AA. 201

Team Forge and Iris made a beeline for the beacon instead of trying to evade or hide. They needed to put as much distance between themselves and the team of five Scourge Champions that still stood. When the team departed, the Void-controlled Cursed entities outnumbered the free. Nil assumed the monsters slowed the enemy, or they intentionally stayed back to harvest and recover energy.

Iris moved almost as fast as Selia. Two of her three pairs of floating arms moved under her, positioning themselves in front and behind her legs. She seemed to trot on them, advancing rapidly. Vertical movement and wall-running were no challenge for her either. She used her third pair of Source appendages to help change direction, pushing off surfaces or swinging around poles and pillars. The woman seemed to have grown faster during her remaining days on Ashe Fall. Regularly scaling Onyx Dragon Mountain had paid off.

A couple of times during the fight, she shot energy beams from her arms. They briefly shrank or lost their opacity but rapidly recovered in seconds. She used the attack sparingly, mostly to burn a path through several opponents or to take out the giant mammoth-like Cursed Ones. Nil guessed it was the fruit of her training with Watcher.

Iris started her training after Nil, expressly stating her objective to increase her speed and agility and develop ranged attacks that didn’t involve firing off her arms and detonating them. It was inefficient, and reshaping them in combat was a hassle. Nil was glad to learn that she had accomplished a part of her goal.

The expanded group moved for a third of an hour, putting significant distance between them and the Scourge champions. They only stopped after Nil hung back for a few minutes and confirmed that there were no Cursed Energy signatures within One With The Source’s range. 

Several notifications awaited Nil. He had paused a couple of times to protect Iris and her injured companion from orange lightning and fiery javelins. He had suffered no injuries besides a handful of scratches, and the fight earned him more than just points.

Might has progressed to Silver 2!

Toggled Supercharging has progressed to Bronze 4!

Gavanized has progressed to Bronze 2!

Source Gauntlets have progressed to Bronze 2!

“Thank you,” Iris said, barely out of breath. It seemed coordinating the Source limbs tired her more than the speedy traversal. “We were expecting the worst when you arrived. The bastards refused to give us the chance to surrender. I don’t know what they did, but the tattoos were slow to react. We were sure we were going to die.”

“How did you all end up that way?” Nil asked. “Did they ambush you?”

Iris shook her head. “I think the gate we came through connected to multiple areas, and the Scourge Worlders have the means to communicate over vast distances. There were seven of us. My allies and I found each other during the last sector and joined forces. Our rest area had a Scourge team, so we set up an ambush at the gate exit, hoping for an easy point.

“Instead of the four, twelve came through at the same time. They had summons, spirit companions, and whatever passes for soul weapons among the Scourge. We were overwhelmed and lost two in swift succession. The bastards gave us no choice but to retreat. Then they gave chase, somehow recruiting Cursed Ones and beasts along the way.”

“They have a well-protected Mind Mage,” Selia said. “I tried to take her out, but her spirit companion and warder had sharp senses. I struggled to get close enough to do any damage.”

“Scary stuff,” Zora said, nursing her injury. Meatball lay on the ground between them, bathing everyone in Regenerate’s aura. “So what now? Should hole up at the exit gate, take out the Scourge team, hopefully eliminating them from the Cleansing—”

“My allies and I eliminated two,” Iris interjected. “Given the notification we got after the second, I assume you got rid of one. So, the pursuing lot is the last Scourge team.”

“In that case, depending on how things go, they’ll come in third or fourth. Why not eliminate them here so they have no chance at victory at all?”

“Why are we even considering this?” Shawn frowned. He raised a hand, and a barrier formed around Iris. Her Source arms struck them, and the walls cracked but didn’t break. “She’s an unknown. An outsider. We should eliminate here and now, get the final point and just continue through the gate.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Nil demanded. A short Chaos blade emerged from his right index finger. It took minimal manipulation and shaping to maintain. He sliced through one of the barrier’s sharp corners, destabilizing and destroying it. “Iris is the other Nexus team. We’re on the same side. We should be working together. Is this about the Wilson Ludus assholes? Are you that fucking blind, Shawn? They clearly don’t—”

“Nil, don’t!” Selia pulled on his arm. 

“No. This needs to be said.” Nil shrugged her off. “Ateeq tried to sneak in and snipe you and Zora. Olaf attacked me with lethal force.” He enunciated, and his tone was short and cold. Nil had sympathy for Shawn’s situation, but the man’s unwillingness to acknowledge what had happened frustrated him. “Selia and I appealed to Adrian and Lucy after the Hunt. They didn’t give a shit. It was made clear that Wilson Luduses has no intention to ally with us. What part of that do you not understand?”

“They’re my friends, and I could’ve changed their mind,” Shawn protested, his jaw and fist clenched. 

“Are they? You’ve spent all your time with us or training since joining the Forge. Have they made any time for you at all? Does Adrian crack the whip twenty-four-seven, or is this a one-sided thing? I’m sorry if I’m being cruel, Shawn, but we’re here to do a job and win. We need to figure out the best way of doing it.” He looked at Zora and Selia. “I vote for Iris to join Team Forge and for us to work together to take on the final two challenges.”

“It gives us the best chance at making it to first place,” Zora said, looking at Shawn apologetically. “I think we have a chance. As an add-on to the team, Iris will only have rights to a tenth of the reward and whatever else we’re willing to give her. It's not that big a loss.”

“I’d rather have a better chance at first place than four of us go ahead as we are and come in second or third,” Selia said. She approached Shawn and reached for his shoulder, but she stepped out of her reach. His glare was cold and furious. “It’s not personal. I know Nil’s delivery wasn’t the best, but he’s right. Olaf and Ateeq might still care for you, but the ludus and Wilson’s favor is their priority. Not you.”

“The Cleansing’s penultimate challenge always involves fighting another team,” Iris said. Her tone was calm, but her posture and eyes betrayed her readiness to fight. She wasn’t going to go down without a fight, and her expression suggested that she intended to take Shawn down with her. “The loser gets second place. Then, the final team does whatever is needed to end it. I wouldn’t be surprised if the arena construct gives you no more points, no matter what you do. They’ll want all other teams in this sector eliminated.

“Are you ready to take on the Scourge team that commanded an army of Cursed Ones, eliminated some of the best cultivators in the competition, and then take on whoever else made it this far as you are? I’ll put my money on you failing and getting second or third place. If you desire first place in the Cleansing, I need to be on Team Forge.”

All eyes moved to Shawn. “Am I outvoted then?” No one spoke. They all stared daggers at him. “Fine. I concede. But if anyone gets knocked out because of this woman betraying us, they get no reward. Whatever we get for coming in second or third will be divided between those that make it.”

“Only if Iris turns out to be a traitor,” Zora reiterated. She shot the possible addition to the team a polite smile. “No offense.”

“None taken. I respect the due diligence. However, I do not respect someone taking the decision into their own hands. Such an act would not be accepted in my team and would be grounds for immediate expulsion.”

“Well, it's a good thing this isn’t your team then,” Shawn replied coldly. “I’ll respect being outvoted for now, but we have much to discuss once this is all said and done.”

“You’re right,” Nil said. “We do.”

The team set off again. Zora and Shawn followed in the usual fashion while the rest of them moved ahead of the rest, scanning for threats.

Team Forge has accepted Iris, Eye of the Endless Kraken, as one of their own. Her team will not receive any rewards since they have failed to reach the final three. However, she and her world are entitled to a fraction of all rewards. Iris will receive a Silver Ascension Token, a tenth of all Schema Tokens and Schema Credits earned by the group. Additional rewards may be handed out as per Team Forge’s discretion.

Team Kraken's points will not be shared with Team Forge. 

“Thank you for advocating for me,” Iris said. She focused her attention on Selia. “Both of you. I appreciate the opportunity to see the Cleansing through. It will mean a lot to my family and me. And all of that despite me propositioning—”

“I understand why you did what you did, and I respect how you went about it,” Selia interrupted. “I have no hard feelings but would appreciate if you make no future attempts or discuss the matter further.”

“Understood.” Iris nodded. “I respect your candor.”

Nil glanced back at Shawn. “Was I too harsh? I feel bad after he tried to make me feel better after the Glimmer stuff.”

Selia nodded. “But that’s a matter for later. What’s done is done. You weren’t wrong, but it's likely that the team won’t recover from this. Shawn might not want to work with us anymore.”

“The Glimmer took you, and you’re still here?” Iris’s eyes widened. “Hold on a moment. You’re Silver Realm! What happened?”

“How about we save the catching up for the rest area?” Selia asked. “I want to hear how the Cleansing has been for you and your team.”

“Very well.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Zora doesn’t want to work with us either,” Nil said, returning to the former topic of discussion. “She’s probably frustrated with us for taking matters into our own hands and not following her directions.”

“A good leader knows how to keep the team in line,” Iris commented.

“We’re not that kind of team, but you’re right,” Nil replied. “Our team has maintained first place since the first sector by working as duos instead of as a four. She wanted to play it safe, but we misled and took decisions into our own hands to maintain our lead.”

“In that case, you’re bad followers. But it's likely that’s an error with team structuring.”

“You’re probably right.” Selia sighed.