Chapter Forty-Nine: The Advantage
Don the wizard jogged through a beautiful flowery field under a moonlit night. Not that there's any enemies around to use the moon power on, he grumbled to himself. I bet the Gamer has direct control over that, too.
He and Leo, in city guard form, moved toward yet another ancient fortress that had been taken over by the forces of darkness. Rumors in the nearest town said that the High Ghamyronis himself had taken up residence there.
But of course he'll be gone by the time we get there. Or if we do fight him, he'll flee before I can finish him off. Stupid Gamer. Is this really fun for you? He tried not to allow his displeasure to show on his face, although this was difficult since his physical body seemed far away; the real world a haze, or behind a curtain. Pretty sure there's some sort of drug in me. But we'll deal with that later. Hopefully it was just one dose, too, when the goons jumped me with that needle. Then again, how would this game feel so immersive without a constant-Ugh. Not important right now.
He paused to scan his surroundings, check his map and the in-game time, and to let Leo catch up. Why must NPCs have a slightly slower pace than players in every game? Especially since this one turned into a giant escort quest. With me being the one escorted.
Don heard Leo's steps right behind him and started moving again. If this was a regular game, and I didn't have to depend on an escort to avoid death, I would've finished it by now. Death is a normal part of video games. Some even make a clever choice out of it, like choosing between your progress or your items and money.
Doubly deep shadow fell over Don and Leo as cloudscovered the moon and they entered forest again. We're getting close to the High Ghamyronis again, Gamer, he thought, as if you don't already know that. How do you expect me to beat you at your own game, which you presumably made, while you presumably watch me? …I hate being watched.
Mossy stone walls appeared through the trees ahead; Don and Leo crouched into Stealth Mode and slowed their approach. He has all the advantages in this round. At least when I was rescuing Sensei, I had the advantage of my knowledge of physics. And rescuing Mikey, a lifetime of agility training. And rescuing Leo, a lifetime of ninjutsu training. Here my experience in and knowledge of video games—although significant, and I'd definitely already be dead without it—can never overtake The Gamer's knowledge of this particular game. And his direct controls.
Wait. Shell! Don stopped in his tracks. That's it! That's why this stupid game has been dragging on so long! I haven't been using my biggest advantage!
Leo, after a pause, crouched-walked up to his side and looked at him. He didn't speak, since any guards nearby would be alerted, but his question was clear: "Are you okay? What's up?"
I'm fine, Leo. Don nodded his character's head up and down. More than fine. I'm working on a plan now.
Still crouched, he eased out from behind a tree, drew his bow, and dispatched an enemy guard, who died noiselessly, and then the other.
Infiltrating an enemy fortress silently and defeating small-but-highly-armored groups of goblins and grayclaws while developing a plan in his head—and not giving any outward signs that he was—wasn't easy, but Don had put his brain to work.
And not a moment too soon.
A great iron door stood open before them. It could have been painted with green letters that read "the High Ghamyronis," so obvious was the setup for the boss fight ahead.
Don paused to double check his inventory, as he often did, but this time the pause held two reasons.
"Man," he sighed aloud, letting frustration and tiredness seep into his voice. "This sure is taking a long time. I can't believe the Gamer got me in the first place. I just stepped away from Raph for one minute to look at something, and next thing I knew, I was playing a cool new game. If I could hear him, I bet Raph would be yelling at me for disappearing on him. He hates that. He'd be lecturing up a storm. I wouldn't even mind that right now. It would just be so nice to hear his voice."
I have no way of knowing if this is working. I have to keep going, though, and hope they realize what I want.
"I even miss Mikey's chatter. It'll be nice to hear his voice again, telling me all about everything that happened since we last saw each other, and about everything else under the sun, too."
Last one. Leo, can you multitask?
"Man," he said, shuffling items in his inventory around for show now, "I even miss Leo reciting Japanese poetry. Yep. Even some good 'ol waka would be nice right now." He sighed again and closed his inventory. "Oh, well. Pretty soon."
He sprinted through the iron door and into the courtyard beyond.
It was Mikey who understood Don's hints first. "You're right, Donnie! I know you can't hear me, but I would be telling you all that stuff if you could hear me. I'd tell you about how me an' Leo snuck through the halls after we split up, and neither of us found anything really interesting, except I did find a whole stack of video games, but Leo wouldn't let me look at them, and then Raph came in and said-" He kept going, words flowing from his mouth, hardly pausing for breath.
Raph caught on. "Yeah, you bet your shell I'd be trying to drive some sense into that genius brain of yours if you could hear me, Don," he growled. He went on at length as to the stupidity of Don's wandering off, his displeasure when he realized Don was missing, and the verbal reprimands he would make if he could.
I'd be lecturing him too, probably, Leo thought, but Don asked for wakas, probably since he knows how much I've memorized, and that would distract me less from helping him than making up a lecture. In an instant, Leo was transported back in his mind to many years ago. Eleven-year-old Leo sat perched on the threadbare couch, his feet dangling above the floor, as he recited melancholy but beautiful Japanese poetry he'd already memorized for Master Splinter, who sat, eyes closed, in his worn chair.
"Ichihatsu no
hana saki idete.
Waga me ni wa
kotoshi bakari no
haru yukan to su." The memory of the yellowed pages of the aged tome in his lap added: By Masaoka Shiki. Late 1800s.
Even as the fight in the game began, with the High Ghamyronis and Don's characters exchanging melodramatic threats, the Gamer looked down into the physical room, confusion and anger twisting his face.
"What are you doing?" He demanded. "Why are you talking? He can't hear you! You know that!"
To distract you, Leo thought, but aloud he recited another, much older, tanka in Japanese, this one about faded cherry blossoms symbolizing a wasted life.
Mikey jabbered on and on as only he could, now adding huge gestures.
Raph had switched his threats directly to the Gamer, thumping the pommels of his sais into the glass door between them for emphasis.
Face now almost as red as Raph's mask, the Gamer ground his teeth and turned back to his screen to control the High Ghamyronis in the ongoing boss fight.
I think it's working.
The Gamer threw a crackling green orb at Don, but it went wide, and Don easily dodged.
Don launched a stun arrow and immediately followed it up with two high-level firebolts; all three hit the High Ghamyronis squarely in his chest, staggering him and cutting off a cheesy voice line of taunting.
It's definitely working. Don hid a smirk. Okay. Time to focus.
In addition to coming up with the best types of distractions his brothers could offer, Don had also set his mind to reviewing and organizing the data he'd observed over the course of his gameplay. He'd analyzed the attack patterns the High Ghamyronis had used. The types of spells at his disposal. The amount of time each spell had to "cool down" before he could use it again. The timing needed to dodge incoming attacks. The unblockable attacks that must be dodged. The character of the game developer. Don even calculated the time it took his character to switch between weapons.
Don took all this information into account and came up with his own attack strategy. This is different from my normal style, and it might be close to exploiting the game… but this is hardly a game anymore. Besides, the Gamer fights dirty, so why shouldn't I?
Don's wizard whirled into action. He hurled spells with a "stun" or "stagger" effect and sent powerful attacks before the High Ghamyronis had a chance to recover. The mage's crackling green orbs never found him behind columns. Every time the High Ghamyronis tried to taunt, Don took the opportunity to unleash a devastating volley of bomb arrows. The High Ghamyronis, up on a balcony, had no place to hide.
The turtle hid a smile. The hunter becomes the hunted.
He eyed the enemy's oversized health bar. In a minute, we'll see if my guess is correct… He spared a glance up above. As he suspected, the courtyard had a limited exposure to the currently cloudy sky; the moon's beams would hit only a small patch of the flagstones behind him, on the far side of the arena from the High Ghamyronis.
The enemy—the Gamer—had finally given up trying to taunt, and now even seemed to be trying to dodge, but Don sent more magical bolts and fiery arrows than could be avoided in his confined area.
As he kept the pressure up, Don gauged the fractions remaining on the High Ghamyronis' health bar: three fifths, two thirds, five eighths, one half. Each attack dropped the enemy's hit points only a sliver, but his overall progress was steady compared to previous attempts with his new and improved strategy.
Don's body tensed even further as the health bar dropped to around one-third. He made sure he was in position.
The High Ghamyronis writhed and screamed a scripted death threat.
"Look to the skies!" Leo's character shouted, alerting Don to the opening of the skies and the moonpower.
Don did not step backward into the moonlight. Instead, he stayed in the shadows, hurling devastating attacks at the mage with even greater urgency. Don was sweating. Please be right. Please be right.
The High Ghamyronis simply sent three green orbs in his direction.
"Look to the skies!" Leo said again.
After another few seconds, the pressure in Don's chest eased slightly. He snapped arrows imbued with the power of "lashing thorns" at High Ghamyronis.
The moon's glow behind him disappeared.
The High Ghamyronis did not disappear. His health bar had now definitely dropped below one third.
Don dodged behind a white stone column, glad for a tiny break and a chance to celebrate. Yes! I was right! He stepped out, staff in hand, and sent a wave of purple lightning up to meet his foe. The High Ghamyronis' health dropping to one third triggers the moon coming out, but me using the moonpower triggers the High Ghamyronis fleeing. Don would've shaken his head ruefully if he hadn't been so busy hurling magic attacks as quickly as possible. Clever, Gamer. Sneaky. Downright devious.
Don spared a glance up again: definitely less than one third health left. Yes! Take that, Gamer! And that! And that!
The High Ghamyronis shouted another scripted line as his health dropped another invisible checkpoint. He staggered back; Don's attacks kept interrupting his attempts to fight the player character.
Don't lose focus, Donatello. Finish the job.
Don forced himself to stop looking at the health bar. All his mental capabilities zoomed in on the battle at hand. Stun attack. High-level attack. Stagger attack. Enough time to get in three hits. Dodge.
The High Ghamyronis fell to his knees and raised a fist. "No!" He screamed. "I was the one who would conquer the world! All were to fear me!" He pointed a finger trembling with rage at Don's wizard. "You! You fool wizard! You meddlesome pest! You were to be crushed beneath my boot like an ant-"
A button prompt flashed in Don's vision.
Don smashed the button so hard his thumb hurt.
The wizard, in one smooth and epic animation, raised his staff over his head. "I, triply imbued with the power of the light, call upon the moon to finally defeat you, dark mage! The moon has seen enough of you, High Ghamyronis!"
Brilliant white light, so bright that Don instinctively squinted, whooshed down onto his character, and with a second button prompt, the wizard reflected the moonbeam out of his staff, straight up onto the enemy on the balcony.
The High Ghamyronis shrieked. The light swallowed him up.
When it finally faded and the wizard lowered his staff, gasping, a breeze picked up and blew away a fistful of ash.
Glorious orchestral music swelled in Don's ears.
Don's vision faded to black.