Chapter 11 (Patreon)

“Are you ready?”

Bruce nodded at the whispered question.  There were a half dozen shades flickering quietly as they flowed down the corridor ahead of them.  He surveyed them quickly.  The three four legged shades could grow energy whips, the two legged creatures would react marginally faster, and the pair of six legged monsters clinging to the ceiling could jump about twenty feet in one go.

“On the count of three,” Maddox continued.  “I’ll fire off a Multi Bolt and try to take down a couple of them before you charge in.  Remember, I need at least two seconds to recharge and aim for a follow up shot.  If you’re struggling make sure to keep them off of me for that long.”

“Got it,” Bruce replied.  He began walking toward the shades, counting in his head as he moved.  When he got to two, Bruce extended his right hand, summoning his hammer and shield and taking a deep breath.

At three, the world exploded into light and motion.  Bruce willed Phase Armor into place, feeling his breath catch in his throat from the strain of activating his ability.  A trio of energy balls zipped past him, two of them slamming into the shades clinging to the ceiling while the third exploded into light and sparks when it missed and hit one of the walls.

Bruce lunged forward, swinging the hammer in an overhand arc as he sprinted the last ten or so feet to the surprised monsters.  Once again, their poor reaction time was a boon.  None of them had even turned around by the time his weapon crashed through the first shade’s chest like it was a lightbulb.

The creature shattered into floating dust, obscuring Bruce slightly from the two nearby shades that turned to engage him.  A shield bash knocked one bipedal monster back a step before another horizontal swing demolished the second shade.

By now the remaining two had realized that he was there, but that wasn’t enough to save the monsters.  A kick hit the chest of the bipedal shade that he’d knocked off balance with his shield, sending the creature flying into the wall of the corridor even as a flailing punch ricocheted off of the energy barrier covering Bruce’s back.  The glowing white blue energy of the ability faded, leaving a light bruise but none of the numbness and pain that he usually associated with the spectral attacks.

He reversed his grip on his warhammer, swinging the pointed end backward and driving it through the face of the shade that had ambushed him.  It began dissipating, leaving Bruce free to step toward the final injured shade as it flickered away from the wall.

The creature was faded, most of its purple light having disappeared after he had leveled it with two blows, but that wasn’t enough to stop or slow the ghostly figure.  It lunged toward him, hands extended and ending in claws as it tried to wrap Bruce up into its grip and bring him down.

Whether it was the monsters’ wounds or Bruce’s increase in stats, he could track its movements easily.  It was still faster than Bruce, but it attacked in a straight line, jumping at him without dodging or altering its course in the slightest.

His hammer caught it in the face, obliterating the shade’s head and turning it into a cloud of clinging violet light.  Another quick look around the hallway confirmed that there weren’t any more opponents in sight or lurking around a nearby corner.

Bruce stretched his shoulders back, letting the hammer and shield fade as he reached down to poke at the muscle where he had been hit.  Between Phase Armor and Regeneration, the spot was barely even tender.

A low whistle interrupted his thoughts as Maddox walked up, shaking his head.

“You’re getting better at that Bruce,” he said approvingly.  “Seriously, Multi Bolt just finished recharging and you managed to wipe out all four of them.  I think we’re pretty close to the stage where we can start saving up for the environmental packages.”

“I don’t know,” Bruce replied, turning back to his team leader and the small passenger riding atop his head.  “That was only six of them.  I still can’t think of when we first got here.  A dozen shades would be a much larger problem.  Even in that fight, I was able to be more aggressive than normal because I knew that Phase Armor could take a hit before dissipating.  I’m not sure that would be in the cards against a bunch more of them, especially if getting surrounded was a possibility.”

“When do we start then?”  Maddox asked.  “At some point we need to switch our focus from developing magic powers or whatever toward actually escaping.  We’ve already been trapped in here for close to half a day.  If we aren’t careful, MarsCorp will drain our accounts and auction off all of our stuff.”

Bruce thought for a second, weighing his options before responding.

“Treekipp,” he called out.  “What do the next levels of attribute enhancements cost and what will it take to activate them?  I’m stronger than the shades now, but they’re just a little bit faster than me and I don’t really like that.”

The green squirrel popped up onto its haunches, its snout wriggling as it replied.

“The third tier of Augmented Body, Agility and Will cost sixteen EXP each to purchase, and it will take around another ten to activate.  Unfortunately, at this level it is impossible for me to offer a package deal at this time unless you are able to acquire a voucher or a coupon from the home office.”

“And I’m assuming the fourth tier will cost two hundred and fifty six EXP?”  Bruce asked, drawing an eager set of nods from the happy little capitalist.

“I think that’s our answer then,” he said, turning his attention back to Maddox.  “We still haven’t even found the portal out so any real discussion is premature, but in the meantime I would like to at least upgrade my Body and Agility.  Same with picking up a pair of enhancements for my weapon patterns.  Plus, you should at least pick up a cheap weapon pattern in case something slips past me.  I think both of us have learned our lesson with trying to punch shades.”

Maddox shuddered.  “Yeah, not advised if you want to be able to feel your arms and legs the next morning.”

Treekipp clapped its tiny hands together excitedly before puffing its cheeks out and performing a happy little shuffling dance atop Maddox’s head.  Bruce rolled his eyes at the diminutive squirrel as it chattered and sang a happy little song to itself.

“Still.”  Maddox sighed.  “Your plan makes sense.  Can’t even talk about leaving the Great Labyrinth until we find an exit.  So far all we’ve managed to come across are twists, turns, another sanctuary, and shades.  Pretty sure I would be irretrievably lost by now if it weren’t for the Ether Map, but even with its help, I don’t feel any closer to the goal.”

“Same,” Bruce replied.  “It's nothing but the same hallways and the same half-light no matter where we go.  At this point, the turns and exits barely feel like they matter.  Everything either circles us back or terminates in a false ending eventually.  It’s like the entire place is designed to drive us mad.”

“Standing around won’t fix that,” Maddox said with a decisive nod that almost sent the celebrating ball of fluff atop his head flying.  “We can walk and talk at the same time.  It might take us a while to find Phobos, but standing around and feeling sorry for ourselves won’t actually help on that front.”

The other man began walking, and Bruce matched pace with him, strolling down the empty and seemingly endless hallways of the maze.

“You know Maddox,” he began.  “I’m not so sure that you were right about standing around and feeling sorry for ourselves.  I have it on good authority from my worthless brother in law that it works wonders.”

“Isn’t that the guy who hasn’t had a job in two years and keeps begging for you to send money home?”  Maddox asked with a snort.

“Same guy,” Bruce replied.  “He keeps talking about how he has a great business idea if only he could get some investors.  Maybe we could set him up with Treekipp.  I’m sure that the two of them could renovate the pyramid shaped gifting market.”

“Tell me more about this pyramid gifting,” the squirrel pressed, scrambling to the edge of Maddox’s head.  “You know the saying.  The best amount of EXP is more EXP.”

“So here’s how it works,” Bruce began.  “You give a guy some money, say it’s ten bucks.  Then, you have his permission to find five more people.  Each one of them gives you ten bucks.  You get to keep five of it and give the other five to the guy you paid initially.  Then the five people who gave you the money are allowed to each find five people to give THEM money.  Each of them give you five bucks and you have to give three of them to the guy you bought in with.  Eventually you get rich or something.”

“I can understand the exponential growth,” Treekipp said thoughtfully.  “But at what point is a good or service exchanged to make this entire process worthwhile?”

“That’s the neat part,” he replied with a chuckle.  “You save on overhead costs by never providing anything of use to any part of this entire exchange.”

“That sounds-” The squirrel trailed off.  Its nose twitched for a couple of seconds as it stared at Bruce.  “I’m sorry, valued customer, I’m trying to find the words in your language but it is difficult.  I keep getting two matches.  I am not sure if they are synonyms, but they both seem to translate interchangeably for the same word in my tongue.”

“Well, shoot,” Bruce responded.  “Spit it out.  There aren’t any shades around and the portal isn’t in sight.  We have nothing but time, you might as well chat away.”

“Very well,” Treekipp said slowly.  “Try as I might, I can’t tell the difference between the words ‘genius’ and ‘unethical.’  Both seem to apply to-”

“Hold up,” Maddox interrupted, raising a hand.  “Sonar is reporting that there is a hole ahead.  There’s a bridge across it, but then just a canyon that extends down into the nothingness below.  If there’s a bottom, I certainly can’t detect it.”

“Good,” Treekipp replied.  “The gaps mark the edge of planetary systems.  The enemies are weaker and there aren’t very many traps within most planets, but if you wish to travel to this world’s moon, you will need to cross the bridge.  Of course, you should prepare yourself for more difficult enemies on the other side, but I am sure that the two of you will manage to turn a healthy profit fighting them.”

Bruce shared a long-suffering look with Maddox before he responded.

“First of all, what is this with traps?  I know that you’ve mentioned them before, but what are we looking at?  Pressure plates covering bombs?  Razor wire?  Pits?”

“All of that and more,” the squirrel said huffily.  “Worse, it doesn’t even provide EXP.  The traps are worse than worthless.  I would recommend not interacting with them.”

“Noted,” Bruce replied.  “So what you’re telling us is that we should cross the bridge, but we should be careful.”

“Yes, of course,” Treekipp chirped excitedly.  “That is a perfect summary.  You will need to cross another bridge once we find this moon of yours and the portal will be somewhere on the other side, but in the meantime things are about to become significantly more dangerous.”

Bruce nodded slowly, making meaningful eye contact with Maddox.  As annoying as it was to only receive warnings and information at the last second, it didn’t seem like either of them had any other options.  They would have to wade into the unknown and hopefully avoid the stronger opponents and their traps.  The other man just sighed.

“Shall we?” He asked, motioning for Bruce to follow him as he walked toward the bridge.

When it came into sight, Bruce’s mind immediately shied away from what he was looking at.  It was slightly arched, barely three feet wide and made from the same gray material as everything else.  There were no barriers or even handholds on either side where the yawning voids stretched down for an eternity.  It hurt his brain to even look at the black abyss, so Bruce did his best to focus his attention back at the narrow and unsafe looking passage ahead.

“Pretty sure this isn’t OSHA compliant,” Maddox grumbled, peeking his head out over the edge of the maze and looking in either direction to find nothing but sheer gray cliffs.

“I’ll file a complaint once we get back to Eagle Base,” Bruce replied, tongue darting out to wet his suddenly dry lips.  “Have I ever mentioned that I’m not a fan of heights?  If not, I’m really not a fan of heights.”

Maddox took a deep breath, forcing a smile onto his face as he stepped out onto the bridge.

“So noted,” he said uneasily, beginning the crossing.  “I’m sure that this entire nightmare warrants some kind of hazard pay, but I’ll be sure to put that in the report.”

Bruce closed his eyes for a second, trying to focus on the sensation of his throat swallowing fruitlessly despite his bone dry mouth.  When Maddox reached the halfway point of the bridge, he stepped out after him.

The narrow crossing was just as solid as the rest of the Great Labyrinth, but Bruce swore he could feel the world wobbling and spinning around him as he took each shuffling step.  By the time he was a quarter of the way through, Maddox was already on the other end.

Despite his glacial speed, Bruce refused to let himself hurry.  Where Maddox had taken steps, his feet refused to leave the ground, brushing against the gray not-stone so that he would be ready to brace himself at every moment.

At the peak of the bridge, he heard a click, his right foot depressing slightly as the ground gave way by a half inch.  His eyes widened, mouth widening in shock just as the world detonated around him.

An invisible hand grabbed Bruce by his chest, yanking him to the side and into the void as the entire bridge pulsed with energy.  For one pregnant moment he hung in the air before gravity seized him and began pulling him down into the long dark.

Above, the light of the maze faded, Treekipp’s final scream echoing down to Bruce as the velvet darkness wrapped its suffocating coils around him.

“I said to AVOID the traps!”

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