“Bastard,” Titus growled.
“Should have trusted my gut, damn it,” Thorne said, and Kaiden could hear the pain in her tone. He shared it. She’d been pointing out that things felt off but he hadn’t listened. Had been too excited at being so close. Too distracted by the promise of victory to trust her instincts.
“That’s why there were more forces above than there should have been,” Thorne said, piecing things together.
“They made it just enough of a fight that our army would be bogged down,” Kaiden said as everything started to make sense. “Tricked us into leaving our reinforcements behind and coming here on our own.”
“Form up on me,” Zelda hissed, easing toward Titus and Thorne. “It’s not a sure thing we lose this fight. If we can stay together, land a combo or two...” She trailed off, unable to convince even herself that they had a way to win the coming battle.
Werner, PlayaSlaya, Nando, Skaia, and the last Maximus guard, Hurston, against us four. That’s suicide, Kaiden thought, evaluating the room. Every one of their opponents was max level, and with Skaia acting as a medic they’d have all the health they could want. No matter how he stacked it up, this wasn’t a winnable fight.
Kaiden focused on PlayaSlaya for a moment and his visor brought up the man’s stats.
Cybernetic Knight, Level 60. I know all that.
Kaiden moved his eyes to the new armor PlayaSlaya was wearing.
Godslayer Armor
Rarity: Unique
Durability: 96%
+30% bludgeoning resistance
+30% explosive resistance
+20% stun resistance
Negates damage that would usually bypass armor
Wearer cannot be staggered
Oh jeez. That’s a unique armor set. One of a kind. And look at those stats! Not exceptional in any particular way; just every way. Kaiden almost feared to look at PlayaSlaya’s weapon next. It was a massive axe – that much Kaiden had known – but now he was about to find himself facing the sharp end of it, he took a renewed interest.
Star’s Heart War-Axe
Rarity: Unique
Durability: 82%
+25% damage
+10% knockback
-5% dexterity when wielded
Deals burning damage per second on every critical hit. Does not stack.
Well. That’s about the most terrifying weapon I’ve ever seen in Nova.
“Kaiden,” Zelda said through their new private comms channel. “Take the database from me. Use your speed and get out of here. You can go back topside, find Dawson, come back with reinforcements. It’s our only—”
“No,” he said, frowning now. Something still wasn’t quite right. PlayaSlaya and Werner looked confident, assured of their victory. But Nando didn’t. His expression was torn, conflicted. Like all of this was news to him.
Kaiden turned to Nando.
“Man, you really sold me on that ‘the Party disappeared my father’ story,” he said. “Quite the actor, you are. What’d they promise you in return for betraying us?”
Nando frowned back at him.
“Nothing. Because I didn’t agree to betray you.” He shot an accusatory glare toward PlayaSlaya.
“I know, I know. I didn’t tell you, blah, blah,” PlayaSlaya said without a hint of regret in his voice. “All you need to know is there is a massive bonus waiting for you when all this is over. You can get, ah… what’s her name, the kid, a bunch of new toys.’
Nando didn’t look angry. He just looked disappointed. Kaiden could see it in his face, but PlayaSlaya continued on unawares.
“Anyway, who cares? It worked perfectly! We’re here. Now let’s finish it. I had my fun outside. This part was going to be a drag. Send out some database broadcast thing? Snore. Betrayal and a badass final showdown? Now that’s the good stuff!” There was a fire in his eyes as he spoke. “Maximus always wins. And this will be one of our greatest ever!” He pumped a fist in the air, a gesture no doubt meant to fire up his guild mates. It seemed only to have the opposite effect.
“So this is what we do now, huh?” Nando’s response came like an upturned bucket of ice-water, squelching the fire that’d been building in PlayaSlaya’s expression. “We betray our allies and side with the Party?”
“What? Dude! You don’t get it. Once we finish this, we’ll be the undisputed top guild in the game. Not just PVP. We’ll have the Warden Corps backing us, and the Party’s support. Plus, if they do take over NextGen they’ve promised us early access to every DLC and alpha slots in all the upcoming game releases. Not to mention the hefty reward we’ll be claiming IRL. It’s all handled, my man. The hard part’s done.” He clenched a fist. “Now, let’s have some fun.”
Nando’s only response was a blank stare, then a frown. A moment later, Kaiden saw why.
PlayaSlaya has been kicked from the comm channel.
“I didn’t agree to this,” Nando said in proximity chat for all to hear. “And I won’t support it. My father once stood up to the Party. When he got taken away, it terrified me. I would never have stood up to the Party alone; I was too afraid. Didn’t even think it was possible. But then I met you guys, with your crazy plan, and you convinced so many people. Then here we are, moments away from dealing the Party a mortal blow. I won’t back down now. Not for Playa and his money. Not for anything. I can’t.”
Skaia and Hurston nodded at that and both took a step closer to Nando.
“This is wrong,” Skaia said. “We didn’t come here because we wanted to fight, because we wanted to win. We came here because Nando asked us to, and because it’s what’s right.”
“What? No!” PlayaSlaya was panicked now, a pained expression creeping across his features. “I did this for you. For the guild. For all of us!”
“When have you ever done something not for yourself, Playa?” Nando looked angry now. “Nova has always been just a game to you. Just a way to have a laugh or get a cheap thrill. You never realized there’s more to it than that. Our guild is about fighting yes, but it’s also an outlet for those who have been taken advantage
