With a snap, the world sped up. John whipped a FlashCard towards a few of the Model Threes to his right while he ran to the left, pulling a razor card. The moment his arm moved, the Model Threes leapt to rush at him. The three on his right got faces full of bright light and crashed to the ground in a pile of limbs and gnashing teeth.
Shortly after the FlashCard burst, he sent the razor card whipping through the air and into the face of the Model three he injured earlier, taking it out.
Before he had a chance to bring another razor card to bear, the second Model Three came barreling straight at him. In a move borne of desperation and adrenaline fueled focus John palmed an explosive card and stuck it to the rushing plant monster's forehead as he vaulted over the top of it.
Despite his sudden athleticism, John was not used to pulling moves like that. Instead of landing on his feet he ended up slamming into the ground with his shoulder and rolling a few feet. Scrambling to his feet he quickly regained his bearings and saw where the Model Three he jumped over was already making its way back to him.
John eyed the card stuck to its head and noticed that the symbol in his HUD was lit up. Mentally hitting the button he watched as the card glowed brightly for a second before hearing a muffled thump followed immediately by the Model Three crumpling. Instead of being tackled by a ravenous plant alien, he instead had its head bounce off his foot.
‘Huh, useful.’
The clatter of a chair being shoved out of the way snapped his attention back to his predicament. Namely the Model Threes he flashed spreading out to try and surround him while the Model Six stalked slightly farther back.
‘Syl, will the explosive cards stick backwards?’
John smirked as he palmed four cards and rapidly sent them spinning across the smooth flooring on their backs. ‘I don’t know how I feel about you knowing my plans without me saying anything.’
He danced backwards a bit as the Model Threes came charging after him, two of them stepping directly on the cards that slid beneath them while the third managed to avoid them. The other two cards came to rest between him and the Model Six.
With the Model Threes rushing closer John sent a razor card flying into the forehead of the one that hadn’t stepped on an explosive. He mentally toggled the trigger for the two stuck cards and a grin spread across his face as he watched their legs disintegrate. He spun to the side to avoid the third alien, quick-stepping back towards his original hallway to avoid being surrounded.
Thankfully, the two Model Threes that were missing legs could no longer rush at him, limping after him instead. Unfortunately, it seemed the Model Six was tired of standing back. Both the Six and the healthy Three came rushing at him, even with a card sticking out of its head the Model Three was dangerous.
John threw a FlashCard into the face of the Six and ran closer to the center of the room as it flashed, dodging the flailing of the blind Six. As he ran he whipped a razor card into the Model Three, finally taking it down. One of the crippled Threes must have stepped on another card since the icon in his HUD lit up. Mentally hitting the button, he watched as the back leg of one of the Threes disintegrated and sent it falling to its side.
John rushed towards the fallen Three and sent an explosive card to stick against its neck before sending another one into the face of the other crippled Three. Once he was clear he triggered both cards and marginally relaxed as he watched both aliens crumple.
Groaning in pain, John levered himself to his feet. Pulling out an explosive card he attempted to throw it at the Six, only to drop it when his entire body spasmed from the pain in his chest.
‘I can’t throw properly like this. Do you have anything I could afford?’
John was about to ask how before he remembered what happened to the Model Threes. Even though the mental conversation took mere seconds, the Model Six had managed to recover and was charging back at him. He stumbled out of the way and moved as far away as he could from where the Six slammed into the planter, knocking it over.
As he moved, John began dumping the remaining eight explosive cards into a loose circle. He came to a stop about fifteen feet away from his impromptu minefield and looked over his shoulder to see the Six stalking after him. John stopped and turned to fully face the Six.
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“Well, come on then. Let’s dance!” he shouted at it. Whether the alien understood him or not, he didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was that the Six began running at him, and directly over the circle of explosives.
“Boom.” was all he said with a smile as the ground underneath the running Six began to glow. With a deafening bang all eight cards exploded, the shaped charges bursting straight up into the legs and belly of the alien. Even standing as far away as he was, John felt the shockwave and stumbled back a couple steps, gingerly holding his ribs.
The momentum of the Model Six, combined with the little bit of lift the explosions gave it, managed to carry the mangled body a few feet away from John. Somehow, the Six was still alive despite missing four of its legs and the other two being nearly useless.
“Syl, can I get a finisher please?”
A card spun into his palm, a purple glow pulsing from the skull motif at its center.
The face of the card showed a beautifully designed revolver, shimmering in the same purple hue. Mentally shrugging his shoulders John flourished the card in the same way he would if he wanted to play his rose trick. With a small flash of purple light the card became a large revolver.
Shocked to stillness for just a moment, he recovered and pointed the revolver at the Model Six’s head, pulling the trigger. With a deafening boom and a kick that sent his hand flying up, a massive hole bloomed in the forehead of the Six. He stumbled backwards and fell onto a bench with a wince as the action set off his ribs and chest.
John sat on the bench, one hand holding the revolver and the other arm cradling his throbbing chest. He stared at the rapidly cooling corpse of the Model Six for a moment before his eyes slid to the artfully crafted revolver sitting in his hand. Bringing it up off his lap he examined the gun, taking in all the intricate details.
The weapon itself was crafted from a beautifully dark metal that almost drank in the light, while also giving off a subtle purple shimmer when it caught the light.the barrel was engraved with twisting, thorny vines that seemed to writhe every time he twisted the pistol. The cylinder was dimpled and had roses engraved on each raised section where the bullets would sit. The grip had pieces of a dark black material that seemed to hold stars within its depths and was seemingly crafted for his hand specifically, resulting in an extremely comfortable grip. Embossed in the center of the grip was a skull wearing a top hat with a few cards tucked into the band.
John was unable to take his eyes off the piece of art in his hand. “Uhm, Syl? What is this?”
“Yes please.” A list began to scroll down his augs, detailing what happened in the past few minutes.
Targets Eliminated! (M3 x5; M6 x1)
Reward - 80 Points
Total - 202 Points
Class I Kinetic Handguns Unlocked!
Points reduced to - 152
New Purchase: Curtain Call
Points reduced to - 132
John stared at the proof of what he had just gone through. All the adrenaline, the fear, the injuries. Everything summed up into three succinct messages. “Huh. I kinda figured there would be…more I guess.”
John let that thought bounce around for a couple moments before nodding. “I suppose you’re right. It’s hard to truly quantify what happens. Speaking of minor injuries, think I could get something to help?”
New Purchase: Class I Nano-Regenerative Suite
Points reduced to - 112
A card appeared in the air and fluttered into his hand. Holding it up to the light, John noticed that it was white with a red cross on one side while the other side showed a picture of an item that looked like a cross between an asthma inhaler and a rebreather mask, the Nano-Regenerative Suite. On a whim, he flourished the card and nearly fumbled the item that appeared onto the ground. He managed to keep a hold of the device and gingerly leaned back while holding it up to his face and activating it.
Pulling the device away, he tossed it in a nearby trash can and leaned back while the nanites worked. “So Syl, what's with the cards? Surely that’s not normal, even for Samurai.”
“Well, I suppose it’s not the worst way to get my gear. How does it work?” John felt the nanites pop a rib back into place and flinched before settling back down.
A brief pause, then she added, just a shade more clinical:
“Sounds like a plan.”
John levered himself into an upright position and began slowly making his way back to the shop he had left Sophia in. He regained his normal gait as the nanites fixed him up and by the time he got to the entrance to the shop he was walking normally.
He was in the middle of the entrance when he froze, something catching his attention. The sound of scratching and banging as if something were poking around. John pulled out his deck and moved quickly, yet quietly, towards the back room. As the door came into view so did the lone Model Three that was pawing and sniffing at the door. With a snap he sent off a razor card and watched as it sliced through the back of the Threes neck causing it to collapse in a heap.
John rushed over to the door and shoved the corpse out of the way as he opened the door and called out, “Sophia! Are you okay?”
“Mr. John? Is that you?” came a voice from the corner of the room.
“Yea, it’s me. Are you hurt?” he said as he watched Sophia pull herself out from behind a stack of boxes and begin walking over to him.
She shook her head, “No, but I heard noises. When I heard something at the door I hid in those boxes.”
John held her shoulders as he looked her over. After confirming she was okay he sighed, “Good job kid. I cleared out the food court so we should get going.”
She just nodded and followed him back out of the store and into the hallway.