Fight From the Inside

(A/N) Hello everyone, Gunslinger here! While this isn’t my 100th chapter, it is chapter 100 and that feels more important. It’s been a long, bumpy road getting here. I wanted to thank you all for helping me to get this far with your support and feedback so this chapter is a little longer (and probably a bit better) than the norm. I hope that y’all enjoyed all that there’s been and that you will enjoy all that there is to come! Here’s to 100 (or I guess 90?) more!

“Attack her,” the charismatic man whispered in John’s ear, pointing at Grace. The Brit heard this order, and was frozen between running out of fear and staying to help, not sure if John would listen.

Abigail’s being controlled right now, I tried to distract her, but the person who’s doing it didn’t seem to care very much. She’s headed your way, I’m trying to find him, Lucille explained as John drew his guns from their holsters.

“Wait a minute, I don’t want to attack Grace,” John said in a daze, looking back at the man who gave the order. “She’s my friend.”

The blond grabbed John’s face and pulled him close, their eyes millimeters apart, “You will attack her. For me.”

“I will… attack her.” In a jerked motion, John raised Ivory and pointed it at Grace, holding the trigger down. The Brit dove out of the way as the bullets tore up the ground.

John’s being controlled too! There’s a guy here who has him under some sort of suggestive spell! Grace yelled internally, activating her chameleon sticker and running toward the forest. Taking a kite shield sticker, she applied it to herself as well.

Attack the man controlling John! He has to be focusing on the spell to keep it going, the elf explained, and Grace peeked from the tree she hid behind to see Abigail had joined John. They stood together, and faint, gossamer blue strings seemed to be connected to all of Abigail’s limbs and her head.

No way! Abigail and John are guarding the guy! There’s no way I can get past them! Grace said, hiding behind the tree again.

“Find her and bring her to me!” their mind-controlling opponent commanded, returning inside.

Now’s my chance, Grace thought, waiting for John and Abigail to pass her as they went into the forest in pursuit. She hardly noticed as the health and mana in the top right corner of her vision disappeared, John had kicked her from the party.

As the Brit was about to make her move, a hand grasped the trunk of the tree she hid behind. She slowly turned to see Abigail, looking left and right for her. The white-haired girl stayed motionless as the brunette looked straight at and through her, heterochromatic eyes widening.

The fiery girl sniffed the air, moving slowly toward Grace. The sticker star slowly backed away, circling the tree. A bullet slammed into the invisible shield around her, and she let out a yelp as it impacted. John saw right through her invisibility with True Sight.

Position revealed, she made a mad dash toward the village. Bullets flew by her, and Abigail tackled where she thought the Brit was, missing by mere inches. A second bullet smashed into her shield and destroyed it, the colorless sticker floating to the ground. Still, she made it to the house both the illusionist and the blond man were in.

“Stop controlling my friends!” Grace yelled, invisibility fading as the chameleon sticker floated to the ground, spent. She socked the blond in the jaw, knocking him out of his seat and to the ground. Abigail’s frame filled the doorway as the Brit slapped a taser sticker on the man’s forehead and let it do its work, electrifying him and knocking him out.

The brunette rushed toward her teammate… and was stopped by John’s Magic Rope coiling around her and holding her back. “Thanks for that, Grace,” John said, digging his heels into the ground as he did his best to halt the much stronger woman.

Her torso turned to flame, the rope slipping through it as she continued into the house. To all of their surprise, she was stopped by The Illusionist. “Uh uh, not in my place. Go outside and settle this, both of you.”

This distraction gave Grace enough time to jump through a nearby window, escaping her fiery friend.

"New command - kill the cowboy. He’s much more troublesome than the denim-wearing weakling." Abigail turned, and her hand filled with smoke as she hurled a fireball at John.

Well, I got what I wanted, she’s attacking me, John thought, dodging the flames and backing away from the house. Abigail stepped out, a savage smile on her face as fiery cracks spread across her body. It didn’t reach her eyes, which looked conflicted more than anything else. Uh oh. She’s attacking me.

He could only follow her movements because she ran in a straight line as she lunged toward him, intent on punching him into the ground. Gun-Kata activated and he raised his Mana Construct covered hands to deflect her attack… and was knocked through a nearby tree as her feint worked and she turned with her fire mid-air, kicking him square in the stomach.

Grace, you got anything for me? John groaned, rolling to the side as the tree he was just knocked through would have fallen on him.

Nothing that would help you for more than a moment. A shield… if you could put an ice-cube sticker on her, I could probably prevent her from turning into fire for a few seconds, Grace replied, peeling both stickers off of her coat. John used Move to bring them to him, applying the shield sticker to himself and putting the ice cube in his inventory.

Activate them on my signal, John ordered, activating Mind Over Matter for the first time. He felt his muscles swell as blood pumped through him, and was able to catch Abigail’s next punch. “Looks like you’re getting that fight you wanted,” John joked, charging fifty mana into a Fist and punching through her, literally. Her body turned into flames and she escaped his attack and his grasp, a cocky smile on her face.

“Well that’s just not fair,” John said, levelling his stance. He waited for her to get close again and deflected another punch, taking a kick to his side in the process. He activated Sip the Mana and her flames disappeared for a few moments, just the time he needed to charge a hundred mana into a Fist uppercut, sending her into the air. At the same time, his other hand came back around and slapped the ice cube sticker on her neck, a place he noticed rarely turned into fire.

Abigail growled in anger as she sailed into the air, collecting flames in her hands and feet and launching back toward him like a bullet. Activate it now! John ordered as she neared him, a meter from his face. Her skin flashed blue as the heat dissipated, and he met her interrupted charge with another Fist. He heard her jaw break as his spell met her face, sending her up into the air again.

This ticked her off beyond belief, and instead of collecting the flames in her hands and feet to charge at him, she collected them in only her hands, falling to the Earth and ready to unleash a giant explosion directly on him. He used Move to interrupt her motion, sending her into a nearby tree instead. The resulting explosion rocked the ground, a dozen trees in a circle instantly burned to ash all around her.

I’m halfway out of time with Mind Over Matter and running out of mana to use. If I’m gonna finish this, I better do it quick, John thought, steeling himself as she came flying at him again. This time, too much of her body was incorporeal flame for him to affect her with Move, and he brought up his arms in a hasty defense.

Her fists broke his defense, the shield sticker, and his arms as even his stronger, heavier form was knocked back a few meters, breaking the earth and the ulna in each arm as he slid across it. He got a potion out of his inventory and used Move to open and tilt it into his mouth, arms uselessly dangling.

She renewed her flaming attacks on him, and though Mind Over Matter nearly put him on par with her Strength and Endurance, she still had much more Agility than he did. He deflected and blocked attacks where he could, but her rain of blows quickly brought his health down. An axe kick slammed his head into the ground. Dazed, he felt as she lifted him by the collar of his duster. “Abigail, come on, it’s me. John. You don’t really want to hurt me. Look at what you’ve been doing. Look at what you’ve done to Grace and I. Is this what you want?”

Tears flowed down her face as she wound up to hit him in the face, and Mind Reading revealed her lack of control.

No no no no NO NO NO NO NO NO!

She punched, her exploding fist going right toward his head. Such damage would not only knock John out but likely kill him.

Her fist met air as John unequipped his duster, Jumping away from her. Removing his only real armor was a gamble, but it was that or die. Drinking a Mana Potion and cringing at the migraine that immediately followed, John channeled one hundred fifty mana through each gun in a cast of Mana Bolt. The beams swept over his friend as her expression went dead, dropping to the ground like a rock.

You now have minor potion sickness! Potions will be 20% less effective, and further consumption may lead to a variety of negative effects including but not limited to: fatigue, blindness, numbness, and ****.

The popup went ignored as the silky blue strands connecting Abigail to her controller severed, unusable as she was ****. John rushed to her side, using Advanced Spy on her to check her condition.

While this was a dire situation, he had to know what Curse of Cacus was, and so hit the tooltip for it.

Curse of Cacus, Divine Curse
A curse laid upon the Firenzia bloodline. Grants the bearer **** power and the ability to convert their body into flames. It takes monumental effort to maintain a physical body with this curse. If the bearer turns their brain to flame, they are instantly killed, normal fire being all that’s left of them. Anyone branded with this is destined to cause nothing but destruction.

Well, that’s terribly ominous. I don’t get exactly how it works, and with the way she uses it, it seems more of a blessing than a curse, but I… don’t envy her. That’s tough. One slip up at any time and you’re dead, John thought, getting a Health Potion out of his inventory.

Propping her up on his knees so she wouldn’t ****, he tilted a Health Potion into her mouth and down her throat as Grace cautiously approached. John invited the Brit back into his party; he hardly remembered kicking her out.

Intently studying her status, he watched as the **** status effect quickly reduced from one hour to half an hour, then fifteen minutes. Finally, she woke with a start and a loud gasp, looking around wildly. When she looked up and saw his face, tears began to wet her eyes.

“John! I-,” she began, a deep look of concern overtaking her, but was interrupted by him hugging her tight, a sentiment she quickly returned.

“It’s okay. I know,” he said, patting her back. She pressed herself against him uncomfortably tight, bones cracking in the process. She released him and kissed him deeply, clumsily, her eyes closed for a moment before pushing him away.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I don’t know why I did that,” Abigail said, sounding more terrified than he felt.

“We’ll talk about that later; we’ve got a creepy puppeteer fuck to catch,” John said, not ready to process what had just happened. Instead, he decided to spring into action.

Prodigy, what’s the situation with the marionette guy? John asked, hoping that there would be a person to take out his emotions on available. At the same time he picked his duster off the ground, putting it back on.

I’ve been looking for him this whole time, he’s very, very far away. I was following the threads connected to Cherufe, but now they’re gone. They led into the mountains beyond the road. I came across the crossroad some time ago, the elf replied, her voice unclear due to the great distance between them.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck, John thought, to nobody in particular. Alright, do you think you can still find him? Track the traces of it somehow?

Unlikely but possible. I have his aura signature memorized though, I’ll know him when I see him, Lucille replied, terse. I’d call it a waste of resources to send me on a wild goose chase after him at this point.

Alright. Alright. Come back. We’ll keep his partner restrained at least. Maybe he’ll try to retrieve him. I say we wait out the rest of the test in this village. We have food, water, and our objective, John reasoned, pinching the bridge of his nose with his chin.

We could interrogate the man still in the village, Lucille suggested, her thoughts noticeably clearer as she headed back toward them.

Not a bad idea, John thought, then asked, Does anybody have any way to resist his influence? It seems like he puts people under his control by staring into their eyes and talking to them.

I certainly could; magic that targets the eyes doesn’t affect me, the elf replied, though John had a feeling she might be too harsh.

I’ve got a pair of sunglasses! Those might work! And if he starts to put someone under again, I can just taze him, Grace piped up, holding up the shades she meant for John to see.

Alright, until Lucille gets back, it’s the best we have, John concluded, taking the offered glasses from the Brit. He walked into the house with the Illusionist, throwing the **** man over his shoulder. “We won’t bother you with this next part. My team will defend this village come night time.”

“Alright, Grace, with me. Abigail… keep watch. Make sure the guy doesn’t come back. First sign of trouble, tell us,” John ordered, avoiding the gaze of the fiery brunette.

With that, he and the white-haired girl entered a one-room house. All that was in it were two chairs, a table, a hearth, and a bed. The illusion of a man and a woman inside faded away as they closed the door.

John put the lifeless form into one of the chairs, moving another right behind it. Taking the Shroud of Shadows he had received from the last test, he tore shreds of fabric from it and tied the blond’s arms to the arms of the chair and his ankles to the legs. He motioned Grace to sit behind the charmer.

That said and done, he spilled a unit of water from his inventory on the man to wake him up, putting on the sunglasses with the other hand. “So, your plan went wrong. You’re here at our mercy now, actually abandoned by your teammate,” John growled, leaning his face to be inches from the prisoner as he used Advanced Spy.

“So it would seem. I know you’re trying to scare me right now, but I saw into your mind when I controlled you. You won’t do anything to me,” Maximillion said, meeting John’s gaze confidently.

“Provoking us might not be the best idea, we’re not exactly in the best mood,” Grace piped up from behind, surprising the blond with her presence.

“And yet, I remain unmarred. What sort of games are you playing?” Maximillion asked, but was interrupted by Lucille opening the door, her lack of eyewear was a welcome sight to the charmer, who tried and failed to charm the woman in front of him.

“You’re right. I wouldn’t hurt you as you are right now. Defenseless. Bound. Weak. Just because I wouldn’t hurt you, though, doesn’t mean I’ll be able to stop her from doing so,” John explained with an exaggerated sigh.

“Oh, a woman is supposed to frighten me? Well-” Max began, but was interrupted by Lucille slapping him across the face, then backhanding him.

“You’ll tell us what we need to know. If you don’t, well, she may get a little restless,” the Gamer suggested, putting an arm up to keep the elf from him.

“How does your teammate’s magic work? How far away can he be?” John asked, staring intently at the charmer.

“He sets up a trap. If somebody walks into it, they fall under his control. Their mind remains theirs, but he controls them in body and soul,” Max explained, lips looser when he actually felt in danger. John used Mind Reading on him, hoping his thoughts would confirm what he had just said to be the truth or a lie.

I can tell that much, but I know it’s not really what they want to know… as long as they don’t know what to look out for, they’ll be screwed over, auric vision or not.

“How far away can he be? What do these traps look like?” John asked, a plan forming in his mind if this man’s teammate came back.

“Sorry, but I didn’t exactly read an encyclopedia on the guy. We only met a few hours ago,” the blond replied, his voice once again arrogant and controlled.

“Wrong answer,” John simply said, lifting the arm that kept Lucille from attacking the man. A bowie knife formed in her hand, though it was made of the same green translucent material as her gun constructs. She traced it along the man’s shirt, ripping it open.

“If you wanted my clothes off, you just needed ask,” Max said, though yelped in pain when the elf traced the edge of the knife along his chest, etching the word ‘liar’.

“Alright, alright! As far as I know, he can be as far as he wants. He was several miles away when controlling your black friend during your fight. Traps are invisible to the naked eye, but any trained to see auras can see them. They look like something a hunter would lay. A coil of rope on the ground. If one walks into it, they fall under his control. The further he is, the more taxing it is on him and the weaker his control is. Up close, he can control even **** bodies!” the man blurted out, eager to avoid further pain. John used Mind Reading again, but it was much less useful.

These SAVAGES dare touch me and scar my perfect form? Well, when he comes back they’ll be sorry…

“Good to know. Where is he now?” John finally asked the question he really wanted to, “Is he going to come for you?”

“As if I would know! I wasn’t lying when I said he liked working alone. He’s creepier than I am,” Max answered, avoiding John’s gaze.

“Lucille, find out what he knows,” John ordered, cringing when he heard the knife digging into skin again immediately.

“You’re not enjoying this, I know it! Stop this please!” the charmer begged, recoiling as the elf’s arms held his head still.

“No! No, no, no, not the face! Please not the face!” John felt guilt, Grace felt disgust, and Max felt fear. Lucille felt nothing as her knife moved closer and closer to the liar’s lips. “I’ll talk! If anything went wrong, the plan was for him to attack at night, when the vampires attacked! I don’t know where he is right now and have no way of knowing, I swear! If I had to guess, I’d say he’s in a cave in the mountains that’s along the road that cuts through them. That’s where he was controlling you from.” While that plan sounded reasonable, John was suspicious that the man gave it up so quickly and once more delved into his thoughts.

It doesn’t matter that they know; they’ll fall under our control all the same

“Thank you for your cooperation. Anything to add, ladies?” John asked, looking first at the elf then at the Brit.

“I think I’m gonna be sick, can we leave now?” Grace asked, getting up from her chair. She stretched, eyes avoiding everybody in the room with equal urgency.

“Somebody should guard him. Make sure he doesn’t slip out,” Lucille suggested, the knife she wielded disappearing. In response, Grace placed a sticker of two cartoony eyes above the door.

“Every few minutes, I’ll switch my vision to see him. I can even keep one eye constantly watching him if you want,” Grace said, moving toward the door. “None of us have to stay in this room. Let’s go.”

“She’s right. I think we all need to take the edge off,” John joined in, looking everywhere but at the man who had been practically tortured. I mean, there was no lasting damage. The cuts Lucille made were shallow. His pride is more wounded than his body. That’s how he justified what he had just done at least, as he eagerly left the small house.

“So, let’s roast up some meat. I’m sure we can find cups here to use instead of our hands too!” Grace said, taking Abigail’s arm on her way out of the door and pulling her away from the house.