Electric Funeral

As he waited for the next checkpoint, Discordance slowly crept into his head. He looked around, but couldn’t see anything wrong. “Jackie, put this on.” He tossed his coat to her, figuring since his health pool was massively larger than hers, she needed the armor more. One, something’s off here. I’ve got a sixth sense, and it’s telling me we’re in imminent danger.

More magic? How trustworthy is it? the wary voice of his partner sounded less than convinced, though the urgency in John’s voice helped his case.

He was about to say that, no, it had never been wrong… then thought to the moment in his apartment a few days ago. It’s only been wrong one out of dozens of times! We have to do something! The sour notes in his head grew louder to a climax, agitating him and setting him even more on edge. “Jackie, stand by me.”

I’m on it. Hephaestus, send the closest arcane and mechanical models-

“What’s going on?” The coat was obviously too big for her, but she just wrapped it tightly around herself without question. Her uncertain eyes looked up at him, and he took her hand and rushed downstairs. Discordance was nearly splitting his head open with its sound now.

“I don’t know what you’re on about, kid, there’s nothing-” One was cut off by the entire railcar around them shaking from a meteoric impact. The ceiling bulged downward as giant metal spheres thudded where John and Jackie had stood mere moments ago. Alright. Hephaestus, maybe speed it up a little.

“Gamer, take Anor to the kitchen cart. I’m going to greet our party-crashers.” One took off, tearing through the ceiling in a flash of energy. Still holding her hand, John pulled Jackie through the opening door and into the kitchen car. He kept running with her, figuring the further they were from their previous location, the better.

As they entered the nearly empty dining car, he looked down the aisle to see a woman covered in tattoos holding a sheathed katana, a second, smaller blade under it. If the weapons weren’t a dead give away, her overflowing aura that took up half the width of the room was. She wore a red satin robe, open and showing paired black sports bra and boyshorts. “Jackie, stay behind me. Everything is going to be just fine.” He used Mind Reading on the woman in front of him, trying to get a feel for her first move. His hands instinctively went to his guns, and a salvo of bullets greeted their opponent.

So the information was good. Asley drew her sword from its sheath and deflected the barrage of lead John shot at her with ease. Fools still playing with toys. No matter how much money you spend, you can’t buy skill.

She lunged at him… but her view was blocked by a metal capsule crashing through the ceiling. With a mechanical whir it opened… and engulfed John.

What’s happening? What can I do? John felt as pieces of armor were grafted onto him, a needle poked into his arm, piercing the jumpsuit he wore. A display lit up his vision, and a familiar gruff voice responded as the assailant was revealed once more.

This is Arcane Armor Model Five from Vulcan Industries. As you’re in a suit used by One himself, I can assist you, sir. This armor was made for mages, and as such acts as a conduit to channel and amplify spells, in addition to normal functions. Several pop-ups appeared around the woman in front of him as Hephaestus spoke, one identifying her as Asley Ardyn, another measuring her maximum mana output based on her aura to be two thousand five hundred standard mana units. His health and mana were still in his periphery shown by his powers, but a second display listed his current mana pool as one thousand and ten standard mana units, the same number the Game assigned.

Asley recoiled as John emerged clad in a suit of high-tech armor. She sheathed her blade again, ready to draw it and slice his arm and Jackie’s neck the moment he moved.

Instead he used Mana Bolt, charging a hundred mana through it. A burst of energy somewhere between the energy bolt of the normal spell and the beam from channeling through his guns emerged, and the woman in front of him disappeared from his vision as she dodged past it, blade ready to pierce his chest.

He could barely follow her movements, but knew he needed to get Jackie to safety. He reached back and Jumped forward the moment he felt Jackie’s hand. He opened the door to the next car and pushed her through it, turning to see Asley thrusting her sword into him.

He activated Living Tank for a third of his health, and watched as the surface of the armor rippled, a glowing blue shield unlike the one surrounding the train in its brilliance preventing her blade’s attack. He charged a hundred mana into a Fist and used Intercepting Strike to slip past her overconfident guard and deliver the blow. She moved her neck and his attack collided with the wall instead, ripping a giant hole in the hull. What are my options here, Hephaestus? I can’t go like this for very long.

Attempts to analyze her movements are proving difficult. Remain on the defensive and wait for One to return. His fight will be over shortly, the AI counseled as Asley tore into the armor, carving deep grooves along its surface despite the shield John erected.

I’ve got a better idea! A way to even the odds a little bit. They were equally surprised when jet propulsion assisted the tackle he surged into, he with delight and she with rage. Together they tumbled out of the train, toward the ground far below.

As he fell, the jets kicked in, equalizing him. Shit! I can’t just let her fall to her ****! He used Magic Rope and a net burst out of his hand. He grabbed one end of it as the other wrapped around her. I have to stick with the train!

As you wish, sir. The caboose rushed by them as John ascended, and he found himself stuck to the side of it by his feet in a disorienting use of magnetism. A spike of pain ran through his calf, and he saw her blade pierced clean through the armor. I would suggest putting her down, sir.

In a cutting whirlwind she was out of the net, hanging from him by her embedded blade. No thanks! He swung his foot free of the train, kicking in a wide arc. Her blade slipped free of his foot, and her arms shot out. Her left grabbed her sword and her right swung her up and onto the slowing train. John followed, raising his hands in front of him, ready to attack.

A missile exploded into her from behind, and One flew into her back as the smoke cleared, tackling her off the train’s roof. I’ll handle this, go finish that guy.

John watched as his partner flew by, armor damaged but not nearly as much as the suit he wore.

This earned him a headache as an orb of metal roughly the size of his head glanced off his helmet. Another sailed toward him, and he reached out to grab it, and was shocked when it melted and warped the surface of the armor around his hands. He let go, dodging under another to Jump forward and punch his enemy in the face. His metal-encased fist didn’t quite breach the smooth, black metal of the magnetic maniac’s helmet.

“Left to deal with a nobody! When I kill you he’ll come back. You won’t be able to escape my babies’ magnetism.” This man got the same treatment as Asley did with the armor’s HUD, pop-ups informing him that the estimated mana pool for this person was two-hundred standard mana units, that his name was Isaac Zankov, and that the titanium alloy and shielding of his armor were inferior to the one John wore.

Summoning his guns, he fired a volley of shots and Jumped around, leaving Afterimages behind even in the armor. The orbs followed him, but he made sure to place his destination so that each time those he was aware of would miss. So far he was lucky enough, his images confusing his enemy but not the orbs that blindly followed the metal of his armor. Are they automatic? If they’re magnetic, why aren’t they distracted by the train’s metal? Are they locked onto the armor?

Your bullets have taken out his shielding. His mobility should be greatly hindered. I would suggest taking a stronger offensive. Shielding at twenty-percent, armor integrity at seventy percent. The hole in his leg had repaired itself, but this didn’t matter much to him. In addition, you should improve your evasive maneuvers. Without your shields protecting you from air resistance, even armored, you’ll be greatly hindered.

How do I get out of this suit, Hephaestus? Can I keep the legs on to help stay stabilized on the train? Two of his opponent’s spheres crashed into his hips on either side, knocking his shield to five percent and the integrity to sixty-five percent.

Though the train is slowing, I believe the air resistance if magnetically attached to the roof and unprotected would kill you. If you insist, the release word is ‘valley’ spoken three times rapidly, but again I wouldn’t recommend it, the gruff servant replied as John Jumped as another sphere would have hit his head from behind. He put his pistols back into his inventory and steeled his resolve.

New plan then: make it quick. John activated Reflex Mode and ducked under another sphere that would have bounced off his chest. Looking around, he saw six moving away from him and four moving towards him. Looking back to his assailant, he shot a distracting blast with a channeled Mana Bolt before Jumping behind the smug maniac.

He pulled the sniper rifle out of his inventory and attached the Shard of Mercy to it before taking aim at the man in the titanium-alloyed armor. God, I hope this works. The world sped up again as he fired at the other man’s helmet.

The spheres became deadweight as the man controlling them fell ****, still standing in the armor. The shielded projectiles either fell to the ground far below or onto the train before rolling off.

I’m going to need some help with tattooed samurai, come to me after checking on Anor. One’s panicked voice sounded… strange in his head. Garbled as if they had a poor connection.