Variance Page 16

  The drones pulled the disabled fighters away. Ryan’s team gained time with Paul and Cyprian alone on the boulder. The stronghold disappeared and moved to a new location.

  “Five seconds. Second place.” Paul launched upward using the features of a squid and large turbines.

  The large jellyfish converged on the drones carrying the fighters and joined their tentacles together. “What are they doing?” Paul changed his direction toward the jellyfish.

  Ryan commanded, “Move out.”

  The tentacles burned through the fighters’ bodies, cutting them into multiple floating pieces in blood-tainted water.

  “What the hell was that all about?” Paul remained in place. “They weren’t a threat to the beasts.”

  “This is not the time. Everyone on me.” Ryan led the team out of the lake. “Let’s go, Paul.”

  Paul snapped out of gazing at the blood as the jellyfish approached him. Siren zoomed him out of the area toward the team. Shadow had wanted him to see that. Shadow would rather kill innocent people in front of him than send the beasts to attack him.

  All that demonstration for what?

  “Stronghold located within layers of lava. Closest team seconds away. Double time, everyone.” Ryan surfaced and rocketed toward a pillar of rising lava. The lava appeared to fill an invisible container, creating walls and floors of burning material.

  “I got this. Follow me.” Nyle took the head of the formation.

  “File formation.” Ryan flew behind Nyle.

  Paul and Cyprian latched on to Ryan. Siren used the Variance armor to patch and repair the damaged sections and joints of everyone’s mechanical suit. Her interfaces drowned her in information. Her glowing orange eyes took it all in. Paul tried to assist.

  What was Paul going to do about disabling other fighters? Disable them and then what? They would die unless the team shifted their goal away from winning. He might indirectly kill more people. Was that something he had to accept?

  Nyle formed a barrier of energy in front of him, enough to cover the top area of Ryan’s suit. His field punched a hole through the walls, a method other teams used to enter the environment.

  Ryan targeted two dragons behind several walls of lava. “Incoming dragons. Corda, break off. Paul, Cyprian, on Pela.” Paul and Cyprian jumped onto Pela.

  Nyle broke through the wall with the two dragons. The dragons breathed streams of radioactive energy that formed coils of plasma around his barrier. Corda and Ryan took on a dragon to themselves.

  “Get the fuck out of here!” Ryan shouted.

  Nyle and Pela continued flying deeper into the structure. Other teams appeared around the dragons before they disappeared from Paul’s view.

  After making several turns and breaking through walls, Nyle paused before a boiling wall. “This wall is too thick.”

  As Nyle turned, beams of energy cut through layers of Pela’s drones, and missiles exploded all around them. A team of mixed suits attacked them, heading the same direction. Nyle protected Pela with glowing ripples of energy that made the air around them thick.

  Paul and Cyprian wrapped material around Pela’s drones to hold on.

  Nyle managed to dissipate the beams, and the missiles slowed to a halt. “Go, Pela.”

  Pela turned through corridor after corridor, leaving Nyle behind. A team of three Frequency fighters gained twelve seconds and counting. “Almost there,” Pela said.

  Her drones formed into a long diamond. Diagonal bands of drones rotated in opposing directions as the tip cut through a narrowing hall of lava. Paul ducked his head to avoid interference. Chunks of lava spread all around them. Some stuck to the exposed sides of the drones; others burned on Paul’s and Cyprian’s suits.

  Siren ejected the lava and repaired the damaged cells on all the suits. “There’s too much radiation. I can only cycle out material for ten minutes or less.”

  “We’re not going to make it in ten minutes.” Paul watched his material inventory decline at a steady rate.

  Pela broke through and entered the stronghold chamber, stopping the current leading team from gaining time. Narrow ducts protruded into the chamber. Three Frequency fighters concentrated their energy toward her.

  “I’ll cover. Take flank.” Pela continued forward with a barrage of missiles. Explosions erupted all around them, preventing the energy fields from advancing.

  Paul and Cyprian peeled off, and drones formed layers of convex walls to deflect the energy while countering with bullets and missiles. The drones surrounding Pela’s mechanical suit spread to expose an energy cannon that released a bright beam. The beam whooshed by Paul and melted the front armor off a fighter.

  Paul engaged another fighter, who sent waves of energy and converted the air into a thick, transparent radioactive paste. He positioned his forward shields to deflect energy with minimal damage while he climbed around the impenetrable region highlighted by Siren.

  “He’s trying to match Variance’s critical frequency.” Siren adjusted all of his cell’s natural frequencies. “No, wait. He’s trying to attack your organs.”

  “Fluctuate Variance’s stiffness properties.” At the edge of the thick atmosphere, Paul turned and rocketed toward the fighter’s textured suit.

  Siren formed surfaces identical to those of Frequency suits. The fighter shot a beam of energy toward Siren’s shield, and she directed it to the damaged fighter in the distance. She identified an opportunity to disable the fighters, and Paul hoped for a positive outcome.

  Executing the attack sequence, Paul cut through the top of the suit and severed all the power connections around the cockpit. As he exited through one of the mechanical legs, Cyprian also exited out of his fighter in the distance. The third fighter retreated through the nearest duct.

  “Pela, get them out of here,” Paul said. He had a bad feeling that the fighters would not survive.

  Drones picked up the two fighters and sent them out of range. Paul’s team accumulated time without interruption. Pela’s drones repaired themselves around him. Nothing entered the quiet chamber.

  Paul watched Corda and Ryan join Nyle as they flew closer to the chamber. Their energy levels had decreased significantly, and fifteen minutes of battle remained. Nyle used a substantial amount of power to halt teams outside the chamber wall. Ryan and Nyle suffered major damage to their armored suits, with potential exposure to fatal injuries if Variance could not hold against environmental radiation.

  Corda, Ryan, and Nyle penetrated through the narrow corridor that led into the chamber. Corda lost a mechanical leg. Ryan lost both mechanical arms. Siren and Paul used Variance to patch Ryan’s shoulder sockets and form temporary hollow arms.

  Paul hovered next to a corridor, checking for movement. “As soon as we’re done repairing—”

  The walls around the chamber shattered everywhere as a dragon pursued the team. Its large body forced the team to escape one way out of the chamber. Their maps marked a new stronghold location, leaving them with a total of twenty seconds.

  “Nyle, clear a path; the lava structure’s descending. Corda, get the beast off of us.” Ryan flew behind Nyle, firing a barrage of missiles.

  Nyle led and shielded the team through the opening created by the dragon and then burned a hole through the falling lava. Corda threw her sword and pierced the dragon’s back in between an armor joint. Her sword exploded, tearing a large hole in the beast’s body.

  “Don’t worry. It’ll live.” Corda drew out another sword.

  The dragon roared with energy beaming out of its snout as the lava structure destabilized. Drones formed shields behind the team and deflected the beam, sizzling and melting one by one.

  As they escaped, the two spheres of drones carrying the disabled Frequency fighters flew into a falling wall of lava.

  Paul dismounted. “I have to save them.”

 
Ryan motioned the rest of the team to follow Nyle. “They are in first place with sixty seconds. We will lose this if they don’t die.”

  “He’s right.” Siren started moving him forward.

  Paul narrowed his eyes at Siren.

  Corda released several smoke screens and exited.

  Nyle created another path. “Paul, I know how you feel. But your family’s safety is dependent on you winning this battle. Sacrifice few lives to save many.”

  Corda added, “We could really use the bonuses if you’re willing to kill them.”

  Fuck.

  Paul took his time attaching himself to Ryan’s damaged leg, despite the dragon’s beam disintegrating Pela’s defenses. Ryan jetted through clumps of cooled lava. Siren swept off molten lava and repaired everyone’s material. Cyprian also latched on to Ryan, staring at him expressionlessly.

  Was Paul now a murderer for disabling the Abstract and Frequency fighters?

  The images of the three Frequency fighters disappeared from his battle interface. They melted in the lava. Team Variance took first place without bonuses, with the other teams fighting for second place.

  The team cheered. Paul stayed silent. They exited the collapsed lava structure and gained distance away from the injured dragon.

  “We’re closer to peace, Paul. You made the right choice.” Ryan tried to console him.

  Paul remained silent.

  Next to a floating mountain range, the team hovered in peace away from chaos. Dragons, eagles, and drones chased teams out of the area as other teams entered from various openings. Other teams fought each other. The new location marked itself inside a majestic ice castle that grew close to the arena’s invisible ceiling and expanded outward.

  “We’re in bad shape.” Siren highlighted red zones around everyone’s suit.

  “Eleven minutes. That’s all we need.” Paul was not sure what to do with himself. The bonuses would help, but he refused to earn them with blood.

  Ryan hovered for a moment, staring at the castle. He turned off his music and spoke with a hint of defeat. “We have to remain next to the stronghold and prevent the next team from accumulating time. Twenty seconds is not much. Corda, lead the way.”

  Everyone followed. Nyle’s meters hovered near empty. Sparks flew out of Ryan’s suit as his engines puttered. Variance material moved across Corda’s suit, repairing damaged armor and mechanical components. Pela had lost 50 percent of her drones. Siren’s calculations timed their Variance material to last six minutes, leaving five minutes remaining for the event with potentially no Variance.

  They flew toward a scenario destined for killing.

  Paul closed his eyes and banged his head against Ryan’s armor several times.

  Please let everything work out. Please just let everything fucking work out.

  Streams of bullets pelted them. Beams of energy zipped around them as Corda deflected them with her shield. They approached the entrance that had the least activity and was farthest from the stronghold.

  The entrance was a narrow hall of transparent green ice. The outer layers of Paul’s suit reacted with the radiation field and froze. Siren cycled out the material in a continuous flow. They approached intersection after intersection with no conflict while the walls around them rumbled and cracked with echoes of explosions.

  “Do you know where you’re going?” Ryan asked Corda.

  “It’s a fucking labyrinth,” Corda barked. “Since when did anyone have a map of a random structure?”

  “We’re running out of time. Nyle, we’re going to have to use up all of your power. Burn a hole through this bitch.” Ryan motioned Nyle to take the lead.

  Nyle faced a wall with the stronghold ahead by eight hundred meters. The air around him rippled, and the ice melted into water and vapor. He led the way, and everyone followed. Paul watched Nyle’s energy meter shrink into a thin line, probably providing less than ten seconds of melting.

  As they cut across hallway after hallway, battles between fighters and eagles became frequent. They flew through the crossfire of missiles and bullets. The ice ahead of Nyle melted into water and hardened back to ice.

  Paul was not sure if the ice colors had shifted to hues of reds and blues or if his eyes were creating the illusion. Up became down. Left became right. He closed his eyes hard and kept his focus on the interface information. All the words slowly blurred.

  “I’m maxed out.” Nyle attached himself on to Pela, who covered him with drones.

  The walls around them cracked and collapsed. Explosions and lasers filled the area, piercing through the mist of pulverized ice. Siren transformed Variance material into armor plates before the cells hardened. Large blocks pinned Corda down. Siren attempted to repair Corda’s suit as it leaked oil and fuel, preventing Corda from using mechanical force or turbines to escape.

  A team of a Controller and a Legacy fighter reached the stronghold and gained time, starting with zero seconds.

  “Cyprian, Pela, Nyle, stronghold. Paul, get Corda out. I’ll provide fire support.” Ryan hovered above Corda with his armless suit.

  The rest of the team flew away. Paul leaped off Ryan and drilled through the surface of the largest boulder. Ryan shot a barrage of missiles at the growing ice boulders. Explosions shook Paul as he imagined the drill to be making its cut. Instead, the drill turned into mush. He tried harder, and the mush turned back into a drill.

  Siren assisted, and the drill dug through the boulder and expanded, breaking the boulder into pieces like glass. Siren used the remaining operating material to raise Corda. Several fighters appeared in the distance, preparing for an assault.

  Ryan almost tapped out his arsenal inventory as it blinked red on Paul’s Visuals. “Either us or them, Paul.”

  The shapes of the incoming fighters wiggled sporadically. Paul flew toward the fighters, struggling with flight orientation. Siren protected him from combinations of energy, bullets, and missiles with intricate shield arrays. He approached and prepared to disable a Legacy suit as Siren changed his instructions to injure the pilot inside the cockpit.

  “No, Siren.” The colors of the ice appeared to float in front of him as curtains of light, stunning him.

  “If we don’t get energy or material,” Siren repeated several times, “we’ll all die.” She maintained course toward the cockpit.

  He shook his head and diverted his path, cutting through the Legacy fighter and severing its mechanical components and power. He pierced out of the suit and traveled toward a Frequency fighter. Instead of hitting his target to disable the fighter, he crashed flat onto the suit and burned as the fighter attempted to melt him in plasma.

  He screamed and shook in place.

  Siren cycled material and cut through the suit. He fell into the cockpit, next to the pilot. As Siren raised his hand with a spearhead of material, he held back.

  “Siren, stop.” He growled, fighting his own hand.

  “You’re hallucinating, and we’re going to die. You have to do it.” Siren drew the tip of the blade closer to the fighter’s face mask. She pushed the tip a centimeter away from the fighter’s face.

  Paul shifted the blade to cut the umbilical controls to the pilot. He jumped out of the collapsing suit and continued toward the drones attacking Ryan. Siren disappeared.

  Paul fought and destroyed the groups of drones. He shot blades of material in every direction like a porcupine, cutting through primary hardware. He threw the dead drones into other drones. Multiple explosions shook him, clouding the area around him. While he cut through another set of drones and shielded himself, many of his attacks missed their targets. Drones attempted to burn into his suit with lasers, almost reaching his body. He blocked the beams and deflected them toward other drones.

  “Hold tight, Paul.” Ryan’s mechanical chest opened up, and his cockpit soared into the chest of a brand-new Le
gacy suit.

  Ryan took control of the new suit and blasted the remaining drones around them. Paul watched a hook fly out of Ryan’s mechanical arm and latch on to the Controller fighter.

  No.

  With a swift unsheathing of his sword, he cut the fighter in half and destroyed the disabled Legacy fighter with a fiery crescent-shaped disk of energy. A series of missiles flashed and turned the Frequency fighter into a heap of burning metal.

  Large drones from sponsors delivered packs of ammunition supply. Ryan attached the magazine cartridges to Corda as he stood her up. “Paul, load up. Move out to the next stronghold.”

  Paul realized that while he’d been fighting off the offensive, Cyprian had killed the team holding the stronghold and granted Ryan a new suit, Nyle full power, and Pela new drones. Siren shifted her resources back to him to keep him alive in the last five minutes of the event. He grounded himself on the slick, icy floor and turned off his Visuals.

  “We’re still first with twenty seconds. Another team could still win.” Ryan attached Corda’s suit to his back. The rest of the team met around Ryan. “Move out.”

  “This wasn’t my fight. You don’t need me. Why am I even here?” The ice around Paul melted into vapor as everything around them turned red.

  Pela shielded everyone with her drones, leaving her mechanical suit bare. “Huddle up.”

  Paul sluggishly joined in, away from Ryan. The spherical dome of drones glowed red around them. Nyle cooled the air inside and removed the heat from the drones.

  “New location. Center of the arena. The entire place is on fire? That’s a first.” Nyle sounded confused.

  “Pela, lead us out.” Ryan sighed. “Paul, if Siren hadn’t used Cyprian, then you, Corda, and I would have died in this firestorm. She has her head right in this fight. You’d better accept it, or else your family will die in space, along with the rest of your people.”

  Ryan was right. However, what could Paul do to stop his team from shedding blood? They could win without killing and without compromising safety, right? He had to gain control of the situation somehow, because it was causing him to be completely out of control.