AN: Well, I beat God of War Ragnarok. It played like a continuation of the first game, though I'll admit it was a nice distraction for two weeks. They improved on some aspects and gave the player more gameplay and combat options, which I liked.
Why am I suddenly using the AN to promote a video game?
Back to All Out Spaghetti
Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd make Slow Falling counter Levitation.
Chapter 225
Of Billionth Darker
[Nitebane: Warfront]
"What the hell is going on!?" Llewellyn screamed.
"You're asking me? I don't know what the hell's going on!" Cobb held out his arms as smoke continued to swirl about them. His whole body was enveloped by the dark vapor widely known to only come from Hackers yet, unbelievably, was now emanating from his eyes. Eyes he was told now held black sclerae.
No matter how he waved his arms to dissipate the smoke, it continued to waft off of him like steam on microwaved food. Upon closer inspection, he thought he could make out faint lines of smoke drifting towards him from Thed. The lines of smoke were like dark strings between them. Always flowing out of Thed and into Cobb.
The fisherman in question was also floating with his back to a cobblestone ceiling thanks to his Levitation effect. Dangling from his waist was a bewildered Queen Jillian warring between hanging on so as not to fall to her death and letting go in surprise.
"W-What's going on?" Milton asked in wonder. "Was Cobb always a Hacker?"
"No, you dimwit!" Perry smacked him. "He doesn't have the eye liner. Something screwy is going on."
Cobb had to agree. Why was he covered in smoke? It only began after he had Withered Thed.
Cobb spared a glance to the Hackers just before a dozen screaming missiles darted towards him and Jillian. The queen's eyes bulged as she hung helpless from Cobb who floated helpless against the rock ceiling.
"Just focus on not dropping me." Jillian advised before tensing up for the barrage.
The MultiAura missiles struck one after the other and sent the two spinning backwards, Cobb holding Jillian aloft the entire time. They would have been dead if not for their Resistance IV bluffs shielding them. Still, that many missiles would surely leave a dent in their Health Meters. Cobb glanced at Jillian's worriedly and compared it to his.
She was at seven Hearts. He was at a full ten.
What? He thought in bewilderment. That can't be right. Why's my Health higher when we're both getting hit? Also, what about all the damage I took beforehand? I was only buffed with Resistance, not Regeneration.
Dark smoke continued to swirl around Cobb as he was blasted back against the cobblestone ceiling. He and Jillian were nearly at the edge and had gotten clear of the massive crater leading into the Void. Jillian whipped out an ender pearl.
"This is where I get off."
She warped to the ground and kicked a spawned Endermite aside before drawing her bow and shooting at Thed. The Hacker groaned, taking the hit distractedly but not appearing too damaged. Though he was Withered and looked to be wracked with the standard Wither fare - hurting body and siphoned Health - it didn't seem to threaten him since his Regen likely fixed any Health he lost. The moment any damage was dealt to him, it healed instantly.
And yet Thed's smoke continued to connect to Cobb in a gentle pull. Nothing could break or shake the connection, a fact Thed found infuriating as he flew this way and that trying to sever the bond.
"Thed, are you hurt!?" Hannah flew up and fussed over him like a mother hen. She turned his head, poked his skin, noted the bistre Wither effect particles, and brought up his tattooed arm to scrutinize his Health and effects. "This effect... the timer keeps resetting! What'd he do to you!?"
"I don't know but it hurts." Thed groaned, hugging his sides while flying. "My body aches and hurts all over. I-I feel a bit drained. I don't know what's happening."
"You're alright. Just keep breathing and you'll be just fine. You'll be just fine." Hannah kept repeating, rubbing his shoulder in whatever comfort she could offer. It was obvious she was lost on what to do. She whipped her head towards Cobb and snarled. "WHAT DID YOU DO!? WHAT ARE THESE PARTICLES!? WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BROTHER!?"
"H-How..." Cobb heard Llewellyn mumbled breathlessly from nearby. He had thrown up a cobblestone wall to separate him from the other Paragons fighting, and now he had eyes locked on Cobb and the smoke rising off of him. "How can he do that!? He shouldn't have smoke! He shouldn't be a Hacker! His eyes aren't - they're not like - WHAT IS HAPPENING!?" He cried out in panic, his own smoke flickering slightly. "First, Rrhys, now this!? This wasn't supposed to go this way! This wasn't supposed to happen!"
"Llewellyn, control your emotions. You need to remain calm. He's not a Hacker. That smoke is just another of his tricks." Hannah tried to get a handle on the situation. Her eyes found Cobb's and glared hatefully. "No matter what color his eyes are or how much smoke billows forth from them, he'll never be a part of the Hack Clan-"
"Don't lump me together with you chumps!" Cobb cut her off rudely. "I got my own family, and they're nowhere near as megalomaniacal as yours." The three Hackers looked to Cobb with varying degrees of loathing. "You better shelf that God complex of yours because I'm about to flip it on its head after I beat you!"
Thed launched a Reach slash at Cobb who kicked off the edge of the cobblestone ceiling and out into the rain before using his Riptide trident to corkscrew up and away. Gaining height, he was able to take in the battlefield. Nitebane and the Griefers were still fighting near that cobblestone Box structure. The cobblestone ceiling Llewellyn built encompassed most of the crater with the Void opened up at the bottom. Cobb definitely wanted to avoid that area since he couldn't dart around under there. Riptide needed rain, and he suspected Channeling would need it too. When his corkscrew momentum slowed, he didn't drop like before. He floated.
Cobb grumbled in the air as he flipped upside-down or waved his arms trying to swim. Levitation seemed like a great idea when he was plummeting towards the Void exposed in the crater, but becoming a free balloon was more cumbersome than he imagined. It was like he was dealing with Shulkers all over again. While his trident and pearls helped to pull him back down to the ground, he would float up immediately. He couldn't get any ground to stand on, and the stormy, rain-filled sky always drew him like some great magnet.
He flipped open the pages of the Vivlio Zythopoiias hoping there was a section to cancel effects, but no such luck. He supposed that was a kind of weakness to the artifact: without an available bucket of milk, you were stuck with the effects. You had to pick and choose your buffs carefully.
Since he didn't have a convenient milk bucket, Cobb settled on Slow Falling and buffed himself with it thinking it would counter Levitation and make him neither rise nor fall but rather suspend him. The sky blue particles mixed with the cream particles of Slow Falling, but the floating continued unimpeded. He directed a flat look into the middle distance. From that middle distance, Hannah and Thed flew at him, the two launching MultiAura missiles and Reach slashes respectively.
At least I don't have to worry about constantly throwing my trident to stay airborne. Cobb thought before corkscrewing away. The Reach slash dissipated while the missiles swerved after him. One less thing to worry about means I can spare more attention to this aerial battle. And since Resistance IV seems able to withstand Hannah's attacks...
Cobb angled down and corkscrewed for the two Hackers with over a dozen screaming missiles on his tail. He took out his cutlass to create the white sparks of Crit Aura as he became a spinning drill. Thed and Hannah launched more attacks at him, but he punched through them all, taking damage without heed, and struck Hannah like a meteor. His drill attack carried the woman to the cobblestone ceiling where they crashed together.
Cobb rebounded off the ceiling and began to float, but not before laying down obsidian and an End Crystal near Hannah and recklessly detonating it with Riptide. The explosion killed the Hacker and punched a hole right through the ceiling for her gear to fall down and towards the crater's Void. Cobb saw smoke gather around her falling remains and hoped she wouldn't reform before the Void swallowed her up.
Cobb knew he had to be low on Health from all the damage he tanked. Trish had survived an End Crystal with the same Resistance IV he now had, but he also had to take multiple Reach slashes and MultiAura missiles. He needed to imbue himself with Absorption, or Health Boost, of Regeneration, surely. He took out the artifact and checked his Health.
Full ten Hearts.
Confusion left Cobb unprepared for Thed's bodily tackle from above. The Hacker slashed at him with his Strength Hack infused sword, inflicting tons of damage, before keeping up the barrage with furious shouts and repeated slashes into Cobb's exposed and seemingly defenseless chest. He had him pinned to the ceiling and tethered so he wouldn't float.
Cobb winced through the slashes but kept an eye on his Health Meter. His Hearts would go down one or two at a time before Healing up to full in an instant.
"Why! Won't! You! Die!?" Thed screamed furiously.
Cobb's smoke clad arm brought up the Vivlio Zythopoiias and zapped out with a beam of Slowness. Thed saw this and stopped his onslaught suddenly so he could lean back. The beam missed him by scant centimeters, but Cobb now had the leverage to stab Thed's neck with his cutlass. The Hacker recoiled, but knocked the cutlass back with one arm, his Regen instantly fixing the damage.
It took comparing the two's Health Meters and how quickly they healed up to make Cobb understand what was happening.
The Wither effect siphoned Health, and Thed had a Regen Hack. The smoke was just the manifestation of that siphoned Health. Cobb was skimming off the top so that they shared the same Regen Hack. Whatever damage either of them took would be instantly healed.
A smug smile spread across Cobb's face, infuriating Thed further.
"What's so funny!?"
"I'm grinning because now you're the one who has to figure out how to overcome a Hacker's Regen!" Cobb aimed the artifact only for Thed to pin his arm down before continuing his ruthless beatdown of the fisherman. Each blow packed the punch of a Strength Hack, but Cobb bore the brunt as he set down obsidian with his free hand. Then an End Crystal.
"Crystal go boom now."
Thed's eyes widened, and he flung himself back before Cobb detonated the crystal. The explosion fried Thed's front and fully enveloped Cobb, destroying more of the cobblestone ceiling in the process. Cobb came out of it only slightly damaged, the dark smoke swirling around him healing it right up. Without anything to hold him down, his Levitation carried him into the sky.
He proceeded to use the artifact book to buff himself with Health Boost and Absorption, the particles mingling with the rest and effectively doubling his Health.
It might seem like I'm invincible, but there's one thing I'm not sure I'd survive. Cobb thought as he watched Thed. As if reading his thoughts, the Hacker thrust both arms forward and a small black sphere began to form between his hands. Nuker.
Cobb immediately flung his trident to corkscrew out of the way. However, instead of firing off, the black sphere fizzled away into nothing, leaving Thed gasping for breath and looking visibly strained. He hunched over in midair to catch his breath, prompting Cobb to hit him with a Stepped Leader and zap him with lightning.
Cobb caught the recalled trident as he floated above Thed. Like I thought, it doesn't always work. It's as unstable as Floyd's Speed Hack since it's new. Doesn't mean I can relax. If it does fire off, it'll likely kill me in one hit. Resistance IV didn't save those other Paragons. His blackened left arm, chest, and cheek seemed to burn at the thought. I should dodge each attempt just to be safe. Stay mobile.
Brain: So basically, what we've been doing this whole fight. Neat. Consistent.
"Dart Leader!" Cobb cried, zooming towards a recovering Thed with lightning dancing across his skin. He snagged the Hacker with his fishing rod and dragged him off the cobblestone ceiling, whipping his body forward and slamming him into a stone jut. Thed shook off the blow, pushing off the jut with both legs, only to go still in midair as he utilized Blink. He rematerialized moments later in Cobb's face and cracked him across the jaw. The blow resounded with thunder, the sky lighting up as lightning crackled above.
Cobb's jaw felt numb, but he worked through the pain as his endurance training prepared him for and drilled into Thed with his cutlass Riptide combo.
"Go down already!"
Hannah, fully reformed, floated up from the crater only to guide herself to solid ground and collapse on shaky knees. She was rattled over almost dying. If her Respawn Hack had been a few seconds slower, she would have fallen into the Void. There was no coming back from that. The Darker Billionth almost killed her for good, and it made her tremble. She was in a terrible state. Her hair was messy and untied, soaked with rain, and her black dress had been willed off. She looked disheveled. Exhausted.
The crater was too hazardous to fight around. She needed to get Llewellyn to plug it up.
As she got to her feet, a high-pitched whistle assaulted her ears before she was blown forward by something exploding against her back. Her face ate rock as she crashed into a stone jut.
She pushed off and glared in that direction, her lilac eyes ominous with their black sclerae gushing dark smoke.
Queen JillianLikeAVillian reloaded her crossbow with a rocket and took aim before firing again.
Hannah waved her hand and four MultiAura missiles fired off, two intercepting the rocket while two more spiraled towards the woman. She raised her arms defensively and took the hits, her Resistance IV mitigating damage that would have otherwise killed her.
When the queen lowered her arms, she spoke with absolution. "I know your arsenal of Hacks, Hannah_Harper. You have no power here."
"Get me mad enough and you'll see just how much power I'm packing." Twenty missiles fired this time, the queen raising a shield. Hannah made the missiles swerve around to hit her, but Jillian spun around in response to block all angles. A few missiles slipped in, but not enough to break through her Health Boost, Absorption, Regeneration, and Resistance. "What's with your Health!?" Hannah hissed before cupping her smoke clad hands over her mouth and whispering into them. "JillianLikeAVillian... reveal yourself..."
Jillian heard her eerie whisper, the words acting like a spell and enlarging her nametag while also showing her Health Meter below it. Hannah balked at the Health Boosted meter and the golden Absorption Hearts.
"How can you have more Health? Nothing about this makes sense!"
Jillian fired another rocket at the ginger-haired Hacker, forcing her to fly up. Another high-pitched whistle from behind sounded, this one hitting Hannah in a shower of white sparks and sending her into a stone jut. The Hacker cracked an eye open and spotted the enlarged name of Heather between two stone juts.
"Pests!" Hannah raised a hand only for a shadow to pass overhead. She looked up just in time to get a pair of daggers through the eyes. "RAAAAAGH!"
Z7 rode the screaming Hacker to the ground before kicking up off of her and landing softly on bare feet.
"Yvdziv lu uzoormt lyqvxgh." She quipped coolly before clearing out for Captain Attila.
"Fire in the hole!" Attila screamed before sparking her flint and steel down a hole. A faint hissing sounded.
Hannah was clutching at her eyes on the ground when that same ground erupted into a tremendous explosion. Several blocks of TNT detonated in a chain of blasts that killed Hannah and created a crater for her gear and Head to fall into. When the explosions died down, the gear began to draw itself to her smoldering Head as her Respawn activated.
The second she was whole again and gasping, a pair of Splash Potions hit her, and she fell forward, paralyzed.
"We got her paralyzed!" Witige reported. He and Gregory had tossed the Weakness and Slowness potions respectively, leaving Hannah paralyzed in the TNT crater.
"You can't tie me down with your petty tricks! Or have you forgotten!?" Hannah screamed before she fired ten missiles out of her limp hand. They swerved up, turning and angling down toward her. She made sure to turn off her Regen Hack. Once she died and Respawned, the potion effects would be dispelled.
A redwood beam struck her first, buffing her before the missiles landed. Hannah bore the brunt of her missiles better than she thought but became alarmed when she didn't die like before.
"What, WHAT!?" She screeched, finally taking notice of the redwood particles. "What is this effect-!?"
"It's Resistance IV." Cobb retorted as he darted in with his trident in one hand and the Vivlio Zythopoiias in the other. He held it out spine first and blasted her with Blindness, Health Boost, Regeneration, and Absorption. "Your missiles work on sight, yeah? Let's see you kill yourself now."
"AGH! YOU PIECE OF SHIT! WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Hannah screamed, her body smoking up in the crater and firing MultiAura blindly in all directions. They struck against the sides of the blast crater she was paralyzed in or else spiraled aimlessly into the sky. Without her sight, she couldn't guide the missiles, and the health buffs insured she wouldn't kill herself.
Another Hacker was dealt with, the Paragons ignoring her.
"We're doing it. We're actually doing it!" The Beta-Male, Milton, cheered. "And us Beta-Males are actually contributing! Usually, we're just used for support."
"Well, that won't do. I'm counting on you guys." While floating, Cobb turned to Milton, the Beta-Male showing surprise at being relied on. In truth, Cobb was just trying to be inclusive. "You wanna take down a Hacker, Milton? You wanna be a hero?"
"M-Me?" Milton shook like a leaf. "B-But I'm just support, I can't-"
"People kept telling me I'd never beat a Hacker. Now where would I be if I listened to them?" Cobb had to keep using his trident to stay grounded. He gave Milton a sharp clap on the shoulders. "Let's take one, huh? You and me. Just do what you always do and see how easy it is. Now let me see your war face!"
Milton looked scared out of his mind.
"Okay, needs work."
A hole opened up from a stone jut as it crumbled away. Out stepped Llewellyn, drawn to the enlarged nametags. He saw Heather in the crater, unmoving and helpless and with missiles shooting into the sky. His smoke flickered as his gaze turned to Cobb, half fury, half terror. "ENOUGH!"
Cobb chucked his trident and torpedoed into Llewellyn's chest, the impact taking his breath away and making him choke.
"It's 'enough' because you're losing! You came here to kill us!" Cobb shouted back defiantly.
Llewellyn backpedaled and swung his sword with all the might of his Hacker Strength. Cobb ducked under it before sticking him with Channeling and shocking him with a bolt of lightning.
"Did you think there wouldn't be a reckoning? Idiot! You're going to have to finish what you started!" Cobb kept up the pressure, his words and expression frightening Llewellyn. Making him think back to the day Herobrine showed up at their doorstep.
Llewellyn's smoke flickered even more as Cobb leapt high, his presence looming over him. Menacing. The Hacker Killer that took down Alec, Rrhys, Hannah. One by one. And now he had their eyes and was covered in smoke. He could rival them. He could surpass them. He had surpassed them.
Llewellyn's smoke flickered more.
"G-Get awaaaay!" Llewellyn swung his sword, but it suddenly lacked his usual power as the dark smoke enveloping his body suddenly fizzled out.
Cobb met the blade with his cutlass, white sparks emanating off the diamond surface and pushing back a sword now lacking in any kind of Hacker Strength. Llewellyn's arm bent as it was pushed back into his chest and toppled the tall Hacker backwards like a felled tree. His eyes were wide and afraid, her sclerae white, as Cobb was atop him and in his face. He closed his eyes and flinched, expecting an attack that never came.
"Okay, NOW!" Cobb flipped over Llewellyn and floated up just as a Splash Potion of Slowness struck the downed Hacker. Another one of Weakness soon followed.
Milton had his hand outstretched. His mouth hung open as he was left in a state of shock. He just paralyzed a Hacker. He just took one down, just as Cobb said. Him! A Beta-Male! A member of a Team thought good for only supporting stronger people.
"I... I did it!" He cheered in disbelief. "I don't believe it! Jillian, did you see that!? I-I just paralyzed a Hacker! I just stopped one in its tracks! Hahaha!"
"Not too shabby for a Beta-Male." Perry complimented.
"Secure him first!" Baltic ordered. "He has Strength. He can break through the Weakness."
He should've been able to, yet Llewellyn remained rooted to the spot, his Hacker smoke not even active. The muscular Hacker had his face screwed up as he made an effort to call forth his power, but the dark smoke would not respond. He didn't feel strong. He didn't feel invincible. He didn't feel like a God.
One look at Cobb floating over him, daring him to stand, and his brave thoughts dried up like water in the sun.
"Way to go, Milton. I didn't know the Beta-Males were such badasses." Cobb praised liberally, his words making Milton proud of himself. A dark gray beam shot out of the Vivlio Zythopoiias and blinded Llewellyn as it had Hannah, the Hacker wailing piteously as he was robbed of sight and cast into darkness. Cobb knew the helpless feeling well.
"He's broken." Jillian reported. "Cobb demoralized him. He's vulnerable."
"Perfect opportunity to finish him." Doyle drew his sword and Z7 her daggers as they took a step toward the helpless Hacker. "This asshole boxed us in earlier. Lot of Paragons dead because of him."
Llewellyn heard their threats and let out a terrified whimper. His focus on feeling invincible was drifting further and further away while facing such a despair-filled situation.
"Hang on." Jillian stopped the assassins from exacting justice. "We shouldn't be too hasty here-"
"COBB!"
Cobb whirled around and saw Thed flying towards them with dark smoke enveloping his body. His arms were raised, a black orb primed between them.
"Fire that thing off if you don't mind killing your brother and sister!" Jillian shouted fast, her hand reaching down and dragging Llewellyn to his feet before her. Like a shield.
Thed's eyes widened as he spied Hannah and Llewellyn amongst Cobb and the Paragons. The black sphere fizzled out between his hands, and he instead opted to launch a Reach slash at the group.
Cobb threw up his trident and darted around the Reach slash before blasting a beam of Blindness in Thed's direction. The last Hacker standing dodged it before squaring off against Cobb.
Whistles rent the air as Jillian, Heather, and Trenay fired rockets at the Hacker. He dodged or intercepted them all, making sure to stay flying to keep his distance from the Paragons.
"You insects do like to swarm a superior opponent, don't you?" Thed taunted. "Just like at the Origin, Cobb. You couldn't face me one on one."
Cobb narrowed his eyes. He remembered losing to Thed back then. A total loss. It was only Floyd convincing him that stayed Thed's hand and spared his life.
Things were different now.
Blood: How does it feel to be so close? Victory is almost yours, but one thing stands in your way... and that thing is him.
"Stay back! No one interfere!" Cobb called down to the Paragons. "This fight is between me and him!"
"Don't be stupid!"
"We can help!"
Jillian and Baltic tried to talk sense into him, but Perry was the one to grab their shoulders and shake his head.
"We let Carys fight her battles alone when she asked." He said. "It's his fight. He says he'll finish it, he'll finish it."
Thed and Cobb crashed into one another, their swords scraping violently.
Floyd never told Cobb how off-putting Hacker smoke could be for the wielder. Any time it wafted past Cobb's eyes, it caught in his peripherals and had him snapping his gaze towards it as if it was some small pest or surreptitious foe only to realize it was dark vapor. No more than mist. Why did it have to keep drifting in front of his face like that? Was there an off switch? Did all Hackers have to deal with the same distractions? They must have grown accustomed to it because Thed_Hearst showed no sign of being distracted. All of his focus was on Cobb.
Despite being Withered and having to share his Regen with Cobb, Thed showed no sign of slowing down. He spun in the air with his sword, throwing out black crescent slashes of smoke with the same power as gale force winds. Despite seeing a brother die and two siblings lay beaten, his smoke and resolve never wavered. He was the last Hacker standing, but he was standing proud and indomitable.
"Getting tired, Cobb?" Thed taunted. Cobb corkscrewed out of the way of several Reach slashes only for Thed to Blink into existence in front of him and deliver a steel-shattering punch across Cobb's blackened cheek. His tender nerves lit up with blinding agony and stunned him in midair, his Levitation being the only thing moving him. Thed followed up with a Reach slash that caught Cobb's midriff and sent him crashing into a stone jut.
From the kicked-up dust and rubble, a purple beam shot forth. Thed swerved around it only for a trident to hurtle toward him.
"STEPPED LEADER!"
Volts danced across Thed's body as he dropped like a sack of bricks, his body striking and rolling down a different stone jut. He initiated Blink sporadically to throw off Cobb's aim on any follow-up attack. It worked, as a beam of dark gray narrowly missed Thed's location before he rolled to a stop and took off into the sky once more.
Thed couldn't understand why, but whatever Cobb zapped him with from that weird book made them share a Regen Hack. Cobb's Health Meter just wouldn't stay down no matter how hard Thed hit him. As a result, Thed made it his top priority to steer clear of those strange, colorful beams Cobb kept shooting.
By the same token, Thed noticed that Cobb kept avoiding his Nuker orbs, even when they were duds. Thed could already see the effects the first Nuker had on Cobb based off his blackened arm. Cobb would not survive if he got caught in a Nuker. Nobody could.
So each side had a signature move that would make or break the fight if it connected. This was a delicate game of chess in which the two had to balance attacking with defending. Their respective Regens may as well have not been a factor for how little it made them invincible. They both knew it took one clean attack to end their battle.
Thed had his plan to wear Cobb down. Even if both fighters had Regen, Cobb had been fighting all day against four Hackers. He'd taken hits and died multiple times. Regen may have fixed the body, but it still left the wielder fatigued. Each blow took that much more vitality and energy out of the fisherman. Thed could see it. He just had to keep attacking enough for Cobb to get sloppy, then finish the job with a Nuker. Thed was in a better state by comparison, having fought less and spent less energy than Cobb. He just had to keep exhausting him non-stop.
Thed Blinked about, slashing out with Reach each time. Cobb dodged the attacks carefully only to throw himself out of the way when Thed raised both hands in his Nuker stance. It was a feint, and Thed made sure to use Blink while in his stance to close the distance without Cobb's knowledge. The fisherman kept darting around with his trident, never staying in one spot for long. He had been on the receiving end of Thed's Strength Hack enough to know to keep mobile.
Feeling like a change of pace was worth the risk, Thed soared into the sky, well above the range of his Nuker, and set off a black sphere aimed directly down where Cobb was darting about. The sphere struck and expanded rapidly, the smoky surface wiping out the ground and the stone juts in its wake. Cobb weaved through the stone juts as the expanding sphere chased him, but he made it out when the expanding stopped suddenly before it revealed the crater of devastation left in its wake. Nitebane's landscape was seriously starting to warp with this battle.
Cobb suddenly zoomed up and toward Thed, the Vivlio Zythopoiias in hand. The flying Hacker readied himself to dodge as the eventual beam came out. It was a solid gray in color this time, and Thed flew aside as it glanced over where he had been.
However, the beam didn't detract or shrink. It held like a beam sword as Cobb kept his finger pressed to the text.
The next instant, the beam was a spinning disk as Cobb corkscrewed forward, catching Thed off guard. The range of the disk was too wide to dodge, and the gray beam enveloped Thed, inflicting him with Weakness on top of Wither. Now his Hacker Strength would only be as powerful as a regular Crafter. Cobb kept stripping him of his power! Lessening him! Humiliating him!
Thed spun and tried to fire off a Nuker out of rage, but the attack fizzled out. Another dud.
Thed barely had the time to lament the failure as a fishing hook fastened into his collar and dragged him through the sky. He struggled with the line as several ender pearls were scattered about by Cobb.
"Warplash!" He cried.
It was the same move he used on Jade, but with the addition of Riptide's propulsion. Every time a pearl landed, Cobb warped to a new spot and pulled Thed an opposing direction, the sudden changes jerking his body around and tearing muscles and fibers. The Hacker was whipped through the air, his Regen being the only thing saving him. It was also saving Cobb, as the rapid ender pearl uses would otherwise have depleted his Health.
Cobb's blackened arm was holding the fishing rod, and it screamed in protest as he made the sudden pulls and flicks. Yet Cobb endured all the same. For as bad as it wore away at him, it wore Thed just as much.
As the last ender pearl fell, Cobb dragged Thed down, something snapping in his arm and Thed's neck, before he sent the Hacker spiraling into the Nuker crater he just created with a resounding crash.
Cobb slowed to a stop overhead, his body floating as he massaged his left arm with gritted teeth. The tender skin was hurting badly, his shared Hacker smoke fixing the Health but doing little for the burning pain.
Thed burst out of the crater with a loud shout, but he didn't immediately fly. He stood there, ragged and panting, an arm massaging his neck from where it had been snapped and healed.
I don't understand. He thought as he gazed at Cobb floating above. He's been fighting all day. Darting around. Taking damage. Expending energy. It must've taken a toll on his stamina. His arm and chest have been scorched. If I'm feeling exhausted, he must be feeling it twice as bad, so how can he keep standing? How can he keep fighting? Where is he drawing this energy from? A beam was fired at Thed, the Hacker barely finding the energy to dodge it. What's keeping him up?
"...How do you do it?" Thed asked aloud, partly out of curiosity, partly for a break in the fighting. "How do you keep fighting... after all the punishment?" He bent over, gasping as the Wither siphoned his Health and made him feel a wave a dull pain. "Your body should be taxed. Your strength should be waning. You shouldn't have the energy to continue. Not when you've taken hit after hit. How? How can you keep going?"
Cobb's face sagged. "Clearly you've never gone through a messy break-up."
Thed snapped. "YOU'RE NOBODY! A PESKY FLY WIELDING A PALE IMITATION OF MY POWER! I REFUSE TO LOSE TO SOMEONE SO INSIGNIFICANT!" Thed shot off the ground at maximum speed, his hands outstretched as a black sphere began to form. "YOUR STRUGGLES, YOUR EFFORTS, THEY'RE ALL FOR NAUGHT BEFORE TRUE POWER!"
Cobb saw the attack coming and he thought back to his 'efforts'.
Fighting the Raid in Milstatt and securing tridents and totems.
Learning Quickswap and lies from Carys' Paragons.
Draconian endurance training by poisoning and hurting himself.
The SutsCo gear from the Scouts.
Learning parkour from Jade. Wielding her Cutlass.
Reading up on Herobrine and the Mobs in Akasha. Learning about the Hackers in that Pit prison.
Surviving Carys.
Snowballs from Spleef battling in Zeppil.
Training with Wynn.
Unleashing a Charged Creeper on Alec.
Mastering the fishing rod.
Just being the same Cobb he'd always been...
"It wasn't for nothing! STEPPED LEADER!" Cobb cried before lobbing his Channeling trident.
Thed lifted his arms and took the trident to the chest, the lightning soon after, but he kept the Nuker orb charging, unleashing it at the oncoming Cobb to decide the duel.
Cobb pike jumped over the black sphere in a textbook parkour move before zapping Thed point blank with Slowness VI.
The Hacker's movements slowed on contact, allowing Cobb to string his fishing rod around Thed's arm and yank him upwards. As high as the stormy clouds and higher still. The temperature dropped and the wind and rain grew fierce, the lightning so close that the booming thunder buffeted their bodies as they climbed.
Thed could hardly move afflicted with Slowness VI, but he cracked his eyes open and charged what had to be the biggest Nuker sphere he'd made yet, the sphere growing between his hands until it was the size of an exercise ball.
He didn't aim it at Cobb, however. He aimed it east, towards skyscrapers and sea cliffs.
"OF COURSE YOU'D DO THAT!"
Cobb suddenly darted down, the whiplash knocking Thed for a loop and throwing his aim off. The Nuker orb was still fired, the large thing sailing and making contact with the top of Nirebane's tallest skyscraper before it expanded explosively. The smoky surface whittled away the tops of all the skyscrapers - the place where many of Nitebane's survivors existed for so many decades. The Nuker sphere erased it all, but the sphere came up short enough to spare the streets and the structures below. Only the towering skyscrapers had been erased.
Cobb flicked his fishing rod to break the line on his downward Dart Leader, leaving Thed suspended high up and trying to regain his bearings. That was when Cobb unleashed his most punishing move.
"Dark Mariner!"
Using Riptide, Cobb torpedoed through Thed from below, then, as he slowed in midair, he threw back towards Thed to skewer past him again, then he threw it at him again, and again, and again. He made multiple passes - dozens, in fact - his trident chipping away at Thed's Health each time. And with each pass, Cobb chucked his Channeling trident as well to unleash a lightning strike upon the Hacker. As a result, Thed was struck and skewered with each pass, the lightning striking in one place repeatedly and frying the helpless Hacker's skin. The flashes of lightning ruined his vision, and the booms of thunder so close blew out his eardrums. The Dark Mariner move damaged his senses just as much as it damaged his Health, and although his Regen fixed him, he was sustaining too much damage to maintain any vitality. His stamina and endurance dropped with each shocking pass.
And when Thed finally looked like he had enough, Cobb shot over Thed, the two of them still high in the clouds, before snagging him with his fishing rod and dragging him like a meteor straight down to the ground.
Cobb kept throwing the Riptide trident down, the air around him burning up as he gained velocity. He could feel the air friction of the atmosphere trying to break him up as he drove recklessly, uncaring of the risk.
Down...
Down...
Down...
The ground was coming up fast now, and Cobb stared back at it unflinchingly with Thed's charred, limp body tugged along and hurtling just as fast, if not faster.
At the last possible instant, Cobb threw the trident one last time and swooped up to hurtle horizontally along the ground. His wrist flicked, whipping Thed down. Cobb crashed painfully into a stone jut at the same time Thed clipped a jut and then crashed into solid rock.
Cobb groaned, shaking his Head and propping himself under the stone jut so he wouldn't float off. As he did so, he noticed the smoke that had enveloped him dissipate instantly. He held up his arms and examined his peripherals closely before concluding his smoking eyes were back to normal.
Which meant Thed was...
"N-No..." Came a weak voice. "S-Stop draining... stop..."
Cobb's eyes snapped to where Thed crashed. He couldn't believe the Hacker was still alive after all that. He used a cool move and everything! Cobb lowered himself down the jut, struggling because of Levitation. He really needed a milk bucket to get rid of it.
"S-Stop it... please..." Thed begged. The dust settled and Cobb saw the Hacker propped up with his back against a stone jut. His pupils were pinpricks as he gazed in terror at his arm. His smoke had been extinguished. His sclerae were white, not black. Nothing blanketed him with security.
He was as mortal as anyone. Vulnerable and all. Also Withered, Weakened, and Slowed.
"Stop draining, Health..." He pleaded as he looked upon his draining Health Meter. "C-Come back. I'm invincible. I'm invincible! I-I know it, I..." More of his Health drained away. "Why won't you respond...?"
It was because he didn't believe it anymore. He took enough damage to rattle him and now it was mind over matter. He couldn't shake the mindset that he was now killable. He and his siblings had been challenged and beaten.
He'd been broken.
"Please, come back..." Tears started to well in his eyes. "I have to fix this. I have to..."
"Cobb!"
Cobb turned away from the pitiful sight and found Baltic rushing in with several Paragons. Jillian, Z7, Witige, Milton, Perry, Attila, Trenay. The others were missing, presumably going back to fighting the Griefers or else keeping watch over Hannah. Llewellyn was dragged along between Perry and Attila, the blind Hacker making no move to resist and looking visibly cowed. Even more so after what Jillian said next.
"Seems Thed_Hearst has been beaten as well." Llewellyn let out a terrified, choked sob while Jillian pressed her advantage. She was a demon with a silver tongue, Cobb noted, her words hurting more than anything. "I'll narrate since you can't see right now. Thed's Health is draining as we speak. Your last hope has just lost and will soon be dead."
"No... No he can't..."
"Listen for yourself."
"It won't stop..." Thed's voice cracked, the whimper clear. "It won't stop draining... C'mon Regen... Work!" He sobbed brokenly.
"Not Thed..." Llewellyn shook his head. "Not big bro..."
Cobb knew why Jillian was rubbing in the victory. A demoralized Hacker had no power, no Strength. Lord over them to make them feel inferior, then they would be. It wasn't a cruelty; it was a necessity. Llewellyn could be killed at their leisure. Hannah too if they just tossed her into that open Void Thed unwittingly made.
"I wish I could have seen their fight up there." Perry remarked in awe. He then turned his gaze to the capital. "The skyscrapers are gone. Guys are you seeing this? The freaking skyscrapers are gone. If people were up there..."
"Most everyone in the capital was on the front lines. If anyone stayed up there and defied my orders, that's on them." Jillian shook her head. "We lost a lot, though. Our Withered friend has a lot to answer to. I've a feeling justice will be coming very soon, though."
"N-No..." Thed whimpered. "Not like this... not like this..."
"Can I get some milk?" Cobb asked, his arms still clinging to a stone jut. "I'm tired of floating - oh, thank you, Milton."
"Anything for you, sir!"
"Prhh fk."
Cobb drank deeply, the milk wiping out his potion effects and making him drop to the ground. Very ungraceful considering what he'd just accomplished. Maybe he just ran better on chaos.
As he clambered back to his feet, his eyes strayed to Thed again. He really heard his pitiful begging.
"Not like this... I don't wanna die like this..." Tears leaked down his face as he ran a shaky hand along his arm, trying to do who knows what. Maybe he was just trying to wipe the draining Health away? It was delirium. "Please stop..."
'C-Cobb... please... don't do this...' Jade begged. 'This isn't you... please... please don't sink to this..." Tears were in her eyes. "Don't do me like this. Ugh! IT HURTS! Please...'
"It hurts..." Thed whined as more of his Health went away. "I'm sorry, Llewellyn... I'm sorry, Hannah... Rrhys... I'm sorry 303..."
Cobb stepped forward, his hands darting down and pulling a second milk bucket from Milton's belt.
"Um, s-sir?"
"Cobb?"
"What are you doing?"
Cobb ignored them as he marched over to Thed. The Hacker saw him approaching and slowly waved his arms before him, trying to ward him off. "S-Stay back, Darker Billionth... I'm sorry... don't come any closer!"
"Shut up." Cobb knelt down next to him and pushed his arms away.
"D-Don't... I'm already dead..." He pushed his arms up only for Cobb to wrench them aside. "What more can you take-?"
"Shut up!" Cobb shouted over him while shoving his arms down and pinning them with one hand, his other bringing the milk bucket to his lips. "Here. Drink."
"Mmm!?" Thed looked up with wide eyes, but Cobb just tilted his head back, forcing him to drink the milk.
"Cobb!" Perry and a few other Paragons shouted. "What are you thinking with him!?"
Brain: He's thinking with his Heart.
I just don't want to see another person waste away. Nobody deserves to die like that. It's... it's too evil...
Slowly, Thed began to drink. The watching Paragons took a step back, all except for the Team Leaders, Baltic, Jillian, and Z7. They refused to back down as they watched this act of mercy. Naive mercy. Something Carys would never do. The milk worked as intended, dispelling Thed's Wither, Slowness, and Weakness and stabilizing him.
Slowly, Thed sat up. His eyes askance as he looked to Cobb with eyebrows raised and pupils dilated. His movements were tense and nervous. Taut as a bowstring.
Smoke gushed out of his darkening eyes as he raised both hands and formed a sphere in Cobb's face.
The Paragons reacted, but they were all slower than Cobb who had the Vivlio Zythopoiias out and ready, his finger pressed to the text and blasting Thed with Blindness, Slowness, Weakness, and Mining Fatigue. The Hacker toppled like a sack of bricks and his Nuker sphere fired off into the sky after Cobb aimed his arms skyward.
"You think I just rolled in from stupid town!?" Cobb shouted at the limp Hacker. He stood up and paced before him. "Of course you'd try to kill me! It's all you assholes know how to do! Never mind I'm only ever defending myself and my own! To you I'm the bad guy! I killed Alec, you sent more people to kill us. Poulsen died, you sent more people to kill us. Sandra and Winslow died, you sent more people to kill us. You send them, we kill them, you send more, we kill more. It's a damn loop!"
"For once - just once - maybe we try breaking the cycle." Cobb decided, his fists clenched as he stood over the Hacker. Behind, Llewellyn held his breath as he was too scared to aggravate the terrifying man. The fisherman calmed down and took a deep breath before turning to the Team Leaders. "With this book, we have options. I don't want this to be naive stupidity. Surely, we can come up with another way that benefits everyone in there," he pointed to Nitebane, "as much as it does everyone out here."
Jillian was contemplative for a moment. She scratched her hair under her beret before fixing Cobb with a determined look.
"I think we can reach a favorable arrangement." She padded over to Thed and knelt down next to his ear. "Of course, that depends on how cooperative these Hackers are willing to be. The only way you're firing another Nuker off is if you take you and your precious little brother out with it. If you want to try that, so be it."
Thed grimaced past his Blindness, though his Hacker smoke shut off in response to her words. That girl really knew what to say. She got him to accept defeat. To do otherwise would risk losing more of his siblings.
"Trenay, Witige. Can you two lug this one between you?" Jillian asked. The two Paragons were somewhat hesitant to touch the subdued Hacker, but they quickly got over it and hefted Thed_Hearst to his feet. The Hacker's gaze was distant and unfocused, though he grumbled over being handled by a pair of lowly Crafters.
"Now that that's over," Cobb clutched the book and took out his Riptide trident, "we should return to the battle." He limped slightly. "The Griefers still need to be dealt - what's so funny?" Cobb questioned the wry grins on Jillian and Attila's faces. Perry and Trenay snickered. "Hey, what am I missing?"
"Our Paragons aren't as helpless as the citizens of Halstatt who fled at the news of a Griefer army." Attila spoke confidently. "Don't think we're completely hopeless without you. Or can't you tell that the war cries are over?"
Cobb must have missed it with the blood pounding through his ears, but now that things had calmed down, he realized that the cries had stopped.
He threw his trident up one last time and corkscrewed through the air before landing on a tall stone jut with perfect parkour poise. He gazed out towards the cobblestone box touched by the massive crater. Llewellyn had penned the fight in that box. There were hundreds of Crafters there, but none of them were fighting. No, they were just milling about or else cheering their victory. The lack of fighting meant the Griefers were already dealt with. Dealt with long before Thed's defeat.
As he gazed upon the field of battle, lightning flashed behind him and illuminated his imposing figure perched on the tall jut with his trident in hand. Paragons and Nitebane citizens alike looked up and pointed at him, his nametag still unnaturally large and glowing thanks to Hannah's lingering Hack.
They all saw King_Cobb, recognizing what he did and putting together that he had prevailed against the Hackers and defended Nitebane.
The rumor mills would be turning in the days to come.
[Nitebane: Lunar Castle]
In the aftermath of the battle with the Hackers and their great Griefer army, there was plenty of work to do and damage to assess. However, in the face of such a monumental victory - where many Paragons and Nitebane citizens doubted their chances - Queen Jillian felt work could be postponed a night so a celebration of sorts could be enjoyed. A night of drinking, feasting, and appreciating their continued existence. It was also meant to honor the dead, for many Paragons and Nitebane Citizens were lost to Thed's Nuker, many more injured with blackened skin and limbs, Cobb, Dwight, Luis, and Shroud among them.
Already, rumors were circulating about Cobb and why the supposed Endward Cult Executive had fought in Nitebane's defense. As such, Cobb and Lenz were confined to the castle while the inhabitants of Nitebane partied the night away in the streets. Joining them in the castle were the Paragons of Carys' inner circle. The ones most trusted. Baltic, Z7, Trenay, Witige, Milton, Gregory, Dwight, Heather, Luis, Perry, and many others.
For now, the two Beginners were kept in the monarch's sleeping chambers. Whatever spell Hannah used on Cobb's nametag - and the rest's - had worn off when the Hacker accepted her defeat. Lenz was sound asleep already, but Cobb was wide awake and speaking with Queen Jillian in a low voice.
"Any chance of Spider Queen's spies getting wind of this?"
"You probably killed all of them if they were gathering their strength to assassinate me." Jillian leaned against the wall with folded arms. "Little wonder all the spies volunteered for castle guard duty away from the combat. I already have my Team Delta members canvassing the celebrating crowd, but first thing tomorrow I'm rescreening everyone. Every Paragon and Nitebane Citizen. I won't hold back."
"Isn't that inefficient? There are thousands of you guys."
"I have a few trusted Delta members who can interrogate as good as me. We can also target those closest to the castle, or ones in positions most suited for spy work. I won't fumble this like I did before. You have my word."
"Can't exactly blame you when those spies busted me out."
"You could very well blame me for that."
"That's not what-" Cobb clicked his mouth shut, breathing out his nose. Despite the favorable atmosphere, he was still wary of Jillian. He knew how terrible her words could hurt, and he knew he had to watch what he said around her. "Part of me is wondering if what I did was right or not. Maybe those Hackers would have left if I just stayed in my cage." He turned over his blackened hand. "Maybe people wouldn't have died..."
"I'll admit what you decided isn't a Carys move for sure." Jillian nodded. "Still, it has potential. A path for defense I never considered." She turned her head up to look at the ceiling. "I owe you."
"You think-?"
"I know." She emphasized with dead seriousness. "Carys loathes debts and so do I. The fact remains that you owned up to the consequences of your actions. You worked to save lives. I dread to imagine what Thed's final Nuker would have done to this ancient Capital." Her light blue eyes found Cobb's green. "I owe you, and I intend to repay you. Don't assume otherwise, and don't detract from what you've done. A Bounty Day is in our future."
"I'm amazed you trusted me enough with this." Cobb held up the Vivlio Zythopoiias that he made sure never left his sight. Before he went to bed, he was definitely stashing it in an ender chest. He was still well and truly exhausted, his eyes barely staying open. "I wouldn't have."
"I wasn't lying. You were the best man for the job."
"You're just saying that because your original pick floated off like a free balloon."
"Trish was the best balloon for the job." Jillian quipped with a light smirk. "You did more with less. Very cost-effective."
"Resourceful is the word that's been tossed around." Cobb corrected before his eyes brightened in an idea. "Hey, so you owe me, right?"
"Absolutely." Jillian pushed off the wall and unfolded her arms. "Anything you need, you've got."
"Then I have a few immediate demands." Cobb held up his fingers, ticking them off one by one. "First, I want me and my friends' wanted posters gone. No more hunting us. Recall the posters, cancel the bounties, I don't care. Just be done with them. I'm tired of looking over my shoulder because of Carys."
Jillian nodded. "That'll take some doing, but I think I can come up with something."
"Second, I want EXP and enchantments for my trident. In exchange, I'll share with you the secret of how Lenz and I avoided death."
"Deal."
"Third, I'd like a battle force ready and waiting for when we locate the Eastern Division. We'll find the place, we just need an army on standby to clean the place out and take care of any we miss."
"I'm sure we could spare as much. Anything else?"
"Fourth," an evil smirk spread across Cobb's face, "I'd like you to make a report to Carys. Tell her what happened, exactly how it happened. Unedited, unredacted, and nothing but the whole, glorious truth."
[The Lacquerlands]
It was the next morning, November 27th, when Carys received the map message from Nitebane. The terrible thunderstorm had ended, and the Stigma had moved on away from their path. All was quiet on the obsidian Lacquerlands, the Paragons having a perfect chance to receive the message. Carys was quick to rip out her map and begin relaying the incoming report aloud while her Paragons gathered to listen. While they held faith in Cobb and Lenz, the Beginners couldn't hide their curiosity, and they quieted down to listen attentively like all the rest. Everyone held their breath as Carys began to speak, her eyes on the map.
"Carys, this is Jillian reporting." The Angel of Death drawled boredly and hurriedly for the usual greeting before ramping up for the meat of the report. "I'm pleased to report to you that..." Carys seemed to stumble - or choke - on a word. The Paragons raised curious glances as they watched their leader's eyes widen and face twitch. The sides of the map were gripped so tight they crumpled. A tiny noise of distress escaped Carys' mouth as her eyes took in the words. "...Eh?"
"What? What is it?" Anibal asked incessantly. "C'mon, don't leave us hanging! What's the word in Nitebane?"
Her words fell on deaf ears as Carys appeared too catatonic to relay further. Beta-Male Albert chose to step up, his own linked map coming loose as he took over relaying Jillian's message.
"I'm pleased to report to you that... King_Cobb has dealt with the four Hackers and averted Nitebane's total annihilation!" He had to raise his voice at the end due to the reaction of the listeners. Anibal was loud, her hands gripping her head as she could scarcely believe what she was hearing. It was like she was hearing an awkward duckling just found a way to wipe out entire kingdoms. Reuben, Stayer, Dyson, and Spaatz didn't know whether to be triumphantly happy, bewildered, terrified, or all three. Wasn't this what they wanted allying with Cobb? But they had been anything but welcoming and had even ridiculed the newb. Was this good or bad? He had been locked up. How did he counter four Hackers at once? Would he share his skills, or turn them on the Paragons next? What damage could he do in Nitebane if he so wished? Exactly what had gone down during yesterday's storm?
Kalmarin had a hand to his jaw, his expression far-off. All three of those Hackers had Regen and Hannah had Respawn. They should have been unconquerable. His eyes slid to the Beginners who were by far the loudest, their raucous cheering sounding over the Paragons' bewilderment. Floyd's Strength Hack went off he felt so on top of the world and he picked up Soul and Noman like they weighed nothing before swinging them around in celebration.
Kal was reminded of what Soul said yesterday about Cobb and Lenz.
'When the chips are down, those two dorks turn into dragons. You'll see.'
The Hacker gave a tiny smirk at being proven wrong. He needn't have worried for Cobb or Lenz. The Beginners called the right of it.
Truthfully, Kal felt a little melancholy hearing his former siblings had been bested. Rrhys, Llewellyn, Hannah, and Thed. If the crisis was averted by a Hacker Slayer, those four were most likely-
"Cobb broke out of imprisonment," Albert continued to relay, "due to the interference of a group of spies known as the Ten Eyes. These persons acted like sleeper agents within Nitebane's walls and were acting on orders from the Spider Queen to sabotage us. Their queen serves Lieutenant 4Blite, and the spies were responsible for leaking our outpost locations. They tried to convince Cobb to assassinate me, but the loyal ally feigned compliance to get them to free him before he wiped them all out! Oh my God!" Albert broke off from the message. "He cleared them all out!?"
"Following this," Anibal had her own map out as she didn't want to miss a word of this juicy report. "Cobb rushed to the front and attempted to talk the two first-arriving Hackers into calling off their siege. He almost succeeded before the last two Hackers arrived, recognized him, and started to attack."
"Using a combination of unerring skill, special equipment, and everything at his disposal, Cobb was able to duel... able to duel four Hackers at once - holy shit - and keep them occupied while Nitebane's forces dealt with the Griefers."
"With additional help from Baltic and Teams Alpha, Delta, and... Beta?" Albert asked in confusion. "Beta was a part of it, too?" Reuben shared his confusion. The Paragons would never send Beta-Male support classes to engage Hackers. Yet it sounded like they handled things better than expected. "With their assistance, Cobb killed the first Hacker, Rrhys, and began his subjugation of the enemies."
"In the wake of losing a brother," Dyson spoke grimly as he took over, "the highest leveled Hacker present, Thed_Hearst, awakened the same Nuker Hack that 303 used to decimate Akasha." Kal and Soul let out a terrified gasp at that reveal. "Cobb was badly damaged and a quarter of Nitebane's forces were lost to one of Thed's Nukers." There was a somber moment of silence as the Paragons mourned the fallen.
"Meanwhile, on a different front," Stayer read, "Z7, Lenzington, and I engaged the bounty hunter duo of Trishmegistus and Alfonso_Bialetti. With Team Delta and Team Epsilon backing us, Lenzington was able to defeat the former Bird of Prey in a no-holds-barred shootout before sniping the Vivlio Zythopoiias right out of the Berserker's hands. With artifact in hand," Noman perked up at hearing that while Soul and Floyd cheered Lenz's impressive contribution, "Trish was cast into the sky with Levitation and Alfonso was apprehended and arrested. The artifact was rushed to the front, buffing our forces and allowing significant pushback against the Griefer army."
"I gave the artifact to Cobb, then." Anibal relayed. "I gave it to the best man for the job and I stand by my decision. He used the artifact to its utmost potential and crushed the final three Hackers... without killing them, WHAT!? HE TOOK THEM IN ALIVE!? THEY'RE CAPTURED!? WE HAVE THREE CAPTIVE HACKERS! WHAT!?"
Carys looked like she was reliving some trauma at the moment, but another wave of surprise crashed over the listening Paragons. Kal's mouth hung open as he was at a loss for words. Three of his brothers hadn't been killed, but captured? Such a thing was unprecedented. How do you capture a Hacker, especially one now possessing Nuker? Was the Vivlio Zythopoiias that powerful, or was it Cobb that was powerful?
"Shit, I take back what I said!" Anibal shouted. "Forget the Arcticum Arma, the Vivlio Zythopoiias sounds like my new favorite! I gotta get a turn on it!"
"The artifacts are not toys." Noman chided, though he was happy to hear Cobb spared moat of the Hackers. He didn't kill. He gave them a chance.
Privately, Kal felt the same. He grew up with those Hackers. Hannah was like a mother to him at times and Thed helped train him on Strength. They may have killed many Paragons and Nitebane citizens, but it was impossible to let go of all their memories.
"Currently, we're in the middle of clean up." Albert continued relaying Jillian's message. "Cobb and Lenz are staying in the castle, out of sight, but I'm working to change that. We definitely have a lot of work to do, but one thing is clear: This is a victory."
"And Carys? A closing message from Cobb."
Carys' crimson eyes looked haunted as she read the final damning words to herself.
"Don't worry about Nitebane, FAM. I'm not one to leave an ally when they're most in need. Not even when that same ally ordered me kept in a cage. LMAO. No hard feelings, bitch. I just casually took on four Hackers to save your sorry ass, LOL, no biggie. Gotta go. Lots of awesome things left to do. Buh-bye."
Nobody dared relay that aloud.
"Tell me this isn't real!" Carys threw the map down and fell to her knees in a frustrated rage. "This is a nightmare and I CAN'T WAKE UP!"
Inventory (Cobb): 1 Book {Vivlio Zythopoiias}, 7 Obsidian, 1 Ender Chest, 44 Chorus Fruit, 26 Snowballs, 3 End Crystals, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Trident [Riptide III, Unbreaking III], 1 Trident [Loyalty II, Channeling], 1 Diamond Cutlass, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Green Shulker Box {Pocket Box}
Green Shulker Box {Pocket Box}: 53 Eyes of Ender, 32 Blocks of Emerald, 8 Emeralds, 1 Lapis Lazuli, 64 Books, 2 Books, 1 Enchanting Table, 1 Book {How to Kill Stuff for Numb Nuts}, 1 Book {Advanced Mob-Slaying}, 1 Book {Mobs of the Nether}, 1 Book {Mobs of the Bounty Days}
[EXP: 42]
Inventory (Lenz): 1 Chainmail Helmet, 1 Dragon Head, 1 Chainmail Chestplate, 1 Chainmail Leggings, 1 Chainmail Boots, 1 Iron Dagger, 9 Ender Pearls, 1 Bucket, 1 Compass, 1 Bow, 1 Bow [Infinity], 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 1 Crossbow, 42 Arrows, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Furnace, 62 Dark Oak Planks, 50 Chorus Fruit, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Daymonte Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Akasha Entry Pass}, 1 Red Shulker Box {Pocket Box}, 1 Gray Shulker Box {Pocket Box}
Red Shulker Box {Pocket Box}: 1 Shears, 1 Lever, 9 Redstone Torches, 8 Redstone Repeaters, 3 Redstone Comparators, 18 Blocks of Redstone, 2 Hoppers, 3 Pistons, 2 Sticky Pistons, 1 Book {Airship Piloting 101}, 2 Fire Charges, 36 Charcoal, 4 Torches, 32 Pumpkin Seeds, 1 Book {Redstone Textbook}, 1 Book {Notebook}
Gray Shulker Box {Pocket Box}: 53 Arrows of Poison {0:11}, 64 Arrows of Harming II, 57 Arrows of Harming II, 52 Arrows of Weakness {0:30}, 49 Arrows of Slowness {0:30}, 64 Arrows of Fire Resistance {1:00}, 64 Arrows of Healing II, 64 Arrows of Invisibility {1:00}, 64 Arrows of Leaping {1:00}, 64 Arrows of Slow Falling {0:30}, 64 Arrows of Night Vision {1:00}, 63 Arrows of Strength II {0:12}, 64 Arrows of Swiftness {1:00}, 63 Arrows of Swiftness II {0:11}, 64 Arrows of Water Breathing {1:00}
[EXP: 25]
Inventory (Baltic): 1 Iron Helmet [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Boots [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Sword [Sharpness II, Unbreaking III], 1 Shield, 1 Bow, 1 Diamond Pickaxe [Silk Touch I, Mending I, Unbreaking II], 10 Arrows, 3 Brewing Stands, 1 Water Bucket, 28 Bones, 1 Ender Chest, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Gold Citizenship Pass}, 20 Emeralds, 16 Cooked Chicken, 1 Lingering Potion of Slowness {1:00}, 1 Lingering Potion of Slowness {1:00}, 1 Lingering Potion of Healing II {0:05}, 1 Lingering Potion of Regeneration II {0:05}, 1 Blue Shulker Box {Pocket Box}
Blue Shulker Box {Pocket Box}: 41 Glass Bottles, 64 Dragon's Breath, 59 Dragon's Breath, 37 Blaze Powder, 28 Nether Warts, 30 Soul Sand, 62 Phantom Membranes, 64 Blaze Rods, 18 Fermented Spider Eyes, 50 Carrots, 50 Melon Slices, 55 Rabbit's Feet, 48 Gold Ingots, 2 Gold Nuggets, 45 Gunpowder, 52 Redstone Dust, 46 Glowstone Dust, 52 Ghast Tears, 52 Sugar
[EXP: 32]
Inventory {Jillian}: 1 Bow {Artemis} [Unbreaking III, Punch II, Power V, Knockback II, Curse of Vanishing, Infinity], 1 Bow {Apollo} [Unbreaking III, Flame I, Punch II, Knockback II], 1 Crossbow, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Clock, 35 Torches, 1 Book and Quill {Planner}, 1 Book and Quill {Notebook}, 48 Cooked Cod, 56 Cooked Salmon, 56 Arrows, 16 Firework Rockets {Flight Duration: 1, Small Ball x 7, White x 7}, 16 Firework Rocket {Flight Duration: 1, Large Ball x 7, White x 7}, 1 Map {Paragon Minecraftia}, 1 Paper {Gold Citizenship Pass}
[EXP: 53]
Inventory (Z7): 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Dagger, 1 Iron Pickaxe, 32 Cobblestone, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Furnace, 21 Charcoal, 14 Torches, 9 Oak Wood Planks, 1 Cake, 7 Baked Potatoes, 2 Buckets, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Gold Citizenship Pass}, 1 Purple Shulker Box {Pocket Box}
[EXP: 47]
Inventory (Floyd): 1 Mob Head {Creeper}, 1 Iron Sword, 1 Diamond Helmet [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Leggings [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Iron Pickaxe, 1 Shears, 2 Iron Ingots, 6 Steak, 2 Sticks, 29 Coal, 20 Torches, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Furnace, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Minecart, 1 Bed, 1 Boat, 1 Diamond Boots [Projectile Protection IV], 16 Gunpowder, 16 Ender Pearls, 2 Ender Pearls, 1 Splash Potion of Invisibility {8:00}, 1 Bucket, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}
[EXP: 44]
Inventory (Soul): 1 Diamond Axe [Sharpness V], 1 Iron Pickaxe, 62 Iron Ingots, 20 Flint, 12 Gold Ingots, 1 Shears, 1 Milk Bucket, 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection IV, Feather Falling IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Crafting Table, 1 Jukebox, 1 Music Disc {chirp}, 1 Bed, 1 Furnace, 24 Torches, 34 White Wool, 61 Cobblestone, 32 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Armor Stand, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Exter Entry Pass}
[EXP: 41]
Cat-Face the Cat
Christopher Squawken the Parrot
Inventory (Noman): 1 Diamond Sword [Sharpness I], 1 Diamond Chestplate {Severe Shield}, 1 Leather Boots {Bottes Zephyr} [Dyed White], 1 Iron Helmet, 1 Diamond Chestplate, 1 Iron Leggings, 1 Iron Boots, 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Iron Pickaxe, 60 Nether Warts, 20 Soul Sand, 1 Flint and Steel, 1 Shears, 10 Cobwebs, 1 Milk Bucket, 1 Water Bucket, 5 Buckets, 1 Bed, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Brewing Stand, 33 Glass Bottles, 4 Packed Ice, 1 Ender Chest, 16 Ender Pearls, 4 Ender Pearls, 3 Phantom Membranes, 61 Glowstone Dust, 29 Gunpowder, 18 Redstone Dust, 61 Blaze Powder, 62 Gold Nuggets, 61 Brown Mushrooms, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Exter Entry Pass}, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {The Art of Peace}, 1 Enchanted Golden Apple
[EXP: 35]
Inventory (Kalmarin): 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection III, Unbreaking III], 1 Mob Head {Skeleton}, 1 Diamond Sword [Sharpness III, Unbreaking I], 1 Map {Paragon Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Gold Citizenship Pass}, 22 Cooked Chicken, 29 Apples, 1 Bow [Power I], 36 Arrows, 12 Ender Pearls, 1 Bed, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Furnace, 40 Torches, 31 Sand, 12 Cobblestone, 21 Oak Wood Planks, 1 Water Bucket, 1 Lava Bucket, 1 Milk Bucket, 43 Coal, 1 Clock, 1 Compass, 1 Iron Pickaxe [Unbreaking I], 1 Wooden Pickaxe {Old Reliable} [Unbreaking III, Efficiency V], 1 Book {Meetup}
[EXP: 37]
AN: Woooooooo! What a battle!
Maybe it was growing tiresome near the end, hence why I ended this Chapter sooner rather than drag it out. Hell, I probably still dragged it out. But at least it ended on a good note.
Next Chapter will take a break from combat, but it'll be an aftermath Chapter, which means, like Jillian said, there will be a lotta work and a lot of things to cover in Nitebane. Cobb's hard work will be rewarded now that he's firmly allied with Nitebane.
However, this is not the end of All Out Spaghetti. There is still more to the Arc. It wouldn't be All Out Spaghetti if it ended there.
FAV. FOLLOW. REVIEW. FORUM. DISCORD. SPAGHETTI SQUASH.
