Boy Meets Ai

Chapter 69

Chapter 69

"You planned ahead, for this?!" Seiko stabbed his scimitar into an Ai's chest. Everyone had regrouped together and Oaklee was explaining what they needed to do.

"Not this thing specifically! How would I know that this would happen? I just figured that it might be a good idea to set up a teleport circle up on Io since it's the highest point in the world. Perfect sniper's nest."

She pulled a large swathe of canvas from her sack as she spoke. The others covered her as she prepared the circle. She had to duck out of the way of a sword as an Ai leapt at her. This wasn't going to work here. Seiko was the first to point that out.

"We don't even have room to breathe. How are you supposed to channel the spell?"

Oaklee paused, listening carefully to the voice in her head. "He says to wait just a second."

"Who?!" Seiko asked.

Another pause. Then she yelled as loud as she could.

"Everybody get down now!"

They all ducked as an immensely powerful wave of magical energy swept over them. They heard what sounded like the entire ocean swirled overhead. It was water magic, more potent than anything they'd ever seen. The entire horde was cut down at once by the spell, blown to nothingness by its power.

Shinobu popped up first. What she saw was the decimated bodies, Aramais looking furious and wet as he was embedded in a wall, and Gabriel standing in the center of a crater. His trident still surging with leftover energy.

"Holy crap!"

There was no time to marvel at the scene. Aramais was back on his feet with not a scratch on him. The two titans were back at it with ferocity. Oaklee continued to work on the circle.

"We're gonna send Seiko through. The rest of us need to stay and lock that thing in place." She pointed at the horrible creature fighting the archon. Her friends looked less than confident in that statement.

"How are we supposed to-" Hendricks started but Oaklee cut him off.

"We don't have a choice. We have to. He's already started spreading his consciousness around the city. He's getting stronger by the second. More people are dying."

"There should be more archons on the way, though right? They should be able to stop him!" Shinobu asked.

Oaklee shook her head. Gabriel had already told her the truth of the situation. "No one is coming. We're on our own."

"What the hell?! They'd just abandon us like that?"

The words hung heavy over everyone. The truth was they were on their own now. Succeed or die. Those were the only options.

"Let's go then. We don't have time to waste." Ogun dashed towards the fight. He weaved between the archon and the beast, narrowly dodging attacks that would erase him in an instant. Hendricks and Shinobu steeled their courage and charged in after him.

"I don't agree to this. I'm not leaving you guys here." Seiko confronted his Ai.

"We don't have time for a debate man. Just get on." Oaklee's voice was flat as she laid out the canvas. She began channeling the spell. Seiko refused to step on the circle. Instead, he took aim at Aramais. His frustration welled up inside him as he pulled back the bow string. His sights were fixed on the wicked skull face. Just as he was about to fire though, he was knocked down. Oaklee tackled him to the ground. The shot went wild, streaking into the sky. Aramais noticed the light arrow as it flew, following its trajectory back to the source. He saw them. The ones that ruined everything and turned Thomas against him.

Annoying insects.

"You idiot! Listen to me!" Oaklee slapped Seiko hard as she sat on him. "Just trust us, ok?! We can do this. We have to! So just worry about doing your job!"

She stood up and offered him a hand. Seiko knew she was right. His friends were counting on him to end this. He grasped her hand firmly and pulled himself up. The young man hung his head solemnly and stepped onto the circle without complaint as Oaklee started the spell once again. She kept glancing over her shoulder, running the calculations for the shot.

"It's gonna be a shot directly east along grid point x:378. You'll be able to see it on your map. Aim for sector C6.5."

"Oak. I- "it was hard to find the words to say. Seiko felt everything swirling in him. He wanted to let her know how he felt in that moment. That he loved her so much and just wanted to make it through this so they could go home.

"It's ok. You can tell me after." She smirked.

Seiko nodded, feeling his heart get a little lighter with her reassurance. This was no different than any other mission they'd done. Oaklee's plans didn't fail. The circle began to glow brightly on one side. One glyph lighting up after another until the whole thing shimmered. The spell was complete. Just then, the ground began to rumble beneath their feet. Something was tunneling up towards them and quickly. Before either of them could react, a clawed hand pierced up through the earth, directly into Oaklee's chest. She looked down, confused. Little specks of blood dripped from her mouth as the hand sunk deeper into her chest. She could hear her bones snapping.

Seiko could hear the hideous cackling coming from Aramais. His arm was buried into the ground as he stared maliciously at the Ai he had impaled. Gabriel tried to swipe at him, but he moved at the last second to dodge. Oaklee dropped to her hands and knees as the claws ripped from her body. Seiko let out a soft whimper at the sight of the gaping hole. He reached out toward her. It wasn't just blood that left her body. He watched in horror as a bit of light floated up from her, into the cloud.

Please. No.

He had to get to her. That was all he could think. He needed to save her, but Oaklee held up a shaky hand, stopping him. She placed it gently on his. She smiled softly as blueish blood trickled down from the corners of her mouth. Her form shimmered and glitched. Bits of her went translucent like glass while others faded away completely.

"I told you he was a dick." She wheezed out a laugh. Seiko couldn't breathe. He felt like he was dreaming. Her voice came to him as if he were hearing it underwater.

"Finish this." She coughed.

"Hendricks!" Seiko screamed for the healer to hurry to her aid.

"It's too late Seiko." Oaklee knew that she was already dead. It was by nothing, but her aberrant code and sheer will that allowed her to hold on at this point. "Take care of yourself, ok? Don't expect to go back to slacking off when I'm gone." Her voice cracked with sorrow, betraying her cheery expression.

Seiko's whole world unraveled. It was like the floor and the sky had switched places. With the last of her strength, Oaklee slammed her hands down on the circle as she disintegrated. He saw her smiling face evaporate into shimmering flecks of light just before he was teleported away.