Author's Note: A Berserk staff is an antagonistic staff used to brainwash enemies into fighting their own allies.
Chapter 9: Sunny Side
Courtney's Resistance were headed to the mountain, when they noticed some figures on the beach. "Who?" Courtney asked, looking in that general direction. The same man they ran into last time was there, this time talking to a bishop in a cloak.
"You know what you're supposed to do with this. I've told you eighty-five times!" he said.
"Well actually," the bishop responded, "You've only told me eighty-four times, including that one."
"Why must I work with such idiots?" he asked. "Chris needs the Squealing Monk kept away from the others. And if the Resistance catches up to him… look, you know how the Berserk staff works. Now use it."
"I will, sir," the bishop replied.
"Good. Don't make me go back," he said, "I've run enough times for one day." Suddenly, a giant shark appeared, along with two other smaller sharks. The wise guy turned around and shouted, "Shark! Okay, don't panic! Everyone stay here!"
"But where are you going?" asked one of the soldiers.
"To find safety, Sherlock!" he shouted, and ran away.
"Ah, well," the bishop said. "As long as no one tries to steal my Berserk staff, I should be fine."
"Did you hear that?" Courtney asked. "We need to go steal the Berserk staff."
"I'm on it," Duncan said, "Don't worry. I'll get it with no trouble."
It was a small formation that day, and so Geoff and Alejandro stayed behind. Geoff stayed behind because he felt that Cody was quickly overshadowing him, and that he would be more useful to the team later on. Alejandro stayed behind because he was losing ground to both Katie and Sadie.
Trent, Gwen, Cody, and Sierra formed a line which attacked and sent off any of the soldiers that attacked them. Due to her fragility and the fact that she was not wearing any armor, many of the soldiers went after Gwen. After being wounded severely, she had raised her alertness significantly, and was attempting to hold her own until DJ came to heal her. Sierra had been spending the entire time being overprotective of Cody, which Cody was simultaneously grateful for (because he was getting hurt less) and annoyed by (because he was being able to show off his fighting ability less).
Courtney approached the shark, only to be stopped by a pair of archers. Katie and Sadie helped her take them down, while Noah, who had recently learned how to heal, helped her with a staff given to him by Bridgette.
Duncan was approaching the bishop, but couldn't quite reach him. However, he was close enough that the bishop cast a spell of light on him. Although it hurt, Duncan was not hindered, and, noticing that the bishop was distracted from the Berserk staff, took the chance to steal it away. Then he handed it to Bridgette, who didn't want anything to do with it.
She attempted to hand off the task to Noah, who was overall more pragmatic and willing to engage in such behaviors, but unfortunately, it was too complicated for him to figure out yet. Only one experienced with the staff could use it. DJ didn't want to use it either, so Bridgette eventually did so anyway, and used it on the biggest shark.
The big shark went and attacked one of the smaller sharks as well as a couple of pirates standing nearby, which made Bridgette regret what she had done, and then she promised to not use the Berserk staff ever again and instead to give it to Noah when he was ready. Duncan went to get DJ to heal him, and then headed to the water himself. He could stand in the water without a problem, which was helpful, as then he singlehandedly took out both of the smaller sharks. The big shark silently attacked him.
Panicking for Duncan's safety, Courtney used this opportunity to shine some light onto the shark's face but unfortunately she missed. Gwen used a spell of darkness for the same effect, and this time it did work. The shark's shock was obvious as he fell in the water.
"Oh, my god!" one of the soldiers shouted, "You defeated the shark."
"Yes," Courtney said, "Now don't expect that we're going to go easy on the rest of you."
"No, please!" the soldier said, "This was all the boss's idea."
"Yes," Duncan said, "Your boss seems very in control of every situation."
"We're just trying to stop you from finding the Squealing Monk," the soldier said.
"Who?" Courtney asked.
"Oh, you haven't heard of him?" a different soldier asked, "I mean, I don't know who he's talking about either!"
"Right," Duncan said, "Listen, if you're trying to convince us that this guy you talked about doesn't exist, it's not gonna work. We're not idiots."
"That's right!" Katie shouted.
"Well, most of us aren't idiots," Duncan said.
"Yeah!" Sadie added, clueless to the implications.
"Okay, okay!" the first soldier shouted, "Our boss headed to the mountains."
"What a coincidence," Duncan said, "We're just heading there ourselves. Thanks, pipsqueak."
"Terms like pipsqueak are uncalled for," Cody said, offended.
"No one asked you, dorkface," Duncan responded.
"Duncan..." Sierra scolded.
"Oh, sorry," he said, "I don't want to tick off Dragon Lady."
Meanwhile, Chris talked to the woman with the dirty blonde hair and glasses once again. "Chris, I don't know what to tell you," she said, "The resistance is getting more powerful, and I think they really are on to something this time."
"No," Chris said, "They can't be on to something because they're so young and stupid. Besides, I don't think this is worth worrying about unless they actually find the Squealing Monk, or if my secret weapon comes back a corpse."
"It is worrying," the woman said, "But Chris, remember. This isn't just about your control of the world. It's about your ability to control the world. This group doesn't seem like it's going to be disbanding any time soon."
"Chill, Ms. Network Executive," Chris said, "Or can I call you by your…"
"No one calls me by my first name. No one!" she shouted. "Not even the ruler of the world."
"Man," Chris said, "Even when I have ultimate control, you still think you can boss me around."
"Chris, the world is not in my control. However, it seems that you aren't understanding me. If you win, nothing's changed. You own the world and keep your fame. But if you lose, even if you live, you will live an exile, only to be booed and heckled by nerds on Saturday nights," the network executive said, "All I'm saying is that maybe you should change up your strategy a little bit."
"I understand that," he said, "And yet… I'll wait for something bad to happen."
"If you do," she warned, "It might be too late."
Author's Note: Goodies for this chapter include alternate versions of the (first part of the) ending dialogue (Duncan died, Cody/Sierra died, Katie/Sadie died), Alejandro and Bridgette's Support (Level C), DJ and Geoff's Support (Level C), and Geoff and Duncan's Support (Level C).