Just made a minor correction. I'd love you guys to tell me if there is need for any other corrections (spelling, grammar and such).

The chapters may take a while to come out, but I'm determined to take this story to the end.

Charter 14 - The sixth man

"You shall not pass!"

Had it been another day they might have taken a non-confrontational approach and just avoided the knight that blocked their path.

The man was quite a sight to see, full clad in golden armor, riding a powerful stallion, draped in a deep blue cloak with an intricate symbol embroidered in white. He was followed closely by a slightly younger man - though in Second Life it was hard to tell - who carried a banner with a white insignia against blue and gold field.

So common sense told the Black Brotherhood to stay clear from weirdoes that created coats of arms in game, but the problem was, they were already clad in their black robes, and it would be really bad for their bad reputation if they just responded "Our bad, we'll go away then".

"I, Sir Desmond of Batalha, come here to issue a challenge against the felons known as the Black Brotherhood..." he started to talk.

The banner man stuck the flagpole to the ground, and produced a drum. He started beating a deliberate, martial rhythm. Pen and Doomsday rose their heads. They were the only members of the group sensitive to the flow of mana.

It's a buff. DeeDee warned.

Probably a bard, then. Was Jet's verdict.

"...and prove my worth for..."

Oh, my, he's still talking! Dashing was indignant.

"...the right to challenge his lordship Prince!"

Prince's lapdog... Crow cursed. He won't even come after us himself!

Without further ado, Sir Desmond of Batalha charged. At the same time, the drumbeat changed its pattern. A different buff, most likely.

"Constriction Barrier". The first to attack was the kekkaishi.

"Barrier Break". Pen was thrown back three meters from the impact. Barrier Break was a useful ability for warriors that needed to take down magical shields, but it used a lot of mana.

"Kamaitachi Slash!"

"Destiny Blade"

The Black Brotherhood warriors started with their fiercest attacks, but they weren't so effective against a full body armor on horseback. The animal had to go down.

I'm sorry, little friend. Crow notched an arrow and turned it to the vigorous neck of the stallion.

System notice: Player Desmond of Batalha's mount has been taken down.

"What are you doing back there, drummer boy?" He complained to his teammate.

"What? I didn't know I was supposed to buff the horse!"

"You idiot!"

Crow and his friends didn't think that was a way to talk to a teammate, but perhaps that last remark had been directed at Jet, since her hooded figure had just engaged in body combat against the knight and pulled a fast one on him.

System Notice: Attack successful. Player Desmond of Batalha's HP -40.

"The life regeneration, drummer boy!"

"I'm doing it already, if you'll shut your trap!"

It was quite perplexing how much they seemed to hate each other. All of them knew of people that had teasing and arguing and fighting as their normal means of interaction, but the friction between bard and knight seemed to be more than that. But no matter how unstable, at least their combination was powerful. Sir Desmond's mana recovered so fast that Pen was virtually unable to keep up a barrier. His physical skills were high enough to keep up with Jet and Dashing Mysterious Hero, and the fighting was so intense both Crow and Doomsday Device were uneasy about interfering, there being an actual possibility of injuring their own friends in the process.

I guess all we can do is take out the bard. DeeDee was already midway through reciting a spell, and in order not to give away her intentions she still watched the sword fight as if looking for openings.

The beat of the drum changed again. If Dee was to find that spell, the time was now, before Sir Desmond's already insanely high skills were boosted even further. Except...

"Jet, Dash, get down!"

When your teammate is named "Doomsday Device", you learn to heed warnings such as this, therefore both warriors stopped their attacks midway and fell face first towards the nearest bush.

The fireball that ensued wasn't Dee's usual ordeal. It was smaller in diameter, but in a bright blue-white color that suggested several hundred extra degrees. It lasted for only an instant - the time it needed to cross the few meters between caster and target - but Crow could swear the center of the fireball wasn't solid. It looked like plasma.

Before their eyes, Sir Desmond's armor dissolved to dust, but the knight himself had received close to no damage. That was just how high level his equipment was - though the buffs probably helped.

Without pausing to admire the new efficiency of their team mage, Crow shot an arrow that stuck to the opponent's chest. A critical hit, but not enough to kill him. Both Jet and Dash raised their swords. One blow from any of them should suffice.

And then Sir Desmond of Batalha fell forward, a throwing knife stuck to the back of his neck.

System Notice: Attack successful, critical hit, HP -250. Player Desmond of Batalha is dead.

The system announced as he disappeared in a pillar of white light.

The bard walked nonchalantly towards the Black Brotherhood and retrieved his knife.

"Nice throw, for a bard". Pen was so tired from having consecutive barriers dispelled that she leaned against her tenketsu.

"Thanks. I try to always have something up my sleeve."

"Preferably sharp." Jet added.

The bard nodded. "And coated with poison."

All of them had to smile at that. Ruthless was just their style.

"So... you must be pretty sure we won't kill you, to be this relaxed." Dash still had his sword out, but he wasn't trying to make a threat.

"I am." The bard shrugged. "Though I am perhaps being too optimistic."

"So... what was that?"

The bard's name was One Man Band. Though his level wasn't high, his buffing skills were unparalleled, and that was what led him to partner with a high level combat class in the first place. A regrettable choice, as it had later become clear. Desmond was a proud, egocentric, controlling, egocentric, pompous and egocentric fool.

"I've told him one million times: I am not your sidekick, and if you call me 'drummer boy' again, I will kill you." One Man Band explained. "So he should have seen that coming."

"But, you know, that buff earlier was incredible." DeeDee commented. "I really felt brimming with power, it was... inebriating."

The tone of her voice actually made her teammates curious as to what exactly it felt like to receive One Man Band's power ups. An idea began to hatch in their minds.

"Tell us, Band, do you happen to have any healing skills?"

The team was in sore need of a priest.

"No." They were about to be disappointed when he added, "People that I buff don't need to be healed."

"I can't believe it!" One Man Band laughed. "You guys have got a problem with Prince too?"

The Black Brotherhood had invited the bard to join their ranks. He looked swayed by the idea, but hadn't given a definite answer just yet. Right now they walked through the woods.

"Yes and no... we sort of rally around the banner of a game without a protagonist. So we don't fight 'Prince', we fight 'hegemony'. But since Prince is the only player in the central continent that is trying to create an hegemony, well, we fight Prince."

"I love how Pen can make that round so political." Crow mused. "But you said 'too'? What is your problem with Prince?"

"Infinite Band. Or, more specifically, their bard. Their guitarist and their drummer are pretty decent, and that flutist at least has the excuse of being a warrior, but that... that... that player of the demon race, he is a disgrace to qu-qin players, and he still dares to call himself a bard!"

One Man Band was pretty passionate about that, which led Dash to ask.

"Is that Guileastos that bad?"

"He is not bad. He is average," the word was a curse in his mouth. "But he lets people think he is good."

"I don't usually ask about people's real lives, but... are you a real life musician?" Doomsday asked.

"I am."

The team was impressed. The guy was actually a one man band, and he told them about the instruments he played, and how he was fascinated with history and the way it influenced music. At that, Jet stopped in her tracks.

"That sounds an awful lot like my dad. My dad is a historian that is fascinated with music and the way it influenced history."

They all stopped.

"You are not my dad, are you?"

"I can assure you I am nobody's dad, unless that night that I can't remember some four years ago was like way crazier than I was told afterwards."

They all laughed, and just a few minutes later they welcomed One Man Band as an official member of the Black Brotherhood.

"Depending on how things are in the battlefield, we might even have time to get you a black robe."

"Battlefield?"

"That's where we were going before your knight picked up a fight with us." Crow explained. "The Moon City Council asked the agility and stealth specialized teams to have a look in Infinite City's army. To prepare for when they turn their attention towards us."

"Actually they just wanted people to see the battle to get angry at the thought of having their city destroyed." DeeDee added. "But we try to keep ourselves one step ahead."

The scene they found was rather disturbing. They expected to find Star City's lines hardly pressed in keeping the gates. They found Star City's lines broken, the gates wide open - one door hanging from its hinges. That meant Prince was already on his way to the central tower, and the few skirmishes that refused to die in the battlefield would have no influence whatsoever in the outcome of the invasion.

"Jet, if you are up to swearing, now would be a good time."

But even the foul mouthed Jet was speechless.

If the other teams from Moon City had watched the battle and had similar reactions, then perhaps the next council meeting would start from something that all could agree with: not allowing Moon City to be defeated.