Tag Archives: Alex

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 58

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I didn’t shed tears, but if I weren’t having to again slaughter humonsters, I could have. I punched a humonster that jumped down from the top of a mound toward Alex in the face, splattering it across the side of the mound it jumped from.

We might finally be done with this.

Alex stumbled toward the glowing mound, shaking his head, his footing becoming more sure with each step. He only had to make it twenty feet, but I’d seen how unpredictable twenty feet could be. 

Still, he had Kals and whatever Bloodmaiden was in control for help. It needed to be enough. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 58 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 57

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That knowledge gave me the confidence to let “Amy” and Kals protect Alex while I did my best to protect Daniel and the various Jennys.

Her ability to duplicate herself made it worse when every copy represented a tunnel into her brain.

I fired off a series of armor piercing bots. They weren’t as effective as killbots, but they were simpler and faster to produce. Plus, they didn’t have monomolecular blades constantly sucking energy until they dulled. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 57 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 54

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At that moment, I heard a noise or more accurately many small taps and thumps. A quick look around me explained it. The humonsters were back. They’d scrambled over the mounds on either side and came down in front of us, behind us, and to the sides of us lying on top of the mounds.

I’d last seen roughly 25 of them scrambling for cover among the mounds, but here there were 50, maybe more.

They opened their mouths and shouted, “Don’t move!” Continue reading Courtesy: Part 54 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 52

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The humonsters ran after us, ignoring Cassie and they didn’t just run. They leapt. They tumbled. The talons that grew out of their hands and feet clacked against the floor.

They weren’t slow. Only the fact that Alex, Jenny, Kals, and Katuk had started first kept them from being caught—that and Katuk’s shooting ability.

Without looking, he pointed the gun under his forearm backward and fired, scattering blasts of white light behind him. The first two caught humonsters full on, severing the right arm from one and the entire lower half of the other. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 52 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 51

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I can’t read them very well, Daniel thought at us, but for lack of a better analogy, I think it’s the heart, the center of the organism’s circulation. I wish we had a biologist because then I could ask better questions, but I know that as long as we get Alex there, it’ll die.

Noticing, no doubt, that we hadn’t started tearing Amy limb from limb, the humonsters shouted as one, “Kill her now!”

As the noise overwhelmed the sound of the buzzer again, I had to fight the urge to charge Amy, hearing Julie’s command in my head again.  Continue reading Courtesy: Part 51 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 46

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The boy froze again, his right hand curling into a ball. Then he smiled and said, “I would like that. Is this something that you can teach me or would you place a spell on me?”

“A spell,” Amy said, glancing over at Arete, “and I can’t do it now because I’m a little tired, but I think I could in ten minutes.”

Uncurling his right hand, the boy smiled, “I don’t necessarily need it, but I’ll think about it. I do sometimes have a little trouble with rogue personalities and a little help keeping them under control wouldn’t hurt.”

While I couldn’t say I wanted Arete free, helping the Fungus Collective keep him controlled also felt wrong. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 46 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 44

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Logically, I should have told him to shoot it. The longer we took with this, the more time the greater horde had to reach us. Plus, it was most likely an avatar for a larger entity that was willing to sacrifice human life without a thought.

Why didn’t I? First of all, Alex didn’t take orders from anybody. Second, we didn’t know where the core of the entity was and a conversation could give us time to find it that combat wouldn’t. Beyond that, would the Fungus Collective simply hand us the core of its mental processes? Unlikely. If I had to guess, I’d guess that the kid was intended to be a distraction for us.

Also, there was the possibility, however small, that we were actually looking at a kid. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 44 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 43

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“Those of us who could fly” might not have been the best way to put it. Specifically, Daniel, Amy, and I followed Izzy (carrying Paladin) in. We’d be joined by a couple more from Haley’s group.

Everyone else gathered outside under Tara’s leadership.

As great as Camille’s control over gravity was, she didn’t have infinite power in the tank which meant that all of the fungus creatures that hadn’t been destroyed by the equivalent of a hundred foot fall would be attacking soon. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 43 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 42

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Izzy laughed.

Alex eyed her, “What?”

She shook her head, “You’re confident.”

“I’m stating a fact. You brought me here to do a job and I’m ready.” Alex looked over at a group of Jennys, possibly for support. More than one of them rolled their eyes.

Over the comm, Brooke AKA Portal AKA Guardian’s daughter and Alex’s girlfriend said, “Alex…”

Daniel interrupted before the conversation went any further, “Our chances of success start going down the longer we take here.” Continue reading Courtesy: Part 42 →

Arc 13.6.5: Courtesy

Courtesy: Part 41

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It took less time than I expected even though it seemed to be a disaster when it began.

As I’d stepped forward, burning through the legs of next nearest Prime clone, more barreled into the area all at once. Arms bashed me from more than one direction, knocking me sideways. Even as I began to push myself off the ground, I wondered if I’d be able to do anything. Continue reading Courtesy: Part 41 →