's a wooden ship with large propellers on top instead of sails. Except that it looks like several different boats that were bolted together with planks. There's a painted red stripe down the prow, running the length of the ship bottom. I scan it.

  Broken Crow. An airship used by the Red Scarf Ninja Air Pirates.

  “I want it,” I, Odysseus and Quins all say at once. Ivy shakes her head and starts up the song “Victorious Eagle Warfare” by Gloryhammer to initialize her Bardic powers.

  A dozen Black Flame Ninjas drop down on ropes and brandish short bladed tantos at us. Or are those wakizashis? I can never tell. Tiny katanas. “They can hide in shadows, including yours,” I shout to the team. I pull out ten solar lances, shoot out Prominence Burn in various directions, and only manage to get three of the ninjas in my flame. And those just whip their scarves around, which seem to absorb the solar energy. Right then, next option.

  Quins fires an arrow but his target dodges through shadow, then rises up through Quins's shadow. Quins has gotten quicker though, and leaps back and rapid fires arrows at the ninja. The ninja blocks some with his tiny katana, but others hit. Quins snaps a finger and the arrows spin inside the enemy ninja, drilling through the bad guy and flying all the way out. That guy drops.

  Ivy is in a whip duel with a ninja using a metal chain weapon. Odysseus is sweeping his aim back and forth, firing at ninjas who then jump out of his line of fire.

  Lunar Mind!

  Teal crystals suddenly surround me as my armor shifts from Solar to Lunar. The system confirms my transformation.

  Unbreakable crystal! The moon beetle strikes!

  My Lunar Beetle armor is teal and has more of a samurai flavor. I summon ten large katanas and fling them at various ninjas. They go to dodge, some leaping into shadows. I aim the tips of my katanas and fire Eclipse Beams at each of the shadows made by me and my friends. Three ninjas get caught in the beams as they rise out of shadow. The Eclipse Beam is a thin, laser-like ray that turns what it hits into fragile crystal. Slashes of crystal are cut into the ninjas, penetrating their tight black clothes and making jagged lines of crystal jut out of their bodies. Even as the ninjas try to move away from the beams, the crystals shatter, cutting away flesh.

  I send katanas out to finish off the three wounded ninjas, slashing them straight through. Odysseus has blasted the arrow-riddled ninja in the head, dropping that one. Eight ninja to go.

  Two larger pirate ninjas drop down from the ship. These two both have hooks for hands and peg legs, but still seem as spry as their fully-limbed fellows. They also have tri-cornered hats on top of their ninja cowls.

  Amputee Black Flame Ninja Pirate. Tier 5. These guys have been through a lot. It would really help their self esteem if they could just kill you.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Possible loot: Hook, peg leg, sea shanty.

  Quins fires on hooks-for-hands to my left and Odysseus fires on the one to the right. The one on the left deflects the arrows with his hooks while the one on the right just takes the bullets to the chest, which seem to thud but not open wounds.

  These guys are tough enough to do real damage to my team. Which I am not okay with.

  I cast Lunar Dragon Breath and a wide cone of white and teal crystals erupt from my mouth, sending sharp-bladed death into six of the ninjas. One ninja successfully drops into shadow but the others get caught up in the blast. I sustain the spell for three seconds, sweeping the cone right to left, and catch two more in my spell. The wounds cut open by the finger-sized crystals first bleed, then crystallize a second later, which then shatter and cause even more damage. The Crystallize effect is most useful against mobile enemies, who essentially rip their own wounds open even wider. Four of the ninjas are stunned just long enough to get shot by rifle, arrow or just skewered by telekinetic katanas.

  We've left Ivy to her whip vs chain duel, but she's losing to that ninja so I just stab him from behind to end him. An amputee pirate ninja jumps out from the dying ninja's shadow at me, hooks slashing from both right and left. This would be concerning if my Reflexes weren't well beyond super human. I step forward, uppercut the pirate in the jaw to send him flying up, then follow his flight with four lunar katana that stab him while he rises in the air. The other hook handed ninja jumps out of the falling shadow of the first pirate, and manages to reach me, but his hook just scrapes against my chest armor. I retaliate with Eclipse Beams from my hands to his face. His head explodes into crystal shards and blood.

  We take down the remaining ninjas quickly, and are feeling amped up from Gloryhammer blasting out of Ivy's speaker. Odysseus is healing both Ivy and himself at the same time. I look at the ship, still hovering off the ground, and, naturally, fly up and aboard using my boots.

  Yes, I know the boots can hold other spells than flight. Will they ever hold spells other than flight? No. No they will not. Flight is fucking sweet. When I'm transformed like this my boots still function, even though they're covered with armor plating. Which is nice.

  Also, I've figured out that this Chimera armor is actually a reflection of my own Toughness (after buffing effects). So it's not invincible, but certainly an extra layer of protection. And it looks cool.

  I land aboard and find my target right away.

  Red Scarf Pirate Captain. Tier 6. He embodies both his crew and his ship. He has both pirate and ninja powers.

  Possible Loot: katana, cutlass, pistol, shuriken, airship.

  He's at least 12 feet tall, has a black and red pirate coat over his ninja pajamas, and has a wide black hat. He has a tangled black beard coming out over his red scarf, which looks equally ill kept. In his right hand he holds a long red katana. In his left, sinister hand he holds a black cutlass. I then realize that those are actually really similar to each other. Are pirates the ninjas of the seas or are ninjas the pirates of the land? Maybe we'll never know.

  With tremendous speed he leaps off the rear upper deck of the ship and lands in front of me. I barely have time to block his cutlass slash with a lunar katana before he's attacking with the red katana as well. The katana leaves streaks of flame in its wake and I back up. The second I rely on telekinesis to fight, he smashes my blade with both of his swords, shattering mine, which turns to glassy dust. I pull six more katanas to me and the captain just glares at me. Suddenly four cannonballs fly from behind him and smash into my swords, snapping them like twigs. I have to leap high to dodge, but too high. I'm about to hit the bladed airship propellers above us when I trigger my boots and halt my leap. I start to fly back down but the pirate is gone. I hear a scream and rush back to my team just in time to see Ivy get cut across her chest with a flaming sword. I drop down to the captain's side and breathe Lunar Dragon Breath right in his damn face.

  I see crystals slash into him like a shotgun of ice, but then he thrusts forward with his cutlass, right into my goddamn mouth. The blade pierces my mask, goes into the back of my throat and I barely pull back before he severs my spine. I cough up blood and he slashes both blades across my chest armor, which cracks under the pressure.

  Quins fires several different arrows at the guy, which he deflects with both swords. I'm reeling from the pain in my mouth. Odysseus is starting a healing chant for Ivy. Ivy drops to her knees but plays her next song, Back In Black. The captain dashes to Quins. Quins tries to fire but his bow is cut into pieces, along with his right hand. We're in danger. I need power. Stars spin in my head.

  6th Step, Astral Pathbreaker, Star Swarm!

  Each of my stars becomes a lunar crystal shuriken and they all chase after the captain. He dashes back away from Quins, but the shuriken are like a swarm of angry bees, coming for him. I push speed into them and they catch up to the captain. He slashes away at some, shattering them, then fires cannonballs into the swarm (this time I see spectral cannons appear over his shoulders) which shatter more. But that still leaves half in flight as they rip into him, slashing him from head to toe in small cuts. That's not enough to kill him, but that's fine. I'm already running towards him, and pull my remaining stars to me. They come to my hands and take the shapes of katanas, then the space between the stars crystalizes, and I'm wielding two crystal blades. The edges shine with starlight and I clash with the ninja pirate captain.

  My swords cut down. He blocks left and right. My right thrusts, he dodges left, his right comes down, I take the attack and my chest armor shatters. I cut upwards with my left and catch his right shoulder. His left thrusts and I step back, letting it slide past my exposed chest. He swings down with his wounded right and I block with my left, then cut up with my right. I cut his thrusting hand off, the black cutlass falling. I side kick him in the gut, then as he flies five feet back I charge and fire two Eclipse Beams from my katanas. The beams fire from the lengths of the blades, becoming sheets of lunar energy that cut across his body in an X pattern. He looks down at the wide streaks of crystal across his chest and freezes. He scowls at me and fires two spectral cannons but I cut both cannonballs in half with my star crystal katanas. I lunge forward and push both blade tips into the center of his cross-shaped crystal wound. The rest of his body flashes and then is entirely teal crystal Then he shatters.

  I claim his weapons.

  Red Sky Katana. Slash with flames.

  Black Scourge Cutlass. Has a chance to inflict Scourge.

  Uh oh. I check my menus.

  Scourge.

  You will die within 24 hours of contracting this disease. Over those 24 hours your body will be wracked with increasing pain and detrimental effects. Killing any monster of your tier or higher will reset the timer. Killing a human will remove this disease.

  You will die in 23 hours, 59 minutes.

  Fuuuuck me.